Read Online The Defective Detective : Cat Chaser by Adam Maxwell - Free Book Online

see what’s going on?  I couldn’t find any cameras on the office.”
    “Ah,” said Jacob sheepishly.  “There is a camera on our office.  I just don’t like people watching me so I… Well… I turned it off.”
    Erin took half a step away from him.
    “Hang on,” he continued.  “I’ll just… ”
    And he leaned behind the panel of monitors and started plugging and unplugging wires, causing monitors to come on and go off.  Soon all we could see on every screen was the disembodied pig’s head staring right at us.
    “There we go,” he smiled with pride then his hand went up to cover his mouth as, amazingly, the tiger came into the frame.
    A silence fell as we all stood, staring, willing the tiger to go into the office.  It moved slowly, the enormous muscles shifting effortlessly to move its bulk towards the one thing it had its eye on.
    Our figurehead – Mrs Pig.
    It bounded forward, knocking the bait into the office then following itself.  The four of us were all grinning now, the plan was so close to working.  So very close.
    All Ray needed to do was close the door.
    The seconds ticked by and nothing moved.  Not the tiger, not Ray.  Everything just seemed frozen, like the feed was broken.
    “Why isn’t Ray locking it in?” said Lori, eventually.
    I just shook my head.  My eyes were dry from lack of blinking and stayed fixed on the screen as the tiger walked out of the office with the pig’s head in its mouth.
    We’d had our chance and Ray had blown it.
    “I really need a wee now,” said Lori.
    ~*~

Chapter 13
     

    I threw open the door of the security office completely intent on going down and confronting Ray, but Lori was insistent.  Someone had to take her to the toilet, otherwise she was going to end up soiling herself.  I stalked forward as Erin and Jacob hissed reassurances of our safety on the walkie talkie.
    Arriving at the ladies toilet, I said nothing, just gestured to the door.
    “W-what if it’s in there?” Lori stammered.
    I sighed and burst through the door.
    “Anyone in here?” I shouted.  “Mister Tiger?  Yoo-hoo?  No?”
    I stepped back into the corridor.  “No-one in there.  I think it must be a boy tiger.”
    Lori looked down at her shoes, refusing to make eye contact, as she darted inside.  I breathed deeply, leaning against the wall and picking a piece of raw chicken off my trouser leg.  The walkie talkie, whose timing had never been great, chose this moment to pull another blinder and fizzed into life with those four words again.
    “It’s on its way.” said Jacob.
    “Shit,” I said and stepped back into the ladies toilet.
    Lori screamed her scream-queen scream.
    “For Christ’s sake, shut up,” I said.
    “I’m using the toilet here,” her voice shouting from a cubicle against the far wall.
    “Can you keep your voice down, Jacob’s just told me it’s coming this way.”
    “I can’t go while you’re here.”
    I shook my head.  She couldn’t be serious.
    “What are you talking about, there’s a tiger out there.”
    “I need to use the toilet,” she insisted.
    “And, what?  You expect me to sacrifice my life for that?”
    “I can’t go with you here,” she whined.  “I reeeeeally need to go.”
    “No,” I said.  “Just no.”
    “This is the ladies.”
    “This is insane, listen-” I gave up and opened the door a fraction to see if it was out there.  The walkie talkie spoke again, telling me that the coast was clear.  I walked outside, waited and fumed.
    “Thank you,” Lori said when she eventually emerged.
    I remained silent as I escorted her back to the office then stormed back towards the lift.
    Downstairs on the second floor, Ray was exactly where we’d left him.  As I threw open the door of the room he was cowering in I glanced up to the camera, acutely aware of our audience.
    “What the fuck happened?” I screamed.
    The walkie talkie hissed into life. Erin spoke.  “Is he there?  Ask him what the hell he was