The Witness
It always seems to be dog walkers that find dead bodies. We’d gone out early on that crisp October morning and were on our way home when we spotted it. I remember there being a faint smell of fried food in the air.
He was lying face up, eyes wide open, staring up at the clouds. I wondered if he had watched his spirit rise up and go to heaven or roll over and take the highway to hell, but who was I to judge? I didn’t know him, but that’s not to say it didn’t affect me, and Shelly was really shaken up. It was hard enough being the ones who discovered him, but finding him so close to our home was more than a little disturbing. We both suffered some restless nights that first week.
It was quite exciting, though; there was a lot of coming and going at the house and lots of phone calls. The police came and took statements, wanting to know our full movements and exact times. Had we heard or seen anything the previous night? Did we know the victim from somewhere? Then the door-to-door enquiries began, the papers got involved, and a journalist came over too, but nobody seemed to have any motive to kill him. The funeral came and went; we didn’t attend, but we did walk by the church during the service and take a quiet moment to pay our respects. He must have been well liked; there was a good turnout. The family wouldn’t have known who we were, but we felt it best to stay out of the way and leave them to mourn alone.
It was almost a week later that the cat came back home; she’d been missing since before the incident. Claudia hated strangers coming into ‘her’ house, and with all the comings and goings of the last few weeks, it wasn’t surprising that she’d taken herself off somewhere.
She entered the room silently, stopped for a moment and looked around. Then, with effortless grace jumped up onto the arm of the sofa. I watched her from where I lay on the floor as she nestled herself into position, tucking her front paws into her chest. Her tail hung over the side, just the very tip of it twitching. As cats go, she was beautiful – and boy did she know it. Pure white cats were always admired. She squinted her green eyes half closed and turned her head slowly to face me.
“It wasn’t you, you know,” she said.
“What wasn’t?”
“That found the body. I found him first.”
Knowing that she had my full attention, she turned her head back to centre.
“What do you mean?” I asked, jumping to my feet.
“I mean, I found the body before you did.”
“But why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I couldn’t get in the house. That stupid woman had locked the cat-flap again.”
“That ‘stupid woman’ has been worried sick about you all week!”
My words meant nothing; Claudia was a law unto herself.
“When did you find him?”
“He was alive when I saw him first; I watched it happen.”
“What?” I could hardly believe what I was hearing. “Why didn’t you do something? You might have been able to save him.”
“Do what, exactly? I could hardly have called an ambulance, could I? Besides, he died instantly.”
“What did you do?”
“I ate some of his burger.”
“You did what?”
“Don’t look so shocked, you would have eaten all of it.”
“Not if I’d just watched him die, I wouldn’t! What did you do after that?”
“I sat on his chest.”
“You’re unbelievable!” I paced back and forth, trying to understand her awful way of thinking.
“He was warm, for a while anyway. I was trying to be practical; I was locked out in the cold, remember.”
“Don’t try to justify yourself,” I barked. “Oh no… your white fur will be all over him!”
“Relax, you stupid dog. They’re hardly going to hold me responsible.”
“Was there a murder weapon? What actually happened?”
“He was drunk and was stumbling along chewing on a burger. A gang of youths came out of nowhere; they took his wallet and punched him to the ground. No weapon, but he cracked his head when he fell, which finished him off instantly,” she said flatly.
“That’s so horrible. We have to tell someone; maybe we can help the police find them.” I rushed towards the door, hoping she would follow.
“Who do you think you are, Lassie?”
“But we have to do something.”
“We’re animals, remember. Besides, I don’t want the hassle.”
“You’re so selfish!” I barked. “An innocent man has died, don’t you care?”
“Not really. You go to the police if you like; I’d like to see you try and explain it all to the humans.”
I knew she was right, but I just felt so useless. “Why do you always mock me?”
“Because you eat my shit.”
I hated myself for that habit. Embarrassed that she knew my awful secret, I could only retort by calling her a bitch. I went back to my place by the fire and lay down.
“I think you’ll find that you are the bitch.” she laughed.
Claudia stretched out one of her paws in front of her, then extended her claws and plucked at the sofa fabric. It was a subtle reminder of the swipe across the nose she’d once given me that narrowly missed my eye.
A moment later she stood up and arched her back before elegantly stepping down from the sofa and walking towards the door. Her audacity left me speechless. Just before she reached the doorway, and knowing I was still watching, she stopped and licked her paw. “It was a good burger,” she said. Then just as silently as she had entered, she was gone.