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“Do you want something? Tea, coffee… bourbon?”

“All of the above,” said Vesta with a grin.

Chapter 31

Odelia woke up feeling a little groggy. Somehow she’d dreamt of mice, and when she opened her eyes she found Max lying next to her, staring straight into her eyes, sphinx-style.

“Max,” she said, rubbing her eyes, then stretching. “What’s going on?”

“I just had an idea,” he announced.

“Uh-huh. That’s great. Can you tell me when I’m fully awake, or do you want to tell me now?”

“Now.”

“Yeah, okay. So what is it?”

“So Kirk was a womanizer, right?”

“Right,” she said, dragging her mind back to the case with some difficulty. She never was at her best or sharpest before she’d had her first coffee of the day.

“So of course he got with every single woman at Allison Gray’s place, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“But what if he didn’t stop there? I mean, he was in town for a couple of weeks, and so at some point he must have run out of candidates. So what if he went into town and met a few more women and bedded them, too. And what if one of them had a husband who wasn’t too keen on Kirk seducing his lady love and decided to get some of his own back? Or maybe even the husband of one of the women at the house?”

“Brilliant,” Odelia muttered, and tried to sit up. Unfortunately Max was heavy, and pinning down the comforter, so she was effectively trapped. “Absolutely brilliant.”

“So what I suggest is that we start canvassing in town, and look at places where Kirk was seen. I’m thinking restaurants, bars, shops… the gym. And maybe look at security footage, too. We need to figure out what other women he was involved with.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Odelia, and started crawling over Chase, who now stirred.

“Nice,” he muttered. “Jumping my bones while I’m asleep. Have you no shame, woman?”

“Sorry, babe. The other exit is blocked.”

“So what do you think?” asked Max.

Odelia had passed Chase and now dropped to the floor on the other side of the bed.

“Are you all right down there?” asked Chase.

“Yeah, fine,” she croaked.

“You could have just told me about my morning breath, you know,” he said. “You didn’t have to jump ship.”

“You don’t have morning breath,” she said. “In fact you smell delicious in the morning. Almost too delicious for anyone to have a right to.”

“Thanks, babe,” he said with a smile. “I wish I could say the same about you.”

She screwed up her face in a comical expression and slapped him on the chest.“Nasty,” she said. “Very nasty, sir.”

“Just kidding. So what’s going on?”

“Max had an idea. Um… What was your idea, Max?”

“Kirk’s other girlfriends. We need to find them and talk to them.”

“Max says that Kirk must have other girlfriends besides Allison and Mia, so maybe finding them will tell us something.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Chase, then yawned. “Why don’t I make us some breakfast, and you make us some coffee.”

“Good idea,” she said, and started in the direction of the door.

“Oh, and Dooley and I made a deal with the mice,” said Max.

“You made a deal? What do you mean?”

“We negotiated a truce last night. They won’t bother us, if we don’t bother them.”

She stared at him. Was she still dreaming or had Max actually said he’d negotiated a truce with the colony of mice infesting her house?

“What did he say, babe?” asked Chase, also getting up now.

“I’m not sure. I think he said he’s negotiated a truce with the mice, but that sounds so unlikely I’m sure I misheard.”

“No, you didn’t, Odelia,” said Dooley, who now walked in. “We talked to the mice last night, and Helga and Hector promised us that their kids will behave from now on, and if they don’t all we need to do is say the word. They’re very anxious to do the right thing, aren’t they, Max?”

“Yeah, they’re very nice mice. Responsible parents, too.”

Odelia shook her head.“Mice, parents, Hector, Helga,” she muttered.

“Mh?” said Chase.

“I’m simply repeating what Dooley just told me.”

“Sounds like gibberish to me,” said Chase with a wink to Max and Dooley.

“Coffee,” Odelia said. “And quick.”

“Listen, babe,” said Chase as they both descended the stairs, “I know we said we wouldn’t plan our dinners anymore, as something always seems to come up at the last minute, but maybe we can give it one more shot? How about the Bourvil tonight at eight? I met the owner yesterday. He came into the office for some paperwork dealing with his restaurant’s security, and told me they have a live band every Thursday night. He said he’d reserve us a table with a great view of the band. So how about it?”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” she said as she walked into the kitchen and started the coffee maker. “Let’s tempt fate one last time.”

“Great,” he said and planted a kiss on her brow.

Odelia opened the fridge and had the distinct impression things had been rearranged there, and lots of stuff had disappeared.

“Oh, that’s right,” said Max as he came padding into the kitchen. “The mice did that. But Hector promised me it wouldn’t happen again. In fact he was shocked when I told him about what happened.”