“Okay, okay!” the gardener cried as he stuck up his hands. “Please don’t hurt us! We haven’t done anything wrong!”

  “Please don’t sic your dogs on us!” the woman whimpered. “I don’t want to be torn limb from limb!”

  “They won’t hurt you if you comply!” Mick shouted, looking quite forceful and decisive in his manner. In fact, he looked like a detective on a cop show might look: very handsome and built like a powerlifter—which, to some extent, he was.

  And then it happened: the two dogs couldn’t contain themselves any longer and launched themselves across the divide.

  A hush traveled through the crowd of onlookers, and Chase cursed loudly as the dogs landed on the next balcony and attacked the couple. Or they would have done, if Mick hadn’t thundered, “Stay!”

  And the dogs, through the miracle of their master’s voice, actually listened and obeyed!

  With slavering jaws, they brought their faces inches from those of their quarry, who stood frozen in place, shaking violently, their hands in the air.

  Mick had disappeared, only to reappear moments later on the balcony where the housekeeper and the gardener were being guarded by his two dogs. He then took out a pair of handcuffs, the metal glinting in the sun, held them up for a moment so his audience down below got a good look, and shouted, “You’re both under arrest for the murders of Bramwell and Reyna Eiderduck!” and slapped those handcuffs on the pair.

  A loud cheer rang out through the crowd below, and they all started chanting, “Mick! Mick! Mick! Mick! Mick!”

  I caught a look at Chase’s face, and he did not look happy at this display of idolatry—or at his colleague’s methods of arresting a pair of potential suspects in front of an audience.

  Like an expert showman, Mick gave the crowd a little wave, then started leading the suspects inside the room, followed by Blizzard and Storm.

  Five minutes passed before Mick reappeared in the hotel entrance, the two suspects in custody now, and started to lead them through the crowd of onlookers, who were still cheering and now had started clapping, as if present at a Taylor Swift concert. Only Mick wasn’t Taylor Swift. He was a cop who had made an arrest, so all of this hullabaloo was a little disconcerting, I thought.

  “Looks like he got them!” Dooley yelled in my ear as he tried to be heard over the roar of the crowd. “He arrested the killers, Max!”

  “That remains to be seen!” I yelled back.

  The moment Mick had appeared with the suspects, Chase had tried to draw his colleague’s attention. Mick must have seen him, but he pretended he hadn’t, turning away and ignoring Chase completely.

  Looked like the bond that had once existed between the two men was no more. And I had a feeling this piece of showmanship wasn’t going to bring them any closer together either.

  Mick had caught the killers, and he wasn’t going to share the glory with anyone, least of all Chase or Odelia.

  As he walked away, followed by Blizzard and Storm, who acted like Mick’s guardians, they were followed by the crowd, and so a sort of parade passed through town, from the hotel to the police station—Mick at the front, and a large crowd escorting him.

  At the back of the crowd—way, way back—were Odelia and Chase and the four of us.

  Looked like we had been relegated to second place in our own town. Shown up by a couple of upstarts.

  “I think I understand now what you meant by usurpers, love bug,” said Harriet. “They really are usurping us, aren’t they? Mick and his dogs? They’re usurping everyone.”

  “They sure are,” Brutus said.

  And I had a feeling our humiliation had only just begun.

  Mick was going to rub it in, and so were those dogs of his.

  They were the stars now, and we were yesterday’s news.

  CHAPTER 16

  We had finally arrived at the police station, which was quite a feat, as we’d had to fight our way through the crowd. Even trying to get in wasn’t easy, as Dolores Peltz, the station’s dispatcher and desk sergeant, had decided to barricade the doors. In the end, we had to climb in through the window of Uncle Alec’s office. Lucky for Odelia and Chase, we knew the way, having been snooping on Odelia’s uncle through his office window for years.

  Instead, we found him out in the bullpen, praising Mick Harper in front of the whole department for a job well done.

  “I think for a man who has only recently joined this police force,” the chief was saying, “Mick has outdone himself and has managed to blow every expectation I had of him out of the water. Son,” he said, turning to the newly minted detective, “you have surpassed yourself, and made this old man proud. Well done. Well done!” he said, leading Mick’s colleagues in an impromptu applause. “Cracked a case in twenty-four hours!” he yelled over the loud cheers and whistles. He then held up Mick’s arm like a boxer at the end of a match.

  “What the heck?” Chase whispered. “Now he thinks he’s Rocky?”

  “If he has caught the killers, you have to admit he’s done a great job,” Odelia whispered back as she also applauded along with the rest. Though I got the impression that her applause was a little perfunctory and that she wasn’t fully on board with the praise her uncle was heaping on the precinct’s newest recruit.

  “If he has caught the killers,” said Chase. “And that’s a big if.”

  Mick was beaming, and practically shone with pride. Then he caught sight of Chase and Odelia and gave them a curt nod in greeting, which Chase returned in kind.

  “What a guy,” said Dooley. “Right, Max? What a detective. Caught the killers in one day.”

  “Hmm,” I said. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe? You don’t think he caught the killers? But we saw him take them down.”

  “We saw him arrest the Eiderducks’ housekeeper and gardener,” I said. “But what evidence do we have that they killed their employers?”

  “I’m sure that once Chase interviews them, the truth will come out,” said Harriet. “They’ll confess and then we can close this chapter.”

  She looked a little shaken, I thought, and it wasn’t hard to see why. She was dreaming of being the star of a parade, but instead we’d been relegated to the back of the impromptu parade that had celebrated the success of Mick and his two huskies. You’d be shaken for less.

  Chase stepped to the fore now. “Can I have a word in your office, chief?” he asked.

  Alec smiled and nodded, then followed Chase and his niece. “What a guy,” he said. “Caught the killers in less than twenty-four hours. What an absolute ace!”

  We had arrived at Uncle Alec’s office and he took a seat behind his desk, looking jubilant. “This is going to blow all of that nonsense—that we allowed Mick to receive preferential treatment—out of the water,” he said. “I feel vindicated. Don’t you feel vindicated, Chase?”

  “I feel that we should make sure that he caught the actual killers,” said Chase.

  Uncle Alec turned serious. “Why? You have doubts?”

  “Of course I have doubts. Have they confessed?”

  “Why, no, but they’re the killers. Mick said so.”

  “Based on what evidence?” asked Odelia.

  “I haven’t been able to get into all of that yet, but I’m sure he has his reasons. For one thing, why did they run away?”

  “Who says they ran away? They were staying at the Star Hotel. So if they ran, they didn’t go far.”

  “You have to admit it’s suspicious behavior. Them removing themselves from the scene, and then showing up sharing a room? For one thing, who paid for that room? Probably the money they stole from their employers.”

  There was a knock at the door and Mick walked in without waiting for a response. But instead of being upset about this—as he usually was—Uncle Alec was all smiles.

  “Mick, my boy! The man of the hour! Come in, come in. Take a seat!”

  And so Mick came in and took a seat. He even put his feet up on Uncle Alec’s desk, earning himself a frown of disapproval from Chase.

  “So this is what it feels like to serve your community,” said Mick as he placed his arms behind his head. “I gotta say it’s the best feeling in the world!”

  “It is the best feeling in the world,” Uncle Alec confirmed. “So Mick, Chase here was wondering what led you to these two?”

  “Why, it was easy,” said Mick. “They fled the scene, so I followed the money trail. Just like you taught me, Alec.”

  No ‘chief,’ no ‘boss.’ Just Alec. Highly irregular.

  “Indeed,” said Uncle Alec with a light chuckle. “Just like I taught you. So what money trail are we talking about?”

  Mick sat up. “That’s the best part,” he said, exuding excitement. “Turns out the housekeeper and the gardener had stolen Bramwell Eiderduck’s credit card, and decided to treat themselves to a stay at the best hotel in town. Best suite, room service, the works. So I simply busted in on them and—bingo!” he said, pounding the chief’s desk with his fist and causing all of us to jump. “I got them. Of course they tried to escape by locking themselves into the bedroom and fleeing onto the balcony with a view of getting away, but I quickly cut them off—me and my dogs. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

  Uncle Alec drummed his fingers on the desk as a sign of approval.

  Mick leaned back again, a shit-eating grin on his attractive face. “So what happens now? We crack open a bottle? Smoke a fine cigar? Or maybe we can all head down to the Star Hotel and have dinner on the house. I talked to the manager and he sure looked mighty grateful that I removed a couple of hardened killers from his property.”

  “Now we interrogate the suspects,” said Chase.

  Mick’s face clouded, as if he had heard a bad word. “They’re not suspects, Chase,” he said. “They’re killers. And I caught them red-handed.”

  “You caught them using their employer’s credit card,” Chase clarified. “That doesn’t mean they killed him.”

  “I’m sure it does.”

  “And I’m sure it doesn’t.”

  Mick rolled his eyes. “Okay, so I’ll interrogate them⁠—”

  “No, I will interrogate them.”

  “I will interrogate them,” said Mick, his voice turning to ice. “I made the arrest. They’re mine.”

  Uncle Alec held up his hands. “Boys, boys,” he said with a chuckle. “Let’s not quibble. Mick will interrogate them, as he was the arresting officer. And Chase, you can join him and back him up, all right? Let’s do this together—as a team. Now go get them, champ! Get me a confession and we can wrap this up with a nice bow!”

  Mick looked about as thrilled to see Chase in the interview room as a man stepping barefoot on a Lego, but Uncle Alec had spoken, so there was no argument.

  And so we were off to the races for a posedown.

  Or at least that’s how it felt.

  CHAPTER 17

  “What happened to Mick, Max?” asked Dooley. “He used to be so nice, and now he’s almost… rude.”

  “Arrogant, that’s what he is,” said Brutus. “Finally showing his true colors. Do you remember how he locked me up in that suitcase in the attic? I knew he was a bad egg. He just managed to hide it well.”

  “Odelia said that the suitcase closed by accident,” I said. “That Mick had nothing to do with it, remember?”

  “Fat chance of that happening,” said Brutus. “No, the guy is bad news, and I called it first.”

  “He stole my thunder,” said Harriet sadly. “He organized a parade all for himself and his dogs, and he didn’t allow anyone else to feature in his parade. That’s a very selfish thing to do, you guys.”

  “Where are Blizzard and Storm?” I asked, glancing around. As usual, Uncle Alec and Odelia had taken their place behind the one-way mirror which offered an excellent view of the interrogation room. Chase and Mick were warming up inside, while the prisoner was being led from his jail cell to the room to be interrogated.

  “I’ll lead, all right?” said Mick. “And you will follow. After all, this was my collar, Chase.”

  Gone was the bonhomous relationship the two men had shared. It was almost as if Mick was showing us a side of himself he had kept hidden until now. It certainly was a shocking development.

  “Where are Mick’s dogs, Uncle Alec?” Odelia asked.

  “Behind the precinct,” said the chief. “Being fed. Now those dogs can eat,” he added with a chuckle. “I love a good eater. You should have seen them when I brought out their bowls. They were so grateful they actually placed their paws on me and licked my face!”

  The four of us shared a look of concern. “Looks like Uncle Alec is smitten with Mick’s dogs,” Brutus whispered.

  “Not just his dogs, but smitten with the man himself,” I returned in the same whisper.

  Not that there was any chance of Uncle Alec understanding what we were talking about, but just to be on the safe side we lowered our voices even more. “I don’t like this, Max,” said Brutus. “Uncle Alec is supposed to be on our side, not theirs.”

  “I know,” I said. “It’s a very troubling development.”

  “You know what I think?” said Dooley. “I think Mick is one of those Doctor Frankenstein and Mister Dracula type of people.”

  “You mean Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?” I suggested.

  He laughed. “You just made that up, didn’t you, Max? Nobody is called Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.”

  “Well…” I said, glancing up at Odelia, who was following our conversation and smiling to herself.

  Dooley decided to develop his theme a little more. “So I think that once a full moon comes out, Mick morphs into Bad Mick. And then when the full moon is gone again, he changes back into Good Mick. It’s the only way to explain what’s going on.”

  “It’s possible,” I said. “But there isn’t a full moon out right now, is there?”

  “There is a full sun,” Dooley argued. “So maybe he’s more affected by the sun than the moon? Some people are, you know.”

  “Let’s hope that’s not the case,” I said. “For that would mean he will be like this all summer.”

  “Intolerable,” said Brutus. “That’s the word I mostly associate with Mick Harper now. And his dogs, too. Though there are other words to describe those horrible dogs, but I’m not going to use them out of respect for Dooley.”

  “What words?” asked Dooley immediately.

  “Like I just said, I’m not going to use them out of respect for you, Dooley,” said Brutus.

  “I don’t understand,” said Dooley. “What words can’t you use because of me?”

  “Bad words,” said Brutus. “Let’s just leave it at that, all right?”

  It was clear that Dooley still didn’t understand, but at that moment the prisoner was being led into the interview room, and it was time for the show to begin.

  The first person Mick and Chase were going to tackle was the gardener. His name was Brendon Hetman, and he did not look happy to be there. Like, at all. But then I guess that was understandable. He’d been enjoying a nice tryst with the housekeeper and now he was facing two stony-faced cops. It was a pretty big change.

  “I don’t understand what I’m doing here,” he said once he had taken a seat. His hands were shackled, and he rattled them annoyedly. “Can’t you remove these? I’m not going to make a run for it, I promise.”

  Chase nodded to the officer standing guard by the door, and he stepped forward with a key. But then Mick said, “Better leave them on.”

  The officer hesitated, and glanced from Mick to Chase.

  “He doesn’t form a flight risk,” Chase said. “So we can take them off.”

  “He killed two people in cold blood,” Mick argued. “So I say they stay on.”

  “I didn’t kill anyone,” said the gardener. “I would never.”

  “And yet you decided to flee the scene,” said Mick, leaning forward and fixing the man with an implacable look. I wondered if this was the same look he used on his erstwhile opponents, back when he was still a star hockey player.

  “Well, yeah,” said the gardener. “The moment I discovered that my employers were dead, I figured it was probably time to go. No more employers, no more employment, and Christi felt the same way.”

  “You didn’t think to call the police?” asked Mick.

  “I did,” said Mr. Hetman. “But the moment passed and I didn’t.” When both Mick and Chase eyed him expectantly, he sighed. “Okay, so I probably should have called you guys. But seeing as they were already dead, I just didn’t see the point. Nobody was going to bring them back from the dead, right? And so I told Christi that we better put some distance between ourselves and the house.”

  “A likely story,” Mick scoffed. He pounded the table with his fist, causing us all to jump—the suspect most of all. “You killed them, and then you raided the safe and ran!”

  “No, I didn’t! All I did was make sure we didn’t get dragged into this whole murder mess. It’s not like we could have helped anyway. They were both already dead—CPR wasn’t going to do a thing.”

  “You didn’t see anything suspicious?” asked Chase.

  “Of course he saw something suspicious,” said Mick. “He saw himself murdering his employers!”

  “No, I didn’t!” cried the gardener. “I swear to God I never laid a finger on them. I was out back, tending to the rose bushes, when I suddenly heard a scream. I recognized it as Christi, so I came running. And that’s when I saw them: Mr. and Mrs. Eiderduck, covered in blood, obviously dead. So I said to Christi, ‘Let’s get out of here before someone starts accusing us of murder.’ And so that’s what we did.”

  “You used your employer’s credit card to pay for the room at the Star Hotel?” asked Chase.