Sam Spade 08: Case of the Lost Kitten

When they arrived I worried for a moment that I was alone but not overly so. Mr. Edwards was wearing a lavender jumpsuit while his wife was in furs and a dress that was worth more than this building. "Come in, come in." I said as I ushered them in to my office. Closing the outer door, I smiled and ushered them into the chairs. I sat down and opened the folder.

After glancing at it once more, I grinned like a shark towards Mrs. Edwards, "You know I never cared for your type. Find yourself a rich sugar daddy and once he kicks off, shack up with your boyfriend." She started to sputter. However, standing and leaning over my desk I managed to quiet her. "I have heard tales of blond bimbos but this case takes the cake. A ransom note cut from a local paper. It did not have a deadline for delivery. No threat to what would happen to the poor pooch if you didn't pay. And to top things off, it was set to deliver four thousand miles away."

I walked around the desk to stand behind them. "The kicker was when I left my number on the copy and guess who calls." I leaned down and said into her ear, "You do." Standing back up I leaned against my desk and looked at her. "You're sweating dear, something wrong?" I asked still having that shark like grin.

She looked at me and screeched, like a wild animal who was trapped would, "But I didn't..." She turned to Mr. Edwards who was scowling at her and added, "I wouldn't hurt Buddy boo boo."

I walked around to behind the desk and sat down. Picking up the folder I said, "I have all the evidence right here." My voice turned cold and hard, "I know it all now. I know about the kennel; how much was paid to keep the staff quiet. Finally, I know that you," I turned and looked at Mr. Edwards, "Took Buddy in yourself." I handed the folder to Mrs. Edwards and added, "Your sugar daddy wanted me to throw my weight behind a case of exhortation against you." Leaning back, I smiled at him, "You might have gotten away with it if you had not make it look so much like a blond job."

Mr. Edwards looked shocked and then his face got red. The pair started yelling at each other as I sat there watching. Mrs. Edwards stood and stomped out her final words were, "You will be hearing from my lawyer!" When she slammed the outer door behind her, the glass cracked.

He stood and said towards my grinning face, "Damn you Spade, Damn you!" He turned away and then back. In his hand was a pistol, before I could react, he fired repeatedly. It felt like I was in a boxing ring and being quick punched in the chest. "Rot in hell bitch," He said and ran out of the office. I could hear the tinkling of falling glass as the cracked window of the outer office shattered the rest of the way.

I looked down at my chest in surprise, "Son of a bitch," I said softly. I tried to raise my arm to touch the wounds but it would not work. While the other times I had been shot only stung, this time, the pain was excruciating. Looking towards the door, I stood and took two steps before realizing that was a bad idea. The world turned to gray fog, my legs gave out, and I crashed to my knees beside the desk. "Shit," I said as I fell face first onto the floor unable to catch myself. The crunch of bone as my nose broke rang out loudly in the quiet room. I lay unable to move, the world fading into blackness and thought, "Great, not only am I shot to hell and back, now I have a broken nose."

One problem of having my offices in the low rent district was that the sounds of gunshots would cause people to hide instead of checking out the noise. I wondered how long it would be before someone would come to check on me. As I lost touch with my body and the pain faded a profound sense of sadness filled me. So much I still wanted to do that now would never happen. I knew, somehow, that this time, I was hurt bad, Jimmy would not be able to fix me.

I felt Kitten's mind in the darkness, "Momma? Momma!" She let out a mental howl that that roused me from my lethargy. I could see her, in my mind, a small black cat, head butting and pawing at my unresponsive body as she called.

"Momma, here baby," I said, "I just need to rest a little bit Kitten."

"No momma, no rest...stay awake... please don't leave me." The emotional force of her mental tears brought me back.

"Ok I stay here Kitten with you as long as I can." It felt as if my mind was clogged with molasses and I realized that this is what dying felt like. "I sorry, I thought we would have forever together."

Again, Kitten yowled and her mental anguish shot through me. "I will get help... Be right back..."

I was left alone in the darkness and my thoughts. The thought occurred to me that Heather, Crystal and Angela would blame themselves for this. I had sent them away and left myself with no backup. Not only had I let Kitten down, I had hurt the others also.

Kitten touched my mind once more, "Help coming momma... Stay with me..."

"I'm dying baby... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I said into the darkness as despair filled me.

"No Samantha!" she said with such fierceness that it shocked me awake. Gone was the baby kitten routine as she continued, "Don't you dare die on me... Where is the woman I fell in love with? Fight it!" her voice became that of a kitten again, "Please momma don't die. I need you."

I could feel her tears washing over my mind as everything faded out. I was so tired and could not fight it anymore. As I let go I felt her screams of pain and loss fading. "I'm sorry..."