Purrfect Crime

Chapter 24

She arrived at the house just as Chase rolled up in his pickup truck and parked right behind hers. He got out, his hair tousled and dressed in sturdy jeans, check flannel shirt and cowboy boots. “So what’s this about a prowler? And don’t give me that women’s intuition line again.”

“I got a call just now from one of Donna’s neighbors walking his dog. He said he saw someone move around inside the house.”

“Who called?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t tell you. A reporter has to protect her sources.”

He gave her an intense look. “Haven’t we moved beyond that crap, Odelia?”

She lifted her shoulders in a shrug and turned toward the house. “What can I say? My sources trust me to protect their confidentiality and anonymity and I owe it to them to respect that.”

“Of course you do,” he grumbled as he fell into step beside her. He looked down when he saw movement and started. “You brought your cats along?”

“Always.”

He shook his head. “You are one special cookie, Odelia.”

She hooked her arm through his. “But you like special cookies, right?”

He eyed her warmly. “You know I do. Now let’s catch ourselves a prowler, shall we?”

They arrived at the house and Odelia watched her cats sneak around the back. A sliver of fear suddenly settled around her heart. “So how do you want to do this?”

“Very carefully,” Chase said, and peered into one of the windows on the ground floor. “I don’t see a thing.”

“Maybe they’re upstairs.” Or maybe they left already. Or maybe her cats were delusional.

Chase moved to the front door and studied the lock for a moment. Then he took a small pouch from his pocket and extracted a metal tool that she seemed to recognize from her frequent visits to the dentist. Chase inserted it into the lock, then added a second metal tool and messed around with them for a while. The door suddenly clicked open and they were in.

“I didn’t know you burgled houses for a living!” she whispered as they stepped inside.

“Back when I was employed by the NYPD I had a buddy who was a converted crook. He taught me a few tricks of his trade. You never know when this kind of stuff comes in handy. Like now.”

“Can you teach me?”

He grinned. “If you teach me about women’s intuition.”

“I can’t. It’s called women’s intuition for a reason.”

“So it’s like some kind of secret only shared by women, huh?”

“Something like that.”

They both took out their smartphones to light their way, and quickly inspected the ground floor but found it to be completely deserted. Odelia sniffed the air, and thought the house smelled an awful lot of pot, for some reason. She noticed Max gesturing at her through a half-opened window so she opened the window further and let him in. “Remember what I told you,” she said. “No looking for food. Only clues.”

“Clues, yes. Food, no. Gotcha.”

She followed Chase up the stairs, going from room to room. With two bathrooms and six bedrooms, the place was pretty expansive, and they’d finally reached the master bedroom when both their beams of light fell on a lone figure asleep in the bed. They halted in their tracks.

“What the…” Chase muttered. He held up a hand, balling it into a fist in some kind of Special Forces command, and proceeded further into the room, Odelia hanging back. She saw that he’d drawn his gun and was pointing it at the intruder. She just hoped it wasn’t Donna’s ghost because she didn’t think ghosts responded well to gunfire.

Chase had reached the bed and was staring down at the sleeping figure, a frown creasing his brow.

“Who is it?” she asked from the door.

He beckoned her over, holstering his service weapon. And as she joined him, she saw the figure was a woman, dressed in a long, flowing white robe, barefoot and with long dark hair. And it definitely wasn’t Donna Bruce.

“She looks familiar somehow,” said Chase. “Like I’ve seen her before somewhere.”

And then it dawned on her. “But that’s Zelda Yoke. The actress. She starred in those Star Cars movies. Remember? Where a bunch of cars turn out to be these big robot warriors, fighting other big robot warriors in space. She made a bunch of those.”

“I remember. Weren’t she and Donna Bruce locked in some kind of rivalry?”

“They were. Donna starred in the more popular Star Rigs franchise, where a bunch of trucks turn out to be big robot warriors, fighting other big robot warriors in space.”

As the leading ladies of the two nearly identical franchises, the two stars fought a bitter battle for years. Finally, Donna retired from the franchise and acting to focus on her website, and Zelda’s star had faded away when the fifth and final movie in the Star Cars series bombed at the box office.

Chase shook the woman’s shoulder and she stirred, smacking her lips. “Donna? Is that you?” she murmured. When she opened her eyes and saw two strangers staring down at her, she yelped in sudden fear. “Who the hell are you?”

“Hampton Cove Police, ma’am. May I ask what you’re doing in Donna Bruce’s bed?”

The woman blinked. “Why, Donna invited me, of course. I’m her starring guest.”

“You are aware that Mrs. Bruce passed away this morning, ma’am?”

“Of course I’m aware Donna passed away. Why do you think I’m here?”

“You mean she invited you before she died?”

“No, she invited me after she died. Told me to come to her home and get in touch with her spirit.” She sat up, a glazed look in her eyes. “Donna and I have always had a very strong connection. Sisters from another mister is what we were. Kindred spirits. So when she died I felt a very powerful disturbance in the force and I just knew I had to come here.”

“I’m afraid you’re trespassing, ma’am.”

“But Donna wants me here. She needs me here. I’m telling you her spirit reached out to me.”

“Why don’t you get dressed and come with me?”

“Come with you?” She frowned. “Who are you again?”

“Hampton Cove Police. And I’m afraid you’re under arrest for trespassing.”

“But I can’t be. I keep telling you but you won’t listen. Donna invited me. I’m a guest.”

“Were you burning something downstairs, Mrs. Yoke?” asked Odelia, remembering Dooley’s words.

The former actress smiled. “You’re very perceptive. I was burning incense. To ward off the bad spirits and to summon Donna’s spirit.”

“And did it work?” asked Chase.

“Not yet. But I’m sure she’ll be here any moment now.” The woman glanced around, as if fully expecting Donna to suddenly materialize out of thin air. “She invited me here, you know.”

“Of course she did,” said Chase. “Now come along, Mrs. Yoke.”

“Are you familiar with my work, Officer?”

“As a matter of fact I am,” said Chase as he escorted the woman from the room.

“And what was your favorite? I liked the first Star Cars the most. That one was a huge hit.”

“Yes, it was,” said Chase, and helped the actress down the stairs. It was a little sad to see her like this, Odelia thought. She had been wonderful in those Star Cars movies.

“Did you know I do all my own stunts?”

“Is that a fact?”

“Donna never did. Everything you see in those Star Rigs movies is all CGI. With Star Cars what you see is what you get. It’s all real. All me.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, where were you this morning around seven, Mrs. Yoke?”

“This morning around seven?” They’d reached the foyer and Chase opened the front door to escort the woman out. “Why, I was reaching out to Donna, of course. We’re connected on a higher level, you know. Soul sisters.”

“Mind the step.”

And as the woman padded barefoot along the drive in the direction of Chase’s pickup, Odelia and Chase at her elbows making sure she didn’t trip and fall, Odelia thought they’d just closed this case. It was now obvious to her that the intense rivalry that had existed between the two actresses all these years had finally driven Zelda Yoke crazy, inducing her to commit this atrocious act of violence and get rid of her ‘soul sister’ once and for all.

The cats came tripping behind her. They, too, seemed pleased as punch at this unexpected development. Mostly because they’d beaten Harriet at her own game, and possibly because Max had found something to eat after all, judging from the crumbs of dog biscuit covering his lips.

She decided he’d earned it. And as Chase placed Zelda in the back of his car and locked the door, he said, “I think the combination of your intuition and your secretive informant may just have cracked this case, Odelia.”

“I think so, too,” she said, directing a commiserating glance at Zelda, who sat muttering to herself, rocking back and forth. “What a sad ending, though, right?”

“Yeah, I loved those Star Cars movies. They were da bomb.”

“Da bomb?” she laughed. “The nineties called, they want their bomb back.”

“Laugh all you want. Star Cars was great fun.”

“I was more into Star Rigs.”

“Star Rigs was clearly a rip-off of Star Cars.”

“I’m pretty sure Star Rigs came first.”

“And I’m pretty sure you’re wrong.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a Zelda Yoke fan.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a Donna Bruce fan.”

Odelia held her hand up in the Star Rigs salute, which was a fist with her pinkie finger sticking out. “Star Rigs forever, buddy.”

Chase made the Star Cars salute, a fist with his thumb sticking out sideways. “Star Cars all the way, babe.”

And the age-old rivalry would have caused two more casualties if Zelda hadn’t at that moment rolled down her window and asked, “Can we go now? Donna is waiting for me.”

“Waiting for you where?” asked Chase.

The actress raised her eyes to the sky. “Why, amongst the stars, of course.”

“Of course,” said Chase with a grin at Odelia, and got into the car.

Odelia watched him drive off. “Well, you guys did good.”

“Do you think she did it?” asked Dooley.

“I’m pretty sure she did.”

“Yay!” Max said, pumping the air with his paw. “So can I have some Cat Snax now?”

She smiled. “Yes, you can. But then you’re going back on the diet, all right?”

“Yes!” Max exclaimed, exchanging a high five with Dooley. “We did it, Dooley!”

“Case closed?”

“Case closed,” Odelia agreed.