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ôI didnÆt say,ö said Ebony with a smile. ôYouÆre surprised that a duck farmer would marry a model, is that it?ö

ôWellà yes,ö Chase admitted.

ôItÆs not that hard to imagine. Zak is a very sweet man, and I wasnÆt always a model.ö

It was a little hard to see the attraction. Then again, Zak did have a sort of rugged charm, I guess. And even though his face was weather-beaten, he was probably younger than what weÆd pegged him. Perhaps he was even EbonyÆs age, since she was probably older than she looked.

ôWe divorced about ten years ago,ö said Zak, ôbut weÆve stayed friends, which canÆt be said about all couples, I guess.ö He smiled at his former wife. ôEbony wanted to pursue a different path from being a duck farmerÆs wife, and even though I was as sore as a gumboil at the time, I can see now that she made the right decision. She did well for herself.ö

ôWell!ö said Ebony with a laugh. ôThatÆs probably the understatement of the century.ö

ôOkay, so you did very well,ö Zak amended his earlier statement.

ôSo let me get this straight,ö said Chase. ôFirst Cotton Karat stole your wife, and then he canceled your contract? You must hate that man a lot, Mr. Lemanowicz.ö

ôI only met Cotton a couple of months ago,ö said Ebony, ôso Cotton didnÆt æstealÆ me from anyone. But that contractà that did rankle, didnÆt it?ö

ôI already admitted I was unhappy about that,ö Zak grumbled. ôBut to murder a man over a contract, thatÆs taking things too far.ö

ôZak is not a killer, detective. In fact the man couldnÆt hurt a fly.ö

ôHe does treat his ducks very well,ö Dooley piped up.

Odelia smiled down in our direction.ôWeÆll check your alibi,ö she said, ôbut from where IÆm standing IÆm inclined to believe you, Zak.ö

Chase had picked up on the interaction between his wife and her cats, and he emitted a small groan of frustration. Another person who had looked so good for the murder, and another alibi that seemed rock solid.

ôYou and Cotton, thatÆs definitely over?ö asked Odelia now.

Ebony grinned.ôIs this also part of the inquiry, Mrs. Kingsley?ö

ôNo, this is purely for my own interest,ö Odelia admitted.

ôYeah, weÆre over. He called me this morning, said it wasnÆt him who sent me that text, but even so, these last couple of days have taught me that Cotton isnÆt the man for me. The guy is a womanizer of the purest water. And even though all we did was have some fun, IÆm starting to see that maybe IÆm too old for that kind of thing.ö She gave her ex-husband an affectionate look. ôSometimes it takes losing something before you realize how important it was to you all along.ö

ôLooks like they might get back together again, Max,ö said Dooley, once again having forgotten all about the grudge he was harboring toward me. ôIsnÆt that sweet?ö

ôThe supermodel and the duck farmer. Almost sounds like a Hallmark romance,ö I said.

And since there was nothing more for us to learn there, we repaired to the car.

ôAnd maybe heÆll even get his contract with the Karat Group back,ö Dooley pointed out.

ôGetting his wife back and his contract. ItÆs a good day for Zak Lemanowicz,ö I said as we climbed onto the backseat.

Moments later, we were cruising along.ôSo what now?ö asked Odelia.

ôNow I donÆt know anymore,ö said Chase. ôZak obviously alibied out. And same thing goes for Elvis Diamond. Both of those alibis sussed out by your cats, I might add.ö

ôWhatever it takes to get to the truthàö She thought for a moment. ôDid you ever find out how Eric Blandine was lured to the farm?ö

ôNope. Nothing on his phone, computerà Also no fingerprints on the package containing his liver, or the tin, or even on the card.ö

ôThis is turning into a tough case, Mr. Kingsley.ö

ôIt most certainly is, Mrs. Kingsley.ö He then dropped his gaze down to his wifeÆs belly. ôHow are you feeling? IsnÆt this too stressful for you?ö

ôIÆm fine, Chase!ö

ôAll right, all right.ö

ôHow is the baby bump?ö asked Dooley curiously, inserting himself between the two car seats to take a gander.

ôThe bump is fine,ö said Odelia with a satisfied smile as she affectionately rubbed said bump.

ôDo you think the baby is going to be a vegetarian?ö

Odelia chuckled.ôOh, Dooley. What kind of a question is that?ö

ôJust curious. Are babies carnivores, herbivores or omnivores?ö

ôOmnivores, I guess, like the rest of the human race.ö

ôIÆve stopped being a vegetarian,ö said Dooley.

ôThatÆs good news,ö said Odelia, closing her eyes for a moment.

ôMax advised me to become a vegetarian but Pris told me I could die.ö

ôMax never told you to become a vegetarian, Dooley,ö said Odelia. ôYou came up with that silly idea all by yourself. In fact Max told you that you shouldnÆt become a vegetarian.ö

Dooley frowned.ôHe did?ö

ôOf course. Max is your friend. He doesnÆt want you to die.ö

ôHe doesnÆt?ö

ôOf course not. Who is this Pris, anyway?ö

ôElvis DiamondÆs cat Priscilla.ö

ôSheÆs been feeding you a lot of nonsense, Dooley.ö

ôOh?ö