Odelia grinned and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. As she left the room and headed down the stairs she was already dialing 911.
She arrived at the park the same time Chase did. Firemen were extending a ladder from the fire truck to the top of the tree. In spite of the early hour, Hampton Covians were flocking to, snapping pictures with their smartphones. Which reminded her… She took out her own phone and snapped a few shots. “For the Gazette,” she told Chase. And Facebook.
All around, cats were staring up at the tree, enjoying the show.
A fireman climbed the ladder and disappeared into the foliage. Max and Brutus had sure picked a great tree to climb. From where she stood she couldn’t see the top, even though firefighters had hit the floodlights and bathed the park in an eerie light.
Chase gave her a nudge. “So your cat and my cat, huh? Sitting in a tree.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think they’re kissing, Chase.”
“You might be surprised,” he said with a shrug.
“They’re both males, remember?”
He frowned. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yah. Pretty sure.”
“I’ll take your word for it. How did you find out about this anyway?”
“Um… One of the neighbors heard them screeching and called me.”
He shook his head. “You’d think they’d have more sense.”
You’d think anyone would have more sense than to climb a tree to impress a girl. She got a sudden flash of Chase climbing a tree to impress her. He’d probably look like Alexander Skarsgård in that Tarzan movie.
He gave her an odd look. “Why are you staring at my shirt, Poole?”
She quickly looked away. The man was ripped. Even through his shirt she could see his bulging chest muscles. He was dressed in a white T-shirt, a black leather bomber jacket, and a pair of skinny jeans hugging narrow hips. “So… how’s the investigation going? Any word from the coroner?”
“Nope. But we’re expecting his report today.”
“Can I come?”
He grinned. “Sure. You can come whenever you want, Poole.”
She felt a blush creep up her cheeks and directed her eyes firmly at the tree. The fireman was descending the ladder, clutching two cats in his arms. They both looked pretty sheepish. Especially since the gaggle of cats was happy to comment. And they weren't yelling their support. The consensus was that Brutus and Max were a couple of show-offs and got exactly what they deserved. Yep. Cats were pretty much like people.
“They look okay,” said Chase.
“Yeah, it could have been worse. They could have eaten each other.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Cannibalism? Really?”
She shrugged. “Max gets pretty peckish after midnight.”
“I’d like to see him try. Brutus would slay him.”
She was sure he would. Which was why she was so surprised to see the two cats clutching at each other for support. It seemed that those few hours spent up there had brought them both to their senses.
“Look at that,” Chase said. “Two little buddies.”
The fireman finally reached the ground, and handed both cats to Odelia. She took them eagerly and pressed them in her arms. They clung to her for dear life. All around her there were oohs and aahs, and a loud applause for the fireman who’d risked life and limb to pluck two dumb cats out of a tree.
“They were up in the highest branch,” he said, taking off his helmet and scratching his scalp. “Hugging each other. It was the damnedest thing.”
“I told you,” said Chase. “They’re buddies.”
She tried to hand Brutus over to Chase. He refused to let go.
“Look at that, Poole. He likes you.”
She gave Chase a frown. “You’re not secretly a cat hater, are you?”
“Me? I love cats. Well, maybe not love them, but I don’t hate them.”
“Brutus is not Chase’s cat,” Max explained. “He belonged to Chase’s mother, but she had to go live someplace where they don’t like cats so he ended up with Chase. He never even hugs him, Odelia. He doesn’t care.”
“I’m all right,” said Brutus. “Chase feeds me meat.”
“Yeah, but you can’t live on meat alone,” said Max.
Chase laughed. “For a minute there I thought they were talking to you.”
Her frown deepened. “How many times a day do you cuddle your cat?”
He looked at her as if she’d sprouted wings. “Cuddle my cat? Um…”
Her lips tightened. She hated cat haters. “Adopting a cat is accepting a sacred responsibility, Chase. Cats need to be loved and lavished with TLC.”
He stared at her. “TLC. Okay. And what’s that got to do with me?”
“Brutus spends more time at my place than yours. Which tells me you’re not taking particularly good care of him.”
“Me? Not taking care of him? I love the little bugger.” He gingerly patted Brutus. “Besides, cats are solitary creatures. They don’t need TLC.”
She raised an eyebrow. Both cats were still clinging to her like crazy and weren’t letting go. “Do they look like solitary creatures to you?”
“Yeah, but that’s because they just went through this ordeal. I’m sure they’ll be fine once you put them down. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if they went scooting up the nearest tree the moment you do.”
She shook her head. “You have to start taking better care of your cat.”
“Look, he’s not even my cat, all right? He belongs to my mom. In fact I’ve never had a cat in my life. I had a goldfish once, but that didn’t end well.”
“Well, now that you have a cat, you better learn how to take care of him.”
He gave her a goofy look. “Maybe you can teach me?”
She blinked. “Teach you?”
“Sure. You’re crazy cat lady, right? Teach me what you know.”
She handed Brutus to him and he held him up so he was dangling. Cat and human stared at each other, sizing each other up. Neither looked happy. “Oh, for Christ’s sakes,” she muttered, and showed him how to hold a cat, with his left arm providing support for Brutus’s backside and his right hand holding him steady. “Now just caress him. Cats love to be stroked.”
With his big hand he patted the cat’s head, practically squishing him.
“Not like that. Gently.”
He stroked along Brutus’s head. The cat had one eye closed and looked like he was ready to escape. “Like this?”
“Yeah, that’s better.”
Brutus seemed surprised. He turned to her. “Gee, thanks, Odelia.”
She gave him a wink. “We’ll make a crazy cat man out of you yet, Detective.”
He grimaced. “Anything to keep this little sucker from waking me up at five in the morning.”
Her eyes went wide. “Five? I thought it was after seven.”
He scooted up Brutus’s butt and checked his watch. “Nope. Five thirty.”
She gave Dooley a hard stare. He shrugged sheepishly. “I was worried about Max.”
“Thanks, buddy,” said Max.
“It’s so funny,” said Chase, still stroking Brutus’s head. “It’s as if they’re talking.”
“Of course they’re talking. Cats are intelligent creatures. They talk.”
“I’ll be damned.” Brutus had closed his eyes, and was softly purring. Chase gave her a look of surprise. “Do you hear that? I think he likes me.”
She grinned. “Congratulations. That’s the sound of a happy cat.”
Yep. She’d turn this tough NYPD detective into a cat lover yet.
Chapter 17
After tossing and turning for half an hour, Odelia finally gave up trying to get back to sleep. She dragged herself out of bed for the second time that morning, and headed into the bathroom. The moment she caught sight of her face, she yelped. Gah! Was this what she’d looked like that morning in the park? She looked like a contestant on one of those survival shows. The ones where they have to eat bugs and wash themselves in a stream. She quickly did the shower and getting dressed thing and headed down for breakfast.