Purrfect Heat

Chapter 7

Brutus went home to check up on Harriet. He’d decided that the best way to deal with this upstart was to cramp his style—make sure Harriet was never alone with him. It was a great idea. Problem was, Harriet had promised to show Diego the town, so by now they could be anywhere.

Dooley and I decided to check out the restaurant. Even though we were a little bit annoyed with Odelia right now, for saddling us up with Diego, we couldn’t let her down. She relied on us to gather valuable information about this murder and we felt we had to help her get it.

“You know, if we catch the killer we could tell Odelia we’re only going to reveal the name if she promises to show Diego the door,” Dooley suggested.

“We can’t do that, Dooley,” I said. “That wouldn’t be right.”

“Is it right she foisted that orange cat on us? I mean—just saying.”

“We have to make it clear to her what kind of cat Diego really is. The moment she knows him like we do, she won’t hesitate to kick him out.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

“Well, I am sure. I trust Odelia. She’s always come through for us, and I’m sure she will come through for us now.”

We’d arrived in the back alley behind the restaurant, hoping to meet a kindred spirit—a fellow feline. We strode over to the dumpster that was parked next to the kitchen entrance and saw that we were right on the money: someone had placed a bowl of milk next to the dumpster, and another bowl with what looked like chicken nuggets.

“Yum,” Dooley said, licking his lips. How that cat manages to stay so thin, I don’t know. He never stops eating.

“Don’t touch that, Dooley,” I told him. “That’s not yours.”

“It’s on public property, which makes it everyone’s, including mine.”

“You can’t just go digging into another cat’s bowl. That would make you just as bad as Diego.”

Dooley started. “Are you comparing me to Diego? That’s mean, Max.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s true. This bowl belongs to someone, and that someone isn’t you.”

We stared around, hoping to find this mysterious someone. As far as I could see, there was no one around. “Do you think Harriet is going to fall for Diego?” Dooley wanted to know.

“I don’t think so. She’s smarter than that.”

“She wasn’t smart enough not to fall for Brutus.”

“Well, Brutus isn’t Diego. Diego seems to be way worse than Brutus.”

“They’re pretty much the same, Max. Brutus is just being nice to us now that he needs us. The moment Diego is gone, he’ll be back to his mean old ways.”

That was a scenario I hadn’t considered. “Do you think so?”

“I know so. They’re exactly the same, Brutus and Diego. Big bad bullies.”

“Don’t you think Brutus has changed?”

“No way. Bullies don’t change. If anything they just get meaner and nastier as they get older. I’m telling you, Brutus is just acting like he likes us. Deep down he still hates us.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

I turned around, and saw we’d been joined by a smallish black cat, who sat licking her fur while keeping a keen eye on us and the two bowls. I had no idea where she’d come from. One moment she wasn’t there, the next she was. Like magic.

“Um, hi,” I said. “I’m Max, and this is Dooley.”

“We were talking about another cat,” Dooley said. “A bully.”

“Two bullies, actually,” I said.

The black cat nodded sagely. “Trust me, I know all about bullies. We had one in here this past week. Nastiest bully I’ve ever seen. Drove everyone to tears.”

“You mean Niklaus Skad? The celebrity chef?” I asked.

“That’s the one. Yelling and screaming all day long. Nasty brute.”

“You do know that he was murdered, right?” asked Dooley.

“Oh, sure. It’s the talk of the neighborhood. We were all rooting for this Skad guy to leave soon and take his brand of foul abuse along with him.”

“So do you have any idea who killed him?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No idea. I wasn’t here last night. A buddy of mine was, though. He said there was a car parked out back, right next to that dumpster. A very expensive car.”

“What kind of car?” I asked.

She laughed. “You have to excuse me. I don’t know anything about cars. My buddy said it was a Tesla?” She laughed again. “He said it looked just like my fur. Obsidian black, he calls it. Whatever that is.”

“A Tesla is an electric car,” I said. “There aren’t that many of those around. Did your buddy get a license plate number?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. In fact Fred was just passing by the restaurant—that’s his name: Fred—though I have a sneaking suspicion he was looking for me. He doesn’t want to admit it but I think Fred likes me.”

“That’s nice,” I said, not interested in the cat’s romantic proclivities. “So about that Tesla—did Fred see a driver? Anyone hanging around?”

“Nope. When he told me I figured it probably belonged to Niklaus Skad. He was always arriving in fancy rides. Though he seemed to have a penchant for sports cars.” She pointed to a BMW Roadster that was parked halfway down the alley. “That’s his car right there. He must have arrived and never left.”

Dooley and I stared blankly at the BMW, then my mind turned back to the Tesla. It was significant, and I vowed to tell Odelia first chance I got.

“Oh, my name is Montserrat, by the way,” the black cat said.

“Is that your food, Montserrat?” Dooley asked, pointing at the bowl.

“Dooley!” I hissed.

“What? Just asking.”

Montserrat giggled. “No, that’s not my food, silly. Erin put that out here for the strays. I have my bowl inside. Erin’s taken a liking to me. She works here and makes sure all my needs are met.” She sighed. “I’m sure lucky with her. Do you guys have humans or are you just a couple of strays?”

“I’m sorry,” I said, indignant. “I’m not a stray. Can’t you tell?”

She studied me for a moment. “You look very well fed for a stray. You, on the other hand,” she added, turning to Dooley, “I had pegged as a stray from the moment I saw you. You look… skinny, if you know what I mean. As if you’re gonna die from starvation any second. Actually, if you want, you can eat from the public bowl. Erin put it there for strays like you.”

Dooley gaped at her. “I look like I’m about to die?”

“Yeah, you do, actually,” she confirmed. “So better tuck in, little buddy. Eat your fill before it’s too late. I think Erin even left some fish in there. Go on, then. Don’t be shy.”

“Yeah, Dooley,” I said. “Tuck in. Don’t be shy.”

But Dooley looked crushed. “I suddenly lost my appetite.”

“Actually we both belong to a human,” I told Montserrat. “My human is Odelia Poole? The reporter? And Dooley’s human is Odelia’s grandmother.”

“Oh, so you do have a human,” said Montserrat. “Sorry about that, little buddy. You have to tell her to feed you better. You’re just skin and bones.”

As we left the alley, Dooley was completely discombobulated.

“Do I really look that bad, Max?” he asked.

“You look fine to me, Dooley.”

“But Montserrat said I look like I’m about to die.”

“I’m sure she was exaggerating.”

“Maybe I’ve got some kind of wasting disease. Maybe I’m sick and I don’t even know it!”

“You’re not sick. You’re just skinny. Some cats are skinny, others are big-boned, like me. It’s body type, that’s all. Nothing to worry about.”

“But I do worry, Max.” He shook his head. “I should see a doctor.”

“I’m sure you’re fine,” I repeated. “So what about that Tesla, huh? Great clue. I can’t wait to tell Odelia.”

“Maybe I should go see Tex. He’s a doctor, right?”

“Tex is a doctor for humans. You need an animal doctor.”

He gave me a look of panic. “I do?”

“No, I mean, if you WERE sick, which you’re NOT, you would have to see a vet. But since you’re NOT sick, you DON’T, if you see what I mean.” I tried to make my meaning perfectly clear, but Dooley wasn’t having any of it.

“You just said I needed to see an animal doctor, Max. Don’t try to deny it.”

“I’m not denying anything!”

“Yes, you are.” He gave me a penetrating look. “How long have you known, Max? Who else knows? Does Odelia know?”

“Know what?”

“That I’m dying!”

“You’re not dying!”

“You’re all keeping the truth from me. This is a conspiracy!”

Oh, crap. Thank you, Montserrat, I thought. This was just like that time Dooley thought he was a pedigree cat that a famous person had abandoned. For weeks he hounded us with his stories of how Mariah Carey or Katy Perry would come looking for him and how there would be a touching reunion. No matter what I said, he didn’t believe me. This was going to be the exact same thing, I just knew it.

“You’re not dying.”

“So you say.”

“Yes, because I know.”

“How? You’re not a doctor.”

“I know because you look just fine.”

“I’m skin and bone!”

“You’ve always been skin and bone!”

“So maybe I’ve always been sick!”

Yep. This was going to be a long couple of weeks.