He looked over the dashboard at the old farm. It didn’t look like a sweatshop, but she knew that if Max told her there was a sweatshop out there, he was most likely right. Cats had ways of finding out stuff.
Chase rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then turned back to face her. “So how do you know?”
“I, um…” She glanced back at the cats through the rearview mirror. They were shaking their heads, No! “See, the thing is…”
“I’m listening,” he said.
“I can’t tell you,” she finally said.
He uttered a surprised grunt. “What?”
“I simply can’t tell you.”
“That’s ridiculous. Either you knew already about this sweatshop, and completely forgot about it until you saw your cats parading down the street, or somehow your cats told you about this sweatshop, which is completely ridiculous.” He studied her for a moment. “So which is it, Odelia?”
She threw up her hands. “You’re right. Silly me. I totally forgot about the sweatshop. Seeing Max and Dooley and Brutus brought it all back to me.”
“Because…”
“Because…” She rooted around for a plausible response. “Because the person who called me last night and told me about the sweatshop also has a cat,” she said finally. “And seeing Max and the others reminded me.”
In the backseat, Max slapped his paw to his face. “Oh, God,” he muttered.
“And you can’t tell me who this person is?” Chase asked.
“I promised her I wouldn’t reveal her identity.”
He nodded, tapping his steering wheel. “Of course. And how did this person happen to find out?”
“She just happened to pass here the other day, and heard muffled shouts and cries. So she went to investigate closer and saw a bunch of people in there, locked up and being forced to sew Ziv Riding’s clothes.”
He gave her a comical grimace. “That’s just about the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard. But I’m willing to give you a pass, Odelia.”
“You are? I mean, it’s the honest-to-God’s truth.”
“Of course it is.” He directed a suspicious look back at the cats. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m going to hazard a guess it’s got something to do with those cats. I don’t know what it is but I’m not going to pressure you into telling me.”
She blinked. “You’re not?”
“No, I’m not. I guess when the time comes and you feel you can trust me, you’ll tell me. For now I think our first priority should be to get those people out of there. But first we need to make sure your… source is telling the truth.”
“My source never lies,” she assured him.
He gave her a lopsided grin. “Honey, I’m a cop. Double-checking hot tips is what I do for a living. So please humor me.”
“Sure,” she said, pleasantly surprised that he’d let her off the hook so easily. “I’ll come with you.”
“No, that’s all right. You better stay here and out of sight. We don’t want to spook them and make them close up shop before we can get the cavalry out here.”
He opened the door and got out. But before he did, she said, “Chase?”
He stuck his head back in. “What?”
She gave him a warm smile. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. One of these days I’m going to get you to spill all of your secrets, Odelia Poole. Just you wait and see.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Oh, but you will.”
He gave the roof a pat and then he was off, keeping low, moving with surprising agility and grace. She saw him dart through a meadow, then he disappeared from sight.
“That was a close call,” she said, heaving out a long breath.
“Are you going to tell him?” Max asked.
“Maybe one day,” she said musingly. “But not now. Definitely not now.”
“I think you should tell him,” Brutus said surprisingly.
“And why is that?”
“There should be no secrets in a relationship,” he said.
She laughed. “For your information, we’re not in a relationship.”
“You will be,” he said.
“Don’t mind Brutus,” said Max. “He’s feeling a little out of sorts on account of the fact that Diego stole his girlfriend.”
“Diego stole Harriet?” she asked, surprised. “That was quick work.”
“He’s a quick worker,” Max said.
“He’s a snake,” Brutus grunted. “A viper in your bosom, Odelia.”
“Hey, watch what you say about Odelia’s bosom,” Dooley said.
“It’s an expression,” Max said.
“I don’t care! Brutus better show some respect.”
“I have the greatest respect for Odelia,” said Brutus. “You took me in when my need was high.”
“Your need wasn’t high,” said Dooley. “You got fed meat every day by Chase.”
“Chase never feeds me any meat. He barely notices I’m there. Chase is not a cat person. He just took me in because his mother asked him to.”
Max and Dooley goggled at Brutus. “No meat?” asked Max.
“No juicy steak,” Dooley asked.
“Just generic kibble,” Brutus grunted. “The kind on sale in your local supermarket.”
“Oh, Brutus,” said Odelia, touched.
“Don’t get me wrong,” said Brutus. “I love Chase. But… I love Odelia more.”
Silence reigned in the car for a few beats, then both Dooley and Max gave Brutus a hug, and Odelia reached back and tickled him under his chin. “And we love you, Brutus,” Dooley assured him.
“Well, we do now,” Max corrected him.
“Must have been that lack of meat that made him so intolerable,” Dooley added.
“Thanks,” Brutus grunted, clearly undone by these signs of affection. “Thanks, you guys. You’re the best friends a cat can ever hope to get. I won’t forget this.”
“You’re all right, Brutus,” Odelia said. “I’ll buy you all some meat tonight.”
There was a tap on the roof of the car and they all jumped a foot in the air. Then Chase’s head appeared through the open window. He was panting a little, and he was chewing on a piece of straw. “That’s a sweatshop, all right. Let’s call in the state police. This is a lot bigger than Hampton Cove.” He glanced back at the cats. “Well done, you guys.” He then directed a look at Odelia. “And now I’m talking to your cats. I’m going all screwy.”
“Not screwier than Odelia,” said Max.
Chase whipped his head around. “Was it my imagination or did he just talk back to me?”
But Odelia merely smiled.
Chapter 23
We patiently waited in the car until the state police that Chase had called in arrived. They came zooming down the road, blinkers and sirens off. The first car stopped right next to ours, and Chase quickly switched cars, and rode in with the cavalry. They surrounded the farmhouse. We watched from our first-row seat as dozens of cops exited their vehicles and descended upon the old Tucker farm, weapons drawn, approaching slowly and stealthily.
When finally Chase gave the all-clear sign, Odelia let us out of the car and we walked up with her.
We saw dozens of ill-dressed people being led out of the farmhouse. They looked unkempt and scared. Ambulances drove up and teams of EMTs took care of them. I saw that more than half a dozen of them were children, and they looked as dirty and undernourished as the adults. It was a horrible scene.
Odelia joined Chase, who stood discussing things with the same state trooper we’d seen earlier. It was clear this thing was big, as more cops arrived.
“Who can do such a thing?” Dooley asked as we approached the house.
“Humans,” said Brutus.
“Greedy humans,” I corrected him.
“You’re right,” he conceded. “Not all humans are the same.”
“Odelia would never do something like this,” said Dooley.