Chapter 2
“Mon chéri, my conscience is prickling me...”
“Why, Mistral? Because I didn’t befriend you while I was still a woman?”
“That too, but... if only my stomach hadn't been so loud, if only I hadn't asked for food, if only...”
Sirocco, the little ginger cat, watched the two of them. Since “loyalty” was something he was learning more about every day, he timidly began to ask for forgiveness.
“Yes, but if I hadn't played with that ‘whiz-giz’ in the yard, if it hadn't gotten stuck in that ‘stray’ cherry tree...”
“Japanese, kid, it’s Japanese. I don’t think ‘stray’ cherry trees exist,” Aeolus interrupted from beneath the fringes of Mistral’s velvet cushion.
“But someone would have believed that necklace, collar, or whatever it is, has magical powers. We checked that day , and the original is in the Cairo Museum.”
“Something doesn't add up here. It’s impossible for a replica to be in Cairo under strict guard. Unless... Mon Dieu! That must be it...”
“Th-there are two s-skies... two ‘coals"
“Collars, kid... you’re a genius!” Remi exclaimed.
“Now it makes sense—there must be two... twins! We’re slowly getting to the bottom of this, boys! And it’s not your fault at all. The collar glowed, flickered, and fell from the tree right at my feet. What possessed me to hang it around my neck? Especially since I don't usually wear trinkets. Now, help me put the collar back on my neck, because if it gets lost again, I’ll be a cat for the rest of my life.”
From the kitchen, the word “kidnapped” could be clearly heard, repeated by both Anemo and Daniel Frost—newly dubbed “Mr. Trench."
“The world thinks I’ve been kidnapped... if only Mom wouldn't come; she’s allergic to cats and...”
The white cat didn't even get to finish her sentence before the doorbell started an unmusical duo with the bronze lion-shaped knocker. At the door, hurried and impatient, were Anna Storm, Aura Gale, and Daisy Queen. Fleur, who had been watching the detective’s discussion with Anemo almost silently and motionless, rushed to open it. The three of them burst in like a flock of geese on the Capitol, ready to wake the entire city with their commotion.In the living room on Ether Drive, the air had become unbreathable—not because of dust (which Aura Gale was already whisking away with a microfiber cloth)—but because of the tension. Daniel Frost, or Mr. Trench, as the household crew had already named him, marched resolutely toward the velvet armchair.
“I’ll take the handbag for the inventory, Mr. Gale. It’s an essential piece of evidence,” he decreed, reaching for the purse on the armchair.
Mistral, perched on the backrest like a black plush toy, gave Remi a “now or never” look. Remi, curled up at the detective's feet, felt her cat heart thumping in her throat.
“Now, Anna!” Mistral meowed, though he knew Remi’s mother couldn't understand him.But the timing was perfect. Anna Storm approached the armchair just as Mistral flicked his long, fluffy tail right under her delicate nose. The effect was instantaneous.
“A-choo! A-choo! Aaaa-choo!” Three loud explosions shook the living room. Frost, startled by the blast, instinctively turned toward Anna, offering her a tissue from his trenchcoat pocket. In that split second, the feline mechanism was triggered.With a short nudge from his left paw, Mistral tipped the open bag; little Sirocco, who had been lurking under the armchair, bolted like a flame and, with the skill of a pickpocket, “fished” the slim phone as it slid out. The device fell silently onto the cushion, and a second nudge from Sirocco sent it straight into the deep crevice between the seat and the backrest.
“Aeolus, confirm!” Sirocco chirped as he retreated to safety.
Aeolus, watching everything from under Mistral’s cushion, poked just the tip of his nose out and twitched his whiskers:
“Clear!”Frost turned back to the bag and picked it up. It felt unusually light in his hand, but Anna grabbed his arm through tears and sneezes.
"Her glasses... are they in there? And the phone? What if someone holding her hostage calls?” she wailed, fixing the detective with a desperate look.Frost felt the soft material of the bag from the outside. The sunglasses made a plastic clinking sound, giving him the illusion that everything was in order.
“We have everything we need, Mrs. Storm. Procedure is under control,” he said, tucking the “essential evidence” into his wide pocket.In the next moment, the white cat leaped onto the armchair with a grace she didn't know she possessed. She sat exactly over the crevice where the phone had disappeared, turning into an immaculate sphere of fur.
She began to purr as if this purring were a form of meditation or grounding, much like the way Anemo paced around barefoot when he was deep in thought.
“Now we can go to Mars, or to one of the poles, my dear. Aeolus is Agent 003.5, totally at your service, Blanche... we should call you Blanche, to somehow suggest this name to Anemo or Aura.”
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