7b2696c981e3d60fa8abbc841c83ccf4

“Right,” said Gran dubiously.

“Cats roam the streets at all hours of the day or night, and cover all of Hampton Cove. In fact that’s the reason we always manage to give Odelia the kinds of tips and exclusive stories that she fills her newspaper with. So why don’t we ask all the cats of Hampton Cove to form one big neighborhood watch?”

Odelia laughed.“But honey, we can’t possibly expect the cats of Hampton Cove to put themselves in harm’s way, just to protect the community?”

“And why not?” Harriet insisted. “Nearly all of the cats belong to somebody. And I’m sure they’d be more than happy to make sure those somebodies can feel safe in the knowledge that no one will snatch their purses and knock them dead.”

Odelia, Marge and Gran now shared a look, and I could tell that Harriet’s impassioned pitch had struck a chord.

“You know, Harriet?” said Odelia finally. “On second thought your idea is not so bad.”

“No, and that’s because it’s great,” said Harriet, tilting her chin a little. “And so if you make me the leader of the Neighborhood Cat Watch, I’ll make sure that Hampton Cove will be the safest town on the East Coast. In fact it just might become the safest town in the whole country, and a beacon in the annals of crime fighting. And when other towns start following in our pawsteps, we’ll start a revolution in crime prevention—a revolution of which we can be the proud leaders.”

Gran was nodding, and so were Odelia and Marge.

“What are you guys talking about?” asked Chase, one of those rare humans who doesn’t speak our language.

“Oh, nothing,” Gran hastened to say.

“Why did Gran just say your idea is nothing?” asked Dooley, intrigued.

“I think she first wants to see if it’s feasible,” said Harriet, studying the old lady closely. “And then if it works, she can take all the credit.”

“And if it fails?” asked Brutus.

“Well, since nobody knows about it except us, if it fails no one will know.”

“Gran should have gone into politics,” said Dooley.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “She certainly has the cunning for it.”

Gran now gave Harriet a wink.“Let’s talk more soon,” she whispered.

Chapter 2

The following morning, the four of us were enjoying a well-deserved nap in Odelia’s office, while our human slaved away at her computer, typing up an article on the murdered woman, when all of a sudden Dan strode in, and took a seat at his star reporter’s desk.

Odelia looked up with a frown.“Do you think I should talk to the friend? Get some background on Josslyn Aldridge?”

“Before you do that, I just got off the phone and I think I have an even juicier story for you, my dear.”

“Oh?” said Odelia, and withdrew her hands from the keyboard. “What story?”

“How well do you know Rosa Bond?”

“Tilton Bond’s wife? I’ve bumped into her once or twice at social events. Why?”

“It was Rosa who phoned me, and asked if she could enlist our services.”

“Our services?”

Dan grinned.“And when I say ‘our services’ of course I mean your services. You’re really starting to make a name for yourself as an investigative reporter.”

“Rosa Bond wants to hire me?”

“That’s what I understood. She didn’t want to talk on the phone, but I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it when she arrives…” He checked his watch. “In about ten minutes.”

“Rosa Bond is coming here?”

Dan nodded and got up.“I told her you’d be more than happy to place yourself at her disposal.” He gave her a smile and tapped his nose. “I have a hunch this might prove to be one heck of a story.” Just then, the door to the outer office opened and closed. The aged editor’s pristinely white beard waggled withexcitement. “I think that might be the lady already.” He took a slight bow. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thanks, Dan.”

“I thank you,” said Dan, and quickly went to greet Mrs. Bond, or whoever it might be.

Moments later, the new arrival was ushered into Odelia’s office by Dan, who quickly retreated, but not before saying, “I’ll leave you in Odelia’s capable hands, Mrs. Bond.”

“Thanks, Mr. Goory,” said the lady, and took a seat in front of Odelia.

She was a smallish woman, with short ash-blond hair and a sort of squarish face. She wasn’t exactly pretty, but she had one of those kind faces, which gave the impression she was a good person at heart, and kindness always lends a certain beauty to a person, I’ve always thought, and this certainly was the case with Mrs. Bond.

“How old do you think she is, Max?” asked Dooley.

“Forty-something?” I said. “It’s hard to say, Dooley.”

“It’s always hard to say with humans,” my friend mused. “And I wonder why that is.”

“It’s because humans try to mask their real age,” said Harriet. “They always want to look younger than they actually are. And so they dye their hair and apply all kinds of creams to their faces, or even have operations like facelifts or nips and tucks.”

“Facelifts?” asked Dooley. “Why would you want to have your face lifted?”

“It’s actually not the entire face that’s lifted, Dooley,” I said. “Only the parts that hang a little, like the jawline or the corners of the mouth.”