"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity."
Hunter S. Thompson
Chapter 11
"Oh, Harry I need to get my car from my apartment. Drive me to it?" I asked. Louis, Annabelle, Niall, Zayn, Liam and Harry looked like they were in the middle of something important. "Oh sorry, I interrupted something." I said.
"No its fine. I'll take you." Harry said.
"Are you sure? I can wait." I say.
"No, let's go." He said. He looked mad at something.
I followed him out to his car. He drove and I got shotgun. "Harry what’s wrong?" I asked after a moment.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked his eyes still on the road.
"You’re mad at something?" It sounded more like a question when I said it.
"Well, when a guy kidnaps your girlfriend and friends I think you would be pretty mad." He said sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes and slightly laughed then said, "Harry I'm being serious. Is there something going on?"
"Well Louis got a phone call from Caleb-" He was going to continue but I interrupted him.
"A phone call? We can track it down." I said.
"Hold on, I'm getting to that. The phone was burner phone. Louis can't figure out how to track it down." Harry explained.
"My team knows how to track it down. Unless he already threw it away then we can't do anything. I don’t think we can anyway."
"Alright try and figure out how and then he can show Louis." He said.
"What did Caleb say in the call?" I asked.
"He said, 'To bathe a cat takes brute force, perseverance, courage of conviction - and a cat. The last ingredient is usually hardest to come by.'."
To bathe a cat takes brute force, perseverance, courage of conviction - and a cat. The last ingredient is usually hardest to come by.
The last sentence sent shivers down my spine. The last ingredient is usually the hardest to come by. The last thing he said in the list was 'and a cat'.
"Why is he referring to Stephen Baker? That's a quote from him."
"I don't know but break down the quote." He said. So I did. This comes easy for me; breaking down things. That's what you do as a homicide detective. Breaking down the clues to solve the mystery.
When he is talking about a cat I assume he's talking about me. He wouldn’t necessarily bathe me so I assume he means to catch me.
So the first sentence would be to catch a Cat it takes brute force, perseverance and courage of conviction.
Brute means a brutal, insensitive, or crude person. The brutal person is Caleb.
Force means strength or power exert upon an object; physical coercion; violence. In this case I'm the object.
Perseverance means to steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a stat, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. So he has to go through obstacles to try and catch me.
Courage of conviction is a idiom. It means if you have the courage of your convictions, you are brave enough to do what you feel is right, despite and pressure for you to do something different. I'm not sure if that applies to Caleb or me. It may apply more to Caleb about trying to catch me maybe kill me. Maybe he knows that killing me isn't the right decision but he is to focused on trying to get Harry back with him that he'll do anything; Even if that means killing me.
"To catch a Cat it takes a brutal person with violence that can go through obstacles and difficulties. I know it's the wrong thing but I'm determined to do the wrong thing. The last thing I need is a Cat. And a Cat is the hardest thing to get. That's what he's trying to say. He wants to catch me and kill me Harry." I say after I figured out the message.
"I'm not going to let that happen. He's not going to catch you Cat." He promised. I'm not so sure I believe his promise though. Caleb always seems to be one step ahead of us.
"Did he say anything else in the phone call?" I asked.
"No, after he said that he hung up." He said.
I didn't say anything back I just nodded. About three minutes later we got to my apartment. Harry pared the car and we went up to my floor. I took the key from my bag and unlocked my door. Harry said he would wait out in the hall. I walked in and headed towards the living area where my car keys were.
When I looked on the couch I screamed and fell back. Harry ran into the room after I had screamed. On the couch was Kylie. Her chest was going up and down but she looked dead. Harry saw Kylie on the couch, then said, "Shit."
I examined her body and say she was clenching something in her hand. I loosed her hand to see a white crumbled up paper. I tried to straighten out the small paper so it wasn't as wrinkled and was a bit readable.
I know more than you think I do. I'm more powerful than you think I am. I'm smarter then you already are.
"We need to take her back to Annabelle. She's still breathing." I tell Harry. He nodded and picked up Kylie from the couch.
"I'll take my car and follow you back." I say and grab my keys from the coffee table. He nodded and carried her out of my apartment. We took the back way out so no one would see us carrying an unconscious body around. Harry went to his car with Kylie and I went to the garage and got my car. I followed Harry back to the place where I'm staying for now.
I was behind Harry and trying to keep up with him. He was speeding through light and trying to avoid traffic. I don't blame him, I mean Kylie could die any second if we don't get help.
I got there a couple minutes after Harry was already there. Harry had already taken Kylie in already. I hurried inside and everyone was gathered around the couch.
"What do we do?" Zayn asked frantically. Annabelle looked like she was trying not to cry but was failing. NIall was talking to her quietly, probably trying to calm her down.
:"I don't know. We can't go to a doctor. She's supposed to be dead." Liam said.
"You guys don't know any doctors or anyone who knows medical things?" I finally asked, "Considering you are all staying hidden, you'd think you would have a doctor that you can trust in case one of you ever got hurt."
"Know your facts before you speak Cat." Zayn said, "We had a doctor. He was killed by Caleb."
I didn't say anything after that, until I was sick of them just wondering what to do with Kylie. "Get her in my car."
"What?" Louis asked.
"I didn't stutter. I said put her in my car." I repeated myself but this time my tone was strong in demanding. No one did anything, they just stared at me.
"Are you really going to make me carry her to my car? I may know how to use a gun and I am smart but I'm not strong. I'll most likely fall over. So, I'm going to say this one more time; pick her up and take her to my car." I demanded.
Liam finally made the move and picked Kylie's almost dead body up. I went out of the building to my car, Liam following my footsteps with Kylie in her arms. "Lay her down in the back and set back there with her so she won't fall." I instruct.
Liam does as I told him to and laid her carefully down in the back of my car. He lifted her head up, sat down and put her head in his lap. Once he and Kylie were seated in the car, I went in and got in the driver’s seat. I started the car and drove to Malaya's house.
The drive was quite a ways from my new home as I should call it now. Malaya is a retired nurse that I met at the cafe. She and I became friends but I haven't talked to her much lately. I remember she had medical things from when she was trying to take care of her father who was in a coma because she couldn't pay the health insurance at the hospital. He died a few weeks after I had first met her. I'm still hoping she kept the medical equipment.
"Where are we going?" Liam finally asks after a while.
"My friend’s house. She used to be a nurse. I think she can help."
"Cat, people think she's dead."
"Liam she's an old woman. She doesn't watch the news or TV. anymore. She doesn't do anything anymore. She just sits in her chair and stares at the wall. She's to depress to watch the news, even know what’s going on. She most likely won't know about her." I say.
Liam doesn't say anything after that. He just lets me drive to Malaya's house. Once I pulled into her drive way Liam took Kylie out of the car and followed me up to Malaya’s door. I rang the doorbell and waited for an answer. It took at least 30 seconds to hear a click and then Malaya opened the door. She greeted me with a wide smile.
"Cat! Come in! Come in!" She said opening the door wider. Liam and I stepped into her house. I gave her a qucik hug then she saw Liam carrying Kylie.
"Oh my god. What's wrong with her?" She asked immediately.
"She unconscious and isn't waking up. Can you help her?" I ask her.
"Yes, yes," She repeated herself and motioned us to follow her, "I was just about to get rid of this stuff." She's referring to the medical machines.
"Lay her down on the bed please." Malaya says and she pulls out some wires and turns on a heart monitor. Liam laid Kylie down on the bed. Malaya put a IV in her vain in her arm. The IV lead up to a bag of clear liquid that hung on a rack. She hooked up some other things to her, and then put a breathing mask over her mouth.
"Is she going to be okay?" Liam finally asks.
"Well I'm not sure. What made her go unconscious?" Malaya asked.
Liam and I looked at each other before I answered her. "I'm not sure. I came home and she was on my couch like this." I lied. Liam and I know who did this. It was Caleb. He probably poisoned her with something horrible.
Malaya gave me a look of disbelief but let it go. "She can stay here until she wakes up."
"Thank you Malaya." I smiled and she gave me a quick embrace. She asked Liam and I if we could stay for a while and we said yes but not for long. Liam and I were sat on her couch while she was in her kitchen getting some cookies she had made and some lemonade. When she came back in the living room with the food and beverage I took the time to look her over, see if she was okay.
Her dark skin looked the same as it was when I first meet her, she had her white and gray hair up in a bun, she looked thinner since I last saw her, and when I looked into her eyes she looked empty.
"Malaya, how are you? Are you doing okay?" I asked.
"Don't you worry about me now? I'm doing fine. How’s your life?" She asked
"It's complicated at the moment but it's great." I say with a reassuring smile.
"How is it complicated?" She asked. I could feel Liam staring at me, saying threw his eyes not to give out any information.
"Work. I have a very hard case at the moment." I say.
"Well, I hope all goes well with that," She said to me then turned towards Liam, "I don't think we have properly met. I'm Malaya and you are?"
"Liam. It's nice to meet you." Liam said politely.
"May I ask who the girl is?" She asked us.
"She's my friend’s younger sister." Liam said.
"Her name?"
"Kylie." I say.
"Why didn't you take her to a hospital?" Malaya asked.
"Kylie has never liked hospitals and either does her sister. I thought since I knew you, you might help her from your house." I say.
Malaya nodded and told us to eat the cookies and the lemonade. She talked to Liam and got to know him a bit more. My phone started ringing and it was Harry.
"Hold on. I need to take this." I say and get up. I go into the hallway and answer my phone.
"Cat where the hell are you?" Harry asked urgently.
"Harry relax. I'm at my friend’s house. She's a nurse." I explain.
"Are you stupid? Nobody knows that she's alive. You can't let people know she isn't dead." Harry says.
"Obviously I'm smarter then you at this moment. She's an old lady and doesn't pay attention to the news or television. She's too depressed to watch the news anyway. Her dad died and she hasn't been able to go outside since. I know what I'm doing Harry." I say a bit annoyed.
"Right. Just come back home now." Harry said before he hung up. I rolled my eyes and slid my phone in my back pocket. I went back into the living room.
"Liam we need to go. Thank you Malaya for taking care of Kylie until she gets better. Give me a call when she get up and I'll send Liam to go and get her." I say.
"Alright," She gives me a warm smile then hugs me once again, "I'll be sure to take care of her. Thank you for stopping by."
I pull away and thank her once more before leaving with Liam. I get in the divers and Liam gets in shot gun. I drive back to my new home.
"You guys should really get a doctor." I say keeping my eyes on the road.
"He died remember?" Liam said.
"Get a new one. Someone you know you can trust and knows how to help people. Malaya isn't going to help us when one of us gets shot. She'll call the ambulance then something bad will happen to all of us. We'll probably go into custody." I say.
"Let's just hope she doesn't find out about Kylie." Liam says.
I nod in agreement. We get to the building and get out of my car. Liam punches in the code and we walk in.
"Where the hell did you take her?" Annabelle screams.
"Where is she?" Louis yells.
"You got to tell us where you going next time for god sakes!" Zayn yells.
"Stop yelling at her!" Liam yells back. "She took her to her friend who happens to be a nurse! Her names is Malaya. Her Dad died a few weeks ago and she hasn't been able to go outside since then. She doesn't know that Kylie is supposed to be upset. So can you all shut you fucking mouths and stop yelling at Cat! She's the only one who’s thinking at the moment!"
I've never seen Liam get this angry. It surprised me and made me step away from him. I guess it wasn't common for Liam to yell like that because they all looked at Liam shocked.
I shook my head and walked to my room. They don't trust me.