eb93c43e214c621f9157c05b4b6a6878

“Yes, Dooley. This is my natural color,” she said, visibly amused at Dooley’s behavior.

“It’s very nice.”

“Thanks. I guess. So a lot happened since last night, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yeah, a woman was murdered,” I said. “And now we’re trying to figure out who killed her.”

“Yeah, I heard. Any luck so far?”

“Not really. Barney seems to think the cat burglar did it. Odelia isn’t so sure.”

“I saw him again, you know.”

“You saw the cat burglar?”

“Yeah, last night. Just after we met. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. Just humans doing human things. But then later when I heard what happened I put two and two together, and now I’m convinced he murdered that poor woman.”

“You actually saw him go into Astra Jacobs’s room?”

“Yes, I did. Well, I saw him sneak across the roof, then lower himself onto her balcony with a rope. I didn’t stick around to see what he was up to this time.”

“But… didn’t you hear about the reward Barney has promised to anyone who could provide information on that burglar? He’s destroying the hotel’s reputation with his actions, and if the hotel losing business, your human’s position as manager is in jeopardy.”

Marion frowned.“Mh. I hadn’t thought of it like that. You really think so?”

“Of course! If the hotel keeps loses customers, the owners are going to think twice about keeping Barney on as general manager. They’ll replace him with someone who can get rid of this burglar and keep his guests safe.”

“Oops. I guess in that case I’d better start looking into this burglar business.”

“Your eyes,” said Dooley. “Are they a chocolate brown, would you say? Or more an emerald green?”

She merely smiled amusedly, then turned serious again.“You were going to say something, Max?”

“I was going to ask if you’re sure it was the cat burglar who broke into Astra’s room last night,” I said.

“Absolutely. Of course I can’t say for sure he’s also the one who killed her. But I did see him lower himself onto her balcony, like I said.”

“Oh, dear,” I said. “Odelia needs to know about this. It’s going to throw her theory completely out of whack.”

“I think they’re a chocolaty brown,” said Dooley. “Though it’s hard to be sure.”

“What’s Odelia’s theory?”

“She thinks Astra was murdered by someone she knows. Someone she let into her room.”

“And why does she think that?”

“Well, for one thing, when Agatha arrived, the door to the room was ajar, which would indicate that the killer had just left. And there were no signs of a breakin, so she must have let the person into her room herself.”

“Unless that person was the cat burglar I saw, and he let himself in through the window, was caught trying to steal Astra’s valuables, killed her, and left through the door.”

“Yeah, that seems to be the obvious explanation,” I agreed.

“Okay, so let’s see if we don’t get lucky tonight and catch the guy in the act.”

“Chances are he’ll lay low after what happened last night,” I said. “Astra’s murder will have spooked him for sure.”

“Unless he’s a hardened criminal. In that case he’ll just keep going until he’s caught.”

“Brutus says French girls have thatje ne sais quoi,” said Dooley, “though he confessed that he didn’t know what it was.”

Marion grinned at this.“Well, if he doesn’t know, I certainly don’t. Now are we going to stake out this roof or not? Cause if we are, you have got to stop staring at me as if I’m a piece ofentrec?te, Dooley.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Dooley, mortified.

“No, it’s fine. Just try and control yourself, will you?”

“I will try,” Dooley murmured timidly.

“A girl likes to get attention, but she doesn’t like to be stared at, you know.”

“I’m sorry,” Dooley repeated. “It’s just that… you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”

She seemed to like that, Marion, for she gave him a radiant smile, regarding him much like one regards a favorite child.“Well, that’s fine, then,” she said softly.

And so our long vigil began. And hopefully this time this nocturnal marauder would be caught by the concerted efforts of this French-American team.

CHAPTER 23

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Odelia and Chase were in bed, and should have been asleep, only neither of them felt like sleeping. Perhaps it was because they were still on Hampton Cove time, or because a lot had happened that day, but either way, even after turning in one hour before, they were both still wide awake.

Chase had told Odelia all about his speech during dinner, and she had told him about her investigation, and now they were enjoying the afterglow of a wonderful dinner and time spent in a fun city far away from home.

Chase’s speech had gone particularly well, and had been well received by his colleagues. He’d mixed light humor with some hard facts about the job, and the combination had gone down like a treat. Odelia’s investigation, on the other hand, hadn’t yielded a lot of information, but she had a feeling she was getting there.