“You’re absolutely right, Dooley,” he said. “I have been selfish by not burying my doo-doo and making the rest of you have to smell my smells. I promise to do better from now on, how about that?”
“That would be great,” said Dooley. “And if you could bury your wee-wee, too, that would be even better. Cause wee-wee may not smell as bad as doo-doo but it still smells, and it’s not okay.”
“No, I know it’s not okay,” said Brutus with a lopsided grin. “And it won’t happen again.” And then he actually gave me a wink!
“Okay, I guess that settles the matter,” I said. “So, um… thank you, Brutus. And thank you, Dooley, for bringing this matter to our attention, and doing it in such an eloquent way.”
“Yeah, Dooley certainly has a way with words,” said Harriet. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Dooley.”
“It’s the strike,” said Dooley. “It’s important to voice your demands very firmly and very clearly. And when you do, it’s a lot easier to open negotiations.”
“And where did you learn so much about strikes?” I asked, much surprised.
“The Discovery Channel,” said Dooley. “There was this documentary last week, about the dynamics of the strike. It was very interesting. And even though they were striking about fishing rights, and I’m not actually a fish—or a fisher—I still learned a lot.”
Dooley never ceases to amaze me, and more often than not in a good way!
And now if Brutus could be induced to keep to his promise…
26
The next morning we woke up to some kind of commotion or hubbub in the corridor. First there was a loud scream, followed by loud voices conducting a frenzied sort of conversation. And so of course we snuck out and decided to go investigate. The to-do seemed to center around Henry’s room, where a lot of people stood gathered, talking amongst themselves. And when we saw the doctor walk out of the room and shake his head, I think we had a pretty good idea of what must have happened.
Brian was there, of course, and also Isaac and Desmond, and as we watched, Kirsten left Henry’s room, sobbing uncontrollably.
Desmond immediately stepped forward, but she slapped his helping hand away. Isaac then stepped up and said,“Leave her alone, Desmond.”
“Back off, Isaac!” the big man growled.
“You back off, and leave Kirsten alone,” Isaac returned.
For a moment it looked as if Desmond might raise a hand in anger against his colleague, but he finally thought better of it and left.
The fact that they were being watched by half the residents of the home might have had something to do with that, of course.
“Thank you,” said Kirsten gratefully. “I’m not in the mood for Desmond’s nonsense right now.”
Isaac handed her a tissue, and placed a protective arm around her shoulder, and she actually let him!
“Now will you look at that,” said Harriet. “Progress!”
Scarlett and Gran, both still in their PJs and Scarlett without her usual extensive makeup, had joined the throng, and Gran asked,“What’s going on?”
Liz, who was there with her husband and her sister, shook her head sadly.“It’s Henry. He’s dead.”
“How did he die?” asked Gran immediately, and presumably out of habit.
“They’re saying he died in his sleep,” said Liz. “But I don’t buy it. I saw him yesterday, and he looked as healthy as an ox. Healthier, probably.” She lowered her voice and glanced left and right before saying, “I think he was murdered!”
“I think so, too,” her sister chimed in.
“We’re going to investigate,” Bill announced.
“Wanna join us?” asked Liz eagerly. “This is going to be a big investigation. Our biggest one to date, probably, and so we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
“I’m not sure,” said Gran, wavering.
“Oh, look who’s here!” said Harriet.
We all looked in the direction she was pointing, and we saw to our surprise how Odelia and Chase came walking down the corridor.
“Of course,” said Brutus. “They have to investigate Henry’s death.”
“So this is an official police investigation now, is it?” asked Harriet.
“I don’t think so,” I said. “They have to ascertain whether Henry’s death was accidental or natural causes or not. If he did die in his sleep, it’s simply a formality.”
“And who’s to say it wasn’t murder?” asked Brutus.
“Why, the doctor, of course,” I said.
“I like this doctor,” said Dooley. “He was very kind to Gran last night when that crazy woman tried to strangle her.”
“Yeah, but what if he says it was natural causes, and he’s wrong?” asked Harriet.
And since cats can’t keep from poking their noses in other people’s business, we ventured into Henry’s room when no one was looking, and found that Henry was lying on his bed, and it looked as if he was fast asleep.
“He looks like he’s sleeping,” said Dooley. “Are you sure he’s dead?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I think the doctor is.”
“And he should know,” said Harriet.
“Poor guy,” said Brutus.
“He said he was a rich guy,” Dooley reminded us. “And he was going to make Kirsten rich also.”
“He’s not going to do anything anymore,” I said. “And with him gone, this looks like the end of our mission, you guys.”