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I thought my friend took it pretty well, but then I understood his mind was still with Harriet.“We have to get back out there and look for her, Max,” he said now. “I mean, it’s a sad business, this murder business, but Harriet is still alive, and if we’re quick, we can still save her, while Jay is definitely dead, and there’s nothing we can do for him anymore, even if we wanted to.”

“You’re absolutely right, Dooley,” I said.

“I am?”

“Of course.”

“Brutus will find her, I’m sure of it. He’s so determined, he’s going to keep looking until…” Then a thought must have occurred to him, for his furry face fell. “Oh, no!”

“Oh, no, what?”

“What if this guy kidnaps Brutus, too!”

“Brutus is not a Persian, Dooley. And Davenport seems to prefer Persians.”

“I know, but he is the painter in the family. Harriet is the creative brains, but Brutus is the paws, and the guy said he wanted to buy the both of them, as a set.”

He was right, of course. So what if Brutus was in grave danger right now? Then again, would Davenport risk grabbing another cat with dozens of cops trampling all over his house and grounds? He’d have to be nuts to try.

The door opened again, and Odelia joined us, looking very grave, as the situation obviously warranted.

“Well, he was murdered, all right,” she said.

“Did they find the murder weapon?” I asked.

“Not yet, but according to Abe it might be one of those cobblestones they’re using to repave the road.”

“Oh, dear.”

“They really did a number on him. Abe said his head is as flat as a pancake.”

“Who called it in?”

“A neighbor. He’s being interviewed as we speak. But the odd thing is that two calls actually came in. The neighbor’s call, but just before that another call.”

“How did the neighbor discover the body?”

“The door to Jay’s loft must have been open, for his cat had wandered in. He saw the bloody paw prints all over the hallway, and followed them into the loft.”

“And what about Laia?”

“No idea. The neighbor found the two of them, Jay obviously badly hurt or dead, and Laia lying right next to him. He actually assumed they were both dead, which is what he told Dolores when he called it in. But fortunately when the paramedics arrived they found a pulse and took Laia straight to the hospital.”

Behind her, Chase had appeared, carrying a phone in a plastic baggie. He also carried a grim look on his face.“Look what I found,” he said.

“A phone?” Odelia ventured.

“Mr. Green’s second phone. There’s only one phone number on this one, which has been frequently called. Plenty of messages, too, one even racier than the next.”

“Who’s the other person?” asked Odelia, understanding immediately dawning on the implication of this find.

He quirked a meaningful eyebrow.“Loretta Everyman.”

CHAPTER 23

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News had reached our ears—or Odelia’s ears at least—that Laia had woken up. So we were in the car on our way to the hospital to talk to her. Chase had decided to stay behind and do some more investigating. He was hoping the loft would yield more interesting finds like Jay’s second phone.

“What’s sexting, Odelia?” asked Dooley, referring to a term Chase had used to describe the messages Jay had exchanged with his ex-girlfriend.

“Um… well…” She glanced back to me, and I gave her a knowing nod.

“You know what texting is, do you?” I asked.

“Oh, sure.”

Well, sexting is like texting, only the messages people exchange are of a more, shall we say, romantic nature.”

“You mean like the stuff Harriet and Brutus call each other all the time?”

“Exactly like that,” I said, much relieved.

“Oh.” He was quiet for a few moments. “So… Jay was sexting with Loretta, even though she wasn’t his girlfriend anymore?”

“No, it now appears as if he was cheating on Laia with his ex.”

“That’s not very nice. So do you think Laia found out and she killed him?”

It was a conclusion I hadn’t yet reached, but sounded like an obvious possibility, so I nodded. “It’s certainly possible,” I agreed.

“It’s one of the things we have to ask Laia,” said Odelia, “if she’s up to it.”

“So was she hurt in the attack?” I asked.

“No, it now looks as if she wasn’t attacked at all,” said Odelia. “But we’ll know more when we talk to her.”

We soon arrived at the hospital, and made our way upstairs, to Laia’s room, which was being guarded by a plain-clothed police officer. Uncle Alec had arranged for the extra security, in light of what had happened to Jay.

We entered the room, and saw that Laia wasn’t alone. An older man and woman were sitting by her side, the woman the spitting image of Laia, leading me to assume these were her mom and dad: Algis and Matilda Twine.

“Odelia,” said Laia weakly. “I’m so glad to see you. Odelia Kingsley is a friend of me and Jay,” she explained to her parents.

At the mention of the despised artist, the Twines directed a pair of distinctly frosty looks at Odelia. Her dad said,“Laia needs to rest, Mrs. Kingsley. Perhaps you can come back some other time.”

“You don’t understand,” said Laia. “Odelia works for the police.”