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Frankly I didn’t see what else there was for us to do out there. We’d tried to talk to a potential witness, who’d taken flight the moment he or she laid eyes on us, and now we were simply cooling our heels wasting time while the kittens were probably tearing the house apart back home. But Odelia was still snooping around, and I didn’t feel like pawing it all the way home, instead opting to wait until Odelia was finished and gave us a lift.

And since we were out there anyway, with nothing to do, we decided to take a turn around the grounds and take in the scenery. To be absolutely honest I also wanted to take a closer look at that ginormous mansion at the end of the driveway. It is my experience, borne out by years of associating with humans, that people who own mansions often have pets, and those pets are more often than not pampered little creatures who enjoy the very best in gourmet food that money can buy. And since I was getting a little peckish—not to mention that the kittens had stolen my food—I thought it was only fair to take a peek and maybe even a bite in yonder pet haven.

And so wander yonder we did, and soon found ourselves rounding the house and looking for a way into the kitchen, where, once again according to my extensive experience, often cat food can be found—or even dog food. At that juncture it didn’t do to be picky.

The deck rose into view and we moved over to check it out. And that’s when we found the same girl who’d approached Odelia with her incredible proposition, crying her heart out. She wasn’t crying in little sobs either but in big gulping gulps, wailing away.

“Poor girl,” said Dooley.

“Yeah. It’s not her fault her dad is a homicidal maniac who murders women for fun.”

“Maybe Odelia should have taken on her case?”

“Maybe. Though from what I can gather he’s guilty, Dooley. And it’s very hard to prove that a guilty man didn’t do it. Nor should Odelia even have to try. Guilty people belong in jail.” That’s what Odelia has always taught us and it’s what I truly believe.

“Do you think Fae wants Odelia to prove that her dad didn’t do it even if he did?”

“Looked that way to me. She just wants her daddy back, whether he’s guilty or not.”

We both glanced up at the teenager, who still sat there heaving big wailing gulps of breath, from time to time pausing to blow her nose in a stack of Kleenex she kept on hand.

A woman who slightly resembled Fae came walking out of the house and placed her arm around the young woman’s shoulder. “It’s all right, honey. Everything will be all right.”

“No, it won’t, Mom!” the girl cried, shaking off her mother’s arm. “Things will never be all right again. Never ever ever!”

And then she practically leaped into the house, leaving her mother looking distraught and worried. The mom picked up a tissue for herself and blew her nose. Her eyes were red-rimmed and she looked like she’d been crying herself.

“This man has broken so many hearts,” said Dooley, shaking his head.

A little fluffy doggie came tripping out of the house. The moment it saw us it stood there, panting slightly, vibrating on its tiny paws, as if it had never seen a pair of cats before.

“Hey there, dog,” I said, hoping it wouldn’t start barking and acting mad like most dogs do when they come across a cat.

It gave one sharp bark and Fae’s mother looked up. When she saw us, she smiled. “What are you sweethearts doing here?” She came over and crouched down next to us. “You look like you belong to someone,” she said, gently stroking my fur. “You’re too nice-looking and well-groomed to be feral cats.”

I did the purring thing again, and so did Dooley when the woman extended the same courtesy to him.

The doggie had cocked its head in our direction and stood staring with a strange look on its face. It probably wasn’t used to seeing his human engage with a pair of cats.

“You know, Max,” said Dooley now as he cast a glance at the pile of tissues on the table. “Maybe we have to convince Odelia to take on this case anyway.”

“I’m starting to think so, too,” I said as the woman suddenly burst into tears and some of those tears splashed across my head like the dewy rain.

I sneezed and she cried some more.

“She’s clearly heart-broken and so is her daughter,” said Dooley. “I don’t think humans would cry so much over a man if that man was a murderous maniacal monster.”

“You’re right,” I said. The plight of these women touched my heart. And so did the bowl of food Fae’s mom pushed in our direction and from which I was taking hearty bites.

So we’re cats. We fall in love with any human that feeds us.

The woman finally disappeared into the house, presumably to look for her daughter, and then it was just us and the dog, whom I’d identified as a Bichon Fris? dog, one of those hairy white creatures that look like a walking ball of fluff.

“What do you think, dog?” I asked around a mouth filled with kibble.

“You do know that’s my food you’re eating, right?” said the dog, head still cocked and giving us sour looks.