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We all perked up at this, and so did the crowd, three deep now, all craning their necks to see what the upshot was of all this shouting. Judging from their expressions they fully expected some bloodied corpse to be carried out of the house at any moment.

Odelia now appeared in the door and beckoned us over.

And so we entered the house, a small procession of cats, and joined Chase and Odelia in the living room, along with Maisie and Fabrizio, who looked very antsy indeed.

ôI demand an explanation!ö said Fabrizio.

ôYou canÆt do this to me,ö said Maisie. ôI just lost my husband. I deserve some respect!ö

But instead of respect, Chase held up two mobile phones, both neatly sealed inside an evidence bag. At the sight of the phones, MaisieÆs face went a little pale, and so did FabrizioÆs.

ôI told you to get rid of those!ö Fabrizio snapped.

ôI was gonna! But with all these cops around, I couldnÆt!ö Maisie returned.

ôWeÆve checked the phones,ö said Chase, ôand found the message you sent to your husband on the evening of his murder. A message for him to meet you at the Poltorak farm.ö

ôSo? ItÆs not a crime to meet your husband,ö said Maisie, but she looked shifty now.

ôI think weÆll find your husbandÆs fingerprints on the other phone, which is the one you gave him, isnÆt it?ö

But Maisie pressed her lips together, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

ôHereÆs what we think happened,ö said Odelia. ôYou and Fabrizio were having an affair, and you had been thinking about divorcing Eric for a while now. So when the offer came for Eric to replace Cotton Karat while he was in therapy for his sex addiction, you saw an opportunity to get rid of your husband, and get some money out of this deal, too.ö

ôYou knew that the Karats would do anything to avoid the whiff of scandal,ö Chase said as he placed the phones on the table in front of the duo, ôand so you hatched a brilliant scheme. You bought two phones so you and Eric could stay in touch when he assumed the role of Cotton, and told him to meet you that night out by the Poltorak duck farm. And since Eric always did what you told him to do, he dutifully showed up for the meeting.ö

ôWeÆre not exactly sure which one of you actually killed him,ö said Odelia. ôBut we think it was probably a joint effort. Eric had told you about the threats made against CottonÆs person by the Duck Liberation Front people, and so you made it look as if they were behind the murder. You killed your husband, cut out his liver and delivered it to the Karat Group headquarters with a note, claiming responsibility for the DLF.ö

ôA nice touch, I have to say,ö said Chase. ôIn fact the whole setup was brilliantly conceived and carried out.ö

ôWhich is when we come to the second part of your plan. You blamed the Karat Group for EricÆs death, accusing them of not keeping him safe, and threatened to take them to court, all the while knowing full well theyÆd settle out of court before that happened.ö

ôI talked to Tobias Pushman just now,ö said Chase, ôand he confirmed that he reached a settlement with you yesterday, for a total sum of three million dollars. Not a bad haul for a woman who set up and murdered her own husband, wouldnÆt you say, Maisie?ö

MaisieÆs face spelled storm now, and she was freely glowering at Chase and Odelia.

ôDonÆt say a word, Maisie,ö Fabrizio warned. ôTheyÆve got nothing on us. Nothing.ö

ôWeÆve got these phones,ö said Chase. ôThey prove that it was actually you who lured your husband to his death. They place you at the scene of the crime and not, as you claimed, here at the house. And then of course thereÆs this.ö And like a trained conjurer, he produced from behind hisback another plastic evidence bag, this one containing a long, serrated knife with a red handle. And if I wasnÆt mistaken, there was blood on the blade.

ôOh, God,ö said Fabrizio, as he buried his head in his hands.

ôI told you, I was waiting for these coppers to get off our backs!ö Maisie burst out.

ôStupid, stupid, stupid,ö Fabrizio moaned.

Suddenly MaisieÆs eye shifted to me and she frowned. ôHey,ö she said, pointing in my direction. ôThatÆs the same orange fatty that was in here last night!ö

At this, I drew myself up to my full height and said, rather haughtily, IÆm afraid, ôFor your information, my name isnÆt Fatty. ItÆs Max, and IÆm not orangeùIÆm blorange!ö

Chapter 34

ôEric Blandine was one of those people who wouldnÆt say boo to a goose,ö I said.

ôWhy would anyone want to say boo to a goose, Max?ö asked Dooley.

ôItÆs just an expression, Dooley. Nobody actually says boo to a goose.ö

ôI wouldnÆt mind saying boo to a goose,ö Brutus grunted. ôTeach them some manners.ö

Brutus had once been chased by a goose, and evidently the experience still rankled.

We were in Tex and MargeÆs backyard, where a party was in full swing. Ever since Gran had given up trying to force the vegetarian lifestyle on the rest of the family, it was almost as if the sun had come out and IÆd rarely seen the Pooles as happy as now.