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“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“I’m thinking that if someone wanted to keep an eye on Jeb, this house would be the perfect place to do it from. As a matter of fact, this window is perfectly lined up with Jeb’s window, visible through that hole in the fence.”

“Careful,” I said, “If this Animal is in there, he might not appreciate the company.”

“Maybe we can take a quick peek inside,” Dooley offered. “People are less intimidated by cats than by other people.”

“Okay,” Odelia said reluctantly. I could tell she was raring to barge into the house, to discover if her latest theory had any merit.

Dooley and I headed around the back, hoping to find some access point that would lead us into the house.

The house was clearly deserted, or had been allowed to dilapidate. The backyard was a tangle of weeds, and creepers covered the entire backside, the brickwork crumbling in places. I could see a hole in the roof, and several windows were broken.

We hopped inside through one of those broken windows on the ground floor, and discovered that the house was, indeed, derelict. No furniture, with mold covering the walls.

“Yuck,” said Dooley. “What’s that awful smell?”

“Rot,” I said. “If you leave a place exposed to the elements like this, decay sets in, and before long nature takes over, reducing a sound structure to rubble within a few short years.”

We tripped across the floor and searched around until we found the room Odelia had indicated.

“This is more than just decay, Max,” said Dooley when we arrived in the room, which did, indeed, provide a perfect vantage point to watch the house across the street. A camera tripod stood lined up, but there was no camera mounted on top. Several cigarette butts littered the floor, as did fast-food wrappers, and an old couch had clearly been sat in.

“Someone’s been here,” I said.

“Odelia was right,” said Dooley.

“So where is this person?” I asked.

I now became aware of the fact that Dooley had been right about the smell. This was not ordinary rot. This smelled more… coppery. Almost like… blood.

I stuck my nose in the air and sniffed, then let my keen sense of smell carry me to the source of the strange odor. In the hallway I found a door that led into the basement, the door itself dangling from its hinges. And as I stared down, my eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness, I noticed how several stairs were broken. And when I looked beyond them, I saw a large object lying on the cement floor below. It was a human being, and he wasn’t moving…

Chapter 30

When Max and Dooley came racing out of the house, meowing up a storm, Odelia knew something bad had happened. Still she had the presence of mind not to go inside but instead to call her uncle. Within minutes, he arrived, Chase riding shotgun, and both men jumped out.

“There’s a body of a man inside,” she said, as she pointed to the house. “I mean,” she quickly corrected herself, “I think there is. I’m not sure. You better take a look.”

Chase checked through the window.“I don’t see a thing.”

“I have a hunch,” said Odelia.

“Odelia has good eyes,” said Uncle Alec. “Cat’s eyes.”

“Let’s take a look inside,” said Chase, then noticed how Gran was sitting in Odelia’s car, her mouth open, still snoring up a storm. “Is she all right?” he asked, concerned.

“Don’t mind her,” said Alec. “She’s taken ecstasy pills and is sleeping them off.”

“Ecstasy,” Chase repeated.

He had that Alice in Wonderland look on his face again, a look he’d worn many times since making Odelia’s acquaintance.

“Don’t ask,” said Alec. “So let’s see who the dead guy is, shall we?”

They moved to the front door and it easily gave way, the wood having rotted away. Odelia followed in their wake, Max and Dooley keeping their distance. They didn’t like the smell of dead people. Neither did she, but she needed to take a look anyway. This was her investigation, and the plot had just thickened considerably.

“Huh,” said Chase as he let the light from his smartphone flicker over the man lying at the bottom of the basement stairs. The man had his eyes open, staring unblinkingly into space. “He looks pretty dead, all right.” He turned to Odelia. “Are you sure you didn’t go in?”

“I… I guess I must have smelled him,” she said lamely.

She studied the man, then gasped.“I think I’ve seen him before.”

“Who is he?” asked Uncle Alec.

“He looks like Jack Palmer. A reporter for theHappy Bays Gazette.”

“TheHappy Bays Gazette?” asked Alec. “What the hell was he doing here, then?” He took out his phone and called in an ambulance, as well as the county coroner’s people.

Odelia and Chase moved to the living room, and studied the tripod. If a camera had been placed on top of it, it would have offered a perfect look into Jeb Pott’s lodge.

“Looks like he was snapping pictures of Jeb,” said Chase, checking the angle.

“He probably cut the hole,” said Odelia. “Jack specialized in digging up dirt on celebrities. He must have heard Jeb was in town and decided to poke around.”

“Looks like he found more dirt than he bargained for,” said Chase.