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“And yesterday, a pile of doo-doo was on our doorstep,” said Laia. “Probably dog doo-doo. It was in a paper bag, which had been set on fire.”

“I stepped in it, trying to put out the fire,” said Jay sadly.

“The same people, you think?” asked Odelia, who’d started jotting down notes.

Jay shrugged.“Impossible to say. Though it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“And then there’s the gigolo thing,” said Laia. She gave her fianc? a gentle nudge. “Tell her about the gigolo thing, Jay.”

“Gigolo thing?” asked Odelia.

Jay shuffled uncomfortably in his chair.“Yeah, see, the thing is, someone must have signed me up for a dating site, cause I keep getting calls and messages from older women trying to engage my… services.”

“Here,” said Laia, holding out a phone. “This is one of the messages Jay got this morning.”

Odelia frowned at the phone and read,“Hey, handsome. Are you free for some fun time tonight? I’m a hot young bombshell looking for a good time. Call me. Scarlett… Canyon?” She suppressed a smile as she handed back the phone.

“Is Scarlett a hot young bombshell, Max?” asked Dooley.

“I guess in her own mind she is,” I said.

“So you see?” said Laia. “This keeps on happening, and it has got to stop.”

“Yeah, I can see how it might be annoying,” Odelia agreed. “How long has this been going on?”

The young couple shared a look.“About… a month now?” Jay ventured.

“It all started right after I moved in with Jay,” Laia explained. “Which probably is no coincidence. You see, my parents don’t approve of our relationship. And they’ve hired a private detective to keep tabs on me. So it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re behind this terrible business.”

“You don’t know that,” said Jay.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” said Laia. She turned back to Odelia. “Jay and I recently got engaged, and so I decided to introduce him to my parents and give them the good news. Only they freaked out and more or less threw me out.”

“Talk about a car crash,” Jay said sadly.

“Yeah, they pretty much cut me off,” said Laia. “Which is why I think it might be them. Trying to put pressure on me to dump Jay.” She clasped her fianc?’s arm. “Which I will never, ever do. We’re in love, and they’ll just have to accept it.”

“Okay, so did you talk to your parents about this?” asked Odelia. “The online orders, the flaming paper bag, the, um, gigolo thing?”

“I called Mommy, but she’s blocking my calls, and so is Daddy. So finally I dropped by the house, but they refused to let me in, or even to see me.”

“So you can’t be sure your parents are behind this?”

“No, but who else could it be?”

“We did say it might be Bud,” said Jay quietly.

“Bud wouldn’t do this,” said Laia. “He’s not crazy. Bud is my ex-boyfriend,” she explained. “He took it pretty hard when I broke up with him.” She darted a quick glance at her fianc?. “Or what about Loretta?”

But Jay shook his head determinedly.“Not a chance.”

“Who’s Loretta?” asked Odelia.

“My ex-girlfriend,” said Jay. “But I’m sure she’s got nothing to do with this.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think we should rule her out,” said Laia. She gave Odelia a hopeful look. “So can you help us, Mrs. Kingsley? Dan said you’re simply the best.”

“He said that, did he?” said Odelia laughingly. “Do you know Dan?”

“He’s a friend of the family.”

“Of course he is,” said Odelia as she tapped a thoughtful pencil against her notebook. Then she tore off a page and placed it before the young woman. “Can you write down the names and information of the people you just mentioned? Your ex-boyfriend, Jay’s ex-girlfriend… and your parents, of course.”

Laia’s face lit up with delight. “So you’ll take the case?”

“I’ll take the case,” said Odelia, and I could tell she was more than a little bit intrigued. As was I, I have to admit. I mean, what’s not to like? Mysterious packages, flaming paper bags containing dog doo-doo, and of course hot young bombshells who turn out to be Gran’s best friend Scarlett Canyon? Bring it on.

Dutifully Laia jotted down the names and contact details of the people she thought might be doing this to her and her fianc?, and handed it to Odelia.

Her only stipulation, when Jay mentioned fees, was that she could turn this into an article for the paper once the culprit was caught. And an interesting article it would be. Human interest and all that. Though it had stirred my feline interest, too.

CHAPTER 5

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Odelia actually felt disproportionally glad that Jay and Laia had walked into the office. Ever since she’d had Grace, her usual workload had slackened to some extent, and to be honest she’d felt a little bored sitting at home and not being able to tackle a really juicy case the way she was used to.

And even though this case wasn’t exactly the biggest case she’d ever handled, it still inspired her to go out there and do her bit for the sake of a young couple’s future happiness. And if she could squeeze a great story out of it, even better.