I suddenly heard a noise, and when I looked up I found myself staring straight into Kurtz’s eyes. He was standing right behind us! Odelia looked up, and gasped in shock. He then gave her a wan smile, and before she could stop him, was running to the exit!
“Not on my watch!” I shouted, and set off after the guy—or gal.
“Max! What’s happening!” shouted Brutus.
“It’s Kurtz!” I shouted. “He’s the kidnapper!”
To Brutus’s credit, he immediately got the message, and alerted the others, who were still inside Opal’s office. And then five cats were in hot pursuit, and one reporter, with Kurtz having a head start of mere minutes.
The odds were finally in our favor!
We ran full tilt, but Kurtz knew his way around the studio lot a lot better than we did, and disappeared into the studio next to Opal’s.
As we burst inside, I saw that they were filming some sort of sword-and-sandal action flick, with several men dressed in nothing but leather straps and sandals swinging their swords and trying to hit each other.
Behind us, Odelia rounded the corner, followed at a distance by Gran and… Opal!
“Hank!” I could hear Gran cry, and when I followed her gaze, I saw that one of the men in leather straps was, indeed, Hank!
“Oh, hey, Vesta,” said Hank, raising his sword in greeting.
“What the hell are you doing here?!”
“I got a part in Ben-Hur II! Isn’t it great!”
“You could have called me!”
“Well, I’ve been so busy auditioning…”
“Cut!” an irate voice yelled. “Cut cut cut! What are these people doing on my set!”
I would have stayed and chatted, but I had a killer to catch!
We raced through the studio, still in hot pursuit, and soon found ourselves on the next soundstage, where none other than Leonardo DiCaprio was standing on the bow of a humongous ship! Across the side of the ship, the words Titanic II had been painted, and in Leo’s arms he held a young woman. He yelled, “I’m the king of the world!” and the young babe, whom I thought I recognized as a famous Italian model, giggled excitedly.
“Hey, it’s Kate and Leo!” said Harriet, who’s a big fan.
“That’s not Kate,” said Brutus. “That’s a younger model.”
“I thought Leo died in Titanic?” Dooley commented.
“They cloned him!” Prunella said. “See! Cloning humans is allowed!”
“Cut! Cut!” a bearded man screamed. “Get those darn cats out of here! Get them out!”
He didn’t have to say twice, for we were already out of there, and so was Kurtz.
He’d snuck out the back of the studio building and was now heading for one of those funny golf carts. He hopped on, and was soon zooming away.
“We’ll never catch him!” said Dooley.
“Oh, yes, we will!” I said.
Behind us—far behind now—was Odelia, and even further behind was Gran. Of Opal there was no trace. I think she’d dropped out of the race altogether.
We raced after the funny-looking golf cart, with Kurtz looking over his shoulder to see if we weren’t gaining on him. When he saw we weren’t, he actually stuck out his tongue and yelled, “Catch me if you can, you filthy animals!”
And then, suddenly, a second golf cart came zooming in from the right and slammed straight into Kurtz, sending him flying!
He described a perfect arc through the air and crashed into a wall then crumpled to the ground in a heap.
When I looked up, I saw that the second golf cart was being driven by none other than Opal!
She got out of the golf cart, looking a little shook up herself, her arm still in a sling from the bullet Kurtz had fired at her the night before.
And as she stood over Kurtz, she growled, “Game over, you jerk.”
Chapter 34
“Listen to this,” said Opal.
They were back in her office. The police had taken Kurtz away, but before they did, Opal had grabbed his phone. It now lay on her desk. She tapped a button and a familiar voice sounded through her office.
‘Delete this message the moment you get it, all right? And aim at the heart. I can’t believe she escaped three times already. This time finish the job, or else I’ll finish you!’
It was Marilyn’s voice!
They all stared at Opal, who looked appropriately grim.
“Marilyn was behind this whole thing?” asked Odelia, shocked to the core.
“It sure appears that way. I already told the police, and they’re picking her up as we speak.” She shook her head. “Thirty years of friendship and now this. I don’t believe it.”
Odelia didn’t believe it either. Just as she found it very hard to believe Kurtz could have done what he did, but there was no denying it was true. He’d actually confessed.
“He used to be a woman, you know,” said Opal now. “His name isn’t Jack Kurtzman but Dina Bates. I recognized him the moment he said it. Dina used to work as my accountant. She was bright and smart and I liked her a lot. Loyal. Hard-working. But then I discovered some irregularities. Money missing from my accounts, weird payments, bills for services never supplied. I secretly ordered an audit and discovered Dina had been doctoring the books to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. She spent a couple of years inside and when she got out had a sex-change operation and became Kurtz.”
“And applied for a job and was hired,” said Odelia.
“Exactly.”
“She vowed revenge,” Gran said.
“Yeah, which from her perspective is understandable, as she figured I was the reason her career was cut short. I just never thought Marilyn would be involved as well.”
“It makes sense,” said Odelia. “Marilyn knew every last thing about you. She could have told Kurtz how and when you took your coffee, which car to sabotage, and all about your Botox allergy, which probably isn’t the kind of thing you share with your staff.”
“No, it isn’t, though it’s possible Kurtz already knew about that, from the days he still called himself Dina Bates. Office gossip is not to be underestimated.”
“Amazing story,” said Odelia.
“Are you sure Suzy isn’t involved as well?” asked Gran. “She could be the third person in this gang.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” said Opal. “So, Odelia. Tell me. How did you get onto Kurtz?”
Odelia would have told Opal that it had in fact been Dooley who’d solved the case, but she didn’t think that was wise, even with a cat lover like Opal. So instead she said, “Just a hunch. And then when I confronted him, he immediately made a run for it.”
“And that sealed the deal,” said Opal, nodding. She slapped the desk. “Well, that’s it. I’m going down to the police station to give my statement, and I suggest you come with me.”
“What about your show?” asked Gran. “You can’t not do your show, Opal. People are depending on you.”
Opal smiled. “I think maybe it’s time to let go. Let someone else do the show for once. And who knows? Maybe step away from this circus altogether. Get my bearings. I have to tell you that this whole experience has seriously made me question my priorities. Made me think about my life, and the things I still want to accomplish.”
“You’re not thinking about dropping the show, are you?!” asked Gran, horrified.
“And what if I am? I’m sure there are other things I can do. I’ve always dreamt of running my own studio, maybe scheduling original content in line with my personal beliefs. I don’t have to be a show host all my life, and work for these studio bosses.”
“You can be a studio boss yourself,” said Odelia.
“Exactly!”
And as they left the building and got into Opal’s limo, Odelia had a feeling they wouldn’t be back there again. Not any time soon.
The case was closed. Finally!
Opal’s driver took them down to the police station—Opal’s second limo had already taken the cats home, as there was nothing more for them to do. They could relax now.