by Nic Saint
Odelia joined them on the bed, where all attention seemed to be centered on her tablet.
“So what did you find?” she asked with an indulgent smile.
“Actually it’s Harriet who found it,” said Max. “She’s a genius.”
This surprised Odelia. Usually Max was the sharpest of her small menagerie of cats, with Harriet too self-involved to make big contributions and Brutus too much trying to please Harriet to pay attention to much else. As far as Dooley was concerned, he was a sweetheart, but not the smartest cat.
“Look,” said Harriet, flipping through the pictures on her tablet. “See these Coke cans?”
She saw the Coke cans. “Uh-huh.”
“Now look closer.” Harriet zoomed in on one of the cans. It looked like a regular can of Coke to her, only with the name Emerald added. “See?” said Harriet triumphantly.
“You have to show her the other pictures first,” said Gran.
“What have you been up to, by the way?” Odelia asked her grandmother.
“I had a massage!” said Gran, chipper. “And a facial. Abbey suggested it to me. Apparently Emerald has her own private beauty salon, and since these people have nothing to do right now, because of all of the hullaballoo, I figured this was my chance. I’m going back there in ten for a mani-pedi.”
Odelia cocked an eyebrow at her gran. “Good for you.”
“Right?” She beamed genially at Odelia.
“Look, Odelia, look,” said Harriet, trying to draw her attention.
“I’m looking, honey,” she said. It was a picture of yet another can of Coke. “So what am I looking at, exactly?”
“This is the Coke Kimberlee drank from. The one with the poison?”
“Okay.”
“Now look closer.” Harriet zoomed in again, this time on the logo and more specifically the name Emerald.
“See?” she said triumphantly. “My clue!”
“Um... actually…”
“The picture!”
She frowned and then finally saw it. This can had a tiny picture of Emerald interposed on top of the E of Emerald.
“Don’t the other cans have this?” she asked.
“No, they don’t. So you see, this can is different from the others.”
“I still don’t see…”
“Remember how Brutus and I went exploring in Emerald’s apartment? And how we saw a huge stack of Coke cans? Her own private stash? Well, they all had these tiny pictures of Emerald on them, while the stack of cans in the dining room don’t.”
“So... the can Kimberlee drank from came from Emerald’s private stash,” she said slowly.
“It did! Don’t you think that’s an important clue?”
“This could literally mean anything,” she said, not wanting to disappoint Harriet but not wanting her to get carried away either. “This could simply mean that Kimberlee was in Emerald’s apartment and took one of the cans.”
“But don’t you see—this is Emerald’s private stash. Obviously she wants to keep these to herself.”
“What I think happened,” said Gran, “is that Emerald paid a visit to Kimberlee, coming in through the door, gifting her this special can, watched Kimberlee drink the cyanide-laced Coke and then got out through the secret passageway. Why else would Kimberlee have a can of Emerald’s private stash in her room?”
Odelia shrugged. “Like I said, she could have been in Emerald’s room, or Emerald could have given it to her as a special gift. She appointed Kimberlee her successor—said she wanted to see her succeed and be the heir to her throne.”
“Who else would know about these secret passageways but Emerald?” said Max.
“Just about anyone. Just because Emerald didn’t tell us about those passageways doesn’t mean she didn’t tell the others.”
“Kimberlee’s doggie Stevie said Kimberlee and her mystery visitor—probably a woman—discussed a director role for Kimberlee for her next project,” said Gran. “Emerald has been quoted as saying she’s thinking about retiring from acting and turning to directing. She has also been quoted as saying she’s looking for suitable actors.” She held up her phone. “It’s on the Internet!”
Odelia took Gran’s phone. She’d found an article where Emerald did indeed talk about retiring from acting and becoming a director.
“Look, taken by themselves, the Coke clue isn’t conclusive, nor is the passageways thing, or the directing thing,” said Gran. “But together? I think you need to take a long, hard look at Emerald. I think she’s our killer.”
Odelia nodded slowly. Gran was right, and so were the cats. Taken together, Emerald was starting to look more and more like the person they’d been looking for.
“Those voices we heard last night?” said Max. “That must have been Emerald and Pete. And if Shauna came to deliver the note, and slip it under the door, Emerald could have seen her, and known the jig was up.”
“This is all very circumstantial,” said Odelia, gesturing to the tablet and the phone. “So how do we prove it?”
Gran smiled. “That’s up to you, honey. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You are, after all, a great detective, if I say so myself.” She picked up her phone. “And now if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment with a mani-pedi person.” As she got up, she added, “First rule of show business: if you want to get the part, you have to look the part.” And with these words, she was off.
“I think Gran would make a great diva,” said Dooley.
“Yeah, she definitely has the personality for it,” Max agreed.
Odelia found herself staring at the Coke can, and more specifically Emerald’s face. “So how do I prove that you’re the one?” she muttered.
Chapter 37
I wasn’t entirely happy with the role I’d been given in this, Odelia’s idea for finally figuring out if Emerald was the person who’d killed her colleague. And I could tell that Dooley wasn’t too thrilled with her idea either.
Harriet, on the other hand, was super-excited. Not only had she discovered the telling clue—the one clue that ruled them all, so to speak—but she’d been cast for a vital role in the next part of the drama. Brutus, of course, felt that his part was the most important one, and didn’t stop reminding us of this.
“Look at it this way, guys,” he said, spreading himself on the foot of the bed as if he owned it. “There are fighters in this world, and then there are pussies. You guys,” he said, indicating me and Dooley, “are pussies, and so are you, darling,” he added with a smile to Harriet. “But in a good way.”
“Thanks, sugar plum,” she cooed.
“Let me guess,” I said. “And you’re a fighter, right?”
“You got it, Maxie, baby. I’ve got the strength, I’ve got the speed, and I’ve got the stamina to see this thing through. You guys, on the other hand, do not.” He poked my belly. “Will you look at that? Pure flab. And you,” he said, touching Dooley’s non-existent belly, “skin and bones. Now feel my belly. Go on, give it a poke.”
I gave him a very enthusiastic poke that made him wince.
“Feel that?” he said. “Pure muscle. Human males may boast about their six-pack abs, but I’ve got them all beat. I’ve got twelve-pack abs!”
“Twelve-pack abs?” This was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.
“Sure! With a cat like me you get two for the price of one. Twice the killer instinct, twice the fatal attraction, and of course… twice the six-pack.”
“Two six-packs. Really.”
“Hey—Maxie can count! Congratulations, buddy!”
Brutus was obviously his usual obnoxious self again. I should have been thrilled but I wasn’t. I preferred Brutus when he was down and out for the count. At least he wasn’t as insufferable as he was now.
“So to tell you the truth I don’t know what you guys are doing here. I told Odelia I can handle this and I can!”
We were in Odelia and Chase’s room, where Odelia was currently holed up in bed, pretending to be f
ast asleep. I wasn’t entirely sanguine about the whole setup, and Brutus babbling on and on didn’t make me feel any better about it.
“Can you guys please be quiet?” finally asked Odelia. “You’re going to scare her off.”
“Action hero,” Brutus whispered, pointing to himself. “Pussy,” he added, giving me a final prod. “No offense, buddy.”
“None taken,” I muttered.
Time crept by ever so slowly, and I had the feeling we’d been there for hours and hours already.
“I have to tinkle,” said Harriet suddenly. “Can I go tinkle?”
“Of course you can go tinkle,” said Odelia. “But make it quick.”
Harriet hopped off the bed.
“I have to go, too,” said Dooley. “Can I go, too?”
“Oh, Dooley,” said Odelia with a sigh.
The unfortunate thing was that Gran, due to space constraints, had only brought along a single litter box. And since she hadn’t really paid a lot of attention she’d simply grabbed the first one she saw, which, of course, was Harriet’s. And since Harriet is always very prissy about her litter box, now each time we wanted to go we had to ask her permission.
“Harriet, can I go tinkle?!” Dooley yelled.
“Yes, but only if you tinkle inside the box,” Harriet yelled back. “No tinkling on the carpet. And don’t you dare tinkle on the side of the box! No spillage!”
“I never tinkle on the side,” said Dooley.
I sometimes tinkle on the side, but that’s because I’m so big. Hey, it’s not that I have bad aim, but they make these litter boxes awfully small.
Harriet returned and gave Dooley a censorious look. “Don’t tinkle on my tinkle spot,” she warned him. “That tinkle spot is my tinkle spot alone.”
“Yes, Harriet,” he said dutifully.
And of course when one cat has to go, they all have to go, so the moment Dooley returned it was my turn to go, quickly followed by Brutus.
“I think I need to go number two,” Brutus said.
“No way,” Harriet said. “Hold it in.”
“I can’t!”
“Odelia!” Harriet cried. “Please change the litter in my litter box as soon as Brutus is done.”
“I’m not going to change the litter in your litter box each time one of you does number two,” said Odelia, starting to sound as if she was in a bad mood.
“Then you should have brought more than one litter box,” said Harriet.
“I didn’t even invite you guys here!” said Odelia. “This was all your idea!”
“Oh, for crying out loud, will you stop bickering!” a voice sounded from inside the wall.
It was Gran.
“I’m getting rheumatism from sitting on this chair for so long and I’m going deaf from all the bickering. When is this killer going to show her face?!”
“I’m not even sure she will show her face!” Odelia yelled back.
“I’m going to bed,” said Gran. “This is ridiculous.”
“Yeah, Ma, you better go to bed,” another voice piped up, also from inside the wall. It was Uncle Alec. Like Gran and Odelia and the rest of us, he was waiting for the killer to finally make a move and show her face.
“Why? Don’t you think I can do this?” asked Gran.
“You just said you want to go to bed, so go to bed already!”
“Well, I changed my mind. I’m staying put.”
“Stay put, go to bed, I don’t care—but can you please be quiet?!” Uncle Alec bellowed. “You’re scaring off the killer!”
“Well, she’s not going to show her face if you all keep bickering,” said Gran.
“Can you all just please shut the hell up?!” Chase said. He was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, conveniently cloaked in darkness.
“You shut up,” said Gran. “You’re not even supposed to be here.”
“That was for the sake of the killer, Ma,” said Uncle Alec. “Chase is part of the plan.”
“And what a plan it is,” she muttered. “Okay, fine, I’ll shut up,” she added when her son cleared his throat menacingly.
“Wow,” said Brutus, finally returning from his bathroom break. “Don’t go near the litter box if you don’t want to suffocate.”
“Brutus, eww!” Harriet cried.
“Yeah, Brutus,” I said. “Too much information.”
“Cats,” said Dooley. “Twice the fun. Twice the smell.”
We all laughed at that, until Gran bellowed, “Quiet!”
All was quiet, then, and soon I could hear the slow, even breathing of Odelia, as she drifted off to sleep. From inside the wall, I could hear Uncle Alec’s soft snores, and Gran’s louder snores, and from Chase’s position I could tell he’d had a visit from the sandman, too.
“Sounds like they’ve all gone to sleep,” said Harriet.
“Pussies,” said Brutus. “Humans are pussies.”
“So where is this killer?” asked Dooley.
“No idea,” I said. “Maybe she won’t even come.”
“Bummer,” muttered Brutus, rubbing his twelve-pack.
Nothing stirred, and soon even Brutus and Harriet had dozed off, and finally Dooley. According to my inner clock it was way past midnight, and I had a feeling this killer wasn’t going to show up. So I closed my eyes and got ready for a healing nap myself, when suddenly a soft noise alerted me that something was up.
My eyes picked up movement in a corner of the room: the secret door had swung open and a person, clad in black from top to toe, had crept into the room. I gulped slightly as I watched the figure creep up to the bed. For a moment they simply stood there, watching on, and taking in the scene, then, when they were satisfied the coast was clear, they picked up a pillow from the bed and moved in on Odelia.
It was only when the pillow was pushed down on Odelia’s face that I finally managed to overcome my temporary paralysis and jerk into action: I produced the loudest protracted yowl I was capable of, and then I was hurling myself at Odelia’s attacker, claws outstretched, zooming through the air like a regular feline Bruce Lee…
Chapter 38
Odelia’s eyes shot open the moment the pillow touched her face. She jerked upright, and for a moment was dazed and confused. In spite of her best intentions she’d fallen asleep, and it took her mind a few seconds to get with the program.
There was a dark-clad figure screaming on the bed, and she could hear sounds of hissing and tearing of cloth. She quickly switched on the light and found herself the witness of an unusual scene: Max was fighting a nighttime marauder, who was making valiant attempts to ward off this feline attack!
The noise of the fight must have alerted the others, for suddenly the room was ablaze with light and movement, as Chase descended upon the bed, and from all sides, it seemed, the walls opened and Gran and Uncle Alec came running up. The cats, too, were wide awake, and were helping Max defeat this attacker by digging their claws into him or her.
But Chase was already subduing the person, and when Odelia said, “It’s okay, Max—Max, you can let go now,” he retracted his claws and retreated.
Chase, meanwhile, had stripped off the attacker’s balaclava, revealing the face of... Abbey Moret!
“Abbey?” Odelia said. “What the hell…”
“Let go of me, you big brute!” Abbey said, then found herself looking into the faces of Uncle Alec and Gran, who were equally stunned.
“She was trying to kill you, Odelia,” said Max. “She was trying to put a pillow over your face and choke you.”
“So it was you,” said Odelia, still shocked. “You killed Kimberlee.”
Abbey blew a strand of blond hair from her brow, then examined a nasty cut on her arm, where Max must have dug his teeth in.
“Those cats of yours are wild!” she complained. “You should keep them on a leash, like a normal person.”
“My cats just saved my life,” said Odelia, her heart still beating a mile a minute, adrenaline coursing through her veins.<
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“You had no clue, did you?” said Abbey bitterly. “When you went around during dinner, proclaiming you knew who killed Kimberlee and were going to reveal it to the cops in the morning. You were simply bluffing.”
“I was,” Odelia conceded. “But it worked, didn’t it? You’re here.”
“Yeah, I’m here, and so are your cronies,” she said, subjecting Chase, Gran and Uncle Alec to some particularly nasty side-eye.
“Better start talking,” said Uncle Alec. “Why did you kill Kimberlee?”
For a moment it seemed as if Abbey was going to hold out, but then she relented. “Oh, I guess it’s no use. Kimberlee was inching her way to the top by any means necessary, and one of those means was my precious husband.”
“Seger? This is about Seger?” asked Odelia, surprised.
Abbey nodded. “He’s one of the top talent agents in the business. He makes or breaks careers and Kimberlee wanted him to make hers. Only he didn’t think she had what it took so he declined to take her on as his client. So she hired a private detective to dig around in his past and found some damaging little thing he did years and years ago. If he wouldn’t launch her into the big time, she was going to expose it and destroy his life and, in the process, probably mine, too, as these things have a habit of spreading like wildfire and taking down everyone who’s tainted by association.”
“What secret?” asked Odelia.
She frowned and shook her head, indicating she wasn’t prepared to tell them.
“We’ll find out,” said Alec.
“I’ll bet you will,” Abbey said ruefully. “Kimberlee had Seger in her pocket and was starting to make some frankly unreasonable demands. If he kept pushing her his own career was going to suffer. Everyone complained about Kimberlee, on every set of every project she got involved in, and it was starting to affect the way people viewed Seger. This is a business of trust. If Seger pushes an actress who can’t deliver and makes a nuisance of herself wherever she goes, people are going to start asking questions, and pretty soon she was going to drag my husband down with her. So I did what I had to do.”