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And she was just fluffing up one of the pillows when suddenly there was a creaking sound just over her head. When she looked up, she detected movement where no movement should have been. She jumped clear of the ship just in time before she was crushed by whatever had come loose. And as she lay there, a little dazed, she saw that it was the ship’s mast, which had come crashing down. If she hadn’t had the reflexes to jump when she had, she would have been seriously injured or worse. That mast was pretty heavy.

From inside the library, there was a loud commotion. She pushed herself to her feet and staggered to the main part of the library. When she saw that her brother Alec was pounding on the door, along with Tex, her husband, fear suddenly gripped her heart. She hurried over, her cheeks flushed, and turned the key in the lock as fast as she could. She yanked open the door and cried,“Odelia! Did something happen to Odelia?!”

“Odelia is fine,” said Alec, instantly understanding her fear. He put his hand on her arm. “How about you? Are you all right?”

“Well, something did just almost fall on top of me, but apart from that I’m fine. Why? What’s going on?”

Tex fixed her with an intent look.“Did you see a man with a yellow parka?”

She shook her head.“No. It’s just me in here. Why? Did something happen?” She remembered the man with the yellow parka being mentioned in that horrible murder of that girl Odelia worked with, as well as in connection to the man who almost ran over Brutus.

Just then, Vesta came running up, panting like a horse after the Preakness Stakes.

“Marge! Thank God! It’s the man in the yellow parka! He’s coming for us! He tried to kill me!”

“And me,” said Tex.

“You said something fell on top of you,” said Alec, looking grim. “Can you show me?”

She led them to the back, and when Mom and Tex saw the wreckage, they both gasped. Alec’s frown deepened, as he crouched down with some effort to study the wreckage. Finally he looked up. “I’m not an expert but it looks like this has been tampered with.”

“What do you mean?” asked Marge, horrified.

He pointed to the mast.“This has been sawn clear through.”

“Oh, my God,” said Marge. “The children. Someone could have gotten killed!”

“You almost got killed,” said Tex, and drew her in for a bracing hug.

“We’re under attack,” said Gran seriously. “We have to warn Odelia. She needs police protection.” She looked at Alec. “We all do.”

Chapter 32

Odelia had gotten up late. By the time she opened her eyes, Chase had already left for work. She groaned. She must have forgotten to set her alarm last night. Then again, it had been pretty late, so the extra sleep had been welcome.

At her feet, her cats were dozing, or at least Max and Dooley were. Of Brutus, there was no trace, and neither of Harriet.

She stretched and yawned. Time to get up and start a new day.

She smiled to herself as she recalled her dream. Chase had finally taken her out on a date. It was a running joke between them that every time they arranged to go out for dinner and a movie, something happened to make sure they didn’t get to the end of their date.

That was the problem when a cop and a reporter dated: some crisis always cropped up.

She didn’t mind. At least in her dream they’d gone to see the movie and had actually managed to watch it until the end. It was a Nancy Meyers movie, not exactly the kind of movie Chase would like, which also showed her it had been a dream, and not a memory.

Then another memory stirred: Max telling her about their meeting with the owl, and the owl telling them about the killer’s birthmark. But since she vividly remembered Wolf Langdon having a birthmark on his right hand, that had sealed the deal for her.

Ringo had been mistaken: his master hadn’t been right next to him. His master had been murdering Dany Cooper, and either Ringo hadn’t recognized Wolf from behind, or he’d purposely lied to protect him.

Which wasn’t a big surprise. Pets would often do whatever they could to protect their humans. She knew Max would do anything for her, and so would Dooley.

So the case was closed, and all that remained was to write a front-page article detailing the nocturnal bust, and interview the people involved. She hoped her uncle would help her get access to Wolf so she could interview him in prison. Maybe to her he’d finally admit what he’d done, and they could put this whole terrible episode behind them.

Max opened his eyes and yawned, which triggered another bout of yawns from her and Dooley, who’d also woken up.

“Where is Chase?” asked Max.

She smiled. It was adorable how quickly her cats had warmed to her boyfriend.

“Gone to work. Where are Brutus and Harriet?”

“No idea. Brutus was with us when we came home last night, but of Harriet no trace.”

“She said she needed to get some perspective,” said Dooley. “I don’t know what perspective is, but it sure seems to take her a long time to find it.”