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“And I hope you’ll forgive me for sounding cocky, but I think I’m something of an expert on all things Odelia and if she says this is what’s best for you, she’s probably right. So please please please don’t go looking for another home. It will break Odelia’s heart. She loves you guys to death, and would do anything for you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I do,” said Harriet. “It’s just that, I had this dream, you know, and now it’s pretty much shattered, and now I don’t know what to do.”

“We could always adopt,” he said. “I don’t know how it works for cats, but we could adopt a kitten and she could come and live with us. You and Brutus could raise her and that way you’d have your own family, just like you want.”

“I guess I’d be okay with that,” she admitted. To be totally honest, she wasn’t really looking forward to being pregnant and delivering half a dozen babies. She’d seen friends of hers that hadn’t been spayed get pregnant and the novelty quickly wore off, as did the joy of having offspring in the double digits. At first it was all great fun, but then it just became a drag. And Chase was right. It wore you down, being pregnant all the time. So maybe he had a point. Maybe Odelia had done the right thing, or what she thought was right.

“So what do you say, princess?” he said, holding out a hand. “Do you want to reconsider and rejoin your family? Cause make no mistake, Odelia and Gran and Marge and Tex and me—we are your family.”

“And Max and Dooley and Brutus,” she added softly.

“Yeah, them, too.”

“You’re making progress, you goofy cop,” said Harriet, putting her paw in Chase’s big mitt.

“Let’s get you down, shall we?”

“No way,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s make them sweat for a while. Something you need to learn, buddy. You can’t give in too soon. Or else they’ll think you’re a pushover.”

He eyed her curiously.“You’re a lot smarter than they give you credit for.”

“And you’re pretty smart for a non-cat-talking cop,” she said.

It seemed they had reached an understanding, and when ten minutes later, huffing and puffing, Odelia’s head cleared the roof, and she asked, “What the hell are you two doing up here? Organizing a lemonade stand?”

“Just chatting,” said Harriet.

“He doesn’t even speak your language!” Odelia cried, panting heavily.

“He doesn’t have to. We had a heart to heart—no language required.”

“We had a great chat,” said Chase. “I have no idea what she said, but somehow I know exactly what she said, if you know what I mean.”

Odelia rolled onto the roof and onto her back.“I know exactly what you mean, both of you. And now can we please get down? Dinner is served and I’m starving!”

“Dinner!” Harriet cried, and instantly got up and walked over to Odelia. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Dinner?” asked Chase.

“Dinner,” said Odelia. “The magic word.”

“Figures,” said Chase.

Cats or humans. They were a lot more alike than most people thought.

Chapter 29

“So where were you guys?” I asked once Harriet had decided to come down off her high horse—or, in her case, the roof.

“Oh, here and there,” said Brutus vaguely.

Odelia, Chase and Gran were getting ready for dinner, and so were us cats. Only we had a lot less work preparing ourselves then they had, obviously.

“We discovered the truth about the murder,” said Dooley proudly.

“No way. You mean you know who did it?” asked Brutus.

“Yes, we do,” I said.

“So who was it?” asked Brutus.

“Verna Rectrix. We heard it from her own lips.”

“Oh, wow,” he said. Then, after a pause, “Who is Verna Rectrix?”

“She’s this amazing actress who plays one of the main characters inBig Little Secrets,” said Harriet. “I love her. She’s quirky, does yoga, and is a vegetarian—or a vegan? She has spunk and pizzazz—are you sure she did it?”

“Yeah, she said it herself. Apparently her husband told her to—or so she thought. So she killed Kimberlee and now it turns out it was all a big misunderstanding.”

“What a horrible story,” said Harriet.

“So what else did you and Chase talk about on the roof?” Brutus asked.

“This and that,” she said.

“Oh, come on,” said Brutus. “Don’t be like that, Harriet. We don’t have secrets from each other, do we?”

“We don’t have secrets from each other either, Brutus,” I reminded him.

He gave me a guilty look.“Okay, if you have to know, we visited Emerald’s room.”

“So while we were investigating a murder you two were sightseeing?” I should have known. Harriet always does whatever she likes.

“I just wanted to see how she lives,” said Harriet. “She’s such an amazing actress and I’ve always been such a fan. This is, like, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to check out this true legend’s private space, you guys.”

“And? How was it?”

“Very nice,” said Brutus.

“Yeah, she lives well,” Harriet chimed in. “Her room is probably three times as big as this one. It’s on the other side of the staircase. She has her own private bathroom, which is just amazing—and huge.”

“There’s also a gigantic bedroom with an amazingly soft bed.”