Cats on the Prowl (A Cat Detective cozy mystery series Book 1) by Nancy C. Davis Page A
Authors: Nancy C. Davis
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human beings, that’s
the first thing you have to learn.”
“How am I going to do that?” she asked.
“I’ll teach you,” he replied. “It’s not
complicated when you get the hang of it.”
“How did you learn?” she asked. “Did
someone teach you?”
“No one taught me,” he replied. “I
figured it out for myself. I wanted to understand why people thought these
papers were so important. It took me a lot longer to learn by myself than it’ll
take me to teach you, but never mind. You’ll get the hang of it, and then you
can help me solve cases, too.”
Willow’s head shot up. “You solve
cases, too?”
“Of course,” he exclaimed. “I wouldn’t
be much of a police cat if I didn’t. I’ve been living at the police station for
seven years. I’ve got to earn my keep somehow.”
“I would love to solve criminal cases,”
Willow cried. “How do you do it?”
Nat sat up on the chair and faced her.
“The first thing you’ve got to do—which you don’t do now—is to start paying
attention around here. You can’t just lie around and purr and expect to become
a real police cat. You can’t just curl up on Naya’s lap and go to sleep. You have
to listen to what she says.”
Willow pretended to sneeze. “I don’t
just curl up on Naya’s lap and go to sleep. I’m not lazy. People keep cats for
comfort. That’s the service I provide in exchange for my keep.”
“Now, just listen to what I have to
say,” Nat returned. “I’m not saying curling up on Naya’s lap and closing your
eyes isn’t a good thing to do. I know giving people comfort is a big part of
being a cat, although I don’t really do that sort of thing myself. I’m a tom.
My job is singing on fences and spraying in their gardens. I’m just saying
that, when you curl up on Naya’s lap and close your eyes, you only pretend to
sleep. In reality, you keep awake and listen.”
“But they don’t talk about much of
anything,” Willow replied. “They mostly complain about the Captain and the
Union and a bunch of other things I don’t understand.”
“Those things you don’t understand are
the details of their cases,” Nat told her. “That’s why you have to listen.
While you’re learning to read the reports and letters and documents, you can
pick up all kinds of information from listening to their conversations. That’s
how I solve my cases.”
“Can you really solve cases by
listening to their conversations and reading all these papers?” Willow waved
her paw at the clutter on Carl’s desk. “Wow, Nat, I’m sorry I didn’t realize
you were so smart.”
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” he
replied. “But I don’t solve cases by reading papers and listening to their
conversations. That’s just the beginning. Once you’ve gleaned all the information
you can from the papers and listening to them talk, you have to go out into the
field.”
“You mean like going out catching mice
and crickets and that sort of thing?” Willow asked. “I was never very good at
that. I get foxtails in my fur and grass in my ears. The last time I went, I
had to spend six hours at the vet getting a foxtail taken out of my ear. It
cost my owner seven hundred dollars, and she never let me outside again.”
“I don’t mean that,” Nat explained.
“When I say the field, I don’t mean grass and mice. I’m talking about hitting
the bricks and hunting down your clues. You have to track down your suspects
and find more clues and information. You won’t solve a case sitting behind a
desk.”
Willow put her head to one side. “Is
that what Naya and Carl do all day? I thought they just went out together for a
ride in the car.”
“They go their own way,” Nat replied,
“and I go mine. I have my own way of getting information. The good thing is, a
cat can go places and listen to things a person can’t. Two crooks will tell
each other their life stories with a cat sitting right in front of
the first thing you have to learn.”
“How am I going to do that?” she asked.
“I’ll teach you,” he replied. “It’s not
complicated when you get the hang of it.”
“How did you learn?” she asked. “Did
someone teach you?”
“No one taught me,” he replied. “I
figured it out for myself. I wanted to understand why people thought these
papers were so important. It took me a lot longer to learn by myself than it’ll
take me to teach you, but never mind. You’ll get the hang of it, and then you
can help me solve cases, too.”
Willow’s head shot up. “You solve
cases, too?”
“Of course,” he exclaimed. “I wouldn’t
be much of a police cat if I didn’t. I’ve been living at the police station for
seven years. I’ve got to earn my keep somehow.”
“I would love to solve criminal cases,”
Willow cried. “How do you do it?”
Nat sat up on the chair and faced her.
“The first thing you’ve got to do—which you don’t do now—is to start paying
attention around here. You can’t just lie around and purr and expect to become
a real police cat. You can’t just curl up on Naya’s lap and go to sleep. You have
to listen to what she says.”
Willow pretended to sneeze. “I don’t
just curl up on Naya’s lap and go to sleep. I’m not lazy. People keep cats for
comfort. That’s the service I provide in exchange for my keep.”
“Now, just listen to what I have to
say,” Nat returned. “I’m not saying curling up on Naya’s lap and closing your
eyes isn’t a good thing to do. I know giving people comfort is a big part of
being a cat, although I don’t really do that sort of thing myself. I’m a tom.
My job is singing on fences and spraying in their gardens. I’m just saying
that, when you curl up on Naya’s lap and close your eyes, you only pretend to
sleep. In reality, you keep awake and listen.”
“But they don’t talk about much of
anything,” Willow replied. “They mostly complain about the Captain and the
Union and a bunch of other things I don’t understand.”
“Those things you don’t understand are
the details of their cases,” Nat told her. “That’s why you have to listen.
While you’re learning to read the reports and letters and documents, you can
pick up all kinds of information from listening to their conversations. That’s
how I solve my cases.”
“Can you really solve cases by
listening to their conversations and reading all these papers?” Willow waved
her paw at the clutter on Carl’s desk. “Wow, Nat, I’m sorry I didn’t realize
you were so smart.”
“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” he
replied. “But I don’t solve cases by reading papers and listening to their
conversations. That’s just the beginning. Once you’ve gleaned all the information
you can from the papers and listening to them talk, you have to go out into the
field.”
“You mean like going out catching mice
and crickets and that sort of thing?” Willow asked. “I was never very good at
that. I get foxtails in my fur and grass in my ears. The last time I went, I
had to spend six hours at the vet getting a foxtail taken out of my ear. It
cost my owner seven hundred dollars, and she never let me outside again.”
“I don’t mean that,” Nat explained.
“When I say the field, I don’t mean grass and mice. I’m talking about hitting
the bricks and hunting down your clues. You have to track down your suspects
and find more clues and information. You won’t solve a case sitting behind a
desk.”
Willow put her head to one side. “Is
that what Naya and Carl do all day? I thought they just went out together for a
ride in the car.”
“They go their own way,” Nat replied,
“and I go mine. I have my own way of getting information. The good thing is, a
cat can go places and listen to things a person can’t. Two crooks will tell
each other their life stories with a cat sitting right in front of
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