Krime on Kitty Kat Boulevard

The sun hung low over Kitty Kat Boulevard, so low it felt like you could reach your hand up and snatch it out of the sky. Something that would be a common pastime for the cats of Kitty Kat Boulevard, given their proclivity for batting and snatching.

Rico de Avillo didn’t have time for those kinds frivolities. He was a serious cat from a serious line of cats. He spent his days inside delighting himself in his secret stash of catnip and nursing a good cup of warm milk. It was a good life for a cat such as he. A life as a cat detective.

Today he entertained himself much the same way as always. Browsing the morning news over a warm cup of joe. It was going to be a peaceful day, a break from the usual jobs and a chance to relax for the first time in a long time. Or so Rico thought.

Right as he was getting to his favorite part of the paper, the crossword, someone walked into his office. This someone wasn’t just anyone though, this was a Turkish Angora that lived all the way over on High Street. Her fur felt like soft velvet and was as white as a cloud, her eyes made for a lazy crease of deep blue, and her whiskers seemed to be forever curled up in a mischievous grin.

This was Ellanoire, an old flame of his.

“Ella.” The milk suddenly tasted bitter in Rico’s mouth.

“Rico.” Ellanoire smiled that special smile that Rico could never say no to.

“What brings you all the way from High Street? I’m sure it’s not for an old shorthairs company.”

“Can’t a girl long after an old friend?”

“Can’t she?”

Ellanoire smiled only serving to make her whiskers look even more mischievous. Rico swallowed and held back a smile. She could only be here if she was after something. Something important.

Ellanoire was the first to break the silence. “I have a job for you, Rico.”

“I know.”

“You’d be a crummy detective if you didn’t.” She smiled for real this time.

“Well, better to spit the hairball out sooner rather than later, Ella.”

“Very well then. I have a job for you. Rather, it’s a job from a friend of mine. Caiden Ameli.”

The Ameli family was a long name of catnip farmers, they’d made a fortune off of it in and now sat at the very top of cat society. Things suddenly got interesting for Rico.

“You have my attention. What’s happened to Caiden?”

“A theft. A very big theft. Two nights ago, someone broke into the primary Ameli catnip garden over in High Street. They were detected by none of the security, nor were there any signs of a break-in on the property afterwards. All of the catnip in the Catorama vault had been taken along with a lot of the lower grade catnip as well.”

Rico leaned back on his haunches and grinned. This was big. For someone to rob the Ameli’s at all was big, but to rob their most their most important garden? That was something they would never allow. Only the most hardened cat criminals would take that job on, or the most desperate.

“I’ll take the job.”

It’d been a while since Rico had set foot in High Street. He spent his days lounging around his office and home while solving petty crimes over on Rust Corner. It wasn’t pretty, but at least it wasn’t Mouser Alley.

He and Ellanoire walked through the streets together, almost shoulder to shoulder. It was nice to be together with her again despite everything that’d happened. He’d missed it.

Together they walked to the Ameli garden and met with Caiden Ameli. He was a sleek black cat with silky fur that looked like it’d never seen a day outside.

“You must be Rico! Ellanoire has told me lots about you over dinner. It’s been a delight to hear about your exploits. My name is Caiden, it’s a pleasure.”

“The pleasure is all mine, I thank you for thinking of me for this kind of job.”

“It wasn’t me that thought of you, you’ll have to thank Ellanoire for that.”

The three of them began to walk through the garden. It’d been emptied out of all save for the security cats that hung around the fringes of the property. They walked a well traveled path that led through plenty of catnip crops to eventually end at a large barn.

“The barn is used to store and process the catnip. It can be a lengthy process at times, especially for our special catnip.” Caiden emphasized this with a wink. “But it’s all worth it to deliver the highest grade of catnip to our customers.”

“Save the pitch, Caiden. I’m not a customer, I’m an investigator. I’m going to need the ins and outs of this operation.”

“Of course! If you’ll follow me, you’ll see our main processing floor. Down here we store all the yet to be processed catnip as well as what has gone through the first stages. Most of that we’ll ship off to sell immediately, but we always make sure to find the choice pieces to take upstairs for our advanced flavoring techniques. Now here, we not only enhance our catnip, we differentiate it to fully cater to all the different cats there are with their disparate tastes. It can be a tricky business to nail down but we’re proud to say we have generations of knowledge behind this art.

Finally, out of these choice picks, we take only the best further upstairs to the third floor. Here we make the best of the best, the stuff that is only see sold in the High Street stores. This grade of catnip is kept under close surveillance for its quality and locked up in the best safes. But the best of the best can always do better, am I right? So that is where the Catorama comes in.

The Catorama is an ancient family secret handed down through generations. My Great-Great-Great Grandfather brought the recipe all the way from the old country to make here. It was held in the safest of vaults and kept under constant guard. I am frankly amazed that someone got into the third floor catnip, but to get into such a precious vault as the Catorama, it truly pains me to my core.”

They stopped outside a wide open vault door, thicker than any Rico had ever seen. Inside, not a trace of catnip could be seen. Yet a single note sat on the center table.

Rico read it aloud, “Catch me if you can.”

“It seems our thief has a sense of humor.” Ellanoire’es eyes twinkled.

“So it does.” Rico turned to Caiden. “I’m going to need to search this entire garden, is that okay?”

“Yes! Anything to get my catnip back and catch this horrid thief.”

“I will also have to talk to the people that were on duty the night of the theft. Does anyone stick out to you at all? Any of your staff or security?”

Caiden thought for a moment. “Well, there is one. Izzit used to be a Mouser. He left the gang four years ago and has gone straight since though. He’s one of my best processors though, made his way all the way up from the gardens on the edge of the Boulevard to working the third floor of my central garden! I couldn’t imagine he would have anything to do with this.”

“The Mousers are a cunning lot, I wouldn’t put anything past them,” said Ellanoire.

“Yes, they are quite cunning. This doesn’t seem their style though.” Mused Rico. “Were you here the night of the theft, Caiden?”

“I was, I live in an outbuilding at the edge of the property overlooking High Street. It’s a very nice view.”

“Do you think you could tell me what you remember of that day?”

“It went as it usually did. I started the day reviewing the newly harvested crops, then I went to review what would be sold and what would be taken for higher processing. As the day wound down I had a truly delightful evening dinner, one I soon won’t forget!” His eyes briefly met with Ellanoires. “Now, I have even more reason not to forget that night. Although, it is hard to remember the later parts of it, I fear I had a bit too much of my own product if you understand what I mean.”

“I shall go have a word with Izzit then. Thank you for your information.”

Izzit lived in a small pad in Rust Corner, surprisingly close to Rico’s own home. It was a very sparse life that Izzit led, although the cat seemed comfy enough with it.

Rico sat facing Izzit. “So, Izzit, may I ask you a few questions pertaining to the night of the theft at the Ameli gardens?”

Izzit twitched his ears. “I didn’t have nothin’ to do with those thefts, sir.”

“Indeed, this is simply routine. I want to get a feel of what the staff remember so I might build up a better picture of the crime.”

“Well the day went as it normally did. I went to work, did my job, and left.” Izzit paused for a second. “Although there was one thing that was a little out of the ordinary. I’m not sure if it’s my place to say though.

“I believe you don’t have the luxury of withholding evidence, Izzit.”

“Very well then. The boss, Mr Ameli, left early that night. He said he was going to go to a cats house, a friend of his you see. Mr Ameli has been having this one cat over very frequently these past months, they’ve grown quite close.”

“Is there a reason the two of them did not just stay at Caiden’s?”

“I don’t pretend to know what those lot on High Street do or think, sir.”

“Thank you for your time then, Izzit.”

Rico left the small apartment with a hundred thoughts whirling through his head.

It wasn’t long until Rico got to his own office. There were so many questions he had. Who could have pulled off a crime like this? What was their motive? How did they intend to sell all that catnip?

All of this thoughts scattered like leaves to the wind when he walked through the door to find Ellanoire waiting for him.

“You’re here?” he asked.

“I missed you after all.”

“I appreciate that.” Rico smiled, it was good to be around Ellanoire again.

“Have you found anything out?”

“Not yet. It’s a mess of a case. The Catorama vault is one of the best defended and most secure vaults on Kitty Kat Boulevard. It showed no signs of a brute force break-in. Anyone that figured out the code would have needed inside knowledge to crack that vault. But how would they have gotten that information in the first place?

The grounds are constantly patrolled by a plethora of cats but none of them saw anything out of the ordinary. The grounds show no signs of a break-in either, the only travel being along the common paths.

And Izzit, the ex-mouser seemed to be in the clear. Why would he give up four years of hard work to go back to crime. It just doesn’t add up.

My mind keeps going back to one thing and one thing only though. It must have been an inside job.”

“You’ve really thought this through, I’m impressed.”

“I’m sure you worked it out in half the time, you were always more clever.”

“I’m a bit rusty after all these years.”

“I remember you being quite good, the days we spent together in your little hideawy in High Street are days I remember fondly.”

“As do I.”

“Well I’d like to see you back in action then, Ella. What do you think?”

“I think it was an inside job, and I think you have a good lead to figure this all out.”

“It’s time to visit Mouser Alley.”

Mouser Alley was just as Rico remembered it. Dirty. Grime and dust covered the entire place from head to toe. Most of the cats there flashed teeth at them from back alleys and closed doors. The Mousers were the most dangerous ones here though, they knew their way around a fight.

But Rico had a case to solve and he wasn’t going to be so easily dissuaded. It was a fast and grim approach to the mouser hideout. All around him and Ellanoire were alleycats, slinking back and forth. Keeping to the shadows just enough to hide their features but staying in the light enough to let their presence be known.

In front of the hideout, Rico came face to face with Blaze, the leader of the Mousers. True to her namesake, she had a beautiful coat of red and black that seemed to shimmer as she walked. Her claws flexed on the dirt path as they approached, carving deeper and deeper divets with every step. Blaze’s claws were sharp and her eyes only got sharper.

“What brings the great cat detective to my doorstep?” Her voice was low and rumbled from deep in her chest.

“I have questions. Questions about the Ameli heist.”

Blaze laughed. “If only I’d have pulled off a crime like that, I wouldn’t be here right now and we wouldn’t have the displeasure of speaking.”

“You’re the only one with the resources to do this. No one else could have cracked that safe.”

“You’re thinking too small, my friend. Are you sure you’re really a detective?”

“You’re playing games, deflecting. Just tell me the truth,” Rico snarled.

“You and the girl seem to have made up your own truth easily enough. I have nothing to say to one such as you,” Blaze hissed.

“This job is impossible. You’re the only gang that could have cracked the safe and one of your own was in the gardens that day to sneak you in. It all checks out.”

“You imply a cat you hardly know in a crime you hardly understand.”

Blaze’s divets had turned to holes at this point as she openly raked the ground with her claws. Mousers had gathered around Rico and Ellanoire, all of them watching the pair with undisguised distaste. Rico looked around for a quick way to escape if they needed to but found no options.

“Then help me understand.”

“Was the safe ever actually cracked?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rico started to say more but never got the chance as Ellanoire yanked him along and the two of them broke into a sprint away from the Mousers and their alley. She shoved a cat hard to the ground and the two of them broke from the circle that’d been forming around them.

“We’ll never make it with this many!” yelled Rico.

“If we don’t try, we definitely won’t!” Ellanoire yelled back.

Behind them the Mousers gave chase. Many of them were far faster than the detective pair and began to close the gap with terrifying speed. Just when Rico thought he was done for, Blaze’s voice sounded through the entire alley.

“Let them go. They’re not worth it.”

Ellanoire and Rico ran all the way back to High Street with their tails between their legs.

Everyone sat around an unused processing table in the Ameli garden. Caiden looked annoyed with how little progress was being made. Izzet was worrying over his looks and warm milk. Ellanoire sat grooming herself with a content look on her face. And Rico spent his time furiously going over everything he knew.

There was an answer here, he just knew it.

“Well.” Caiden finally broke the silence. “I’m afraid you’ve failed, Detective Rico.”

“Not yet,” said Ellanoire. “The Mousers chased us off, they must be hiding something. I think we should report them to the authorities. Perhaps a proper raid will figure this out.”

“They only chased us off though,” muttered Rico. “Blaze and her gang could have caught us with ease. If we were a danger, why let us go?”

“Those alley cats never make for the brightest of planners,” said Ellanoire.

“Mousers are the best for the reason. They must have had a reason,” Rico argued. “On top of that, they said they hadn’t broken into the vault. It feels like they were telling the truth of the matter too.”

“Then who would have done it, Rico,” Ellanoire complained. “Face it, you have no leads.”

Silence permeated the group for a time. Rico tried to come up with a response but failed several times. Ellanoire smiled smugly at him as if her last word had meant anything good.

“Maybe I don’t have the leads because I don’t have all the information,” Rico finally said. “Caiden, you mentioned that night and how you don’t fully remember it. What do you remember?”

“It really wasn’t anything much. I had a good friend over for dinner and then went to sleep afterwards. Nothing too much.” Caiden seemed surprised to be back in the conversation.

“Izzet told me that you left the property earlier in the night, where did you go?”

“That is a private activity of mine and my employees should not be reporting on it!” Caiden snapped.

“It may be important to the case.”

“Even if I wanted to, I am unable to without disparaging the lady’s honor.”

“Nevertheless, I feel this may be the final clue to the mystery.”

“Boys are always putting their noses where they don’t belong,” Ellanoire interjected. “What business does this have to do with you, Rico? Or are you just being jealous?”

“Why would I be jealous? Unless you are the woman in question.”

Ellanoire didn’t answer.

“The silence is telling my dear. Now tell me something, why did you steal the catnip?”