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It was a surreal scene, to say the least.

Moments later Odelia walked in, followed by Chase, and they both had that glum look on their faces that spoke of an investigation stuck in the doldrums.

“And?” said Tex hopefully. “Did you make an arrest?”

“Nope,” said Chase. “No motive to speak of, and nothing that directly links her to the string of fraudulent claims. I am going back to the fair tomorrow. Dig a little deeper.”

“I’m also going, and so are you guys,” said Odelia, addressing us.

“Can I come, too?” asked Norm excitedly. “I feel like I’m on a real streak here.”

“Sure you can come,” I said. “In fact we couldn’t do this without you, Norm.”

Norm glowed with pride, as far as a fly who’s not a firefly can glow, of course.

“So there’s been a complication,” said Tex. “Your mother doesn’t seem to remember the cats, except for Harriet, who she thinks is called Princess. She’s also forgotten she can talk to her cats, which is a bad sign.”

“Oh, dear,” said Odelia, sinking down next to her mom and rubbing her back.

Marge gave her daughter a radiant smile.“I like these Kardashians,” she said. “Is this a new show? I hope they keep it going. It’s very funny.”

“It’s been on TV for years, Mom,” said Odelia. “And what is this about you not being able to talk to our cats?”

“Talk to our cats!” said Marge with a tinkling laugh. “Honey, you really have to stop pulling my leg. You know I’m not well—or at least your father seems to think so.”

“Oh, Mom,” said Odelia, casting a look of concern at her boyfriend.

“Oh, hi, dear,” said Marge, noticing Chase. “So did you and Solange go on a date?”

“Yeah,” said Chase after a moment’s hesitation. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“And did sparks fly?” asked Marge with a cheeky smile.

“Oh, sparks flew, all right,” said the cop.

“Good. That girl deserves to be happy. She lost her husband, you know. Sad case.”

“Did Solange lose her husband?” asked Odelia.

“No, she assured me her husband is alive and well,” said Chase.

“I met him,” said Odelia, nodding. “Though I didn’t know he was her husband.”

“Yeah, he runs the circus. According to what I could find out they’ve been married for years. Though it’s hard to be sure, as records are a little sketchy on both Mr. and Mrs. Cooper—seeing as how they travel around a lot.”

Just then, Gran came stomping down the stairs again, holding some mysterious object in her hand. And before we knew what was happening, she’d glued a strip of something under her daughter’s nose, then said, “This hurts me more than it hurts you, honey, but it’s for your own good!”

And then she yanked the strip off, causing Marge to screech out a loud cry, and Tex yelling,“What do you think you’re doing?!”

“Waxing her mustache!” Gran held up the strip, now containing lots of minuscule hairs, while Marge sat rubbing her upper lip and giving her mom a look of horror. “Your memory will start coming back now, honey,” said Gran, patting her daughter’s head. “It’s the hairs, you see. They grow straight into your brain and make you forget stuff.”

“Oh, I’ll makeyou forget stuff!” said Marge, and lunged for her dear old mother, who expertly managed to dodge this attack.

And soon Marge was chasing her mom around the family room, with Gran waving that strip of waxing paper like a banner.

“This is fun,” said Norm. “Is this the way you guys spend all your evenings?”

Chapter 38

Tex wasn’t exactly feeling on top of the world when he walked into the New York Lottery Customer Service Center the next morning. There was a line of people waiting as he settled in at the back, holding his winning ticket in his hand. His plan was to cash in and head straight to the travel agent to book that Caribbean cruise for him and Marge.

Marge might be suffering from severe memory loss now, but once she was aboard that fine and luxurious vessel and cruising along the Caribbean, he hoped that bracing ocean air would do her good, as well as being away from Hampton Cove for a while.

The door opened again and a familiar figure walked in and joined the line.

“Oh, hi, Charlene,” he said. “How are you holding up?”

The Mayor frowned and sized him up as if she’d never seen him before in her life, then said, “Tex Poole, isn’t it? Doctor Tex Poole? I never forget a face.”

Tex laughed a light laugh.“Very funny, Charlene.”

“Why do you keep calling me Charlene? It’s Madam Mayor to you, Dr. Poole.”

“But…”

“Look, I know there’s this tendency nowadays to call public servants by their Christian name, probably exacerbated by social media and its pernicious influence, but I for one am absolutely against that sort of familiarity. I worked hard to become Mayor of this town, and I think I deserve the respect that comes with the job, Dr. Poole.”

“Oh, sure,” said Tex, wondering if the whole world had gone stark raving mad.

“Now please tell me, Doctor. Is this where I can buy tickets for the Bruce Springsteen concert?”

“Bruce Springsteen?”

“I’m a big fan of Bruce Springsteen, and I just have to get tickets for his next show.”