Chapter 27: Meeting Lasoya Again

Miss Mia Gao De, the owner of the small orange cat, was not at home. Xia De stood outside the fence door and shook the bell for a long time, but no one came out to open the door.

But this sound disturbed the neighbor next door, an old woman who walked bent over and wore glasses. Her gray hair was combed neatly together, she was dressed decently, and she wore silver jewelry on her wrists:

"Who are you looking for?"

She had a heavy accent and asked standing in front of the fence between her own garden and Miss Gao De's garden.

"Miss Mia Gao De, she entrusted us to find her cat."

Xia De also shook the cat he was holding. The orange cat meowed lazily, turned over and pressed its head against Xia De's chest. This cat really liked Xia De.

And even though the half-year-old orange cat was not heavy, after carrying it all the way, Xia De was already a bit unable to bear it.

"It's it, this disobedient little thing."

The old woman obviously knew the orange cat Mia, and then said a sentence that made Xia De almost collapse:

"Mia moved away last week."

"Hmm?"

Fortunately, there was a next sentence:

"Are you Detective Hamilton who is looking for the cat for her? You are much younger than Mia described. Don't worry, she left you a letter."

Saying this, she turned and returned to her house to get the letter, and when she came back, she also said:

"There are some banknotes in the letter, check the wax seal before you open it, don't say that someone has moved this money."

That letter was left by Miss Mia Gao De

However, Miss Gao De still remembered her cat and the detective she had commissioned. Without confirming whether the detective had found the cat, she left this letter for her neighbor to keep, so that if the detective found the cat, he could receive this letter:

"I cannot forget my Little Mia, but now is truly the time to leave Tobesk City. Detective Hamilton, if you see this letter, please take in Little Mia for the time being and mail a letter to the address below. I will go to your office to pick her up within half a year at the latest. At that time, I will pay additional remuneration.

Postscript: In addition to the original detective fee, I have enclosed a five-pound banknote with this letter to cover the expenses of temporarily taking in Mia. Please do not be too harsh on my little rascal."

The orange cat known as "Little Mia" squirmed in Xia De's arms, looking as if it wanted to sleep, completely unaware of the fact that its owner had left.

"Why..."

"I am allergic to cats. Mia couldn't find anyone else to help her look after the cat, and she didn't expect that you would actually be able to find Little Mia."

The old woman said. She had never met Sparrow Hamilton and mistook the young detective before her for the original one.

"Then I..."

"You should just adopt Little Mia for now. When Mia comes looking for her, she won't pay you any less. Look, she even named the cat after herself."

"You didn't..."

"Mia dictated the contents of this letter before she left. Hmph, I have been her neighbor for so long; surely she can give me this much trust?"

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

Xia De was somewhat suspicious that this old woman could read minds.

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

The old woman's voice came from behind him, and thus Xia De's expenses increased by another item.

Detective Sparrow Hamilton and Miss Mia Gao De had known each other for a long time, and this was not the first commission event, so Miss Gao De had placed great trust in the detective.

This trust gave Xia De an extra job of looking after a cat and caused his savings to suddenly surge by more than seven pounds; Miss Gao De was truly generous.

Added to the remaining money from pawning the cane, Xia De seemed to be able to scrape together ten pounds very soon. And if he were luckier and Miss Gao De could receive the letter and rush over within a week, Xia De might even be able to pay off all his debts for this month directly.

Because of this good mood, his footsteps were much lighter as he walked back to St. Deran Square while holding the cat. On the way back, he happened to pass by the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company, which he had visited not long ago, so he went in to ask and learned that they could also deliver goat's milk.

The salesperson in charge of dealing with Xia De even saw through Xia De's intention to feed the kitten with goat's milk and, as a result, introduced him to more cat-raising tips. But his enthusiasm did not make Xia De concede on the cost of ordering the goat's milk. Fortunately, No. 6 St. Deran Square, located in the city center, was on the daily route of the diligent milk delivery person from the Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company.

Therefore, there was no need to open an extra route or take a detour to deliver specifically to Xia De, so the expense for the goat's milk was actually less than he had imagined.

Xia De regarded the orange cat "Little Mia" as his lucky cat. When he left the "Silver Parrot Milk Delivery Company," he was still thinking that he could be a bit extravagant at noon and eat some better food.

Just as he passed by the old dog lying at the entrance, the woman's voice, which had not made a sound until today, finally rang out in his mind:

【Observe her ring.】

He immediately looked up at his surroundings, and almost a second later, he saw Mrs. Lasoya, Mr. Lawrence's mistress, walking out of the alley opposite the milk company and turning toward the direction of the silverware shop where the battle had taken place the day before yesterday.

She was still wearing that white pebble ring.

"Is she a man turned into a woman, or a woman turned into a man?"

Xia De guessed in his heart, but he had no intention of following her at all. He cherished his life; since he had decided to give up this commission, he would not change his mind out of curiosity.

If he had the power of Doctor Schneider or the female writer Miss Dorothy Louisa now, he certainly would not give up. But one must face reality; he accepted that he was still weak.

With a joyful mood, he leisurely walked through the street holding the cat and entered the candy store opposite. Pretending to be curious, he asked about the price of the small cakes in the glass display case. After confirming with his peripheral vision that Mrs. Lasoya had walked far away, he immediately walked out of the store and then entered the alley where Mrs. Lasoya had just appeared.

The alley was not deep, and like most alleys in this steam-powered city, it was dirty and filled with strange odors. A few quick steps brought him to the end, where some abandoned pipes were piled up, the surface of which was even covered with a layer of disgusting green moss.

And after going around the pipes, he saw that behind them was a wall; this was a dead end.

Originally, one should have been able to reach another block from the other end of the alley, but the store at the other exit had expanded its footprint without authorization, forcibly blocking this alley with its back wall.

"Between this pile of pipes and the wall is an excellent blind spot for vision. Mrs. Lasoya just walked out of an alley with no exit; could it be that she completed another 'transformation' by kissing the ring here?"

Xia De thought, very satisfied with his caution and strong ability to take action. Although he dared not follow her, investigating what the other party had just done was no problem.