Meow

by Skye MacKinnon

  I’m almost ready to go when I open the bottom doors of a pretty wooden cabinet. Inside is a fridge. What the hell… Why hide it in a cupboard? There’s another, larger fridge on the other end of the room, but that one was empty. This one, however, isn’t.

  Some people would scream. Others would stagger back in shock. Me? I take the bloody hand and inspect it curiously. It’s a woman’s left hand, intact besides the fact that it’s no longer attached to its body. The nails are perfectly manicured, and I admire the red varnish for a moment. Not that I’d ever wear that sort of thing, but I can appreciate it on others.

  None of the nails are chipped or broken, and there’s nothing beneath them. She didn’t fight. Either because she was surprised, unconscious, dead or because her hands were bound.

  She’ll be waiting for you. The note is now making more sense. Was she still alive when Winston Kindler – or whoever the message was intended for – was supposed to come to this place? Or was she already dead?

  I no longer consider this case boring. I have a mutilated hand. It makes me so happy.

  “I found a hand!” I cheerily tell Lily as soon as I enter the kitchen. “We really need to get the cooling room fixed.”

  “You need to get it fixed,” she scoffs but then points at my backpack. “Show me.”

  I take it out and Lily takes it, her face lighting up like I just gave her a birthday present. I make a mental note. It’s her birthday in two months, and if she likes a hand this much, I might get her one. By then, I’ll be back to killing rather than solving murders, and a dead body won’t miss his hand. I just need to find out if she prefers male or female hands.

  “Look what the cat’s dragged in,” she mutters under her breath as she examines the hand, turning it around, inspecting it from all angles. “Where did you get it?”

  “Found it in a fridge.”

  She laughs. “See, other people keep body parts in their fridges too! I’ll tell you that next time you admonish me for it.”

  “They don’t have a morgue,” I snap with a grin. “I also found some money, so I’m going to commission the repairs tonight.”

  “Want me to take a look at the hand in the meantime? It looks like it was cut off when the woman was already dead, but I can do some tests to confirm that.”

  I really want to refuse her offer – how often do I get to play with a body part not attached to a person – but I know I need to do other things first.

  I sigh. “Go ahead and take this powder with you, it needs analysing. I’ve also got some random romance novels for you that might have some hidden messages inside. Unless one of our killers likes to read about a widower having a relationship with two sisters. I’ll join you downstairs in a moment, I need to talk to the cats first and organise the repairs. Is Benjamin back yet?”

  She nods. “He’s in his room. Beth is here as well, she’s in the living room eating copious amounts of crisps.”

  I’ve not seen Beth in days. She does that. Disappears without explanation, then comes back with three or more marks ticked off the list. Then she takes a week off, relaxing and eating junk food. It’s a strange way of working, but as long as she does her job, I don’t care.

  “I’ll check in on her. Maybe she has some time to help out with this case.”

  Lily snickers. “Beth? Help out? You know she’s not going to move off that sofa for the next twenty-four hours at the very least.”

  “I’m sure I can find a way to incentivise her,” I scoff. “And if it means taking her crisps away.”

  My friend laughs. “Good luck with that. How do you want to be buried? Cremation?”

  I flip her off and leave the room, heading to the office first. One phone call later, I’ve arranged for workmen to come and fix the cooling room. They’re from a company I’ve used before; people who know when to speak and when to stay silent. Coupled with a large tip, they won’t mention this house having an extensive morgue to anyone. And if they do… well, I do love a vengeful assassination.

  Just like Lily said, Benjamin is in his room. He’s sitting cross-legged on the floor, papers strewn all around him. I stay by the door, not wanting to distract him too much.

  “Find anything?” I ask and he looks up with a small smile.

  “I think so. I’ve been going through Kindler’s bank statements and it’s quite fascinating. His only source of income should be the earnings he makes with the shop, right?”

  “As far as I know, yes. I’ve not found anything of a second job, and besides, he wouldn’t have had the time for that.”

  Benjamin nods. “That’s what I thought, but he gets a payment into his account every week. Not massive amounts, but they add up to quite a nice sum. Another strange thing is that he never pays his bills in full.”

  “Explain,” I demand.

  He takes one of the sheets of papers and hands it to me. “That’s an invoice for chocolate bars. 723 darems. But he never paid that much for it.” He points at another letter. “He only paid 410 darems. And that’s just one example. As far as I can see, he never paid in full for sweets. He did, however, pay his electricity and gas bills in full. Same with insurance.”

  “Maybe he had a special deal with his supplier?” I suggest.

  Benjamin shakes his head. “That would have been on the invoices. It would make sense for tax reasons. And to make it easier. If the supplier doesn’t want the full amount, then why not just put it on the invoice that way? No, I think he was getting a discount for something he did. Something that nobody wanted to keep a record of. Together with those weekly payments… I think he was corrupt. He accepted money for something he did, something illegal.”

  “But what would a sweet shop owner do that would have to be kept secret?” I ask, more to myself than to him. “His only customers were children or maybe parents. Not exactly the right customer base.”

  He shrugs. “Drugs, maybe? But it’s your job to figure that out. I’m just giving you the facts.”

  I sigh. “Okay, write down the details of his suppliers, and I’ll pay them a visit tomorrow.”

  He rummages around and pulls an envelope from his paper mess. “Here’s one already. I’ll give you the others later on, there are a few more things I want to check.”

  I take the envelope and stare at the address. 17 Market Place.

  You must be kidding me.

  Chapter Eight

  Two cats are lounging in our garden. Well, the garden is not much more than a place to keep our bins and a small stretch of grass, but the cats seem to enjoy the warm stones. Hell, I would do the same if I had the time. I’ve done that before, shifted and then relaxed in the sun. Nobody from the surrounding houses can look into the backyard so I wouldn’t have to explain why a big black panther is hanging out in our garden.

  One of the cats is the little kitten, Pumpkin. He meows and jumps off one of the bins, rubbing against my legs.

  “Hello, little one,” I mutter and scratch him behind his ears. He immediately starts purring.

  The other cat is one I haven’t seen before. It’s a female, black as the night, with a few white spots on her forehead that remind me of stars. She’s stunning with her silky fur and her bright yellow eyes.

  “And who are you?” I ask, even though I won’t understand her answer anyway without being shifted. She just continues to stare at me. "Do I need to shift?"

  All I get from her is indifference. I turn to Pumpkin who's still enjoying a head rub.

  "I've got a new job for you and the others. Can you take a look around the market place, see if you find anything. A dead woman, maybe. Or something else that's suspicious. Do you understand?"

  He rubs against my leg and sends his assent. Good. Now I have my own personal sniffer cats. If anyone can find a hidden corpse, they can. Even if I was to shift to use my superior panther nose, I'd never get into tight spaces like they can, and besides, there's a bounty on uncollared shifters. If I want to keep my independence, I need to stay low and pretend to be huma
n. Luckily, there aren't many cat shifters, so people have grown better at spotting canine shifters. If I was a wolf or dog... well, let's just say I wouldn't be living in this town.

  I give Pumpkin one last cuddle and go back inside to search out Beth. Not that there's any searching involved. She's sprawled out on the sofa, two empty crisp packets on her chest.

  "Morning," she mutters with a yawn when I wave at her.

  "Morning?" I scoff. "It's late afternoon. I've been out all day."

  She shrugs and lazily closes her eyes again. "It feels like morning. Can you close the door behind you?"

  I sigh. "Beth, we need to have a chat."

  "Not in the mood," she groans. "I need some peace and quiet. I killed two people last night, I've deserved a break."

  I'm almost jealous at that. Instead of sneaking through abandoned flats and looking at sweet shops, she actually got to have some fun. Remember the money, Kat. Remember the money.

  The doorbell rings and Beth snickers. "Guess I'll get my break after all."

  I frown at her. "We'll have a Meow meeting in two hours in here. Don't leave, we need all of us there."

  She shrugs and opens a third crisp bag, while I sigh and leave the room.

  Three workmen are waiting in front of the house, all of them carrying tool boxes and other things that are probably meant to look professional. I lead them down into the basement, glad that Lily seems to have closed all the doors to rooms that may contain the more incriminating parts of our job. Like body parts, skeletons and the poison lab. To be honest, most of the skeletons were already there when we moved in. We've only added a few. Usually, we leave our bodies where we killed them. No need in dragging them all the way here just to store them in the basement.

  "Need anything?" I ask them when I've shown them the cooling room.

  One of them - probably the boss - looks around and shakes his head. "We'll call if we do."

  I nod and leave them alone, although I've got my cat senses on high alert. If they move to another room or sneak around, I'll know.

  I tell Lily and Benjamin about our Meow meeting, then head to my office, already dreading the paperwork that's waiting there for me. When did life become so complicated?

  "Feet off the table," Lily snaps, and to my surprise, Beth lifts her legs and sits down properly, although she does it with a self-pitying groan. We've not been in one room all together for ages. While I always know what everyone's up to - I hand out the tasks, after all - we rarely meet up to discuss one particular case. If someone needs help, they come to me or ask one of the others who has a specific expertise. Benjamin for theft, Lily for seduction and deceit, Beth for poisons and antidotes. We're a great team except that we don't really work as a team. I make a mental note to change that. Maybe I should do a team building exercise or something... kill a target together. Who can kill the fastest? Find the prettiest dead body?

  "Why are we here?" Beth asks with a yawn. "I will have you know that my brain is still in snooze mode. If you have something important to say, write it down and I'll review it when I'm more awake."

  I glare at her. "You're going to listen and take part in this meeting like everyone else," I tell her with as much authority as I can muster. "Or you can see how you cope with half your pay this month."

  She stares back defiantly, but I'm already turning away, looking at the other two. They're much easier to handle.

  "I've called in this meeting to discuss the Kindler case," I begin. "Beth, you won't know about this yet so here's a quick recap. Winston Kindler is-"

  "Was," Lily corrects.

  "-was a sweet shop owner who was murdered a couple of days ago. We've not seen the body, and it's unlikely that we will as the police have it under lock and key. It seems to have been bloody though."

  "I could try and sneak in," Benjamin suggests. "It's worth a try."

  I nod. "If you want, but don't complain if you get caught. They improved their security measures since the last time you broke in."

  He shrugs with a smug grin. "I bet they're not good enough to keep me out. They'd have to be reaaally good, and I highly doubt that. The police don't have enough money."

  He's right about that.

  "Okay, do it and let me know what you find." I take out the file Mr Kindler's brother gave me and go over the information we already have. "He was killed just outside the sweet shop in the early morning before it opened. No witnesses, at least none who have come forward. When I went to the shop, there were no traces left, no scents either. The police believe it was a mugging and have stopped investigating, but still have the body. That's why we've been given this case by the victim's brother. He's not satisfied with the police's work and is willing to pay us a lot of money to find the killer."

  "How much?" Beth asks, suddenly very awake.

  I grin. "Enough to give us all a holiday, fix up the house and then some."

  A sly smile spreads on her face. "Why didn't you say so? I'm in."

  "Didn't you say we're allowed to exterminate the killer?" Lily asks and I nod.

  "Yes, but first we need to find him. It's all a bit complicated. Let's start with the shop. The only employee is a young girl called Caitlin. Mr Kindler made her promise to give away all the sweets for free in the case of his death. She did that yesterday, and I think every single child in this town went there to get some free tooth decay."

  "Could have brought me some," Beth mutters.

  I ignore her. "Benjamin has found some interesting things in the shop's office though, right?"

  He nods. "Basically, Winston Kindler got some anonymous payments and never paid his invoices in full. It seems people were giving him money, but there's no record of why they did that. What they got in return."

  "I visited his house," I continue, "and there were even more riddles there. A key hidden in a remote control and a number scrawled on a lawnmower cord. Then in the storeroom behind the shop, I found a mattress. Someone's been sleeping there. I'm going to find Caitlin and ask her about that. There was also a note that led me to a flat by the market square."

  I take out the items I recovered from the toilet, minus the money. That's already in my safe. If I showed it to these three, it would be gone immediately.

  "I found these in the toilet."

  Lily laughs. "Seriously? They look rather clean."

  "In a glass jar," I clarify.

  Benjamin immediately snaps the invoice while Beth takes one of the coins, twirling it between her fingers. "I've seen these before," she mutters. "But I can't remember where."

  "Try to," I say, not unkindly.

  Lily is looking at the key. "Do you have the one you found in the victim's house?" she asks and I hand it to her.

  "They may look different but they're for the same lock," she says slowly. "Any idea what door these might open?"

  I shake my head. "I didn't find a locked door in his house or the flat. Not in the shop, either. It must be somewhere we haven't been yet."

  "I remember!" Beth suddenly shouts, making all of us look at her. "But you're not going to like the answer."

  I sigh. "Tell us."

  "The Fangs."

  Lily sucks in a deep breath. "Please tell me that's a joke," she whispers, her eyes wide.

  Beth shrugs. "I can if you want me to lie."

  "What are the Fangs?" Benjamin asks. I'm glad he does. I've heard of them, but I don't know enough.

  "In this town, we have the Pack," Beth begins to explain. "Some may call them a crime organisation, the mafia, but we all know that they're funded by the town council. They keep control of any shifters that are found."

  I realise that I'm rubbing my throat and immediately put my hands in my lap, shocked by my lack of awareness. I don't move my body without wanting to. My body is a weapon, trained since childhood to be as dangerous as it can be. I ball my hands into fists. I don't want to think of the Pack, but it seems they're somehow involved in all this.

  Lily gives me a small smile, knowing exactly what I'
m thinking. She knows my history, and while I've never told the other two, I'm sure they do too. They know I'm a shifter, and the chances of there being a shifter who hasn't been part of the Pack are slim, to say the least.

  "The Pack is like the baby brother of the Fangs," Beth continues. "They're active all over the country, not just this town. Nobody ever sees them, but they monitor everything. They have influence on the highest and the lowest level. If a Fang wants you dead, you're dead. They'll never dirty their own hands, they'll simply tell the regional groups to do it. Like the Pack, in our case."

  "If they're that powerful, why have I never heard of them?" Benjamin asks.

  "Because you've always worked independently," Lily replies. "You've not been a part of one of the gangs. They wouldn't be interested in a lone thief. No, they prefer to exert their influence on an entire group like the Pack. It's more efficient."

  "Sometimes, we knew that the tasks we were given hadn't come from our Pack leaders," I say quietly, pushing through the memories that I try so hard to forget. "A lot of them weren't about killing, they were about intimidation. About making an example of someone. The Pack rarely told us to be brutal, they wanted clean efficiency. The Fangs are different."

  Beth nods. "And they use these coins as tokens to show that they're either a Fang themselves or in their direct employ. I once found a coin like this on a mark. When I showed it to my employer, he looked at it as if it was a poisonous snake and then tried to kill me." She shrugs. "He obviously didn't succeed, but he did use his last words to warn me. To get rid of the coin and never talk about it again."

  A cold shiver runs over my back. "The question is, what does a sweet shop owner have to do with the Fangs? Or even the Pack? If we ignore the hidden keys and the fact that his house looked unlived in, he seems completely normal and boring."