The Mysteries of Max Box Sets 3

by Nic Saint

  “Odelia thinks Dickerson’s killers may be holed up in there,” said Uncle Alec.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Chase muttered, and reached for his gun. Unfortunately he wasn’t wearing his gun belt. Or any of the other police paraphernalia, and neither was Uncle Alec. Both men were in civvies.

  “I’ll call for backup,” grunted Alec, and took out his phone.

  Soon the scene would be crawling with cops as well as cats.

  She just hoped Max was right—not that she doubted his astuteness.

  They approached the front of the building, and Odelia gestured to the window where the cat presence was still most pronounced. “They’re in there,” she said, drawing a curious look from Chase. She shrugged. “Just a wild guess.”

  “Don’t tell me. Another one of your mysterious sources, huh?” said Chase.

  He and Alec moved over to the ground-floor window and positioned themselves on either side of it, then took a quick peek inside. Odelia waited from a safe distance. She wasn’t a cop, and these were two professional killers, presumably working for a well-known mobster. She wasn’t about to get in their line of fire. And she’d just ambled up to the factory entrance, the door hanging off its hinges, when suddenly two men came bursting through.

  As a reflex action, she stuck out her leg, and the shortest one crashed to the ground. The tall one dawdled for a moment, then moved off at a respectable rate of speed. Chase had spotted him, though, and broke into a run to intercept the guy. Like a freight train gaining momentum, he barreled into the guy and tackled him to the ground. Ouch.

  Uncle Alec came walking up to the short guy, who was rubbing his head and directing a nasty look at Odelia, and yanked him up to his feet, then proceeded to place him under arrest. From a distance, Odelia could see that Chase was extending the same courtesy to his tall friend. Cop cars were driving up, sirens wailing and lights flashing, and within minutes both men were safely tucked away inside two squad cars, and outfitted with nice shiny handcuffs.

  “Now let’s take a look inside, shall we?” Uncle Alec suggested.

  A small team of cops entered the building, Alec, Chase and Odelia in the lead, and made their way to the room where Harlos and Knar had been holed up all this time.

  A small table covered with the remnants of several fast-food meals attested to their presence here, and so did the bed, the couch and the chairs. And as they carefully searched around, suddenly Odelia’s attention was drawn to a calendar attached to a clammy concrete support post.

  On the 16th an entry was written in a childish scrawl: ‘Shake down Craske—Yasir.’ And for the 17th the same person had written ‘Shake down Fido—Yasir.’ What interested her the most, though, was the entry for the 20th: ‘Take out Dickerson—Brettin.’ In small print a series of digits had been added. The combination to Dick Dickerson’s safe.

  Next to her, Chase had materialized, and was studying the calendar with similar interest. Then he let out a deep sigh. “And here I thought the schmuck was innocent.”

  Chapter 48

  Alec and Odelia were seated in Uncle Alec’s office. They were both silent. It’s not every day that a police chief returning home from his vacation manages to take down a mobster and unravel a plot to murder one of his town’s most prominent citizens in one fell swoop.

  Chase had picked up Olaf Brettin, and this time it wasn’t a social call. In fact it was probably safe to say Brettin wouldn’t be wearing his white Stetson for a long while. Jean Harlos and Markus Knar had confessed to the murder of Dick Dickerson and the occasional work they did for Yasir Bellinowski, who’d lawyered up but would also go away for a long time, no matter how good his lawyer was.

  “Sad story,” said Alec finally. “I like Olaf. Liked his wife, too.”

  “You knew Abbey Brettin?”

  “Sure. She was a sweet lady. Great kid, too.”

  “Lavinia.”

  He nodded. “Real shame. Dickerson did a terrible thing there. Monstrous.”

  “Do you think the jury will feel the same way?”

  “I’m sure they will. Extenuating circumstances and all that. Still, people just can’t go around killing other people. That way lies anarchy.”

  “But you can understand why he did it.”

  “Of course I can. Any human with a heart can. I just have to imagine this was you and maybe—just maybe—I’d have done the exact same thing.”

  “I still don’t understand how Harlos and Knar could be so dumb to write down their assignments.”

  Alec smiled. “You know what they told me? That they’d seen a documentary on Edward Snowden so they knew smartphones could be hacked and decided to play it smart and write everything down the old-fashioned way so nobody could catch them.”

  “They probably shouldn’t have written anything down.”

  “Those two boys are not the brightest bulbs.”

  “That’s the understatement of the year.”

  “What did Chase say?”

  “About what?”

  “About your sudden ‘hunch?’”

  She grimaced. “I probably didn’t handle that as well as I should have.”

  “No, you did not. You want to be more careful, honey. Unless you want to let him in on your little secret?”

  “I think it’s too soon for that. He might not understand.”

  “Sooner or later you’re going to have to tell him.”

  Yes, she did. Though later sounded a lot better than sooner.

  “I hear your grandmother and Tex made peace?”

  “They have. She still refuses to move out, though.”

  Alec suddenly looked grim. “We’ll see about that.”

  “You lied to us, Mr. Brettin,” Chase said.

  “Of course I lied. What did you expect?”

  The tabloid editor looked a lot less rosy than the last time they met, Odelia thought. She was looking through the one-way mirror into the interview room, her uncle next to her.

  “You can see why I did what I did, can’t you?” asked Brettin. “He killed my daughter!”

  “There are other avenues you could have pursued,” said Chase.

  “What? The man was smart. There was no way to prove he did what he did.”

  “Look, whatever he did, that still doesn’t excuse murder.”

  “Do you have children, Detective?”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I hope one day you’re blessed with a family the way I was blessed. Lavinia was my heart. My life. The moment she was gone it was as if the light went out of my world. The only thing I could think of was how to punish the man who’d taken her from me. Dick Dickerson was not human, Detective. He was a monster. And monsters don’t deserve to live.”

  Odelia turned away and left the small room. She’d heard enough. Now it was time to go home and be with her family again. She felt for Olaf Brettin, she really did, but Uncle Alec was right. If everyone started to take the law into their own hands, the world would not be a fun place for very long.

  “Mom. You can’t do this,” Marge was saying.

  “And you can’t force me to change my mind,” Vesta insisted stubbornly.

  Marge and Alec had called this emergency family meeting to try and talk some sense into their mother. Tex was still at the office, Odelia was home, and now it was just the Lips, gathered in Marge’s kitchen, having this thing out once and for all.

  Vesta wasn’t budging, though. She’d folded her arms across her bony chest, and had jutted out her chin, a clear sign she’d made up her mind and that was all there was to it.

  “Can’t you see Odelia has a real shot at happiness here?”

  “She has a better shot with me there to guide her along.”

  “Chase won’t even come near the house since you moved in!”

  “Which just goes to show: sometimes you think you know a man until you discover that you don’t. I mean, what kind of man is afraid of a little old lady?”

  “I don’t think he’s afraid of yo
u, Mom,” said Alec now. “He just doesn’t want to inconvenience Odelia. He’s a real gentleman that way.”

  “I think he’s scared of me—which should tell you something about the guy.”

  Alec laughed. “Oh, for crying out loud, Mom. Don’t you want Odelia to be happy?”

  “She’s very happy with me. We’re like peas in a pod. BFFs for life. A girl needs her grandmother, there’s no two ways about it. She knows I’ll be there for her always.”

  “A woman also needs her man, and you’re standing in the way of that,” Marge insisted.

  But Vesta simply rearranged her features into her most mulish expression and gave her the kind of stare Marge remembered from when she was a little girl. Frankly she wouldn’t blame Chase if he were afraid of Vesta. Most men were. Heck, most humans were. She was a little scary. She also could be very sweet, but right now there was no sign of that.

  “Is this about Tex?” she asked. “Are you still upset he cancelled your credit cards?”

  Vesta shrugged. “Water under the bridge as far as I’m concerned. He begged me to come back so I did. We’re good, Tex and I. In fact we’ve never been better.”

  Marge directed a quick look at her brother, who nodded, then dug into her purse and brought out an envelope and slid it across the kitchen table at her mother.

  “What’s that?” Vesta inquired frostily.

  “Just open it and you’ll see.”

  Vesta narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but couldn’t contain her curiosity. She picked up the envelope and tore it open. A credit card dropped out and fell onto the table. Vesta stared at it, then slowly picked it up. It was a red-and-gray AARP Chase Bank credit card.

  “I’m not with the AARP,” said Vesta, taking a firmer grip on the card.

  “Doesn’t matter. There’s plenty of advantages for everyone,” said Alec.

  “I read that the Sapphire Preferred Card offers travel rewards.”

  “When do you ever travel, Mom?” said Alec.

  “There’s a hundred dollar cash back,” said Marge.

  Vesta’s grip around the card was tightening, her cheeks now flushed and her eyes glittering like Gollum when he took possession of the one ring. “What’s the catch?” she finally asked.

  “Move back here,” said Marge. “Give your granddaughter some space.”

  Tex wouldn’t be happy, but that couldn’t be helped. At least Odelia had a shot at landing herself an actual date with Chase again if the cop wouldn’t find his date’s grandmother breathing down his neck when they got home from the movies.

  “Fine,” said Vesta finally. “I’ll take your blood money.”

  The credit card had disappeared into the folds of the flowery dress she was wearing.

  “That’s great,” said Marge, much relieved. “You won’t regret this, Mom. We’re also getting you that new mattress you asked about—the one with the memory foam, we’re installing a faster modem and a new computer so you can surf to all of your favorite websites a lot faster. And Tex has promised to look into that cruise you wanted to go on.”

  A smile had appeared on Vesta’s lips, and for the first time in a long time she looked satisfied. Then the smile disappeared, as if wiped away with a squeegee. “You could have saved yourselves a lot of trouble if you’d just listened to me in the first place.” She got up and grumbled, “The lengths an old woman has to go to to get anything done in this place.”

  “So when are you moving back?” asked Alec.

  “Let me sleep on it a couple nights. I’ll let you know.”

  And with these words she was off at a surprisingly quick pace.

  Marge leaned back. “I swear to God, Alec, if she doesn’t move back here this week you have my permission to bodily drag her over and handcuff her to the bed.”

  Alec grinned. “I’ll bet by now she watched plenty of YouTube videos on how to get out of those handcuffs. That mother of ours is one tough old goat, hon.”

  “And don’t I know it,” Marge sighed.

  Chapter 49

  It had been an eventful day, so I was glad to be home again. Gran was out, and so were Odelia and the rest of the family, but when we arrived at the house Milo was ensconced on the couch as if he owned the place—which by now he probably thought he did—so I decided it was time for a heart-to-heart with our annoying visitor.

  “Where have you been?” he asked when I trotted in through the pet door.

  “Your former home,” I said, and watched his response.

  A slight smile slid up his face. “Slumming, have you?”

  “Why did you send Brutus to the pound?” I asked.

  “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “You wanted to show him what it was really like, didn’t you?”

  He didn’t respond.

  “How did you end up there?”

  He shrugged. “I merely was part of the entertainment. The all-star band to entertain the inmates. Like Elvis Presley with his Jailhouse Rock.”

  “Oh, don’t give me that crap, Milo,” I said. “You may fool others but you don’t fool me.”

  He gave me a quick sideways look. “No, I guess I can’t.” He paused, seeming to think things through, then finally relented. “Fine. I was part of a litter of five. All of us were relegated to the pound, along with our mother. Punishment for her human’s stupidity, I guess. What human doesn’t understand that cats have a tendency to get pregnant? At any rate, I spent a good chunk of time down there, watching my brothers and sisters be doled out to deserving new owners, as well as my own mother. Finally my time came and I ended up with Aloisia and I was glad for it.”

  “She treats you well?”

  “I can’t complain. Only problem is that she doesn’t allow me to go outside.”

  “That’s not very nice.”

  “It’s her way of protecting me. In fact this vacation at Odelia’s is the first time I’ve been allowed out for years. And it’s been a lot of fun.”

  “Why do you keep spreading lies and setting cats up against each other?”

  His mouth closed with a click of his incisors. “I’m not sure I like your tone, Max.”

  “I know you don’t, but I still want you to answer me.”

  He glared at me for a moment. “You’re way too smart for your own good.”

  “Is it because you developed lying as a coping mechanism at the pound?”

  “And now you lost me, Mr. Amateur Shrink.”

  “I think it is. I think you learned to survive by creating trouble amongst the others—anything so they wouldn’t notice what you were up to. Did you steal their food when they weren’t looking? Drink their milk when they were fighting amongst themselves?”

  Milo laughed. “You think they serve milk in there? You are so naive, Max.”

  I studied him for a moment. “What if I convinced Odelia to talk to Aloisia? Tell her to give you more freedom? Install a pet door, just like the one we have? That way you wouldn’t be confined to the house. You could even come and visit. Go to cat choir. Be free.”

  He was regarding me suspiciously, as if trying to detect either a flaw in my reasoning or duplicity in my offer. He must have realized I wasn’t kidding, for he finally said, “Why would you do this for me, Max? I haven’t exactly been very nice to you or the others.”

  “I don’t think you’re a bad cat, Milo. In fact I think deep down you’re a decent one.”

  “You don’t know me very well, do you?”

  I shrugged. “I guess I don’t. But I’m willing to take a chance on you. Are you willing to take a chance on me?”

  For the first time since I’d made Milo’s acquaintance he was speechless. Finally, he said, with a lump in his throat. “I know I’ll probably regret this but… I am, Max.”

  “Great. That’s settled then.” I held up my paw. “Put it there, ‘bro.’”

  After a moment’s hesitation, he did put it there, and we shook paws on it.

  Just then, the others walked in. “Hey, did
you hear about Kit Katt & Koh, Milo?” asked Dooley.

  “No, what happened?” asked Milo.

  “Only that Kit Katt likes to kick cats for a living.”

  “She doesn’t kick cats for a living, Dooley,” Brutus. “She was clearly drunk.”

  “Drink brings out the inner you, Brutus,” said Harriet. “So she’s a cat hater.”

  “That’s not necessarily true,” said Brutus. “And I don’t think she hates cats.”

  And as the others chattered on, I saw that Milo was quietly smiling to himself. We locked eyes for a moment, and he gave me a nod of understanding. ‘Thanks, Max,’ he mouthed silently, and I mouthed back, ‘You’re welcome.’

  Epilogue

  Tex was watching on as Chase expertly turned the burger patties on the grill. I think everybody was happy Tex wasn’t in charge of the proceedings. Dr. Tex may know his way around a human gallbladder, but he can’t grill a burger if his life depended on it. Somehow they always end up looking like charred coal, which apparently humans don’t enjoy.

  I know I don’t like to eat my food charred into oblivion, but then I’m a cat, and I like my food raw and bloody. Others, like our good friend Clarice, a feral cat, like to eat their food while it’s still breathing, but then Clarice has always been something of an extremist.

  After the great upheaval, life in Hampton Cove had gradually returned to normal. Dickerson’s killers were in jail, Netflix had put Kit Katt & Koh on hiatus while its star went into rehab, and an anonymous benefactor had launched a campaign to offer all of the pets at the local pound new homes. Rumor had it that benefactor was Brenda Berish.

  I told you. Once people fall in love with cats they become fans for life.

  A row of cats was now lined up on Marge and Tex’s patio: me, Dooley, Harriet, Brutus and… Milo. Over the last couple of days the erstwhile terror had settled down and was starting to become almost like a regular feline. He still had a ways to go, though, considering that just that morning he’d convinced Dooley that if you pull a cat’s tail really hard a nugget of gold drops out of its mouth. Ever since then Dooley has been telling Odelia to pull his tail so she can become a millionairess.