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He followed her inside, and nodded a greeting at her mother but ignored the cats seated at the kitchen counter. Unlike Odelia, Mom and Gran, Chase wasn’t one of those rare humans who could communicate with felines. This special gift had traveled down from generation to generation because one of Odelia’s ancestors had purportedly been a witch. It was a gift that came in handy in her line of work. As a reporter for the Hampton Cove Gazette she needed to be on top of everything that happened in her small Long Island town. And since she couldn’t be everywhere all the time, Max and his friends acted as her eyes and ears, supplying her with a steady stream of news.

She drained her coffee cup and went in search of her smartphone.

“So what brings you down here, Chase?” asked Mom.

“Police business, I’m afraid, Mrs. Poole.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake. When are you going to start calling me Marge?”

“There’s been a murder, Marge.”

Mom’s hands flew to her face. “Oh, no!”

“Yeah. One of the Kenspeckle sisters was found murdered.”

“But that’s horrible!”

“I’m just going over there to investigate.”

“And you’re taking Odelia along? That’s so nice of you, Chase.”

He grimaced.“Chief Alec engaged your daughter as an official consultant to the department, ma’am, I mean Marge. He’s made a point of including her in the day-to-day police business. And since he’s out of town this week he’s asked me to partner up with his niece for this particular investigation.”

Judging from his tone he wasn’t happy about Uncle Alec’s decision.

“Oh, but that’s wonderful,” said Mom, clasping her fingers together as if in prayer. “The two of you together, cracking a case. That’s so exciting!”

Odelia didn’t know if it was exciting or not, but she thanked her lucky stars her uncle had made this arrangement. This way she could be where the action was, and didn’t have to snoop around. Ever since he’d arrived in town, Chase had been reluctant to share information with her, considering her just another nosy reporter. Uncle Alec had quickly made it clear they did things differently down here in Hampton Cove, and since she was a great reporter he considered her an asset, not a hindrance. Chase had reluctantly complied.

“Let’s go,” he said a little gruffly.

“Let’s go, you guys,” she repeated to her cats.

He frowned.“You’re not thinking about dragging your cats along?”

“Of course. They…” She searched for a good excuse. She couldn’t tell him she wanted them to investigate. Talk to other cats. Figure out clues.

“They need the fresh air,” Mom supplied helpfully.

“Then send them into the backyard,” said Chase. “Plenty of air there.”

“Sea air, Chase,” Mom clarified. “It’s good for their… complexion.”

Chase had caught sight of his own cat and picked him up.“What do you think you’re doing here, buddy? No wonder I couldn’t find you this morning.”

“Brutus and Harriet are an item now,” Mom said with the sweetest of smiles. “You don’t want to get in the way of true love, do you, Chase?”

Chase seemed on the verge of saying something scathing, but controlled himself.“Let’s just get going. I’d like to arrive before the coroner shows up.”

Five minutes later, they were riding in Chase’s squad car, which was a souped-up beat-up old pickup truck, four cats in the back and Chase looking a little glum. He clearly wasn’t happy about this new arrangement, and he wasn’t happy about having to drag four cats along for the ride either.

“So what happened?” she asked.

“When Damien LeWood woke up this morning he found his wife next to him. Only she was missing her head.”

“That’s not good.”

He nodded grimly.“It was found on the dining room table, an apple in her mouth and a note pasted to her forehead. The note was signed Al Kida.”

“Al-Qaeda?”

“Not exactly.”

He quickly showed her a picture on his smartphone. The uniforms who’d arrived on the scene must have taken it. The note was signed by Al Kida.

“That’s weird.”

“You said it.”

“Poor Shana.” She might not have been a fan of the show, but nobody deserved to die such a gruesome death.

He slid her a sideways glance.“So are you up for this?”

“Up for what?”

“Chief Alec wants us to handle this investigation together. I’m running point, as I’m the cop in this particular constellation, and you’re…” His lips tightened, as if he had trouble uttering the words. “… the consultant.”

“You mean like Richard Castle?”

“Who?”

“Rick Castle? From the TV show?”

He grimaced.“Something like that.”

“So in this ‘constellation’ I’m Castle and you’re Kate Beckett, right?”

He glanced over and she thought she detected a glint of amusement in his eyes.“Does that mean you’ll get me one of those fancy espresso machines?”

She laughed.“Whatever floats your boat, Detective Kingsley.”

He raised an eyebrow.“Whatever?”

A tingle languidly fluttered up her spine. Was he flirting now? No way. Chase Kingsley didn’t flirt. “Within the boundaries of propriety, of course.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Miss Poole.”

Oh, boy. This was going to be interesting.

Chapter 4