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“At least this time the criminals didn’t get what they wanted,” said Scarlett, and raised her glass in a salute. “To Vesta Muffin, who once again showed that she is a true neighborhood watch leader, now even expanding into cyberspace!”

Everyone laughed, except Uncle Alec, who had never been a big fan of the watch.

“To Vesta,” said the Kitchen King. “Thank you, my dear lady. And I’ll be sure to translate my gratitude into a healthy discount on your kitchen remodel.”

When dinner was over, and Tex was getting their guests’ coats, Grace Kramer turned to Odelia. “I heard you’ve been in touch with my ex-husband,” she said, a slightly stilted smile on her face.

“Yeah, their cat had gone missing, and I was lucky enough to find it for them.”

“Let me give you a piece of advice, Miss Poole. Don’t get involved with Karl. And especially don’t believe a word the man says.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Did he tell you that he stole from Fred? We both used to work for him, Karl as Fred’s accountant, and me as his secretary. But that was before Fred discovered that Karl had been stealing from him. He should have gone to the police, but Fred is a good man, and he didn’t want to make things difficult for Karl, even though I told him to press charges.”

“You were still married to Karl when this happened?”

“I was. The whole business opened my eyes to what kind of man Karl is. I couldn’t stay with him after what I discovered. The stealing, the lying.” She shrugged. “Fred showed me what kind of man I’d married, and that was it. I never looked back, and I’ve never been happier. So please be careful, Miss Poole,” she said as she accepted her coat from Odelia’s dad. “The man talks a good talk, but he’s wicked.”

And with these words, she strode out in the wake of her husband.

Chapter 18

That night, we were all having a good time at cat choir, when suddenly Clarice appeared next to me, seemingly out of nowhere. Clarice has that tendency to simply materialize. I don’t know how she does it, but it’s a most disconcerting experience. First there’s nothing, and then suddenly she’s there. And she can disappear again in just the same way—just like a ghost.

“I found another dead body, Max,” she announced.

I did a double-take.“You did what?”

“Another dead body. I don’t know what it is with this town, but I keep finding dead bodies. First that body that was buried out in the woods, and now this new one.”

“You found another body in the woods?” I asked, leading her aside where we could talk without being overheard. If there’s one thing that’s disadvantageous about cat choir is that it’s filled with cats, and since cats like to spy and gossip more than anything, there’s nothing that you can discuss without it being all over town within minutes.

“No, this time I found it at the bottom of an elevator shaft,” said Clarice, who was talking about this dead body as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “I was minding my own business as usual, and I happened to pass this new construction site on Carmel Street. And since these builders usually have nothing better to do than to sit around and eat, I figured I just might take a look at their dumpster—you’d be amazed what you can find in building site dumpsters. I once found an entire lobster there. And so I was hunting around for another precious find when I happened to smell something dead and decaying. And so naturally I went in search of the source of the smell.”

“Naturally,” I agreed, even though if I smelled something dead and decaying, I’d run a mile. But then that’s me, of course. One of those areas where Clarice and I differ.

“And that’s when I found him.”

“Him? So it’s a him?”

“Yep. Some dead dude, lying at the bottom of an elevator shaft, dead as a dodo.”

“Can you tell me exactly where you found this dead dude?” I asked dutifully, already figuring out how to reach Odelia and get the ball rolling on a rescue attempt—for in spite of Clarice’s words the man might not be dead yet, and could still be saved.

Clarice said,“I can do you one better. I’ll take you there. It’s not far from here.”

“Okay,” I said. “Show us the way, Clarice.”

And so we set out in Clarice’s wake: me, Dooley, Harriet and Brutus.

Clarice was right: it was only a ten-minute walk from the park where cat choir likes to engage in its nocturnal activities. And as we looked down into that elevator shaft, which was still under construction, I had to admit she’d been right on the money: this man was indeed very much dead and unfortunately medical assistance would be to no avail.

I sighed.“A lot of dead people are turning up in our town lately.”

“Only two dead people,” said Dooley. “Two is not a lot, is it?”

“Yeah, Max,” said Harriet, “one swallow doesn’t make a summer, and two dead bodies don’t make a massacre.”

“Good one, babe,” said Brutus with a chuckle.

“Well, this is where I leave you, guys,” said Clarice. “You’ll take it from here, I trust?”

“Yeah, thanks, Clarice,” I said.

“And if you find more dead bodies, please tell us,” said Dooley.