Case File: Pangolin Pop Star by Eliot Schrefer

Author:Eliot Schrefer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

“I don’t know about that,” Butch said, his words trailing off. He settled into cleaning himself, which is a trick cats often do when they want to avoid a conversation.

Butch had conspicuously stopped in front of a poster of Dizzy, from one of his concert tours. He was a skinny teenaged human, blow-dried hair crushed down by a black baseball hat. He had many silver chains around his neck. It all seemed like a whole lot of pretending. Esquire knew that in animals showiness was often a sign of insecurity, but who knew how human minds worked.

“I didn’t know Dizzy had any birds,” Esquire said, taking up the parrot flip-flops and examining the craftsmanship. They had adorable little cowrie shells stitched into the thong and would look great on Mr. Pepper. She stole a glance at him. He was hopping up and down on the window ledge, clearly infuriated that Esquire hadn’t yet beaten a retreat.

“He’s had a long history of exotic pets,” Butch said. “I think all the birds were from before my time.”

“I wonder what happened to them,” Esquire said casually. At least she meant to sound casual. Her heart started beating even faster when Butch didn’t answer. He just stared at her, his eyes glittering. The poster of Dizzy in the background stared at her, too. His eyes were empty.

Esquire decided she didn’t like this place at all. She had thought fame must be something wonderful, getting VIP invites to private island parties and all that, but she was learning that maybe it . . . wasn’t?

She could sense the disappointment positively radiating off Mr. Pepper while she admired her way through the garments. “Oh, there’s jewelry, too!”

As she and Butch leaned over a glass case of necklaces, broaches, and earrings, all of Esquire’s thoughts were on her friend. Please understand, Mr. Pepper! Finally, she allowed herself to look over. He’d turned around, facing out into the night sky. Too disgusted to even look at her, no doubt.

Butch carefully lifted a glass lid with a claw, the hard nail making a high-pitched grinding noise that made Esquire cover her sensitive ears. He pulled out a diamond-studded collar and placed it around his neck. “Nice, right? I wear this on special occasions.”

Esquire nodded. “It’s lovely. Sets off your eyes beautifully.” An inspiration struck her. “It makes you look almost as striking as Beatle, with all his rainbow polish.”

One of Butch’s ears cocked as he backed out of the closet and into the main room. “Thank you, I guess?”

“It must have been hard, what with Beatle getting so much attention all the time. I don’t know how you put up with it,” Esquire pushed.

“This is not your strong suit. You should stick to rescuing, not interrogating,” Butch said.

“Then stop making me!” Esquire replied, digging her front paws into the pockets of her jacket. “Just tell me what you were doing out at the accident site. And maybe, I don’t know, help me rescue Beatle!”

Butch paused. “I’m sworn to secrecy.”

“Who swore you to secrecy?”

“I can’t tell you.

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