The Mysteries of Max: Books 25-27

Chapter 37

“Look, I like her, too, Max, but Dudley is right. Who knows where Clarice has been—and I would never forgive myself if you guys came down with some bug that she’s transmitted to you.”

“I’m pretty sure no bug would dare to attach itself to Clarice,” I said. “Or a parasite.”

“It’s all right, Max,” said Clarice. “You don’t have to defend me. If they want me gone, I’ll go.”

“I’m sorry, Clarice,” said Odelia. “But you must understand that—”

“All humans are the same? No, yeah, I absolutely understand.”

“Oh, please don’t take it like that,” said Odelia.

“Just forget about it,” said Clarice, and walked out the pet flap and was gone.

“That wasn’t very nice of you,” I told my human.

“I’m sorry, Max,” she said. “But I’m just doing it to protect you.”

“Right,” I said, and then followed in Clarice’s wake, hoping I could still catch her. “Clarice! Hold up!” I yelled when I caught up with her at the end of our street. She turned and I could tell that Odelia’s unexpected betrayal didn’t sit well with the tough cat. “I’m so sorry,” I said. We were sitting under a streetlamp, and its diffuse light lit up Clarice’s mottled fur. I didn’t see any sign of any parasites, though, or fleas or whatever.

“I knew this was going to happen,” she said. “This Dudley kid sees me as a threat. Cause I’m on to him, and you’re not. So he got rid of me—plain and simple. And Odelia, that gullible fool, allowed herself to be played for a sucker.”

“But I don’t understand. What could Dudley possibly have to gain by getting rid of you. What does he want?”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet, Max? He wants to destroy you.”

“Destroy us? What do you mean?”

“The accidents, dummy! I’ll bet that’s all him.”

I shook my head. “But that can’t be. He’s been nothing but kind to us. And Tex is so happy that he finally has a son.”

“Oh, Max,” said Clarice with a sigh. “Look, this really is none of my business, but I care about you, so I’m going to tell you this once, and then I’m out of here.” She fixed me with an intense look. “Watch out for this Dudley kid. Okay? Watch your back, and watch your humans’ back.”

“But…”

“I gotta go. Take care of yourself, and thanks for sticking your neck out just now.” She smiled. “No one has ever stood up for me like that before. I appreciate it, big buddy.”

“Don’t go, Clarice. I’m sure if I just talk to Odelia—”

“Don’t sweat it, Max. I’m used to being screwed over by humans. See ya around.” And with these words, she walked away.

And as I returned to the house, thinking about everything Clarice had said, I suddenly saw a car pull over in front of Marge and Tex’s home. Dudley then came walking out, talked to whoever was driving the car, and accepted a package from the driver, then the car took off before I reached the house and could see who was behind the wheel.

And by the time I arrived, Dudley had already returned indoors.

Could Clarice be right? Could Dudley be a threat to us and to our humans? But why? What was he playing at?

And so it was a slightly downcast Max who walked in through the pet flap again, and installed myself on my favorite spot on my favorite couch.

“Is she gone?” asked Dooley sadly.

“Yeah, she’s gone,” I said, just as sadly.

“I like Clarice. I like her very much.”

“Me, too,” I said. “I think she’s just great.”

“And I don’t think she’s got parasites, Max.”

“No, I don’t think so either, Dooley.”

Brutus and Harriet had already returned next door, and were probably getting ready to go to bed. With Chase being relieved of guard duty, and Clarice having been dismissed, that only left Rambo as our guard dog, and Odelia didn’t think it was a good idea to entrust the safety of her cats to the old dog, so she’d told us there was to be no cat choir tonight.

It wasn’t fair, I thought, but then I’m just a cat, right? And clearly Odelia wasn’t going to take my advice, as the Clarice incident had clearly shown.

So I simply closed my eyes and decided to take a long nap—preferably until this whole ordeal had somehow sorted itself out—or longer.

And I probably would have made good on my promise if I hadn’t been awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of the pet flap flapping not once but twice. And suddenly Harriet and Brutus materialized in front of me.

“You have to come, Max,” said Harriet, sounding worried. “It’s Marge. She’s fallen into some kind of coma.”

They were words that had the effect of making me jump off that couch and immediately follow my friends, with Dooley right behind me.

Moments later we were in the upstairs bedroom, where Tex was bent over his wife’s prostrate body, trying to revive her. Outside, the sounds of an approaching ambulance could be heard, and Vesta, who’d been hovering nearby, now hurried down the stairs to open the front door for the paramedics.

“Marge!” said Tex, extremely distraught. “Please, Marge, wake up!”

But Marge didn’t respond. What was more, she was white as a sheet, and looked as if she’d already passed on to meet her maker.

“Oh, dear,” said Harriet in hushed tones. “This is bad, isn’t it? This is very, very bad.”

And immediately Clarice’s words came back to me, and when I turned and saw Dudley hovering in the doorway, looking on, I thought I saw a small smile flit across his handsome face. Then, when he saw me looking at him, he gave me a wink, and put his finger to his lips in the universal gesture of ‘Keep quiet…’

Oh, dear. So Clarice had been right all along!