Chapter 14 – Feline Hijinks
“You going to be able to handle this interview with a straight face, Walsh?” Laura’s eyes turned back to the road ahead of them as the light changed to green a few cars ahead of them, and traffic started flowing again. Her partner had been a little distracted since he’d arranged their meeting with Shadow Lynx, and actually jumped a bit when she’d suddenly asked the question.
“Oh, oh yeah, I’ll be fine,” he replied quickly, waving his hand as if there was nothing wrong. He kept his eyes aimed out the side window, though, and still looked as if his thoughts were elsewhere.
“Out with it,” Laura ordered, stomping on the gas pedal as she whipped the car out of the lane and around a particularly slow-moving utility truck. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden? You know what Shadow Lynx is like; everyone who has ever met her on the force knows she’s got much too high an opinion of herself, and she’s not afraid to show it. You’re not going to go fan-girling all over her, are you?”
Walsh finally turned his head back to Laura, gaping for a moment before he recovered himself, looking a little offended by the idea as he shook his head. “Hell no. I know exactly what she’s like; I’ve had plenty of chats with the patrolmen who have dealt with her before. It’s…it’s not her, Conway. It’s her manager.”
Raising an eyebrow, Laura eased back into the cruising lane. “Her manager? What about them?”
Shrugging, Walsh brought his arm up and rested it on the door, putting his fist against his chin. “I don’t know exactly; I’ve been trying to work that out. Something about the way she spoke, or just the feeling I got speaking to her didn’t seem right. For lack of a better word, she seemed demanding, bossy maybe, but intense, like she expected the world to bend to her will or something. Maybe I’m overthinking things; she’s probably one of those high-level corporate manager types, so it’s probably normal for her. Just…I don’t know. Something’s got me on edge about her.”
Laura considered for a few moments, tapping a finger on the steering wheel. Then a thought occurred. “Don’t tell me you’re still trying to get over your interview with Suzie the other day? Does that still have you off kilter?”
Walsh groaned, putting the hand that had been resting under his chin over his face. “Don’t remind me of her, please. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same after spending two hours in the same room with her. I tell you, she’s nuts, an absolute psycho, and that child services lawyer couldn’t see any of it! Those looks Suzie kept shooting me, Conway…I still don’t know if she wanted to kill me or have sex with me or something else worse. Then in an instant she switched it all off and went back to the ‘poor innocent little girl’ shtick.”
“We really do deal with some messed up people…just part of the job, I guess. I get the feeling that we’ll be seeing that one again…” Laura paused for a moment, easing through the traffic to another lane. They’d had little choice but to give Suzie over to CPS; none of the information they could pull up about her aligned with what the mysterious goth woman had handed over to her at the jewelry store. All of the records indicated Suzie was a young girl from a troubled family, nothing about military service or obsession with demolitions or severe mental issues. Granted, the information they’d been given on every single one of the other maids, minus the one they called Pinkie, who didn’t have a file on the drive, was spot on. Laura’s instincts told her to trust what she’d been given, but legally her hands were tied.
Finally, she spoke. “Trust your gut, Walsh,” she said. “Keep your wits about you if the manager is at the meeting. Despite what good she’s done for the city, I can’t bring myself to fully trust Shadow Lynx, so a shady manager isn’t exactly surprising.”
“Right…” Walsh replied, not as eagerly or as quickly as Conway would have liked, but he did return to staring out of the passenger window with his hand under his chin.
The next ten minutes passed in an uneasy silence. Laura didn’t really have any words of encouragement for her partner; ever since superpowers had become a thing, their job had taken so many odd turns that even she couldn’t remember all of them. There were probably a few hundred new laws being proposed to deal with the supers, but those took time to grind through the bureaucratic machine, so she didn’t expect anything solid until next year at least. All she did know for certain was that Suzanne Brookshire, or ‘Little Suzie’ as she seemed to like being called, belonged at the Edgewater Mental Institute at the very least, or a supermax prison, perhaps, the kind they threw terrorists into. At least she didn’t seem to have any powers beyond her ability to creep out Walsh…
Turning off at the next exit, Laura guided their car down the ramp and turned off onto a smaller, but still busy street, drove for a few blocks, then turned off into the parking lot of a new restaurant that was about to have their grand opening, La Ventana Sureña, she noted, in an event starring none other than Shadow Lynx. The place put her in the mind of a Spanish villa, with a fancy garden and small pond out front, open-air patios for dining on either end of the building, and the classic stucco and Spanish roof tile look to the building. There were several vehicles in the parking lot already, though they were mostly commercial vans and trucks, probably getting the final touches in place before the big opening.
Parking closer to the restaurant, Laura shut off the car and stepped out, Walsh following behind her; she could hear some shouts in Spanish from inside, urging someone to work faster. She glanced at her phone, noticed that it was already nearing six in the evening, just an hour before the grand opening was scheduled to occur; the shadows were getting longer, and the sun had already dipped below many of the towering skyscrapers that surrounded them, leaving their long, wide shades over the smaller structures.
“Seems like a nice place,” Walsh said after he had closed his door.
“Yeah, bit on the fancy side, though,” Laura replied, looking around, noting the pleasant scents wafting from the restaurant as they were already prepping the food. “Where did she say to meet Shadow Lynx?”
“Here,” Walsh replied, shrugging. “Didn’t specify exactly where.”
Responding with a nod, Laura started toward the restaurant. As she crossed the short distance between their car and the front doors, she got the undeniable feel of being watched. Though she kept her head aimed forward, her eyes darted to one side, then the other. She heard a faint creak of the suspension of a car behind them, and caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure atop their car’s roof reflected in the mirrored glass at the corner of the restaurant. The figure vanished a moment later, though the sense of being watched hadn’t ceased.
Though Laura didn’t get the feeling she was in immediate danger, her senses were on alert. Shadow Lynx was playing around. Frowning, Laura glanced upward toward the edge of the roof by the chimney, caught another shadowy figure peeking around just before it slipped out of sight behind the structure. Over the din of activity inside, Laura’s ears picked up the very faint sound of heels scraping on tile, and turned her eyes toward the covered patio to their right, and saw the crouching form of Shadow Lynx, as if she had just landed on the edge of the patio from the roof above.
Laura stopped and turned so suddenly that Walsh nearly walked into her, and grunted in surprise when he finally realized why Laura had turned. “Shadow Lynx,” she said in a neutral tone, hiding a smile at the slight flinch the heroine gave as she rose to stand. She hadn’t expected to get spotted. Catherine had always said Shadow Lynx was as loud as a bull in a china shop. “I’m Detective Conway, this is Detective Walsh.”
The shadowy heroine recovered herself quickly and finished standing, turning quickly with a flourish of her hand as she gave them a quick bow and a seductive smile. “Ah, yes, a pleasure to meet you, mi amigos. I’m always at the service of our wonderful police force.” Her voice was a throaty purr, and her dark eyes seemed to glitter in the shade of the patio roof as she looked at them, her gaze lingering on Walsh for a couple seconds longer, Laura noted. Shadow Lynx suddenly jumped up and backward, doing a full flip in the air before she landed on the patio railing in an easy crouch, very much looking like a predatory cat watching its prey, and somehow holding her balance on the rail in her high heels. “How can I help you today, detectives? Perhaps you have a lead on the nefarious criminal cat, Pink Pussy, and have come to ask my help in bringing her to justice, hmm?”
“Already she’s prodding me…” Laura thought sourly, but kept her face neutral as she drew out her small notepad from her pocket. “We did have a few questions about that matter, actually. Based on that last video, you certainly seem well informed on the case,” she said, hoping that her voice didn’t betray her annoyance.
“Of course,” Shadow Lynx purred, licking her lips as her eyes focused on Laura. “In my line of work, one must be not only a warrior for justice, but a well informed one, no?”
“Oh yes, certainly,” Laura replied. “Information is basically a currency these days. And about that…we were curious as to whether you had heard anything else about the nature of what Pink Pussy is planning. You know what she’s taken, and your theory matches ours pretty much exactly up until she stole the diamonds; maybe you’ve heard something that the police haven’t, given your line of work?”
Shadow Lynx laughed, the leather of her outfit squeaking as she raised a hand to her mouth. “So direct, Detective Conway! You’re a woman who doesn’t play games, eh? Well, amiga, I do certainly hear things you don’t, though much of it has to be discerned through layers of deception and secrecy. Do you know how many criminal gangs there are, or how many big corporations have their own plans for Sentinel City?”
“Not exactly, but I can probably give you a fairly close estimate,” Laura replied, feeling her annoyance rise. Shadow Lynx was still playing with them. “Have you heard anything new since your last video, then?”
“Lots,” replied the heroine, shifting her body in a manner that served to highlight her curves, not that her skimpy outfit needed much help in that. “She’s always been good at hiding, and rumors abound that she has taken up with the whores in the Red Light District, though I tend to disbelieve that one as wishful thinking on the part of some desperate niños. Still, Pink Pussy has always loved flaunting herself, so who knows? I just avoid going to places like that if I can help it.”
How Laura managed to stifle an angry snarl at the implication that was just thrown at her friend was a mystery. “Well, we’ve not explored any leads there, so maybe we’ll have some of our people follow up and see if they can find something out.” It wasn’t likely, though. The RLD had a reputation for being close-knit and tight-lipped when it came to its internal politics, and often handled giving out their own brand of justice. There were even growing rumors of a vigilante that watched over the area and dealt harshly with anyone who tried to hurt the working girls and boys. Laura recalled a recent story in fact of a few drug dealers having been found on the outskirts of the District, stuffed in the trunk of their car, beaten and bound with some very kinky gear, talking about some hooded woman beating the crap out of them.
Shadow Lynx’s eyes glittered. “And you would certainly be willing to accept some help in going after her, if you were to find her there, yes? She should be captured before she finishes whatever nefarious scheme she’s involved in.”
“Officially, no,” Walsh replied, finally finding his voice, which sounded a lot more engaging than Laura’s had. “But if you happened to find your way there, you know, on a hot tip, well, I’m certain the police wouldn’t mind the help at all. Was there…some way to reach you directly, if a tipster like that were out there?”
Lips curling, Shadow Lynx let out an amused laugh, though it sounded just as stuck up as ever in Laura’s mind. “Oh, Detective Walsh, did you just try to get my number?” she asked, obviously pleased with his attention.
“I’m sure a certain tipster like that would much rather deal with you directly; your manager can be a little…overbearing.”
Still grinning, Shadow Lynx shrugged. “Can’t argue that, amigo, but Marcelina is amazing at her job. She does hate it when stuff like that slips by her and interrupts my schedule, though. You know my social media I’m sure; DM me and word will get to me fast.”
“Oh, it wouldn’t be me, certainly, but you know, I’ll get the word around,” Walsh replied smoothly.
Before Shadow Lynx could respond, Laura jumped into the narrow gap. “You and Pink Pussy have had more than a few rough meetings since you came on the scene,” she said quickly, having heard every detail that hadn’t gotten released publicly from Catherine herself, “like that time the two of you got into a fight and you were knocked into that vat of marshmallows? In all the time you’ve known each other, have you become aware of any particular places she may be hiding, or any allies who may be shielding her?”
Though she had been giving a suggestive raise of her eyebrows to Walsh, a look of annoyance flashed over Shadow Lynx’s face, but vanished quickly, replaced by a smile that could have been read as a large cat getting ready to pounce it’s prey as she turned her attention back toward Laura. “I know places she liked to show off, but places to hide, no. I’ve already been everywhere we usually wound up meeting, and she’s never been there, not even a single pink hair. You’re barking up the wrong tree, Detective; Pink Pussy has changed her habits now that she’s turned bad. You want my opinion, go to her fans, what few there still are. Some of them would love to have her staying with them, I’m sure; have you checked the highest donors on her site?”
“It’s something we’ve been looking into,” Laura replied, keeping her face as still as possible, though her jab had its desired effect. “But you know how the law is…all those ponderous warrant applications, lawyers going back and forth, the payment processors throwing up their own roadblocks, that kind of thing. We do value privacy, after all. I mean, if some information were to get leaked out to the wrong people, it could mean the difference between a capture and an escape, or even the difference between a conviction or the criminal getting set free on a technicality, and other parties that got involved might get bogged down in a legal quagmire. But what’re you going to do? It’s the system we have,” Laura said, shrugging. “Anyway, that expert you mentioned talking to, did you have a name? We’d like to consult with them and see if our tech guys can work with them to come up with some better idea of what Pink Pussy’s planning. We’ve had some pretty off the wall ideas so far.”
“Yeah, like a death ray. Imagine that,” Walsh said, chuckling. “Doesn’t seem like something Pink Pussy is capable of, huh?”
Laura had watched Shadow Lynx closely as she’d given the spiel about privacy. There was no doubt she got the hint, given the way her demeanor soured and how her full, red lips had curved downward; if Shadow Lynx had a real tail like Pink Pussy, it no doubt would have been twitching.
It only took a couple seconds before the heroine replied, though, her sultry grin returning. “Certainly not; she’s too much of a bimbo to come up with something like that on her own. But my expert, they value their privacy as well, Detective Conway; it was told to me in the strictest of confidence you understand. But I will certainly pass along any other ideas they may come up with. Your number is still 911, right?” The amount of forced sweetness in Shadow Lynx’s voice could have put a diabetic into a coma.
As Laura opened her mouth to reply with her next question, ignoring Shadow Lynx’s smart response, her phone gave a loud, almost screaming, alert sound, as did Walsh’s. They looked at one another and snatched their phones from their pockets, seeing the message from their central dispatch scrolling on the screen:
CONFIRMED PINK PUSSY SIGHTING. CODE: 459 IN PROGRESS. 3 UNITS ON ROUTE. ADDRESS IS …
The message on screen trailed off as it reached the display’s limit, but Laura was already looking to Walsh, then nodded to the car.
“Oh my, did something happen?” Asked Shadow Lynx, licking her lips. “Do the police need my help?”
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Laura said quickly. “Looks like we’ll have to cut our meeting short, duty calls. You understand, right? Maybe we can continue later on; I did have some questions about that last Pink Pussy robbery regarding an officer’s report…something about a black-clad woman with feline features being spotted nosing around the crime scene right after it happened. Anyway, enjoy your party tonight, Shadow Lynx. Keep up the good work.” Laura was already following Walsh back to their car, hoping that her implication was clear.
“Of course, Detectives! It would be my absolute pleasure to keep assisting the police!” Shadow Lynx called. “Call me if you need me!”
Laura glanced over her shoulder, but as expected, Shadow Lynx was already gone. She got into the car and started it up, Walsh giving her the full address as she backed out. “What’s the rest of the message say?”
“It came in from an anonymous tip,” Walsh replied. “Someone sent a live web feed from a security camera that showed Pink Pussy scouting out an apartment. I’m trying to pull it up, but the signal sucks here.”
Laura flipped their siren and lights on as she pulled out into the road, gunning the engine. “Keep trying.” The address was a couple miles from them, and with evening traffic, it would be a miracle if they made it in time. “I want to see her myself.”
“Don’t we all?” Walsh grunted as Laura whipped the car into a sharp right turn, weaving through traffic. “Are you sure that was a good idea to prod Shadow Lynx like that?”
“She’ll get over it, or she won’t. She got the message. Wish we’d had more time to ask her about that last part.” Laura kept her sentences short, her full focus on the road ahead of them for anyone who didn’t understand what flashing blue lights and a siren meant, or a pedestrian who didn’t pay heed to crosswalk signals.
“Crap!” Walsh spat as Laura squealed the car’s tires going around another corner. “I had just a moment of video, now it’s buffering again. It’s her, Conway. I saw her just as she jumped off the roof toward another building. There was some kind of flare or something on the camera, but it was her for sure.” After a few more seconds, as they came into a wider thoroughfare with more traffic, the car slowed, and Walsh spoke again. “Wait…that flare moved…no, it’s more like a smudge… I don’t know what that is. It’s…like something you’d see on a ghost video; it’s gone now too. Almost looked human-sized, though.”
“Maybe our mysterious black feline,” Laura said, slamming the brakes as a delivery truck suddenly darted out of the slow lane into her lane, apparently oblivious to their car. Muttering a curse, she blared the horn and the truck slowly got back in the other lane, and she stomped the gas pedal again. Laura did have a moment to muse, though, about all the pussy suddenly in her life; she couldn’t recall a time when she’d wanted to get hands on pussy quite so bad, in fact.
Well, better late than never, eh? Apologies for the delay, but I’ve been quite busy from the get go this morning, and have just now managed to have a little time to get caught up.
I’ll admit, I’m not entirely happy with this chapter. I want to say that it could do more, but it does serve its main purpose of getting some interaction between Shadow Lynx and Laura, and getting us to the next chapter. Things should start picking up on the pace from here as we draw closer to the conclusion, though.
I’m finally getting a break from work, and will be on vacation next week. Hoping I can get properly caught back up with my progress on this story, as my writing time has been severely hampered the last couple weeks. A little time to refresh is never a bad thing, eh?
Until next time!
Also, come by and say hello on my Discord server! Or look me up over on DeviantArt! Would love to hear from you!
