Unexpected Revelation

Ryne did as he was suggested by Mallory and settled on one of the seats. Nini and Fonmi stayed close to him, while Prauza went ahead and made his way towards the white-haired man.

"Oh, it's the other human who smells like a cat!" said the traveler. "Hello! How are you?!"

Mallory stared at the feline, now caught off-guard by his boisterous greeting. He was going to start the whole conversation on a serious note, but the cat that he specifically asked for now stole the moment.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Miller!" said Ryne, who decided to rush towards Prauza and pick him up. "He seems to really like you," he continued, laughing nervously afterward.

"I can see that. It's…"

Just then, Fonmi, driven by curiosity, also went closer to Mallory's area. "Hello, mister human!" he said.

Nini, concerned about her child, went forward as well. "Fonmi, please get away from there. The humans need some space to talk."

As the mother escorted the child away from the humans, Mallory started the conversation for real. "As I was saying… It's all right. I was the one who asked for the cats to be here, and I did that in full knowledge of what could happen. There's no need to apologize for them."

"In that case, thank you, Mr. Miller," said Ryne, still holding Prauza.

"However, you must be wondering why I did so. After all, you're only here for a 'follow-up interview.'"

Ryne became nervous at the last phrase. The way his "interviewee" said it let him know that he likely knew something about the real reason why he scheduled the appointment. This was, perhaps, what Caitlyn told him to watch out for.

"I'll be cutting to the chase as time isn't exactly a luxury I can afford," continued Mallory, "You can… understand cats, can't you?"

The black-haired cat-human didn't know what to think of the man's move. Was it to his advantage or disadvantage? Still, he was practically found out, and he might as well come clean if this other person had already figured out this much.

"Yes," Ryne answered, his initial nervousness slowly fading. "You can too, can't you?"

While he didn't expect the straightforward answer and the question that followed it, Mallory was pleased with how their conversation progressed. He let out a small chuckle and said, "Yes."

Some relief came over Ryne. He didn't exactly know what to do if it turned out that Mallory answered otherwise.

"All right, now that my initial curiosity has been sated, I would like to ask why you wanted to speak with me," continued the white-haired man. "I don't think that you actually just came here for your follow-up interview. And to be honest, I don't believe that the interview back then was for real."

It took a moment for Ryne to answer the question. "I guess you are quite the sharp man. True, I did not come here just for the interview. I was… I was helping these cats solve a certain mystery."

"Hm? What kind of mystery?"

"You might have heard some news about cats disappearing from the city lately. Well, quite a number of them have actually been killed by a mysterious person in a thick cloak, wielding some sort of sharp object."

"Like a dagger?"

"Yes."

It was Mallory's turn to hesitate. He sighed a bit, but stayed silent as he thought of what to say.

"I, no, we thought that you might have something to do with it," continued Ryne. "I apologize if it sounds like we're accusing you, but it's not you who we're suspecting, per se. It's your friend, Mr. Bennett."

"And how did you know about that?" As much as Mallory would like to deny his friend's involvement, he couldn't find it in himself to lie.

"Prauza here… smelled him. If you would believe it."

Mallory couldn't help but laugh at how silly everything was to him at this point. Ryne again became nervous, as he might have said something wrong. Soon, the former calmed down and replied, "Amazing… Who knew someone would be able to…?"

He paused for a moment before continuing. "But know that I am not completely uninvolved with that… case. I was… the one who told Edward to do it."

"But… why?" asked Ryne, now afraid of what he now had to tell Caitlyn about her boss. "He's your friend… and you know about his condition. How could you?"

The company head brushed his hair back with his hand and let out a deep sigh. "That's… It was a lapse of judgment."

"What do you mean by that?" The cat-human was still calm, but his anger was becoming apparent in his voice.

"I meant to do it personally, but I couldn't bring myself to continue after that first kill. I thought, what if…?"

"What if what?"

"I don't think I could explain it in words anymore. It would be better to show you instead."

Just then, Mallory seemed to disappear from Ryne's sight. Or rather, he had shrunk.

No, transformed into a cat. Just like Ryne could.

From behind the desk came a white tomcat with black spots.

Everyone else in the room was shocked, especially Ryne, who had then let Prauza free from his grasp. "T-Thau?" he asked in cat-speak.

This time, it was the white cat's turn to sport a look of utter surprise. "Wait, how did you know my-?"

Before Mallory could finish his sentence, Ryne reverted to his cat form. "It's me, Ryne."