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We all stared hopefully at the old lady who wiped her hands on her housecoat.“No, I’m afraid I didn’t. Not that night. I usually liked to take a peek through the peephole, just to know what kind of people were entering the building. But not that night. You see, there was a special episode ofHoarders on that I did not want to miss. I heard them arrive, though. Her laughing, him talking. So I knew she had company again.”

“What time was this?” asked Chase, taking out his notepad.

“Must have been… eleven? Something like that? You could check the TV guide. The show had just started, which is why I remember it so distinctly, cause I even raised the volume on my TV, hoping they’d get the message. Which of course they never did,” she added with a touch of bitterness.

“What else did you hear?”

“Well, nothing much. Like I said, I’d raised the volume to drown out her noise.” She thought for a moment, leaning against the doorframe. “I did hear him leave again, though. I’d turned off the TV and was getting ready to go to bed so it must have been after twelve. And this time he was alone, so she stayed up there. But then that was her usual routine, or so I understood. She picked up these men in a bar or whatever, then took them back here and after they were done they left. It was no different that night. Only…” She frowned. “I could have sworn I heard someone go up again about ten minutes later. But quiet like. As if they didn’t want to disturb anyone.”

“Couldn’t it have been a different apartment?”

“Not a chance. Next to Dotty lives Mrs. Gardner, and she’s out like a light at nine, and hardly ever gets any visitors. No, it must have been Dotty they wanted.” She let out a sound of regret. “Now I feel so ridiculous for not taking a look-see.” She eyed Chase excitedly. “Do you think it was the killer?”

“Possibly,” Chase allowed.

“Damn,” said the woman. “Now I could kick myself.”

Judging from the look on Chase’s face, he wholeheartedly agreed, and might even have agreed to be on hand to do the honors himself.

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We’d just made it down in the narrow elevator—another claustrophobic experience—and to the car when Odelia let out a loud cry and sort of collapsed in pain.

“Babe!” Chase said and immediately was there to offer his arm.

She looked up into his face, grimacing painfully.“I think…”

“I know. You’re fine, right? Absolutely fine.”

She shook her head.“Not this time.”

“What do you mean?” he said, and I thought I detected a note of panic in his voice, which to be honest I’d never heard there before.

“Does your offer still stand?”

“What offer?”

“To take me to the hospital?Ouch!”

“Oh, dear Lord,” said Chase, and immediately tucked his wife into the backseat, then ran around the front of the car, hopped into the driver’s seat and slammed the door.

“Hey!” I yelled. “What about us!”

“Chase!” I could hear Odelia shout. “The cats—don’t forget about the cats!”

Chase leaned over, shoved open the passenger door and Dooley and I obligingly hopped in. And not a minute too soon, for moments later Chase was roaring away, his blue police light flashing, his siren wailing, and basically racing through town at an unhealthy speed.

“Please try not to crash the car before we arrive,” said Odelia.

“Breathe, babe,” said Chase. “In and out, in and out.” And to make sure his message came across, he proceeded to demonstrate by breathing laboriously and loudly.

Odelia did the same, and because that kind of behavior seems to be oddly contagious, both Dooley and I also breathed in and out, soon falling into sync with our humans.

And so it was that four heavy breathers raced across town, with Chase weaving in and out of traffic and generally making great haste.

Soon we arrived at the hospital and he jerked the car to a stop so fast Dooley and I both ended up in the footwell. Not that I minded. After all, time was of the essence, with Odelia doing a lot of cursing in between all that heavy breathing, and from to time hollering that this was all Chase’s fault and she was going to get him for this if she lived to tell the tale!

It was all disconcerting in the extreme, I have to say, and even as Chase went in search of someone who could be of assistance, Odelia said,“I swear to God, I’m going to kill him.”

“Who?” I asked, fully bewildered.

“Who do you think!” she screamed, then went into what could only be described as some kind of painful spasm, for her face became contorted and she screamed a long list of profanities I never even knew she knew.

Dooley gave me a look of shock, and I would have covered his ears if I hadn’t been utterly shocked myself. Our sweet human had suddenly morphed into a monster!

“Satan’s spawn, Max,” Dooley whispered. “It’s taking her over!”

I didn’t know about that, but judging from her red, sweaty, swollen features, something was definitely the matter with her.