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

I tried to wink back but found it a little hard. It’s one of those things you have to practice first.

Shannon Weskit bent over and picked Cleo up in her arms. “Did you save us, Cleo, darling? Did you? You’re a regular hero, aren’t you? You’re a real wonder cat.”

“I don’t believe it,” said Laron, shaking his head. “There has to be some other explanation. Cats don’t trigger alarms. That’s dogs.”

“Cats are smart,” said his wife, who obviously was more of a cat person than her husband.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” said Laron, and started doing the rounds of the suite to see for himself if nothing had been taken.

Just then, the connecting door flew open and Charlie Dieber and Jamie burst in. “Did they take anything?” asked Charlie anxiously.

“Not that I can see,” said Laron.

“Cleo sounded the alarm,” said Shannon. “Isn’t she a clever little puss? Yes, you are, Cleo. Yes, you are.”

“So weird,” said Charlie, who looked like a teenager, but a teenager with tattoos running up and down his arms. “There’s two cats in our room that weren’t there before. And I have no idea how they got there.”

And as if to lend credence to his words, Harriet and Brutus walked in!

“Hey, isn’t that the cats that sang at the show?” asked Jamie, a petite young woman with long dark hair and a serious look on her face.

“They sure look like them,” said Laron.

“But how did they get into our room?” asked Charlie.

“Maybe they’re with the burglars,” said Jamie.

Just then, Laron’s eyes fell on Dooley and me. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said as he scratched his head. “Look. More cats. Where did they come from?”

Oops. Busted!

Chapter 24

A family meeting had been called and we were part of the agenda.

“Odelia doesn’t look happy,” said Dooley.

“No, she doesn’t look happy at all,” Brutus agreed.

We were in the living room of Marge and Tex’s home, and all the humans had gathered for this occasion: Uncle Alec was there, and Chase, and Odelia, of course, and Marge and Tex and Gran. The feline members of the family had been relegated to the floor, where we now sat like four defendants about to be subjected to cross-examination.

“Maybe we need to ask for a lawyer,” said Dooley.

He was right, and I was already looking around for the Bible on which we’d soon have to swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.

“We didn’t even have time to go through that room,” said Harriet. “The moment we got in, this loud alarm started blaring, and soon after, Charlie and Jamie burst in.”

“How did you get into their room?” I asked.

“Odelia had given us key cards,” said Brutus.

“Same thing here,” I said. “Very clever, too.”

“Very clever, if only those crooks hadn’t chosen that exact moment to break in.”

“Okay, let’s begin,” said Uncle Alec. “First off, Johnny Carew and Jerry Vale are back where they belong: in jail. Johnny cracked first, and confessed. We also arrested Camillo Aquius, one of the receptionists and apparently in cahoots with the crooks, in exchange for a percentage of the loot, who provided them with information and a master key.”

“What they hadn’t counted on was the presence of Cleo,” said Chase. “Who managed to sound the alarm, and make sure a happy ending was had by all.”

Except Johnny and Jerry, obviously.

“Speaking of happy endings, did you guys manage to find out anything?” asked Odelia. She’d directed these words at us, and they were definitely better than ‘Do you have anything to say for yourselves?’

I cleared my throat. “According to Cleo, Laron and his wife respected Chickie a lot, and thought she was an amazing and talented person. They had some business disagreements but that wasn’t all that important, at least according to her. All in all, she gave me the impression that Laron would never harm a hair on Chickie’s head.”

“What is he saying?” asked Chase with a smile.

Odelia quickly translated my words for the non-feline speakers in the room, and Uncle Alec nodded. “It doesn’t mean much, but at least it says something about motive.”

“So where are we on the investigation?” asked Odelia, directing a quizzical look at her uncle and boyfriend.

“Nowhere, that’s where we are,” said Uncle Alec.

“Plenty of suspects but nothing conclusive,” Chase agreed.

“So we need to keep digging,” said Odelia. “We need to keep talking to people, asking all the right questions.”

“I talked to the Mayor at the party tonight,” said Uncle Alec, “and he said that if we don’t crack this case soon, he’ll be compelled to bring in the state police.”

“Who’ll take over the investigation and sink our reputations,” Chase said somberly.

“State police or not, I’m not going to stop digging until I find something,” said Odelia.

All eyes suddenly turned to us, and Brutus muttered, “This is it. Get ready for a kicking, you guys.”

But instead of a kicking, Odelia gave us a heartfelt smile. “I think it’s fair to say that the only ones who’ve managed to get anywhere in this case are Max, Dooley, Brutus and Harriet. You’ve figured out the best clues, and you’ve talked to the only witnesses who were actually able to tell you something. In fact I would love to suggest to the Mayor not to call in the state police but to deputize the four of you instead.”

Marge laughed. “I’d love to be there when you have that conversation.”

“Yeah, me too,” said Uncle Alec, who didn’t seem overly excited at the prospect of welcoming four cats into his squad.

“I’m just kidding, of course,” said Odelia, “though not about your achievements. So I would like to thank you, and I would like to tell you to keep up the good work.” And then she turned to her grandmother. “And now for the real reason we are all gathered here. Gran, I think it’s time you and Dad buried the hatchet. You’ve been at each other’s throats for too long and it’s starting to affect the way the community views this family.”

“They think we’re all nuts,” said Marge. “We’re the laughingstock of this town.”

“I think that’s an excellent suggestion,” said Gran. “And I’m very happy that you’ve finally decided to apologize, Tex.” A set look had come over her face. “Well? I’m waiting.”

“I, um…” said Tex.

“It isn’t Tex who should apologize,” said Marge. “First you walk out on him and leave him to deal with his patients all by himself, then you fail to live up to your promise to support his new band. And to add insult to injury you made fools of us all by gyrating across the stage dressed in your underwear and looking like an idiot. So I think you owe us all an apology. Not just Tex. Your whole family. We’re all affected by your nonsense.”

Harsh words, but maybe Gran deserved them. She clearly hadn’t expected it, though, for her face displayed a distinctly mutinous look. “Are you nuts? I’m the only one in this family who’s trying to build a career. To make something of themselves. I’m doing you proud. So you should be thanking me, instead of criticizing me.”

“Your performance was terrible, Ma,” said Uncle Alec. “Crawling over that stage in that outfit, with those old fools drooling all over you. I think I speak for all of us when I tell you that you crossed a line tonight. A line that should never have been crossed.”

“I crossed a line? Well, if that’s how you feel,” said Gran, pressing her lips together. “I’ll have you know that I talked to Laron after the show, and he offered me a contract.”

They all stared at the old lady. “Wait, what?” asked Marge, looking shocked.