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Odelia eyed us with a glint of humor in her eye.“So you all know who the killer is, huh? So when are you going to tell me?” We all started talking simultaneously, and she held up her hands in a bid to silence us. “You need to work together on this, you guys.”

“I cannot in all good conscience collaborate with anyone who condones violence,” said Harriet, directing a critical eye at me and Brutus. “That is simply out of the question.”

“Me either,” said Dooley. “I don’t violently condone a conscience. Absolutely not.”

“Right,” said Odelia with a slight grin. “Looks like the allegiances have shifted again. So what I’ll do is appoint a lead investigator in this case. He or she will be the one who takes the lead and who will bring this case to a close.”

I frowned. What was she talking about? I was her main cat. Always had been. She was my human, after all. Harriet belonged to Marge. Dooley belonged to Vesta. Brutus belonged to Chase. I was the only one who belonged to her. So technically I was the only lead investigator in any case she was involved in. But she ignored my studious frown.

“And I’m picking Harriet,” she finally said after a moment’s deliberation.

Dooley, Brutus and I all exclaimed“What?!!!”

“Yes, I think Harriet is going to be great,” said Odelia with a smile.

Harriet was beaming.“Oh, Odelia, you won’t regret this!” she exclaimed. “I’m going to catch this killer for you!”

“I know you will, honey,” said Odelia. “The rest of you guys can just sit this one out, all right? Harriet is going to catch this killer all by herself.” And with these words, she turned to the front again and started up the car. It rumbled to life with a throaty purr.

Harriet’s smile waned a little. “Wait, what?”

“You’re on your own, honey,” said Odelia. “Max, Dooley and Brutus are out.”

“But…” Harriet frowned, thinking this through. “You mean I have to do this all by myself?”

Odelia glanced over her shoulder.“Is that a problem?”

“No!” Harriet was quick to say. “No, I—I can do this. Of course I can.”

“That’s what I thought. In fact, now that I come to think of it, Chase and I will sit this one out as well. Chase is entirely too violent—you got that right. And I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, as usual.” She sighed. “So I guess it’s all up to you, honey.”

Harriet’s lips moved wordlessly, as panic was clear in her eyes. “All up to me,” she echoed.

“Yep. Good thing you’re up to the task, or else I’d be worried if I was one of Donna Bruce’s relatives. Or, God forbid, Sweetums or Honeychild. I’m sure they want to know what happened to their mother, poor kids.”

The distinct look of panic in Harriet’s eyes had increased. Then, suddenly, she cried out, “Don’t do it!”

Odelia frowned.“Don’t do what, honey?”

“Don’t let me do this by myself! I’m—I’m not up to the task! I—I wouldn’t know where to begin. Let’s…” She directed a pleading glance in my direction. “Let’s all do this together. As a team. Just the way we always do. Please, Odelia?”

Odelia thought about this for a moment.“But I thought you said Brutus was entirely too violent? And so was Max? And, for that matter, Chase? I got the distinct impression you thought you could handle this all on your own, without any help from anyone?”

“No, I can’t! I’m sorry! I was just—I was just—I don’t know what I was thinking! All I know is that I can’t do this without you guys. Brutus—Dooley—Max. We’re a team, right? We make a great team.”

Odelia smiled.“I’m glad you think so, Harriet. So… are you sure you don’t want to do this all by yourself?”

“No, I don’t!”

Odelia shrugged.“Okay, then. I guess we’re all on board again.”

“Yay!” Harriet squealed, doing a happy dance on the backseat.

Odelia locked eyes with me and gave me a wink. I returned it with relish.

My human, people. She’s the greatest.

“So from now on Harriet is in charge. You will all follow her lead,” Odelia said, and drove off.

My human. She’s completely nuts!

Chapter 7

After dropping off the cats at the house, Odelia headed for the police station, to assist Chase while he interviewed the man they’d arrested outside the Donna Bruce residence. Judging from his behavior he was now the prime suspect in the murder of the celebrity lifestyle guru.

She parked in front of the station house and got out. There were a bunch of reporters camped out in front of the squat building, and she wondered if this was going to pose a problem for the investigation. When celebrities were murdered, the accompanying attention sometimes worked disruptive, pushing the people in charge of the investigation to make rash decisions they wouldn’t otherwise make. Then again, this was Chase Kingsley. He wasn’t the kind of guy to allow emotion to trump reason.