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“Look at this,” said Dooley suddenly. I jumped down from the nightstand and joined him in front of what looked like a shrine dedicated to Fae’s father’s career. It was a photo display board, a linear depiction of his career, with snapshots from all of his movies and his life. There were also pictures of Jeb and his first wife together on holiday, pictures of Fae seated on Jeb’s shoulder grinning at the camera in front of a snowy mountain peak. Fae and her daddy in Disneyland, riding one of the big rollercoasters and yelling at the camera…

“Poor girl,” said Dooley.

“Yeah, it’s sad,” Sasha agreed.

“To have to watch your dad go to prison must be tough,” I said. “I can totally see why she hired Odelia.”

“I hope she proves Jeb’s innocence,” said Sasha.

“Fae could be wrong, of course. It’s probably hard for a daughter to accept that her father is a ruthless killer.”

“I hope she’s right,” said Sasha.

The three of us stared up at those pictures, and all heaved deep sighs.

Tough case.

“Max! Dooley!” Odelia’s voice sounded from downstairs.

“That’s our cue,” I told Sasha. “Time to go.”

“Oh, you can’t leave yet,” said the dog. “I haven’t shown you my basket.”

“Um… maybe next time,” I said, really not all that interested in Sasha’s basket. Now if she’d said she wanted us to see her food bowl…

We arrived in the foyer just in time to watch Odelia and Gran say their goodbyes to Helena and Fae. Helena had been crying again, and as we walked out she had trouble staying composed. We waved at Sasha, whom Fae had picked up, and the door closed.

Chapter 32

That night, two hooded figures could be seen walking the streets of some of the more shady nooks of Hampton Cove.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked one hooded figure.

“Not entirely,” said the other.

They were none other than Odelia and Chase, who were determined to get in touch with a man who called himself the Animal.

Gran had wanted to tag along, too, but Odelia had strictly forbidden her. Meeting an animal like Animal was not suitable for old ladies, she’d said, to which Gran had responded with a particular gesture of the hand that was strictly R-rated.

“Are you sure we’re going to find this guy there?” asked Odelia.

“Pretty sure. At least that’s what my informant told me.”

“Who is your informant?”

“You have your secrets, I have mine, babe,” said Chase with a grin.

“You’re not still sore about me refusing to reveal my sources, are you?”

“Of course not. Intrepid reporters have to protect their sources from savage cops like me.”

“Ha ha.”

Odelia’s sources were Max and Dooley—not something she could reveal to Chase.

“So have you found out what happened to Jack Palmer yet?”

“Looks like he fell through the staircase and broke his neck. The place is pretty ramshackle.”

“What about the missing camera?”

“We’re still looking into that. I talked to his editor. He said he sent him down here to get the scoop on Jeb’s life in the Hamptons and that’s what he was doing at the house.”

“No sign of a struggle, fingerprints, footprints…”

“Funny that you should ask. There are faint traces of brush strokes in both the living room, hallway, and in front of the entrance to the basement.”

“As if someone was there, and tried to cover their tracks.”

“Exactly. But so far that’s all we’ve got. I’m still going over Jack’s phone records, bank statements, anything that might shed some light on those final couple of days.”

They’d arrived at a night club, pulsating music spilling out into the street, people standing around, smoking and drinking and laughing. It was called the Cocky Cauldron, and was one of the more popular clubs in Hampton Cove right now.

“Is he in there, you think?”

“That’s what my sources told me.”

“Let’s take a look,” she said, and took off her hooded sweater. Underneath, she was dressed in a sequined blue top, neon-pink leggings and glittery gold platform shoes. She was also wearing a blond wig.

Next it was Chase’s turn. He took off his sweater and Odelia clapped a hand to her mouth to stop from bursting out laughing.

Chase did a little twirl. He was wearing a Superman cape, Superman shirt, and Superman leggings.“Ta-dah,” he said. “How do I look?”

“Oh, I have to take a picture.”

She took out her phone and made a selfie of the two of them. They looked priceless.

A burly bouncer opened the door, cocking an eyebrow at Chase, and they went in. A roaring wave of disco music greeted them, and the noise of hundreds of party people.

“How weird for a loan shark to own a gay disco!” Odelia shouted over the din.

“I really hope my informant is right about this—or else I’m about to make a gigantic fool of myself!” Chase shouted back.

Men dressed like bikers or cops or outfitted in black leather from head to toe stared at Odelia. She was probably the only woman in the club. But when they realized she’d dressed up as Agnetha F?ltskog of ABBA fame, they greeted her with cheers and high-fives.

They reached the bar and Chase leaned over.“We’re looking for Tino!” he shouted.