Chapter 7 Hawaii (7) A Secret Visit to the Apartment. ...
Kara's get off work hours, the exact location of her residence, and how she enters and exits the apartment building are currently known.
The difficulty encountered – how to enter Kara's apartment to look for any trace of the ring.
“Rich would occasionally go out to sea with the fishermen in the harbor at dawn. We would bring our parrots to the apartment before Mrs. Carla Meller went to work, taking advantage of the time when Rich was not at home.”
He hesitated to tell 1221 about his envisioned plan.
"Have the parrot hide and talk, use language to imitate the voices of familiar people to attract Kara's attention, and sneak into the apartment before the humans lock the door."
“This plan has many variables,” 1221 said. “The biggest variable is the parrot.”
"How can we ensure that removing the parrot's leg band will still allow it to cooperate with us?"
“Look at that anklet—” Chi Chi peeked out again.
“We untied the rope from the pillar, and I bit the rope, but it was still connected to the ankle bracelet.”
"oh!"
1221 understood immediately: "You want to walk your bird?"
"This way we can kill two birds with one stone, allowing it to go out for some fresh air and also helping us with a small favor."
Once the plan was finalized, all that remained was figuring out how to please the parrot.
I rejected them last time, and I wonder if this cunning bird will take advantage of the situation.
The next day, I arrived at the market early and waited until the fruit and vegetable stalls had closed up shop. Then, I picked through the pile of discarded coconut shells and pineapple peels that the stall owners had thrown away to choose the food that my parrot liked.
"Parrots probably prefer sweets to vegetables."
1221 flies around, and the cat and system are like customers who come to buy things just before closing time.
Some perfectly good fruit was mixed in with the bad fruit. The kitten wasn't very good at picking them out, but luckily she had a system.
The system scanned the area and finally found a bunch of rambutans that had been discarded. Some of the deep red skin had cracked open, revealing the white flesh inside.
After carefully selecting a plump, uncracked fruit, I took the slightly prickly feathers and went to Uncle Richie's yard to fawn over the parrot.
The morning sea fog in the town dissipated, and I lingered on the fallen frangipani blossoms in the park, their fuzzy petals carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.
"Meow--"
After Richie left, the kitten meowed at the budgie with unprecedented friendliness.
The budgie had just finished eating its food. It pecked at the water in the porcelain bowl a few times with its sharp beak, lazily preening the emerald green feathers on its chest. It didn't bother to make a sound when it heard the cat meowing, and didn't even lift its eyelids.
He clearly holds a grudge.
Chichi's ears drooped for a moment, then perked up again. She could handle humans, so what couldn't she handle a bird!
She walked into the veranda with a rambutan in her mouth, deliberately placing it in a conspicuous spot, and called out to the other person, "Look, I brought fruit."
The budgie finally lifted its eyelids and blinked after seeing the rambutan.
The kitten asked at the opportune moment, "Want some? If you do, I'll peel it for you."
Chichi pressed down on the rambutan's skin with one paw and tore at the outer shell with its canine teeth, causing a few drops of juice to splash out and spreading a sweet and sour fragrance.
The allure of delicious food is immense, and the budgie's slight resentment quickly crumbled in the face of the glistening, translucent fruit.
The parrot squawked excitedly, eagerly grabbing the fruit with its claws, its flight feathers fluttering happily.
"Delicious, delicious."
Seeing that the other was enjoying its meal, Chichi quickly took the opportunity to communicate with it, explaining her plan to the budgie. The budgie swallowed a bite of fruit and scrutinized the kitten with its beady eyes.
Seemingly weighing the temptation of "going out for some fresh air" against the boredom of remaining chained up, it finally spoke in a pretentious tone: "I'll help you, so I want a reward."
Chi Chi nodded immediately: "When Richie isn't around, I'll take you out for a walk whenever I have the chance, and I'll bring you fruit if you want."
"good!"
The parrot has officially joined the Cat Detective Squad.
With the help of the system, Chi Chi practiced how to untie the ropes that had been tied up by humans and how to tie them back up as before. During this time, she even tried to take the parrot for a walk around the yard while carrying the rope in her mouth.
The other bird flapped its wings and flew around wildly, from the wall to the ground, indulging in its flying adventures while exhausting the kitten.
After confirming Richie's departure date with the parrot, it slowly climbed into the yard just as dawn was breaking. Skillfully using its teeth and claws, it painstakingly untied the slipknotted rope.
The rope was loosened, but the other end was still tied to the leather anklet.
The parrot flapped its wings, feeling the freedom of being unbound, while the kitten used its beak to pull it out of the yard and quickly ran along Elima Street to Kara's apartment.
It was still early, and there were few pedestrians on the street. I deliberately avoided the main road and chose to walk in the quiet alley.
This peculiar sight still attracted people who got up in the early morning to catch their trains.
A cat holds a thin string in its mouth, with one end of the string tethering a brightly colored budgerigar, which flies and glides low like a kite.
Seeing someone across the street take out their phone, Chi Chi skillfully pulled down the rope, quickly leading the parrot into the bushes, leaving only a blurry, unrecognizable silhouette in front of the camera.
Arriving safely at the apartment building, I hesitated for a moment before letting the parrot perch on my back and then dashed inside through a loophole in the security gate.
I climbed the stairs from the emergency exit to the fourth floor and waited at the stairwell until dawn to confirm with the parrot again.
"Are you sure you won't run away when we let the rope go? Richie will be very sad if you fly away..."
"Don't worry," the budgie said, annoyed by her repeated questions. "I'll be sad too."
"1221," the system called out hesitantly, "Let's test if it's lying."
The ball of light flashed for a moment, then stopped.
"Reporting to Detective Cat, the physiological signals are fluctuating normally, so he shouldn't be lying."
"good."
He loosened the rope slowly and said to the parrot, "Then listen to the 1221 command. After the person comes out, fly along the corridor while talking to her. Lead her to the other side and then quietly fly back to let her leave on her own. Don't let the humans find out."
The kitten settled the parrot in its nest, then hid behind a potted plant outside, listening intently to the sounds coming from inside.
Upon hearing the footsteps of human activity, it belatedly becomes alert.
As the clattering of dishes in the kitchen subsided, the kitten heard the increasingly clear footsteps of humans approaching the entrance. Just as it was about to watch the person turn the lock, a cell phone rang inside the house.
Good morning, Keona.
Upon hearing the familiar name, Chichi opened her eyes wide and said to 1221, "She's on the phone with Mrs. Mailer's daughter."
When she received the call, Kara didn't rush out. Instead, she chatted with the caller for a few minutes by the entryway.
"I'm fine, how are you all? Summer camp for the kids should be almost over, right?"
"I told you a couple of days ago that Mrs. Mailer said the engagement ring your father gave her years ago is lost, and she's been making a huge fuss about it these past few days, saying she wants to find the ring..."
"Even if it's not valuable, she keeps saying she wants to get it back. Are you sure you really don't need to call the police?"
"Okay, there's one more thing..."
"I told you last time that she wasn't feeling well because of the ring issue. I hope you can find some time to bring the children back and spend a few days with her."
"I know you're very busy—"
Kara seemed to be carrying her phone as she returned to her bedroom from the entrance hall. It was impossible to hear clearly through the thick door; only scattered syllables could be heard from her.
The kitten was so curious it was itching to get inside, wishing it could punch through the door and listen in to find out more.
Just as I was about to have 1221 peek through the crack in the door to gather more information, the lock turned and clicked open.
Holding their breath for a long time, 1221 sent a signal to the parrot. Just before the humans were about to close the door, Uncle Richie's voice came from the end of the corridor.
"Kara, good morning."
"Good morning."
Before the humans could react, they greeted them first. The ball of light seized the opportunity to block the door crack, and the parrot, mimicking the sound, continued to exert force, saying in a gruff voice, "Could you come over here for a moment?"
"Who's there? Richie?"
Carla asked suspiciously, "How did you get here? Did something happen to Mrs. Mailer?"
As she spoke, she walked towards the other end of the corridor, leaving her own area and then entering the room with lightning speed.
Kara was so startled by the strangeness of hearing Richie's voice so early in the morning but not seeing him that she forgot to lock the door and hurriedly walked toward Elima Street.
Chichi used a doormat to block the door a crack, and 1221 and the budgie followed him in.
"The parrot goes to search the high places, I'll search the low places, and 1221 will keep watch."
The kitten detective assigned tasks and began to survey the not-so-large space.
The living room connects to the open kitchen, one door leads to the bedroom, and another door leads to the bathroom. Clothes are drying on the small terrace outside the living room.
At first glance, it looks neat and simple.
Humans are used to hiding valuables in private spaces, so they often start looking for them in the bedroom first.
The bedroom table is narrow, serving as both a desk and a dressing table. Next to an old laptop is a simple photo frame with smooth edges, clearly worn by someone.
The photo inside wasn't of Kara herself, but of a middle-aged couple with kind smiles and dark skin.
The background is lush greenery and simple bungalows, with four children of different ages standing in the middle.
The eldest girl bears a resemblance to Cara in her features, but is more youthful and innocent, and is wearing a brightly colored dress.
I hesitated to recognize him for a long time.
The girl in the photo had such a bright and cheerful smile that she didn't resemble the serious and dignified caregiver she is now.
On the other side were several bottles of basic skincare products, a lipstick, and a small box containing a black leather band and hair clips.
There was a single-layered, transparent jewelry box in the drawer. I glanced around it for a while, making sure there was no sapphire ring with a rose setting inside, and then turned to check the wardrobe.
The wardrobe only had basic black, white, and gray tops hanging above it, a few single-style jeans, and not even a safe, but there were two large drawers at the bottom.
The kitten stuck its paws into the gap, pulling hard on the drawer slide.
Chichi's claws accidentally snagged a bit on the edge of the fabric.
As she moved, the stack of elaborately decorated clothes in the drawer was exposed, a stark contrast to the everyday clothes hanging on the wardrobe.
The top layer is a brightly colored dress adorned with large, vibrant hibiscus flowers, below which are dresses and skirts in various bright colors, and on the other side are shorts with exaggerated chains and punk tops.
Having been deprived of outside air for so long, it was carefully folded up and exuded the smell of mothballs.
I was stunned by the wardrobes with such different styles.
She simply couldn't imagine what those clothes would look like on Kara.
The other person usually wears plain-colored tops and trousers, with even their ankles covered by short socks. Seeing such daring clothes now creates a sense of dissonance.
Unbeknownst to the cat, Kara's appearance and inner self were vastly different. Having inadvertently discovered a human's little secret, the kitten quickly pushed the bottom drawer back.
This bedroom has even fewer items than the Richie's house; all the cabinets and drawers are clearly visible.
They searched every corner where humans might hide things, put all the cabinet doors and drawers back in their original positions, and made sure again that the ring and ring box they were looking for were not there.
Like her, the budgie also came up empty-handed.
The search operation ended earlier than expected, with even the gaps in the furniture being checked one by one.
The door closed, and the kitten, carrying the parrot's rope, slipped out of the apartment.
Avoiding the busiest neighborhoods, we discreetly made our way back to Richie's yard, and put the parrot back on its perch before he returned from fishing.
The kitten took a few peanuts from under the eaves and offered them to the budgie, then went back to lie down under the bougainvillea on the wall.
Inside the courtyard, the caregiver was still telling Mrs. Mailer her "morning tales," while outside, Uncle Richie was returning with a basket full of seafood, feeling his cat brain overload for a long time.
Who stole Mrs. Mailer's ring box?
Where is the ring now?
There's one more thing I've been eagerly waiting to know—
With August approaching and summer vacation drawing to a close, the question remains: will Keona be able to return to visit Mrs. Mailer?
A note from the author:
----------------------
A wildly imaginative work; the plot doesn't need to be scrutinized too closely. [Cat emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com