I just managed to keep from yelling. “Why do you use your claws M.C.?”, I ask. Meow=Easier to hold on. Skinny under bed. “I thought you and Muffin checked under the bed before?”, I asked. Meow.=We did, no skinny then, but skinny now. I get down on the floor and look under the bed, M.C. joins me. “I don’t see skinny, do you?”, I ask him. Meow.=But he there, now he not. And under he went to check more. He comes back out shaking his head. I look at my watch, 4am, but that’s not possible, we have only been looking around maybe 10 minutes. We go back to the girls. “Well?” They both ask at the same time. “We couldn’t find a thing,” I said.

Meow.=Except skinny, I find him. Meow,meow?=Where skinny? Meow.=Under bed. Meow,meow=Oh, not see skinny in long time, show me. Meow.=Skinny not there. Meow,meow=You just say he under bed. Meow.=Yep, I see him under bed. Meow,meow.=Good, show me. Meow.=He not there now. Meow,meow=How skinny get away, skinny not walk. Meow.=Not know, just disappear. Meow,meow=You not talk sense, how about I bite tail, wake you up. Meow!=No! I see skinny, then I not see skinny. “Hold it you two, no fighting,” I said, “we are supposed to work together.” “What is skinny, may we ask?”, asks Kat.

“In one of our first cases Muffin, um, found a skeleton and she called him skinny, so every skeleton since we just call skinny,” I explain. “So there’s a skeleton under our bed?”, asks Calanthe. “No, there is no skeleton, Mr. Cat thought he saw a skeleton, but likely it was just shadows from the moon shining through the window,” I said. Meow,meow?=You see shadows and think it look like skinny? You sure you not fall asleep under bed? Meow.=No, I not sleep and it not shadows, I see real skinny. Meow,meow.=I go look myself, you both probably fall asleep. Off she goes and Mr. Cat behind her.

Meow,meow!=Skinny here! I go running back with the girls right behind me. Meow.=He back under bed. I look, so do the girls. “Um, that’s not nice, making us run over here for nothing,” I said. The cats ears go straight up and they look under the bed again. Meow,meow.=But skinny was here, I see him too. Hey, you supposed to keep watch so he not get away. Meow.=I did, except at last minute I move so they can look and… Meow,meow.=I need to bite tail, you make us look bad. “Hold it you two,” I said and I take the mattress off the bed, then turn the bed over. “Look here,” I said, “a sliding door leading into this box bottom on the bed. I push a button and out comes skinny.

Meow.=Oh, that sneaky. “Why would anyone do that?”, asks Kat, “how many people would find it that way?” “Probably meant as a joke from long ago,” I said, “which means there could be more such props around here. I think this house may have had a second purpose at one time.” “Maybe as a haunted house display?”, asks Calanthe. “Hmm, well, not exactly,” I said, “but it may have been meant to scare people or make people think they have gone crazy. Perhaps for extortion purposes.” “That’s a thought,” said Kat, “especially if the people were important in business or government, they wouldn’t want others to find out they’re seeing things.”

“Maybe that’s how the original owners managed to get so wealthy,” suggested Calanthe. “Yes, that could be it,” I said, “and that could have led to their death, which was likely murder, not suicide.” “Hey, we’re figuring this out too easily,” said Kat. “Well, some cases need to be easy,” I said, “but we still haven’t figured out who is behind the present problems of scaring people away from here, and why they are doing it. They must have some good evidence that more money is to be found out here. Well, almost time to get up anyway so I won’t bother going back to bed.” Back in my bedroom Kat asks, “what time were you expecting to get up, it’s only 1:30am.” I look at my watch. She was right. I go back into their bedroom and…

To Be Continued.

©2021 Steve McLeod.