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ôAnd here I thought being a detective was all about finding the missing clue,ö Brutus grumbled. ôA nice footprint, a fingerprint, or a little-known toxin in the victimÆs blood.ö

ôSee!ö Dooley cried. ôI knew it! He was poisoned!ö

ôNo, he wasnÆt,ö I said. ôHe was stabbed to death.ö

ôOh,ö said Dooley, slumping a little. He cut a glance to Harriet. ôBoring, Harriet.ö

ôI hear you, Dooley,ö said our Persian friend, but she suddenly looked a lot less harried.

Dooley was right, though. Police work can be boring, and most of it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. But itÆs important to put in the work, even though sometimes it feels useless. But as long as you take enough naps, and thereÆs always plenty of kibble to keep you going, itÆs fine by me. I like to discover those human foibles that make them tick, or to listen to them gossip about other people. Or being caught out in a blatant lie.

ItÆs all very human, isnÆt it? But then murder is a very human thing.

Kingman came clambering up the jungle gym, then thought better of it and decided to remain on terra firma. Kingman is a big cat, and even though in the actual jungle big cats like to climb trees and take a nap there, in Hampton Cove big cats stick to the ground.

So instead I climbed down and left Harriet, Brutus and Dooley to exchange plaintive stories about how boring it is to be a pet detective.

ôHey, buddy,ö I said once IÆd joined my friend. ôHow are things at the General Store?ö

ôNot so good,ö said Kingman. ôWilbur caught another pickpocket today. ItÆs the third one in a week. And the more he catches, the more seem to crawl out of the woodwork.ö

ôA pickpocket? Not a thief?ö

ôNo, an actual pickpocket. They position themselves behind a customer whoÆs squeezing an orange or reading the fine print on a packet of chips, stick their hands in their pockets and come away with their wallets. Or their phones or whatever. According to the cop who came over to make the arrest, itÆs a regular plague. TheyÆre all over town.ö

ôProbably some gang,ö I said. ôThey seem to travel in packs, these pickpockets.ö

ôYeah, but itÆs frustrating. People seem to think itÆs WilburÆs fault.ö

ôI very much doubt that, Kingman.ö

ôNo, but they do. They figure that if theyÆre being robbed, itÆs because Wilbur didnÆt do enough to keep these people out. But thereÆs only so much you can do. You canÆt look at a personÆs face and know theyÆre going to try and rob your customers, can you?ö

ôNo, I guess not,ö I said. His words seem to ring a bell in my head, for some reason, though for the life of me I couldnÆt quite grasp it.

I decided to drop it for now.

It would come to me.

Or not.

Chapter 22

The next morning, we decided to pay another visit to Diedrich Karat, since we had the impression the man had been less than honest with us the first time around.

ôWhy is it that people lie all the time, Max?ö asked Dooley as we entered the manÆs lair.

ôBecause theyÆre afraid that if the police find out the truth, it will make them look guilty,ö I said. ôOr maybe they have some skeletons hidden in their closet they donÆt want anyone to know about.ö

ôSkeletons in their closets?ö asked Dooley, his eyes swiveling to a nearby cupboard. He took a step back, as if expecting the cupboard to open and the skeleton to tumble out.

ôOkay, so Cotton wasnÆt exactly my first pick as my successor,ö the old man admitted. ôBut what could I do? ThereÆs always been a Karat at the helm of the Karat Group.ö

ôWhy doesnÆt CottonÆs brother Jared step up?ö asked Chase.

ôJared is a numbers man. HeÆs not interested in taking the lead. And besides, he doesnÆt have the chops. ItÆs not so easy to lead a company of these dimensions.ö

ôWhatÆs going to happen now?ö asked Odelia.

Diedrich shrugged. He looked as if heÆd shrunk a little overnight. His cheeks were hollow and so were his eyes. HeÆd probably been up half the night thinking about the future of his company. ôMaybe Tobias is right. Maybe we should get an outsider to run the company. A proven leader. Cotton is clearly not up to the task, and neither is Jared.ö

ôWhat about Inari? Cotton seems to want her to take over.ö

ôOut of the question. InariÆs interests lie elsewhere.ö

Just then, Inari walked in. When she saw us, she halted.ôOh, I didnÆt know you had company, Grandpa.ö

ôItÆs all right, sweetheart. ItÆs the police.ö

ôYeah, I know,ö said Inari, giving us a curious look.

ôWe were surprised to find that youÆre interested in taking over the business,ö said Odelia. ôYou didnÆt mention that when we talked to you and your mother yesterday.ö

ôYeah, my dad asked me to say a few words at his big press conference, so we decided to tell them what he thought they wanted to hear.ö

ôIn other words, your dad asked you to lie for him?ö

She darted a quick look to her grandfather, but when he nodded she relented.ôItÆs not really lying. I might take an interest in the company at some point. After all, the movie industry and the luxury goods industry have a lot in common. So our futures might converge at some point.ö