The Cat That Followed Phantoms: Black Cat Detective Agency Book #2 by G. David Stirling

Author:G. David Stirling [Stirling, G. David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-10-20T13:00:00+00:00

On the way here, we hadn't passed a house for miles. We'd left civilization far behind and were now in the middle of nowhere. Honestly, it was a little scary.

I prowled around the sides of the station, being extra cautious as I rounded the corners and kept Tabitha one step behind me. Weeds sprouted up against the building, and the wind blew the bare branches of trees far off in the distance. We sat at the back of the station and looked out over the hilly land. It must not have rained here as much — the ground we walked on was almost dusty.

"You see anyone?" I asked Tabitha.

"Not a soul."

A dirt path led to the white barn in Miss Clover's profile picture on Critter. I figured that might be the best place to start. Picking up my new seismic device with my mouth, Tabitha and I trotted toward the dusty road.

"You know, this place has a certain kind of charm," Tabitha said as we approached the rutted trail leading to the barn.

"Why, thank you, it's especially pretty in the spring," said a voice coming from behind us.

We stopped and turned, and there was Jocelyn Clover, the red fox. Well, more like coppery-orange with white patches on her paws and muzzle. She must have been jogging along with us for the past little bit. She stopped and smiled. "One of the entrances to my den is back by the station. I was just catching up with you. I'm Jocelyn." She held out her paw.

I turned to shake it, placing the marker and spring on the dusty ground. "So pleased to meet you, Jocelyn. I'm uh, my name is, um, Randall. Randall McTavish. And my assistant, uh, my associate, Miss… Miss Thornhill."

"A pleasure," said Tabitha, giving me a sideways glance that could kill.

"Is that your equipment?" Jocelyn pointed to the marker.

"It is. It's called a… a…"

Tabitha interrupted me. "A seismic after-shock detector." She cocked her head and did that thing with her mouth when I knew she wasn't happy with me.

"Perhaps, Miss Thornhill," I asked, "if you could carry it, that would allow me to speak with Jocelyn more effectively as we walk?"

She stared at me a moment too long before she replied. "Certainly. Randall."

Tabitha picked up the marker, and we continued our trot toward the old road.

"So, you were in your den when the earthquake occurred, is that right? On Friday evening."

"I was. I'd been out foraging for the winter and gathering sticks and hay for my den, so I was more tired than usual. I'd fallen asleep. But the earthquake woke me."

We had reached the rutted road. There were a number of tread marks on it — both wide tires and some more narrow.

"You say the quake lasted 10 minutes?"

"About. I couldn't say for sure. I was too scared to leave my den to look outside."

"I see. That was my next question. Well then, could you describe the earthquake to us?"

"Well, yes. It started as a low rumble and then got louder and louder until everything started shaking.

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