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“I know,” I said. “But can I help it that people keep murdering other people, even on holiday?”

“So how did you find out that Lil Thug was Bertha’s ex-husband?” asked Dooley.

“The pictures,” I said. “Remember how we were scrolling through some of Bertha’s old pictures? Well, one of them featured Bertha and her ex-husband. And when put next to a picture of Lil Thug, I was struck by the resemblance. So I dug a little deeper, and soon became convinced they were oneand the same person.”

“If you know what to look for, it jumps out at you,” said Harriet, nodding.

“Yes, it does,” I agreed.

A wet spray suddenly made me look up, and I saw that Odelia had joined us. She was wet from a dip in the ocean, and was wringing the brine out of her long hair.“So how are things in Hampton Cove?” she asked as she crouched down. “Gran behaving herself?”

“Not more than usual,” said Harriet with a sigh. “Now she wants to build a greenhouse where she can grow flowers. Marge says no way, and Tex is ready to strangle her.”

“Sounds familiar,” said Odelia with a grin. “And how are you guys holding up? Probably can’t wait till the house is ready?”

“We’re okay,” said Brutus. “Now that Marge and Tex are sleeping in your room, and Gran has the guest room to herself, things have calmed down. And no more shouting in the morning since Gran shortened her bathroom time.”

“Well, I’m glad,” said Odelia.

“When are you back?” asked Harriet.

“One more week,” said Odelia, “and our dream vacation is over.”

“You enjoy yourself, Odelia, and have the time of your life.”

“Oh, I certainly intend to,” said Odelia with a smile. “And now that Max has solved another murder case, things are bound to become a lot quieter.” She gave me a grateful pat on the head.

Harriet and Brutus signed off, and Odelia returned to join her husband, who was now standing near the water, getting his feet wet.

“Maybe we should take a dip in the water?” Dooley suggested.

“I don’t think so, Dooley,” I said. “I’ve had plenty of ocean for one trip, thank you very much.”

“Not swimming, but just to get our paws wet,” my friend suggested. “It will cool us off.”

The notion of cooling off sounded very appealing, I must confess, and so when he got up and tripped off in the direction of the waterfront, I quickly followed. The disadvantage of having a lot of fur is that when it gets hot out, it also gets hot inside! Like a sweater you can’t take off. And so when we finally reached the water and dipped our paws in, I had to admit it felt really nice—very cooling!

And I would have ventured in a little further if not suddenly two familiar large and winged creatures swept down on us with loud screeches of terror: Frank and Jack were back!

“Gotcha, suckers!” Jack screamed as he homed in on me, claws outstretched, while his friend adhered to the same flight path, but with Dooley as his designated target.

“Max!” cried Dooley helplessly as he tried to trudge out of the water. But since he was a little waterlogged, and the water hampered his movements, he was never going to be able to outrun that foul bird, and neither was I.

“Jump in, Dooley!” I yelled.

It was the only thing I could think of, and probably not the smartest avenue of escape, as seagulls can grab a fish from underneath the water’s surface just as easily as I can pick a piece of kibble from my bowl.

And as both Dooley and I submerged ourselves as best we could—a tough proposition in half a foot of water, I can tell you—I knew that this was it. We were goners.

But then, suddenly, a man came running over, waving his arms, and screaming at the top of this voice, kicking up sand and water like a madman.

Jack and Frank, who hadn’t counted on this, were visibly and audibly displeased, but immediately gave up the hunt, as this madman looked as if he was going to physically attack them and turn them into minced meat.

And when I looked up, at first I couldn’t make out who our savior was, for the sun was in my eyes, and all I could see was this brave hero’s outline—a very buff and beefy outline!

But then he swooped down and lifted me up with what can only be described as superhuman strength, and with one fluid motion did the same with Dooley, and then he was carrying us out of the surf and back to safety.

It felt good to be in his strong arms, and as he joined Odelia, and handed Dooley to her while he ever so gently held me, I purred up a storm. For this superman was Chase—the best husband a cat lady could ever have chosen!

“Chase, I love you,” I purred.

“Chase, you’re amazing,” purred Dooley.

Yep, I guess we love us some Chase!

“Oh, you guys,” said Odelia. “You really should be more careful.”

“It’s not their fault, babe,” said our knight in shining armor. “They just wanted to cool off when those horrible birds swept in.”

“I know, but still.”

Chase knelt down, scooped up some of that cooling liquid that was sloshing along the sandy beach, and started sprinkling it ever so carefully on top of my head, then repeated the procedure with Dooley.