by M. A. Owens
“That’s why I signed the contract. You got any suspects?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Everyone else on the board seems as upset and confused about the entire thing is I am, but I guess that just means one of them is a convincing liar. One or more, I suppose.”
Seems this entire thing was turning Herman into a real cynic. Or perhaps he’d always been that way. He seemed proud of the fact that he’d given all his executives breathing room, even if he regretted it now. I had to admit, the thought crossed my mind more than once that maybe he knew exactly who was responsible, or maybe he himself was the one responsible. I’d considered that possibility when we first met, because I’d seen it happen before. They were usually straightforward about it. Say you investigated, get a cut of the money, and let the insurance take the loss. Having a private investigator look into a matter gave some of these claims the extra credibility they needed to be approved for quick payout. But this didn’t quite line up with that, not exactly. Herman seemed determined to keep this from getting out, maybe even to an insurance company. No police, no papers. Because of that, I was inclined to believe it was at least possible he was being straight with me. Maybe. But it seemed strange that someone like Herman wouldn’t notice something like this for an entire year, or possibly longer. What about the other executives? Had they really not noticed?
“Who was the first to notice that money was missing?”
“Sunny, actually. At least she was the first to bring it to my attention. Specific branch managers reported smaller discrepancies, but Sunny was the one who put the pieces together and encouraged me to investigate further.”
“When was that?” I asked.
“About two months ago.”
I looked over my shoulder and realized everyone must’ve gone home while Herman and I were talking. Time flies when you’re having fun.
I grinned at Herman. “I suppose we should pick this up tomorrow. I’ll need to speak to Sunny in the morning, but I’d appreciate it if you don’t give her a heads up about it. Don’t want to worry anyone or let people take the time to rehearse things, you know?”
Herman unclasped his paws and held them out to each side. “I’ll make sure her schedule is clear. As I said before, we are all at your disposal. Oh, and…” He slid open the drawer of his desk and pulled a card out, scribbled a few words on it, and handed it to me. “I had Sunny reserve a hotel room for you, not far from here. Best room available. Get some rest. I just need to finish up a few things here, and I’ll see you early in the morning.”
I nodded, showing myself out.
Gigantic buildings like these always creeped me out when they were empty. It was a feeling that everyone in the city had vanished and you were the only one left. Maybe it was because I wasn’t used to big buildings like this in the Black District, or that even the nicer buildings were like a broom closet compared to these. A different security guard than the one from earlier let me out the front door. Usually when I walked the streets at night, there were almost as many cats and dogs out and about as there were during the day, but not on this street. It was all offices, and they were all closed.
I followed the directions on the card, but didn’t make it far before I heard a voice calling after me.
“Excuse me, sir!”
I raised my head and took my attention away from the card. A cat in a gray pinstripe suit and yellow dress shirt was waving at me from the side of the street.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head with his paw. “I sure hope so. I think I took a wrong turn. I was hoping to meet a friend of mine, about half an hour ago. Man, she’s going to be ticked at me. Could you come look at these directions and see if you can make heads or tails of them? I’m stumped.”
“I’ll certainly do the best I can. I’m not a regular around these parts. In fact, today is the first time I–”
I felt a stab of pain in the back of my skull, and everything went black.
8
I woke up sometime later, which I guess was at least one thing I had going for me. This team didn’t want me dead, or I’d be just that. Dead. I was slightly intrigued, I must admit, because anyone I could think of who would do this to me would have wanted me dead. I was sitting in some kind of chair with my paws tied behind my back. I gave them a quick tug, but no dice. They were good with knots, too.
“Our guest is finally awake.” I heard the familiar voice say. It was the lost cat. Less lost than me, it turned out.
Another voice spoke up. The accomplice? Another cat? “Are you sure? He doesn’t seem to have a lot to say. Maybe he’s dreaming.”
I played into that assumption. I started mumbling incoherently, rolling my head from side to side. Now, if I could just get them curious about what I was saying.
I whispered. “Lean in here, honey. Let me give you a kiss.”
The familiar cat spoke up again. “Huh? What’s he saying? Something about giving somebody a kiss. This should be good.”
I could hear him taking steps toward me, then I could feel his breath as he leaned close. I mumbled something else, just gibberish this time, and he leaned in just close enough.
I leaned my head as far back as I could and slammed it forward with everything I had. I connected hard about halfway along the return trip, and my target let out a squall.
“There’s your kiss, sweetheart!” I barked. “Now untie me or off me... Pick one, and let’s get it over with, because you ain’t getting nothing from me!”
He cracked his knuckles. “Alright, little dog. You asked for-”
A thunderous laugh interrupted him. A third voice?
“See, I told you he was energetic. Anyway, calm yourself. We don’t want to get started off on the wrong paw with our guest here. You, take the hood off. Oh, and wash it later. Got a bit of blood on it now. Wouldn’t want to give our guest the impression that we’re not civilized cats here.”
I offered some laughter of my own. “Yeah, real civilized place you got here. Silly me, always behind on the trends. Should’ve realized being knocked out and abducted in the middle of the night was all the rage these days. A real hit with the youth.”
The voice chuckled again. “See? How about that sense of humor? You cut deep, detective. You cut deep.” They pulled the mask from my face with an abrupt yank, and my eyes took a moment adjusting to the artificial light pouring into them. “Obviously, we had to take some precautions in bringing you here. Otherwise, I’m sure you’d find some way to put it all together. See, I’m taking you seriously. Isn’t that nice for a change?”
“The opposite, actually. So if you think I’m a threat, why didn’t you just kill me?” My eyes finally adjusted clearly on the figure sitting in front of me.
We were sitting in what appeared to be an old warehouse. I recognized nothing, but then again I would’ve been much more likely to recognize something if I’d seen it from outside the building. As things stood, what I could see now really didn’t help at all. There must’ve been hundreds of these warehouses, almost exactly like this one, all over the district. Empty containers occupied most of it. Storage? Shipping? Too hard to tell. Some moonlight shone through the windows that lined the top of the walls. Several of the windows were broken; if I yelled loud enough, maybe someone would hear. Though, if they thought of this much already, probably not. Besides, I still had some chance of getting out of this, and now that I had a cat sitting in front of me who wanted to talk, I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that just yet.
This cat dressed well, much like the other one. He was a Flame Point Siamese with bright pearly blues. Distinct. His suit matched his eyes and it was obvious by the natural changes in shape that he had worn the suit for quite some time. Probably often. Still, I was certain I’d never seen him before.
“So you didn’t bring me here to kill me. You also assumed that I might be happy to meet you. Yet, I don’t recognize you at all. In fact, I never forget a face. I
’m positive that I’ve never met you or your goon here before. What’s your beef with me?”
The cat offered a sly, half grin.
“Beef? There’s no beef at the moment. What beef we have after you leave here today will depend entirely upon you. Personally, and this may surprise you to hear, I would prefer that we be friends. I mean that.”
It was odd, but he really seemed to mean it. When he looked at me, he had the same look in his eyes that a kitten might have when meeting their hero.
“You’ve got a funny way of making friends. But say I believe you. That still explains nothing. In fact, it only makes this whole situation far more confusing. Why would you want to be my friend?”
“Because, you removed an obstacle from my path I’m very confident I could never have removed myself. We could never pursue our goals in this city with him in the way.”
“Enough with the vague setup. Get to the point. What obstacle? What goals? And could you please get to the doggone part about what this has to do with me?”
“Why, Mr. B of course. Who else? I’m the leader of the Feline Liberation Party, and given our rivals prompt removal, we have you to thank for that. In fact, let me just thank you right now.”
My stomach twisted. “Now, wait just a minute… Mr. B was the most powerful, most feared cat in this entire city. I was there at his trial. I seem to recall the only redeeming trait the cat had was the fact that he was a major advocate for the equal rights of cats in the city. You’re telling me a cat like that, with all that power and influence, who wanted equal rights for cats and dogs was an obstacle for you? How so?”
He sighed. “That’s the very problem, Trigger. He wanted equality. After what your kind did to us, and for years, equality doesn’t cut it. We need to be in charge so we can fix things here. I’m afraid equality is a long way off yet. We have a lot of damage to undo first. Mr. B wouldn’t hear of it. He said it would be… heh, what’s his favorite expression—bad for business.” He tapped one of his claws rapidly on the table and looked down instead of maintaining eye contact with me. “Can you believe it? Bad for business. I believe there are much more important things than business. Making right the injustices, several injustices, done to our people would be one thing I would place high above business.”
Now we were getting somewhere. I remembered some of these jokers visiting Rick a while back and seeing how flustered he was when they left. He specifically said to me that these cats would be trouble. How right he was.
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I’m a dog,” I said, tilting my head.
“Not all dogs are enemies. There are some who dedicate themselves to our cause. Those dogs will be an exception to the second-class citizenry status that would apply to all other dogs in the city.”
I smirked. “Yeah, you’re definitely a politician. You’re all about tolerance and acceptance… of everyone who completely agrees with you. Everyone else is evil. Well, no thanks, pal. Just put me to the sword. Or boil me alive, for all I care. It would be better than listening to any more of your self-righteous pontifications.”
He shook his head. “You really have a temper, don’t you? Well, I think you’ll come around soon enough. Since I’ve upset you, allow me to move things along and not take up any more of your time. To the point, then. My name is Saint. I know you’ll remember it, but like I said, I hope it’s because we're friends. You really wouldn’t like me as an enemy. So, let me tell you how to keep that from happening.”
“I’m all ears,” I said, sarcastically.
“I will do something that’s probably a first for you. Allow me to spoil this case you’re working on. Well, partly anyway. The missing money that you’re looking into? It’s going to me. Specifically, it’s being funneled through various other accounts and shell corporations that eventually lead to the FLP. Look, that rich hound you’re working for, he won’t miss this money. It’s a drop in a very large bucket. But he is, more or less, a dog of principle. Once you tell him you can’t figure out where it’s going, and who’s taking it, the insurance is just going to reimburse him, and he’ll forget this in a week. For us, this is crucial funding. We aren’t on any official ballots yet, but this money will get us there. All I need you to do is look the other way, and you’ll have a powerful friend in me, and many grateful cats who will cheer us on. I won’t forget your contribution, and you will be amply rewarded for it. You have my word. You’ll be the only dog in the city still allowed to do what you’re doing. You will have your pick of cases, and it’ll be your choice whether you even want to work them at all. Once I’m mayor, I can appoint you to a position that will allow you to live comfortably for the rest of your life. You’d never have to lift your paw again.” He stopped speaking, leaning in to look me directly in the eyes. “Now, because I know a bit about your history, I know you can be a very unreasonable dog, bordering on unhinged. But I implore you, give this your utmost consideration. It’s all I’ll ask of you, and I’m asking you nicely… this time. I’d prefer that there not be a next time. Do you understand?”
“Oh, gee whiz. I think I’m understanding things pretty well by now. You certainly have my word that I’ll think it over. I’ll give your plan all the consideration it deserves.” Which, I’d already decided, was none. The question was, how was I going to do anything about it?
“Great. I’ll have my comrades escort you back to your hotel. But with the hood again. I hope you understand. They’ll drop you off in an alley, just near the entrance.” He nodded, bowing his head. “Until next time, Trigger.”
Begrudgingly, I returned the bow.
So much for easy money.
9
The next morning, I made my way back to Herman’s office, only a little more slowly this time, keeping a keen eye on every corner and alley. Once again, I thought about how I would feel safer in the Black District right about now.
I put on my best poker face, hoping to catch a reaction from someone when I behaved like nothing was out of the ordinary. I knew someone must’ve tipped Saint off. How else could he have known? And if it was someone outside of that building, Saint wouldn’t be concerned enough to go through the trouble. No, it was definitely someone among the higher ups at the bank, just as Herman suspected.
I greeted the Doberman at the door. “Good morning. Hope you don’t mind that I slept in.”
He laughed. “Wouldn’t expect any less from you, detective. We’ve got some coffee and bagels in the break room, if you want to make a detour on the way.”
“Thanks, but I already had breakfast. We better head straight up. Oh, I don’t think I got your name. I’m Trigger, which you already knew.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Ben. Thanks for caring enough to ask. Most don’t.”
I motioned to the elevator and we stepped inside. When the door closed, I changed the topic. “Say, how much do you know about the case I’m working on?”
He tilted his head, obviously curious why I would ask. “Not much. I know that some money’s gone missing, and you’re trying to figure out what happened to it.”
“It’s not so much about what happened to it, so much as who happened to it. At least, that’s where we are now. Mind if I ask your opinion about something?”
He paused and eyed me for a moment. “Sure.”
“If someone was funneling money from the bank, let’s say for their own pet project, who do you think it would most likely be?”
He seemed to ponder the question seriously, taking a few precious seconds to think about it, given the entire elevator ride only lasted a minute. “Honestly? Everyone here seems to like Herman well enough, myself included. He’s not what you might call overly kind, but unlike a lot of others in the city, he does what he says he’ll do, and he’s fair. You might say his only flaw is that he cares so much about the bank. He’d do anything for it.”
I nodded my head, disappointed that I learned nothing new, but happy this young dog came to the same conclusion I did, almost verbatim. I had a goo
d feeling about Ben, and I wanted to believe I had an ally here, but I didn’t have the luxury to completely trust just anyone. Not yet.
“Thanks, Ben. Do me a favor and keep this conversation between us. Forget I asked the question.”
“Sure thing, detective. Let me know if I can be of any help.”
The elevator dinged as we reached our floor, and I threw a quick nod in Ben’s direction before stepping off, making my way straight to Herman’s office. He was sitting inside, along with Sunny, apparently waiting for me. Pointlessly, I knocked when I reached the glass door. Sunny narrowed her eyes at me, and Herman grinned before motioning me in. “Come on in, detective. We were just talking about you, weren’t we Sunny?”
She nodded, but I couldn’t help but notice the sigh and eye roll that followed.
“Sorry, I thought of a few of the questions I wanted to ask you before I talked to Sunny,” I said, looking at Herman. “Sunny, would it be alright with you to give us about ten minutes?” I asked, looking at her as apologetically as I could muster without feeling apologetic.
“Sure. Not like I had anything else I could have been doing this morning,” she said, before standing up and silently leaving the room.
Herman spread out his paws in a welcoming gesture. “What did you come up with?”
I sat down in the chair in front of him. “I had an interesting night last night.”
“Really? What do you mean?”
“Got jumped by two cats on my way to the hotel. Spent half the night tied up in some backstreet warehouse playing twenty questions with a cat who claimed to represent the Feline Liberation Party.”
