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Odelia laughed at this.ôOctuplets! I hope not!ö

Chase glanced over to his wife.ôWhoÆs having octuplets?ö

ôMe! According to Dooley, at least.ö

ôImagine having eight,ö Chase grunted, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

Odelia darted an amused look at her hubby.ôOh, I donÆt know. I think it would be a lot of fun. A house filled with joy and laughter and all that.ö

ôBut babeùeight!ö Chase cried, going white around the nostrils.

ôSo? I was an only child, and so were you, so donÆt tell me you never thought of having a little brother or sister when you were growing up?ö

ôI did, but not eight!ö

ôI think itÆll be fun.ö

ôFun!ö

ôOh, relax, sourpuss! IÆm not having eight babies.ö

Chase blew out a sigh of intense relief.ôOh, phew.ö

ôBut IÆm not ruling out septuplets.ö

ôSeptuplets!ö Chase and Dooley cried out in unison. ôNo way!ö

ôOkay, fine! How about just the one then?ö

ôOne I can handle,ö said Dooley. ôThough only barely.ö

ôOne is fine,ö Chase grunted. ôOr even two or three.ö

ôWell, itÆs just the one,ö said Odelia, sinking lower in her seat and putting her feet up on the dash.

ôBabe, donÆt do that,ö said Chase. ôAnd make sure that seatbeltÆs securely fastened.ö

ôOkay, grandma,ö said Odelia with a grin, but she removed her feet from the dash and sat up straighter. ôThough you can drive the legal limit, you know.ö

She was right. For some reason we were crawling along the road, with at least a dozen cars behind us, a few drivers leaning on their horns.

ôItÆs important to be safe,ö Chase pointed out. ôRoad safety is no laughing matter.ö

ôI know, babe,ö said Odelia, rubbing the copÆs arm affectionately. ôBut at this rate weÆll arrive there next week. And we still have lots of people to see, you know. Or donÆt you want us to nab this nasty killer?ö

ôOh, all right,ö said Chase, and sped up a smidgenùbut only a smidgen.

I glanced over and saw that Dooley was beaming for some reason.ôWhy are you so happy all of a sudden?ö I asked.

ôOne baby, Max,ö he whispered. ôSheÆs only having one baby!ö

I smiled.ôI know.ö

ôOne baby I can handle. I think.ö His face clouded a little. ôOr maybe not.ö

ôOf course we can handle one baby,ö I said. ôBesides, babies arenÆt dangerous, you know. TheyÆre not live grenades that can go off any second.ö

ôSays you,ö he said, and his frown had returned. I had the impression that as long as that baby hadnÆt been born, my friend would continue to fret and worry. Then again, Dooley always frets and worries. If itÆs not about babies, itÆs about the sky falling or some terrible disease laying waste to the entire family. He watches too much television, I guess.

WeÆd finally arrived at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Blandine, and we all got out. It was a modest little home on a quiet street. I wondered now how the Karats had discovered the likeness between Cotton and Eric, but I was sure the manÆs wife would tell us all about it.

Mrs. Blandine was a short, stocky woman with a bob of dark hair and a square face. SheÆd been crying, I saw, which meant that either sheÆd been peeling onions, or someone had already broken the news to her.

ôIÆm very sorry to say that I have some bad news for you about your husband, Mrs. Blandine,ö said Chase as we stood on the porch.

ôI know!ö the woman wailed. ôHeÆs dead, isnÆt he!ö

ôHow did youàö

ôWe heard the news this morning,ö said a man, stepping to the fore. He looked very much like Cotton Karat, or indeed Eric Blandine, only there was more of him. Twice as much, actually, a lot of it centered around his waistline, and the rest evenly distributed across his face and neck. It was uncanny. As if Cotton Karat was donning a fat suit. ôIÆm EricÆs brother Fabrizio,ö the man explained.

ôHow did you hear about what happened?ö asked Chase as we stepped into the house.

ôThe company lawyer called,ö Fabrizio explained. ôTobias Pushman. Asked us to refrain from comment in case we heard it on the news. And reminded us that Eric signed a nondisclosure agreement which extended to his immediate family.ö

ôThey donÆt want us to talk to the media,ö said Mrs. Blandine, sniffling as she took a seat on a baggy couch and grabbed a handful of tissues from a box on the coffee table.

ôIÆm very sorry for your loss,ö said Chase.

ôIÆm going to sue them, you know,ö said the newly widowed woman. ôThey killed him!ö

ôWe donÆt know that, Maisie,ö said Mr. Blandine, patting the womanÆs hand. HeÆd taken a seat next to her, and was playing the part of the consoling relative to perfection.

ôOf course we do!ö Maisie cried, lifting a teary face to her brother-in-law. ôThey asked him to pretend to be Cotton Karat and now those crazies killed him! This would never have happened if he hadnÆt listened to them.ö

ôIt wasnÆt as if he was in a position to refuse,ö said Fabrizio quietly.

ôWhat do you mean?ö asked Odelia.

ôI mean they put a lot of pressure on my brother.ö