made her feel unaccountably appreciated. Heading back into the lounge, she curled up on the sofa with her new laptop and began going through websites on statistical analysis.
After about fifteen minutes the cat walked in, but Nisa did not notice until the animal was curling up against her legs as though this was the natural place to sit. Nisa looked down at the cat, and the cat peered at the computer screen before turning green eyes on Nisa.
‘Have you got a name?’ Nisa asked. She got a meow back. ‘Yeah, but I can’t call you that. I mean, I’d probably pronounce it wrong. I mean, your last owner had to call you something.’ Which got her another meow, about the same as the first one. ‘Thanks. Well, I’m not giving you another name. You’re Cat until I get you back where you belong, okay?’
Cat rubbed her head against Nisa’s leg and then settled her chin on her paws. Nisa decided that that was an instruction to get back to work, so she did.
Westminster, June 23 rd .
‘What has Mrs Carew done to attract your attention?’ Kellog asked as they sat in the small lounge reserved for lunch in the Rabbit Hole. They had spent the last four hours in something which Nisa took to be a conference room since it came with a huge, wall-mounted TV and a long table. They had studied police procedures. It had been boring, but Nisa had felt she should concentrate because she did not want to screw up in the future.
‘I think I’ve got her cat,’ Nisa replied.
‘Explain.’
The man gave a new meaning to terse. ‘A cat followed me home Saturday night. Black cat, bright green eyes. I think it’s a pedigree one, but no collar and no name tag. Must be someone’s. So I checked Battersea and Limehouse Station, and then I checked the local supermarket and the guy there said that a woman named Jenny Carew used to buy cat food there and hadn’t for a couple of weeks. It’s a long shot and I know it’s not exactly what the PND is for, but–’
‘We need you to help investigate supernatural crimes and incidents,’ Kellog interrupted. ‘Starting with something mundane is good training. You’ve begun well, and I’ll let you look up Mrs Carew to continue that line, but you’ve missed an option which is worth considering if this lead doesn’t pan out.’
‘What option?’ Kellog just looked at her, which obviously meant she was supposed to work it out for herself. She frowned. The woman on the phone at Battersea had said something… She might find the owner if the cat had been… ‘A chip! The cat might have been chipped.’
Kellog gave her a nod. ‘Any vet should be willing to scan for it if you take the cat in. If there is a chip, they should be able to get you the owner’s address. We’ll check the Carew woman after lunch. Hanson would skin you alive if she caught you eating in the computer room.’
Somehow Nisa did not think he was being figurative. ‘What’s on the menu after that? More procedures?’
‘Something more esoteric. You’ll be learning about Bugs. And when your lunch is firmly settled, we’ll be doing judo.’
‘You’re going to teach me to fight?!’
‘I’m going to teach you how to avoid getting killed,’ Kellog replied flatly.
~~~
Jennifer Anne Carew had no criminal record, but she was in the PND, specifically, the record of her death was in there since she had lived alone, died in her home, and it had been three days before the body was discovered. There had been a routine investigation, but the autopsy had concluded the death was natural causes. She had been eighty-three and her heart had given out.
‘So, she’s dead,’ Kellog said. ‘What now?’
‘Well… It could still be her cat, but if it is, she’s not going to tell me. I’ll… go over there and talk to her neighbours. Maybe they’ll recognise the description.’
Kellog gave a nod. ‘I’d suggest getting the ID chip checked as well.’ As far as Nisa could tell, that was about as high as praise got from
Louis Auchincloss, Thomas Auchincloss