Odelia had come in through the window, since she couldn’t be seen by anyone. It made the whole thing that much more exciting. Like an actual secret mission.
“It’s amazing how professional Odelia is,” said Dooley, his voice expressing his admiration for our human. “How she leads her team with such decision and ease.”
“It’s not hard to lead a team this great,” said Harriet. “For a leader is only as good as the team they lead, and Odelia has the best team in Brutus and myself… and you and Max, of course,” she added after a pause.
“So what did you find out about Brian and Kirsten?” I asked. We hadn’t had the opportunity to compare notes yet, since bingo had lasted for what felt like an eternity, and when the show was over, Scarlett had had to buck up Isaac, when the latter had been thoroughly ignored by Kirsten once more. He had followed her instructions and had tried to connect by means of a simple smile, but the moment Kirsten had clocked the smile, she had blanched and fled the scene. I hadn’t seen the smile myself, but by all accounts it would have made any actor playing The Joker jealous. Clearly the youngman had a lot to learn.
“The weirdest thing,” said Brutus. “Kirsten was complaining about Desmond, but Brian didn’t seem interested. Just told her to file a form with his PA and that was that.”
“Why was she complaining about Desmond?” I asked.
“Turns out that Desmond is some kind of sex pest,” said Harriet, “and has been harassing Kirsten from the day she arrived. Only he went too far this time, placing his hand on her buttocks and then daring her to tell Brian, figuring he wouldn’t believe her without a witness backing up her story.”
“And he was right,” said Brutus. “Brian clearly didn’t believe a word she said.”
“Brian wasn’t interested,” said Harriet. “I think he probably has bigger fish to fry. The man is juggling three women already, and doesn’t want to get involved with a fourth.” She shook her head. “I was wrong about that man. Or perhaps about men in general. There seems to be a limit to the number of women he wants to get involved with. And three is definitely the absolute maximum for Brian.”
“Or maybe he’s facing some other issues that we don’t know about,” I suggested.
“We’ll soon know more,” said Brutus, gesturing to the high-tech gadgets Odelia had placed on the table. “Once those are installed, Brian’s life will be like an open book to us.”
[Êàðòèíêà: img_3]
That night I had trouble sleeping. Even though technically we were allowed to go out, Gran had told us she preferred if we stuck around for the time being.
“You never know if this maniac attacks Kirsten in the middle of the night,” she said. And with maniac she wasn’t referring to Desmond but to Henry, of course. I could have told her that Kirsten didn’t live on the premises but went home every night, just like any employee anywhere, but she wouldn’t have listened. Once Gran has some idea in her head, it’s hard to get it replaced by some other, better idea.
And then of course there was Brian. Somehow Gran seemed to think that the man might cheat on his wife in the middle of the night. I told her that no secretary likes to work that late, but my protestations didn’t register.
“So when are we going to install those cameras?” asked Dooley.
All four of us were wandering the halls, enjoying the peace and quiet that the absence of the human cohort brings.
“Tomorrow night,” said Harriet. “Gran wants to make sure she knows how these things work. She wants to test them out. And also, she’s sending me and Brutus in again to check Brian’s office and decide on the best angle to put the cameras.” She shivered. “I hope he and Dee will take a break tomorrow. I don’t want to have to go through that terrible ordeal again.”
“It’s brutal, that’s what it is,” Brutus agreed. “Having to watch humans making love is like watching the worst horror movie ever made. I’m going to need intense therapy when this is all over. Multiple sessions.”
“Vena will know a good pet therapist,” said Dooley helpfully. But he received a nasty look for his trouble. I had the impression Brutus wasn’t actually going into therapy. “I once heard Odelia and Chase making love,” said Dooley now. “It sounded like hard work.”
Harriet and I shared a look of concern. We like to shield Dooley from these human peccadillos as much as we can, but sometimes some incident will slip through the cracks. He’s still very much an innocent, our Dooley, and we like to keep it that way.
“Chase was grunting and heaving and sounding exactly the same as when he’s in the gym,” Dooley continued with a frown as he tried to recollect the momentous occasion. “And Odelia was moaning as if she was in intense pain.” He shook his head. “I was very worried. But when I asked Odelia if she was in pain, she said she wasn’t.”
“Wait, you interrupted Odelia and Chase when they were making love?” asked Brutus with a grin.