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“Um, what’s going on?” she asked, a little perplexed.

Shayonne held up a finger while she closed her eyes.“Just a second. I wanna get this right.” When she opened her eyes again, Odelia saw there were tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. “Shana craved men,” she said in a dramatic voice. “She was a natural born seductress who had to devour every male she met. The fact that she was married to one of the greatest singers of all time didn’t stop her from hitting on my man. And Dion fell for it.”

“Great take,” said the cameraman, chewing gum. He was a chunky guy with a pasty face, patches of red hair peeping from under his Lakers cap.

“I still feel like I’m missing something,” said Shayonne. “Oh, wait. I think I’ve got it.” Once again, she pressed tears from her eyes, and said in a deep, sultry voice, “Dion is a weak, deeply flawed individual. And he fell for my sister.”

“Love it,” said the cameraman. “That’s a keeper.”

“Thanks,” said Shayonne, wiping away her tears.

“How-how do you do that?” asked Odelia, fascinated.

“It’s a trick,” said Shayonne. “I think of dead puppies. Works every time.”

“Dead puppies. Huh. Interesting.”

“Yoo-hoo! Alejandro! Over here!”

She watched as a curly-haired man with olive skin walked up. He was the spitting image of Antonio Banderas, and oozed charm and male charisma.

“This is the director of the show,” Shayonne said. “Alejandro Salanova.” Odelia expected Shayonne to introduce her, but apparently she wasn’t important enough. “Have you filmed the body?” she asked, sounding more like a producer than a mourning sister.

“Not yet,” said Alejandro. “The cops won’t let us. They say it’s a crime scene and we’re not allowed inside until they remove the body.”

“Crap,” said Shayonne, then turned to Odelia. “You’re a cop, right? Can’t you arrange for Alejandro and his crew to shoot the body and the head?”

“I, um…” Odelia was lost for words. She’d known the Kenspeckles had a show to run, but she’d figured this tragedy would put a stop to all of that. “Aren’t you going to cancel the show now that your sister… is dead?”

Shayonne’s eyebrows rose fractionally. “Cancel the show? Honey, this is the best thing that could have happened to us.”

“We’ll shoot right up in the ratings,” said Alejandro. He stuck up his index finger for emphasis. “Numero uno, baby!”

“We’ve been dropping in the ratings,” Shayonne explained. “It’s time to reclaim the top spot again, and this whole murder thing just might do it.”

She stared at the woman, wondering if she was a human or a robot.

Shayonne turned away.“Just muscle your way in there. Don’t take no for an answer. Get a few good shots of the body and the head before it’s too late.”

And with these words she stalked off to give further instructions to Alejandro and his crew. Odelia watched them walk into the house and realized her jaw was still on the floor. She hitched it up and walked over to the loungers to join Max and the cats. She plunked down, shaking her head.

“The killer was wearing some kind of long black robe,” said Max.

“Uh-huh,” she said, watching as the cameraman started filming inside the dining room, ignoring the protestations of several police officers nearby.

“Clarice saw the whole thing. She was right there when it happened.”

This time Max caught her attention.“She witnessed the murder?”

“Yep. She told us the whole story in exchange for a juicy steak. Why does Brutus get to eat steak and we don’t, Odelia? I like steak. We all do.”

“Meat is expensive, buddy. A reporter’s salary will only get you so far.”

He shook his head.“Of course. I knew that. I’m sorry. It’s just that…” He waved a paw. “That Brutus is driving me crazy. With his chicken wings and his chicken necks and his… his chicken liver.”

“Just like his master,” Odelia said. She watched as Chase and Alejandro went toe to toe, the veins in Chase’s neck pulsating. She sighed. “Though he doesn’t have a chicken neck.” She watched as he gestured with his muscular arms, threatening to wring the director’s neck. “Or chickenwings.”

This wasn’t going to end well, she thought, but then Shayonne stepped in, employing her secret weapon. Tears flowed from the reality star’s eyes as she implored Chase to allow Alejandro to shoot his ‘home movie’ so the family could forever cherish Shana’s memory. Dead puppies again. She could see Chase’s resolve weaken under the onslaught. Oh, man. This was brutal.

“Weird,” said Max, commenting on the scene.

“So weird,” she agreed. “So what did Clarice say?”

And as Max filled her in, she wondered how she was going to convey this information to Chase. They were now looking for a blood-soaked black robe and a meat cleaver. Only she couldn’t tell him. She stroked Max’s fur and he purred softly. “You’re getting raw meat tonight, buddy. You did good.”

“But I thought you said it was too expensive.”

“This is a special occasion. You just helped solve a murder.”

“Thanks, Odelia,” he murmured.