The black Cat

                                                                                                                             The black cat

It was one of those typical New Year days. The phone constantly ringing, meetings, hurried lunches and organizing various future meetings. By the early evening I felt exhausted and somewhat frustrated by my day. Before driving up home to Greenwich I thought I would go to an indoor shooting range and let off a few rounds. When I had a revolver in my hands and shot at a target this activity always had a pleasurable appeal for me. Not only was it relaxing but it also gave me a sense of power and dominance. To hear the gun bang and see the bullets mark in the target gave me an undeniable thrill. I put the revolver in my brief case and walked a couple of blocks and found myself in the noise of gunfire. I must have spent about half an hour there firing off a few rounds and talking to a couple of people I knew. The frustration of the day seemed to disappear with each shot. 

Once finished and out in the street I only had two blocks to walk to collect my car for the drive home. In taking that walk I passed an alleyway leading to the block of buildings behind. As I approached the passage I saw two men hurrying out of the alleyway. I only had time to vaguely notice their faces and how they were dressed as I was instantly distracted.They were being followed by a black cat that was in a state of distress. This cat was mad, it had its ears back and was hissing behind the two men. When the cat saw me nearing the entrance to the alleyway it immediately made a beeline for my feet. I had to stop while the cat tried to lead me down the alley. It slowly walked in front of me, turning its head to make sure I would follow. For a second I stood there not sure of what to do. The cat was so insistent, growing and hissing. Something was definitely wrong. Without giving it another thought I followed it down the alley. Two hundred yards for the entrance lay two dead women. The cat went up to one and licked her face. I stood there not knowing quite what to do. I really did not want to get involved in a possible murder scene. It was late and I had promised my two young girls I would be home for dinner. I took out my portable phone to call home. No battery. I retraced my steps with the annoying fact that the dam cat followed me. 

As I walked up the alley I thought my best option was to leave the police to look into the manner and not interfere. This was New York, often claimed as a violent city. At the entrance I looked both ways as my intention was to walk away from the scene. But the cat was at my feet with its ears fattened and still hissing and growing. 

Just my luck, coming down the street was a young police officer on his nightly beat.

“What’s going on here, that cat belongs to Doris. That’s some angry cat”.

The cat started to move towards the alley entrance turning its head making sure we both followed.

Before moving forward the young policeman said. “What’s down there? I just saw you coming out of the alley. Let’s follow the black cat and see what this is all about”. 

Once he saw the bodies he turned on me and with a swift movement had handcuffs on me. 

“Mister, was this you?  Give me your brief case”. He opened it and saw the gun. He immediately said, “ I am taking you down to the station”.

By this time I had recovered from his surprising aggression. In a firm and confident tone I said. 

“This is ridiculous, my portable telephone has no battery power left. I was trying to call for help. Earlier, as I was walking past to collect my car I saw two men leave the alley in a hurry. This angry black cat attacked me and led me down the alley. I saw the bodies and came back up to find help. The licensed gun is mine.  Earlier this evening I went for a session of target practice. There is no law against that”.

“Well you can explain all this to the captain. The cat belonged to Doris who now lies dead. She was a well known local prostitute”. 

As the policeman and I left the scene I looked back at the cat. It was licking Doris' face again. As we moved away it turned to look at us. It was much calmer now and had a grin on its face. Ears in their normal position. 

When we entered the police station a policeman stopped and said. 

“Daniel, what are you doing here in handcuffs”?

“It’s a story about a black cat and an over- enthusiast young officer”.  

I sat in front of the captain with the handcuffs removed. Before I told my story I asked him if I could use the phone to call home as my portable was dead. The conversation was very brief as my mother was there with a present for our two young daughters. A darling little black kitten. 

I sat there and gave my name, address and profession. The story of the black cat, seeing two men, finding the bodies, the firearm in my brief case and why I was there.  

The captain was interested in my possession of a firearm. 

“I told him I had a license and had just come from an evening of target practice. I knew several of his colleagues”.  

After he had made a couple of phone calls and asked me a few questions. He seemed satisfied with all my explanations. He was particularly interested to know if at some later date I would be capable of recognizing the two men. I was not sure but I would co-operate. 

Well Mr. Daniel Foster for the present that is all. I will get the young officer to drive you back to your garage. 

I think the same young officer that put me in handcuffs was a plot for him to excuse himself and also to find out if I had forgotten something. On parting we shook hands.

Once at home I found my mother had left and our daughters were in bed. The little black kitten was running wild throughout the house. Over dinner when my wife heard the story of why I was so late. She picked up the kitten and put it to bed in its basket.

Two days later I got a call from the captain. Could I come down to the station to look at a few mug shots? We fixed a time. I looked at about fifty photos but I found no face that came close to my image of the men walking hurriedly out of the alley. I had been so concentrated on the cat I only took a cursory glance at the men. In fact while I was looking at the photos I asked what had happened with the cat. They told me they had given it to the RSPA. They joked with me that maybe I would give it a home. 

As I was leaving the station a police officer hurried past me on his way to the captain's office. Funny, I said to myself I have seen that face before somewhere. It must have been at the shooting range. I left the station disappointed I could not be more helpful. Driving home I subconsciously kept seeing the officer's face and tried to place it with the several officers I know at the shooting range. Once at home I forgot all about the incident. I was interested to ask my wife if she would be willing to give the black cat of the alley a home. She felt like me. It was an extraordinary act of devotion that the cat led us to her dead mistress with such perseverance and anger. Once it had found help, the way it seemed to smile at me touched my heart. If my wife agreed I would be prepared to give it a home. It could look after and play with the young kitten.

The next morning I woke with the vision of seeing the police officer face of the men coming out of the alley. Could I be mistaken? That afternoon I went to see the captain. I told him that when leaving yesterday I passed an officer in the corridor whose face I believe was that of one of the men leaving the alley. 

His reply was. “Are you sure? That was Johnny Hancock who was coming to see me. He is a good officer”. 

I replied I was not a hundred percent certain sure, but as he had a particularly large nose his face seemed familiar. I only had a quick look at them before being distracted by the cat. But on seeing his nose yesterday it jolted my memory. 

The captain looked at me closely while he thought about what to do. Then I heard him talk to himself. “If he is wrong there will be no harm done”. He turned to me and said, “ I am going to organize a line up with three police officers including Johnny and four suspects. I will ask you to come to the station and look at the line up through a two way mirror so you are not seen. 

Taking my time and looking closely at the line up I became fairly sure I saw Johnny that night. The captain thanked me and told me he would put Johnny's movements under surveillance. He would keep me informed. 

That evening I went to the RSPA with my wife’s blessing. The black cat seemed quite pleased to see me as he kept meowing at my feet. When I picked him up I got the distinct impression it smiled again at me. I took him home much to the joy of the family. It seemed to bond immediately with the kitten. While we eat dinner that night we watch them playing together. We found out she was a female cat and consequently I decided to call her Doris. 

It must have been some two weeks later I had a call from the captain. He explained I had been correct in my accusation of Johnny Hancock being one of the men coming out of the alley. He told me it’s a long story. If you are interested we will have a drink one night and I will tell you all the details. We concluded the telephone conversation with me agreeing to drink one night. He said he would phone me with a date. Just before we hung up he said.

“Incidently I heard you gave the black cat a home. Thank you, its mistress was one of our local characters”.

David Nutt                                           November 2024