“Oh, right. I remember. Well, since Roulston talked to his people we can skip him.”
“I… I have a hunch, Chase,” she admitted. “I think we need to talk to the guy.”
He gave her a funny look. “A hunch, huh? By all means then, call him in.”
“Thanks,” she said gratefully. There had been a time when Chase would have made fun of her hunches, but after having worked more than a few cases together, he knew how valuable they were. So she got on the horn with Roulston, and conveyed her request.
Luca Elrott was a man with a concave face, as if someone had once hit him with a football and his face had never bounced back. He had a flat nose, and eyes set too close together. The effect was a little disconcerting, like watching a cartoon character come alive.
“Hi, Luca,” said Chase, taking a seat at their makeshift interview table—a nice vanity table with the mirror removed. “Come on in. We just got a couple of questions for you.”
“I answered all of Roulston’s questions,” said Luca, sitting down across from them.
“Yeah, well, we like to be thorough,” said Chase. “A very serious incident took place here tonight, and we need to figure out who’s responsible.”
“Of course. I understand, Detective.”
He didn’t look particularly at ease, Odelia thought, and wondered how she was going to make this man confess. She could hardly go with ‘The cat saw you!’
Why would Luca want to murder his employer? He had to have a motive. Maybe a monetary one? Or could he be working for some mysterious cabal that wanted Charlie dead?
She listened as Chase asked all the usual questions, and the guy answered them all without a hitch. Suddenly she had it. She knew how she could make him talk.
She cleared her throat. “You were seen, Luca.”
“Huh?” he said, shifting his eyes from Chase to her.
“When you planted that knife? Someone saw you.”
“Who?”
She smiled. “An innocent man wouldn’t ask who. He would cry out his innocence.”
He shifted in his seat. “Yeah, I mean I didn’t do it, so whoever saw me is lying.”
“No, they’re not. Why did you do it, Luca? Why did you try to kill Charlie?”
“Are you crazy? I just told you I didn’t do it!”
“Look, we’ve established that you did, so now all I need to hear from you is why.”
“But—”
“We can cut you a deal, Luca. If you tell us who you’re working for. If not, you’ll go away for a very long time for the murder of Ray Cooper.”
The man’s eyes went wide. “But I didn’t kill Ray! We were best buds! He got me this job—you can ask anyone. I’ve known Ray since high school. We played ball together.”
“All the more reason to tell us who paid you to take that shot,” said Chase. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Luca. I’ve got the warrant for your arrest right here.” He patted a folded-up piece of paper on the vanity. It contained a blueprint of the house, but Luca didn’t need to know that. “All signed and ready to go. Judge wasn’t happy being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, but when we showed him the witness statement he was more than willing to sign. So we know you did it. Now all we need to know is who paid you.”
Luca looked torn for a moment, then shook his head. “Look, I didn’t kill Ray, all right? I’m not lying. He was my best friend. It’s just that…”
“It’s just what?” asked Chase, shooting Odelia a look of surprise.
Luca exploded. “Charlie is such a knucklehead! Some idiot shot Ray and all he can think about is his next party? Jump in the pool with his Bediebers? Come on! Show some respect, dude! A good man just took a bullet for you, and you’re sucking on your bong and hitting the pool? I just wanted to teach him a lesson, you know. Make him sit up and think.”
“So… you didn’t kill Ray?” asked Odelia.
“Of course not! We were like brothers!”
“But you did place the knife,” said Chase.
“Yeah, I did. I just wanted to scare the douchebag a little. He’s such a prick.”
Odelia believed him, and so apparently did Chase, for he gave the man a stern look and said, “I understand why you did it, Luca, but your behavior is still intolerable for a man hired to protect and serve. You can see that, right?”
“It’s tough to protect and serve a man like Charlie Dieber, Detective. A man who deserves no respect whatsoever.”
“I get that. But you knew that going in. The least you could do is act like a professional.”
Odelia thought he was going to add, ‘Dismissed,’ but instead he called in Roulston.
“So am I under arrest now?” asked Luca, gesturing at the ‘arrest warrant.’
“Nope. But I think it’s safe to say your services will no longer be required.”
“You know what? That’s actually a relief,” said Luca. He then gave Chase and Odelia a pleading look. “Please find Ray’s killer. He was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die.”
Chase clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. “We will find his killer, Luca. You have my word on that.”
They watched as Roulston escorted him out. The moment the two men were gone, Chase turned to her. “How did you know he was the one?”
She shrugged. “Like I said. Just a hunch.”
“Just a hunch, huh? You’ve got some great hunches, Poole.”
“Thanks for trusting me, Chase,” she said, and she meant it.
“You know what your uncle told me when I first came to town?”
“No, what?”
“If my niece tells you something, you better listen.”
“Is that why you gave me such a hard time?”
He grinned. “I’ll admit, I was an idiot.”
“Yes, you were.”
“He was right, though. You’re something else, Odelia Poole.”
She placed her hands around his neck, and they shared a quick kiss.
They still hadn’t found Ray Cooper’s killer—in fact they were nowhere near solving this case—but somehow she had a hunch they were finally getting somewhere.
Chapter 16
Dooley, Brutus and I were on our way home, and when I told them about my little chat with Odelia, and how she’d assured me once more that she wasn’t secretly planning to get rid of us, they were happy as clams.
“See? I told you,” said Brutus. “Diego is a liar. That’s all there is to it. No way would Odelia or her folks ever kick us out. They adore cats! They love us!”
“I’m so glad,” said Dooley. “I feel so relieved. In fact I think I’m going to cry.”
I patted his little head. “It’s okay, Dooley. Let it all out, buddy. Don’t hold back.”
“Now all we need to figure out is how to dislodge Diego from the house,” said Brutus.
“And from cat choir,” I added. “I don’t take being kicked out of cat choir lightly.”
“We need to get that cat out of town, out of our lives, out of existence!” Brutus said.
“But how?” asked Dooley, sniffling and licking his nose. “Clarice won’t help us.”
“Yeah, that’s a serious setback,” Brutus agreed. “A very serious setback indeed.”
And we were so busy contemplating ways and means of getting rid of Diego that we didn’t even notice that a white stretch limousine had approached us from behind and had come to a full stop right next to us. The door opened, a hand stole out, and quickly grabbed me by the neck and hauled me inside! Next were Brutus and Dooley, and we found ourselves staring at none other than… Charlie Dieber!
He was smiling at us, sucking from a vape. “Hello, lovely ladies. Have we met?”
For a moment there I thought he could talk feline, but when I said, “Yeah, we met. You told me you don’t do dudes, dude—only babes.”
He grinned like an idiot, then had a fit of the giggles. “It’s almost as if you’re actually talking to me!” he said between two snorts.
“What is this guy smoking?” asked Brutus.
“I don’t know but it’s not nicotine,” I said.