Cats on the Prowl (A Cat Detective cozy mystery series Book 1) by Nancy C. Davis
Authors: Nancy C. Davis
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Chapter 1
Willow, a fluffy white Persian, jumped
up onto Sergeant Carl Ridout’s desk and pushed the papers out of the way with
her paw. “I’ve never seen such an untidy man. I don’t know how he keeps track
of anything in this mess.”
Nat, the big tabby tom, lifted his head
from Detective Naya Wesley’s chair and chuckled. The sound rumbled out of his
chest in a deep purr. “He doesn’t keep track of anything. That’s exactly why he
does it.”
“Then how does he solve his cases?” Willow
asked. “He’s a police sergeant. He’s supposed to be catching criminals.”
“He doesn’t catch any criminals,” Nat
told her. “Haven’t you figured that out yet? It’s Naya who solves the cases. I
don’t think Sergeant Ridout has solved a case in the seven years I’ve been
living here at the Nelson Police Station. I’ve followed the details of every
case, and I’ve found it very clear who actually solves them.”
“How can he be a police sergeant,
then?” Willow asked. “Hasn’t anyone noticed he doesn’t do any work?”
“I didn’t say he doesn’t do any work,”
Nat explained. “He does a lot of work. Oh, my, does he ever do a lot of work!
It’s just not the kind of work that would solve cases.”
“What does he do?” Willow asked.
“You’ve seen him,” Nat shot back.
“You’ve been here almost a year now, ever since Naya found you in the drain
behind the station. What a sight you were that day. I can still remember it.
You looked like a half-drowned rat, with your hair all stuck to your head. We didn’t
know if you would survive. You looked like something the cat dragged in.”
Willow sniffed. “You don’t have to rub
it in. I remember it as well as you do. I didn’t think I was coming to live at
the police station to poke my nose into the confidential case files of the
Homicide Department.”
Nat licked his paw and cleaned the side
of his face. “I didn’t think I was coming to poke my nose into confidential
files, either. But when you’ve been here as long as I have, you can’t help but
notice who does what. Carl sits at his desk and pushes paper from one side to
the other until sweat pours off his forehead. He curses under his breath and
mutters about how he doesn’t know what the world is coming to.”
“I’ve seen that,” Willow replied.
“That’s why I assumed he got a lot done.”
“He gets a lot of filing done,” Nat
told her. “Then you look at Naya. She sits at her desk, but she doesn’t make a
sound. She doesn’t pick up one piece of paper and put it in a pile with a dozen
other papers. She sits there for an hour or more, going over every detail until
she finds out what she wants to know. Then she moves on to the next one and
does the same thing. That’s how she finds the clues to solve cases.”
“If you’re right,” Willow remarked,
“it’s a good thing Sergeant Ridout has Naya for a partner. He could take the
credit for her solving the cases.”
“Naya wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds
on the police force if she hadn’t had Carl for a partner,” Nat told her. “Naya
was a raw recruit from the Academy when they started working together. Carl
listened to her and believed in her when she solved her first case. She would
have lost heart and quit the force without his support.”
“Were you here back then?” Willow
asked.
“I was here,” he rumbled. “I’ve seen
dozens of recruits come and go in my seven years. Naya has only been here three
years, and Carl has been here five years. You watch them together. Naya comes
up with the clues, but it’s Carl who pushes the case to its conclusion. She’s
the brains and he’s the brawn. They’re a perfect team.”
Willow glanced down at the papers
around her feet. “I guess I have a lot to learn about police work. I don’t know
what half these papers say.”
“That’s because you can’t read,” Nat
pointed out. “If you want to find out what’s going on with
Willow, a fluffy white Persian, jumped
up onto Sergeant Carl Ridout’s desk and pushed the papers out of the way with
her paw. “I’ve never seen such an untidy man. I don’t know how he keeps track
of anything in this mess.”
Nat, the big tabby tom, lifted his head
from Detective Naya Wesley’s chair and chuckled. The sound rumbled out of his
chest in a deep purr. “He doesn’t keep track of anything. That’s exactly why he
does it.”
“Then how does he solve his cases?” Willow
asked. “He’s a police sergeant. He’s supposed to be catching criminals.”
“He doesn’t catch any criminals,” Nat
told her. “Haven’t you figured that out yet? It’s Naya who solves the cases. I
don’t think Sergeant Ridout has solved a case in the seven years I’ve been
living here at the Nelson Police Station. I’ve followed the details of every
case, and I’ve found it very clear who actually solves them.”
“How can he be a police sergeant,
then?” Willow asked. “Hasn’t anyone noticed he doesn’t do any work?”
“I didn’t say he doesn’t do any work,”
Nat explained. “He does a lot of work. Oh, my, does he ever do a lot of work!
It’s just not the kind of work that would solve cases.”
“What does he do?” Willow asked.
“You’ve seen him,” Nat shot back.
“You’ve been here almost a year now, ever since Naya found you in the drain
behind the station. What a sight you were that day. I can still remember it.
You looked like a half-drowned rat, with your hair all stuck to your head. We didn’t
know if you would survive. You looked like something the cat dragged in.”
Willow sniffed. “You don’t have to rub
it in. I remember it as well as you do. I didn’t think I was coming to live at
the police station to poke my nose into the confidential case files of the
Homicide Department.”
Nat licked his paw and cleaned the side
of his face. “I didn’t think I was coming to poke my nose into confidential
files, either. But when you’ve been here as long as I have, you can’t help but
notice who does what. Carl sits at his desk and pushes paper from one side to
the other until sweat pours off his forehead. He curses under his breath and
mutters about how he doesn’t know what the world is coming to.”
“I’ve seen that,” Willow replied.
“That’s why I assumed he got a lot done.”
“He gets a lot of filing done,” Nat
told her. “Then you look at Naya. She sits at her desk, but she doesn’t make a
sound. She doesn’t pick up one piece of paper and put it in a pile with a dozen
other papers. She sits there for an hour or more, going over every detail until
she finds out what she wants to know. Then she moves on to the next one and
does the same thing. That’s how she finds the clues to solve cases.”
“If you’re right,” Willow remarked,
“it’s a good thing Sergeant Ridout has Naya for a partner. He could take the
credit for her solving the cases.”
“Naya wouldn’t have lasted ten seconds
on the police force if she hadn’t had Carl for a partner,” Nat told her. “Naya
was a raw recruit from the Academy when they started working together. Carl
listened to her and believed in her when she solved her first case. She would
have lost heart and quit the force without his support.”
“Were you here back then?” Willow
asked.
“I was here,” he rumbled. “I’ve seen
dozens of recruits come and go in my seven years. Naya has only been here three
years, and Carl has been here five years. You watch them together. Naya comes
up with the clues, but it’s Carl who pushes the case to its conclusion. She’s
the brains and he’s the brawn. They’re a perfect team.”
Willow glanced down at the papers
around her feet. “I guess I have a lot to learn about police work. I don’t know
what half these papers say.”
“That’s because you can’t read,” Nat
pointed out. “If you want to find out what’s going on with
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