Purrfect Peril

Chapter 9

Chase and Chief Alec took a seat on one of those plush overstuffed chairs in the hotel lobby. With the fire marshals going over Burt Goldsmith’s room with a fine-tooth comb, trying to figure out what exactly happened there, the techies wrapping up Burt’s body and transferring it to their van, and Alec’s people talking to staff and guests, they took a respite.

“Do you really think your mom had Burt Goldsmith’s son?” asked Chase.

Chief Alec patted at the few remaining strands of hair on his wide dome and groaned. “I don’t know what to think, buddy. You would imagine a woman would know if she popped out a second son at some point in the past.”

“She says she doesn’t remember. Which doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

Alec gave him his best scowl. “Wipe that grin off your face, Chase. I’m begging you.”

Try as he might, though, Chase could not comply. The situation was simply too outrageous. “Could be that your mother is one of those women who don’t even notice they’re pregnant, then pop out a newborn without paying attention and go on about their business without a second glance.” At least that was the story Grandma had told them.

“I find that very hard to believe. And I find it equally hard to believe Scarlett Canyon would have the exact same story to tell. About the baby just suddenly… being there, I mean.” He waved his hands about a bit. “I mean—how can a baby just… pop?! That’s impossible!”

“And yet it happened, if your mother is to be believed.”

The Chief groaned some more. The big man was clearly in the throes of some extreme emotion. It’s not every day that a man discovers he has a secret brother who’s the son of the Most Fascinating Man in the World. “You wanna know what I think?”

“I definitely do, Alec. I definitely do.” Alec gave him an extremely dirty look and Chase laughed, clapping the older man on the back. “I’m sorry. It’s just funny is all.”

“Maybe for you it is. For me this is like a nightmare and I just can’t seem to wake up.”

“Tell me, big guy. What is it you think?”

Alec took a deep breath. “I think that Mom decided she wants some of those Goldsmith millions for herself, and by pretending to be Burt’s son’s long-lost mother, she just might get her hands on a big chunk of it.”

“You dare accuse your own mother of being a gold digger?”

“As a matter of fact I do. I think Mom is sick and tired of having to ask her son-in-law for handouts and now that she saw her chance clear to topping up her bank account with a nice fresh pile of cash she’s not going to let that golden opportunity slip through her fingers.”

Alec had a point. Grandma Muffin liked to spend money like water. If she wasn’t buying online beauty treatments she was being duped by scammer apps on the App Store and maxing out the credit cards Tex Poole kept giving her. The lady liked to live big, and since Tex had taken away those very credit cards, she wasn’t happy.

“I think this whole thing will shake out just fine,” Chase said, leaning back and watching the goings-on in the lobby of this fine hotel. His grandfather had stayed here, though not in Burt’s room, and as his thoughts turned to the old man, a sense of well-being spread through him. He might be a simple cop in a small town, but he had big plans. And those big plans involved starting a family with a particular feisty blond-haired reporter. If only this particular reporter felt the same way about him as he felt about her.

Alec must have sensed this shift in his mental processes, for he eyed him intently.

After a moment, Chase laughed and said, “What?”

“You haven’t been home a lot lately, have you?”

“No, sir, I haven’t.”

He’d been bunking with Alec since arriving in town, something for which he was still mighty grateful. In the process, he and the chief of police had struck up a fine friendship, and he had a feeling the older man was about to abuse that friendship by giving him a piece of advice. He didn’t mind. He could use all the advice Odelia’s uncle cared to dispense.

“Been sleeping over at my niece’s place?”

“Yes, sir, as a matter of fact I have.”

“You like that girl, don’t you, son?”

He smiled widely. “You got my number, Alec. I do like your niece. In fact I don’t think it’s too much to say that I love her.”

“Oh, bringing out the L word, huh?”

“Yes, sir. Only the L word will do for what I feel for Odelia Poole.”

“Well, let me give you a piece of advice, son.”

Here it came.

“The way to Odelia’s heart is those damn cats of hers.”

He looked up. Huh? “Say what?”

Alec poked a finger in Chase’s chest for emphasis. “Shower those cats with love and affection and she’ll look upon you differently. That’s my piece of advice for you.”

For a moment he thought the other man had lost it. “Odelia’s cats.”

“Max, Dooley and Harriet. Focus on those three. I don’t know about Brutus. He’s something of an interloper.”

“Like me.”

Alec didn’t laugh. “Maybe you are, maybe you ain’t. Too soon to tell.”

He gulped a little. “But she likes me, right?”

The chief wiggled his head. “Eh. I guess she does. The thing you need to know about Odelia is that she’s been through a lot, son. She’s been with plenty of fellas in her time and none of them turned out the way she hoped. She’s taking a mighty big leap letting you sleep over. As far as I know that’s a first for her.” And there was that finger again, poking his chest. Alec was leaning in now, too, his face inches from Chase’s. “So don’t you go and break that girl’s heart now, you hear?”

“You know I won’t.”

“Cause if you break my favorite niece’s heart, I’ll break your neck, understand?”

“I thought Odelia was your only niece?” he quipped.

But Alec didn’t crack a smile. The man was serious. “Promise me.”

“I promise, I promise. I will not break your favorite niece’s heart.”

“Fine.” He relaxed a little. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, I don’t think it’s too much to say that you’re by far my favorite of Odelia’s many boyfriends so far.”

“That’s… great to hear. I guess.”

Alec slung a hand around his shoulder and gave him a fatherly squeeze. “Keep this up and you might even marry into the family.” Just then, Grandma Muffin came stalking through the lobby, shouting a few carefully chosen obscenities at Scarlett Canyon, who was teetering on high heels in front of her and shouting right back. “Not sure that’s such a good idea, though, considering this family of mine is batshit crazy,” Chief Alec added with a sigh.