Ник Сайнт - Purrfectly Hidden. Purrfect Kill. Purrfect Boy Toy

“Chloroform,” said Uncle Alec, nodding. “And then what happened?”

“And then we were driving and he parked the car and waited for you to arrive.”

“He didn’t talk to you?” asked Chase.

“Not a word. I demanded to know what he intended to do with me but nothing. Like talking to a wall. My hands were tied, and the doors locked, so I couldn’t escape.”

“What about the phone call? Did he say anything?”

“They got out to make that call. I couldn’t hear a thing.” She pressed her eyes closed and shivered. “It was horrible. The absolute most terrifying moments of my entire life.”

“It’s over now,” said Harlan, placing an arm around her shoulder. “It’s all over now.”

“I’ll never feel safe again.”

“You need to hire security,” said Chase.

“I know. And I will. Though I hate to go through life looking over my shoulder all the time.” She turned to Odelia. “Do you have any idea who’s doing this? Any idea at all?”

Odelia was embarrassed by her response. “Not a clue, to be honest.”

“Oh, we do have a clue,” said Gran. “It’s that Suzy woman, I’m a hundred percent sure.”

“No, it’s not,” said Odelia. “Suzy was with us when the kidnapper called.”

“So? She could have had an accomplice. A boyfriend or whatever.”

“Oh, Gran,” said Odelia.

“What?! It’s a plausible theory. We need to give her the first degree. Go good cop bad cop on her. Alec, you tell her. You know how it works.”

“I’m usually the good cop,” said Alec.

“No, you’re not,” said Chase. “I’m the good cop, and you’re the bad cop.”

“Let’s not split hairs,” Alec grumbled.

“Can’t you interview her?” asked Opal.

“We don’t have jurisdiction here,” said Alec. “Not as good cops, or bad cops. We’re civilians, just like you. With no rights to arrest people, or to subject them to questioning.”

“It wasn’t Suzy,” said Opal. “That much I know.” She sighed deeply. “But then who was it?”

Chapter 33

You would have thought that Opal, after yet another trip to the emergency room, would finally have decided to chuck it in and take a nice long vacation, but no. The next day she insisted on heading into the studio to do her Monday show.

“But I can do your show,” Marilyn had said. “I can easily take over for a couple of days—weeks, even.”

“No, thanks,” Opal had said. “It’s my show and I’m going to be there to run it. Bullets fired at me or not. It’s you who should rest, darling. You were the one being kidnapped.”

So the next day we were all back at the studio. Or at least Odelia and Gran were, and their entire cat contingent, of course.

Tex and Marge had gone into town again, this time to Universal Studios to get the studio tour, and Chase and Uncle Alec had their conference to attend. Apparently the mayor had gotten wind that they’d been skipping lectures and had called Uncle Alec to give him a piece of his mind. It hadn’t been pretty.

Opal and her team were holed up inside the conference room, discussing that afternoon’s show, and even Suzy was present, even though she could have been excused for staying home—or handing in her resignation.

“Max?” asked Dooley as we lounged around in Opal’s office, interspersed with long visits to the canteen, where our food bowls were located.

“Yes, Dooley?”

“What is a toodle pip?”

“Toodle pip is not a thing but a greeting,” I said. “And if I’m not mistaken it’s something the Brits like to say. Basically it means goodbye.”

He was silent for a moment while he chewed on this. Then he said, “So is Kurtz a Brit?”

“Not that I know, why?”

“Well, he said toodle pip when he dropped by the house for his interview with Odelia.”

“I’m sure he just said it as a joke,” I said. “I don’t think he’s British.”

“And then there’s the kidnapper,” said Dooley. “He said the same thing last night.”

I stared at my friend.

“What is he saying, Max?” asked Brutus.

“Wait, let me get this straight,” I said. “You heard the kidnapper say toodle pip?”

“Yeah, when we were running to the car. I got there first, remember? And just before he slammed the door, he looked at me and said ‘toodle pip.’ Which I thought was odd.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” I said.

“What did he say, Max?” asked Brutus.

But I was already out the door of Opal’s office, and heading down the hallway in the direction of the conference room. I burst in and made a beeline for Odelia.

“It’s Kurtz,” I told her. “He’s the kidnapper. He’s the one behind this whole thing!”

Odelia smiled politely at her colleagues as they all turned to her at the sound of my mewling. “I’m sorry. Feline emergency. I think he forgot where his litter box is.”

And to laughter from the others, she got up and walked out.

“Kurtz? Are you sure?” she asked the moment we were out of earshot.

“Dooley heard the kidnapper use the phrase ‘toodle pip’ last night, the same thing Kurtz said when he was at the house a couple of days ago. That can’t be a coincidence, Odelia.” And then I remembered something else. “At the salon and spa, Prunella said that Kurtz was a regular. And she didn’t mean at the salon but at the clinic where they perform plastic surgery. Is it possible that Kurtz used to be a woman and transitioned to a man? And that’s why he sounded like a woman when he phoned the salon?”

“I noticed the first day that Kurtz doesn’t have an Adam’s apple,” said Odelia. “You’re absolutely right, Max. He’s the kidnapper. He’s the one behind this whole thing!”

I suddenly heard a noise, and when I looked up I found myself staring straight into Kurtz’s eyes. He was standing right behind us! Odelia looked up, and gasped in shock. He then gave her a wan smile, and before she could stop him, was running to the exit!

“Not on my watch!” I shouted, and set off after the guy—or gal.

“Max! What’s happening!” shouted Brutus.

“It’s Kurtz!” I shouted. “He’s the kidnapper!”

To Brutus’s credit, he immediately got the message, and alerted the others, who were still inside Opal’s office. And then five cats were in hot pursuit, and one reporter, with Kurtz having a head start of mere minutes.

The odds were finally in our favor!

We ran full tilt, but Kurtz knew his way around the studio lot a lot better than we did, and disappeared into the studio next to Opal’s.

As we burst inside, I saw that they were filming some sort of sword-and-sandal action flick, with several men dressed in nothing but leather straps and sandals swinging their swords and trying to hit each other.

Behind us, Odelia rounded the corner, followed at a distance by Gran and… Opal!

“Hank!” I could hear Gran cry, and when I followed her gaze, I saw that one of the men in leather straps was, indeed, Hank!

“Oh, hey, Vesta,” said Hank, raising his sword in greeting.

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

“I got a part in Ben-Hur II ! Isn’t it great!”

“You could have called me!”

“Well, I’ve been so busy auditioning…”

“Cut!” an irate voice yelled. “Cut cut cut! What are these people doing on my set!”

I would have stayed and chatted, but I had a killer to catch!

We raced through the studio, still in hot pursuit, and soon found ourselves on the next soundstage, where none other than Leonardo DiCaprio was standing on the bow of a humongous ship! Across the side of the ship, the words Titanic II had been painted, and in Leo’s arms he held a young woman. He yelled, “I’m the king of the world!” and the young babe, whom I thought I recognized as a famous Italian model, giggled excitedly.