eb93c43e214c621f9157c05b4b6a6878

Agatha nodded.“You’re right. I shouldn’t… I mean…” She cleared her throat and composed herself. “The most important thing is that Tucker is safe. He’s got his whole life ahead of him, and that’s the main thing.”

“Okay,” said Odelia. “You know what? I’ve got some interviews lined up later today, but I’ll make sure to talk to your son first.”

“I’d like that,” said Agatha with a weak smile. “I’d like that very much.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do. Now I want you to think hard, Agatha, and tell me if there’s anything you haven’t told me about last night. Anything at all. Something you saw, something you heard—some detail we missed?”

Agatha thought for a moment, then shook her head.“I told you everything I know.”

“You got a message from Astra and went over there and found her dead on the floor next to the bed?”

“The door was ajar, which didn’t strike me as odd, since I figured Astra was expecting me, so she would have left the door open.”

“And you didn’t think it strange that she would want to talk to you? In the middle of the night?”

“Not particularly. Artists live in a different reality than you and me. They don’t work a nine-to-five day. They can sleep all day and be up all night. I just figured she’d just found out from Oscar that I knew about the affair and wanted to apologize or explain.”

“What kind of a relationship did you and Astra have? You said you were friends?”

“I thought we were. Though it’s been a while since we last talked. Ever since she quit the show things have been awkward between us, as you can imagine.”

“She walked off the set of the final season ofHearts& Roses… six years ago?”

“Seven,” said Agatha. “Oscar was devastated when that happened, because it meant the end of a very successful show for him. His first big hit, in fact.”

“Do you think he was having an affair with her seven years ago and rekindled their romance here in Paris?”

“I’m not sure. I confronted him last night, but he swore up and down it was all lies. Said he’d never been involved with Astra. Not when she was part of the show, not now.”

“So he denies the whole thing?”

Agatha nodded, darting nervous glances to the door, as if expecting Inspector Giblet to walk in any moment and end the interview.“I showed him the pictures, and he said they must have been doctored.”

“Doctored?”

“Photoshopped. Said it was all nonsense. A fabrication. He blamed the tabloids for trying to create a sensational story. And he blamed me for falling into their trap.”

“But you didn’t believe him.”

“It’s not the first time Oscar has been unfaithful to me.”

“He’s had affairs before?”

“One affair, which almost ended our marriage. The only reason we stayed together was because Tucker was still small, and we didn’t want to do that to him.” She chewed her lip as she thoughtfully gazed into space, her mind clearly cast back to those dark days when her marriage had been on the rocks.

“May I ask—who was the person he was having an affair with that time?”

Agatha glanced down the table and produced a mirthless laugh.“You can’t tell this to anyone but… it was Amalia. Amalia Pulpweed.”

CHAPTER 15

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“It’s very hard to conduct a murder inquiry when you’re locked up in a hotel room, Max,” said Dooley as we both stared listlessly out the window.

“You can say that again,” I agreed wholeheartedly.

“At least Odelia could have left that window open, so we could move around the hotel and talk to people. Or cats.”

“I’m not sure we’ll find any cats to talk to,” I said, “apart from Marion, that is.”

Dooley’s face took on a beatific expression at the mention of the adored feline.

“I’m sure that Marion will be able to help us crack this case,” he said, his confidence in the manager’s cat knowing no bounds. “She must have seen that cat burglar last night, and will be able to tell us who he is.”

“Let’s hope so,” I said, more cautious than my friend. “Though she did mention last night that she didn’t see his face, on account of the mask he was wearing.”

“Now isn’t that annoying? Why are crooks and criminals always wearing masks, I wonder? It’s just not fair.”

“To avoid detection?” I suggested, stating the obvious.

“Mh,” he said, not convinced.

We’d more or less patiently waited for Odelia to return, but still there was no sign of her. Nor had that nice room service person shown up again, showering us with gifts and some really great food. When Harriet and Brutus would ask us how our trip to Paris had been, all I’d be able to tell them was that we’d never seen so much of a single hotel room before, not even that time when we’d gone on a cruise with our humans. At least that time we’d been able to move around the ship and see the sights. Though there had been big birds who’d pestered us a lot.

“It’s pretty boring being inside a room all the time,” said Dooley. “I wonder how people do it.”

“They watch television, I guess. Or pay-per-view.”

“What’s pay-per-view?”

“Oh, well, you know,” I said evasively. “It’s like television, only you pay for it.”

“Pay for what?”