Chapter 16
‘I haven’t got any cat treats, you know.’
The cat stared at Ben.
‘This is coffee. Cats can’t have coffee.’
The cat blinked slowly and Ben weakened.
‘Well, I might have something in the fridge, maybe. I’m not sure I should be feeding you, though. You must have breakfast waiting for you at home?’
This was met by an unblinking stare.
‘I suppose a bit of chicken won’t hurt.’
Ben opened the fridge door. He’d been planning to use up the leftover chicken for his own lunch, but hey. He pulled a corner off a slice and took it over to the cat on a saucer. ‘Here you go, Fred.’
Since the cat’s first visit a few weeks ago, Fred, as Ben now called him – after Frederick Fawcett, his commanding officer – had become a frequent visitor and this morning, when Ben arrived home, he’d found him sitting outside on the windowsill, ears pressed to his head, and he’d felt guilty that the poor little chap had been waiting for him in such horrid weather.
Ben decided the least he could do was give him some chicken.
Fred looked well cared for and was obviously being fed somewhere, but he didn’t want the little cat to go hungry.
‘Here you go, then,’ he said, as he put the saucer on the floor. Fred ignored it before jumping on the stool, looking expectantly at Ben.
‘I can’t believe I’m doing this,’ grumbled Ben, picking up the saucer and placing it on the breakfast bar. Fred bent his head and sniffed at it, before picking delicately at the chicken pieces.
Unbelievable, thought Ben. ‘You wait until I tell the crew at work. They think it’s weird I’ve let you in, let alone allowed you to nick my favourite chair. And now you’re actually sitting at my table eating my lunch!’
Ben had told Taz and the gang about his midnight visit from Fred and, as expected, they’d taken the piss royally. Taz, in particular, had enjoyed teasing Ben about how scared he was at the sight of a cute, fluffy kitten.
But as Fred’s visits continued, they’d all laughed hearing about his demands and how he was now dictating what Ben watched on TV – anything with police and detectives and Fred purred loudly and curled up on his lap.
But old war films and he’d start yowling and stalk out of the room if Ben didn’t change channel immediately.
Which was annoying as Ben much preferred the latter.
But Ben enjoyed the cat’s company either way and particularly liked it when Fred joined him on mornings like this.
When he got home after a busy night shift, it was hard to settle down, and the presence of the cat helped him adjust. And although he didn’t want to encourage him too much, he had thrown a packet of Lick-e-Lix yoghurt snacks into his shopping basket when he’d last gone to the supermarket.
His guilt at feeding Fred was offset by how happy the foul-smelling, liquidised, liver-flavoured treat had made the cat, who barely drew breath gobbling it up.
Ben smiled now as he watched Fred, food finished, lick his paw and rub it over his ear before curling up on the stool for a snooze.
Making sure the window was open so the cat could get out whenever he wanted to, Ben decided it was time for him to do the same, and headed to bed to catch up on some sleep before he needed to get back to the station for the start of another night shift.
Fred, now fast asleep, didn’t even notice that Ben had gone.