04b1ef9c60873c444a27c4afd3197be1

“I could be dead tomorrow, and because of you Odelia would have missed her last chance to spend some quality time with her favorite granny.”

“You’re my only granny, Gran,” said Odelia.

“Only because Tex’s folks were a bunch of ninnies who croaked before their time. It just goes to show we should cherish the little time we have.”

“Hop in, Mrs. Muffin,” said Chase. “We were just driving down to check out the murder scene now.”

“I’m not hopping in with you. Not after having been so rudely ignored. But I will drive along behind you. Who’s in charge of this here investigation?”

“I guess I am,” said Chase, as if the thought had only now occurred to him.

“Consider me your sidekick from now on. I’m sticking to you like glue!”

And with these words full of promise, she stomped back to her vehicle, got in and slammed the door, then sat staring at us with an expectant look.

“We better do as she says,” said Chase. “I have a feeling she’ll kill us if we don’t.”

“I’d really hoped she’d sit this one out,” said Odelia as she started the car.

“Oh, so youdid leave her behind on purpose.”

She shrugged.“I didn’t think it through.”

“Great,” he said. “And now she’ll stick to me like glue.” But he was grinning, indicating he didn’t mind.

“Amazing,” said Harriet quietly, as Odelia and Chase discussed the logistics of running an investigation consisting of one police detective, one local reporter, and one little old lady with no clear designation or authority.

“What is?” I asked.

“Haven’t you been listening? First Odelia leaves us behind, and then she purposely decides to ditch Gran. Don’t you see what’s going on here?”

I had a feeling I was going to find out soon, whether I replied in the affirmative or not.

“She’s engaged to be married now, and slowly but surely she’s edging us all out! Her cats, her grandmother—all of us!”

“No, she’s not,” I said automatically, for I rarely believe anything negative about my human.

“Yes, she is! Once she’s married she’s going to get rid of us, and then she’s going to get rid of Gran, too!”

“But why would she do that? She loves us,” said Dooley. “And she loves her grandmother, too. Doesn’t she?”

“No, she doesn’t,” said Harriet. She groaned. “I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid! Don’t you see? She’s been wanting to get rid of us all along, and now she’s found the perfect excuse.”

“The wedding?” asked Brutus.

“Yes! The wedding! She’ll get married, and that will be the end of this.” She was gesturing vaguely between us and Odelia.

We all stared dumbly at her paw motions.

“What’s… this?” I asked, mimicking the gesture.

“The bond we share! This rare and unique fellowship of cats and humans. Clearly she’s sick and tired of having to lug us all over the place like so much ballast, and her grandmother, too. Didn’t you catch the dirty looks she gave poor Gran? She can’t wait to be rid of her, and us. Free at last!”

We stared at her, the harbinger of such terrible and upsetting news.

“I think Harriet is right,” said Brutus. “Odelia is getting ready to dump us.”

“But what is she going to do with us?” asked Dooley, sounding panicky.

I should probably point out that it doesn’t take much for Dooley to panic. And being abandoned by our dear, sweet human definitely fit the bill.

“She’ll probably try to dump us on Marge and Tex,” said Harriet. “And then she and Chase are finally free to live their lives unencumbered by the presence of four cats and an annoying old grandmother.”

Her words had a chilling effect on us, and the rest of the drive we were all conspicuously silent. And as I turned Harriet’s words over in my mind, I had to admit they made sense. Odelia had been spending less and less time with us, giving us less and less attention, and this morning she’d even ‘forgotten’ to bring us along, just as she’d ‘forgotten’ about Gran, who loved to go on these little outings with her granddaughter.

Could it be that she and Chase had a secret plan? That they were getting ready to move away from Hampton Cove, maybe even overseas? They’d clearly had a ball in England, and since Odelia was a reporter she could very easily get a job anywhere, and Chase being a cop he could have already landed himself a snazzy position in Europol or Interpol or some other pol. My heart sank as I contemplated this terrible prospect. We’d still be taken care of, of course, and Marge and Tex and Gran were wonderful people. Only problem was: they weren’t my people, per se. I only had one people and that was Odelia, and the prospect of never seeing her again suddenly filled me with dread.

And so it was with a sinking heart that I watched Odelia expertly navigate the car in the direction of a tall iron gate, which swung open the moment we arrived, then swung closed again behind Gran’s little red car.

Suddenly I didn’t feel like cracking this case.

Because it could very well be our last one.

Chapter 6