Harry grinned. “You’ve got a devious mind, did you know that? But I like it. In fact I love it. Consider it done. I don’t even have to run it by them. They always said I can invite any friend I like. The more the merrier.”

  “I’ll give her a call right now,” said Emily, who was already starting to feel better after the initial shock of seeing that message. With Odelia on board, she would have someone in her corner. Someone who could figure out what was going on. Who here hated her so much they would go to these extreme lengths.

  And so she snapped a picture of the vile message, then started Whatsapping Odelia, hoping and praying that her distant cousin would be able to drop everything and fly out to France.

  CHAPTER 10

  “I just wish Harriet and Brutus could have joined us,” said Dooley.

  “Me too,” I said. I was already missing our friends something big.

  “And Mike and Sheila, of course,” said Dooley.

  I looked up. “Mike and Sheila?”

  “It’s always a good idea to bring a beaver, Max,” said my friend. “Don’t underestimate what they can do. Beavers can dig, they can build dams…”

  “We don’t need a beaver where we’re going, Dooley,” I said. “What we do need is a pair of life jackets,” I added on a more somber note.

  When the message came from Emily that her life was in danger, and that she needed her cousin thrice removed—though it could have been four or even five times removed for all I knew—Odelia didn’t speak for a moment as she tried to come to terms with the stirring events that had transpired in a distant land named France. We’d been there once before, in a place called Paris, and had even managed to solve a murder that time. But this was different. Emily was actually asking us to board a yacht. If you don’t know what a yacht is: it’s a ship, in that it floats on the water. Only it’s a smallish ship. And as we all know smallish ships are more susceptible to being sunk. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being on a sinking ship.

  “You have got to be kidding,” Harriet had said. “Does this Emily person actually expect you to drop everything and fly out to France?”

  “Yes, she does,” said Odelia, and the gravity with which she spoke was a testament to how serious she took this threat to Emily. She turned to face us. “I’m sorry, you guys, but I have to go. I can’t just leave her to face this threat alone.”

  “But she has her fiancé, doesn’t she?” said Brutus. “Garry? Or Barry? Or is it Larry? Can’t he protect her from this crazy person?”

  “Harry,” said Odelia. “And I don’t think Harry is exactly trained to deal with a situation like this.”

  “Well, neither are you!” said Harriet. “You’re a reporter, Odelia, not a bodyguard!”

  “Look, I can’t abandon Emily,” said Odelia, making short shrift of Harriet’s argument. “So I have to go.” Then her eyes cut to me. “Max, will you accompany me? Be my eyes and ears on board?”

  I gulped once or twice—or even three times. “On board? You mean on board a boat? An actual boat? One of those floaty things?”

  “Harry’s dad owns this big yacht called the Audrey,” Odelia explained. “It’s got several decks and dozens of cabins and is more like a floating luxury hotel than an actual boat. But yeah, I would like you to come with me. You’ve proven yourself to be a clever kitty time and time again, and I have a feeling I’m going to need you over there.”

  Harriet gave me a vicious sort of look. “Remember our pact, Max?”

  “Pact?” I said, trying to come to terms with this whole boat experience.

  “All for one and one for all?”

  “Huh?” I said, suddenly seeing myself boarding this rickety dinghy, which would promptly give up the ghost and sink to the bottom of the sea with me on board. Lost with all paws, I think they call it!

  Harriet narrowed her eyes. “We agreed that we would all stick together no matter what, Max. No cat gets left behind, remember?”

  “Okay,” I said. “That’s great. I was starting to worry I would have to go on board this boat all by myself. So you guys are coming with?”

  “No, we’re not coming with! We’re staying put, and so are you!”

  “Oh,” I said, and looked at Odelia, who was smiling as she followed the conversation.

  “You can’t all come, I’m afraid,” she said. “Emily told me to travel light. Her stock with her in-laws is already pretty low, and if she invites four cats to their yacht there will be hell to pay. But one of you is fine, two at the most.” At this, she directed a pointed look at Dooley, which went right over his head as usual.

  “Max is staying with us,” Harriet declared solemnly. “We’re a package deal, Odelia. It’s either the four of us or no one.”

  “But I don’t want to go on this yacht, sugar bun,” said Brutus, alarmed. “I really, really, really don’t want to go on this yacht.”

  “And we’re not going on a yacht, sugar pie. None of us are.”

  “Well…” I said, earning myself a scathing look from Harriet.

  “Max! You promised! We shook paws on it!”

  “I know! But that was before Emily found herself in a pinch. We can’t just leave her in the lurch, can we? We have to help her find this mystery person leaving nasty messages on her bathroom mirror and stealing her private pictures and threatening to expose her to her future in-laws.”

  “Why are you always so eager to do the right thing, Max?” said Harriet, and made it sound as if it was the worst thing in the world.

  I shrugged. “I guess it’s a character flaw?”

  “If Max is flying to France to spend time on a yacht, can I join him?” asked Dooley.

  “Oh, Dooley. Not you, too!” Harriet cried.

  “I mean, I don’t like boats—who does? But Max is my best friend, and if he’s going on this trip to France, I also want to go.”

  “You can come too, Dooley,” said Odelia, giving my friend a pat on the head. “So I guess that’s settled then. I’ll fly out to France with Max and Dooley, and Harriet and Brutus will stay here with Chase.”

  “Chase is staying?” asked Brutus, sounding much relieved.

  “Chase has to work, sweetie,” said Odelia. “I mean, I have to work, too, but at least I can write my articles anywhere. Chase needs to be here to do his job. I couldn’t possibly ask him to join us.”

  “Too bad,” said Harriet, but her smile belied her words.

  And that’s how we found ourselves on a private jet belonging to Mr. Steven Griffiths, about to land in Nice, a biggish coastal town in the South of France, where a car would take us to Saint-Tropez, a much smaller town along the same coast, where the Audrey was awaiting us—and Emily, of course.

  “So from now on you’re not Odelia Kingsley?” asked Dooley, not for the first time.

  “No, my name is Julie Henderson, and I’m one of Harry’s old girlfriends,” Odelia said. “Apparently it was the only way Emily could smuggle me on board. Her mother-in-law has a thing for Harry’s old girlfriends. It’s his present girlfriend she doesn’t approve of.”

  “So we have to call you Julie now?” asked Dooley, trying to grasp this quaint conceit.

  “No, Dooley,” said our human with a smile. “Since none of the others can understand you, it doesn’t matter what you call me.”

  “Oh,” said Dooley, giving this some thought.

  “I just hope that whoever is gunning for Emily won’t actually try to hurt her,” I said. “Threatening messages is one thing, but actual direct action against Emily’s person is quite another.” Which is why I was feeling a little nervous that Chase wasn’t joining us on this trip. Dooley and I could only do so much to protect Odelia, after all.

  “It’ll be fine,” said Odelia as she picked up the copy of People Magazine she had been leafing through. “We’ll take a good look around, figure out who’s behind this whole dreadful business, and enjoy a nice vacation, all expenses paid. What could be nicer than that, mh?”

  “If you put it like that,” I said. “It doesn’t sound so bad.”

  What she was forgetting, of course, was that we would be on a boat. An actual boat that was floating on the water. I’m not saying cats can’t swim. If push comes to shove, we can. Of course we can. But that doesn’t mean we like it!

  At least this yacht was called the Audrey, and not the Titanic.

  CHAPTER 11

  By all accounts the welcome we received was as warm as can be expected. Though I have to admit that Odelia was more unreservedly clasped to the bosom of the Griffiths family than Dooley and myself. Apparently cats aren’t as universally loved as I often like to think, and the first look Amanda Griffiths gave us was a testament to her utter dislike of the feline species. In short order, surprise, shock and disgust passed across that formidable woman’s face, before being replaced by a look of cold determination.

  “Cats,” she said in a low voice. “Someone get rid of those cats!”

  “Oh, but they’re mine,” said Odelia quickly, before anyone had the chance to grab us by the neck and throw us overboard—or make us walk the plank, as I think is customary on these occasions.

  “Yours?” said Amanda, and I could see that Odelia had just dropped a few notches on the Amanda Griffiths appreciation scale. Her stock wasn’t trading for cents on the dollar yet, but if she kept this up it wouldn’t be long before it was. “You brought your cats?”

  “Harry said it was fine,” said Odelia. “I’m very attached to my cats,” she added, a little lamely, I thought. “And they to me.”

  “Mh,” said Amanda, and managed to inject a wealth of meaning into that one syllable. She surveyed Odelia closely. “So you’re one of Harry’s ex-girlfriends, are you? Why is it we never met before?”

  “We only went out a couple of times,” said Odelia, as she grasped her suitcase a little tighter, hoping she wouldn’t be kicked off the boat within minutes of our arrival.

  “Odd,” said Amanda. “Harry always made a point of introducing his girlfriends to his father and me. He never mentioned a Julie Henderson.”

  “I probably didn’t register on his radar as much as the others did,” said Odelia, starting to look a little nervous.

  “Being undercover isn’t easy, Max!” Dooley whispered.

  “No, it certainly isn’t,” I agreed.

  Before Chase had dropped us off at the airport, he gave his wife a few pointers on being undercover. He said it was best to create an entire persona in your mind, complete with a detailed past, just in case you get called upon to pontificate about what school you went to, or what your childhood was like or where you grew up—but always to stick as close to the truth as possible. He said being undercover is like erasing your original personality and replacing it with a fake one, but still using certain traits of the original you.

  It sounded pretty tough to me and I didn’t know if I could do it!

  “It’s true that Harry has always received a lot of interest from girls,” said Amanda, who was a strikingly handsome woman with sharp features and a hard mien. “But why he would invite the one girl he never brought home to spend this time on the Audrey is frankly beyond me. You do know he’s getting married, don’t you?”

  “Oh, yes, of course,” said Odelia. “That’s actually the reason he invited me. After we split, we stayed friends. Best friends.”

  “Is that a fact?” said Amanda, quirking a skeptical eyebrow.

  “And so he wanted me to meet his fiancée. Get to know her.”

  “You’ll get the chance to know her very well,” said Amanda. “Being on the yacht together, spending time in close surroundings like this, you’ll get to know Emily very, very well.” There was a gleam in her eye now. “You remind me of her, you know. Blond. Slim. Are you also a Zumba teacher, by any chance?”

  “I’m a, um, natural sciences graduate, actually.”

  “Oh?” said Amanda, crossing her arms. “One of my best friends is a natural sciences graduate. What is your specialization?”

  “Um… beavers,” said Odelia after a pause.

  Now Amanda lifted both eyebrows in surprise. “Beavers?”

  “Beavers,” Odelia confirmed decidedly. “Fascinating creatures.”

  “I guess,” said Amanda, and I had the impression she was glad her son had never introduced this weird girlfriend to her or her husband.

  Just then, both Emily and a handsome young man I assumed to be her fiancé appeared on deck. “Julie!” said the young man, as he enveloped our human in a warm hug. “So great you could come.”

  “Always,” said Odelia with a smile of relief. “And you must be Emily?”

  “That’s right,” said Emily, who was beaming with delight. “I’ve heard so much about you, Julie.”

  “Then you’re the only one,” Amanda said. “When did you and Julie date, Harry? It’s just that I would have remembered a natural sciences major. Especially one who specializes in beavers.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Harry vaguely. “Feels like eons ago.”

  Amanda didn’t look entirely convinced, but gradually she seemed to lose interest, and finally excused herself and left us to it.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” said Emily warmly.

  “Of course,” said Odelia. “Anything to help. Though I’m not sure I managed to convince your mother, Harry. I think she suspects something.”

  “That’s all right,” said Harry. “My mother is the least of our worries. Emily received another message.”

  “Oh, no!” cried Odelia, bringing her hands to her face.

  “Here it is,” said Emily, and showed the message in question.

  Break up with Harry now, or you’ll be sorry!

  Odelia shook her head in dismay. “The bathroom mirror again?”

  “No, this time it was pinned to my pillow,” said Emily. Her face sagged. “With a knife.”

  “It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” said Odelia. “This is just brazen.” She had put a hand on Emily’s arm, and I could see that Harry’s fiancée had purple shadows under her eyes. Clearly this whole business with the messages and the threatening notes was affecting her badly.

  “Whoever is doing this clearly means business,” said Harry. “Which is why I suggested bringing in the police.”

  “No police, Harry,” Emily insisted. “I don’t want to alarm your parents, and give your mother an excuse to stop the wedding.”

  “She won’t stop the wedding,” Harry insisted.

  “Oh yes, she will. She’ll use this as the perfect excuse. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s the one behind this whole business.”

  Harry shook his head. “My mother may not fully approve of you yet, but she would never do a thing like this—never. I know her, all right? She may talk tough, and look tough, but she’s a sweetheart.”

  “She doesn’t look like a sweetheart to me,” said Dooley.

  “No, more like a tough baby,” I agreed.

  “She almost kicked us off the boat.”

  “She did, and the look she gave Odelia wasn’t very welcoming either.”

  “Okay, here’s what we’ll do,” said Odelia. “I’ll mingle with the guests, figure out who’s doing this to you, and then if you want we can still go to the police with the evidence. Expose this person.”

  “I don’t know,” said Emily. “Can’t we handle this without anyone finding out what’s going on? Especially Steven and Amanda?”

  “I think the important thing is that we identify the perpetrator,” said Odelia. “We can decide what to do about him or her later.”

  “I know exactly what I’d do about it,” said Harry. “I’d kick them so hard they’ll never show their face here again.” Then he frowned. “Just find this person, will you? And find them fast, before…” He didn’t finish the sentence, but his meaning was clear. Blackmail has a tendency to escalate if the blackmailer’s demands aren’t met. And if that knife was any indication, Emily’s life was in danger right now.

  CHAPTER 12

  While Odelia got settled in her cabin, Dooley and I decided to take a little stroll around the boat and get acquainted with our new surroundings. We also wanted to see if there were enough lifeboats on board, since we all know that lifeboats are important, just in case the captain steers his vessel into an unyielding iceberg. No one wants to share a raft or a plank when disaster strikes.

  The first person we came across was none other than Amanda herself, Harry’s formidable mater. The lady of the manor—or the yacht, in this case—was conducting what sounded like an important phone call. Discretion was of the utmost importance, judging from the way she had ensconced herself in her cabin, and was speaking in hushed tones. But since cats don’t care all that much about silly notions like privacy and personal space, we settled down next to the window that looked out across the deck, and listened in.

  “Oh, that’s great news,” Amanda exclaimed. “So you’re saying you can do it? That’s such a relief. You wouldn’t believe how wracked with anxiety I’ve been these last couple of days—ever since… Yes? Oh, of course. Yes, mum’s the word. No one is supposed to know about this. Not my husband, not my kids—especially my kids. When the time is right I’ll tell them, of course, but only when I can present them with a fait accompli. In other words, when it’s too late for them to stop me.” She laughed a throaty laugh.

  Dooley and I shared a look of concern.

  “Too late for them to stop me?” said Dooley. “That sounds a lot like she’s the one we’re looking for!”

  “It does,” I agreed. And it most certainly sounded as if Emily had been right all along, and that her mother-in-law was trying to stop her wedding by all means possible—with the assistance of an accomplice!

  But the phone call soon ended, and so we weren’t in a position to glean more about the dastardly plan the woman was concocting. And as we lifted our heads to take a closer look at the living quarters of Mrs. Griffiths and husband, suddenly we found ourselves face to face with… a happy little yapper!