Piper

Curious James

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step" -Lao Tzu

As the cat stepped towards Tabitha, purring as if it were the real animal, the woman left for the elevator in a jiffy.

When all was clear, Tabitha picked up Lenore and gently rubbed her fur, playfully teasing her. That, and making sure that those observing the duo wouldn't get any wrong ideas that they were witches in disguise.

Tabitha buried her face near the cat's ear and whispered a few words as she grimaced.

"Why, Lenore, what brings you here? More importantly, how did you get inside? And what did you do to that poor lady?"

The cat let out a laugh. A chuckle to be exact that showed her shiny teeth.

 In a seductive tone, Lenore answered the questions in their own witches' dialect.

" Why Tabby ... I'll never let you out of my sight no matter what these humans do. I'm just a normal feline to them. And I let myself in once the apartment doors were still open when the last person forgot to close it afterward. Ooh, it's so good to be small, I can fit into anything without being noticed. As for the last, I put a spell on that wicked woman... imagine calling me a 'thing' and you a 'little girl'! The nerve!"

Sensing that Lenore was as mischievous as her, Tabitha's lips curved upwards. She wasn't expecting a black cat to still have her powers, yet Tabitha was loving every minute of it.

She put the cat down as Lenore was getting heavy and bent down to ask her another question that lingered in her mind.

"I hate to ask Lenore, but what did you do?"

Before the cat could answer, Tabitha's friends walked in the hallway and were astonished to see Lenore. To see an animal, let alone a black cat was taboo. And that's exactly what the trio believed they would meet in the near future.

"That's the same black cat we saw at school," James pointed out with his mouth agape. "What's she doing here and how was she able to find you?"

Lenore glared at his eyes as if she was going to put a spell on him too, but Tabitha broke it as she could sense what was going to happen.

As Lenore's eyes started to glow into a crystal green formation, Tabitha stepped in front of her path, intentionally interrupting her focus on James.

"Guys, this is Lenore. She's ... with me. We work together like sleuths."

Tabitha didn't want to give the information all away since she knew the trio had a difficult time digesting the fact that she was indeed a witch. So if she told them who Lenore really was, Tabitha believed it would break the bonds between their friendship, since in the past, having witches as companions was inconvenient.

James didn't buy it for one second. Lowering his eyebrows and pursing his lips, his body language showed how irritated he was. He wanted to leave right away, even if it meant abandoning his friends.

No matter how rude this would be, he
was always told that if one met a witch, bizarre things such as black magic would automatically happen before them. In fact, it already did, as Tabitha has misused her spells, in cheating and playing with the landlord and his security guard. Thus, James had lost all confidence in being part of the quad.

As Lenore was the suspicious type, one who'd jump into conclusions without a reasonable doubt, she immediately despised James for his remarks and scowled at him.

Noticing a pink piece of thread on the floor beside the feline, James picked it up.

 "The cat dropped something too. It might somethingl useful for the case, Tabitha. Come and take a look."

Tabitha took the fabric from him which had a foul odor. It was a small handkerchief that she briefly saw from the elevator.

Suddenly, the worse idea popped in her head as she looked at Lenore as if they both were thinking the same thing.

And out of the blue, Tabitha looked at her friends and told them to follow her and Lenore.

They were getting close to where the doll might be hiding.