Chapter 39
That night we had planned to head down to the park for cat choir, but in light of recent events, those plans needed to be put on hold.
“So we’re not going to the park?” asked Pippy.
“Gran has asked us to join her on her patrol,” I explained to the sweet Coton de Tuléar. “She wants to take a closer look at Zeke Hunkoff.”
“She insists that he is a terrorist,” said Brutus. “Even though Odelia seems to believe that he isn’t.”
“That is very confusing for me,” said Pippy. “So one part of your family believes one thing and the other part believes the opposite?”
“It happens all the time,” we assured her.
“Families are complicated,” said Harriet. “Even the four of us often don’t see eye to eye.”
“You don’t always see eye to eye?” asked Pippy. “But you look like such great friends.”
“We are good friends,” said Harriet. “In fact, we are the best of friends, but that doesn’t mean we always agree on everything.”
“I can understand this isn’t what you had in mind,” I told Pippy.
“Yeah, you were probably looking forward to dog choir,” said Brutus.
“Oh, no!” Pippy assured us. “I want to stay with you guys. I mean…” She gave us a shy look. “I like you guys. I think you are all great.”
I smiled. “Well, that’s settled, then. No cat choir, no dog choir, but the Neighborhood Watch instead.”
“Trust me,” said Brutus. “It’s always an adventure to spend time with Gran and Scarlett.”
“And Mercedes,” I added. “She will probably join us, won’t she?”
“I don’t like that Mercedes accuses Marge of being a killer,” said Dooley.
Earlier, Gran had told Uncle Alec what Mercedes had discovered, and the chief had been as upset over this as we all were.
He said he couldn’t believe that his sister would be capable of doing a thing like murdering a man simply because she wanted to lay her hands on this mythical guitar.
Or setting fire to her own daughter’s house.
And he had agreed with Gran to keep this on the down-low for now, until they could verify that what Mercedes suspected was true.
Odelia and Chase had gone to bed, and so had the rest of the family. Except for Gran, the last person standing—so to speak.
“Is Gran going to drive her big car again?” asked Pippy.
“I think so,” I said as we made our way to the front of the house. “She loves that car.”
“But Uncle Alec said she can’t drive it anymore, as it is too dangerous and she wrecks stuff.”
“Uncle Alec says a lot of things,” said Brutus. “But that doesn’t mean we have to do what he says.”
“But he is the chief of police,” said the little doggie. “Don’t you have to do what the chief of police says?”
“Not in Hampton Cove,” Brutus assured her. “Here we do whatever we like. Or at least us cats do.”
“Mostly we follow the rules in Hampton Cove,” I explained, since I didn’t think Brutus was setting the right example. “But Gran sometimes has a mind of her own and likes to follow her own path.”
“That is a very diplomatic way of putting it, Max,” said Brutus with a grin.
We had jumped up onto the low wall that separates the sidewalk from the front yard and patiently awaited Gran’s arrival.
“It won’t be long now,” I assured Pippy, who seemed both excited and nervous.
“When are we going to find Harley’s killer?” she asked. “When are we going to put him behind bars?”
“Soon,” I said. “Chase is on top of it, and he is a good detective.”
“Chase and Marva,” said Brutus.
“She is very pretty, isn’t she, this Marva person?” asked Harriet.
“She is,” I agreed.
“She is too pretty,” said Brutus. “Chase will have a hard time resisting her charms. If she sits next to him for a few weeks more, he’ll move in with her. Or she will move in with us.”
“She can’t move in with us,” I said. “Since Odelia is here, and she wouldn’t stand for it.”
“Then Odelia needs to move out first.”
“Impossible. This is her house.”
“It’s not. It’s Chase’s house too.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Guys, guys,” said Harriet, holding up her paws like a referee. “Let’s not get carried away. Chase is an intelligent and sensible man, and he loves Odelia very much. He is not going to fall in love with Marva.”
“Oh, yes, he is,” said Brutus. “He’s a man and that’s what men do.”
“It was exactly like that with Harley and Philomena,” said Pippy.
“Harley fell in love with a colleague?” I asked.
“No, but Philomena fell in love with one of her colleagues. She even moved in with him for a while. But in the end, she regretted it and asked Harley if he would take her back.”
“And did he?” asked Harriet.
“He did. But things weren’t the same.”
“No, I can see that,” said Harriet. “A thing like that leaves a mark.”
“They needed marriage counseling, but it never really worked. I think they were going to get a divorce anyway, but now that Harley is dead, that won’t be necessary.”
We shared a look. “Is Harley a rich man, Pippy?” I asked.
“He is well-off,” said Pippy. “He worked as a designer.”
“Of clothes?” asked Harriet excitedly.
“Of web applications. Apps.”
“Oh,” said Harriet, a lot less excited already.
“He sold a couple of his apps, and they made him a lot of money. Millions.”
“What about Philomena?” I asked. “Is she rich?”
“No, she is a hairdresser that Harley met when he wanted to have his hair cut. He liked what she did with his hair, so he asked her to marry him—and she said yes. She stopped working after that, though. Said she wanted to be a homemaker. Though soon after, she fell in love with the interior decorator and moved out, before moving back in again.”
“Tiresome,” said Harriet.
“Do you think Philomena killed Harley so she could get all of his money, Max?” asked Dooley, who knew me well.
“At the very least, she is another suspect to put on our list,” I told him.
“Who are your other suspects, Max?” asked Pippy.
“Well, there is Marva,” I said. “Who is a fan of Turbo Heartthrob and would have been eager to lay her hands on the guitar belonging to Daniel Bozek. Then there is Marge, who is also a big fan of the band. Though I really don’t see Marge as a killer.”
“She still needs to go on the list,” said Brutus. “Since we haven’t ruled her out yet.”
“Then we have Philomena, and finally we have Mercedes.”
“Mercedes?” asked Pippy. “But why?”
“Because she and her son had fallen out after she criticized his choice of bride and hired a PI to investigate Philomena.”
“But that shows how much she cared for Harley,” said Pippy. “She wouldn’t kill the person she cared so much about, would she?”
“It’s possible that she paid him a visit in his hotel room to apologize and to try to make amends. Harley said he wanted nothing more to do with her, and things got ugly, then they got out of hand. It happens,” I added when Pippy gave me a strange look.
“That would be very sad,” she said. “I was hoping that Mercedes would adopt me instead of Philomena, but if Mercedes goes to prison, I will have no other choice but to go and live with Philomena, and I’m pretty sure she will put me up for adoption the moment I arrive.
She is that kind of person. Not very nice. ”
“But that’s horrible, Pippy,” said Dooley. “You have to find a different suspect, Max. It can’t be Mercedes, because Pippy needs her to adopt her.”
I smiled. “I’ll do my best.”
At that moment, Gran emerged from the house. She was wearing her purple tracksuit, which made her virtually invisible in the dark, had put on a black knit cap to cover her short, curly white hair, and had even placed a pair of sunglasses on her nose.
“Are those… gloves?” asked Dooley, referring to the nifty gloves that Gran was wearing.
“Yup,” said Gran. “I’ve been looking into the best outfit for the Neighborhood Watch, and they all say that you should wear gloves, as it makes you look a lot cooler. And more professional,” she added. “Well, are you guys ready? Then let’s move out!”
“Are we going to pick up Scarlett, Gran?” asked Dooley.
“That is a correct assumption, Dooley. The Watch wouldn’t be the same without my trusty lieutenant.”
The BearCat, which stood parked in front of the house, looked as magnificent and impressive as ever, and even though Uncle Alec had told his mother not to get behind the wheel of the contraption anymore, she had no qualms about doing so anyway.