She looked at me like I was an idiot. The purring got louder the longer she petted him. “He’s been through a traumatic experience.”
“After he’s done eating, I’d like to look at his paws to see if I can prove this was the cat in the alley.”
“You doubt me?” Maegan asked.
“Not me, no.”
“Who doubts me then?”
“Officer Jones,” I said, not caring that I threw his ass under the bus. “Don’t spit in his coffee or anything though.”
Maegan snorted. “I wouldn’t dream of it.” She leaned toward me and lowered her voice. “I’m going to stop giving him the biggest apple fritter though.”
“That’s my girl.” I hadn’t realized what I said until a soft blush crept up Maegan’s neck. I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to take it back and hurt her feelings, but I didn’t want to give her false hope. The words just flowed out of my mouth naturally, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I lifted the cat and handed him to Maegan. I motioned for Jones to come over. “Let’s check this fella out.”
Jones stood beside me and aimed a flashlight on the cat’s front paws. Unfortunately, Maegan’s rack beneath her super soft-looking sweater was just as illuminated as the cat. I knew damn well what Jones was looking at, because I had a hard time concentrating on the task at hand too. I very well couldn’t tell Maegan to cover her tits with a coat like I wanted to, so I decided to get the job done quickly and send Jones on his merry way.
“Looks like dried blood to me, Jones.”
“I’m not crazy, Jones,” Maegan said.
“No one said you’re crazy, Maegan,” I said in a soothing voice. “Jones just pointed out that black cats are common.”
“You told her that I said she was crazy?” Jones asked incredulously.
“I told her that you had your doubts that it was the same cat.” I gestured to the feline who had started squirming in Maegan’s arms. It probably felt the rising tension and wanted to get the fuck away. There was no telling how the killer treated the animal while it was in his custody. “Let’s swab his feet to see if we can match the blood.”
“It’s okay, sweet boy,” Maegan cooed to the frightened cat, but her soft voice also soothed the beast stirring inside me. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Lulu barked from my front porch sounding like she was giving her mistress hell. “Don’t you worry about Lulu; she’ll come around.”
The cat growled low in his throat when Jones swabbed his paws, but he didn’t attempt to claw him or get away. Once we finished, Maegan rewarded the cat with extra cuddles as she carried him across the yard and inside my house.
“Looks like you’re getting a cat, partner,” Adrian said.
“No, Maegan is getting a cat,” I corrected him. “She doesn’t live with me.”
“Yet,” Adrian said. “See you in the morning, Elijah.”
“Goodnight, Adrian.”
The rest of the officers packed their stuff up and took off also. A few of them gave me curious looks and I knew they were speculating about my relationship with Maegan. Instead of dwelling on it, I locked Maegan’s house and jogged over to mine.
I saw that Maegan’s new friend was fast at home on her lap when I walked through the door. “He looks to be in relatively good health. I don’t see any mange or fleas on him. He’s just skinny.”
“You’ll have him right in no time,” I told her. “Hey, the previous owner left behind a cat litter pan, liners, and litter in the closet in the laundry room. I think there might even be some food. Hopefully it’s enough to tide the little guy over until you can get to the pet store to pick up more supplies.”
“Oh! I’m not sure I’m keeping him. I bet someone would love to adopt a handsome boy like him from the county animal shelter.”
The cat purred loud enough to be heard over Lulu’s snoring, which was pretty impressive. “Maegan, you might as well accept that the little rascal is all yours now.”
“Rascal,” Maegan repeated like she was trying to see if the name fit her new pet. “I think that’s a perfect name for him.”
Maegan’s cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. “Everything is fine, Mama,” she said in way of greeting. “There’s no need to come over. Besides, I’m at Elijah’s house.”
I went into the kitchen to grab us some drinks and noticed the bag of food that I’d forgot about when the cat darted out Maegan’s door. My stomach chose that moment to make its displeasure known. Luckily, the stew and dinner rolls would reheat nicely. I popped the containers in the microwave for a few minutes and looked in the refrigerator for something to drink. The options were pretty slim—Coke, beer, water, or milk. I had no idea what Maegan wanted, but I cracked a beer open for myself and took a long sip. What. A. Day.
“I’ll take one of those too,” Maegan softly said when she entered the kitchen. “I hoped Miss Emma included a lot of cinnamon butter because it’s a two-roll kind of night.” Maegan pulled the box holding the bread out of the bag and flipped open the top. “Oh yeah, this will help.”
I handed Maegan a beer and opened the microwave to give the stew a good stir before starting it back up again. “This smells like heaven.”
