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“He’s AA?” asked Odelia, curious.

“Oh, yes. Ten years and counting. Mr. Randy very strong. He never touch drop of alcohol in all this time in AA. Very, very strong man. Will of steel!”

“But… he did use other things, right?”

The housekeeper sighed deeply.“Mr. Randy very, very weak man. Mr. Randy like white powder. Take white powder all the time through nose. Better than bottle but not good. I throw away white powder but Mr. Randy not happy with me. Hide his white powder where I can’t find it.”

“Is it also true that he hasn’t made much money these last couple of years?”

“Yes, unfortunately hip problem make Mr. Randy can’t work out. No more sessions. No more videos. No more classes for Mr. Randy. Mr. Randy very, very sad. I sad, too.”

“So… where does the money come from to pay you?” asked Odelia. “And to pay for the pool boy?” she added with a smile.

“I not know!” said Floralba, throwing up her arms. “Mr. Randy say he get lots of money. Lots and lots of money. He like to pay me and gardeners and chef and pool boy and cleaners no problem.” She cast a worried look at Odelia. “Where is Mr. Randy, Miss Poole? When Mr. Randy come home?”

“I’m not sure, Floralba,” said Odelia. “But he assured me he’s doing fine, and he’ll be home soon.”

“Poor Floralba,” said Dooley. “She really worries about her boss.”

“And about her job,” Harriet added. She cast a nervous glance at Odelia. “When is she going to stop asking all these questions? It’s clear these people have no idea where the threats are coming from, and meanwhile Brutus is still out there, waiting for us to save him.”

I didn’t want to tell her this, but maybe, just maybe, Brutus had simply decided to take a break from his girlfriend for a little while. Harriet could be a smidgen overbearing sometimes, and Brutus could have gone for a walk in the country, along with his new friend Pinkie. That, and he probably wantedto escape the carrot diet Harriet was on.

In fact I had high hopes that by the time we got back, Brutus would have returned from his wanderings and would greet us from under his favorite rose bush.

Odelia thanked the housekeeper for her time, and went off in search of more people to interview, leaving us to roam the garden, which was very nicely kept indeed.

“If Randy is broke,” I said, “he certainly has been hiding it well. This place must cost a fortune in upkeep.”

“Maybe he’s making his money some other way,” said Harriet. “Or maybe he has a secret benefactor who’s been helping him out financially these past couple of years while he recovers from his pelvis operation and his addiction to illegal substances.”

“So what is this candy Randy likes to put in his nose, Max?” Dooley asked now. “And is that the reason he’s always so happy and so gay?”

“Um, yeah, I guess so, Dooley,” I said.

“I never heard of this habit of putting candy up your nose,” said my friend. “Do you think it’s jellybeans?

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so,” I said after a pause.

“But doesn’t it hurt, Max? Putting jellybeans up your nose? And doesn’t it make it hard to breathe? Unless he only puts one jellybean up his nose at a time, of course.”

“Oh, Dooley,” said Harriet with a sigh.

Chapter 28

Brutus had been trying to come up with a plan of escape but so far had failed miserably. As far as he could see, the window through which he’d entered the basement was the only way out, except for the staircase, and that’s where Johnny Carew and Jerry Vale were waiting for him—ready to catch him as he tried to make his escape.

So the staircase was out, and the window was now shut tight, and so it looked like he was stuck for the moment, with no way to get out of there.

“I think we’re stuck, Brutus,” said Pinkie, having come to the same conclusion.

“Yeah, I figured that,” said the black cat. “Though maybe they’ll open that window again at some point, wanting to let some air in.”

Speaking of air, he directed a look at the ventilation system. It was the usual kind: aluminum tubes suspended from the ceiling on metal rods and outfitted with vents every few feet. No way to get up there, though, and even if he could reach those vents, he had no way of removing the screws keeping them in place.

“I’m so sorry for putting you in this position, Brutus,” said Pinkie. “I should have left well enough alone and swum away in the ocean when I had the chance.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “We’ll think of a way to get out of here.” He glanced at the large bags filled with fish food. They smelled horrible, but since beggars can’t be choosers… “At least we have plenty of food, so we’re not going to starve to death.”

“Do you like fish food?” asked Pinkie.

“Um… it’s not that bad,” he said. If it was good enough for turtles…

“Your friends will be so worried about you,” said Pinkie, shaking her head sadly.