Chapter 27: Meeting Lasoya Again

Miss Mia Gold, the owner of the petite ginger cat, was not at home. Shard rang the bell outside the gate for a long while, but no one came out to open the door.

However, the sound alerted the neighbor next door—an elderly woman who walked with a stoop and wore glasses. Her gray hair was neatly combed back into a bun, she was dressed decently, and she wore silver jewelry on her wrist.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked, standing by the fence that separated her garden from Miss Gold's. She had a heavy accent.

"Miss Mia Gold. She commissioned us to find her cat."

Shard gave the cat in his arms a little shake. The ginger cat let out a lazy meow, rolled over, and pressed its head against Shard's chest; the cat truly seemed to like him.

Even though a half-year-old ginger cat wasn't heavy, Shard was starting to feel the strain after carrying it all this way.

"Oh, it's this one. This naughty little thing."

The old woman clearly recognized the ginger cat, Little Mia, and then said something that nearly caused Shard to break down

"Mia moved away last week."

"Huh?"

Fortunately, there was a follow-up

"Are you the Detective Hamilton she's looking for? You're much younger than Mia described. Don't worry, she left a letter for you."

She turned to go back into her house to fetch the letter, saying as she returned, "There is some cash in the letter. Check the wax seal before you open it; don't go saying someone tampered with the money."

The letter was left by Miss Mia Gold for Detective Spyro Hamilton. It mentioned that due to family matters, Miss Gold was moving to a large country estate on the east coast of the Kingdom of Delarion to live with her parents, and had therefore sold her property here.

However, Miss Gold still remembered her cat and the detective who accepted the commission. Without confirming whether the detective had found the cat, she left this letter in the neighbor's care. If the detective found the cat, they could claim the letter

[I cannot forget my Little Mia, but it truly is time to leave the city of Tobesk. Detective Hamilton, if you see this letter, please look after Little Mia temporarily and send a letter to the address below. I will come to your office to pick her up within six months at the latest. Upon my arrival, I will pay a larger reward.

P.S. In addition to the original detective fee, I have enclosed five pounds in cash as expenses for temporarily looking after Mia. Please do not be too hard on my little rascal.]

The ginger cat, known as "Little Mia," squirmed in Shard's arms, looking as though it wanted to sleep, completely unaware that its owner had left.

"Why..."

"I am allergic to cats. Mia couldn't find anyone else to help look after her, and she didn't actually expect you to be able to find Little Mia," the old woman said. She had never met Spyro Hamilton and assumed the young detective before her was the original one.

"Then I..."

"Just foster Little Mia for the time being. When Mia comes looking, she won't shortchange you. Look, she even named the cat after herself."

"But you didn't..."

"Mia dictated the contents of this letter before she left. Hmph, having been her neighbor for so long, can she not afford to give me such trust?"

"Alright, I'll go mail the letter now. Goodbye, ma'am."

Shard somewhat suspected this old woman could read minds.

"Goodbye, Detective. Remember, this cat cannot drink cow's milk, but she can drink goat's milk."

The old woman's voice drifted from behind him, adding yet another expense to Shard's list.

Detective Spyro Hamilton and Miss Mia Gold had known each other for a long time, and this was not their first commission, so Miss Gold had placed great trust in the detective.

This trust provided Shard with the extra job of cat-sitting and caused his savings to surge by over seven pounds instantly; Miss Gold was truly generous.

Combined with the remaining money from pawning the cane, Shard seemed poised to gather ten pounds very soon. And if luck was on his side and Miss Gold received the letter and arrived within a week, Shard might even be able to clear all his debts for the month.

Buoyed by this good mood, his steps were much lighter as he walked back toward St. Delan Square while carrying the cat. On the way back, he happened to pass the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company he had visited recently, so he went in to inquire and learned that they also delivered goat's milk.

The salesman handling Shard's inquiry even saw through Shard's intention to feed the kitten goat's milk and introduced him to more cat-rearing tips. However, his enthusiasm did not make Shard budge on the cost of ordering the milk. Fortunately, No. 6 St. Delan Square in the city center was a mandatory daily stop for the Silver Parrot's diligent milkmen.

Thus, there was no need to create a special detour just for Shard, so the cost of the goat's milk was actually less than expected.

Shard began to view the ginger cat "Little Mia" as his lucky charm. As he left the "Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company," he was already thinking about treating himself to something better for lunch.

Just as he passed the old dog lying by the entrance, the female voice that had remained silent until today finally rang in his mind

[Observe her ring.]

He immediately looked around and, almost a second later, saw Mr. Lawrence's mistress, Madame Lasoya, walking out of the alley opposite the milk company and turning toward the silver shop where the battle had occurred the day before yesterday.

She was still wearing that white pebble ring.

"Is she a man turning into a woman, or a woman turning into a man?" Shard wondered, but he had no intention of following her. He cherished his life; since he had decided to abandon this commission, he would not change his mind out of curiosity.

If he possessed the power of Dr. Schneider or the writer Miss Dorothy Louisa, he certainly wouldn't give up. But one must face reality, and he accepted his own weakness.

With a pleasant mood, he leisurely carried the cat across the street and entered the candy shop opposite. Pretending to be curious, he inquired about the price of the small cakes in the glass display window. Once he confirmed via his peripheral vision that Madame Lasoya had walked away, he immediately stepped out of the shop and entered the alley where she had appeared.

The alley was not deep; like most alleys in this steampunk city, it was filthy and filled with foul odors. After a few quick steps, he reached the end, where some discarded pipes were piled up, their surfaces even coated with a layer of disgusting green moss.

Only after rounding the pipes did he see a wall behind them; it was a dead end.

The alley should have led to another street block, but the shop at the other end had unilaterally expanded its footprint, using its back wall to block the alley off.

"The space between these pipes and the wall is an excellent blind spot. Madame Lasoya just walked out of an alley with no exit—did she complete another 'transformation' by kissing the ring here?"

Shard thought to himself, satisfied with his caution and strong sense of initiative. Although he didn't dare follow her, investigating what she had just done was perfectly fine.