Dorothea Hall Mysteries

Frozen

"I'm interested," Mr. Collins said. "It is not the best business plan to continue with a fraud. We only did it because it seemed the best way to make a living with our talents."

"Very good. In hopes that you might agree, I have drawn up papers detailing the terms of the arrangement." Mr. Walker pulled these out of his desk and passed them to the young man.

I stood up. "My work here is done. I look forward to seeing Miss Collins demonstrate her chess skills."

It had begun to snow outside and the temperature had dropped dramatically. I looked for a cab and found they were all in use. This tends to happen when the winter weather intrudes. I walked towards a less popular area, hoping to find an empty hack.

As I left Strand Street I passed a dark alley and heard a muffled cry. It sounded like an animal in distress. I walked towards the noise and spotted a ball of rags which moved a little. As I got closer a small furry face poked itself out and gave a soft mew. It was a kitten. It shivered violently and closed its eyes. It was obviously frozen in its exposure to the day. There was no sign of its mother or siblings. It seemed entirely abandoned. I reached down and picked it up.

I was wearing the fur wrap Carmella had given me as an early Christmas present. I snuggled the kitten inside. It started to purr soon after the fur combined with my body heat warmed it up. Carmella and I had grown up with her parents' pets, but had not yet acquired any of our own. She had always wanted to travel so didn't think of getting a cat or dog. She did threaten to purchase a parrot, now that she was married to a ship builder. I had thought about a pet, but hadn't acted. It seemed fate had decided to give me a cat. I was sure Freddy would be thrilled.

I found a cab and the kitten and I soon arrived home. Freddy came out to meet me and her eyes widened with surprise as I pulled the small animal out of the fur and set it down on the floor next to fire in the parlor. The young cat was short haired with light and dark gray stripes and green eyes. It looked at us for a moment then curled up on the rug in front of the fire and closed its eyes,

"Where did you find her?" Freddy asked.

"I found it in an alley near Strand Street. I could let the little thing freeze to death. I hadn't checked whether it's a girl or a boy," I said.

"It's not hard. Mrs. Jones kept cats at the bakery to take care of any rats or mice." She reached down and pulled on the kitten's "She's a girl all right. She has a slit instead of a round bit. What are we going to call her?"

"I think we should get to know her a bit before we name her."