Ник Сайнт - Purrfect Advice. Purrfect Passion. A Purrfect Gnomeful

“Odelia isn’t all alone. She’s got Kimmy,” said Vesta. “And she’s got Max and Dooley.”

“What good are two cats against an army of seducers and a kidnapper?!”

“I’ve known Odelia all her life,” said Scarlett now. “And if there’s one thing I know it’s that she can look after herself. Don’t you worry about her. She’ll nail that bastard.”

“And if you’re really that worried, we could always take the boat and pay her a visit,” Vesta remarked as she eyed her omelet suspiciously, as if expecting it to come alive.

Chase looked up at this. “Boat? What boat?”

“The same boat that brought us here,” said Vesta. “They make the trip every morning. Probably to bring in supplies and stuff. Is it just me or does this omelet smell funny?”

“It’s just you,” said Scarlett.

“Why didn’t you tell me before!” Chase cried.

“I thought you knew,” said Vesta, giving him an owlish look. “You’re the big detective guy, aren’t you? I always figure you know everything.”

Chase threw down his napkin. “Show me.”

“Not where there are cameras!” Scarlett said indignantly.

“The boat!”

“Oh.” the older lady sounded disappointed, then sighed. “Very well. Come along.”

“Where are they going?” asked Brutus as they watched Chase, Gran and Scarlett leave the breakfast table.

“Probably back to the villa for a conference,” said Harriet.

They were both lazily luxuriating on the edge of the dining room, which wasn’t a room as much as an area covered with a thatched roof supported by wooden beams.

Even though it was still early, the temperatures were already rising.

“This ocean breeze is so great,” said Harriet with a happy sigh. “I could get used to the climate. Rain is very bad for you, Brutus.”

“It is?” asked Brutus.

“Oh, sure. Bad for the bones, and joints, and probably a lot of other things, too.” She sighed again. “Maybe we could somehow convince Odelia to move to Thailand?”

“I think I’d miss Hampton Cove.”

This surprised Harriet, as Brutus hadn’t even known Hampton Cove existed a couple of years ago.

“You’d miss Hampton Cove?”

“Yeah, I would,” he confessed. “It may be rainy and cold in the winter, but it’s home. It’s where my friends are, and… my family.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Even though I can kick Shanille’s butt sometimes, and strangle Kingman with my bare paws, and I’m not even going to mention Clarice, who frankly scares the living daylights out of me half the time, it’s still home.” She looked up. “I kinda miss Max and Dooley. I mean, I know they’re only one island over, and we see them all the time, but I still kinda miss them being around, you know.”

“Yeah, me, too,” said her mate.

They were both quiet for a moment, then Brutus said, “I think I heard them say something about a boat. You don’t think they’re planning on leaving this island and ferrying over to the next one, do you?”

This had Harriet jerk up. “And leave us behind? Stranded? No way!”

“Pretty sure I heard the word boat.”

Harriet’s happy mood vanished. “Come, Brutus,” she said, and got up.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re catching that boat. If they think they can just leave us behind like this, they’ve got another thing coming.”

And then they were hot in pursuit of their treacherous humans.

Chapter 36

Walking back to her villa after breakfast to get changed, Odelia almost bumped into a chunky-looking individual with thick-rimmed glasses who made a strange bird-like sound. The moment she came face to face with him, he grimaced as if he were suffering from acute toothache, then scooted off in the direction of the staff villa.

And as she walked in, she caught a man crawling out of her bedroom window, looking flustered. He was carrying a small toolbox in one hand while he tried to negotiate the window with the other.

When she entered the bedroom, he froze, eyes wide, and broke into a stream of apologies.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Poole. I was just in here to fix one of the cameras. The one in the corner of the room. I’m not supposed to be caught by the contestants, or there will be hell to pay, so if you could please, pretty please, not tell Clint, I’d be so grateful. He doesn’t like it when the candidates are reminded this villa is chockablock with cameras in every nook and cranny, filming their every move, which is why we try to keep out of sight, but the darn feed dropped away this morning so I thought now would be a good time while you were having your breakfast.”

“It’s fine,” she said, laughing as she held up a hand to stem the flow of words. “I know you have a job to do, so just go ahead and do it.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Miss Poole,” said the man, who was skinny, and pale with pretty bad skin. “I hadn’t finished when my buddy gave me the alarm but I guess you were too quick for him.”

“Oh, so that’s what that was, huh? I was wondering why he would be making that strange sound.”

“It’s the sound of the hoopoe. I’ve been trying to teach him. I figured people wouldn’t notice when we used it. It’s the hoopoe’s mating cry,” he added helpfully as he crawled back in and made for the bed. Frowning, Odelia watched as he stepped on top of the bed and started unscrewing what looked like an innocent circular ornament from the ceiling.

“Is that… a camera?” she asked.

“Um, yeah. Offers a great view of the bed.”

“Oh, my God,” Odelia muttered.

“See, this is why Clint doesn’t want us in here when you guys are watching. He figures you might get upset when you realize how many cameras are rigged up in here.”

“Well, Clint is right. It is a little upsetting.”

“Fixed,” said the guy, sounding apologetic. “I’ll be out of your hair now, Miss Poole,” he added, and crawled down from the bed again. “Have a nice continuation of your day.”

And with these words, he was gone.

Odelia heaved a deep sigh, then headed to the bathroom to get changed for her jacuzzi date with the other contestants.

Now this was exactly why she didn’t want to become a reality star. She didn’t think she’d enjoy being scrutinized on a daily basis.

Walking out again, this time dressed in a bikini, she walked down the path on her flip-flops and headed for the spa area.

“Wait up!” suddenly spoke a voice behind her. Turning, she perceived it was Joanna, looking flustered.

“Ready for some jacuzzi fun?” asked Odelia.

“Not really,” said Joanna. “I woke up with a headache this morning and had half a mind to stay in bed today.”

“The jacuzzi will do you good,” said Odelia. “It might release some of the tension.”

The soft-spoken redhead fell into step next to her. “Is it true that you knocked out a seducer last night?” she asked, her eyes wide and wondering.

Odelia smiled and nodded. “I found him in my bed, if you can believe it.”

“Oh, I can. I found a seducer in my bed, too. I didn’t try to kill him, though I had a good mind to.”

“Who was it?”

“Antonio, the Italian stallion.”

“He’s very pushy, isn’t he?”

“They’re all pushy,” Joanna lamented.

“I guess it comes with the territory.”

“Don’t they realize that kind of behavior won’t get them anywhere? On the contrary, it’s a real turnoff for most women.”

“Not for everyone,” said Odelia as they passed Jackie’s villa.

“No, I guess not.”

“Listen, I happened to be talking to one of the techies this morning, and he told me you were caught cheating on Arthur.”