Ник Сайнт: Purrfect Crime

“At seven o’clock this morning you attacked Donna Bruce and murdered her.”

“Murdered her! Donna was… murdered?!”

“Oh, come off it, Mr. Carré. You know very well what happened. You were there.”

“No, I wasn’t! I—I didn’t even know she was dead.”

“Why did you think the police were at the scene?”

The man’s jaw had dropped and he hitched it up with some effort. “I just figured you were there to protect her from… us.”

“Where were you this morning at seven, Mr. Carré?”

“I was home, preparing for the demonstration. Just ask my neighbors. We were putting together…” He cut a quick look to Chase. “… placards.”

Chase rubbed his head where the placard had struck and gave the other man a dirty look. “Are you sure you didn’t sneak out at some point to lock Mrs. Bruce up inside her sauna cabin and unleash a bunch of bees on her?”

“Bees? Of course not. Where would I get a bunch of bees?”

“At the bee farm.”

“Look,” he said, licking his lips nervously. “Talk to my neighbors. Or my wife, for that matter. I was right there—up at the crack of dawn, on the phone with the other guys, and we all met at six to start preparations for the demonstration. We weren’t going to let Donna pull a fast one on us. We were going to take this thing to court if we had to. I still hoped she would listen to reason once she realized she was antagonizing the entire neighborhood. But I swear to God, I would never kill her!”

“Do you have any idea who would have?” asked Odelia.

He thought for a moment. “Well, like I said, death threats had been made against her.”

“Any idea who made them?”

“There was this producer whose career she ruined. Um, what’s his name…” He snapped his fingers, then his face cleared. “Ransom Montlló. I remember because his name came up when we were in talks to turn The Shed into a motion picture. The guy’s a washout, though. Nobody will work with him. And he’s got Donna Bruce to thank for that.”

“So it’s true that The Shed is going to be a movie?”

The man smiled for the first time. “I’m afraid I can’t discuss the particulars but so far it’s looking pretty good.”

“And George Clooney is attached to play God?”

His smile widened. “I cannot confirm or deny anything.”

Chase made a sound of disgust and got up. “Please don’t leave town, Mr. Carré. We’re not through with you yet.”

“Look, I’m sorry, all right?” the publisher said, holding up a hand in a gesture of appeasement. “I’m not normally a violent man, but Donna had us with our backs against the wall—no pun intended. We were just trying to protect the neighborhood. I’m sorry about your head, dude.”

“That’s all right,” Odelia said. “Chase has a thick skull. I’m sure you didn’t even make a dent.”

Chase made a growling sound at the back of his throat, and Odelia decided that perhaps it would be best not to poke the bear. So she also got up and thanked Alpin Carré for his time. The man frowned. “So… am I under arrest here or what?”

“Yes,” said Chase.

“No,” said Odelia.

The publisher looked from one to the other. “Um, so what is it?”

Chase threw up his hands and walked out. Odelia gave Alpin her best smile. “You’re free to go, Mr. Carré. But if I could make a suggestion, maybe next time try not to hit a cop. They don’t like it.”

He returned her smile. “You are by far the nicest cop I’ve ever met.”

“Oh, but I’m not a cop. I’m just a consultant.”

“That explains everything,” he said, and shook her hand warmly. “Seriously, though. Look into Ransom Montlló. The guy had a serious grudge against Donna.”

“Even more than you?”

“I might hold a grudge but I would never kill a person.”

“And Ransom Montlló would?”

“Well, the guy was a green beret. He’s got the skills.”

“How come you know so much about him?”

“He used to live two doors down from me. But that was before Donna came into his life.”

Chapter 8

We were finally on our way to Vena Aleman. Me and Dooley had fought Odelia tooth and claw, but there was no use. We were going to the vet no matter what. At least Brutus and Harriet had been saved—for now. They were going next week, as Vena was too busy to see four cats at once. But for Dooley and I there was no reprieve.

On the drive over, we discussed the case. When Odelia mentioned the producer and the publisher and the ex-husband who had it in for Donna, I thought it was starting to look like Donna Bruce was one of those people who had rubbed everyone the wrong way and had made a lot of enemies on her way to the top.

“So either one of them could have done it?” I asked.

“Well, except for the publisher. Chase talked to some of the neighbors and they all swear up and down that Alpin couldn’t have done it.”

“What about the bees?” I asked. “How did they get the bees?”

“Good question,” said Odelia, unhurriedly steering the pickup out of town. “The beekeeper the bees were stolen from had equipped his hives with a GPS tracker. So when he got the message one of his hives was on the move, he immediately contacted the police. This happened around six this morning. He found his pallet discarded behind Donna’s house, the bees in the sauna cabin—at least the ones that survived.”

“Did he get his bees back?” asked Dooley, sounding worried.

“Yes, he did. Though a lot of them died. When a bee stings they usually don’t survive the sting. And the heat of the sauna didn’t do much for their wellbeing either.”

“But who would do such a thing?” asked Dooley, aghast. “To harm those innocent creatures like that?”

Odelia shook her head. “No idea, Dooley. But whoever it was, they must have had some knowledge about handling bees. At least that’s what the beekeeper told Chase.”

I thought about this for a moment. “Do you think there’s a significance to this? I mean, why not simply shoot the woman, or hit her over the head with a mallet? Why go to all the trouble of stealing a bunch of bees—”

“More like thousands of bees,” Odelia interjected.

“—and running the risk of being found before you can carry out your plan?”

She smiled. “And that’s why I want the four of you to work together. You all bring something unique and special to this investigation.”

“So you agree Harriet wouldn’t be able to handle this on her own?”

“None of us can handle this on our own, Max. Though I would like you to give Harriet a chance. Let her run with this for a while. See where it takes you guys.”

I frowned. This wasn’t what I’d wanted to hear. “But I’m in charge, right? I’m the one who takes the lead.”

“Not this time. Harriet is going to be running point,” Odelia said. “And you follow her lead. I want to see where she will take the investigation.”

“But I thought you said she couldn’t do this on her own.”

“She can’t. She needs you, Max—and Dooley, of course. I want you to work as a team. Can you do that for me?”

“I suppose,” I said reluctantly. “But I still don’t see—”

“Harriet needs you, Max. She needs your intelligence and your skill. The thing is, I want to see her blossom. Reach her full potential. Harriet has a lot to offer. But, like I said, she can’t do this all by herself. And that’s where you come in. You and Dooley.”

“Me, too?” asked Dooley, delighted.

“Of course! You guys are my A team. My main sleuths.”

I thought about this for a moment, and then I saw what Odelia was trying to say. Officially, she was putting Harriet in charge, but in actual fact I would be the one in charge, as usual. She just wanted Harriet to think she was in charge, to boost her self-confidence and to give her something to do other than run around with Brutus and make a total fool of herself. So I winked at Odelia. “I get it,” I finally said. “Harriet is in charge, but really I’m in charge, huh?”