Ник Сайнт - Purrfect Sidekick. Purrfect Deseit. Purrfect Ruse [calibre 5.14.0]

“All right, if you say so. What a mess.”

“You can say that again.”

Chapter 14

“Dooley, keep your head down!” I whispered when Dooley raised his head to look through the Chief’s window.

Lately Uncle Alec had expressed his resentment with us cats spying on him. He didn’t seem to enjoy the experience as much as I’d thought he would. In my view only people who are trying to hide something resent being spied upon, so what was he hiding?

At any rate, it probably behooved us to keep our noses down.

“So all three victims had Rohypnol in their systems?” the Chief was asking.

“Yep. All three of them were knocked out with the same drug. And what’s interesting is that we found the exact glass used in the process.”

“But with only two sets of fingerprints,” said Uncle Alec. “The killer’s, and one of the victims.”

“Yeah, that’s the strange thing. Though it’s possible the killer used different glasses to accomplish his purpose. At any rate, we’ve got Joshua Curtis’s fingerprints on the glass with the remnants of the drug, and Franklin Harrison’s prints on that same glass, which proves that Joshua was the one who handed Harrison that drink, and knocked him out. We couldn’t lift Harrison’s prints from the body, as his hands were too badly burned, but we had his prints on file.”

“No doubt it’s Franklin Harrison?”

“No doubt. His relatives have already identified him.”

“So what about motive?”

“Now listen to this, Chief,” said Chase, clearly very happy with himself. “It’s a doozy. So Franklin Harrison was having an affair, okay? We found plenty of pictures of one Melanie Myers on his phone, and flirty texts back and forth. Real hot stuff, okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

“So get this. This guy Joshua Curtis is Melanie’s husband’s best buddy. And not just that, the guy’s been in love with Melanie for years and years and years. I mean, to the point of obsession, okay? I’m talking pictures and videos of the woman on his phone.”

“Of Melanie Myers?”

“Sure! The guy’s phone is like a private throne on which he worships the woman’s likeness. And what’s more, the two of them used to be an item, before the husband entered the picture. We know this because we found a diary at the guy’s office, hidden at the bottom of his desk drawer, where he talks about the affair, and about his feelings for her. Turns out they briefly dated in college, before she fell for his best friend.”

“Jason Myers,” the Chief supplied.

“Exactly.”

“And the guy never stopped carrying a torch for the woman.”

“Looks like he’s in love with her to this day, Chief. And I’m sure that once we go through his house with a fine-tooth comb we’ll find plenty more to corroborate this.”

“So what’s your theory?”

Chase took a deep breath. “Okay, so my theory is that Curtis found out that Melanie was cheating on her husband with Harrison and got mad, then decided to get even. So he devised a plan to make sure Harrison never crossed paths with Melanie ever again.”

“And what about the two other victims?”

“Pretty sure they weren’t the intended target, Chief. What I think happened was that he figured that if he killed all three of them we’d think we were dealing with a serial killer, when in fact his intended target was Harrison all along.”

“He must have seen too many movies.”

“Exactly. Only that’s the problem, isn’t it: Joshua Curtis isn’t a crafty killer. He made so many mistakes that we got to him even before the bodies of his victims were cold. He left the glass with his fingerprints and the Rohypnol at the scene. He set the room on fire by dousing it in gasoline, probably hoping to make it look like an accident but failing miserably, and he was seen by two witnesses exiting the place and getting into his car.”

“Look, one thing, Chase,” said Uncle Alec. “You know that this Joshua character asked Odelia to follow Melanie around, right? Supposedly to figure out if she was having an affair and who with.”

“Yeah, I know. She told me.”

“Well, I’m not sure she isn’t still in the guy’s corner, so to speak.”

“But surely if she learns the truth…”

“That’s exactly it. I don’t think it’s a good idea to involve her this time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I have the impression she’s willing to go to bat for the guy. She’s in here right now, you know talking to him.”

“She is?”

“That was Dolores on the phone just now, telling me your wife is talking to Joshua Curtis, and probably being told by the guy that he’s innocent, and asking her to try and prove it.”

“You don’t think…”

“Yes, I do.” He let drop a pregnant pause. “I think we can’t afford to let Odelia know what we know, since she’ll probably tell Curtis, and he’ll use it to stage a defense. So from now on, not a word about this case to your wife, you got that? At least as long as she’s willing to go to bat for the killer.”

“You mean…

“As much as it pains me to say this, we’re obviously working on opposite sides of this thing, Chase. Your wife is working for the suspect—against us!”

Just then, Dooley popped his head up again, and I could hear Uncle Alec utter a curse word, and when I glanced up surreptitiously, I found myself looking into the Chief’s eyes, his face so close to mine on the other side of the window, I was momentarily startled. But then I smiled and gave him a little wave. Futile, of course. First of all because humans can’t discern those subtle expressions we display, so he probably missed my smile by a mile. And my conciliatory little wave? That only seemed to solidify his utter annoyance.

“Will you stop spying on me!” he yelled, a clear indication he wasn’t happy with us.

“Yes, Uncle Alec!” I yelled back.

But of course he couldn’t understand me.

Chapter 15

“I thought I’d find you here,” said Chase when he came upon Odelia, who was patiently waiting in his office.

Odelia was in Chase’s swivel chair, and had taken the time to think about her recent interview with Joshua Curtis. Somehow she still had the feeling that he hadn’t told her everything, though why he would lie to her she did not know. Unless, of course…

“Do you think he did it?” she asked her husband.

Chase took a seat in front of his own desk and gave his wife a look of appraisal. “You know that your uncle has forbidden me from discussing this particular case with you?”

“He has? But why?”

Chase shrugged. “He seems to think we’re on opposite sides. You’re in the killer’s corner and we’re in the victim’s.”

“So you think Joshua is guilty.”

“Guilty as hell,” Chase confirmed.

“So you must have proof, right? To back up that claim?”

“Sure we have proof. But like I said, I’m not allowed to discuss it with you, since the Chief is afraid you’ll just turn around and supply that information to Curtis, helping him stage his defense.”

“I would never do that,” said Odelia, shaking her head. “If he’s guilty, that is.”

“Well, it sure looks like he’s the one that did it, babe.”

“But why? What makes you so sure?”

Chase heaved a deep sigh. It was probably bad for him to deny his wife the kind of information that would help her crack this case, knowing she was probably as excellent and determined a detective as he was. “Look, if I tell you, you have to promise me not to tell your uncle, all right? Cause if you do, I’m in deep doo-doo.”

“Scout’s honor,” she said, holding up two fingers.

“And I don’t need to remind you not to tell the suspect anything we’re about to discuss.”