Frenzy

He glanced back at his intended offering, to make sure it was safe, then began maneuvering the take-out container so he could lick its interior.

He was in a secluded place where he wasn’t in any rush to finish his meal. The trophy he was transporting could wait until he was good and ready to continue his journey back to where he’d come from. What was the hurry? It wasn’t as if he had an appointment; and if he had one, he might not bother to keep it. He was, after all, a cat.

And a handsome one at that.

May 8, 2:02 p.m.

Qui

“You reported your cat missing?” Qui

Qui

“We only rent here,” Clairmont said, as if reading Qui

Qui

“Boomerang,” she said.

Pearl smiled. “Because he always comes back?”

“Yeah. Only this time he didn’t,” Ida French said. She was a sleek dishwater blonde, almost beautiful. But there was something about her blue eyes, an intensity that was unbecoming.

Clairmont seemed embarrassed. “I guess you think it’s foolish, contacting a private investigation agency to search for a missing cat.”

“They can be like part of the family,” Pearl said.

As if on cue, a small child with hair exactly the color of her mother’s sidled into the room. She was wearing blue shorts and a color-keyed blue and white blouse. Blue socks and jogging shoes. About nine years old, Pearl estimated. Cute, cute, cute.

“This is Eloise,” Ida French said. “My daughter.” The girl went to her and clung. She completely ignored Clairmont.

“About nine?” Pearl asked.

“Eight.”

Pearl smiled at Eloise. “A big girl for eight. And so pretty!”

Eloise smiled back.

“Now I understand the urgency about getting Boomerang back,” Qui

Pearl must have been thinking the same thing. “If you give us a better description,” she said, “we can put out an ACB.”

The Clairmont-French family appeared puzzled.

“All Cat Bulletin,” Pearl explained, with not a trace of a smile.

Qui

Nobody else seemed to think Pearl was less than serious.

“He’s black with three white boots,” Ida French said to Pearl. “A good-sized cat. Likes to roam, but always returns. Only not this time. And, oh, yeah, he’s wearing a cheap kind of bangle collar. Looks like jewels.”

Pearl thought, Huh?

“You like to dress up your cat?” she asked Eloise.

“Not much,” Eloise said.

“The collar was a gift,” Ida French explained.

Craig Clairmont spread his hands hopelessly. “That’s about all we can give you by way of description.”

“He’s a handsome cat,” Eloise said defensively.

Ida French patted her daughter’s head. “No one says otherwise, dear.”

Qui

“Cats don’t usually go far from home,” Pearl said.

Qui

“We’ll be getting busy,” he said, and moved toward the door.

Pearl stood up and moved with him.

The Clairmont French family stirred. Craig Clairmont and Ida French thanked them. Eloise said good-bye.

In the elevator Pearl said, “Jesus H. Christ!”

Qui

Pearl started to say something else, but Qui

“Renz must have his reasons,” he said.

Pearl said, softly, “And Clairmont must have his reasons for wanting Boomerang back.”

“Jeweled collar,” Qui

“See it all the time in New York,” Pearl said. “Cats decked out like fashion plates. Accessories aren’t just for people.”

The elevator lurched and continued its controlled fall.

“World like a puzzle,” Qui

The woman with the cane ignored them.

When they got back to the office, Qui

“I’ve got my reasons,” Commissioner Harley Renz said, when Qui

“I need to know those reasons,” Qui

“You need to take this seriously, Qui

“I need to have a reason. Probably it would be the same as yours.”

“No, no . . .”

“Try me, Harley. I do understand that you place some importance in this. It would make it seem more worthwhile if you’d condescend to share.” Qui

There was a long silence on the phone. Qui

Big surprise.

“And Ida French?”

“Nothing on her. But that just means she hasn’t been caught yet.”

“Eloise?”

“Who the hell is that?”

“Their eight-year-old daughter.”

“Oh, yeah. Ida’s kid.”

“Is Clairmont the father?”

“It’s possible,” Renz said. “Conjugal visits and such.”

“Jewels . . .” Qui

“And we both know some jewels have been stolen,” Renz said.

“Belonging to Alexis Hoffermuth. The Alexis Hoffermuth.”

“What are you getting at, Qui

“The missing cat, Boomerang, was wearing a cheap jeweled collar when he disappeared.”

There was silence except for the gears in Renz’s brain meshing.

“You’re shittin’ me!” he said.

“No,” Qui

“Like certain people. Mostly of the female persuasion.”

“We got some kinda co

“It looks like we do,” Renz said. “A half-million-dollar jeweled bracelet. And of course, little old me. It’s a co

“Received,” Qui

He wondered if Renz had already known about the cat wearing the bracelet around its neck. Maybe even Alexis Hoffermuth had known. Maybe she’d pressured Renz into using NYPD resources to search for a missing cat, even while she wanted him to pull out all the stops trying to recover a bracelet. Money could addle people’s thinking.