~~~

Despite saying he wasn’t coming at least eighty-seven more times over the course of the afternoon, Zade eventually got tired of saying it and agreed to come, but only for one hour, and only if they took the bus. And only if Luco checked and made sure there were no police officers near the bus stop before Zade went to stand there.

With Zade grudgingly on board, Cha Cha followed, mainly because she hated being at home alone.

‘We’ll get back in time for the Brude Furhide drama?’ she asked as they walked across Bambamboo Park towards Dog Hood’s school.

‘That’s what you’re worried about?’ asked Luco, suppressing a laugh.

‘It’s not crucial that I see it, but if we can get back in time…that’d be good.’

‘Oh. I guess you don’t wanna go and file a complaint at the police station anymore?’

‘Ka, I do, but Zade keeps getting grumpy about it.’

‘I’m not grumpy,’ said the slouching tiger, keeping his paws gripped tightly on the hood of his jacket, which was almost completely covering his entire head.

‘You know, Zade, you actually look more suspicious with the hood on…’

‘I do not.’

‘If I were a police officer, I’d probably come over and check, see what you’re up to.’

‘Don’t say that.’

‘It’s true, Zade, you do look quite suspicious,’ said Cha Cha, gesturing at the top of his hood. ‘With it pulled so tight, I mean.’

Zade looked at his two friends and saw that their expressions were quite earnest. Then put a claw on the hood and hesitated a moment, before slowly taking it down from his head. Two dogs walking nearby got a glimpse of spotlit tiger and straight away turned and walked the other way.

Muttering something in his native language, Zade quickly put the hood back up.

‘Never mind,’ said Luco, stepping around an upturned pram on the ground and thinking absolutely nothing of it. ‘We won’t see any police anyway. They don’t come over this side usually.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Logic.’

‘Luco…’

‘What? Do you see any police around here? Nuut. That proves my point.’

‘Not yet.’

‘They won’t come, there are too many dogs around; it’s not quiet enough for crime.’ Luco pointed at the numerous dogs walking in and out of the schools on the street opposite. ‘Look, they’re even checking out the Cat Flex school…their mortal enemies.’

‘That is quite weird…’ said Zade, nervously pulling on one of his hoodie strings.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

‘Nuut, just because it’s new, that’s why they’re going there.’

‘Huh? It’s been open nearly thirty years.’

‘New-ish.’

‘It still doesn’t make sense. There are some other schools down the side alleys near Dog Lee’s street. They’ve been there a while, and their reputations are quite good.’

‘Ka? Do they have neon signs and a giant poster of Melancholy Cat[1] in their windows?’

‘Well…their windows are broken, mostly.’

‘You see my point then.’

Cha Cha put a paw to her own lips and mumbled, ‘guys, quiet. It’s Dog Hood, look.’

‘Where?’

‘Coming out of his school.’

Luco climbed up onto some railings and squinted at the other side of road. ‘That’s not him…’

‘It is, he’s wearing a hood…’

‘Way too small…not big enough to be Dog Hood.’

‘Nuut, nuut, it’s just because he’s far away. It’s him, I swear, you can see the bow on his back.’

The figure locked the door of the building, turned left and walked past the Cat Flex School, stopping for a moment by the front door then continuing on to the end of the road. The three amateur detectives quickly crossed the road, keeping an eye on Dog Hood all the time, and stopped outside the Cat Flex School to see what had caught their target’s attention.

On the door was a sign: ‘gone to Sha Lau, back when we feel like it.’

‘Wow, cats are so arrogant…’ said Cha Cha, peeking inside the window to see if there were any shadows moving about.

‘Dog Lee would never write back when I feel like it,’ said Luco, pretending to spit on the pavement in disgust.

‘Do you think Dog Hood is going to the Sha Lau too?’

‘Maybe,’ replied Zade, pulling so hard on the hoodie string that the other end disappeared inside the lining.

‘Definitely,’ added Luco, firmly. ‘Come on, trailing time.’

The three detectives scampered along the pavement, dodging between other dogs and even a polar bear walking the other way. They turned the corner at the end, went down the pedestrianised street, past the sputtering green lit spray of Quarter Heart Fountain, shifted to the alley at the end of the road, followed it round until it opened up onto the ironically named Closed Off Street [seven different exit points!], where they were just in time to see Dog Hood disappear inside the largest building in the whole area.

‘Sha Lau…’ said Luco, whistling pure air.

Zade finally got the other end of the string back out and flicked it towards nothingness. ‘It looks different than I remember.’

‘You’ve been in there before?’

‘Not for a while.’

‘Well, that makes sense then cos they renovated it last year,’ continued Luco, scanning the higher windows. ‘Dog Lee told me about it when he took me here last week. Said it’s lost a lot of its character now, a lot of show offs and posers, but…nuut kaata…still looks pretty good to me.’

‘Dog Lee took you for a drink?’

‘Ka, of course.’

Cha Cha opened her mouth to say, hey, he wanted to get rid of you two nights ago, but thought better of it. Instead she settled on the more mundane question of whether they were going in or not.

‘Of course. If Dog Hood’s in there...’

Cha Cha nodded, but didn’t move a single step forward. Neither did Zade.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Luco, confused.

‘I was waiting for you to lead the way,’ answered Cha Cha, hands in her jacket pockets.

‘Zade?’

‘I’m gonna wait outside.’

‘Don’t be weird, you’ve gotta come in.’

‘I think it’s better if I don’t.’

‘Why?’

‘Crowds make me uncomfortable.’

‘Cowardly, you mean. Okay, fine, stay here then. Nothing suspicious about a tiger standing on a dark street corner by himself. I’m sure the police won’t bother you at all.’

Zade growled quietly, looked around for random cops, saw a large dog in an ill-fitting baseball cap, then said ‘fine, I’ll come in. But if someone starts a fight, I’m blaming you.’

‘You worry too much, Zade…’ said Luco, patting his large friend on the back of his leg.

‘He’s right for once. Who would start a fight with you, Zade? You’re the size of a small house.’

Zade shook his head and muttered, ‘exactly.’

‘Huh?’

‘Never mind. Let’s just go in. Get this over with.’

‘That’s the spirit, comrade,’ said Luco, pushing Zade forward towards the Sha Lau entrance.

~~~

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[1] An ironic cartoon cat, famous all over Kaatlandō, which teaches young cats to be optimistic yet apologetic for the sins of their Kaatlando-invading ancestors.