Ник Сайнт: Purrfect Heat

I gulped a little, and backed away slowly. The recent episode with Harriet and Diego was still fresh in my mind. I did not need female felines in my life right now. “Thanks, Norma,” I said. “Much appreciated.”

“Thanks, Norma!” said Dooley. “And we’d love to get to know you, wouldn’t we, Max?”

She gave Dooley an appraising look, then said, “No, thank you. I don’t date babies.”

“Oh, burn!” Kingman shouted as Dooley and I walked away. “You owe me, Max!”

“And don’t forget about the chocolate!” Norma added. “Swiss chocolate, Max! No cheap junk, you hear?!”

I held up my paw to show her I’d heard her loud and clear.

“What did she mean when she said she doesn’t date babies?” Dooley asked. “I’m not a baby. I’m just as old as you, Max. Should I have told her?”

“I thought you said you didn’t need the complications of a relationship?”

Dooley glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah, but she looks really nice. I guess I could make an exception for her.”

“Oh, Dooley,” I said.

Chapter 31

Odelia was on her way to the Gazette when a squad car waylaid her. The car jumped the curb and she bumped into the hood. What the… She was even more surprised when Chase called out from inside the car, “Get in! You were right!”

“Of course I was right,” she said as she got in. She slammed the door shut. “What was I right about, exactly?”

He gave her his best grin. “I owe you an apology, Odelia. First of all, you don’t have to feel obligated to reveal your sources to me. You’re a reporter. Your sources are sacred. I get that. Secondly, you were right about Riding. He and Skad were connected. Riding invested in Skad’s business, and threatened to reveal the sweatshop business if Riding didn’t increase his investment.”

“I knew it!” she said, pounding the dashboard with her fist. “So what now?”

“Now we’re going to talk to Riding. He’s staying at the Hampton Springs Hotel.”

He put the car in gear and it bounced off the curb. “Oh, wait!” she said.

He halted the car with a jerk and she opened the door to let Max and Dooley inside.

“God, not those cats again!” Chase said.

“They look tired,” she said. “They need a ride.”

Actually they didn’t look tired. They looked excited.

“Odelia! You were right!” Max cried. “Riding was in town the night Niklaus was killed. He even told one of the guards at the sweatshop that he needed to get rid of a pesky problem, and then he drove off. That was around ten o’clock.”

“Did he do it, Odelia?” asked Dooley. “Did he kill Skad?”

She couldn’t very well answer that with Chase in the car. One day she might tell him about the cats, but not now. Not when he was convinced she was working with some secret informant.

“She can’t talk with us in front of Chase, Dooley,” Max said.

“Why not? Chase is a nice guy. He’ll understand.”

“No, he won’t. He might be nice, but he’s also just a guy.”

“He’s not just a guy. He’s Odelia’s guy,” Dooley insisted stubbornly.

She smiled. “While you were finally realizing I’m always right, I had a word with my informant,” she said.

“Oh? And what did they say?”

“Riding was definitely involved with the sweatshop.”

“Yeah, he came out here all the time,” Max chimed in.

Chase grinned. “Your cats are talking again, Odelia. It’s so funny.”

“Don’t mind them,” she said. “The night Skad was killed, he was in town. And I’m sure the sweatshop workers and the guards will be able to confirm that.”

“I’ll talk to the NYPD officer in charge. He’ll be happy to hear it.”

Chase had switched on the police siren and the blinkers and they were roaring through town, moving at a healthy clip. It only took them ten minutes to arrive at the hotel and Chase swung his car into a parking spot reserved for VIPs, right next to a black Tesla.

“There’s something I haven’t told you yet,” Chase said as he cut the engine. “You know the best part?”

“No, what?”

He smiled. “Remember Abe found a fortune cookie in Skad’s stomach? Well, the sweatshop was full of the stuff. Bags and bags of them.” He popped a fortune cookie out of his pocket and handed it to her. “See how it says ZR?”

“Ziv Riding,” she said slowly, turning the cookie over in her hands. “But how did it get into the victim’s stomach?”

Chase shrugged. “Only thing I can think of is that Riding gave Niklaus the cookie and he ate it. And then Riding killed him.”

“But wouldn’t the cookie have been chewed to pieces? I thought Abe said the cookie was still intact?”

Chase frowned. “So?”

“So I think Riding shoved that cookie down Skad’s throat and choked him with it.”

Chase stared at her. “You have a devious mind, Odelia Poole. And you may just have solved our murder!”

“Odelia is brilliant,” Dooley said.

“Yeah, she is,” Max agreed.

They got out and walked to the hotel. Now the only thing they needed to do was make Ziv Riding confess. How difficult could that be?

They walked up to the lobby and Chase showed the clerk his badge and asked which room Ziv Riding was staying in. The hotel tapped a few keys. “Room five twenty-five. The Royal Suite. Mr. Riding always uses that suite when he’s in town.”

Odelia and Chase shared a look. “Can you check a date for me?” Chase asked, and gave him the date Niklaus Skad was murdered.

“No, he didn’t stay with us that night,” said the clerk.

“Thanks,” said Odelia. That would have been too easy.

“Do you know if Mr. Riding is in right now?” Chase asked.

“You’ll find Mr. Riding by the pool,” said the clerk.

They thanked him and walked through the lobby, through the restaurant and out to the pool, which was the heart of the hotel.

“We keep ending up here,” said Chase as they stepped onto the flagged patch that lined the pool.

“That’s him,” said Odelia, pointing. “Right there.”

Riding had just hoisted himself up out of the pool, water streaming from his sculpted body in rivulets, and was stroking the water from his hair. He walked over to a chaise lounge and stood basking in the sun. He looked like a man who hadn’t a care in the world. Or a man with great lawyers.

“Well?” asked Chase. “Let’s have a word with Mr. Riding, shall we?”

The fashion designer looked up when a shadow fell across his face. “You’re blocking my sun,” he said kindly. “Please remove yourselves.” Then he recognized Odelia. “Oh, it’s you again. I already told you to make an appointment with the PR department. I’ll gladly talk to the media but not without an appointment. I think I made that abundantly clear.”

Chase flashed him his badge. “Odelia may be a reporter, but she’s also a civilian consultant helping me work a case.”

The man stared at the badge. “And who are you?”

“My name is Kingsley. Chase Kingsley. Detective for the Hampton Cove Police Department.”

The designer rolled his eyes. “Oh, dear. Look, I told you people I had nothing to do with this abominable sweatshop business. And you can rest assured that heads will roll once I find out who did. I don’t condone this kind of thing.”

“We’re not here to talk about your sweatshop, Mr. Riding,” said Odelia.

“We’re here to talk about Niklaus Skad,” said Chase.

“Oh, for goodness’ sakes. I didn’t even know the man. I watched his crass show from time to time, but that’s as far as our association went.”

“So he didn’t send you an email threatening to reveal your ‘dirty little secret?’” Chase asked.