Mystery at the Hedge Fund Read online

  Once Colin finished healing Roger, he knew that Roger was going to be as good as new. Roger began to stir in Mandy's arms while Colin continued to heal Roger. Mandy laid Roger down on the ground, since she noticed he began to move. Mandy kept saying “C'mon Roger, wake up, I'm right here baby.”

  Roger finally opened his eyes and started to get up. He shook his body, as though he was wet, and walked a little bit on all fours. He moved his head from side to side to work out the kinks. Finally he said “So Colin, when do we begin this cat experiment?” These words froze Colin to his core. He feared something like this would happen. A regular cat would be on life support right now. But Colin had managed to heal all the physical issues as a result of the accident. However, the shock had definitely broken the mental mechanism that caused him to believe he was a cat while in the cat body.

  Roger looked at his arms and legs, and noticed that he had paws and that he was covered in fur. In a moment it dawned on him what had happened.

  “Colin, what the hell is this, how come I became a cat? You said I would become a cat and have no knowledge of it. And here I am a cat and fully aware that I'm a cat and Roger Fahey.”

  “There's been a terrible accident Roger. You got hit by a truck, I just managed to get you back and fix your broken bones. However, the shock must have broken the mental hold that made you think you were a cat. Believe it or not Roger, you've been a cat for two years.”

  “Two years! You gotta be kidding me. And now after two years, I'm aware I'm not a cat. What's going to happen now Colin? I gotta walk around and pretend I'm a cat when you know and I know that I'm not a cat? I knew this was a hare brained idea. I should have never gone along with it. I should have taken my chances in the netherworld.”

  “I understand you're upset Roger, but you've thought you're a cat now for two whole years and I even managed to get your time cut in half for your heroic deeds as a cat. It seems that even though you became a cat, you continued to act like the detective and protect Mandy from people who tried to harm her. So, even though you weren't aware of it, you still acted like your old detective self.”

  Mandy and Lana watched Roger. Mandy thought that his mind had been affected. He sat upright on the grass with his back to Mandy and Lana and making very strange meows, as though talking to himself. Of course, Mandy couldn't see Colin, but Lana understood Roger and saw Colin now. She didn't understand this whole thing of him being a man. He was a cat, what was he talking about? At one point Mandy got closer to Roger, touched him and said “Roger honey, are you ok?”

  He turned around and said “Not now Mandy, I'm trying to straighten out this mess of how I can go back to being a man.” Of course, the only thing Mandy heard was strange meows.

  Lana figured she'd get her two cents in and get some answers too. “Roger, what's all this talk about you being a man. Who is that man anyway?”

  “Lana, it would take too long to explain right now, it's a very strange story. That man is my guardian angel, Colin. Colin meet Lana, Lana meet Colin.”

  “Very pleased to meet you Lana.” Colin said.

  “You can understand me? I thought people couldn't understand cats?” Lana said surprised.

  “I'm not a man, I'm a guardian angel. I understand all animals. I look like a man because Roger is a man. At least he is in spirit although we're having some technical difficulties right now.”

  “Technical difficulties!” Roger said outraged.

  “But he looks like a cat!” Lana said, stating the obvious.

  “I look like a cat because genius here said I could live out the rest of my life as a cat and then go to the next level, whatever that is. Instead I do a two year stint as a cat and now I'm a man, but I have a cat's body. And he calls this a technical difficulty.” Roger said his anger mounting.

  “Now Roger, take it easy, I'll be able to fix this, but it's going to take a little while. I have to do research and figure out how to get you either back to the waiting station or have you believe you're a cat again.”

  Mandy watched this whole interplay of Lana meowing, Roger with a very strange meow, and both looking into empty space. She figured the shock of the accident had unhinged Roger's mind and he was in limbo. Lana's meowing is maybe trying to communicate to him. Mandy thought of what to do. Two things came to mind. Get Roger to a vet and call Jill. She needed another person who knew Roger to show her that she's not losing her mind and her cat is meowing in a way he's never meowed before. It sounded like speech, but as a meow.

  Mandy took out her phone and called Jill. “Hi Jill, I need your help. Roger got hit by a truck.”

  “Oh, that's awful, how hurt is he?”

  “Well, the miraculous thing is that he doesn't seem to be hurt. However, it affected his mind and he seems to be meowing in a very strange form. I just need you to hear him and tell me I'm not losing my mind.”

  “Sure, but shouldn't you take him to the vet?”

  “That's also my next move, I wanted you to come with me, in case he tells me something awful like that he's only got two weeks to live or something.”

  “Sure, no problem. I'm sorry this happened, how did he get hit by a truck?”

  “To make a long story short, he was chasing a purse snatcher.”

  “A purse snatcher. Boy, you've sure had a full morning.” Jill said.

  “Here's the thing, it wasn't my purse, it was some old lady's. He chased the purse snatcher cause he saw him steal from the old lady. Is that something or what?”

  “Well, he has been involved in saving you various times. Maybe by now he can sense danger and he feels he can do something about it.”

  “That worries me too. What if he does this again in the future and next time I'm not so lucky?”

  “Well, we can't dwell on stuff like that. Why don't I meet you at the vet? You're still seeing Dr. Fleishman?”

  “Yes, that's still my vet, I'll meet you there.”

  Mandy said to Roger “C'mon baby, we're going to the vet to make sure that you're alright.”

  Roger said “I'm not going to a vet, what do I look like an animal? But of course, she thinks I'm a cat. Colin do something. If I'm poked and prodded at this place, you're never going to hear the end of it.”

  “Don't worry Roger, I'll ensure that it will be a minimally invasive procedure. I can influence people, it will not be a problem.”

  Mandy listened to Roger and she worried. Why did he meow so strangely, everytime she went to do something with him? Lana just stood by.

  Mandy muttered to herself “Oh, I hope that this is not a permanent condition.”

  “You and me both sister.” Roger replied. Again the strange meow.

  “Roger honey, I feel that you're trying to tell me something. I hope you're not in pain.”

  “The only thing that's hurting right now is my head, from realizing I'm a man in a cat's body. Of course, you can't understand a word I'm saying.”

  Mandy just looked at Roger and shook her head “C'mon Lana we gotta get Roger to a vet, make sure he's ok.”

  Once at the vet, the vet took X rays to see if there were any broken bones. Jill was already there waiting for Mandy. The doctor came out of his office. Mandy and Jill waited uneasily for a diagnosis.

  “Well Mandy, you're lucky, he's a lucky cat, nothing happened to him, there are no broken bones, not even a bump.” Dr. Fleishman said.

  “But what about the strange meowing?” Mandy asked.

  “I have to tell you, I've never seen behavior like that in a cat. The closest I would guess is that it seems like a feline version of Tourette's Syndrome.”

  “Tourette's Syndrome!? Colin is that serious?” Roger asked.

  “You don't have Tourette's Syndrome, just a big mouth.”

  “Great, I have a comedian for a guardian angel.”

  Meanwhile Mandy and the doctor heard Roger seemingly meowing at thin air.

  “See what I mean doctor. Jill, have you ever heard him meow like this?”

  “Yes, s
trange, definitely strange.” Dr. Fleishman said.

  “I've never heard this, and I'm pretty familiar with Roger.” Jill said.

  “Well, give him a couple of weeks. It's possible the shock of the crash may have triggered something in his brain. Once he calms down, he'll go back to normal.” Dr. Fleishman said.

  “Ok doctor, but it's going to take me a while to get used to this kind of meowing. It's almost as though he's talking, in cat language.” Mandy said.

  Roger turned around looking at Mandy and said “Mandy get used to it, because unless my genius guardian angel comes up with a plan here, I'm going to be talking a lot, even though you won't understand a word I'm saying.”

  “See, see what I mean. It's as though he's trying to tell me something.” Mandy said.

  “Yes, it does seem that way. Well, give him a while and in time these episodes will start to subside.” Dr. Fleishman said.

  Roger ignored that last comment not to attract too much attention to himself.

  Colin told Roger “I'll find a way to come up with a solution to this problem Roger. I eventually do. You had a very unusual situation, you got banged up really badly, when you should have been living the quiet life of a house cat.”

  “Well, it's not my fault that there was a purse snatcher that was getting away with the purse. What am I supposed to do, let him get away with it?” Roger asked.

  “Yes, you have to stop playing detective. Instinctually, you start doing your job, even though you're a cat.” Colin said.

  “But I can't help it, this feeling to fix a bad situation rises up in me.” Roger said.

  “Oh yes you can, you just have stop following the impulse.” Colin said.

  “How do I do that?”

  “I'll have to teach you, but right now I'm going to dedicate a lot of my time trying to figure out how to fix the current situation. I'm guessing you prefer either going back to being a full-time cat or becoming a real man.” Colin explained.

  “Yes, preferably as a man. Right now, I feel like Pinocchio. Maybe if I'm really good I can become a real live boy. I wonder if my nose will grow long every time I tell a lie?” Roger said sarcastically.

  “Don't worry Roger, I'll see what I can do. Something will work.” Colin said.

  Mandy and Jill kept a watch on Roger as he continued to seemingly meow all by himself, in his new strange fashion.

  Lana observed the interchange between Roger and Colin. She said to herself “Well, this at least explains why he's strange. He's not really a cat.”

  This disappointed Lana. She hoped for a future with Roger and now she discovers that he's not a cat and his biggest preoccupation is becoming a man again.

  Jill reminded Mandy that their appointment with Michael was coming up. Mandy debated whether she should cancel and devote more time to Roger. On the other hand, nobody seemed to have an idea as to what was wrong with Roger.

  “I'm not sure if I'm in the frame of mind to discuss finances right now. I'm very worried that something terrible has happened to Roger and that this will affect his future health.” Mandy said.

  “Well, let's go by the hedge fund and if you're still not up to it when we get there, we'll just say, hi we came by to say we need to re-schedule, something happened, and we explain the situation with Roger.” Jill said.

  “Ok, let's try that.” Mandy said.

  They took their respective cars and headed to the hedge fund. Roger and Lana sat in the back and both cats seemed to be quiet. Colin suggested to Roger to stop talking till they returned to the house. He explained that he sounded very strange to Mandy and that he was drawing attention to himself. So Roger decided to stop talking. As she got ready to park by the hedge fund, she noticed that there were several police cars and an ambulance parked in front of the hedge fun. Mandy asked herself, what was going on causing this activity to take place. She parked the car and Jill was right behind her.

  “Are you seeing this? I wonder what this is all about.” Mandy said to Jill.

  “I don't know, but I don't like the looks of it.” Jill replied. Both of them looked around to find out where Fred was. Soon enough they found him. They wasted no time in going to up to him.

  “Fred, what's going on, why all the police and ambulances?”

  “Well, apparently somebody found a corpse in one of the closets at the hedge fund. He seemed to have hanged himself in the nude. We're trying to figure out if he was playing some sex games that went awfully wrong or this is foul play. I think they call it autoerotic asphyxiation.”

  “Who was the victim?” Mandy asked.

  “A man by the name of Michael Winnan.” Fred said.

  “What!?” Mandy and Jill said simultaneously. “We came to discuss finances with him. We just spoke to him yesterday. He's a financial consultant. His wife Jennifer is our friend.”

  “You know the victim?” Fred said incredulously.

  “Well, it's a long story but basically we were looking for a financial advisor and he was recommended by his wife. We interviewed him yesterday to become our advisor and help us invest our money.”

  Fred shook his head “Well, listen, I'd like to talk to you further so you can brief me on your knowledge about him and your relationship with the wife. We're in the midst of wrapping the body sending it to the morgue, multiple kinds of police business. But this is definitely a new angle, you being in communications with the deceased.”

  “Fred, I know this is very strange, but we really looked forward to working with him. He was a very nice man. I've no idea what could have happened.” Mandy said.

  “Well, come by the station tomorrow. I'm going to be tied up with this all day today.”

  Chapter Four

  Mandy and Jill walked back to their cars completely flabbergasted. Michael Winnans dead? How? Why? Mandy told Jill “Let's go back to my house, so we can leave the cats and maybe go to Joanie's afterwards. I cannot believe this. Every time we try to get ahead, something crazy happens.”

  “Definitely very strange. Ok, I'll meet you at your house.” Jill said.

  The hedge fund was not very far from Mandy's house. All the way there, she thought about the events of the day. First Roger and now Michael. At least Roger survived his ordeal. But apparently, Michael didn't. She got home and parked her car. Jill was right behind her.

  “Ok guys we're home. Roger honey, take it easy around the house, I think you need to relax.”

  “Mandy, I need a drink, the whole bottle actually. Not that that's going to happen.”

  In her mind, Mandy heard this and said, there he goes again with that crazy meowing. What happened to my cat? She opened the door to the car and the cats jumped out. Then she went to the door, opened it and everybody went inside. Mandy said to Jill.

  “Well, I told Roger to take it easy and he replied with that crazy meowing. I really hope he's alright.

  “Well, only time will tell. Let's see how he acts in a couple of days and if he lays off the crazy meowing.” Jill said.

  “I'm worried this can become worse over time.”

  “Well, physically, he looks alright. He got hit by a truck, he bounced off a tree and he's walking around like nothing happened. So, other than the crazy meowing, I he's probably going to be fine. Maybe the hit triggered off a part of his brain that affects his meowing. This may be the way he meows for the rest of his life. As long as it doesn't affect his well being, he's going to be ok.” Jill said.

  “What's so strange is, it seems as though he's trying to say something. It's as though I talk to him, and he seems to be replying. He never did that before.” Mandy said.

  “Maybe he hears you and he's trying to mimic what you're saying. He's trying to make the same sounds and it sounds strange.” Jill said.

  “You know, that may not be so far off. Because that's how it sounds sometimes. And maybe the rest of the time, he keeps repeating what he thinks he heard. And that's why he continues to meow strangely.”

  “Sort of like kids. They hear a strange
word, they don't know what it means, but they repeat that sound all day. Sometimes it's a curse word and the parents freak out. What Roger is doing is similar. It's a new sound, and he repeats it. The accident could have stimulated his aural vocal mechanism so now he tries to repeat everything he hears.” Jill said.

  “Isn't there a bird that does the same thing? Yes, it's the lyre bird. Supposedly, not only does it repeat what other people say, but can mimic the sound of cars, motors, machinery. Truly a strange animal. Maybe the force of hitting the truck and banging against a tree activated the same part of the brain in Roger and that's why he meows the way he does. He's doing what the lyre bird does.

  “Well, I think he's going to be ok, just in the future, he's going to have this strange meow thing.” Jill said.

  “I hope that's all it is. Anyway, you want me to make some tea or coffee and we'll have some treats. I don't know if I'm up for going out to Joanie's and discussing all this. I can't believe Michael Winnan is dead.”

  “Yeah, let's hang out here and consider this new situation. This is definitely a super freak out and we never saw it coming. Yesterday we were talking to him and we got a whole tour of the firm and today he's dead and he apparently was engaging in some kinky stuff.” Jill said.

  “Tell me about it. I never would have pegged him for that type. He was so straight and so conventional looking. At some point we need to talk to Jennifer about this. She has to have known.” Mandy said.

  “Not always. Sometimes spouses engage in unusual activities and they keep a secret from their partner. They figure either it's going to cause a rift in the relationship or it's going to wind up in a divorce. So they don't say anything, do their thing and figure, the wife will never find out, and they tell themselves he's not hurting anybody and he's keeping himself happy. But sometimes something like this happens. And nobody saw it coming.”

  “Well, I'll call Jennifer later and offer my condolences. We'll also see what Fred tells us tomorrow. I'm sure he's asking himself how am I involved with another dead body. Although this time, we had nothing to do with this. We were not at the scene of the crime when it happened. We did nothing with the victim other than talk to him. And that was yesterday when he was still alive. So, something happened in the middle of the night.” Mandy said.