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His furry face lit up.“You really think so? She would hire us as her assistants?”

“Well, not hire us, per se,” I prevaricated. “But she would need our help for sure.”

“You know, Max, catching killers and making sure that they’re put behind bars is the best deed possible.”

“Oh, absolutely. In fact I think catching a single killer probably earns you brownie points commensurate with at least a hundred good deeds, so there’s that to consider.”

“I have no idea what you just said, Max, but it sounds good,” he said, having cheered up considerably. He glanced over to where Odelia was still negotiating with the little girl’s mother about compensation for the ball Dooley inadvertently destroyed. “Now all we have to do is convince Odelia to launch a detective agency.”

Chapter 30

It’s always tough for anyone to have to swallow their pride, and it was especially tough for our human now to swallow hers. Unfortunately that couldn’t be helped, at least not if Odelia wanted to keep her client from being sent to prison for a crime—or in fact two crimes at the last count—she didn’t commit. Rose was eighteen, so if convicted she would go to a regular prison as far as I knew, and not to some juvenile detention center, though I doubt whether those are any less disagreeable than a regular penitentiary.

And so it was that Odelia placed the call, and much to my relief I quickly saw a smile spread across her features, and by the time she ended the call, she was actually glowing.

“He’ll be here soon,” she announced. “And he apologized. Said things suddenly moved so quickly back there that he had a hard time keeping up.”

Soon wasn’t an understatement, as a mere two minutes after Odelia had placed the call, Dan Goory came hurrying up. His long white beard was flapping in the wind, and his eyes were darting to and fro trying to detect his former star reporter. When he spotted her, his face lit up like a Christmas tree, and he quickly wended his way over to where we were all sitting.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Odelia suggested, and that’s what we did.

“I’m so sorry,” were the first words out of Dan’s mouth. “I didn’t realize Kimberly had hogged your scoop. Frankly it’s a little shocking to me that she would do such a thing, which is what I was still coming to terms with when you told me what happened and which made me respond inadequately.”

“It’s fine,” said Odelia warmly. “Her actions took me by surprise, too. I’d never have expected anyone to behave in such an unprofessional and disrespectful way so I was a little shocked when I read that article under her byline.”

“She’s gone, you know,” said Dan.

“Gone? You mean…”

“She quit on me just now. Looks like she’s been playing us both for fools, Odelia. Though me most of all, I guess. She’s got an uncle who works for the New York Post, and she’d been trying to get him to usher her in but he was stalling, probably figuring she was a little wet behind the ears. So this piece she wrote—the scoop she stole from you—is what finally convinced the uncle to give her a shot at the Post. The only reason she took the job at the Gazette was to make an impression on her uncle. Basically I paid for her job application. She never had any intention to stick around.”

“I’m sorry, Dan.”

“Yeah, so am I. I should have known it was too good to be true. Looks like my plans to expand the Gazette across the region will have to be postponed for the time being.” He placed an arm around Odelia’s shoulder. “It’s just you and me, kiddo—like it’s always been.” He gave her an uncertain look. “Unless your resignation still stands. Cause in that case I think I might just have to fold. I can’t possibly run the Gazette all by my lonesome. I may be a sprightly old geezer, but I’m not as sprightly as all that.”

“Of course I’ll stay,” said Odelia.

Dan pumped the air with his fist.“Yesss,” he said, earning himself a smile from Odelia.

“Max!” said Dooley. “She’s not going to open a detective agency!”

“Doesn’t matter, Dooley,” I said. “She’ll still need us to be her eyes and ears, detective or no detective.”

“You think so?”

“Of course. Odelia needs us just like Dan needs her.”

“You mean like a sympathetic relationship?”

“I think you mean a symbiotic relationship, and yeah, something like that.”

“Look, Dan, I think we may have just solved Dino Wimmer’s murder,” Odelia said now. “And Jared Zmuda’s.”

“We?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

We’d reached the boardwalk and were now enjoying a brisk stroll along the beach. The sun was out in full force, and warmed the world below to such an extent people were actually removing their sweaters and rolling up their shirtsleeves.

“I think you know what I mean,” said Odelia.

“Yeah, I do,” said Dan with a quick glance down at Dooley and me. He even gave us a wink.

“Max!” said Dooley. “I think he knows!”

“I think Dan has always known, Dooley,” I said. “Just one of those things that’s never talked about but quietly understood.”

“So what do you want me to do?” asked Dan.

“Is your nephew still in town?”