“And you will,” I assured her. “We will all stay.”

  Somehow there had to be a way for us and the huskies to coexist. Though so far, we hadn’t found it yet. The problem was that they didn’t want to work with us. They seemed to hate cats and made it clear at every juncture that they didn’t want us there. “Stay home, catch mice,” was their credo.

  And I for one didn’t want to stay home, or catch mice for that matter. I was capable of so much more, but they didn’t see it that way.

  Mick had left the office, and after we heard the front door slam, we breathed a sigh of relief.

  “He’s gone,” said Harriet. “Finally.”

  “Odd,” said Odelia.

  “Yeah, this is all very odd,” said Brutus. “Especially that Uncle Alec seems to be so taken in with this man—and so is Dan, for that matter.”

  “No, this is odd,” she said. “He was looking at an article I’ve been writing about the treasure.”

  “Maybe he wants to write about that himself?” I suggested.

  “I guess.” She leaned back. “Dan wants me to find that treasure and take a picture of it for the Gazette. You guys feel up to it?”

  “Find a treasure?” I asked.

  “I would love to find a treasure,” said Harriet. “Where is it?”

  “Well, that’s the problem,” said Odelia. “We don’t know. There is a map, but whoever killed Bramwell Eiderduck and his wife must have taken it.”

  “It wasn’t in Brendon Hetman’s possession?” I asked.

  “No, and Mick searched everywhere. Nothing.”

  “That stands to reason,” said Brutus. “Since Brendon Hetman isn’t the killer. Which means the real killer must have taken it—whoever he is.”

  “I agree,” said Odelia. “But since Uncle Alec has taken us off the investigation—which is officially closed, I should add—there’s no chance for us to find this killer. Unless of course…”

  “Unless what?” asked Brutus.

  “Unless I try to find him in my own time?”

  “Are you allowed to do that?” asked Harriet.

  “Well… let’s just say it’s a gray area. I can’t conduct an official police investigation, obviously. But I can run an investigation as a reporter for the Gazette. But then I need Dan to give me the go-ahead. And he might be difficult to convince.”

  “Unless you tell him that the real killer has the map,” I pointed out. “Then he might be amenable to you going after the guy.”

  Odelia smiled. “You’re right, Max. And that’s exactly how I’m going to pitch this.”

  She was only gone for about five minutes before she returned, a smile on her face.

  “Success,” she told us. “Dan agrees that if Brendon Hetman didn’t take the map, somebody else must have, and since he wants me to find that map at all cost…”

  “The investigation is back on?” I asked.

  “The investigation is back on—only this time the focus is the treasure map and its whereabouts.”

  “Goodie!” Harriet cried. “And maybe if we can prove that Mick caught the wrong guy, his star will wane and he will leave town and we can have our old position back as Hampton Cove’s premier sleuthing team.”

  “Hold your horses, Harriet,” said Odelia with a laugh. “We’re not that far yet. First we have to find out what really happened to Bramwell and Reyna Eiderduck. And more importantly, we have to do it in such a way that Mick doesn’t find out.”

  “Or Uncle Alec,” I added.

  “Or my uncle.”

  “Or Charlene.”

  Odelia sighed. “This is going to be tough, isn’t it? Good thing I have you guys in my corner.”

  She had. I just hoped we wouldn’t run into those huskies again. They wouldn’t take kindly to us trying to outdo their human. They might even get aggressive and actively thwart us at every possible turn.

  All the more important, therefore, that they not find out.

  “Where do we start?” asked Harriet.

  “We start with Anthemia,” said Odelia. “Chase and I wanted to talk to her again, but then Mick stepped in and took over and that never happened. Plus, she’s the only one who has seen this map. She might even have taken a picture of it. And if she has, that brings us one step closer to finding that thing.”

  “So, dual mission,” I said, summing things up. “Find Anthemia’s parents’ actual killer, and find the treasure.”

  “And let’s not forget the third part,” said Harriet. “Possibly the most important part.” When we all gave her a look of confusion, she said, “Balancing a ball on my nose, of course! Guinness Book of Records, you guys? Duh!”

  CHAPTER 22

  We found Anthemia Eiderduck at home, looking pretty lost. When she opened the door, she was dressed in old clothes, with a bandana tied around her head to keep her hair out of her face, and a roll of adhesive tape in one hand. When she saw us, she smiled. “Mrs. Kingsley. So nice to see you. Come on in.”

  If she was as happy to see us as she was to see Odelia, it was hard to know. She directed a distraught look at us, but that could have had more to do with her present situation than with us.

  “I’m packing up,” she explained. “Selling the house and everything in it. And then I’m moving into an apartment in town. Or maybe I’ll move away altogether. I haven’t decided yet. I just know I can’t stay here, where my parents were killed.”

  We had entered the living room, and I saw that she wasn’t kidding about the packing-up part. The room was a mess, with the curtains taken down, the walls bare of the paintings and frames that had adorned them, and the couches covered in sheets.

  “Apologies for the mess,” she said. “I’ve been staying with a friend for the time being, so I only have to be here for the packing-up part. I couldn’t sleep in this house. Spend the night here?” She shivered. “I can’t even think about it.”

  “Nightmares?” Odelia guessed.

  Anthemia nodded. “Terrible nightmares. I’m afraid he’ll come back to finish the job, you know. To finish me.”

  “The police think that they’ve got the killers in custody,” said Odelia.

  “Yeah, I’m not too sure about that,” said Anthemia. “I mean, Brendon and Christi? I’ve known them for years. If it had been them that did this, I think I would have recognized them, don’t you? Even with masks on. I’m sorry to say this, but I think the real killers are still out there.”

  “My husband feels the same way, but he’s not involved with the investigation anymore,” Odelia said. “And neither am I. I’m here as a reporter today, not a police consultant.”

  “Oh, right,” said Anthemia. She looked around. “Um… we can sit on the couch, if you like? Or in the kitchen? What do you prefer?”

  “The couch is fine,” said Odelia.

  And so they both took a seat on one of the sheet-covered couches.

  “So what did you want to know?” asked Anthemia. She scratched her arm, and I saw that it was still bandaged. She also had a cut on her cheek and another on her neck.

  “My editor is interested in a story that’s been going around,” Odelia said.

  “Don’t tell me. The treasure?” said Anthemia.

  “That’s right. You told us that the map had been stolen from the safe?”

  “Well, it has. But I also told you that it wasn’t an actual treasure map, remember? It’s just a map that my dad picked up one day from some antiques dealer. He liked it because it looked just like those maps you see in the movies. You know, the ones where X marks the spot? Daddy thought it was romantic to have a map like that. But the antiques dealer told us that it wasn’t real. Made by some artist, and not an actual treasure map at all.”

  “So the rumors that an actual map was buried on Devil’s Island by Captain Quidd…”

  “Are just that: rumors. There is no treasure. Or maybe there is, but my dad’s map didn’t show where it was.”

  “You wouldn’t have a picture of the map, would you? Or a copy?”

  A thoughtful frown appeared on Anthemia’s face. “Um… I believe my dad took plenty of pictures when he bought the map. He even posted them on his Insta. Wait, let me look.” She took out her phone and started scrolling through her dad’s Instagram. A sad look came over her face. “I don’t understand how people can do such a horrible, horrible thing,” she said. “My dad was such a sweetheart, and so was Mom. And for what? For the contents of an empty safe?”

  “The killers must have believed it contained something valuable,” said Odelia.

  “Well, it didn’t. The only valuable thing my dad owned were his pugs, and nobody wanted to buy them because of that horrible woman—that Baumgartner lady. Oh, here it is.”

  She handed her phone to Odelia, who studied the picture. She then enlarged it with a pinching motion of her fingers. “So this is the famous map?”

  “That is the famous map,” Anthemia confirmed. “I can send you a copy if you like. But like I said, this won’t help you find any treasure, either on Devil’s Island or anywhere else.”

  “Thanks,” said Odelia as she handed the phone back to the girl. “Who else knew about this map?”

  “Who else? Why, everyone. Like I said, my dad posted this on his Instagram way back when he bought it. So plenty of people will have seen it. And also, if someone out there thought this was an actual map, why try to lay their hands on it? A clear picture of the map was on the internet. They didn’t need the real map.”

  “But… if the map wasn’t real, why did your dad keep it in the safe? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “The map wasn’t real, but it was still a valuable work of art,” said Anthemia. “The painter is a well-known artist whose work sells for millions. So Daddy didn’t want it out there, in case of thieves.” Her face crumpled again. “He should have sold that stupid thing. Or never posted about it.”

  “Yeah, he probably shouldn’t have posted about it,” Odelia agreed. “The killers must have seen it and figured it was worth a lot of money.”

  “Well, it was,” said Anthemia. “But was it worth killing for? I don’t think so. Nothing is.”

  We left the house feeling sad for Anthemia and her plight.

  “At least now you have the map,” I told Odelia. “So you can put it on the front page of the paper.”

  “Dan wants a picture of the actual treasure,” said Odelia. “But if what Anthemia told me is true, there is no treasure.”

  “So what are you going to do now?” asked Harriet.

  “I’m not sure,” she said, tapping the phone against her chin. “But if this treasure is the reason Anthemia’s parents had to die, it might lead us to the killer. I don’t know how, though.”

  “Talk to Chase,” I suggested. “He might not be a detective anymore, but he has way more experience than Mick Harper. He’ll be able to figure out what to do next.”

  “Excellent advice, Max,” said Odelia. “I will do that. Only nobody is supposed to know that we’re still working on this investigation, so let’s keep this under wraps, all right?”

  The four of us shared a look.

  “Who are we going to tell?” asked Brutus. “Nobody understands us like you do, Odelia.”

  She smiled. “One person does, and she’s very keen to lay her hands on this non-existent treasure so she can buy prizes for her raffle. So let’s not tell Gran. Promise?”

  “Promise,” we all said.

  She was right. The moment Gran found out that Odelia had a picture of the treasure map, she wouldn’t stop until she was digging in the soil for that chest filled with rubies and gold doubloons—or whatever it is that these pirate treasures consist of.

  CHAPTER 23

  That night, Dooley was watching a documentary on the Discovery Channel with Gran. Tex and Marge had gone out on one of their infrequent dates. It had been quite a while since they had done that, so the fact that they were doing it now had surprised Gran a great deal.

  Dooley didn’t think it was all that strange, though. After all, Tex and Marge were a couple, weren’t they? And couples who loved each other liked to go out on dates. Odelia and Chase had gone out on many dates before they got married, though now that they had Grace, they mostly stayed home. But Tex and Marge’s daughter was all grown up, so they didn’t need to stay home anymore to take care of her. They could go out on dates as much as they wanted to.

  On television, the documentary told the story of a group of baby seals stranded on a drifting ice floe. It was all very sad, Dooley thought, and by the time it ended, both he and Gran were crying buckets.

  “It’s just like those poor pugs,” said Gran. “They don’t have a home, and they were treated so badly by that horrible Bramwell Eiderduck. And now they’re stuck at the shelter and they still don’t have a home!”

  “You need to find them a new home, Gran,” said Dooley. “You have to. It’s very important.”

  “Just like those baby seals,” said Gran, nodding. “But I don’t have any money to buy prizes for the raffle, Dooley. And Wilbur is right. Nobody is interested in getting a kiss from me, or Scarlett. Though they’re probably more interested in a kiss from Scarlett than from me, for some reason.”

  “Maybe they can get a kiss from me?” Dooley suggested.

  Gran patted his head affectionately. “I’m sure a lot of people would like a kiss from you, Dooley. But mostly it’s TVs they’re after, and smartphones, and tablets, and game consoles and stuff like that. But those cost money.”

  “Can’t you find a sponsor?”

  “I’ve tried, but nobody seems to be as interested in the plight of those puppies as me and Scarlett and Ida.”

  “What about Ida? Doesn’t she have a flatscreen TV she can put up as a prize?”

  “People want a brand-new flatscreen, honey. Not some beat-up old specimen that Ida bought ten years ago.” She gestured at their TV. “Do you really think anybody would be interested in this old thing, if they could go out and buy the latest model?”

  Dooley thought about this. It was a problem, and he knew he wasn’t a big problem-solver. Not like Max. Max could solve any problem by simply using that big brain of his. But Dooley’s head was very small, and so was his brain, since it had to fit inside his tiny head. He simply didn’t have it in him to come up with a solution.

  But then, quite miraculously, he had it.

  The treasure! If Gran found the treasure, she would have all the money she needed to buy any prize she wanted, and then people would enter the raffle and the pugs would get a new forever home.

  He vaguely remembered that Odelia had asked them not to tell Gran about the treasure map. He hadn’t quite understood why they couldn’t tell her, and he still didn’t understand now. If there was anyone who would benefit from finding that treasure, surely it was Gran?

  And so he said, “I know where the treasure is, Gran. If you find it, do you think you’ll be able to buy that flatscreen TV you want? And that smartphone and that tablet?”

  Gran pressed her hands together. “You know where to find the treasure of Captain Quidd?”

  “Well, I know where to find the treasure map,” he said. “And if you have that, you have the treasure, right? It’s like a GPS. It will lead you straight to it.”

  “That’s absolutely right,” said Gran, who looked quite surprised. “But how did you find it?”

  And so he told her the whole story of their visit to Anthemia, and the map that she had found on her late father’s Instagram, and the killers who had stolen the map from her father’s safe.

  It left Gran looking quite pensive. “So Odelia has a picture of the map on her phone,” she said. “And the map shows the location of the treasure.”

  “That’s right.” He now remembered that Anthemia had said something about the map. Something about how it wasn’t what everyone thought it was? He couldn’t quite recall. Oftentimes people would say stuff that he didn’t fully understand. It was very annoying. Mostly he asked Max about it, and Max explained. But since they had been in the presence of Anthemia, and she was talking a lot, he hadn’t wanted to trouble Max, who had been listening intently.

  And then, of course, later he’d forgotten what it was he wanted to ask. It was often the way with him.

  “Okay, so now all we need to do is ask Odelia,” said Gran. “And then we can all go look for the treasure.”

  “No,” said Dooley, and he knew this was the hardest part. “Odelia didn’t want you to know, so you can’t tell her you know, because then she’ll know that I told you something I wasn’t supposed to tell you. If you know what I mean.”

  A resolute look stole over Dooley’s human’s face. “Oh, I know exactly what you mean,” she said. “Which means that we will have to get access to my granddaughter’s phone without her knowledge.” She turned to him. “I need your help, Dooley.”

  “Of course, Gran. Anything you need.”

  “I need you to access Odelia’s phone while she’s sleeping, and I need you to forward this picture to me. Can you do that, you think?”

  He thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t think I can. But I can ask Harriet. She’s very technologically savvy.” He didn’t know what that meant, exactly. Just that she liked to say it, and that it had something to do with the fact that she knew her way around a smartphone and a tablet.

  “Good,” said Gran with satisfaction. “Send me the picture, and you and I will go look for that treasure.”

  “Can my friends also come?” asked Dooley, who never liked doing stuff without Max and the others.

  “Of course! We’ll make it a camping trip.”

  “What is a camping trip, Gran?”

  “You’ll see, Dooley. It’s a lot of fun!”

  Oh, goodie, he thought. He and his friends and Gran going on a camping trip. This was the stuff!

  CHAPTER 24

  “You know, I’m never eating raw meat again,” said Harriet. “Never, never, never. Like, never.”

  “What brought this on?” asked Brutus.

  He and Harriet were resting peacefully at the foot of Marge and Tex’s bed, as they often did. Marge and Tex hadn’t arrived home yet, as they had gone out for date night. It didn’t happen often, but apparently Marge had insisted, and Tex had complied.