57aacbcd9598439b495cce0c68035a7c

Chase darted a curious look in her direction, and mouthed,‘She?’

She nodded and watched how Toby’s face fell. “This witness, who is she?”

“We can’t disclose her name,” said Chase. “But she’s ready to testify in court.”

His jaw worked, but he wasn’t talking. Odelia decided to try a different tack.

“Look, we know there’s something going on between you and Regan, Toby. Were you jealous of Ray? Is that why you shot him?”

“Shoot him! I didn’t shoot Ray. Did Regan tell you this? Is she the witness?” They merely stared at him, and finally he cracked. “Look, it’s true that Regan and I—we had a thing going on, okay? But then she fell for Ray and things got kinda… complicated. She’d broken up with me but there were still all those feelings, you know? I wanted her back, and she wasn’t sure which one of us to choose. And as long as I still had a shot—I mean,” he quickly amended, “a chance of getting back together with her, I definitely wasn’t saying no.”

“So she basically had a relationship with both you and Ray?” asked Chase.

“Yeah, basically that’s how it was. Now? I have no idea. She’s still pretty busted up about Ray getting shot—which I had nothing to do with, by the way. I may have given him a piece of my mind that morning, and that may have looked like I was threatening him, but I sure as hell didn’t shoot the guy.”

“But you hated his guts.”

“Yes, I did,” he admitted. “Same way he hated mine.”

“That must have been tough,” Odelia said.

“It was a living hell to have to work so closely together with Regan and Ray.”

“Can we take a look at your room?” asked Chase.

He emitted a hacking laugh.“Why? To find my gun? Go ahead. You won’t find one.”

“Because you got rid of it?”

“Because I never had it in the first place! I didn’t kill Ray, Detective. I swear.”

Just then, there was a commotion inside the house, and they all walked back in. To Odelia’s surprise, Charlie Dieber had arrived, and he’d come bearing gifts in the form of three cats: Shanille, Diego and Harriet!

Chapter 21

Charlie held Shanille in one arm with Harriet in the other. His driver was left with the task of holding onto Diego, who, judging from his expression, had preferred to be in Shanille’s place instead.

“Fresh felines! Three fine fresh felines!” Charlie was shouting, perhaps erroneously thinking he’d arrived at a farmers’ market. “Fresh female felines for the Dieber collection!”

“Don’t think this one’s a female, boss,” said the driver, darting an anxious glance at Diego. He clearly wasn’t as big a fan of cats as his employer was.

“Nonsense!” cried Charlie, who was dressed in low-riding khaki cargo pants and nothing else. Odelia thought she preferred the star-spangled boxers. “Three fine babes for the Dieber!” Then his eye fell on Odelia and Chase. “Oh, hi,” he said, stalking up. “Now aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He dropped the cats to the floor and held out his hand. “Charlie Dieber at your service, doll face. And aren’t you the prettiest, hottest, sweetest piece of—”

“We met,” Odelia cut him off. “Odelia Poole. I work with the police.”

Charlie narrowed his eyes at her.“Oh, right! The cop chick. Now I remember.”

“Hey,” Chase said, stepping between Odelia and the pop star. “Show some respect.”

The Dieber held up his hands in a defensive gesture.“I’m all about respect, dude. I respect the hell out of this hot piece of—”

“And for your information, those are my cats,” said Odelia, pointing at Harriet and Diego. “You can’t just steal people’s cats. And that is Shanille. She belongs to Father Reilly.”

He glanced down at Shanille.“Father Reilly, huh? I thought she looked a little austere. No ray of sunshine, that one.”

“So if you don’t mind, I’ll take these back, and I will ask you not to steal any more of Hampton Cove’s cats. You simply can’t do this, Charlie,” she said, really getting going now.

Charlie grinned at Chase.“She’s one hot pistol, isn’t she?”

Chase gave the singer a look that could kill. It didn’t seem to affect the kid in the slightest.

“I told you, boss,” the driver said. “You can’t go around taking cats that don’t belong to you.” He allowed Diego to leap from his arms and carefully started to pick at the mass of orange hair stuck to his driver’s costume. “Now look at that,” he muttered with an expression of distaste. “I’m gonna need one of them rollers. One of them sticky things.”

“Look, I’m on a mission from God,” the Dieber explained.

Odelia, who was thinking hard about removing her Charlie Dieber Spotify selection from her phone and canceling her fan club enrollment, heaved a soft groan.“Oh, God.”

“Exactly! I collect cats, feed them, nourish them, shower them with the Dieber’s love and affection, and then I gift them to my Bediebers. Why do you think I’ve got so many cats? I’m grooming them! They’re my gift to the world, babe! A blessing for everyone. Bediebers get to hold a littlepiece of the Dieber in their arms—something to show them my true appreciation. My cats find a wonderful home. And I get to spread sweetness and light!”