Feline Interrogation

“Dave, what are you doing”?

“Interrogating, of course”.

Keith did not even bother to dispute his partner’s statement. After being around him for long enough, he had learned the futility of trying. Dave would have a counter-argument. It wouldn’t be good, but he would have one. And another. And then one more, for good measure.

Worst part? Whatever criminal they were searching for would inevitably getaway before Dave could finish his long-winded explanation. So, Keith didn’t ask. He just accepted, and moved on. Did his own stuff in the meantime. He figured it would be more useful than just waiting.

Like now. Dave was petting a cat, of all things. There was nothing wrong with the action itself, it was just that the timing almost couldn’t be worse. At least the cat seemed to be enjoying it. Dave would ask a question, and then the cat would meow back at him. The cat purred a bit too.

Keith simply ignored the pair and check out the rest of the room. There wasn’t really much to see. Some food in the fridge. A spike on the wall, a couple of photos sitting on the floor beneath it. Waiting for their turn to be hung up, maybe. They would be waiting a lot longer now.

Most of them were simply of nearby nature. Nothing important. One featured two cats - one with black and white fur, the other just plain brown. A Norwegian forest cat, and something else. The brown cat was the one Dave still insisted on “interrogating”. The other was nowhere to be seen.

There were stairs at the back of the room. Satisfied with his search, Keith inched up the stairs, glancing out behind both walls before finally ascending to the top. There was even less to see there. A white room. Two litter boxes in it, as well as some bowls. Some contained various kinds of cat food, some merely water.

A meow from somewhere startled Keith. He looked around, but there was nothing to see. Where did it come from, then? Despite seeming like an impossibility, the sound didn’t cease. It had to be coming from somewhere. With this in mind, Keith moved towards it. Yet, there was nothing there but more wall.

At least, that was what Keith had assumed. A cat emerged from the wall, promptly proving him wrong. Perhaps this was it?

Footsteps came up the stairs and Dave soon showed his face at the top. Unlike Keith, he seemed totally unconcerned.

“I see you’ve found it already”, he said.

“What”? Keith asked.

“That”.

Dave pointed at the spot the Norwegian forest cat had emerged from.

“Charles told me some other useful stuff too. You know, the guy I talked with. Like where the guy went. The place this leads to. I’ll fill you in on the rest later”.

This, this was the really crazy part. Because as weird as Dave’s methods were, they actually worked.