| |
We both stared at the bottom part of the broomstick. Something small was moving about in the twigs.
Stanley said, “If it’s a mouse, I’m going to be furious.”
“If it’s a mouse, I’ll let you deal with it,” I informed him.
The twigs moved again and a little ‘meow’ sounded out.
“A cat?” Stanley asked.
“More like a kitten.”
I moved quickly to the broomstick and got to my knees. I gently prised the twigs apart. I saw the creature. It was a kitten. I carefully freed it from the twig prison and gently held it in my hands.
Stanley trotted over. “How did he or she get in there?”
I lifted the kitten and discreetly looked where I needed to. “She. I’ve no idea how she got there. How long has she been stuck in there? Poor thing.”
The kitten was black all over apart from the bottom part of her legs which were snow white. She looked as if she’d been standing in a bowl of milk.
I held the shaking kitten closer and said to Stanley, “I wonder if she can understand us?”
“Try. Is she hurt?”
I used one finger to stroke the kitten’s head and I asked her, “Are you hurt in any way?”
The kitten’s voice was feeble as she replied, “Mummy? Where’s my mummy?”
Stanley blinked rapidly. “Her mummy? Cassia, she wants her mummy. Poor little thing.”
The kitten began to cry, and I felt my eyes welling up in sympathy.
I carefully examined her for any injuries and was relieved when I didn’t find any.
Stanley said, “Put her next to me. Perhaps I can calm her down.”
I did so, and the kitten stopped crying. She moved closer to Stanley and sniffed him. She whimpered, “Where’s my mummy? Have you seen her?”
Stanley shook his head. “We haven’t. But we will find her for you. What’s your name?”
The kitten stared blankly at Stanley.
Stanley looked at me and said, “I think she’s about six or seven weeks old. We have to find out where she came from. Her mum will be distraught. Could you use magic on her that might help us?”
I grimaced. “I wouldn’t dare. You know how badly some of my spells turned out. I don’t want to take the chance of hurting this little one. We can ask around the town about her.”
Stanley nodded. “I can ask Rascal and the gang.” He turned his attention back to the kitten. “I’m Stanley, and that’s Cassia. Do you know a cat called Rascal?”
The kitten looked confused and started to cry again.
Stanley moved closer to her. “Hey now, there’s no need to cry. Everything’s going to be okay. We’ll soon find your mummy. Are you hungry?”
The kitten stopped crying and gave Stanley a little nod.
I straightened up and said, “I’ll get her some cream.”
As I headed to the kitchen area, I heard Stanley soothing the kitten and telling her she was going to be back with her mummy soon.
I hoped Stanley was right. Where on earth had the little thing come from? And how long had she been in my broomstick?
I quickly poured some cream into a bowl and took it over to the kitten. I got to my knees and placed it in front of her.
The kitten moved slowly to the bowl and sniffed it. Her tiny pink tongue darted out and she put her head closer to the bowl. She was soon lapping it up.
Stanley lay on his front next to the bowl and watched her. He said, “She must be starving. Cassia, I’ll go out in a minute and find Rascal. He can put the word out about this little mite. Shall we give her a name?”
“I don’t know. It’s not our place to do so.”
“We can’t keep calling her a thing or ‘the kitten’.”
“I suppose we can give her a temporary name until we find her mum. What do you think?”
Stanley smiled at the kitten. “Something simple. Let’s call her Kitty for now. I know it’s not very imaginative, but I like it.”
“I like it too.”
We watched in silence as Kitty emptied the bowl. When she’d finished, she lay down and her eyes started to close. She muttered, ‘Mummy’ before falling asleep.
Stanley got to his feet and said, “I’ll go out now. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Thanks. I hope we find her mum soon.”
Stanley left the apartment through the cat flap. I stared at Kitty for a while. She was incredibly cute. My heart twisted at the thought of what her poor mum must be going through.
I stood up. I couldn’t sit here all day gazing at the cutie; I had work to do.
The murder that I’d solved the previous day had involved damaged books. The owner of the books, a bookworm called Basil, didn’t want the books back and so I’d kept them. The books were all about the supernatural creatures who lived in Brimstone and had been written by the elders of each species. I’d already started to look at some of the books and found them fascinating. They were full of interesting facts. It was like having Google in print form.
I went over to the bookshelf and located a book about centaurs. I put it on the table near the window and quickly made myself a cup of tea before sitting at the table. I had a good view of Kitty here, and she was still fast asleep.
I started reading the book. There were a lot of illustrations with many muscular, naked chests. I had no option but to look at them. There was a section on the early history of centaurs. As with other creatures, the original centaurs managed to upset some gods and had to be punished. The centaurs had a reputation for wild drinking and wild behaviour. There were examples of that, but I found it disturbing so skipped many parts.
As I flicked through the book, I came to the history of centaurs in Brimstone. There were quite a few families who’d settled here including the Cezerus family. It seems they’d been in conflict with another family ever since they came to Brimstone. The other family were called Oravatus. There was mention of the yearly race too. The book had been updated two years ago and showed Selo Cezerus as the winner at the time of print.
I made some notes as I read. I wished the author of the book had given more information on the rivalry between the Cezerus family and the Oravatus one, and why it had started in the first place. It could be relevant to Selo’s murder.
I finished flicking through the book and then looked at my notes. I needed to speak to a member of the Oravatus family and to find out more about the rivalry issue. Also, I had to find out more about Selo and who he’d upset recently. I nodded to myself. I could do that. Luckily for me, I’m a naturally nosy person and I like asking questions. Being a justice witch gave me free rein to do that.
Kitty stirred and lifted her head. She looked my way and said, “Mummy?”
I went over to her and scooped her up. “Not yet. Stanley is looking for her. He’ll be back very soon.”
“Stanley?” She looked confused.
“My cat. The one with the grey fur?”
Kitty’s mouth moved into a smile. “Stanley. I like Stanley. He smells nice.”
“I like him too. I’m Cassia.” I pulled her little body to my chest.
Kitty let out a tiny purr and snuggled closer to me. “Cassia. I like Cassia. You smell nice too.”
“Would you mind if we called you Kitty?”
She nodded. “I like Kitty. It sounds funny.”
I knew I had work to do, but I couldn’t resist spending time with this adorable creature. I sat on the sofa and placed Kitty on my lap. I stroked her head and she purred. I decided to sing Kitty some of my favourite songs. To my delight, she purred louder. It was nice to have someone who appreciated my singing.
And that’s what I was doing when Stanley returned.
