The Mysteries of Max: Books 31-33 by Nic Saint (chrome ebook reader txt) 📗

think of only one place where Bob’s body could have gotten stashed in his truck, and that’s at a truck stop he spent the night at.”

“Did you check the truck stop?”

“Sarah did. She’s still wading through the CCTV footage—the truck stop has no less than four cameras covering both the inside and the outside of the place, ever since they were robbed last year. So far she hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”

They’d arrived at the nail salon and walked in. Only one customer was present, a middle-aged lady having her nails done, and when they entered, the beautician looked up and said, “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

So they took a seat in the waiting area, and four cats dutifully settled down at their feet.

“If someone had told me a year ago that I would be conducting police interviews with a reporter and her four cats in tow, I’d have told them they were nuts,” Chase grunted as he bent over and tickled Dooley behind the ears.

“You’ve got to admit they’re a real boon for your investigation, though,” said Odelia.

“Oh, sure. If it weren’t for Max and Dooley we probably would never have known about this whole kidnapping thing.”

“Don’t you think Evelina would eventually have come forward? She lost a lot of money, and even though she claims it’s just small potatoes, I doubt whether she really feels that way.”

“Yeah, she probably wants the men that did this to her boyfriend caught as much as we do.”

“Unless Bob really is the mastermind behind the whole scheme, as her sister seems to think.”

“I ate all of Max and Dooley’s food and then lied about it,” Brutus suddenly announced, apropos of nothing. “Just thought you should know.”

“You did what?” Odelia asked.

“I was hungry!” Brutus lamented.

“Oh, dear. I forgot to fill up your bowls again, didn’t I?”

Brutus nodded shamefacedly. “And so did Marge.”

“I’m so sorry, honey,” she said. “It’s this whole wedding thing. It’s got me distracted.”

“Don’t blame Brutus,” Harriet piped up. “I ate from Max and Dooley’s bowls, too.”

“It’s all right,” said Odelia. “I won’t forget to feed you again, I promise.”

“What’s going on?” asked Chase.

“I forgot to feed the cats this morning,” she said, “and so did Mom.”

Her phone dinged, for probably the hundredth time that day, and she sighed deeply.

“Still getting messages?” asked Chase.

“All the time,” she said.

“You really should stop putting people on the guest list,” he said. “We simply can’t feed them all. It’s going cost us a fortune if this keeps up.”

“I know,” she said. “But these are all people I know.”

“Honey, this is a small town. You know everybody, and they all know you. But you simply can’t invite them all.”

“But how can I invite one and not the other? It’s impossible.”

Once again her phone dinged and she glanced at the message. It was from Ida Baumgartner, who was upset that she hadn’t received her wedding invitation yet.

“How many people do we have on the guest list?”

“Seven hundred and counting,” she said, and winced as he gasped in shock.

“Seven hundred people! But babe!”

“I know, I know. I keep telling Mom I’m going to start refusing people, but how can I?”

“You have to cut back. This is turning into some kind of monster wedding from hell.”

“And don’t I know it. I haven’t slept a good night’s sleep in weeks, and every time I think about the wedding I feel nauseous. Father Reilly is even talking about installing those big screens outside the church, so that the people who won’t fit inside can follow the service outside. Or else he suggested we move the wedding ceremony to the beach, so the entire town can come out and watch.”

“This is turning into a real circus.”

“I’m sorry, babe.”

“It’s all right,” he said. “I mean, if this is what you want, I don’t mind. It is what you want, right?”

She gave him a sad look, and shook her head. “No, it’s not. All I wanted was to have a small ceremony. Just you and our respective families and no one else.”

“Oh, babe,” he said, and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Maybe we should elope?”

She smiled at that. “Very funny.”

“At least you’ll have your cats there to give you support.”

“Oh, no, she won’t,” Harriet spoke at their feet. “We’ve discussed it and we’ve decided not to come to the wedding. Isn’t that right, you guys?”

They all gave her sorrowful looks. “I’m sorry,” said Brutus. “But it’s going to be too much for us. We’re going to get trampled. So we decided it’s best if we sit this one out.”

Odelia didn’t know why, but watching her four cats stare up at her with those big sad eyes suddenly broke something inside her, and before she knew what was happening, she suddenly burst into tears!

Just then, Emma Bezel announced, “I can see you guys now.”

But all Odelia could do was cry!

Chapter 23

“Why is Odelia crying, Max?” asked Dooley.

“I think it’s because Harriet and Brutus just told her we’re not coming to the wedding,” I said.

“Oh, no!”

“Oh, yes.”

“But… we can’t do that, Max!”

“Oh, yes, we can.”

“Yeah, can you imagine?” said Harriet. “Us and seven hundred people, all sharing the same space? We won’t survive.”

“You mean you suffer from hagarophobia?”

“Agoraphobia,” I corrected him. “No, Dooley. We suffer from being small and vulnerable. Besides, we see Odelia every day, so we can afford to miss seeing her for a couple of hours.”

“Yeah, we’ll simply stay home and when she gets back she’ll be Mrs. Kingsley,” said Brutus.

“But look at her,” said Dooley, and we all looked at her. She was currently being subjected to the comforting efforts of no less than two people, Chase and Emma the beautician.

“It’s all right,” said the beautician. “If you simply put some concealer on that no one will be able to tell you’ve been crying. Trust me. I’m a professional.”

“It’s not that,” said Odelia. “I don’t care if people see me like this. It’s just that… I’m getting married on Saturday.”

“Oh, of course. I remember