Secrets by Lynn Crandall

smooth voice’s friendliness held a tone of concern.
    “Not a problem. What’s up?” Casey pulled over to the curb so that he could concentrate.
    “I have specific locations where the four cats I mentioned at the meeting live. Doesn’t mean that whatever happened occurred in those places. Free-roam cats are known to range territories of thousands of acres.”
    “Sure. But those locations are a starting place. Have you organized anything yet?” He rubbed his chin in thought. What he needed to share with Jackson weighed urgently on his shoulders, but early morning gave his colony a window to search for the missing cats before their day’s activities took over their time. “Why don’t you let everyone know the coordinates and we’ll team up in the four locations.”
    “Are you available now?” Her voice lilted.
    “Yup. Organize it and send assignments as soon as you can. I’ve got pressing matters but these cats need to be protected. Let’s see what we can find this morning.”
    “Consider it done.” She hung up and before he’d pulled away from the curb Lara sent the list of locations and he had the coordinates to a home in rural Laurelwood. “Looks like I’m teamed up with Asia.” He shook his head, hoping Asia could stay on task for once.
    He slipped across town, determination boiling in his body. He didn’t know yet what had happened to the cats, but he had a gut feeling it wasn’t benign. Free-roaming cats could get into all sorts of trouble all on their own. A lot of threats in the environment could be lethal. The sooner the colony had answers the better for the cats, assuming they were still alive.
    The idea lumped in his throat. He knew very well that death was a part of life, but it never set well with him when innocent and somewhat helpless animals became victims of human activities.
    He checked his GPS and made a turn down a country lane. The sunrise stained the sky with pinks and oranges, though the sun wasn’t completely up yet. Casey didn’t need streetlights to see beyond his headlights. The farther he drove up the lane the more overgrown it got. When he spotted Asia in the dry, tall grasses that surrounded the small house on the property, he pulled to a stop. He nodded to her and she nodded back, before slipping off her clothes just inside her car door while he did the same. He opened to his lynx form and let exhilaration of his shimmer take him over.
    Standing on all fours, he waited for Asia to walk over, letting the lynx form settle solidly. His keen senses of his lynx nature never left, but in this state they intensified, becoming wild and raw.
    In afterthought, Casey realized it might have been a good idea to first talk with Asia, because in lynx form they couldn’t speak.
Oh, well.
Her telepathy would come in handy and she at least would know what he was thinking. He slanted his head at her and she nodded. It was time to get down to tracking.
    Asia’s medium-brown fur spotted with dark brown framed her white chest and belly. Powerful, high-spirited, and telepathic with animals, she was a formidable creature. A reporter who covered the police beat, she had no trouble managing the cops or the sleazebags she wrote stories about for the local daily.
    Casey motioned to Asia that he would take scents at the house and she joined him. Better that they both know the cat’s scent. It was far better than a description for accuracy.
    Fortunately the small, one-story house was dark. He imagined a retired couple living here, enjoying a simple life. The lawn was covered with dropped leaves from the maple trees that stood stately around the house. He trotted up close to the house, his nose to the ground, searching, while Asia disappeared around the back. Casey took a few steps onto the covered front porch and caught a prominent whiff of cat food. A dish filled with canned cat food sat on one end of the wooden porch. According to Lara, this cat had gone missing two days ago, so the owners