Detective Trigger: Books 1-6

by M. A. Owens

  I hung up the phone, smiling so hard my face hurt. “Lieutenant, would you do the honors?”

  He stood up, dropping his ropes to the floor. When Peach saw it, I wasn’t sure what would hit the floor first, Petey’s rope or her chin.

  Petey pulled a set of cuffs from his pocket. “Peach, you’re under arrest.”

  26

  Petey and I ended up missing that title fight, but it turns out old Fire Claws nabbed the title. The applause, I’m told, was deafening. Leave it to this job to make a dog miss history in the making just one floor up. But while history was being made just one floor above us, we were preventing it from repeating itself on the floor below.

  It would’ve been an excellent opportunity to show Petey around Adria, but the only tour of Adria he was getting was inside Adria’s ACPD headquarters with Buddy. Patches got involved too. Apparently, he was quite unhappy with the ace detective. It was several days before Petey could return to the Black District, but I attempted to catch up with him when he got back just to see if he survived the chief and made it out in one piece. Or that’s what I’d planned to do until I stopped by the bank to make a withdrawal, only to find that they had frozen my account. I wasn’t a rich dog by any means, but putting your life on the line for your numerous past cases had at least one silver lining. Most of it went toward rebuilding my office when Marty, one of Mr. B’s thugs, burned it to the ground when he tried to kill me. Still, I had a cool two grand left over. Enough to cover rent on my apartment and the payroll for a long time.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Trigger. The account’s frozen and I can’t access it. It says in your account information that under no circumstances can the account be restored.”

  I sighed. No point being angry at the clerk. Wasn’t her fault. Besides, I had a feeling I knew exactly what happened. In fact, I was ashamed for not seeing it coming and getting everything out before now. I read the paper this morning and saw the headlines. Big scandal made the front page. First Bank of Adria executive arrested. I headed back over to Adria and into the bank headquarters, where Ben met me at the door.

  “You know, I’ve been given strict orders not to let you into the building.”

  “And?” I added.

  “And… I hope you won’t make me regret disobeying them.”

  “Nah, it’s fine. Things like this don’t really surprise me anymore. I just had a couple small stacks of cash he missed is all. Wanted to return them to him in person.” I held up two stacks of one-dollar bills, and we got into the elevator, heading up to Herman’s floor. I nodded to him before seeing myself off.

  I walked to the end of the hallway, and this time I didn’t knock. Herman was having a meeting with some dog I’d never met before. “Kinda have an appointment with Mr. Herman here. I need you to take a hike,” I said.

  “It’s alright. Give Trigger and I a few minutes in private.”

  The dog left, and I sat down. “You’re welcome,” I said.

  Herman broke out into almost maniacal laughter. “I’m welcome. I’m welcome, am I? You saw the paper this morning. Do you have any idea how many accounts have already been canceled?”

  I shrugged. “I only know of the one.”

  “Consider yourself lucky that I don’t sue you into homelessness. I just wanted to teach you a lesson. You could hire a lawyer to fight me, I suppose, but with what money? But if it makes you feel any better, you cost me a lot more than I cost you. Maybe you should just quit while you’re ahead.”

  I stood up and reached into my coat. Herman flinched, but relaxed a little when he saw the two stacks of cash I pulled out.

  “You know what, maybe you’re right. Maybe this time I’ll quit while I’m ahead. Going to be honest with you, I planned on coming in here and throwing these two wads of cash in your face as hard as I could manage just to make myself feel better. But I think I have a clear picture of what’s going on here. Considering the fallout, I’m guessing you had some idea of where that money was going when you hired me. You were just willing to sweep it under the rug, because you knew the fallout would be worse. Unless, of course, I could solve the case with none of it getting to the police or the press. That turned out to be impossible, but I think you knew that.”

  I took a couple steps forward, and placed the cash gently on his desk. “So, there you go. That was stuffed under my mattress. Maybe you’ll sleep better tonight knowing you took it all. You have no idea what you almost unleashed on the city, when you could’ve stopped it all by yourself a long time ago.”

  I gritted my teeth as he just stared at me. “But you didn’t, because you’re a dirty, lying, greasy, greedy scum bucket. Have yourself a fine day.”

  Herman just stared down at his desk, and I couldn’t tell if he wanted to slap me or if he actually felt guilty. Either way, he wasn’t my problem anymore. I’d been broke before. In fact, I spent the better part of my time in the Black District behind on rent and barely keeping the lights on. You learn after a while that when the dust settles, and you have all the money in the world, the only thing you can’t buy back is your mistakes, and as long as there were good dogs and cats in the city who felt the same way, maybe we really stood a chance. Maybe we really could make the city a fair and just place for everyone to live. Only time would tell.

  27

  After getting a night’s sleep in my apartment to help get my head on straight, I headed over to the Black District ACPD. I didn’t want to bother Petey with my predicament, one part because I honestly didn’t care all that much, at least not yet, and also because I suspected Petey was dealing with some problems of his own.

  When I stepped in, it surprised me to find that Lulu wasn’t her usual, chipper self. Lulu was always such a genuine force of positive energy, and that kind of energy wasn’t possible to fake. Though, she did try faking it.

  “Heya, Private T. The boss is in there cleaning up his desk if you want to surprise the old hound and cheer him up a bit.”

  “That bad, eh?”

  “Don’t know. He won’t say. Probably best you ask him yourself.”

  I nodded, heading through the hallway and down to Petey’s office. I knocked on the door, and he waved me in.

  “How you holding up, pal?” I asked.

  He grinned. “Great. The boss was so happy with what I did that he’s giving me an extended vacation until further notice.”

  I frowned. “You mean that you’ve been placed on administrative leave. Sorry, Petey… for dragging you into–”

  He laughed. “Come on, Trigger. You and I are a lot alike. We never get dragged into things we don’t want to get dragged into. I knew there would be consequences, and regardless of what the ultimate outcome is, I’d make the same decision again a thousand times over. Ten thousand times even, because I’m that sure what we did was the right thing to do. It was an honor, my friend.”

  “Petey… the honor was all mine,” I finally said..

  I turned to leave and almost made it to the door before Petey called out to me.

  “Hey, I believe you’re forgetting something.”

  He tossed the duffel bag of cash on the desk. “Turns out we can’t trace this cash. No surprise. It’s past the time for it being claimed, so congratulations. You found it. That means it’s yours.”

  This was my last chance to keep the money. I knew full well I would need it before long, especially after what Herman did to my account. I was essentially broke, but that wasn’t Petey’s problem, and I wasn’t about to tell him. If the city was going in the direction I thought it was going, the boys in blue were going to be in desperate need of the resources soon. I turned around and stared at it for a long while, before slowly shaking my head. “Consider it an anonymous donation to the department.”

  “You know, I thought you might say that. So, since I’m already in hot water, I’ve got another present. You’re not allowed to refuse this one.”

  He reached out from behind his desk and sat another box next to the money. “Go ahead. Open it.�
��

  I opened it, and staring back at me was one of the shiny new shock sticks, or stun batons as they were technically called. One of the new models, better than my old one, which didn’t work anymore anyway. I picked it up and pressed the button on the side. Nothing. Of course.

  “Thanks! Mind if I ask why they made them so short, and am I pressing this button wrong?”

  “Hold it tight and give it a swing.”

  I did, and the baton extended out to about three times the length, quite a bit longer than the old one. I pressed the button and still didn’t hear any noise. I reach my other paw around and started to touch the end of the stick.

  “Whoa! I wouldn’t do that if I were you. New models are silent. It lacks the intimidation of the noise, but it gives you the option of being stealthy. It works whether you extend it or not, and it only stuns on the tip now.”

  I tossed the stick up in the air and caught it in my paw. “Thank you very much, Petey.”

  He nodded. “Got an update about Saint, too. No surprise, he offered up Chancey on a silver platter. Like always, the top boss keeps their own paws clean while dirtying up everyone else’s. He claimed he had no idea what Chancey was up to, and trusted that he was getting their funding through honest means. He promised to be more careful in the future. And… that’s it. He won’t be getting any more funding from the First Bank of Adria, so without funding, maybe we’ve heard the last of him.”

  “Ha! A cat like Saint? No, we haven’t heard the last of him. Not by a long shot.” I looked at my watch. “Crap. I better get going. I’m going to be late!”

  “New client already?”

  “After all that? Not a chance. I need a few days to decompress and Lily invited me over for dinner.”

  “Well, what are you waiting for then? Don’t make me kick you out.”

  “Won’t be necessary. See you around, Petey.”

  I rushed out of the office and started making my way toward the Rose Garden Estates. Though, if I was going to make it on time, I’d have to get creative with the shortcuts. I had to get out of my comfort zone and try some lesser known residential streets. Besides, the district was a lot safer these days, so I didn’t have to worry as much about getting mugged on the way. About halfway there, I took a detour down the first street I suspected to be a straight shot for the estates, confident it would save some valuable time. But I still couldn’t help myself to slow down and take in the sights. I’d never been down this street before and I had to say, it wasn’t half-bad looking. Not as nice as the Rose Garden, sure, but there were actual houses, small as they may be. One of them even had an impressive garden out back.

  Just as I was about to head out of sight, I saw something suspicious out of the corner of my eye. A cat, holding an armful of carrots and still pulling up more. She kept looking up and around, and her body language told me this definitely wasn’t her garden, and those definitely weren’t her vegetables. I stopped for a moment, feeling like I had something on the edge of my mind trying to jump out at me, something I just couldn’t quite remember.

  Then, I heard a shout coming from inside the house, as the door swung open. “Hey, stop!” Startled, I looked up, and the first thing that caught my eye was the street sign. You’ve got to be kidding me… Plum Street! The mysterious vegetable thief was real after all!

  The cat took off but I was quick to intercept them, tackling them before they made it into their own house. The old dog caught up with us shortly after, and looked me up and down, even more surprised to see me there than the cat.

  “Detective? Detective Trigger? But how did you…” the old dog stammered.

  I started to explain, but all I could do was laugh. “Give the ACPD a call. Tell them Trigger is holding your vegetable thief at your address, and to send someone over to pick them up.”

  He nodded, running into his house to make the call. The cat I was holding down was on the older side of life and wisely chose not to put up a fight. What a day! This was the first time I’d solved a case before I officially started it. I was going to be late to dinner with Lily, but telling her this story was going to more than make up for it.

  Maybe this job wasn’t so bad after all.

  Epilogue

  “Tell me I didn’t hear you correctly,” Kerdy scolded the cat standing in front of her. “Take a deep breath and say it slower this time.”

  “We’re short one on weapon inventory!” The brown cat panted. “We’re missing a Model X-12.”

  Kerdy crossed her arms, and began tapping a claw on her elbow as she paced. She looked down toward the floor, instead of the cat who had been speaking to her.

  “Check again, Mira.” she finally said.

  “I’ve checked a dozen times. It’s definitely missing.”

  Kerdy quickly stepped over and grabbed Mira, pulling her nose to nose. “You have this position because you’ve never ‘lost’ anything. Your weapon isn’t ‘missing’. Who was it assigned to last? I know you’ve checked the log.”

  “It was assigned to Saul,” Mira squeaked. “But… but he checked it in.”

  Kerdy released her grip on Mira and looked to another cat in the room. “Arn, check with the patrol master. Find out where Saul is and have him report to me now.”

  The gray tabby nodded with enthusiasm and burst out the door, without a word.

  “I shouldn’t have trusted him to check in his weapon without verifying myself. I’m sorry…”

  Kerdy shook her head. “Stop. I don’t want to hear you sniffling and snotting, feeling sorry for yourself.”

  “You’re right,” Mira replied, taking one big sniff and going quiet.

  The two shared a long silence as Kerdy paced back and forth again.

  After several minutes, Arn burst back into the room with another cat, a short calico who darted her eyes around nervously.

  Arn placed his paw on her back and gently guided her forward a few steps. “This is Saul’s sister. She ran up to me as soon as I started asking the others about him.” He looked to the calico. “It’s alright. Tell Kerdy what you told me.”

  “It’s about Saul. He’s been acting strange lately, sneaking out for days and not telling anyone where he’s been. After he got back from assigned patrol duty yesterday, he stopped by the armory and came home. He was in such a rush, and barely spoke two words to me before he stuffed his backpack with some supplies and was out the door again. I was worried, so I followed him. I followed for a while, and then…” She paused and took a deep breath and seemed to hold it.

  “Keep talking,” Kerdy said, sternly. “And then?”

  She let out the breath, her eyes becoming moist. Her voice cracked, as she continued. “He entered Arc City, and I ran back as fast as I could, hoping he had been given a mission there like Lady had, but he wasn’t! Please don’t kill my big brother.”

  Kerdy narrowed her eyes at the calico, then looked to Arn.

  “I’ll handle it,” Arn said, stepping over to the wall and picking up a sword that was leaning against it.

  Kerdy raised a paw. “No, you won’t. I will.”

  Everyone in the room seemed to catch on their breath. Arn stopped in his tracks and tilted his head. “I thought you said you were never going back there, and Lady could rot in Arc City prison for all you cared.”

  “She can!” Kerdy snapped. “If she can’t break out of such an outdated confinement she deserves what she gets, especially after she dragged her feet getting the Grand Gobbler to the point I had to check on her, then failed the mission anyway. Prison there, or prison here. Who cares?” She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Anyway… this requires an exception. I will go myself.”

  “I promise I will not fail you,” Arn said, snapping his back straight and holding his sword in front of him. “Let me prove my worth.”

  Kerdy shook her head. “Unnecessary. Besides, I’m only going to the city myself. I won’t be tracking Saul after I get there. I think finding this rogue cat is better suited to a resident of
the city. One in particular.”

  Mira stepped in front of Kerdy, her mouth agape. “You can’t be serious. This is far too important to leave to one of those simpletons. I’ll go with Arn. We’ll retrieve the X-12 in no time.”

  “And Saul,” Arn chimed in. “He has a lot to answer for. This is no minor crime.”

  Kerdy gave Mira a push, sending her stumbling backward several steps. “Did I ask for your input? Or yours, Arn?” She paused a moment, a grin slowly creeping on her lips. “Besides, this city resident is someone I’ve met, and he’s more formidable than I gave him credit for. He was able to track me down while I was there, and even managed to sabotage Lady. He knows the city well, and will be able to track down Saul quicker than any of us could.”

  “This mercenary must be impressive indeed, if you put your trust in him. What is this warrior’s name?”

  Kerdy took another step toward Mira, who flinched, and gave her a gentle pat on the head. “Not a mercenary, Arn. I’m going to hire a private detective.”

  1

  Of all the things that have tried, of all the things that had almost succeeded, it seemed like this doggone heat was going to be what finally killed me. My rear end was sticking to my chair like a cheap sticker, and I was afraid it was going to peel off about as well. The fan I had sitting on the corner of my desk was doing its best, pushing the motor to its physical limit, but the price I paid for that was a painful shrieking, ringing sound that was nearly, very nearly, as bad as the heat. My only comfort was the cold drink on my desk that was sweating almost as much as I was, leaving a puddle of water making a mess beneath and all around it, much to my secretary Zelda’s polite annoyance.

  The phone rang, but I barely heard it over the blasted fan, roaring and shrieking for all it was worth and then some. I dreaded turning it off when Zelda transferred the call, which I knew was inevitable.