“Yes,” he said. “Cats and prostitutes. You are both.”
“I'm a business woman,” the feline said. She took the coin and put it into her bra. He snorted softly. He turned when he heard kits mewing. She glanced in that direction and then turned, looking in a side room. She murmured something and purred softly before she turned back to him.
“You are right, it is a Neo killer. Someone here is a traitor in our midst. The humans aren't interested in the killer though,” she said.
“Yes, I'd gathered that. Not until the killer escalated to killing humans too.”
“Pinks, always in it for their own kind,” the cat sniffed in disgust. “That figures,” she yowled slightly.
“The last two vic's were foxes. An arctic fox and another named Tracy,” he said.
Her eyes went wide and slitted. He watched her react, first in shock and then grief. Her ears went flat and she looked away. A black paw wiped at an eye. Sometimes he hated it that humans had given them the ability to cry. He sighed.
“Yes, Tracy... I thought she'd done good. Gone now,” the cat sighed. “How?”
“One had her throat slit, the other was torn apart. I'm not sure, but I think the killer was tearing Tracy apart when her friend walked in on it. She ran and her killer chased her down.”
“Yes, a dog would do that. Once you run they instinctively chase you,” she said.
“But the killer of the Neo cubs is a cat.”
“How do you know that?” she asked in surprise.
“We exhumed the body,” Nohar said quietly. Her ears went flat and she hissed softly. “Yes, that's right, we did. I did. I had to know, and the river and train killings were useless. The humans didn't care but I do.”
“How,” she asked.
“Cemetery.”
“No, you fool! How did he die?” she asked.
“Skull crushed, neck snapped. Sabre canine teeth marks in the skull. It was savage. No other damage to the body. The humans had thought he'd fallen head first.”
“Stupid humans, a cat always lands on his feet,” the feline yowled.
“Which I caught onto right away,” Nohar said, flicking his ears and tail. She sniffed.
“Good for you.”
“But not for the community, I need to know if they are linked. If there have been other bodies. Other disappearances of people, our people.”
“Dozens,” the cat finally said, sinking onto the edge of the bed. She groomed her shoulder. “Dozens and dozens actually, my kits are the few left here. I just had them a few days ago.”
“And now they are targets,” Nohar breathed. “All the kits?”
She nodded. “Just about. One by one, we thought some had gotten into trouble with the humans, or gotten themselves killed sticking their nose where it didn't belong. Or run off to a better life. Now though...”
“Now it's something else.”
“Yes,” she murmured, fingers grooming her side.
A thought came to him, he was surprised she was taking customers so soon after giving birth. No cat liked having a male around newborns. That brought forth a painful memory to the surface, one he ruthlessly suppressed for now. “Any ideas? Do you know for how long this has been going on?”
She looked up at him briefly and then to the door where the kits were. He could hear them softly purring in their sleep. She shook herself, grooming her tail to hide her distress. “I... yes, A few years now. At first a few, we didn't think much of it. I myself thought the kits had found some dangerous new game to play. But the other kits didn't say anything about it. Each of the kits disappeared alone, or once or twice a pair. We told them to buddy but it was no use.”
“Curiosity?” Nohar asked. He knew a kit was ever curious. The old saying about curiosity and cats ran through his feline mind once more.
“A lure you mean? It's possible. We try to drill it into their heads to be careful, to not leave the crèche area, to not go after strange things or to talk to strangers but...” she sighed.
“And in your line of work...” Nohar sighed. “Any other things?”
“The cheetah have been dying off. They were the first. Some of us fled, a few of them did. Or so we thought.”
Nohar nodded. He made a mental note to track down any cheetah. This didn't seem to be panning out. He flicked his tail again in agitation.
“Anyone acting strange? Out of sorts? Weird predatory looks to the young?” he asked. She shook her head. “Anyone you would think could do this?”
“No,” she murmured.
“Anything at all,” he asked, almost desperately as he reaching for her. She flinched.
“Don't, um,” the female sighed.
He retracted his hand, letting it fall to his side. He'd been trying to get her attention, pet her to calm her distress. “I'm not here for sex remember. You aren't my type. Sorry, no offense,” Nohar sighed. He showed her his badge. She stared at it. “You want my advice? Take the credits you've got, bundle the kits up and get on the next train or boat out of here. north, away from this.”
“I...”
“It's for their safety as much as your own,” he said indicating the kits in the back room. She nodded slowly, eyes still downcast.
“Do you know of anyone I can talk to? Leaders in the area?”
She shook her head. “All gone, the cat clans are in disarray. The dogs are taking over now,” she said.
“All right, I'll look into it more. Thanks,” he said, passing her another coin. She took it, looking up in surprise but he was already leaving.
“Thanks,” he heard her murmur as he brushed aside the curtain door and back out into the light of day.
...*...*...*...*...
He checked in with a couple of the venders, always giving them a bit more for their wares then needed. That got them over their initial hostility, and people being people, they talked a little. Not the free gossip they usually did amongst themselves, but enough for him to confirm that the deaths had started several years ago, starting with the cheetah and lion cubs, and then spiraling out from there. Dogs weren't on the menu just yet it seemed, but a few here and there had gone missing. Now they were more wary, keeping a watch of their people and territory. The schnauzer nodded his chin to a wary mastiff watching them talk. Nohar nodded. “Good, good for you folks.”
He tried to check in with the otters and other Neo's but none would talk with him. He finally gave up as the sun started to sink on the horizon and headed for the bus stop. He had to go back to the hotel and do some thinking.
...*...*...*...*...
One of the first things he did, that was, after he got comfortable, was check the computer for other victims. His laptop identified quite a few deaths from suspicious circumstances, all fitting the parameters he'd set. He'd left the filters pretty loose, he didn't want to let anything loose that might be a critical tidbit.
He set the problematical accidental listing aside to focus on the murders though, it was best to see which fit the profile. Some of the victims were killed with a knife or had their neck snapped, one had his throat ripped out by something that wasn't a blade, but the body had been torn up to cover up whatever had been used as the killing blow. The police of course weren't saying anything, but they seemed to be highly suspicious of Nohar. He could understand why, and glanced out the window of his room. Sure enough there was a human cop standing across the street watching his room. It annoyed him that they were doing this, wasting manpower and resources on him. He thrashed his tail for a moment before he gave that up as wasted effort.
He eliminated two deaths, both had the killers caught right after the killing, both killers had confessed. One had been a lover's quarrel, another had caught his so called mate in bed with another being. That was amusing, just about everyone knew Neo females and of course Neo males were as promiscuous as all hell. Of course neither gender wanted to admit it, and boy did they climb onto a high horse when the opposite side got caught. Caught in the act was even uglier.
&nbs
p; He tuned that thought out and focused on the unsolved murders. Most of the victims were homeless or prostitutes, so of course there wasn't a large need to solve the crime. No victims to mourn them and keep the heat to the flat foot's feet. He felt a bit bitter over that.
After a while he stopped and wrote a quick script program to have the computer plot the murders by number on a copy of the map file he'd scanned in the library. He watched as the map began to be populated by numbered bookmarks and then set his head back against the pillow, closing his eyes to doze for a little while.
...*...*...*...*...
A knock at the door woke him. He went to it to find the cat there. “Phone call,” she said, jerking her head to the lobby. He sighed and gathered his stuff and followed her out.
“Who from?” he asked.
“Magnum,” she said, flicking her ears. “He's tense,” she said as they got to the lobby. She opened the half door to get behind the counter and then put the phone up on the counter.
“We've got another vic Tigger,” Magnum said without preamble. Nohar sighed in frustration. “Where?” he asked.
“North Hootersville and Darwin's curse crossing. About a block from the train station. I'll...”
“I've got a map. I'll meet you there,” Nohar growled hanging up.
“Another one?” the feline asked, not looking up. Nohar sighed.
“Yes.”
“Go get em. Put em in the dirt,” she hiss spat.
“I'll do that,” he growled, and went to the scene.
...*...*...*...*...
At the scene he found Magnum standing under a street light, arms crossed. Nohar looked over to his shoulder, sure enough his tail was there, following him. Magnum looked over his shoulder as well and snorted.
“Well, they can take you off the suspect list now,” he said.
“Yeah well, don't bet on it,” Nohar sighed as Draskin and his Asian partner approached. Nohar turned and pointed to his tail. The human who had been tailing him flinched as if he'd been caught in a spot light. Draskin stopped short and then scowled blackly at the man. “See him first,” Nohar growled.
“Sitrep?” Nohar asked, looking at the human PI as Draskin passed him. The Asian detective sighed and took out his notebook.
“Another feline prostitute. Female, domestic but with spots. Recently had a litter... which isn't around. Some bits of fur,” Magnum replied, pointing.
“Shit,” Nohar breathed, left hand paw going to cover his face. “Wearing a skirt? About a hundred centimeters tall? Brown?” he asked.
“You know the vic?” Magnum asked.
“I spoke with her earlier. She didn't have much to say. Scared shitless. She said she was the last Neofeline with cubs in the city. I gave her some money and told her to get the hell out of town.”
“It doesn't seem like she took your advice very well,” the cop said.
“I dunno about that,” Magnum said, pointing down the street. “Go that away, hang a left and you are at the train station.”
“The question is, did someone stalk her? Or did they do it because I talked to her?” Nohar asked as he looked over his shoulder to Draskin. The man was waving his arms and looked fit to be tied.
“What do you mean he hasn't left his hotel room!?” he snarled.
“Well, that'll take you off the suspect list,” O'shee said.
“He could have done it earlier!” Draskin growled, stomping over to them.
“Give it a rest Bobby, I told you I'd vouch for him. Besides, it's never that cut and dried and you know it.”
“I can wish,” Draskin growled. “And what'd I say about you calling me...” Magnum snorted, hands up in surrender.
“Fine, detective Draskin,” Nohar growled, looking at the human with cold eyes. “For the record, I was in the Neo area for a time. Tom and I split up, he went to check his contacts, I went to try to make some in the Neo area. I was hoping for a lead but I didn't get many.”
“They won't talk to us at all,” O'shee said.
“Because you usually don't give a shit,” Nohar said eying the junior detective. “Or you give them the back of the hand. So they keep their heads down, or try to do so. A cop means trouble. If someone talks it marks them out as an informant, which then makes it harder on them. No one will talk to them, they'll black list them.”
“Tough,” Draskin muttered.
“Besides, as you said, you could give a rats ass about a Neo death,” Nohar said. “It's the human ones you care about. Got to get that check mark to look good in the papers and pass the next review,” he growled.
“You really are riding for a fall,” Draskin snarled, fists clenched.
“I'm just saying it as it is,” Nohar said, eying him. “But as your tail confirmed, I went back to the hotel and crashed to process the data I had.”
“Data.”
“On all the deaths, I was working on charting them when I got the call,” he said with a shrug. “Usually a killer starts in his comfort zone and spirals outward. I haven't checked it though.”
“You have a computer?” O'shee asked, looking at the bag. Nohar nodded. “With...”
“With a forensics package. I am a private detective you know,” Nohar said, pulling the laptop out. He tapped the power button and waited for the screen to clear. After a moment he frowned. “This isn't very accurate, I'm only judging it on the unsolved cases in the paper, not the missing persons, or suspicious deaths. But you can see a pattern here,” he said, turning the laptop. “Which I don't like to see, but I was expecting it.” He pointed to the numbers forming a circle. “X marks the spot,” he said, pointing to the center of the circle... right on Morey town.
“So?” Draskin snorted.
“So, it means the killer started there. And as you pointed out, they won't talk to you. So...”
O'shee's eyes went wide. “Which means the killer is a Neo.”
“We already knew that!” Draskin snarled.
“And I just confirmed it again,” Nohar said. He turned the laptop back around and had it pull up the accidental deaths and then map them onto the map as well. Dots of a different color started to populate the map like mushrooms.
“Here are the accidental deaths. I'm betting only a few are legit accidents. I was going to filter them out, but...” he pointed again. Again the circle, again around Morey town.
“So...”
“So, we know the killer is in Morey town. But no one is talking. It's a case of the monkey's, no one heard anything, saw anything, and definitely won't say anything,” Magnum said. “Anything else?”
Nohar glanced his way and then shrugged. “Yeah, four classes there, Neo cats were the biggest, but had the smallest population. Neo dogs were second. Otters had the biggest population but they aren't violent. The last is the genies and mixed bag. There is some cross over, but most of the time the various clans take care of their own. This started in the cat clan. It was suspected that it was a clan war, but that never happened.”
“Why?”
“Because they weren't involved.”
“How did you... how did they know?” O'shee asked.
Nohar tapped the side of his nose. “The nose knows. From what I gathered, no one smelled a dog at any of the accidents. Since most of the early vics were cats...”
“It's a cat.”
“Right. And since most of the cats are jaguar or lion...”
“It's one of them.”
“It could be a cougar, but I doubt it. Definitely not a cheetah, I'm leaning to lion.”
“Why rule the cheetah out? And why the lion?” Draskin asked, now genuinely curious.
“Because of the skull and because the first victims were consistently cheetah cubs and young adults. Lions hate cheetah, it's a thing going back to before uplift. I don't know why, I don't think they do. They just see a gangly cheetah and think kill. Which makes me see...”
“A lion as the killer.”
“It's been known to happen before. Just about every s
pecies including man has its' dark side,” O'shee said.
“Magnum, you are doing this pro bono. Why?” Draskin said, turning on Magnum.
Nohar blinked in surprise. This was news to him.
Magnum frowned and then spread his hands. “You know why Bobby,” he said softly. “Tracy, she was a friend. She passed me intel off and on.”
“A Confidential Informant,” O'shee said with a nod.
“Yeah, she was a good kit, not just as a source, but as a good person. I saw her first time, helping out at the mission and in the homeless shelter down the street on Broadway,” Magnum said. “She was my friend.”
“Did you know her daughter disappeared as well?” Draskin asked.
“She's with me. I've got her stashed someplace safe,” Magnum admitted.
“You... and you didn't...”
Magnum spread his hands again. “You didn't talk to me. It's a two way street you know. Besides, she doesn't know anything,” he sighed in disgust. “Her mother didn't have any enemies, but she did talk to her on the phone, she said something about feeling like she was being followed. That happened the other night.”
“The night she was killed,” O'shee asked. Magnum nodded. “Damn.”
“So the vic knew, or felt she was being stalked. But she didn't go into a public place. She thought it was a hallucination?” Nohar mused, rubbing his chin. “Or did she know the stalker but didn't say because she did? Did she lower her guard?”
“I don't know,” Magnum sighed. “I wish I did.”
“We all do. The thing is, we all need to work together on this. Look you two,” Nohar said, looking at the humans. “We're in this together. Yes, Magnum and I are civies, but we're sleepers with training and assets and contacts you lack,” he said. His eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the vic. He saw the blood splattered tied dyed skirt before a coroner covered it with a bag. He scowled.
“He's right,” Magnum said, looking over his shoulder to the victim and then back. “We can't be counterproductive anymore. The point is to catch this guy before he kills again. You two can have all the credit. I don't care. I want this guy found and brought to justice,” he said firmly.
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