eb93c43e214c621f9157c05b4b6a6878

“Putting flyers in tenants’ mailboxes warning them of immoral activities, scratches on her car and dog poop smeared on her windshield. Anonymous letters to the owner. That kind of stuff. She was pretty upset about it. Couldn’t wait to get out of that place.”

“Did she tell you who she thought was responsible?”

“She didn’t know, but she did send me a picture of one of the flyers. Wait, here it is.”

“Can you send that to me?” asked Chase, studying the picture in question.

“Sure thing,” said Mitch.

What wasn’t a sure thing, apparently, was our food. And as Chase and Odelia made to leave, it was against our silent protestations. Frankly we would have protested more vociferously but at this point we were afraid to evoke our humans’ displeasure. When they’ve already got a replacement waiting in thewings, so to speak, it’s best you stay out of their hair as much as possible. Let lying dogs lie, and humans, too.

“I’m hungry, Max,” said Dooley.

“Me, too,” I said miserably.

“Maybe we should tell Odelia to keep a small sampling of kibble in the car, so she can feed us when she’s doing these long interview sessions that just seem to go on and on and on. My brain doesn’t function when I’m not fully fed.”

“Same here,” I said. “Good idea about the kibble, by the way. Though I’d hold off on it for now.”

He gave me a keen look.“Until we know more about the Windex situation, you mean?”

“Exactly. We don’t want to give Odelia an excuse to kick us out.”

“So you also think she’s going to kick us out?”

“I’m starting to lean toward that point of view,” I admitted reluctantly. “Especially after the way she snapped at us at the office.”

“She did snap at us, didn’t she?”

“She absolutely did. Which isn’t like her.”

“It’s the baby. It’s making her cranky.” His eyes suddenly widened. “Max! It’s the baby!”

“I know it’s the baby, Dooley.”

“No, but I mean, don’t you remember that movie we saw a couple of months ago?”

“What movie? What are you talking about?”

“Satan’s spawn, Max! Satan’s spawn!”

“Was that the name of the movie?”

“Odelia’s baby belongs to the devil! He must have somehow managed to possess her and now she’s expecting his baby and it’s making her behave very weird. Like adopting a dog, and snapping at us.”

I stared at my friend, and resisted the urge to take his temperature.

“Oh, Max, we have to save her. Once this baby is born it’s going to be too late!”

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We were back with Sybil Garlic, and this time Chase was confronting her with a picture of the flyer. The corners of the woman’s lips turned down as she took a good look. “Yeah, that might have been me,” she admitted. “Can’t have a prostitute living in the same building with nice and decent folk like myself. I wasn’t having it, and so I decided to do something about it.” She stabbed Chase’s chest with a bony finger. “You should thank me for doing your job. This is all your fault for taking your eye off the ball, young man.”

“How is that?”

“You know the deal. Girls like Dotty and her customers bring in all kinds of problems. Drugs and violence. It’s all connected, everybody knows that. Gang lords, sonny. It’s all about gang wars and terrible stuff happening to innocent people like me. And think about the property value. This isa good neighborhood. We don’t need the likes of her coming here and dragging everything down. Pretty soon this place would have turned into a slum, with drug addicts shooting up in the corridors and littering the place with their needles.”

“What else did you do, except this flyer?”

“I may have written to the owner, telling him about the kind of person living in his apartment. He has a right to know.”

“And what about the dog poop and the keying of Dotty’s car?”

“I don’t have a dog,” she said, as if this absolved her.

“Of course you don’t,” said Chase.

Odelia produced a small groan, and Mrs. Garlic directed a look of concern at her.“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down, honey? If you don’t mind me saying so, you don’t look so hot.” And to Chase: “If I were you I’d take her straight to a hospital.”

“I’m fine,” said Odelia, repeating her new mantra. “Absolutely peachy. In fact I’ve never felt better.” And to prove her point she displayed a tired smile.

“Where were you two nights ago between midnight and two o’clock, Mrs. Garlic?” asked Chase.

“What kind of a question is that? I was in bed, of course, minding my own business, just like you should, young man, instead of asking me how I like to spend my nights.”

“Are you married, Mrs. Garlic?” asked Chase with a tight smile.

“For your information, I am not. Not that it’s any of your business. Now if you’re done asking me all kinds of very inappropriate and frankly rude questions, I think I’d like you to leave now.” And to show us she meant what she said, she closed the door in our faces.

“Looks like we’re done here,” Odelia quipped, and it was nice to see her smile again.

“Oh, no, we’re not,” said Chase, glowering at the closed door. And he was about to apply his fist to the panel when Odelia stayed it in mid-flight.