Chapter 12
As we entered the room where the dead man had been staying, it struck me that it was pretty cold in there. A lot colder than outside, at any rate.
“Looks like he forgot to turn off his AC,” said Brutus.
“Or maybe he liked the cold?” Harriet suggested.
“I think it’s the spirit of the dead man that is haunting this room,” said Dooley, as he barely managed to suppress a marked shiver.
“Poor Mercedes,” said Harriet. “She came looking for her son because she knew that something had happened to him, and nobody believed her.”
“Except Gran,” said Dooley. “Gran has a knack for this kind of thing. She can sense when a person is telling the truth.”
After Chase had told Mercedes that her son had been found dead, he had taken her down to the police station while the investigation geared up.
And since Gran was determined to stay on top of the investigation, she had insisted that she be told where the body had been found and be clued in on the progress the police had made so far.
Chase was reluctant to share information or to involve Gran in any way, but since Mercedes had explicitly asked her to investigate the case, in the end he had caved and told her that the body was found at the Star Hotel, in the man’s room.
Technically, Gran couldn’t investigate the murder, since she wasn’t a police officer, but since she had proven helpful in the past, some understanding might be reached whereby she was kept abreast of the developments.
“Odelia should be here,” said Dooley as we crept from room to room of what looked to be a pretty spacious suite. “She should be on top of this.”
“Less of the Odelia, will you?” said Gran. “I’m on top of this, and that should be enough.”
“I wonder where Odelia is,” said Harriet. “Usually she and Chase are attached at the hip. And they always conduct these investigations together, don’t they?”
“Like I said, I can do this perfectly by myself, thank you very much,” said Gran. “Now where is the body?”
“Access denied,” a firm voice sounded. The man who had appeared before us was, of course, Uncle Alec himself.
“You’re not part of the team of investigators, Ma,” he said in a tone that brooked no contest. “Chase has allowed you to take a quick peek, since Mercedes, the victim’s mother, has decided to get you involved, but that’s as far as this goes. ”
“Well, where is my peek?” asked Gran. “I haven’t even gotten what Chase promised.”
The chief hesitated but for a moment, then stepped aside so we could all take a peek inside the room that he was guarding so assiduously with his considerable presence.
Inside the room, which ostensibly was a bedroom, a man was lying on the floor next to the bed. He was lying on his side and looked fast asleep. If it hadn’t been for the smudge of blood on his shirt, there would have been no suspicion.
“Shot in the chest, was he?” asked Gran.
Uncle Alec nodded. “I’m afraid so. The room-service attendant found him like this.”
“What is that next to the bed?” asked Gran as she pointed to an object on the floor.
“No idea,” said Uncle Alec. “The CSI people haven’t passed through yet, so I haven’t set foot inside the room.”
“Looks like a bag,” said Gran. “A guitar bag.”
“Maybe he played the guitar,” Uncle Alec suggested.
“Or maybe it is connected with this murder,” said Gran. “And what’s inside that bag will blow this case wide open.”
Uncle Alec rolled his eyes. “I keep telling you, Ma. You watch too many crime shows. But this is real life, not television, so keep your wacky theories to yourself, will you? And tell Max to stay back!”
I had decided to take a closer look at the victim, and since I couldn’t very well take a closer look if I didn’t set paw inside the room, I had gradually moved forward, hoping Uncle Alec wouldn’t notice. But of course he was a professional investigator, contrary to Gran, and he had noticed.
“All right, all right,” I said as I retraced my steps.
“Is Odelia going to get involved?” asked Harriet. “Because if she is, she always gets us involved, and she allows us to take a closer look at whatever we like—contrary to Uncle Alec.”
Gran sighed but still asked the question. “Isn’t Odelia getting involved?” she asked.
Uncle Alec hesitated but then shook his head. “Odelia isn’t a civilian consultant anymore.”
“What?!” we all cried out simultaneously. “But why?”
“I don’t get it,” said Gran. “Why would she quit?”
“She didn’t quit,” said Uncle Alec, but then seemed to realize that he had already said too much and closed his lips.
“So… you fired her?” asked Gran. “Why did you do a thing like that!”
Uncle Alec shook his head, still pressing his lips firmly together.
“Then what is it? If she didn’t quit and you didn’t fire her, what else can it be? There aren’t a lot of options left, Alec.”
Finally, he relented. “Okay, you didn’t hear this from me, all right?
But Odelia has decided to follow a training course so she can become attached to the police station in a more permanent and official capacity.
So she hasn’t been fired, and she hasn’t quit.
Instead, she is being trained to become an actual police detective. ”
We all gasped in shock. “But, but, but,” I stuttered.
“Why didn’t she tell us?” Brutus cried.
“So she won’t be a reporter anymore?” asked Gran.
“Part-time,” said Uncle Alec. “Turns out there isn’t a whole lot of work at the paper, and whatever is there, Dan can mostly handle by himself. So Odelia will still be a reporter, but she will also be a police officer. Which to her is probably the best of both worlds.”
“So she will be working with her husband on a permanent basis?” asked Gran.
“Correctissimo. The best husband-and-wife detective team this town has ever seen. Or, in fact, the only one, since I can’t remember ever having had a team like them on the force.”
“Wow, this is big,” said Gran. “Like, really big.”
“It is,” said Uncle Alec. “And because it is so big, and Odelia has only decided to take the jump recently, she hasn’t told anyone yet. And I wouldn’t be telling you either if I wasn’t so darn proud of my niece.”
“You have reason to be proud,” said Gran. “She’s an excellent investigator, and she deserves this promotion. This is a promotion, isn’t it?”
“I should say it is. From being a civilian consultant to an actual detective is one heck of a step up. But it does mean she won’t be on hand to work this case. Which means…”
“That I get to step in as your civilian consultant!” Gran cried. “Right?”
“Not,” said Uncle Alec, turning a little less exuberant once again. Looked like he had allowed his excitement over his niece’s promotion to make him forget who he was dealing with here. “You are not and will never be a civilian consultant, Ma.”
“But why? I’m an ace investigator. Just like Odelia.” Then her gaze darkened. “Oh, I know what this is. Ageism! You think I’m too old for this, don’t you?”
“Your age has nothing to do with it. Just that you’re not civilian-consultant material, Ma. So stick to what you’re good at and leave this to the professionals, all right?” He held out his arms in a shooing gesture. “And now get lost—all of you. Shoo!”
And since it didn’t look as if we would be allowed to stick around, we did as we were told and retreated.
Gran didn’t look happy at all, but that couldn’t be helped. Uncle Alec had made up his mind that his mother wasn’t to be included in his investigations, and that was that.
“You guys know what this means, right?” asked Brutus once we were out on the street again, standing next to Gran’s brand-new BearCat.
“What does it mean, snookums?” asked Harriet.
“That we won’t be able to participate in this investigation! Since Odelia isn’t here, and Gran is being excluded, we don’t get access either.”
He was right. Looked like we’d have to sit this one out.
“Oh, cheer up, you guys,” said Dooley. “We can investigate a different case. And a very interesting one!”
“What case is that?” I asked.
“Why, the case of the Germinator, of course!”