She chuckled lightly as Brutus related her message to the tiny turtle, and laughed loudly when both cat and turtle looked at her in surprise. Oh, how she loved pulling people’s legs—and cats and turtles, too!
[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]
Harriet had been searching around for her mate for a while now, and when she couldn’t find him had asked her human Marge Poole if she’d seen Brutus anywhere.
“No, sweetie,” said Marge, a fair-haired forty-something librarian. “Have you looked next door? Maybe he went to pay a visit to your friends.”
So Harriet had passed into the next backyard, the one belonging to Marge’s daughter Odelia, and had come upon a surprising scene: a man she’d never seen before was seated at the living room table with Chase and Odelia, and all three of them were dressed in the same type of outfit, though the unknown male was wearing the most outrageous outfit of all: sequin spandexshorts and a sequined colorful bodice. He also had a thick head of frizzy hair that really stood out from his head and a careworn expression on his face.
Max and Dooley were on the couch, listening to the conversation with rapt attention, so she walked up to them and asked,“What’s going on? Who is that funny-looking guy?”
“Randy Hancock,” said Max.
“He’s a fitness guru,” said Dooley. “And he’s about to die.”
“Oh, Dooley,” she said with an eyeroll. “You really should stop thinking everyone you meet is about to die.”
“No, but he’s really going to die,” said Dooley. “He said so himself. In exactly four days.”
“Of course he is,” she said with a shake of the head. “Have you guys seen Brutus? He seems to have vanished from the face of the earth.”
“Nope,” said Max. “Haven’t seen him.”
“Maybe he’s gone out for a walk?” Dooley said.
“No way,” said Harriet. “Brutus would never leave without telling me.” She frowned as she glanced over to the man talking to her humans. He did look sick, she thought, so maybe Dooley was right for a change. After all, even a broken clock gets it right twice a day. “Why is he here?” sheasked. “If he’s dying he should be in hospital, shouldn’t he?”
“He wants Odelia to stop him from dying,” said Dooley.
“I don’t get it,” said Harriet. “Odelia is not a doctor, so why ask her?”
“We don’t get it either,” said Max, looking distinctly frustrated. The big orange cat didn’t like to be kept in the dark, and it was obvious he had no idea what was going on.
“Look, if you see Brutus tell him that I’ve asked Marge to buy us a big bundle of carrots and our diet starts tonight without fail.”
“Carrots?” asked Dooley. “Why do you want to eat carrots? You’re not a rabbit.”
“For your information, carrots are very good for you,” she said prissily, sticking her nose in the air. “Full of vitamins and minerals and everything a healthy cat needs.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” said Max. “A healthy cat needs protein, and plenty of it, and since carrots don’t have protein you’re going to get sick if you go on this diet, Harriet.”
“Look, I know what I’m doing, all right? And if I were you, I’d ask Odelia to put you on the same diet as me.” She poked a paw in Max’s pudgy belly and grinned. “You could do with losing a couple of pounds, Maxie, and eating carrots will get you there.”
Now it was Max’s turn to get prissy. “I just went on a diet, and Odelia says I’m fine.”
“You went on a diet months ago. All those pounds you lost you’ve gained again, and a good few extra, too, so if you’re so worried about your health, why not simply join me and Brutus on our carrot diet?”
“Brutus is going on your diet, too?”
“Of course he is. Because contrary to you, Max, Brutus cares about his waistline.”
And with this parting shot, she stalked out.
She hadn’t told her friends about her deteriorating eyesight and she wasn’t planning to either. A couple of days eating nothing but carrots and she was sure she’d have twenty-twenty vision once more. Now if only she could locate her diet buddy…
Chapter 5
“I’m dying of curiosity,” I said.
Dooley gave me a startled look.“You’re dying?!”
“It’s just an expression, Dooley. I really want to know what’s going on—and no one is telling us anything!”
Odelia and Chase had disappeared upstairs with the fitness guru in tow, and we still had no idea what was happening.
“As far as I understand someone is trying to kill him,” said Dooley.
“That’s not completely true,” I said. “Someonesays he is going to die, but how—and why?”
“Probably cancer,” said Dooley.
I glanced at the table, where the man’s phone was still lying. Odelia had taught us how to operate a tablet computer, and had even bought us one, but lately Harriet had more or less monopolized the thing, watching her favorite sites and YouTube videos on the gadget. Still, there wasn’t a lot of difference between a tablet and a phone, right?