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And Chase had just performed his third standing high jump when Vesta ambled up and said,“You shouldn’t be doing that in this hot weather, Chase. You’ll give yourself a heart attack if you keep this up.”

“I’m okay, Grandma,” he said, watching Vesta cringe at these words.

“Tex tells me you’re putting yourself in danger,” Vesta insisted. “And he’s a doctor, so he knows.”

“It’s still early,” he said, doing some trunk rotations now. “So I’ll be just fine.”

“Mh,” said Vesta, unconvinced, and disappeared through the hole in the hedge.

“Honey, don’t overdo it,” suddenly a voice said through the bedroom window. He looked up, and saw that the love of his life was leaning out, only dressed in a T-shirt and rubbing sleepy eyes.

“You look adorable, babe,” he said as he threw in a couple of squats.

“My dad just called. He says you shouldn’t be out doing these kinds of strenuous activities in this heatwave we’ve been having.”

“I’m fine,” he said through gritted teeth. He didn’t like to admit it but the Poole family was seriously wearing him down. “I’ve been doing this kind of thing for a long time so I know what I’m doing, all right?”

“No need to get snippy,” she said, and retracted her head and closed the window.

“I’m not being sni—” he began, and then groaned.

And as he was doing some side stretches, suddenly Max stole into his field of vision and started mewing plaintively.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” he said. “Not you, too, Max!”

He couldn’t understand a word the cat said but somehow he felt he was repeating the new Poole family mantra: you shouldn’t be out here exercising in this hot weather.

A head suddenly popped up over the fence and Kurt Mayfield appeared.“Are you sure that’s wise, neighbor?” asked the retired music teacher.

“Yes, it’s wise, Kurt,” he growled, starting to feel a little homicidal. “In fact it’s very wise and very healthy to do morning exercises and limber up your limbs before starting your day.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would be true, but in this weather? Can’t be healthy.”

More cats had appeared on the scene, in the form of Harriet, Brutus and Dooley, and now he was being observed by no less than four cats, one fluffy white dog and one neighbor.

“Chase!” suddenly Odelia shouted from the upstairs window again. “My dad just called again. He says he’ll wait until you’re finished before he leaves for work, in case you collapse. So he can revive you and make sure you’re fine. He’s very worried about you.”

“Oh, for crying out loud!” said Chase.

“And also, Max just confessed that he accidentally destroyed your inflatable pool last night. He swears it was an accident, and he promises it will never happen again!”

“Max?” said Chase, and watched as the large orange cat gave him a sheepish look. “Why?”

Max meowed something, and Odelia translated,“He says it was self-defense, whatever that means.”

Odelia disappeared again, and Chase continued his morning exercises, now segueing into a light yoga routine.

There was a tsk-tsking sound, and when he glanced over, he saw that Kurt was shaking his head and giving him weary glances.

In spite of the fact that his blood was slowly coming to a boil, he continued doggedly with his Downward Facing Dog.

“Your blood is rushing to your head, neighbor,” said Kurt, giving a running commentary. “That can’t be good.”

“I’m fine,” he growled.

“Ever heard of thrombosis?”

“I’m telling you I’m—”

Just then, as he came up to salute the sun, a bird swooped down and deposited a large helping of sticky muck onto his upturned face, then flew off, laughing like a hyena.

“That’s it!” he cried, shaking his fist at the sky. “You win! I give up!”

And with these words, he stalked off. And as he went, he could just hear Kurt say,“See? I told you, Fifi. This heat makes them all go berserk. Especially the musclebound ones. Too much blood rushing to their muscles and not enough going to their brains.”

And as Chase pounded up the stairs and slammed the door of the bathroom, Odelia yelled,“Oh, babe? I forgot to tell you. The heater is broken. I called the plumber already.”

A cold stream of ice-cold water hit the cop’s head, making him shiver. And so he echoed his boss’s words from the night before: “Can this day be any worse?”

Chapter 25

“Max, Brutus and I want to apologize for the way we spoke to you yesterday,” said Harriet, looking as contrite as I’d ever seen her look. Brutus, too, gave me apologetic glances, and the couple’s performance warmed the cockles of my heart.

“That’s all right, you guys,” I said therefore. “No bad feelings.”

When I looked up, though, I noticed how Gran was standing nearby, arms crossed in front of her and impatiently tapping her foot.

“And what else did we discuss?” she asked now. “Harriet? Brutus?”

“Oh, Gran, do we have to?” said Harriet, and that warm fuzzy feeling I’d been experiencing dissipated to some extent. It was obvious now that those apologies weren’t exactly heartfelt but had more to do with Gran’s gentle—or not so gentle—coercion.

“Max, we’re going to offer you…” Gran prompted.