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And she proceeded to fill Marge and Odelia in on all the details pertaining to the case. She didn’t mention that her witness was a dog, but then that was probably a given.

Odelia was tickled pink by this development, and promised to tell her boyfriend straight away. Harriet looked extremely happy, and gave me a look that spoke volumes.“So you see, Max, Brutus and I are really coming into our own as detectives,” she said, rubbing it in as much as she could.

“I know,” I said, not begrudging her this success.

“Pretty soon we’ll be Hampton Cove’s premier feline sleuths,” she continued with an airy glance out the window.

“That’s great,” I said.

“Overtaking you and Dooley,” she added.

“This is not a competition, sweetie,” said Marge from the front seat. “Though you did really good there, I must say. You and Brutus both.”

“For your information, Marge,” said Harriet decidedly, “lifeis a competition.”

“No, it’s not,” said Marge. “Cooperation is what we need to find my brother, and I hope you don’t forget that.”

Harriet gave her human a look of confusion.“You mean…”

“I mean that the best results are often achieved when we all work together, not try to best one another. So try to work as a team, Harriet, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Oh,” said Harriet, taken aback by this strange advice. “Work as a team?”

“Yep. Cooperation, not competition, that’s the secret of success. Park right there, honey,” she told her daughter, and soon Odelia had parked behind a very large SUV and we were getting out. Charlene, who’d been dozing, was gently awakened by Odelia, and assisted out of the car and across the street, then marched into Tex’s doctor’s office.

“Teamwork,” said Harriet, still ruminating on Marge’s words as we all waited patiently on the sidewalk for our humans’ return. “Cooperation, not competition,” she murmured, as if the concept was completely alien to her. Then she glanced up at me. “Do you think Marge was joking, Max?”

“No, I think she was absolutely serious when she said that,” I intimated. “We’re much better when we all work together as a team, Harriet. And you know that.”

“Huh,” she said, then shrugged. “Okay, fine. So let’s join forces from now on, shall we? You and Dooley go this way, and Brutus and I will go that way. And may the best team win.” And with these words, she was off in the direction of Hampton Cove’s Main Street.

Dooley and I stared after her, and then Dooley said,“I don’t think Harriet has entirely grasped the meaning of the word teamwork yet, Max.”

“No,” I said. “I don’t think she has.”

Chapter 23

“Whatcha doing, Chief?”

Chase looked up from his computer to see that Dolores Peltz, the police station dispatcher, was standing next to his desk. She was holding a steaming mug of coffee in her hands that said,‘World’s Greatest Cop,’ and was taking occasional sips.

“Oh, just looking at mug shots,” he said, and gestured to his screen, where a gallery of the world’s skeeviest-looking criminals was on display.

“Who ya looking for?” asked Dolores, narrowing her eyes at the screen.

“All I’ve got is a description,” said Chase, and read from his notebook, “Heavy build, crooked nose, shaven head, cauliflower ears, Boston accent. Oh, and drives an old dark-green Ford van.”

“I’d start with the van,” said Dolores. “What case is this?”

“Um…” He couldn’t very well tell her it was actually the case of their missing Chief, so he said, “Burglary. On Grover Street.”

“Burglary? I don’t know anything about no burglary. Who’s the victim?”

“Um…” He closed his computer. “You know, Dolores, I was going through the calendar and I saw that your birthday is coming up soon.”

Dolores grimaced.“Don’t remind me. Once you get to be my age any birthday is a birthday too much. Why, are you and the guys cooking me up a surprise?”

“Aren’t we always? I was just wondering if there’s something special you would like.”

“Oh, there’s plenty,” said the dispatcher. “Where do I start?”

“Maybe make a list? And then we can get you something you really want, instead of some corny gift you don’t need.”

“Like last year, you mean. I could have done without that balloon ride, buddy. You know I hate heights.”

“I know now,” Chase said. When Dolores had discovered she’d been gifted a free ride in a balloon, she’d screamed the entire precinct down, until they’d agreed to exchange the gift for a day at the spa instead.

And as Chase watched Dolores stalk off, he breathed a sigh of relief. If Dolores found out what was going on, so would the rest of town. And he didn’t want to endanger his superior officer’s life by blabbing about his kidnapping.

Suddenly a cry rang out through the police station main office, and Chase quickly walked out of his own office to see what was going on. When he got there, he saw that all of his officers stood gathered around Officer Sarah Flunk, who was… crying!

“What’s going on?” he asked, joining the throng. “Sarah? Are you all right?”

“Better than all right, boss,” said the copper-haired officer, wiping her freckled face. “I’m getting married!”