“So he’s a crook, is he, Laia’s dad?”
“I’m joking, of course,” said Dan. “Algis isn’t really a crook, in the sense that he made his fortune legally. Even though he didn’t start out as a businessman, it’s true that he did a great job building his empire. But if it hadn’t been for his wife Matilda, he would probably be injail right now. Or living in utter squalor.”
“Tell me all, Dan,” said Odelia with a smile, for she sensed that her editor was chomping at the bit to tell her a story.
“Once upon a time, Algis Twine was a lowlife thug, member of an extremist group that loved nothing better than to make trouble. They used to organize meetings and demonstrations, simply as an excuse to get into a fight with the police and bust some heads and crack some skulls. His nickname back then was The Bludgeoner, which tells you all you need to know about him. He was in and out of prison pretty much all through his teens, and it was only when he finally met a young IT student that he managed to turn his life around for the better.”
“Let me guess. Matilda Twine was the IT student.”
“Yeah, Matilda Scrape had this idea for a website that would facilitate something that didn’t exist back then: online gambling. It was a novel idea, and one that probably no one thought would work. But Matilda and Algis persisted, and before long their site was the number-one gambling site in the country—for a long time the only site. Now we know, of course, that online gambling is as big a business as physical gambling in casinos and such, but back then it was something totally new and unheard of.”
“It made them billionaires,” said Odelia, jotting down the odd note. It would all serve as background information for the article she intended to write.
“Absolutely,” said Dan. He’d taken a cigar from his drawer and now sniffed at it with relish, put it in his mouth, chewed on it for a moment, and returned it to his drawer, unsmoked. He was trying to stop, and this seemed as good a way as any.
“But why are they so dead set against Jay Green as a potential husband for their daughter?”
“Well, Jay doesn’t have any money, and so he’s not the kind of match they had in mind for their daughter.”
“I talked to Bud Zuk, who was her boyfriend before she met Jay.”
“Now the Zuks are more the kind of people the Twines want to be associated with. Rich and well-connected, so Bud would be the ideal husband for Laia.”
“Do you think the Twines could be behind this stalking business?”
“Could be,” said Dan with a shrug. “Though if they are, chances are they’re not personally involved. They’re much too clever for that.”
“Laia and Jay just want it to stop,” said Odelia. “And now with this burglary…” She thought for a moment. “Do you think Laia’s parents are behind the burglary?”
“It could all be part of the same campaign, for sure,” said Dan. “Only young Dylon Pipe turned out to be a lousy candidate for the job.”
“I mean, someone must have told him about that necklace,” said Odelia.
“Or it could be a coincidence,” her boss suggested. “Sometimes burglars get lucky. Or unlucky, as in this case. Where did they keep the necklace? In a safe?”
“Laia kept it tucked away underneath a stack of underwear,” said Odelia, and saw her boss wince at the thought of a multi-million-dollar gem lying in Laia’s underwear drawer.
A knock sounded at the door, and when it opened, the familiar face of Laia appeared. The young woman looked even paler and drawn than the night before, and Odelia said,“Just go to my office and take a seat. I’ll be there in a second.”
Laia nodded and retreated, quietly closing the door.
Dan gave her a meaningful look.“Are you sure you can handle this case, honey? I mean, you’re a mother now, so maybe you shouldn’t mix with the sleazeballs of this world?”
She got up.“Don’t you worry about me, Dan. I can handle myself.”
“I know,” he said, and actually looked relieved. For a while he’d been worried she would quit her job, but now that she was back, he could see she was more determined than ever to be the best reporter she could be. And a good thing, too.
CHAPTER 17
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I have to say I was glad when Laia walked into the office. I was expecting that man Gallagher Davenport to return and try to snatch me and Dooley and put us to work as paw painters along with Harriet and Brutus. But instead it was Laia, giving us a shy smile, and then finally our human returned, the last defense against the cat snatchers of this world.
And so I relaxed again, and so did Dooley.
“Do you think Davenport will try to buy us again, Max?” asked Dooley.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Though he looks like the kind of guy who doesn’t give up without a fight.”
“Yeah, he had that determined look in his eyes,” said Dooley.
“Determined and evil,” I added.
“You think that man is evil?”
“Oh, absolutely. I mean, who calls a blorange big-boned cat like me an orange fatty?”
“And me a skinny fluffball,” Dooley added with a touch of defiance.
Good thing Odelia was there to protect us.
“Odelia will never sell us, will she?” asked Dooley, still looking slightly worried about the prospect of being sold, like a football player or other sports star.
“Odelia will never sell us,” I said, and I felt convinced that my words had the ring of absolute truth. “And neither will Gran or Marge.”
“Good,” said Dooley, and I could see the tension dissipating from his corpus and finally being able to relax again.
“So what brings you here?” asked Odelia, though I had a feeling she knew full well what brought the young lady to our doorstep once more.
“I talked to your uncle just now,” said Laia, who was sitting at the edge of her chair, not as much at ease as Dooley and myself. Maybe she was afraid someone was going to buy her, too, and put her to work as a YouTube painter.
“What did he say?” asked Odelia.
“His people have talked to all of our neighbors, and so far no one seems to have seen anything.” She had been sitting ramrod straight, but now her shoulders slumped a little. “So it looks as if my necklace is really gone, Mrs. Kingsley.”
“Odelia, please. And I’m sure my uncle is doing everything he can to return your necklace.”
“I should never have kept it at the loft,” said Laia, and I could tell she was suffering from the strain of her necklace going missing. “If I’d known…”
“You couldn’t possibly know that a burglar would target Jay,” said Odelia. She eyed the young woman keenly. “Did you know that Dylon and Jay were in school together?”
“Yeah, Jay told me when the police revealed the burglar’s identity.” She slumped some more. “There’s something I need to tell you, Mrs. Ki—Odelia. Remember I told the police how my parents gave me that necklace?”
“They didn’t?”
“No, actually I took it.” She looked appropriately embarrassed to have to make this confession. “The thing is, when they kicked me out, and said they wanted nothing more to do with me as long as I was intending to marry Jay, I was so upset I decided to take what I felt was mine, which was the necklace. You see, my mother always intended to give me that necklace on the day I got married, only now of course she said she would only give it to me if I married the right person, and obviously since Jay isn’t the right person, she was keeping the necklace.”
“And so you took it.”
Laia bit her lip.“It was a spur of the moment sort of thing. I had gone over there to pack up my belongings—the stuff I still kept at home. And that’s when I suddenly remembered the necklace. I knew they kept it in the safe, and I also knew the combination, and when I looked, it was right there. So I just took it, figuring it was mine to begin with. I don’t think they even know it’s gone.”