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“Isn’t it obvious? That entire family has been pestering us for years. And now three of my friends are dead and you’re telling me you haven’t picked him up yet? What are you waiting for, man?”

“We’re waiting until we have solid evidence of Dominic Careen’s involvement,” said Chase. “And until we do, I’m afraid our hands are tied.”

“Well, I’m not taking any chances. I’ve doubled my guard detail, and if Careen wants to kill me next, he’s got another thing coming. In fact I’ve handed out the man’s picture to all of my security people, and told them to shoot first and ask questions later.”

“I strongly advise against that, sir,” said Chase decidedly.

“I’m not asking for your advice, detective. I have to think about my safety now. There’s a madman out there who’s already killed three times, and it’s pretty obvious I’m next.”

“What if I told you that we have solid evidence that suggests that your friend Dunc Hanover was the person driving the car that killed Mr. Careen’s daughter?”

The action hero frowned, a thing he did so well in his movies. In fact he was almost always frowning, as his main enemy Dr. Ghoul was always trying to kill him. Not unlike Dominic Careen, apparently—or at least according to the superhero actor. “I don’t understand. We were nowhere near the street where that little girl was killed. We’ve told the police time and time again. What is this evidence?”

“A detailed account the garage owner who fixed Mr. Hanover’s car the morning after the accident kept. It clearly states the work he carried out to hide all evidence of the accident.”

“I’m sure there must be some mistake,” said the beefy actor, flexing his muscles, out of sheer habit, I assumed.

“He’s very big, isn’t he, Max?” said Dooley. “He probably eats a lot of potatoes.”

“I don’t think it’s potatoes that made him this big, Dooley. He exercises a lot.”

“Chase also exercises a lot, but compared to Sergio, Chase is tiny.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call Chase tiny.” But it was true that next to Sergio, Chase did indeed look small. And judging from the cop’s testy questions, he didn’t like it.

“No mistake,” said Chase. “It’s clearly Dunc Hanover’s car.”

“Then there must have been some other collision he was involved in that night. We were always hitting stuff. If you’re going to engage in street races some minor damage is to be expected. And we weren’t very precious about our cars, detective—not in the least.”

“What did surprise me is that Dunc owned a Mustang. That’s a pretty expensive car for a man with modest means.”

Sergio smiled.“I remember that Mustang. A great machine. Dunc was really proud of that car. He got it secondhand, actually, with a little help from his friends, of course.”

“You bought him that car?”

“We all chipped in. You see, Dunc’s folks didn’t have the kind of funds at their disposal that the rest of us had, but we still considered him one of us. So when we got into cars, we felt he had to have a car of his own, just like the rest of us. And since it was obvious he couldn’t afford it, we created a pool and got him that Mustang.”

“So you claim that his Mustang was in an accident that night but not involving Poppy Careen.”

Sergio sighed as he impatiently tapped the back of the couch.“How many times do I have to say this. We had nothing to do with what happened to the girl. And now if you’ll excuse me, I have a hot date with a protein shake.” And abruptly he got up and disappeared.

“He has a hot date with a protein shake?” asked Dooley. “I thought he was a bachelor?”

“I think bachelors are allowed to cheat on the bachelor code with protein, Dooley.”

“So what do you think?” asked Chase, leaning forward.

“I think we’re not going to get Scarlett and Charlene and Mom their autographs.”

Chase shook his head.“Not Marge, too!”

“I’m afraid so,” said Odelia with a grin.

“I don’t believe this. He’s just some actor!”

“Yeah, but what an actor.”

“Oh, God. Not you, too, babe.”

Odelia shrugged.“I happen to like the Zeus movies. They’re very… entertaining.”

Sergio had returned, and I could see traces of a pink substance on his lips. Presumably his protein shake was of the strawberry variety.“Are we done here?” he asked. “I have to rest now. In one hour I have another workout to put in. Ropes, this time.”

“Ropes?” asked Odelia, her eyes caressing the man’s impressive torso.

“Yeah, you know.” He made a yanking motion with both hands, bending at the knees as he did. “Battle ropes. Great workout. You must have done some rope work, detective. You look like a man who knows his way around a gym.”

“I work out,” Chase confirmed. “Though not as much as you, obviously.”

“This is what I do,” said Sergio. “In fact it’s all I do. All day, every day.”

“Must be tough,” said Chase, and he seemed to mean it.

“Yeah, well. It pays good money, so…”

“Will you be in town long?” asked Chase, changing the subject.