I waited a few seconds to make sure Scarlett had well and truly gone, then settled myself on the floor with my legs tucked beside me and addressed the cats in their crates. “So, guys, what really happened?”
“Are you talking to us?” a fat tom cat mumbled, coming to the forefront of his crate and pressing his cheek against the bars.
“Seems if she wanted our help, she’d offer us a little something first,” a rail-thin cat with one missing eye suggested. He, however, remained huddled in the back corner of his cage.
“Yeah!” a fluffy long-haired cheered as he spun in mindless circles. “Help us help you here!”
“Okay,” I agreed casually. My dress clung to me tightly, making the floor-bound position incredibly uncomfortable, but still I persisted in my interrogation. “What do you guys want?”
“Let us out of here,” the skinny one-eye hissed. Apparently he was the cats’ representative now. His one green eye flashed at me dangerously. But his request didn’t seem too much to ask.
“If I let you out of the cages, will you give me answers?” I countered as I adjusted my legs to help circulate my blood flow in the restrictive garment.
Old one-eye crept forward and put a paw against the wire bars of his cage. “Sure, we’ll give you whatever answers you want, human. Now make with the opening these cages.”
I swallowed back a sigh and transitioned to my hands and knees to crawl the short way to the first of the crates. It was an awkward maneuver, but still easier than standing and kneeling.
I let the one-eyed boss cat out first, and he immediately shot past me to make a flying leap for Octo-Cat’s pride and joy, a one-hundred-and-forty-gallon freshwater fish tank. He jumped straight for it and hit it face first with a giant thwap!
“What’s with this invisible force field?” he grumbled as he picked himself up off the ground and made eyes at the offending glass.
“Let me guess,” I said, trying hard not to laugh. “Born a stray.”
“And I would have died a stray, too, if not for these do-gooding saps putting me behind bars!” His fur twitched in odd spasms and he eyed the fish tank woefully.
“They’re trying to get a home for you, so you can have a better life,” I explained. The cats knew that, didn’t they? The people who ran the shelter had good and kind hearts. I didn’t doubt that for a second, but I also knew just how hard it was to please a worked-up feline. My spoiled tabby was case in point.
“I had a good enough life back on the streets,” One-Eye hissed at me.
A new feline voice rose up in response. “Oh, hush up, Jinx. No one wants to hear your complaints… again.”
I searched the line of cages until I found the speaker, a sleek black cat with glowing golden eyes and a small white patch of fur on his chest.
I let him out next. “What’s your name?” I asked as he passed me with slow confident steps.
“It’s Mr. Fluffikins, and I was taken in by mistake. You see, I was on a top-secret mission and far from my home base in Georgia. I’d almost cornered our man when—”
“No one wants to hear your lunatic rants, Fluffikins,” the fat tom snapped. “Can it!”
Mr. Fluffikins growled but otherwise fell quiet as he paced the length of the room. He looked so determined, but I had no idea what he intended to accomplish while holed up here.
I left Fluffikins to his own thoughts. One by one, I continued to let the cats out of their cages. No one else made a run at Octo-Cat’s fish tank, but several made themselves comfortable on his fancy, custom-made silk cat bed. He would definitely not be happy about that. Still, it was a small price to pay if spoiling these cats a bit would get me the answers I sought. Besides, they’d all had pretty rough lives from what I could tell. They deserved a small taste of luxury as well as forever homes that would spoil them for all the rest of their nine lives.
“So,” I began casually now that everyone was free of their cages and had gotten some time to explore the room. “Did you see a young male human with longish dark hair in here earlier?”
“There were two humans watching over us, but one went home,” Jinx informed me, licking his paw and swiping it over his forehead with strange, jerky movements.
“Yes, but another human came in and fought with them a while ago,” I explained patiently. One of them had to have seen something. If I asked my questions in the right way, someone would have answers for me. They may even know the identity of Max’s killer. The motive, too. “His name was Max. Do you remember him?”
“A few other humans have come in tonight. Which one are you asking about?” the fat tom asked, coming over to sit at Jinx’s side.
“He was young, maybe early twenties. Dark, stringy hair.”
Jinx raised a paw. “Let me stop you right there and save us all some time. Yes, there have been humans in here, but honestly you guys all look the same. How am I supposed to know which one you’re talking about?”
I sighed. Yes, I’d gone through all of this when I first met Octo-Cat. He’d gotten much better at telling people apart now that he actually tried, but it made sense that the shelter cats hadn’t quite been initiated yet.
“I know who you’re talking about,” Mr. Fluffikins said, marching straight up to me. “His name was Max and he was here as a DJ. You agreed to give him $100.”
“Yes. That’s exactly right. Good kitty!”
He wrinkled his nose and scoffed at this. “Please don’t insult my intelligence.”
“Sorry, sorry, you’re right. It won’t happen again. So, um, what can you tell me about Max?”
Mr. Fluffikins’s eyes locked on mine. The golden irises appeared to swim with intelligence in a way that set him apart from other cats I’d met, including my own. “It is exactly as the other human, the one called Scarlett, told you, but with one notable difference.”
My heart picked up speed. Could this be it?
“Oh?” I said simply, trying to remain calm and steady so that he would tell me more.
“After he said he was getting paid, he asked her to go out on a date with her. Said he’d take her to the nicest restaurant on the bay and have the night of their lives. All while he wore this disgusting animal carcass as some kind of fashion statement.” Fluffikins shuddered. “Disgusting humans.”
“What did Scarlett say to that?”
“She tried to politely decline, but then the other guy who was in here—the one who went home—he got real angry when Max wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Ooh, this was getting good. “What did he do?”
Mr. Fluffikins chuckled. “He shoved him at the door and told him to never bother her again or else.”
Well, this definitely seemed like a promising lead. “Thank you, Mr. Fluffikins, you’ve been most helpful.”
“I know,” came his response before he began grooming his paw with a smirk.
“Right. I guess I should go get Scarlett back. Do you guys promise to be good if I let you stay out of your cages? I’ll tell Scarlett it’s all right.”
“Yes, we’ll be good,” Jinx said, his one eye narrowing at the closed door.
“And you won’t try to escape when I open the door,” I continued with a raised eyebrow.
No one said anything.
“Promise me,” I demanded, a hand on each hip.
“Fine. We promise,” Jinx agreed with a nod.
“Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.” I looked specifically at Mr. Fluffikins since none of the others had been able or willing to assist with my investigation. “Scarlett should be back soon. Be good until then. Bye for now.”
I twisted the doorknob, preparing to take my leave. I hadn’t even opened the door more than a few inches before Jinx shot past me and ran right out into the hall.
Bad kitty!