Rowan lapped up his coffee, glancing nervously at Ebony. The two of them had been waiting in the coffee shop at the police department, for the analysis on the ginger fur.

"So," he mewed, glancing at the beautiful black she-cat. "What did you think of that bomb threat?"

Ebony shrugged, blinking. "It's worrying." Her eyes were sad, sorrowful and morose. "There are such awful cats in this world. I just can't believe they'd do this kind of thing. I'm so thankful they managed to prevent a bomb attack from happening." Towns nodded his agreement, dark brown fur glinted in the artificial light. Then, finally, after what felt like aeons, Apple was there.

"We've done the analysis on that ginger fur. DNA evidence suggests that-" he began before breaking off, shaking his head. "Forgive me, I forgot to use small words. It belongs to an old she-cat, who runs the gas station he was last seen at, a Miss Ember Nightingale. We'll leave it to you two to investigate." He mowed curtly, before turning around and stalking off.

"Thanks Apple!" He called, and the tom waved his tail in a goodbye. He turned back to Ebony. Lately, he kept getting nervous when talking to her, like he had back in school with the girls in his year. He smiled. "Let's go check it out, shall we?"

••••••••••••••

The house of Ember Nightingale was old and run down, with a shabby, faded wisteria purple paint, and with old cobalt blue leaf patterns barely visible. The door was a darker, richer purple, clearly recently painted, and stood out more than anything else. Rohan rapped on the door, tapping his paws impatiently. Ebony put a tail on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile. Sometimes it felt like she was the only one who truly understood how stressful his job was. At least this investigation gave him a break from trying to catch Bloody Rose. Bloody Rose who'd done so much, Bloody Rose who was still loose, still free-

No. He mentally reprimanded himself. He didn't have time for such things. The door creaked open, and an old ginger tabby she-cat peered out at them, and her green eyes flashed in fear before calming themselves. "Hello, how can I help?" She newer politely, still not opening the door fully.

Ebony flashed her a smile. "I'm Ebony, this is Rowan. We're with the police. May we come in, we'd like to ask some questions?" The ginger she cat had a resigned look on her face, but the door creaked open. "Come in." She mewed.

Rowan, glanced around, taking everything in. The house was full of birds of paradise themed wallpaper, and everything had a rather ancient aura to it, from the grandfather clock that chimed along, to the antique, aging furniture. "You're Miss Ember Nightingale, I presume?" He began.

She nodded. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what's this about, I have not broken any laws, thank you very much."

Rowan paused, wondering if her defensive nature meant anything. "You see, we found a body recently, in an Ice Rink. Coal, who was roughly 1 and a half years dead. Black tom. His body was frozen 6-12 hours before we discovered it. DNA analysis found ginger fur that matched yours. Do you have any input on that matter?"

The ginger she cat let out a sigh. "Look, I didn't murder him, if that's what you're asking. I just - I found the body a few months ago. There's an old car I have, hadn't been touched for a couple years, I was going to sell it, you see. I opened the car door, and this body, a body fell out. those glassy eyes were staring up at me, and I freaked out. I took the body at night and dumped it in the ice. I didn't kill him, I swear. I figured he'd got into the car and left the gas running, or maybe taken pills or something. But I just- just got scared. Okay? Please - please believe me." Her voice cracked. "I didn't kill him."

Rowan felt a twinge of pity for the elderly she cat. This wasn't exactly something in his division, suicide, perversion of justice, there were other divisions for that. The poor she-cat was just trying to get by. Rowan gave her a reassuring smile.

"If you'll just come to the station with us, we can get this whole mess cleared out there." He mewed, and she nodded, shaking. He didn't know what he'd of had to do if she'd said no. Ebony glanced at him, giving him another small smile. He felt rising warmth within him, and smiled back.

He didn't know what he'd do without her.

Olivia