Purrfect Cut

Chapter 18

It was late by the time Odelia and Chase arrived at the chateau, but that didn’t deter the intrepid reporter from pressing her finger to the bell and to keep on pressing until a gruff voice spoke through the intercom.

“What do you want?” the voiced inquired.

It was a far cry from the warm welcome they’d enjoyed that morning, but Odelia wasn’t deterred. “Hi, My name is Odelia Poole, and I think my cats are somewhere on the premises. Do you mind if we take a look around?”

“Yes, I do mind,” said the gruff voice. “This is a private residence and you can’t just barge in here without an appointment. Now please go away.”

Next it was Chase’s turn to press his finger to the bell.

“I told you to leave!” the voice growled when it returned.

Chase held his police badge in front of the camera. “Chase Kingsley, Detective with the Hampton Cove Police Department. Open the gate.”

“That badge doesn’t give you the right to snoop around, Detective. I suggest you come back with a warrant. Until you do, get lost.” And the connection was once again abruptly severed.

Odelia stared at the gate for a moment. She couldn’t believe what was happening. “Did they really just tell us to take a hike?”

“I guess they did,” said Chase, who looked as surprised as Odelia.

Just then, the gate swung open, and moments later a small fleet of black SUVs exited. They all seemed to be in a hurry to get away from the place.

“Huh,” said Odelia. “I didn’t know there was a UN meeting taking place.”

“Time to go look for your cats,” said Chase, and walked through the gate, Odelia close on his heels.

“Don’t you think we’ll get in trouble for this?” she asked.

“Pretty sure the gate swung open after we rang the bell.”

She grinned. “Well, if you look at it that way, I guess you’re right.”

“Stick with me, kid,” he quipped. “I’m always right.”

“Big man on campus,” she said as she had to hurry to keep up with the long-legged cop.

“So where did you last see your cats?” he asked.

“When we got here this morning, remember? They got out of the car and that’s the last time I saw them.”

“They could literally be anywhere. They could even be roaming the streets of Hampton Cove right now.”

“They could,” she agreed, “but something tells me they never left.”

“Don’t tell me. Female intuition?”

“You may scoff at the notion that women have a very powerful and fine-tuned sense of intuition, but it’s a fact that very often we’re right.”

“I’m not making fun of you, babe. I do believe you when you say your cats are here. No one else I know has such a strong connection to their pets.”

“Thanks,” she said. “That’s a very nice thing to say.”

They’d arrived at the house and now stood where their car had been parked that morning: in the drive in front of the house.

All the lights were out inside, except on the second floor.

“Why don’t we knock on the door and go in?” Chase suggested. “After all, we’re still laboring under the assumption we were buzzed in just now.”

“A false assumption,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, but they don’t know that we know that.”

So they moved up to the house and Chase pounded his fist on the door. Of course there was no response.

“Let’s move to the back,” said Odelia. “Maybe Max and Dooley are still around somewhere.”

They walked around to the back of the house, and in the distance Odelia could see the famous petting zoo. The lights were on in the different sections and she could see a horse staring back at her, and also a donkey.

“You can’t talk to them, can you?” asked Chase.

“No, unfortunately I can only talk to cats.”

“Too bad. They might know where Max and Dooley went.”

And they’d reached the deck when suddenly floodlights bathed the scene in a blinding light. Moments later they were surrounded by a small group of armed men, whom Odelia recognized as part of the house’s security detail.

“Easy, guys,” said Chase, carefully taking out his police badge. “We were invited.”

“Oh, hey, Detective Kingsley,” said the burliest and biggest of the lot. “Going for an evening stroll?”

“Yeah, enjoying the night air,” he said. “So what’s going on here? What’s with all the SUVs that just drove off?”

“Oh, we had a conference of some kind,” said the guy, who appeared to be the more garrulous type. With a gesture of the hand he dismissed his men, who holstered their weapons and returned indoors, to fight off another threat to the safety of the chateau’s inhabitants.

“A conference?” asked Odelia.

“Yeah. Discussing the future of the company now that the top guy is dead.”

“So who’s the new top guy?” asked Chase.

“I’m not sure but I think it’s Leonora Flake,” said the guy. “At least that’s who we’re getting our instructions from now. Her and some skinny dude with a cat.”

“Skinny dude with a cat?” asked Chase.

“Not Chris Cross,” said Odelia, surprised.

“Yeah, Cross. That’s the name I got.”

“Is he in charge now? I thought he was just a private detective, hired by Leonora?”

“Yeah, well, I guess he got promoted.”

“Weird,” said Chase.

“So have you seen any other cats around? “asked Odelia. “My cats in particular? One is large and orange, the other small and gray.”

The guy furrowed his brow. “Um… can’t say that I have, Miss…”

“Poole.”

“Oh, right. I’ve read your articles, Miss Poole. Well-written and well-informed every time. They’re the first thing I read when I get the Gazette.”

“Thanks,” said Odelia. “Always nice to meet a fan. So no cats, huh?”

“Only Pussy, but then she’s the star of the show, isn’t she?” said the guy with a laugh. He turned to Chase. “So did you arrest Gabe Crier?”

“Yeah, we did. And charged him.”

“Yeah, seems like a foregone conclusion that he did it. Martha is still pretty shook up. And now even more, since she got fired.”

“Who’s Martha?” asked Odelia.

“The maid who discovered the body,” said Chase. “She got fired?”

“Yeah, her and all the others. Looks like Leonora is doing a clean sweep. The entire household staff was fired this evening, and sent home. Tomorrow she’ll start hiring new people. At least security hasn’t been given their marching orders yet, but I have a hunch we’re next. New brooms, huh?”

And with these words he wandered back to the house and disappeared inside.

Odelia and Chase stared after the man. “What do you make of that?” asked Odelia. “Leonora in charge, with a pet detective and his cat, and the entire staff fired.”

“Like the guy said. New brooms.”

Odelia thought for a moment. “Maybe that’s why they hired Chris Cross. He claims to be able to talk to pets, just like me. Only I always thought it was just a gimmick. You know, like a sales pitch.”

“Maybe he really can talk to pets, and now he’ll talk to Pussy and together they’ll run the show.”

Odelia glanced around. They still had no clue where Max and Dooley could be, and she was seriously starting to get worried now.

Chase, who could sense her agitation, said, “They’re probably home by now. Strike or no strike, they don’t like to be out and about for too long.”

“No, they don’t,” she agreed. “Maybe it’s time for us to head back.”

And so they strolled back to the front of the house.

Above their heads, and unbeknownst to them, three cats were yelling their little hearts out, pounding the window of Pussy’s room. Unfortunately a cat’s paws are outfitted with soft pink pads, and soft pink pads are not what you want when you try to attract attention by pounding on windows. The upshot was that their efforts produced no effect. And so it was with a desperate eye that Max and Dooley and Pussy saw the two humans who could have saved them from their imprisonment walk away and pass into the night.