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

“And I said yes! Charlie wants me—oh, that kid wants me bad. Asked me to record a duet as soon as possible and wants me to feature in his next video. Laron said it’ll probably be the biggest thing that hit the music business since sliced bread.”

“I don’t think sliced bread was ever part of the music industry,” said Marge.

“Who cares? I’m going to be as big as Charlie, maybe even bigger! So how about them apples, huh?”

The others all exchanged worried glances, but Gran had already gotten up.

“You know what? I’m glad we had this little talk. I’m actually happy you finally came out and told me what you really think of me. You don’t want me to be part of this family anymore? Good! I’m a disgrace to the Poole family name? Great! I’ve decided to change my name to Granny B, and I’m leaving this gang of rainers-on-parades for good. So consider this my resignation from this family. Goodbye and good riddance.” And with these words, she stalked over to the door. Before she walked out, she turned and said, “And don’t come crying to me when you’re broke and miserable and I’m a multi-millionaire superstar with my own mansion in Calabasas, Cal. I won’t pick up the phone!”

And then she was gone, slamming the door in the process.

Chapter 25

Marge was staring out the kitchen window when Odelia walked up behind her. She put her hands on her mom’s shoulders. “She’ll be back,” she said. “You know how she is. She gets these crazy ideas but before long she gets bored and then she’ll come running.”

“I don’t know, Odelia,” said Marge. “This time I have a feeling she might be gone for good. She’s always had a thing for the glitz and glamour of celebrity life, and if this thing with Charlie Dieber works out she might move to the West Coast and never come back.” She shook her head. “I was too hard on her. We were all too hard on her.”

“But her performance was terrible. I thought a dose of reality would do her good.”

Marge turned. “Your grandmother has never dealt with reality very well. And if this is her chance to escape reality once and for all, she’ll grab it with both hands. Remember when she claimed to have been married to the most fascinating man in the world?”

“Yeah, but that fell through. And this will also fall through, and then she’ll be back.”

Marge returned to gazing out the window. “I’ve known your grandmother a lot longer than you have, and if there’s one trait that’s more dominant than all others, it’s her stubbornness. That woman can be so mulish she’ll drive you crazy.”

“That means she’ll drive Charlie Dieber crazy, and that Laron Weskit guy.” Odelia gently massaged her mom’s shoulders. “Besides, I’m sure she’ll soon realize all the fame and glory in the world can never really replace a loving family. Plus, she’ll miss her cats.”

“Let’s hope so. I’d hate to be the one to have driven your grandmother away.”

Odelia returned to the living room, where her dad was watching Jeopardy . “Missing Gran already?” she asked as she took a seat beside him.

“Well, don’t laugh but actually I do. That woman drives me nuts sometimes, but she also brings a lot of life into this household.”

“She does, doesn’t she?”

“I’m recording Jeopardy , by the way. And her favorite soaps. So when she comes back she can catch up. Otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“So you also think she’ll be back soon?”

“Of course. This is her home, her family. I don’t believe for a second she’d be willing to throw it all away to make a career as a pop star.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” said Odelia, who was feeling a lot less sure already.

“So is it true the same goons that burgled your house tried to burgle the Hampton Cove Star?”

“Yeah, I’m starting to think Johnny and Jerry are not exactly the best burglars in the world. They keep getting caught, which is probably not how a good burglary should go.”

“Well, as long as they’re in jail, they won’t be able to burgle anyone else.”

“So how are you coping at the office? Don’t you want to replace Gran? At least until she’s back?” She knew how unreliable Gran could be when performing her duties as Dad’s receptionist, and had often advised him to hire a regular receptionist. One he could count on. But Dad always said he liked Vesta sitting in that outer office, and scaring the hypochondriacs away. At least with her grumpy face there to greet them, only the patients who really needed a doctor managed to stick it out and stick around.

“Oh, don’t you worry, honey, I’ll manage,” he said, affectionately patting his daughter’s knee. “I tried to hire someone else, remember? That didn’t work out too well, either.”

“That’s because you managed to hire the one person in Hampton Cove whom Gran hates even more than anyone else.”

Dad had hired Scarlett Canyon for a while, Gran’s mortal enemy, and that hadn’t sat well with Gran at all. It also hadn’t lasted. Before long, Gran had been back at the helm.

“Maybe I should call Vesta?” Tex suggested. “Ask her to reconsider?”

“I think it’s best to leave her to stew in her own juices for a while. It’s too soon to start begging her to come back. Besides, if you do that she’ll be even more intolerable than usual. Best to wait a while, and let her realize she made a big mistake for herself.”

“Maybe you’re right,” said her father. “You seem to know Vesta better than anyone.”

Returning to her own home, she saw that her cats were all seated on the deck, holding some kind of meeting.

“Hey, you guys,” she said, taking a seat next to them. “Everything all right?”

“I don’t know, Odelia,” said Max, usually the cats’ spokesperson. “We just feel we could have done so much more, if only those silly crooks hadn’t interfered.”

“Yeah, we’re thinking about giving it another shot,” said Harriet. “Return to the hotel and give those rooms another once-over.”

“We never got the chance to search them properly,” Brutus agreed.

“And maybe this time the rooms won’t be burgled,” said Dooley. “Unless that’s a regular thing at the Hampton Cove Star.”

Odelia laughed. “I don’t think it’s a regular thing, Dooley. But I also don’t think it’s a good idea to go back there now. The Weskits and Charlie will be in their rooms, and they’ll notice the addition of four cats to their household. Besides, you had that chat with Cleo, didn’t you? And she told you how she feels about Laron Weskit’s involvement.”

“Still, we’ve only scratched the surface,” said Max.

“Yeah, we let you down, Odelia,” said Harriet. “First with that silly show we gave, and then with that half-assed search. We haven’t given you our best yet in this investigation, and we really want to make it up to you somehow.”

She thought about that. “I’m not sure what else you can do. You’ve talked to Chickie’s pets, you’ve talked to Laron Weskit’s cat, I don’t think there’s a lot more you can do at this point.” Nor, she felt, could she. She felt oddly stymied in this investigation. As if she was going around in circles and getting nowhere fast. And now this latest drama with Gran on top of everything else. She was losing her touch, and the fact that her cats had struck out only added to her general feeling of malaise.

“Let’s not think about it anymore tonight,” she said. “Let’s all have a good night’s sleep and I’m sure in the morning fresh ideas will come to us.”

She got up, and headed into the house. Chase was cooking, which she found adorable. His specialty was spaghetti bolognese, though he was really outdoing himself now by going for a nice creamy lasagna. “Is it true that cats love lasagna?” he asked as he admired his own creation, then placed it in the oven.