And so we returned to the tablet and typed out another message. It took a while since we’re not all that dexterous on a tablet, but we finally managed. Then Grace took the tablet and showed it to her grandfather. Tex, momentarily taking his eyes off the road, glanced down. “Grapes? Do you really think we should get her grapes?”

  “You’re a doctor, granddad,” said Grace. “Maybe you can bring her some medicine that will make her feel better?”

  But since Tex didn’t understand what she was babbling about, and frankly the message was too complicated to type out, we decided that grapes would have to do. So Tex stopped by the General Store and disappeared inside while we chatted with Kingman through the car window.

  “So have you arrested that killer yet?” asked Kingman.

  “Not yet,” I said.

  “I’m telling you it’s the ex-girlfriend,” he said. “James Fox threatened to tell her husband about them, and so she killed him. It’s always that way.”

  “We don’t even know if she has a husband,” I said.

  “Oh, she’s bound to. Humans like to travel through life in pairs, Max.”

  “That, I know,” I said. “But we don’t know anything about this particular woman, so let’s first identify her, shall we, before we start casting aspersions.”

  “I like asparagus,” Grace announced. “It’s very tasty.”

  “So where are you going with the kid?” asked Kingman.

  “To visit her daycare,” I said. “The woman who runs it has closed the place down for business, and since we figure she might be sick, Grace wants to pay her a visit and wish her well.”

  “And bring her grapes!” Grace added for good measure. “Though now I’m wondering if we shouldn’t have bought her asparagus instead. It’s supposed to be very nutritious.”

  “I like the sentiment,” said Kingman. “But grapes are overrated. If I were you, I’d buy her an Xbox. That way she can play games while she’s convalescing.”

  But since Tex had returned, we had to cut our conversation short and return to the business at hand. Which was: find out what was going on with Chantal and wish her a speedy recovery in case she really was sick.

  It didn’t take Tex long to arrive at our destination, and so he parked across the street and turned to us. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. “I mean, we don’t know what’s going on with this woman. For all we know, her husband might have died, or her mom or dad or something. And then we show up with a bag of grapes…” He shrugged. “It might send the wrong message.”

  “Grapes can never send a wrong message,” Grace insisted stubbornly. “She’s a very nice person, granddad, and she’s always been nothing but kind to me, so I want her to know that I’m thinking of her and want her to get well soon.”

  We didn’t write all that down on the tablet, but I think Tex understood, for he smiled and said, “Okay, let’s just go and say hi, shall we?”

  He let us out of the car, hoisted Grace up on his arm, and then we crossed the road. The daycare was located in a rather large villa and according to Grace, offered plenty of space to the toddlers in Chantal’s care.

  “You know what’s odd?” said Dooley as Tex glanced in through the window to see if anybody was home. “That Tex doesn’t know what’s wrong with Chantal. I mean, he’s a doctor, right? So if Chantal was sick, he would know.”

  “If she’s one of his patients,” I pointed out. “Which we don’t know if she is.”

  Tex had pressed his finger to the doorbell, and we waited patiently. Suddenly, a window was opened over our heads, and a man yelled, “The daycare is closed, sir. So we can’t take your daughter, I’m afraid.”

  “Oh, but she isn’t… Why are you closed?”

  “Family circumstances,” said the man curtly.

  “My name is Tex Poole,” said Tex. “And I’m a doctor. This is Grace, my granddaughter, and we had actually heard that something happened to Chantal, so we wanted to drop off these.” He held up the bag of grapes. “And to wish her well and thank her for taking such good care of Grace.”

  The man took in the grapes and seemed to like what he saw, for he said, “One sec.” And then his head disappeared again, like a shy turtle reeling it in.

  “I think it’s the grapes that did the trick,” Tex said. “Good thinking, Grace.”

  “You’re welcome, granddad.” She turned to us. “That man didn’t look very nice. I just hope nothing has happened to Chantal. I mean, something bad.”

  “Why? Who is that man?”

  “I have no idea. I’ve never seen him before.”

  “Maybe Chantal’s brother who has come home from Mexico to take care of his sister,” Dooley opined.

  “Mexico?” I asked. “Why Mexico?”

  “No reason. Just that he looked Mexican.”

  “More like Canadian,” Grace said.

  But before we could thresh this thing out properly and decide whether the man was Mexican or Canadian—two vastly different countries, to be sure—the man had opened the door and asked us to step in. We did as suggested and found ourselves in the large daycare where Grace spent her days. It was a very pleasant and brightly decorated area with lots of corners where the kids could play and plenty of large boxes filled, no doubt, with toys.

  “That’s where I sleep!” said Grace, pointing to a couple of bunk beds in the corner of the large open space. “And that’s where we eat!” she said. All in all, it was definitely a pleasant place to be, and now I could see why she liked to go there so much, especially if it was filled with all of her friends.

  The man took the bag with the grapes from Tex and shook the doctor’s hand. “Do you know that you’re the first person to drop by? Chantal will be very pleased to hear it.” He bent down to tickle Grace on the cheek. “Aren’t you the cutest?”

  But Grace didn’t return the compliment. Instead, she said, “And aren’t you the ugliest!”

  “Grace!” I said with a laugh. “You can’t say that kind of thing!”

  “Why not? He is very ugly.”

  It was true that the man wasn’t exactly the picture of beauty. He had a cut across his forehead where presumably someone had tested out the sharpness of a knife at one time, something strange was going on with his upper lip, where presumably that same knife had lingered, and his skin was red and puffy.

  “Real beauty is on the inside, Grace,” said Dooley.

  Grace frowned at this. “I can’t see his insides, but I can’t imagine they’re more beautiful than his outsides.”

  “So what’s wrong with Chantal?” asked Tex, adopting his doctor’s voice.

  The man immediately responded, as people often do in the presence of a medical professional, by giving him a look of concern. “My sister was attacked in the street last night. She was just returning from her yoga class when someone yanked open her door at the red light and forced her to leave the vehicle. When she didn’t immediately respond, the guy dragged her out and then took off in the car, also taking her purse with him, containing all of her money, ID, and credit cards. And since she took a nasty tumble, she managed to twist her ankle in the process and also hit her head on a concrete divider. She’s been in the hospital all night, but the doctor said she’s better off convalescing at home.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear it,” said Tex. “Where was this?”

  “Near the marina,” said the man. “I’m Barry, by the way. Barry Ellis. Chantal’s brother.”

  “And this happened last night?”

  “Yeah, around ten o’clock. The yoga center is in one of those new buildings they put up by the marina, and Chantal has been going there for months without any problems. In fact, we thought it was a pretty safe area. Just goes to show you how wrong you can be.”

  “A carjacking, huh? And did you report it to the police?”

  “Yeah, an officer came to the hospital to take my sister’s statement. They said they were going to check the CCTV since the place is crawling with cameras, apparently.”

  Tex nodded. “My brother-in-law is the Chief of Police. If you’d like, I’ll tell him to follow this up personally.”

  “Oh, would you do that?”

  “Of course. Chantal has been taking such great care of my granddaughter. It’s our turn to do something for her.”

  “Would you... would you like to see her?”

  “Sure. And I’m sure Grace would love that. Wouldn’t you, honey?”

  “Oh, yes!” Grace said, much relieved that she would be seeing her beloved daycare mom.

  Barry took us up the stairs and gently knocked on a bedroom door. “Sis? There’s someone here to see you.” He entered and ushered us into a bedroom, where Chantal was laid up in bed, looking a little bedraggled. Her head was all bandaged up, and her leg was in a cast. Now I understood why she wouldn’t be able to take care of any kids for a while. But when she caught sight of Grace, her face morphed into an expression of sheer delight. “Gracie!” she cried, and immediately Grace ran over to the bed and gave the woman a big hug.

  “This is Grace’s grandfather,” said Barry. “Doctor Poole.”

  “I know Doctor Poole,” said Chantal with a grateful look at the man.

  “So how are you?” asked the doctor and proceeded to listen intently as Chantal told him all about the injuries she had sustained. He also checked the medication she had been given. They earned his seal of approval, and he said that she should be up and about in no time. He assured her not to worry about her car because he would get in touch with Uncle Alec and ask him to fast-track any investigation that was ongoing in connection to Chantal’s carjacking.

  “I should have locked the door, I know,” said Chantal. “But I don’t always think about it. And this guy came from behind me, so I didn’t see him coming.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Tex assured her. “And the police will get him for this.”

  “Thank you so much, Doctor Poole,” she said. “And I’m sorry for standing you all up.”

  “That’s all right. I’ve been babysitting Grace all morning, and we’ll find a solution for tomorrow and the days after that.”

  Her face clouded. “Days? Are you sure?”

  “It will take a little time before you can put weight on that ankle,” he said. “And you might need some physiotherapy as well. But first, you need to get well again. If you like, I can check up with you, let’s say in a day or two?”

  “That would be amazing,” said Chantal, deeply appreciative. “Thank you, Doctor.”

  “Don’t mention it,” said Tex with a kindly smile. “All part of the service.”

  Grace gave the woman another hug, and then it was time to say goodbye for the present. Barry led us out. “So you’ve been taking care of your sister?” asked Tex as we stood in the doorway.

  “Yeah, her husband is away on business. He’s been told about what happened but is stuck in business meetings all day today and tomorrow, so he couldn’t immediately fly back.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Hong Kong. But he’s arriving the day after tomorrow, and then he’ll take over. I live in Boston, but as soon as I heard, I immediately came over here. I’ll stay as long as necessary. Chantal is the most amazing person I know, and she deserves nothing less.”

  “That’s very admirable of you,” said Tex. “She’s lucky to have a brother like you, Barry.”

  “I’m lucky to have a sister like her,” said Barry.

  We said our goodbyes and got back into the car. On the drive back home, Grace said, “I think I understand what you meant by a person being beautiful on the inside even if he is ugly on the outside, Dooley. Barry is definitely a beautiful person for taking such good care of his sister. And I hope Uncle Alec catches the guy that did this. Or you could catch him, Max.”

  “Me!” I said.

  “You are a detective, right?”

  “Yes, but not that kind of detective.”

  “What kind are you then?”

  “Well, I guess more the cerebral kind. Not the kind that chases after car thieves and catches them and such. You need an action hero for that.”

  She smiled. “But you are an action hero, Max. You’re my action hero.”

  Oh, dear. Not only did I have a killer to catch, dozens of caterpillars to herd, but now I also had to become an action hero and catch a carjacker? And all of that on absolutely no nap time at all, and with an empty litter box at home!

  CHAPTER 15

  Before taking Grace home, Tex decided to drive us into town and drop us off at the police station. He had been in touch with his daughter and told her all about the carjacking, and Odelia had asked him to bring us to the station so we could join a meeting in her uncle’s office to go over the case. And so we found ourselves in the big man’s office, ensconced with the Chief, Odelia, and Chase, as they discussed the ins and outs of this most baffling case of the dead movie star.

  “Okay, so according to the coroner’s report,” said Uncle Alec as he read from his computer screen, “the cats were right. The man did die from cyanide poisoning, enough of which was found in his system to kill a dozen men.”

  “So he didn’t drown?” asked Chase.

  “No water in the lungs, so he was thrown into the pool after he died.”

  “How was the cyanide administered?” asked Odelia.

  “Traces of the poison were found in a can of Dr. Pepper in Robert’s cabin,” said the Chief. “So most likely the stuff was added to the soda, which was of the extra-sweet variety, to hide the taste of the cyanide. He drank the whole can.”

  “Yikes. Is it a painful death?” asked Chase.

  “Well, it isn’t pleasant,” said Uncle Alec. “It prevents the body from processing oxygen, so sufferers will be gasping for breath, experiencing muscle spasms, and finally loss of consciousness. Death follows within minutes. Or at least that’s what Abe told me. So.” He placed his hands flat on his desk. “Talk to me about suspects.”

  Chase consulted his own notes. “We’ve interviewed the crew members, and they all tell the same story. Around the time of Ross’s death, at ten o’clock this morning, the man was alone on the Aurora, having given his crew the morning off. Supposedly he was meeting someone, but nobody could tell us who.”

  “We checked CCTV covering the marina,” said Odelia, picking up the story, “but we didn’t see anybody arrive at the yacht. Not by car, taxi, or Uber. We did see the mass exodus of crew members from the vessel shortly before ten, but then nothing until I arrived around twelve. So for those two hours, nobody came anywhere near the boat.”

  “But that’s impossible,” said the Chief. “Surely the murderer must have boarded the vessel during that time.”

  “Unless he was already on the boat?” Chase suggested. “Though we should have seen him leave if that were the case.”

  “Unless he came and went by boat,” Odelia pointed out. “He could have chartered a small boat or even used a dinghy—”

  “Or swam.”

  “Or swam. In which case, the cameras wouldn’t have picked him up.”

  “Doesn’t the Aurora have its own CCTV system?” asked Uncle Alec.

  “It does, but since Robert hated to be monitored or filmed, he invariably instructed the crew to turn it off, which they did. The only time the security cameras were activated was at night, to make sure the crew and passengers were secure. But in the morning, everything was switched off again. Unfortunately for us.”

  “And fortunately for the killer,” Uncle Alec grunted unhappily. “Why install a state-of-the-art security system and then not use it? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Robert was very concerned about his privacy,” Odelia explained. “He hated the thought of anyone filming him.”

  “Weird hang-up for an actor.”

  “Or maybe he was up to stuff that wasn’t up to snuff?” Chase suggested.

  “We did find a small baggie of pills stuffed behind the bed,” said Odelia.

  “Oh, yes,” said Uncle Alec and put his reading glasses back on his nose. “Toxicological analysis of the pills has revealed them as fentanyl. So apparently our Mr. Ross liked his candy.”

  “We also found an empty safe,” said Chase. “And I mean literally empty. The door ajar and nothing inside. Which struck me as odd. We dusted the safe for prints but only found Ross’s fingerprints.”

  “I wonder what was in that safe,” said Uncle Alec. He turned to me for some reason. “Have your cats had a chance to interrogate the dog?”

  “They did talk to the dog, didn’t you, Max?” asked Odelia.

  “We did,” I confirmed. “But unfortunately, she was being taken for a walk around the time of the murder, so she couldn’t tell us what happened.”

  “Ask her about the safe,” said Odelia. “We need to know what was in it.”

  “Gotcha,” I said, though I wasn’t all that sanguine that the dog would talk. I had the impression she was one of those reticent dogs who don’t like to share information about their owners. “Where is she right now?”

  “Where is the dog?” asked Odelia.

  “One of the crew members took her,” said the Chief. “Robert’s brother is flying in from France, where he lives. He’ll handle the funeral arrangements and hopefully adopt the dog.”

  “Poor Flame,” said Dooley. “To lose your human is one thing, but now she’ll have to go and live with a complete stranger in a strange land far away.”

  “France isn’t that strange,” I said. “And maybe this brother is much nicer than Robert.” Though I had the impression that the actor had been a lot kinder to his dog than he had been to his crew, which is often the way.

  “Okay, so let’s get back to possible suspects,” said the Chief. “What have you got for me?”

  “So the crew members all painted the same picture of Robert being a pretty obnoxious boss,” said Chase. “Wouldn’t allow the crew to look him in the eye, wanted them to be almost invisible while also serving him as if he was the emperor of China, and he had a penchant for flirting with female crew members and not taking no for an answer. He picked one favorite and then hounded her relentlessly. During this trip, he favored Susanne Palmer, who said the experience was traumatic. She was guarded as much as possible by her colleagues, and also by Captain Gerard, which must have caused Robert to become very frustrated indeed.”