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“Not much to tell, really. Evelina was really falling for Bob,” said Odelia as they crossed town square and passed the police station then moved in the direction of Myrna Loy Boulevard, where apparently Emma Bezel plied her trade.

Behind them, four cats trailed along in their wake.

“So the kidnappers sent proof of life in the form of a video, and that’s the last time Evelina saw Bob?”

“Yep. I told her to meet Uncle Alec at the precinct to make a formal statement but I don’t know if she’s done it yet.”

“I better get in touch with her and set up an interview,” said Chase. “And take a look at her phone while I’m at it.”

“Any idea how Bob got in the truck yet?”

“Well, the driver said he can think of only one place where Bob’s body could have gotten stashed in his truck, and that’s at a truck stop he spent the night at.”

“Did you check the truck stop?”

“Sarah did. She’s still wading through the CCTV footage—the truck stop has no less than four cameras covering both the inside and the outside of the place, ever since they were robbed last year. So far she hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”

They’d arrived at the nail salon and walked in. Only one customer was present, a middle-aged lady having her nails done, and when they entered, the beautician looked up and said, “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

So they took a seat in the waiting area, and four cats dutifully settled down at their feet.

“If someone had told me a year ago that I would be conducting police interviews with a reporter and her four cats in tow, I’d have told them they were nuts,” Chase grunted as he bent over and tickled Dooley behind the ears.

“You’ve got to admit they’re a real boon for your investigation, though,” said Odelia.

“Oh, sure. If it weren’t for Max and Dooley we probably would never have known about this whole kidnapping thing.”

“Don’t you think Evelina would eventually have come forward? She lost a lot of money, and even though she claims it’s just small potatoes, I doubt whether she really feels that way.”

“Yeah, she probably wants the men that did this to her boyfriend caught as much as we do.”

“Unless Bob really is the mastermind behind the whole scheme, as her sister seems to think.”

“I ate all of Max and Dooley’s food and then lied about it,” Brutus suddenly announced, apropos of nothing. “Just thought you should know.”

“You did what?” Odelia asked.

“I was hungry!” Brutus lamented.

“Oh, dear. I forgot to fill up your bowls again, didn’t I?”

Brutus nodded shamefacedly.“And so did Marge.”

“I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “It’s this whole wedding thing. It’s got me distracted.”

“Don’t blame Brutus,” Harriet piped up. “I ate from Max and Dooley’s bowls, too.”

“It’s all right,” said Odelia. “I won’t forget to feed you again, I promise.”

“What’s going on?” asked Chase.

“I forgot to feed the cats this morning,” she said, “and so did Mom.”

Her phone dinged, for probably the hundredth time that day, and she sighed deeply.

“Still getting messages?” asked Chase.

“All the time,” she said.

“You really should stop putting people on the guest list,” he said. “We simply can’t feed them all. It’s going cost us a fortune if this keeps up.”

“I know,” she said. “But these are all people I know.”

“Honey, this is a small town. You know everybody, and they all know you. But you simply can’t invite them all.”

“But how can I invite one and not the other? It’s impossible.”

Once again her phone dinged and she glanced at the message. It was from Ida Baumgartner, who was upset that she hadn’t received her wedding invitation yet.

“How many people do we have on the guest list?”

“Seven hundred and counting,” she said, and winced as he gasped in shock.

“Seven hundred people! But babe!”

“I know, I know. I keep telling Mom I’m going to start refusing people, but how can I?”

“You have to cut back. This is turning into some kind of monster wedding from hell.”

“And don’t I know it. I haven’t slept a good night’s sleep in weeks, and every time I think about the wedding I feel nauseous. Father Reilly is even talking about installing those big screens outside the church, so that the people who won’t fit inside can follow the service outside. Or else he suggested we move the wedding ceremony to the beach, so the entire town can come out and watch.”

“This is turning into a real circus.”

“I’m sorry, babe.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “I mean, if this is what you want, I don’t mind. It is what you want, right?”

She gave him a sad look, and shook her head.“No, it’s not. All I wanted was to have a small ceremony. Just you and our respective families and no one else.”

“Oh, babe,” he said, and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Maybe we should elope?”

She smiled at that.“Very funny.”

“At least you’ll have your cats there to give you support.”

“Oh, no, she won’t,” Harriet spoke at their feet. “We’ve discussed it and we’ve decided not to come to the wedding. Isn’t that right, you guys?”