by Nic Saint
“What about… your ex-boyfriend? Donovan Rubb?”
A cloud passed over the woman’s face. “Donny is a mistake from my past, Chief, as I’m sure my mother told you. I haven’t seen him in a long time, and I hope to keep it that way. That said, I don’t think he’s capable of murder.”
“Did you know he was your father’s supplier of GHB?” asked Odelia.
“And that he supplied the fatal vial? The one that killed your father?”
“I didn’t know that,” she admitted. “But Donny would never kill anyone. He might be a weak man, and a criminal,” she quickly added when her mother gave her a stern look, “but he’s not a murderer. No way.”
“You never bumped into him when you went to visit your father?” asked the Chief.
“Never.” She stared down at her mother. “Do you think Daddy knew about Donny and only invited me over when he wasn’t there?”
“That would have been so typical of him,” said Bryony.
“Always trying to protect the ones he loved,” said Veronica, and bit her lip as her eyes grew moist. “He really was the most wonderful father.”
If Johnny cared so much about his daughter’s well-being, why didn’t he get a different drug dealer? Odelia thought. Maybe he only found out about Donovan Rubb after his daughter and ex-wife moved into town, and that’s why he tried to change dealers? It definitely was something to look into. Somehow she had a feeling that Rubb made for a much better suspect than Jasper. Though how the latter’s fingerprints had ended up on the vial was still a mystery.
“They fired that horrible Detective Kingsley this morning, darling,” said Bryony now. “Isn’t that the most wonderful news?”
The Chief shuffled his feet uncomfortably, and Odelia felt a rush of blood to her face. Even though she’d told herself not to bring up the business of the young woman’s lies, it was hard not to do so after this.
“That’s great, Mother,” said the young woman distractedly.
“I told the Chief how Detective Kingsley tried to kiss you,” Bryony went on. “And how you had no choice but to press charges against him.”
“Speaking of Detective Kingsley,” said Odelia, ignoring her uncle’s warning look. “What is your comment on the persistent rumors, Miss George?”
“What rumors?”
“The rumors that you and Donovan Rubb made some kind of deal with the NYPD. In exchange for the department dropping all charges against Mr. Rubb, you were asked to testify against Detective Kingsley.”
A flush had crept up the young woman’s face. “Who says so?”
“Well, word on the street is that Detective Kingsley saw something he wasn’t supposed to see and to make him go away trumped-up charges were fabricated and his reputation destroyed. Would you like to comment?”
“Oh, God,” groaned the Chief.
“Would I like to comment?” asked Veronica. “What kind of a police officer are you?”
“She’s not a police officer, darling,” said her mother. “She’s a consultant and Chief Alec’s niece.”
“A consultant? You sound like a reporter,” snapped Veronica.
“That’s because I am a reporter,” said Odelia.
The young woman’s eyes narrowed. “I see. And you’re present at a police interview, why, exactly?”
“That’s none of your business,” said Odelia, now also heating up.
“Well, my business with Detective Kingsley is none of yours, Miss Poole.” She frowned. “Poole… Odelia Poole? The reporter for the Hampton Cove Gazette?”
“One and the same,” Odelia said brightly.
The woman’s teeth came together with a click. “I’m not saying another word. This is an outrage!”
“Just the way they do things in these small towns, darling,” said her mother, darting nervous glances at the Chief, whom she obviously held in high regard.
“Well, I’ll have to have a word with the mayor about this,” said Veronica.
“Just like you had a word with the Commissioner about ‘Donny’s’ arrest?” asked Odelia.
Veronica lifted her chin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Someone told Commissioner Necker that Donovan Rubb had been arrested. He talked to Mayor Turner and the mayor leaned on my uncle to have Rubb released from prison and Detective Kingsley fired.”
“I don’t know where you get your information, Miss Poole—though I have my suspicions,” she added with a pointed look at Uncle Alec, “but I can assure you I had nothing to do with that. I imagine that if anyone told the Commissioner about Donny’s arrest it was Donny himself or his lawyer. Like I said, I haven’t been in touch with him since we broke up, and I filed a restraining order against him for good measure.”
“You do like your restraining orders, don’t you, Miss George?”
“That’s it,” she snapped, getting up. “I want you out of here right now!”
“Veronica, darling,” said her mother. “They’re the police.”
“He is, but she most certainly isn’t. You can stay,” she told the Chief. Then she turned to Odelia. “But I’m not saying another word as long as you are here.”
Damn, Odelia thought. Now she’d gone and done it. She just had to go and flap her gums about Chase, hadn’t she? Instead of playing it cool, she had to antagonize this woman and put all her cards on the table. But then she couldn’t stand injustice, and the lies this woman had told about Chase simply rubbed her the wrong way. If she’d lied about Chase, what else was she lying about? Her relationship with Rubb? Was she still secretly in touch with him?
“I think you better wait outside, Odelia, honey,” said the Chief now.
“Yes, please get out of my house, Miss Poole,” Veronica said, hands on her hips now, eyes blazing.
And as Odelia left the room, she heard Bryony say, “It is highly unorthodox to have a reporter present at a police interview, isn’t it, Chief?”
Yes, it was highly unorthodox, and if it was true that Veronica was still secretly seeing Rubb, she just might talk to the Commissioner again, who might talk to Mayor Turner, who might talk to Dan and force him to fire her, just like they’d leaned on her uncle to fire Chase.
Darn it. She’d just landed herself in a big ol’ heap of trouble, hadn’t she?
Chapter 20
Seated in her uncle’s squad car, she was waiting nervously until he came out. After what seemed like forever, he finally appeared on the doorstep and, after shaking hands with Bryony, ambled over and heaved his bulk into the driver’s seat.
“Well?” she asked
“Well, that was some show, honey.”
She groaned. “I know. I got carried away. But when I think of all the lies Veronica told I couldn’t just sit there and say nothing. God knows she’s put Chase through hell, and I’m sure she’s not telling the truth about Rubb. I’m pretty sure she’s still seeing that guy.”
He turned to her with a serious expression on his face. “Odelia, honey, she’s going to talk to the mayor, who apparently is a friend of the family.”
She felt her blood run cold. “So? I’m not a cop. He can’t do anything.”
“Knowing Mayor Turner, and how much he likes his celebrities, he’ll want to have a word with Dan. And me,” he said, turning his gaze to the windshield. “About allowing you to tag along on official police business.”
“You mean you might get into trouble because of me? I’m so sorry, uncle.”
“That’s all right. Mayor Turner isn’t my first mayor. I’ve had worse. But he might raise Cain with that editor of yours. Though knowing Dan he’ll probably flip the mayor the bird and tell him to take a hike.”
She smiled. “He probably will.” Still, she felt bad about having caused both her uncle and Dan so much trouble.
“Anyhoo,” said her uncle, firing up the engine, “looks like I can put this case to rest now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ve got my suspect, and I’ve interv
iewed pretty much everyone connected to this case. So now it’s up to the prosecutor to get a conviction.”
Alarmed, she turned to him. “You’re not going to charge Jasper?”
“Of course I’m charging Jasper. He’s got motive, means and opportunity. The perfect trifecta. Of all the suspects, we’re most likely to convict him.”
“But he didn’t do it. Even Bryony said he would never harm Johnny.”
“He was a boy toy past his prime, honey. He saw other, younger guys moving in and he knew it was only a matter of time before he was out.”
“But Johnny was going to marry him!”
“He didn’t know that. If he had, things might have gone differently.”
She shook her head. “I’m sure he didn’t do it.”
“You keep forgetting his fingerprints were on that vial, Odelia. This is an open-and-shut case from where I’m sitting, and I’m sure the District Attorney’s Office will agree with me on that. Easiest conviction ever.”
“This isn’t over yet,” she grumbled, putting her feet up on the dash.
He grimaced. “Are you sure you aren’t part bloodhound, honey?”
She very well might be. Her uncle dropped her off at the newspaper, and she went in to find Dan and tell him to expect a call from the mayor.
“Let him call,” said Dan. “I’ll tell him to go to hell.”
“He’ll probably ask you to fire me, Dan.”
“So? I’m not going to fire my best reporter.”
She grinned, greatly relieved. “I’m also your only reporter.”
“Well, all the more reason not to fire you.”
“But what if the mayor threatens to go after your advertisers?”
“Look, the Hampton Cove Gazette has been around for over forty years, and will still be here when Mayor Turner is long gone. Politicians have tried to mess with me and my paper before, and failed. My advertisers don’t care about politics. They care about having a paper that’s widely circulated and popular with its readers, and they know that in order to do that you need ace reporters such as yourself. You just keep doing what you do best, and I’ll tell Mayor Turner that he can stick his threats where the sun don’t shine.”
She smiled at the elderly man. “You’re the best, Dan, did you know that?”
“I do, but I don’t mind hearing it again from time to time.”
“Well, you are.”
He spread his arms. “Don’t we make a great team? The best editor and the best reporter, annoying the heck out of the celebrities and politicians in this town. Now you go out there and do your thing. You have my blessing.”
Chapter 21
I’d decided to take an extended nap, and so had Dooley. After spending all of the previous day out and about, and half the night as well, I was feeling the strain. So today we decided to take a break. If Brutus wanted to traipse around town all day, that was his business, but we were going to sleep.
Odelia had left early that morning, promising she was fine without us for a day. She was going to interview some more people, and if she needed help she’d let us know. So when suddenly a grating voice sounded right next to me, I figured it was Odelia. “All right, all right,” I muttered. “One minute.”
As usual I took up one half of the couch in Odelia’s living room and Dooley the other half. I’d been dreaming of little tweety birds sitting in a tree, and Princess and I had just chased them to the top branch. We were both perched on that branch like Kate and Leo in Titanic, and I was yelling “I’m the king of the world!” when someone said, “I need your help, Maxie, baby.”
Only one cat called me Maxie baby, and suddenly my dream turned into a nightmare. A thump on my shoulder told me this wasn’t a dream at all, but brutal reality. And when I opened my eyes and found myself staring into the face of Brutus, I groaned. “Oh, go away,” and closed my eyes again.
“I need your help. Chase is leaving town and so am I if I don’t stop him.”
A jolt of elation shot through me. Had I heard this right? Was Brutus leaving town. “You’re leaving?” I asked, sitting bolt upright now.
“Yeah,” he said, looking none too pleased.
I saw that Harriet was seated next to him, and it was obvious she’d been crying. Dooley, now coming out of his slumber, muttered, “Who’s leaving?”
“Brutus,” I told him.
“Hey, that’s great,” he said blithely. “So when is he going?”
“This isn’t funny, Dooley,” said Harriet between two sniffs. “Chase resigned. The chief didn’t want to fire him but he resigned himself.”
“Yeah, we were there when it happened. Right outside the window.”
“What happened?” I asked, genuinely interested now.
“It was that horrible drug dealer Chase caught yesterday,” Brutus said.
“Odelia caught that drug dealer, not Chase,” I corrected him.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. The creep filed charges for police harassment, and his lawyer must have talked to the Commissioner, Chase’s former boss, and he talked to the mayor of this crappy little town and forced the Chief’s hand.”
“Only Chief Alec refused to fire Chase so Chase decided to quit,” Harriet said. “Such an honorable man. And now he’s being pressured to leave.”
I scratched my head. “That’s… surprising.” I wondered what Odelia would have to say about this. She and Chase hadn’t exactly hit it off, though I had the impression she was warming to the guy. And now he was leaving. So was this a good thing or a bad thing? Hard to know for sure. My first instinct was to applaud this outcome, since it meant we’d never see Brutus again.
“It gets worse,” now a voice spoke from the door. I’d been so focused on Brutus’s story I hadn’t heard Odelia walk in, but when she took a seat on the couch, between Dooley and me, I could see she wasn’t in the best of moods.
“Worse?” cried Harriet. “Oh, no!”
“I just interviewed Veronica George and her mother, Bryony Pistol, Johnny’s wife, and I’m convinced that Veronica is behind this whole thing. I think she’s the one who called the Commissioner and got Chase to quit.”
In a few brief words, she gave us the gist of her interview.
“So you think Veronica and that dealer are still an item?” I asked.
“I’m sure they are. And the more I think about it, the more I’m starting to suspect they might be involved in Johnny’s murder.”
“But why would Veronica kill her own father?” asked Brutus.
“Money,” she said simply. “Johnny was divorcing Bryony so he could marry Jasper, which meant Veronica would lose a big chunk of her inheritance, since the bulk of the estate would go to Jasper in case something happened to Johnny. If she killed him before the divorce was final, Bryony inherited everything, and by extension Veronica. So that’s motive for you.”
Brutus thought about this for a moment. “You might be right.”
“Veronica and Donovan Rubb could easily have set this up together,” Odelia continued. “To get his hands on spider venom was a piece of cake for the drug dealer, as he must have all kinds of shady contacts.”
“But what about Jasper’s fingerprints?” asked Harriet.
She shook her head. “Somehow they must have planted those prints on that vial. I don’t know how, but that’s the only explanation.” She turned to me. “What I want you guys to do is spy on Veronica and Rubb. I want to catch those two together. If I can prove they never broke up, in spite of what Veronica says, maybe I can pressure them into confessing to the murder.”
“All right,” I agreed immediately. I’d had my nap, so I was good to go.
“Sure thing, toots,” said Brutus, and I winced.
Odelia smiled down at the black cat. “So are you guys all working together now? That’s a first.”
“I don’t want to leave this town,” Brutus admitted. “I like it here. I’ve found some great friends…” He gave me a poke in the gut. “And even my sweetheart…” He winked at
Harriet. “And Chase likes it here, too.”
Odelia nodded. “It’s not fair for him to lose his job over these false charges. We have to set the record straight and clear his name once and for all.”
“I caught him packing just now,” Brutus said. “And I overheard him talking to a friend on the phone about a job in private security, which is just a shame. He loves being a cop. It’s all he ever wanted to be. And now this…”
Odelia was right. It wasn’t fair. Even though I wasn’t a fan of Brutus, we had to make this right, even if it meant having the brute around for a while longer. Or maybe even indefinitely. So I decided to make the big sacrifice.
“We’ll help you save your human’s career,” I told Brutus.
“Thanks, Maxie, baby,” said Brutus, and I could see that he meant it.
Chapter 22
For the occasion, Odelia decided to outfit us all with tracking devices. She’d gotten those online a while back, after watching a documentary about a research team following a bunch of cats around for a couple of nights, to see what they were up to. Track their nocturnal wanderings around the small town where they lived. So Odelia had bought us trackers so she’d know where we were at all times. Combined with a panic button, we could send her a signal, and she could come and find us wherever we were holed up.
It was a neat system, and we’d tested it out around the house but had never used it on a mission before. She quickly outfitted the four of us with trackers and panic buttons, both attached to our collars, and then we were all set. I had to hand it to Odelia: when she got mad, she got even. It would be a lesson for Veronica George: never mess with a small-town reporter.
Odelia dropped us off at the house where Veronica lived with her mother, and parked her car around the corner. If she was right, and the woman was still involved with that lowlife drug dealer, it wouldn’t be hard for us to catch the two of them together. Then all we had to do was press our buttons.
When the four of us trudged up the driveway, we were almost flattened by a Mercedes GLS driving off and spraying us with gravel. I caught a glimpse of the driver and thought it just might be Veronica, which meant we’d already lost her. Luckily Harriet had jumped to the other side of the car and said, “It was Bryony Pistol. I recognized her from the pictures.”