Cats on the Prowl (A Cat Detective cozy mystery series Book 1) by Nancy C. Davis Page B
Authors: Nancy C. Davis
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them.
They’ll reveal information to a cat they wouldn’t reveal to their own mothers.
That’s how you catch them.”
“But how can finding out what they did
help you catch them?” Willow asked. “They might talk in front of a cat, but you
can’t jump up and arrest them. You can’t handcuff them and throw them in the
county lock-up.”
Nat strutted along the edge of Naya’s
desk. “That’s where human beings come in very handy. You can’t arrest them, but
Carl and Naya can. You give them your information, and they arrest the
criminals for you.”
“How do you give them your
information?” Willow asked. “Do you write them a note?”
“Write them a note!” Nat snorted. “I
should think not. I am a cat. I do not write. Reading is one thing, but I
wouldn’t stoop so low as to write. Write! Ha!”
“How do you do it, then?” Willow asked.
“How can you give them information?”
Nat stood up tall and straight. The
moonlight streaming through the police station window stretched his shadow
across the carpet. “That, my dear, is the great secret of the cat race. We find
a way to draw Naya’s attention to the evidence, but we must be discreet. We
can’t let her know we found out the crucial piece of the puzzle to solve the case.
We must do it in a way that preserves the illusion that Naya solved the case
herself.”
“Why do we have to do that?” Willow
shot back. “If we solved the case, we should take the credit.”
“And how, exactly, would we do that?”
Nat demanded. “How do you think it would work if the world found out cats could
read and solve criminal cases? How do you think humans would react if they
finally got it through their heads that we could understand their
conversations? The world would be in turmoil within hours. It would never
work.”
“I don’t know,” Willow argued. “My
owner used to watch a show on TV about a boy who had a dog who helped him catch
criminals. The dog was called Lassie. No one gave that dog a second thought.”
“That’s a TV show,” Nat replied. “And
it’s about a dog, not a cat. Dogs are different. People can believe all kinds
of things about a dog, or even a fictional cat. But real cats? I don’t think
so. It works just fine for them to think of us as harmless pets. They wouldn’t
be very happy if they knew the truth about us.”
Willow gazed out the window at the
moon. “I know what you mean, although I don’t agree. People enjoy a certain
ignorance about what their cats really think and understand. They don’t
appreciate having those ideas contradicted. They get very snotty if anyone
tells them they’re wrong about anything.”
“So you can understand,” Nat went on,
“how these people would feel if they knew their cats were solving their cases
for them. These are professional police detectives. They’re supposed to put the
evidence together. They aren’t supposed to rely on cats to do it for them.”
“I see.” Willow jumped down and joined
Nat on Naya’s desk. “So when can we start?”
“Right now.” Nat turned and put his paw
down on the big calendar in front of him. “This is your first lesson. Do you
see that pointed shape right there? That is the first thing you have to learn.
That is the letter A.”
Chapter 2
The police station door opened, and Willow
sat up on the couch. She forced herself to sit still, even though every fiber of
her being screamed to race across the room and jump into Naya Wesley’s arms.
But Nat wouldn’t approve. She had to act like a regular cat. She had to keep up
the pretense that she was completely oblivious to the human activity going on
around her.
Willow glanced at the bundle of woolen
blankets crumpled behind the water cooler. Nat never twitched a whisker. No one
would guess he was awake and taking in every detail.
Naya and Carl Ridout entered the police
station amid the busy hum of voices, phones ringing, and computers pinging at
every desk. No one paid any
They’ll reveal information to a cat they wouldn’t reveal to their own mothers.
That’s how you catch them.”
“But how can finding out what they did
help you catch them?” Willow asked. “They might talk in front of a cat, but you
can’t jump up and arrest them. You can’t handcuff them and throw them in the
county lock-up.”
Nat strutted along the edge of Naya’s
desk. “That’s where human beings come in very handy. You can’t arrest them, but
Carl and Naya can. You give them your information, and they arrest the
criminals for you.”
“How do you give them your
information?” Willow asked. “Do you write them a note?”
“Write them a note!” Nat snorted. “I
should think not. I am a cat. I do not write. Reading is one thing, but I
wouldn’t stoop so low as to write. Write! Ha!”
“How do you do it, then?” Willow asked.
“How can you give them information?”
Nat stood up tall and straight. The
moonlight streaming through the police station window stretched his shadow
across the carpet. “That, my dear, is the great secret of the cat race. We find
a way to draw Naya’s attention to the evidence, but we must be discreet. We
can’t let her know we found out the crucial piece of the puzzle to solve the case.
We must do it in a way that preserves the illusion that Naya solved the case
herself.”
“Why do we have to do that?” Willow
shot back. “If we solved the case, we should take the credit.”
“And how, exactly, would we do that?”
Nat demanded. “How do you think it would work if the world found out cats could
read and solve criminal cases? How do you think humans would react if they
finally got it through their heads that we could understand their
conversations? The world would be in turmoil within hours. It would never
work.”
“I don’t know,” Willow argued. “My
owner used to watch a show on TV about a boy who had a dog who helped him catch
criminals. The dog was called Lassie. No one gave that dog a second thought.”
“That’s a TV show,” Nat replied. “And
it’s about a dog, not a cat. Dogs are different. People can believe all kinds
of things about a dog, or even a fictional cat. But real cats? I don’t think
so. It works just fine for them to think of us as harmless pets. They wouldn’t
be very happy if they knew the truth about us.”
Willow gazed out the window at the
moon. “I know what you mean, although I don’t agree. People enjoy a certain
ignorance about what their cats really think and understand. They don’t
appreciate having those ideas contradicted. They get very snotty if anyone
tells them they’re wrong about anything.”
“So you can understand,” Nat went on,
“how these people would feel if they knew their cats were solving their cases
for them. These are professional police detectives. They’re supposed to put the
evidence together. They aren’t supposed to rely on cats to do it for them.”
“I see.” Willow jumped down and joined
Nat on Naya’s desk. “So when can we start?”
“Right now.” Nat turned and put his paw
down on the big calendar in front of him. “This is your first lesson. Do you
see that pointed shape right there? That is the first thing you have to learn.
That is the letter A.”
Chapter 2
The police station door opened, and Willow
sat up on the couch. She forced herself to sit still, even though every fiber of
her being screamed to race across the room and jump into Naya Wesley’s arms.
But Nat wouldn’t approve. She had to act like a regular cat. She had to keep up
the pretense that she was completely oblivious to the human activity going on
around her.
Willow glanced at the bundle of woolen
blankets crumpled behind the water cooler. Nat never twitched a whisker. No one
would guess he was awake and taking in every detail.
Naya and Carl Ridout entered the police
station amid the busy hum of voices, phones ringing, and computers pinging at
every desk. No one paid any
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