Looking for a Motive

"Do you have anything in mind?" asked Ryne. He could tell her about his plan with the cats of the city, but then he would have to explain many more things to her than he would be comfortable with. Besides, there was the possibility that she had an idea that they may not have thought of.

"Hmmmm," said Ella. "I can't think of anything… I've already gone to the police station, and they're not much help."

So much for a plan. Still, Ryne had agreed to help her, as she could help them in return, even without her knowing.

"Hmm, I wonder if we can find out why they're doing this," said Ryne, recalling how some humans talk about stories where characters solve crimes and catch criminals. "Maybe we can get closer to finding out what they plan to do and stop it."

"Why? Oh, you're talking about motive, huh?"

Once again, Ella's mind went to the subject of her paper, the one about the mythological origins of the city. Nah, it can't be, she thought to herself, along with a visible shake of her head. Why would anyone…?

Ryne picked up on the gesture and asked, "Is there something that came to mind?"

"I think I mentioned it before, right? That this city has magical roots to it? Or more like, it is believed so," answered Ella. "Hold on, I'll get my laptop and some of my materials."

As Ella went to her room to get her computer, Nini went up to Ryne.

"What did you two talk about earlier?"

"Something about her missing her grandfather and him dying in a big fire. And now it's about how to catch the killer. I asked what reason would they have to do it, and then she went off to get some things."

"A big fire… Do you think it's that same one that happened to your childhood home?"

"It could be," said Ryne. "Now I wonder if that has any connection to this… If so, then this may be more personal than I first thought."

"In any case, I'll be here to support you no matter what happens."

"Thank you, it helps a lot."

Realizing that their gazes locked, they quickly looked away from each other. Also, Ryne blushed a little.

"You're welcome," said Nini after recovering.

After a while, Ella came back with her laptop, an old book, and some loose paper sheets.

"What is this?" asked Ryne.

"This is what I've been researching and writing about for the past few months. And it all started with this book," answered Ella. "It's something that I got from my Grandpa before he died. I still don't know enough of this ancient script to actually read it, but he told me that it had stories about cats and humans working together to build this very city."

She flipped the pages open to reveal the pictures inside. Indeed, there were figures of cats and humans doing different activities together. But there were also a few that were different.

"What is this one?" asked Ryne as he pointed at one of those unusual figures. It looked somewhat like how the cats were drawn in the book, but it was standing on two legs and was human-sized.

"I don't really know, actually. It might be some ancient deity, or maybe a messenger. I mean, if you have cats and humans cooperating with each other, there should be some way for them to understand each other, right?"

A cat in a human form… Could it be that Ryne's condition wasn't a curse at all, but a blessing? A little shaken by the revelation, he looked at his feline companions for comfort, and then back to Ella.

"I see…" was all he could say, prompting Ella to keep turning the pages and showing him the images on the tome.

After some time, they came upon a large drawing. It was of a creature that he hadn't seen before, with cats and people fighting against it, some of them dying. The only thing that seemed to be holding out was the cat-human.

"It may be this… but I'm not really sure," said Ella. "The reason behind the killings, I mean."

"Why do you think so, though?" asked Ryne, who almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, despite already being what could be called a magical creature.

"My Grandpa told me a story before, it was about a powerful demon that came to bring fear to the city and the land. The cats, with their magic and the humans, with their ability to create, fought against it. It proved to be too strong to defeat, so they sealed it instead," said Ella. "But, really, who in the world would believe that? Cats having magic? A demon trapped somewhere in this city? What, that person's sacrificing cats to call some dark lord or something?"

Ryne laughed somewhat nervously. "Well, considering the situation is already unusual as it is… Maybe it's not far off?" he said in response. If only she knew about what he was, as well as how cats had nine lives…

Speaking of which, I may really have to talk to Hugma about that… he thought.

"Maybe… Well, either that or that person is just crazy," said Ella. "Hm, maybe we should hit up the local mental institution and ask if anyone's escaped from there. You up for it?"

"It's all right with me. It would be good to be thorough."

"It's settled, then."

Ryne knew that if he didn't keep the cats' side of things a secret, things might have moved forward faster. However, from his previous encounters with humans and the unknown, he hasn't fared well in convincing them of the truth that he knows.

I'll tell her when I feel she's ready for it, he thought.

----------

That same morning, Mallory decided to read something other than the manuscripts that he reviewed. He figured that, since he could not make his tea any stronger, or he would risk waking up later than he should, he could do something that he thought would be less stressful.

Someone knocked on the door, and in came Caitlyn with some tea. "Good morning, sir," she said.

Then she noticed what her superior was reading. "Oh, I didn't know you read the news."

Mallory closed the newspaper for a while and answered, "Yes. I figured it would be a good change of pace since I'll be reading things that have nothing to do with me. Hopefully, it takes my mind off my usual concerns."

"I see," said Caitlyn, as she put the tea on his desk. "That's an interesting way to put it."

"Thank you."

Caitlyn took her leave, somewhat doubtful about the effectiveness of the newspaper in reducing work-related stress and insomnia, but, to each their own, it would seem. She was in no place to judge.

Mallory got back to reading the paper, and his sights fell to an update regarding missing cats.

The case seemed to have become big a few days ago. "Hmm, he sure got busy," he thought.

In that article, there was also a mention of a rise in the number of dead dogs, all killed in mostly the same manner. They were all brutally strangled, with their necks twisted, and some of them even with necks torn apart. Seeing that dogs rarely strayed in the city, most, if not all of them, were pets. This was probably the only reason it was even featured in the news.

However, with this revelation, a bad feeling suddenly came over Mallory. That idiot… There's no way, he thought, then shook his head. No, I can't assume that wasn't the case.

He let out a sigh and said to himself, I would have to confirm first, and if I'm right, I'll have to ask why.

He put on his coat and shouted, "Caitlyn! I'm going outside!"