by Amma Lee
“Hey,” Keith had said to someone dryly. Without thinking, Wendy took the envelope and put it in her jean’s back pocket. Nobody would be able to see it under her long shirt.
“What are you making?” A woman’s voice said and Wendy knew immediately that it was Lisa. Wendy crept to the bedroom door and looked out of it. The kitchen door was open and she could see part of Lisa’s back. Wendy quietly shuffled out of the bedroom and shut the door. She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was looking, and quickly went to the door that housed the bathroom.
Wendy stood in the bathroom for a few moments with the door locked and caught her breath. She wasn’t expecting Lisa to come back before Mr. Johnson, but she was grateful that she stopped and chatted with Keith before going to the bedroom. When she heard Keith calling out her name, she flushed the toilet and wetted her hands.
“Sorry, I had to go to the bathroom.” Wendy said and smiled at Keith sweetly. Lisa walked right passed Wendy without uttering a word to her. She understood at that moment why she was not well-liked.
“Let’s finish watching the movie.” Keith said, not sounding as enthusiastic as he was before and they made their way back to his bedroom.
Chapter Four
“So?” Black asked once Wendy walked back into her dorm room. Keith decided to walk her home since it was eleven o’clock. Wendy sighed and sat down on the bed.
“Mr. Johnson wasn’t there.” Wendy said. She felt like the universe made it so that Mr. Johnson stayed at work later just to tamper in their progress. Keith told Wendy that his father was normally home by eight, but when ten came around Wendy didn’t want to wait any longer. Black sighed.
“That is problematic, but things like this do happen quite often.” Black noticed that Wendy’s spirits was down so he jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against her hand. “Don’t feel discouraged. This is all a part of a detective’s job.” Black hated to see Wendy upset because she was always very happy. “Did you find anything out though?” Wendy raked the back of her mind trying to remember if Keith had told her something worthwhile.
“Keith told me that Lisa, his stepmother, is always asking Mr. Johnson to buy things for her.” Wendy went on and on about how Keith thought that Lisa was a gold-digger and that it was his father’s fault for marrying a young woman.
“So in other words he thinks this Lisa woman is out for his father’s money?” Wendy nodded her head and Black began mumbling under his breath. “This would be a good enough reason for him to want his business to bring in more money.” Black said and Wendy agreed with him. If Lisa was as money hungry as Keith thought, then Mr. Johnson having the best business would surely earn him more compensation to please his wife.
“I don’t think he’s desperate enough to kidnap people though.” Wendy said. Black admired Wendy’s determination to stick up for the human, but just because she cares about the man doesn’t mean that he isn’t guilty.
“You could not possibly know the pressure this human must being going through. You do not know what’s on his mind.” Wendy chewed the bottom of her lip because she had no comeback for that. “I thought of a plan to see exactly who is calling the shots behind these kidnappings.” Wendy sat up and Black almost rolled off of her stomach.
“Let’s hear it!” Wendy said enthusiastically. Black resettled himself on Wendy’s legs and looked at her.
“This is potentially dangerous, but since you have me I believe that my plan will work just fine.” Wendy couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face. That only meant that Black needed her to do the hardest part in this mission.
“Spit it out” Wendy said her voice going up several octaves. Black could tell that she was excited.
“Well…” Black began and chose his next words carefully. “We need to get Mr. Johnson to think that you’re about to become number one in business.”
****
“This doesn’t even look like something that I’d wear.” Wendy complained quietly as she tried on some clothes at a discount clothing store. Black had the idea to purchase some business looking clothes from this shop because he knew that Keith’s father wouldn’t know the difference. Men probably could tell if a man’s clothing was a designer or not, but since it was women’s clothes Mr. Johnson would be oblivious.
“As a detective you know that you must dress and act in a different manner, it goes with the job.” Black said as he glanced at the clothes that Wendy was wearing. It was a simple black female’s suit that made Wendy look older and sophisticated. The clothes might have been cheap, but Wendy looked the part that she was supposed to portray. “Besides, I think you look great.” Black said and Wendy looked down at him and blushed.
“You really think so?” she asked with her cheeks growing redder at each passing moment. She looked into the mirror again and examined herself. “I guess I do look a lot more professional. I could always tie my hair in a bun so that Mr. Johnson wouldn’t recognize me.” Even though she’d known Mr. Johnson for a very long time, she hadn’t seen him as much as a teenager.
“You can probably put on some of that face paint that women wear.” Wendy looked down at Black in confusion. When had Black seen face paint on a woman?
“Oh you mean make-up.” Wendy said once she understood what Black meant. “I don’t have any, but I could pick some up from the store.” Black shook his head.
“I saw a woman painting someone’s face in another store, we’ll just see if she could do yours.” Black said and Wendy smiled. It was funny how Black said paint instead of make-up. He might have had the voice of a fully grown man, but she had to keep reminding herself that Black was not a human. It was only natural for Black to say human words out of context.
“Okay, hopefully it doesn’t cost too much.” Wendy took off the suit and put her clothes and hoodie back on. Cats were not allowed in the store so she was happy that her hoodie’s pocket was large enough to hide Black inside of it. This was no easy task however considering that Black was putting on some weight. Wendy walked out of the dressing room and paid for the clothes.
“Have a great day.” The cashier flashed a happy smile at Wendy and she couldn’t help but to smile back. She was happy that they were progressing with the case; however, she still didn’t believe Mr. Johnson was the culprit. She did know, however, that her disguise would earn the attention of the real bad guy.
“Do you think Keith might know more about what’s going on with his father?” Wendy asked as she held her phone to her ear. This was the easiest way that she could talk to Black without having people think that she was crazy. Black poked his mouth out of Wendy’s pocket and spoke.
“No, I don’t think the child knows anything. He’s just worried about his father.” Black said reassuringly. Wendy was glad for that because if it turned out that Mr. Johnson was the man behind the kidnapping, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if Keith knew about it.
“Well that’s good to know.” Wendy said and walked over to a little boutique that was doing women’s make-up.
“Hello young lady.” The overly bubbly woman at the boutique said once Wendy walked over to her. “We’re a new shop here and we’re trying to make names for ourselves as make-up artists.” The woman said and handed Wendy a business card. “We’re currently doing women’s make-up for free in return for referrals. We’d really appreciate it if you helped us out today.” Wendy gave the woman a pleasant smile. She was incredibly happy that she had come over on the day when they were offering free services.
“Of course, I love helping people who are passionate about their talents.” The woman’s smile never left her face as she ushered Wendy over to an available seat. There were two other women there getting their make-up done as well.
“Do you wear make-up at all Ms.?” The woman asked and pulled Wendy’s hair back so that it wouldn’t get in the way.
“Not really, but I do know how I want my make-up to be done today if you don’t mind?” Wendy asked and she squirmed a little bit wh
en she felt Black moving around in her pocket. He had apparently started to get uncomfortable. Wait a little while longer Wendy thought and as soon as she did, Black’s movements ceased.
“Of course, I’ll have you looking better than you’d ever imagine.” Wendy told the woman exactly what she wanted to be done and the woman nodded her head enthusiastically. A professional look was apparently one of her specialties.
“Wow,” Wendy said as she looked in the mirror at the woman that she never thought she’d be. The make-up artist gave her smoky eyes with slightly rosy cheeks. She kept the lipstick natural, but it did make her lips look fuller. She almost thought that she resembled her mother when she used to work at a law firm as an attorney.
“I’m happy that you like it. You look stunning and incredibly professional.” The woman said as Wendy stood up.
“Thank you so much.” Wendy said happily and reached into her purse. She knew that the service that the shop provided was free, but she felt that she at least owed the woman a tip. “Please take this. I’ll definitely spread the word of your shop.” The woman smiled and happily took the money. After thanking the woman one more time, Wendy went on her way.
“I thought I was going to suffocate for a moment.” Black groaned and stuck his mouth and nose out of Wendy’s pocket.
“Oh hush.” Wendy said as she hustled through the crowd trying to get outside as quickly as possible. “We almost were found out with all that moving you were doing.” Wendy grumbled and sighed in relief once they had made it safely outside the packed mall.
“Have you ever been stuffed into a little pocket before? It’s quite uncomfortable.” As soon as they made it onto the street, Black jumped out of Wendy’s pocket. “That’s better.” He said as he licked his paw. Black looked up at Wendy then. “The paint looks really nice on you. The human has truly transformed you into a business woman.” Wendy blushed at Black’s compliment.
“Thanks. I feel different too.” Wendy and Black walked side by side on their way to Mr. Johnson’s job. The plan was simple; Wendy would change her clothes at a café’s bathroom across the street from Mr. Johnson’s job. She would lounge around outside until she saw him and then walk across the street and pretend that she was talking on her phone. She’d say something like how she was happy that she was increasing her sales and would soon be number one on the business charts for their state. Black would be watching from across the street to see if there were any noticeable changes in Mr. Johnson’s attitude. The plan was perfect and easy to understand. When Wendy and Black made it into the café, she hurriedly rushed to the bathroom before anyone had enough time to greet her while Black remained outside.
“Thank God there’s nobody in here.” Wendy said once she made sure that nobody else was in the bathroom. She wanted to change quickly and in peace. Her nerves were racing throughout her body and she preferred to be alone whenever she got like that. She changed her clothes quickly and stuffed her normal clothes in the opaque bag that her new clothes came in. Coming out of the stall, she grabbed a rubber band out of her pocket and tied her hair up on top of her head. When she was done, she stared at herself in the mirror in awe. She didn’t look like the eighteen year old girl she normally looked like. At that moment she looked the part of a successful business woman.
“Let’s do this for the business women who were kidnapped.” Wendy said and walked out of the bathroom. She walked towards the front of the café and bought her a drink so that she’d be able to use their patio outside. Once she received her strawberry and crème Frappuccino, she made her way outside to Black.
“It took you long enough.” Black grumbled but said nothing else. His eyes were focused on the building across the street from them.
“I was barely in there for five minutes.” The way that Black was acting, five minutes could have easily had been five hours.
“Keep your eyes opened.” Black said and Wendy sighed. Black was able to look across the street without drawing any attention since he was a cat. Wendy on the other had had to use her peripheral vision in order to make sure that nobody found her suspicious. “There he is!” Black shouted and Wendy jumped in surprised. She looked over at the building and saw Mr. Johnson walking out. He looked exactly like the pictures that Black and Wendy had found on the Internet.
“I guess this is my cue.” Wendy said and stood up. Now that this was actually happening, she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t nervous.
“Go on. You can do this.” Black said and she nodded her head. She held the phone close to her ear, making sure to silence it just in case someone called her. With hesitant steps she made her way across the street.
“Yes, yes I will be number one in the best up and coming businesses in no time.” Wendy said using her best professional voice that she could muster. She turned her back to Mr. Johnson who stood at the curb as he waited for valet to bring his car to him. Wendy could feel his eyes burning a hole in the back of her head. “I have worked hard. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the top women going missing.” Wendy said as she still had her back to Mr. Johnson, she didn’t want to risk the chance of him recognizing her.
Black watched Mr. Johnson closely from across the street and noticed that he did throw worried glances over at Wendy. “That’s right; show me your true colors.” Black said as Mr. Johnson started to fidget. Whatever Wendy was saying, she did a great job in getting under his skin. There was no doubt in Black’s mind that Mr. Johnson was the kidnapper or at least that he had something to do with the women going missing. All they had to do now was to find out where the missing women were being held.
“Anyways, what’s the point of having a personal driver if you’re late?” Wendy said trying to mimic the way that rich people spoke on TV. “Hurry up and get here before you’re out of a job!” she pretended to end the call and faced forward. She could see Mr. Johnson walking over closer to her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Mr. Johnson stopped short once his car was finally brought around to him by the valet attendant.
“Sorry for the delay.” An older man said and handed Mr. Johnson his car keys.
“It’s not a problem. Keep up the good work.” Mr. Johnson handed over some money and walked around to the driver’s side of the door. He turned to look at Wendy one last time, but said nothing. A few moments later he was driving down the road.
“Can I help you ma’am?” The valet driver turned to Wendy and asked. She jumped in surprise.
“I’m sorry I was just waiting to cross the street.” Wendy blushed and looked both ways before crossing the street.
“You did well.” Black said once Wendy was standing in front of him. She frowned.
“That was nerve wrecking.” She said and shook her head. “Let’s go, I don’t feel comfortable here any longer.” As the two of them walked down the street and spoke about what had just occurred, neither one of them sensed the presence of the dark figure watching them from the shadows.
Chapter Five
During all of Wendy’s classes, she had a hard time concentrating on the lectures. She kept thinking about the missing women and the possibility that her best friend’s father was behind it all. This whole situation was unnerving to her. If Mr. Johnson was the culprit, she wouldn’t be able to forgive him for stooping down this low to impress a woman.
“Keith.” Wendy mumbled to herself. She remembered how worried Keith was about his father. Keith thought that there was a possibility that his father would go missing and Wendy couldn’t help but to grimace at that. “You wouldn’t have to worry about him being kidnapped if he was the one doing the kidnapping.” Wendy said under her breath. She sat there impatiently waiting for the class to let out. She and Black had more work to do at the dorm.
“Alright class, remember that your essays are due Wednesday.” The professor said as students began standing up to exit the classroom. Wendy collected her belongings and walked down the stairs.
“See you later Wendy!” a girl by the name of Ashley
called out to her as she was walking out of the door. Wendy mustered a grin and waved at her friend. She hoped that the investigation wrapped up quickly. She wanted to hang out with her friends again instead of going straight back to her room. Deciding that she wanted something other than the cafeteria food to eat, Wendy decided to go to a Subway which wasn’t that far from the campus.
“I’m hungry.” She said as her stomach growled in agreement. Wendy hoped that the line wasn’t incredibly long because she really didn’t feel like waiting to order her food. She made it to the restaurant and was happy to see that the Subway was practically empty other than the employees. It took them less than five minutes to prepare her food and she was out of the restaurant quicker than it had taken to come in and order.
“I finally get to sit down and do some real work.” Wendy mumbled and walked quickly down the street. She didn’t know why, but she almost felt like she was being watched and followed. Every time she turned around to see if someone was following her, she saw nothing. “I’m just thinking too much about the missing women. That’s why I’m a little paranoid.” Wendy kept telling herself, but the feeling refused to go away.
