The Mysteries of Max: Books 25-27

Chapter 12

Odelia was hard at work on her article about the attack on her cats that morning when her uncle waltzed into her office. She was surprised to see him, for he was usually not in the habit of visiting her at the Gazette offices.

“Hey, Uncle Alec,” she said. And when she noticed the careworn expression on her uncle’s face when he took a seat, she immediately feared the worst. “Did Charlene break up with you again?”

Immediately he gave her a look of indignation. “No, she did not. What makes you think that?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said. “Just… you have that look.”

“Charlene did not break up with me,” he said emphatically. “Whatever people say.” He eyed her intently. “Have people been saying that about us? Is that it?”

“No, I haven’t picked up any gossip about you and Charlene lately.”

Often people in Hampton Cove, when they had nothing better to do, enjoyed spending their time gossiping about anyone and everyone, and even when they didn’t have time they still considered it their most beloved pastime for some reason.

“Charlene’s uncle died this morning,” he said, glancing around her office for a moment before settling his gaze on her again. “Looks like an accident. He installed pools for a living,” he explained, “and he fell in at the deep end of an empty pool. Died on impact, according to Abe.”

“That’s terrible,” said Odelia. “Was Charlene close with her uncle?”

“Not particularly, but she was fond of him. Well, you know how it is. You’re close to all of your relatives when you’re little, then you go off to college and start your career and those once close family bonds tend to fall by the wayside as you build your own life.”

“Except for us,” she said with a smile.

Her uncle reciprocated with a goofy smile of his own. “Yeah, except for our family. But anyway, I was thinking that if you don’t have too much work on your hands right now that maybe you could look into this guy’s death for me?”

She arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “You mean his accident?”

“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that.”

“You think he was murdered?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Honestly? No idea. Call it a hunch, but I have the feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye.”

“Sure, I’ll look into it if you want. But is there a particular reason you’re asking me and not one of your officers?”

“If the police get involved it will be in the context of an official police inquiry, and that’s exactly what I don’t want. I want everyone to think it’s a simple accident.”

“You don’t want to alarm the murderer.”

“If there is a murderer,” he said.

“Gotcha.”

“Oh, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Charlene.”

“You don’t want her to know her uncle may have been murdered?”

“No, I don’t. She’s got enough on her plate as it is. And if I’m wrong about this, I don’t want her to get all worked up about it for no reason.”

“Sure. I’ll be super-discreet.” When her uncle didn’t make any indication of getting up, she frowned. “Is there more?”

He scratched his nose. “Well, um… your grandmother just sent me a text. Looks like there’s going to be a family extension.”

“A family extension? What do you mean?”

“Yeah, a kid just came forward claiming he’s your dad’s son.”

Odelia blinked. Whatever she’d been expecting, it most definitely wasn’t this. “My dad’s son? You mean…”

“Looks like your dad dated the kid’s mom at some point and she ended up pregnant and had his baby.” He held up his hands. “That’s all I know.”

“My dad… has a son,” she said, highly taken aback by this unexpected piece of news. “I wonder how Mom is taking this.”

“Knowing my sister, not well,” said her uncle, who was still making no indication of having said his bit. “And in other news, your grandmother is going to start patrolling the streets at night, looking for that so-called cat killer.”

“That’s great,” said Odelia, nodding. “I hope she catches the guy.”

“Yeah, well, all I know is that when Vesta is out and about, trouble usually follows her around like a newborn pup.” He got up. “Oh, and that dog you were asking about? I think I found just the one.”

“You did? Hey, that’s great!”

“Yeah, he’s a bit long in the tooth maybe, but by all accounts he used to be a fine police dog when he was still on active duty.”

Her face fell. “You’re getting me a retired dog?”

“Of course. What did you expect? That you were getting an active dog? Those are all spoken for, honey. But Rambo is a mighty fine specimen, so your cats will be absolutely safe.” Her uncle flashed her a quick grin. “And he’s had all his shots, too.”

And with these words, he left the office, giving the doorframe a rap as he went.

A retired police dog to guard her cats, Grandma Muffin patrolling the streets and, most importantly, a stepbrother. No wonder her uncle felt the need to drop by in person.

She picked up her phone and called her mom but the call went straight to voicemail. So instead she called her grandmother, who picked up at the first ring.

“What do you want?” growled the older lady.

“Is it true that I have a stepbrother?” she asked.

Gran chuckled loudly. “Yeah, you do. And he’s something else, too.”

“That bad, huh?”

“No, that good. The perfect son! Very polite, very nice, and not too bad-looking either. Though he should probably do something about his ears, and that’s exactly what I told him.”

“His ears?”

“Yeah, you’ll see. When are you coming home to meet your new brother?”

Her heart sank. “How is Mom taking it?”

“What do you think?”

“I’m guessing… not good?”

“You’re guessing right. If I were in your father’s shoes right now I’d want to be zapped up by Captain Kirk and taken aboard the Starship Enterprise to the far side of the galaxy.”

“That bad, huh.”

“Better get over here before she commits involuntary manslaughter is all I’m saying.”

And as she disconnected, Odelia wondered where this new brother of hers had suddenly sprung from. Mom’s worst nightmare, probably.