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ôHe wasnÆt kidnapped as far as we can tell,ö said Chase. ôWe found his car parked in front of the farm, so he must have driven there under his own steam.ö

ôMaybe they took him there at gunpoint?ö Fabrizio suggested. ôMade him drive his own car?ö

ôI can promise you that weÆre looking into all of that,ö said Chase. ôBut for now, can you tell us where you both were last night between ten and midnight?ö

Maisie and her brother-in-law shared a look of surprise.ôYou donÆt think we had anything to do with what happened to my husband, do you?ö asked Maisie.

ôJust a routine inquiry, I can assure you,ö said Odelia kindly.

ôWell, I was right here,ö said Maisie. ôAfter Eric called, I watched some television and went to bed.ö

ôAnd you, Mr. Blandine?ö

ôSame. I mean, I watched TV and went to bed.ö

ôCan anyone vouch for that?ö

They both shook their heads.

ôYouÆre not married?ö asked Chase.

ôI was married, but my wife left me,ö said Fabrizio unhappily.

ôLook, how is this important?ö asked Maisie.

ôWeÆre trying to form a picture of your husband, Mrs. Blandine,ö said Odelia. ôWhat he was like, what kind of life he led, the people he knewùeverything we can find out.ö

ôBut isnÆt it obvious that he was killed because someone thought he was Cotton?ö

ôItÆs all right, Maisie,ö said Fabrizio. ôMy wife left me for her fitness instructor. HeÆs about ten years younger than she is. This was five years ago. We never had kids, so thatÆs why I was home alone last night, just like IÆve been home alone every night for the past five years. I hope that satisfies your curiosity?ö

He was starting to get a little belligerent, which wasnÆt surprising. People whose relatives have just been killed donÆt enjoy answering a lot of questions probing into their personal lives, especially when those questions touch upon a sensitive topic.

ôI hope youÆll catch EricÆs killer,ö said Maisie when she escorted us to the door. ôAnd I hope youÆll let us have his body as soon as possible. We have a funeral to arrange, after all.ö And with these words, she slammed the door shut.

ôThat was fun,ö said Chase as we returned to the car.

ôIt always is,ö Odelia said.

ôAt least Tobias didnÆt tell them about the removed liver,ö said Chase as he clicked his seatbelt into place. ôThough at some point they will need to be told.ö

ôBest they hear it from us,ö said Odelia, ôand not the newspaper.ö

Which was ironic, since Odelia is a reporter, after all. Then again, sheÆs not that kind of reporterùthe kind that loves to dish out the most gruesome and gory details of a case, hoping to shock people and drive up circulation.

Just at that moment, a message came in on ChaseÆs phone. He read it, a frown on his face. ôAbe,ö he clarified. ôLooks like Eric Blandine was stabbed to death. Single stab wound to the abdomen, his liver removed after the fact. Also, the liver that was sent to the office was indeed BlandineÆs.ö He shared a look with his wife. ôLetÆs have a chat with the Duck Liberation Front.ö

Chapter 12

The person in charge of the Duck Liberation Front or DLF was a young woman named Lita Fiol. She worked behind the checkout at the Happy Bean, a shop that sells all manner of product that might appeal to your health-minded fellow man, and has a selection especially devoted to the vegetarian section of the population.

The Happy Bean wasnÆt exactly buzzing with life when we stepped into the store and listened to the happily clanging bell attached to the door. Only a single customer was present, and seemed to have a hard time deciding between various iterations of tofu.

Lita Fiol wasnÆt thrilled to see us, and with us of course I mean Chase, as a representative of the police department.

ôIÆve talked to your people already,ö she said the moment Chase had produced his badge and so had Odelia. ôAnd IÆve got nothing to add. The man got exactly what he deserved for murdering thousands upon thousands of innocent ducks. It was one bucket of paint, for crying out loud! Send me the bill for the dry cleaners and IÆll happily pay it.ö

She was a petite sort of woman, dressed in an eclectic assortment of clothes. I detected a tie-dye T-shirt in psychedelic colors, a black sleeveless shirt draped across it, a chain around her neck from which a small dreamcatcher dangled, and black leggings over white lace-up sneakers. Her hair was short and stylishly messy, and she wore plenty of black eyeliner and a nose piercing. All in all, I guess, she looked like your average teen, though she was probably in her early to mid-twenties.

ôWeÆre not here about the paint, Miss Fiol,ö said Chase.

ôIÆm afraid thereÆs been a murder,ö Odelia explained.

The girlÆs eyes went wide. ôA murder!ö

ôA man named Eric Blandine was murdered last night,ö said Chase. ôHeÆd been hired by the Karat Group to replace Cotton Karat for the time being. The man you dumped paint on yesterday was in fact Mr. Blandine, and not Mr. Karat.ö

The girl blinked.ôI donÆt understand.ö

ôFor reasons we wonÆt go into, Blandine was hired to take CottonÆs place.ö