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We didn’t need to be told twice, and soon were snacking away to our heart’s content. I have to say it hit the spot, and before long we’d managed to empty the bowl. On top of that an old lady who saw us digging in like a couple of famished scavengers took pity on our plight, and opened a can of sardines she’d bought. Now Odelia has often told us not to accept candy from strangers, but A) sardines aren’t candy and B) we really were pretty starved at that point.

“So tell me all about what’s going on,” said Kingman once we’d finished our meal. “Odelia is starting a bed and breakfast?”

I nodded, licking my lips for those precious last crumbs.“Her first guests are a couple named the Boggles. He’s a Prime Minister in England, apparently.”

“And they have two horrible dogs who eat our food, sleep on our blanket, and treat us like surfers,” Dooley supplied.

“I think Dooley means servants,” I clarified.

“I’ve heard of this Boggle character,” said Kingman. “Isn’t he involved in some kind of scandal?”

“Possibly,” I admitted.

“I saw something about him being removed from office for some reason.”

“Removed from office? You mean he’s not the Prime Minister anymore?”

“No, I don’t think so. I didn’t pay a lot of attention, but I seem to remember he took a trip to some private island resort belonging to some billionaire and forgot to declare it as an expense and some people got very upset—possibly his accountant or his taxman or both. At any rate, they replaced him with some other dude or dudette. Plenty of staff turnover in those top jobs, apparently. Not like with our president, who usually manages to stick around for the full four years.”

I can tell you that this news wasn’t received with perfect equanimity. Dooley and I shared a look of dismay.

“Max!” Dooley cried. “If Mr. Boggle is out of a job, that means he’s never going to leave! He’ll stay with us forever and ever and ever!”

CHAPTER 16

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Odelia arrived back at the house with bags full of purchased goods, and had been thinking about the menu Janine had said she and John wanted to adhere to. She wondered how she was ever going to be able to please the demanding couple since she wasn’t exactly a Julia Child or Martha Stewart in the kitchen. She staggered in with the bags, and hoped her mom and Grace were all right. She hated to impose on her mother, but the arrival of the Boggles was an emergency, and she couldn’t very well let Tessa’s good friends down in their hour of need.

The first person she met was Chase, who was talking on the phone and staring out of the window into the backyard. He turned when she entered and immediately jumped to her assistance by taking over one of the heavy bags.

“Yes, to be delivered immediately. Oh, and about that mattress, are you sure it’s designed for people with a back injury? That’s a great relief. Thank you.”

She started putting away the groceries, and wondering if Chase had lost his job at the police station and had gone into the mattress business instead. After he’d disconnected, he joined her and said in a low voice, “What’s the deal with these Boggles? I arrived home and suddenly there they were—and two dogs, too.”

“I wanted to tell you but didn’t want to trouble you when you were in the middle of your investigation,” she said. “Tessa Torrance called and asked if we could help out some good friends of hers and Prince Dante’s. John Boggle is in some kind of trouble at home and needs to disappear fromthe public eye for a while, and she thought the last place the media would look for him is here.”

“Oh, so this was Tessa’s idea, was it?” said Chase, and she had the impression he wasn’t entirely happy with the state of affairs. “The cats and the Boggle dogs got into a fight,” he added when she gave him a questioning look. “I think the dogs won, but I’m not an expert. The cats disappeared and I haven’t seen them since.”

“Oh, dear,” said Odelia, and for the first time that day glanced down at her cats’ bowls. They were all empty. “Oh, dear, oh, dear.” Then she glimpsed into their litter boxes, and found that they were full… and smelly. And as far as she could tell, that was dog poo and not cat poo in there. “Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.” No wonder the cats weren’t happy.

“What’s all this?” asked Chase, referring to the bags and bags of food.

“John Boggle has to stick to a very strict vegetarian diet, so Janine gave me some tips on what to cook for them.”

The corners of Chase’s mouth sagged. “Where is Grace?”

“Next door with my mother. I asked her if she could take care of her while I went shopping for the Boggles.”

“Mh,” said Chase with a frown. “They had me shopping, too. I just ordered a box spring for John, who apparently suffers from a bad back, and a new mattress for Janine as well. Which had me wonder where they’ll be sleeping tonight.”