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“No problem,” said Odelia, though she wasn’t happy that Jacqueline had given her one more reason to doubt Dan’s innocence. But the facts were what they were. Even her loyalty to her boss wasn’t going to change that.

They both got up, and Jacqueline said,“Do you want to come? To the joint meeting, I mean? Club meetings are always a lot of fun, and this one is going to be one for the books. The very first meeting of the two clubs, united after all these years.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Odelia. “I would like that.”

Jacqueline smiled.“Thanks so much, Odelia.”

Odelia watched her walk away. At least something good was going to come out of all of this. From now on Hampton Cove would have one Maria Power fan club instead of two. And no more fighting.

And as she set foot for the office, she wondered if it was possible that Dan was innocent of the first murder—that UPS guy looked like a strong suspect indeed—and guilty of Jack Warner’s murder?

At any rate, her boss was in big trouble. And so was the newspaper he’d founded.

Chapter 29

We finally arrived home, and as Dooley took Elsa into the house, to get acquainted with things, I lingered outside for a moment. It was the sound of solid objects hitting other solid objects that had attracted my attention, and so I decided to go in search of the source of the sound, as it seemed to be coming from Marge and Tex’s garden.

Cats may not have a reputation as guardians of their humans’ property, but I beg to differ. I like to keep an eye on things as much as I can, and so it was with a sneaking suspicion that nefarious activities were underway that I stealthily snuck into the next garden and glanced around, keeping low and as much out of sight as a big-boned blorange cat can.

I saw nothing out of the ordinary, though, but then I heard it again: a loud clacking sound, as if someone was hitting a brick against a second brick.

So I snuck in the direction of Ted and Marcie’s backyard, and took a peek through the hole in the fence that has served us so well in the past. And that’s when I saw it: someone was chucking garden gnomes over the back fence into the Trappers’ garden, all of them falling on top of a growing pile of gnomes!

“What the…” I muttered as I sat stunned, looking at this strange phenomenon.

I couldn’t see who the culprit was, as he or she was hidden on the other side of the green plastic screen Ted has erected to lend himself and his family a measure of privacy. On the other side is the same field that stretches along all of our backyards, and which is easily accessed by anyone who knows how to climb a fence, which the owner of the field once erected to keep his sheep, who he likes to put to graze there, from running off.

Tack! One more gnome hit the pile, and in the process lost part of his pointy hat.

I don’t like gnomes as a rule, but I felt distinctly sorry for the droll little tykes now. This was no way to treat these oddly shaped and extravagantly colored creatures.

Suddenly, from the house, a cry rang out.“Oi!” It was Ted, who must have observed the same phenomenon and now came hurrying out of the house.

Immediately there was a rustle on the other side of the fence, and a loud giggle, and the supply of gnomes tumbling to earth instantly dried up.

“What do you think you’re doing!” Ted yelled, shaking his fist.

But before he had reached the back of the garden and could peek over the fence, Tex’s loud voice behind me yelled, “Gotcha!”

“Tex!” Ted said, taken aback. “Look what they did. They’re throwing gnomes now!”

“Horse manure, Ted. Admit it, man. You’ve been out stealing again.”

“What?!”

“You are an inveterate thief, Ted! I recognize that big fat one over there. I’ll eat my shirt if it doesn’t belong to Kinnard Daym. Pride of his collection.”

“But I—”

“You stole it—finally admit it, you thief!”

“I didn’t steal a thing, Tex. You have to believe me!”

“Oh, so now you’re saying it’s raining gnomes, is it? They’re simply falling from the sky like so much manna from heaven?”

“Over the fence,” said Ted, looking and sounding highly discombobulated. “They came flying… over the fence.”

“A likely story. I’m reporting you to the police, Ted. That’s right. I wanted to cut you some slack. Hoping you’d break the habit. But obviously that’s not happening. So this time you’re going down, my friend.” He put his phone to his ear. “Hello, Dolores, Yes, I’d like to report a gnome thief. Yes, a thief of gnomes.” He listened for a moment, his brow creased. “No, that’s not the new Kevin Costner movie. It’s my next-door-neighbor Ted.”

“But, Tex!”

But Tex held up his hand in a silencing gesture.“No, this is not a joke, Dolores. Ted Trapper is a gnome thief. He stole my gnomes and he stole Kinnard Daym’s gnomes, too. No, I’m not trying to be funny, Dolores.”

“Tex, please,” said Ted piteously.

“What’s going on here?” asked Marcie, now also joining the piquant scene.