Tony The Cat Detective

By Yasushi Okuda

When Tony the cat returns to London, he finds his neighbours are hostile, and his new territory is hard to come by.

To make matters worse, he is unknowingly caught up in a big conspiracy. But curiosity is his superpower, and with the help from his twin sister, a quirky friend and newly acquainted dogs, Tony sets out to solve the crime and save his best friend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: May 28, 2024
• ISBN: 9781805148531

Yasushi Okuda

Okuda was born in Itami, Japan in 1966, then studied economics in Glasgow and worked in Tokyo, and has been living in London since 2001.

Book preview

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 1

When Tony woke up from his sleep, and cast his eyes over the horizon, he could see the sun setting.

Already time for dinner, he said to himself while getting up and stretching. After readying himself, he hit the gas and started running like a rocket taking off. He was aware that small animals around him were running scared and making room for him.

Now then, where is my prey? As Tony kept on running, he began to feel hungry. I need to fill my stomach quickly. Just as Tony was thinking this, he saw something move. That will be my first prey this evening. Unlucky to be seen by me – you are as good as dead.

Saying a little prayer for his prey, Tony changed his course and accelerated like a flash. The prey was now standing still, resigning himself to his fate. Tony opened his mouth, and he was about to…

Meow. Meow.

Tony failed to catch his prey again, for he was brought back from his dream by his twin sister Minette’s meowing. Faced with reality, Tony remembered that he had been trapped in the car all day.

Why are you still meowing, little sister?

Why? Because someone has to tell our mistress that she took a wrong turn.

How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not that she took a wrong turn.

It all started this morning. While Tony and Minette were having breakfast, their mistress entered the room with carrier bags in her hands. Immediately, Minette went hiding under the stairs. Tony also tried to hide under the bed, but there wasn’t enough space for him. Some chasing and fighting ensued, but within minutes they were both caught, as always, and Tony and Minette were carried into the car.

Oh no, not another vet visit. Please spare me from that dreadful injection. He said a prayer. But Tony takes life as it comes, so he was falling asleep as soon as the car started. Minette, on the other hand, suffers from motion sickness, so she could not stop meowing. After a while, however, she seemed to get tired, and she fell silent, so Tony was able to sleep peacefully in the car.

When Tony woke up again and looked outside, he was astounded. He shook Minette, who was sleeping next to him, and tried to wake her up.

This is not the time for sleeping, little sister.

Let me tell you one last time. We are twins, true, but we don’t know who was born first. So, stop calling me ‘little’ sister, will you?

This is not the time for arguing such trivial matters, either. Look outside the window.

Upon hearing this, Minette got up reluctantly, and looked outside through the window.

So what?

What do you mean, ‘so what?’ Look carefully. We are running on the autobahn.

The autobahn?

It’s the motorway in Germany.

Ah, I see. So?

Why are you so slow, little sister? We don’t take the autobahn when we go to our vet.

What? What does that mean?

It means we are not going to the vet.

But, but… if we are not going to the vet, where are we going?

How should I know? You better ask our mistress. But since we are on the autobahn, the chances are we are going to somewhere far away.

Holy mackerel! Let’s tell our mistress she is on the wrong track.

And that’s how Minette’s meowing started. Of course, the mistress had already heard her, but regardless, she kept her eyes on the road and continued driving at a steady speed. Tony and Minette ended up spending all day in the car, and it was only late at night that they were finally able to come out of the carrier bags.

That night they stayed at a stranger’s house. Minette was tired from meowing, and she went to bed early. So, it was left to Tony to hang around near the mistress, and hiss in a low voice to express their unhappiness. But all Tony’s efforts were for naught because the next morning they were swiftly back in the carrier bags and hitting the road again.

Watching Minette resuming her meows, Tony resigned himself to another day stuck in the car. The best way to spend today is, therefore, sleeping, Tony made up his mind.

Tony’s expectations proved to be wrong, however, because after only a few hours the car stopped. Initially he thought it was just traffic lights, but no matter how long he waited, the car did not start again. Mystified, he got up and looked outside the window. He was astounded and shook Minette, who was sleeping next to him.

Wake up, little sister.

There you go again, stop calling me little sister. Besides, every time I am falling asleep, you interrupt me.

But this is an emergency. Look outside.

Upon hearing this, Minette stood up and looked out through the window.

There seems to be many cars. Are we in a car park?

Look more carefully. These are not cars, little sister, but long-distance trucks.

Are they? But so what?

Why are you always so slow? And look over there. A ferry. Can you see?

Minette followed the direction Tony was pointing.

Yes, I can see a ferry. Is this a port, then?

Exactly! We are at the port. Which means, we are going back to England, our home!

Going back to England? How do you know?

Because if we were to take a ferry from here, the only destination would be England.

Is that so? Well, I am not complaining if that’s the case. I was getting a little bored with life in Germany.

Minette may have been bored with life in Germany, but she never went out because she was scared. For Tony, the last several years have been a testing time. Their house was located on the outskirts of Berlin, and the surrounding area boasted a plenty of great nature, such as lakes and forests. As a result, the area was also frequented by dog walkers. The dog owners had a tendency to detach the leads when they arrived in the area, and Tony lost count of the times he was chased by their dogs. Large dog breeds seemed especially enjoy chasing Tony, and they approached him even when he was sleeping in his territory. Tony wasn’t scared of them before, but after moving to Berlin he started to feel weak at the knees at the sight of large dogs. In the meantime, German cats were always keen to pick a fight with Tony. This was largely because Tony couldn’t speak German. To compensate for his lack of communication skills, Tony always approached other cats in friendly manners, but they always took him as a threat to their territory. Going out to guard his territory used to be his reason for living, but since moving to Germany, Tony was spending more and more time indoors. But once back in England, he was sure that his routine would go back to normal. Once he started to imagine his brand-new life at new home, Tony was filled with hope, and he changed his mind: this road trip was the best thing that ever happened to him.

After a while the car started again, and it turned out Tony was right. They had their pet passports checked, and after a brief channel crossing, they were already in Dover. From there the mistress resumed driving, and Tony could not wait to arrive at the final destination. Minette was also finally peaceful. She stopped meowing and instead waited for arrival patiently.

It was early evening when they arrived at the final destination, and the two-day road trip had finally come to an end. When the mistress parked the car in underground parking, a strange man appeared and took Tony’s carrier bag. The mistress took Minette’s bag, and the four of them went into a lift and then walked along a corridor. After a while, the strange man stopped and opened a door, and together they entered a new home.

While Tony and Minette were sniffing around their new home, the mistress prepared for their dinner. About time, Tony thought, since they hadn’t eaten all day. After dinner, Tony tried to go outside, but it was already dark and the mistress wanted to keep him inside. Even after the refusal, Tony kept on sitting in front of the door for hours, but the mistress completely ignored him. So, he finally gave up, and went to bed upstairs.

Chapter 2

That night, Tony couldn’t fall asleep. He lay awake filled with the happiness of finally being back in his hometown and the hope of making his new territory. When the dark sky turned to milky grey, he gave up sleeping and got out of bed. He sat in front of the door and started meowing to show that he wanted to go out, but the mistress was sound asleep because she was exhausted from the trip for the last two days. Instead, the man whom he met for the first time yesterday came downstairs. When he saw Tony, he understood correctly that he wanted to go out. Tony went out of the door, but he found it was the corridor outside. The man was following Tony, however, and he also opened the door to the stairs, which led to the ground floor and outside. Thanks to him, Tony was able to go out.

When he arrived yesterday, Tony couldn’t notice the surroundings because it was already dark. This morning, however, he realised that he was standing in the middle of several big buildings made of bricks. When Tony looked around, he was struck by the vast landscape, where the lawn was laid out beautifully and the trees were planted neatly. I will have no problem finding my territory here, Tony thought with a big hope in his heart. Tony embarked on the exploration of this new site with a spring in his step.

As soon as he started walking, however, Tony smelled cats’ markings everywhere. This place might be vast, but the cats living here could be also numerous, he thought. He stopped to look around, but he could not see a single cat, probably because it was too early in the morning.

So Tony kept walking, but no matter how far he went, he could not find a free space for his territory. He finally spotted a cat, so he went over to talk to him.

Good morning.

You look unfamiliar. Who are you?

I just moved in yesterday. My name is Tony.

The cat stood up reluctantly, came closer and sniffed Tony’s butt.

I see. And you came out first thing in the morning to make your territory. Is that it?

You are absolutely right! But to be honest, I cannot find any free space. Could you please tell me if you know such a place?

Hearing Tony’s question, the cat made a vicious smile.

A free space? You are a funny one, aren’t you? There is no free space here.

What do you mean? Every space is already taken as someone’s territory?

Are you stating the obvious? Where do you think this is? It’s London!

Then how can I make my territory?

Needless to say, you have to grab someone’s territory by force. Do you want to try with me?

No, I would rather not fight with you. I am a pacifist.

Ha. Then you had better wait until one of the cats with territory moves on. But it could be a long wait. There are many cowards like you living here.

I see. Thank you anyway.

Best of luck.

Obviously, Tony was disappointed to hear that all the space had already been taken as other cats’ territory. He was also disheartened by the way that cat spoke to him, as he had expected that English cats would be kinder to him than German cats.

Tony returned home feeling down, but at the entrance he saw a large orange cat sitting.

Hello. Are you the newcomer who arrived yesterday?

Yes, but how did you know?

Oh. I live in this apartment, so I can hear everything that’s going on upstairs.

Upon saying this, the orange cat jumped on the windowsill of the apartment on the ground floor, and Tony understood what she meant.

Ah, so you live downstairs from us! Very nice to meet you. My name is Tony.

I am Sybil.

And my twin sister Minette also lives upstairs. But you will probably not see her, because she is scared of going out.

So, there are two of you. Nice to meet you both. After greeting Tony, Sybil went back into her flat.

After meeting the friendly neighbour cat, Tony felt