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Erica sunk down in a chair.“When I heard the news that Carl was in hospital, I had no idea it was this serious,” she said, placing the flowers on the floor. She looked up at Odelia. “I was just going to call you. Did you have any luck yesterday with Carl?”

“No, I’m afraid not. That is to say, I met him at the links yesterday but he said he’d never give you a divorce as long as he thought there was still hope of a reconciliation.”

“A reconciliation!”

“He seemed to believe firmly that you still love him.”

“The man must be absolutely delusional.”

“But then he invited me for a meeting at his house last night, and so I hoped he’d had a change of heart. But when I got there I found him unconscious on the floor, and five members of the Hampton Heisters fleeing the scene. I caught one of them, and she’s now in custody, suspected of the attack on your husband.”

“Who are these Hampton Heisters?”

“They’re a gang of thieves who target celebrities,” Odelia explained. “They’ve carried out half a dozen attacks in the last three months, and Carl is their latest victim.”

“Poor Carl,” said Erica, showing us that in spite of the acrimoniousness of their separation, she still cared for her soon-to-be ex-husband. “But I don’t understand. Where was his security detail when all this happened?”

“He’d sent them all home. On his calendar it showed that he had a date planned with a girl named Zoe, and the guy in charge of security told us that when that happened Carl usually sent everybody home so he would have the house to himself.”

“Oh, I know all about that,” said Erica. “When I had my first date with Carl we were all alone, which seemed a little strange for such a famous person. But then he explained that several years ago one of his security people had sold secretly filmed footage of one of his dates to the tabloid press.”

“Yeah, Gustav told us much the same thing last night.”

“So what are the doctors saying? Is he going to come out of this?”

“They’re not sure. The crack across the head broke his skull.”

Suddenly Odelia’s phone rang out its customary tune, and she quickly picked up. “Yes, Uncle Alec?” She listened for a moment, frowning, then said, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” When she hung up, she glanced down at me and murmured, “My uncle wants to see me. Now.”

“Can I come, too, Miss Poole?” asked Ellie.

“Oh, sure. And please call me Odelia.”

“Thanks.” The girl smiled. “This is only my second day, Odelia, but I already know what I want to be.”

“Mh?” said Odelia, looking a little distracted after her uncle’s phone call.

“Reporter, of course. Just like you!”

19

“This is a first,” said Odelia, smiling a little uncertainly. She’d never before been invited into the interview room at the police precinct… at the suspect’s side of the table.

Her uncle was seated across from her, and he wasn’t smiling.

“Do you know why you’re in here?” he asked.

“Um, no,” she said, still smiling, though less so when she noticed her uncle’s serious demeanor.

“We’ve examined the golf club that was used as a weapon on Carl Strauss last night, and do you know what we found?”

“No, what did you find?”

“We pulled a clear set of fingerprints off that club. Yours.”

She blinked.“What do you mean?”

“Your fingerprints were on the club that was used to knock out Carl last night, Odelia. How do you explain that?”

“Um…”

“As far as I can tell there are only two possible explanations,” her uncle went on, without waiting for a reply. “Either you picked up the club when you arrived and found Carl unconscious on the floor, or…” He fixed her with a stern look. “You are the person who smacked Carl across thehead.”

“I certainly didn’t touch that club,” said Odelia indignantly. “You know I know better than that, Uncle Alec.” He watched her expectantly. Not unlike a cat watches a mouse. Well, not her cats, obviously, as they’d never been mousers. And then the realization hit her. “You don’t think I would actually…”

He merely arched a meaningful eyebrow.

“Uncle Alec! How can you even think such a thing!”

“What were your fingerprints doing on that club? That’s what I want to know.”

“I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation,” she sputtered.

“Okay. So what is it?”

“Well…” She cast around for a possible explanation for her prints to be on that club, but couldn’t think of a single one.

“Look, I know you’re not a killer,” said her uncle, softening. “But you can see how this complicates matters, don’t you?”

“I mean, why would I even want to hit Carl? I didn’t even know the guy.”

“I can think of a couple of reasons. We all know that Carl fashioned himself to be something of a ladies’ man. It’s not inconceivable that he came onto you last night and that you saw no other recourse than to defend yourself against his aggressive come-on.”

“Absolutely not!”

Her uncle held up his hand.“Now hear me out, honey. No one would blame you if you picked up that club and used it in self-defense. And if you tell me the truth right now I’ll make sure that the judge is lenient when he hears your plea.”

“The judge!”