Disenchanted by C L Raven Page A

entered the kitchen and sat at the table.
    " Yo !
Slave! I'm hungry!"
    I slouched into the kitchen and
squeezed out half a pouch. He sniffed it, took a tentative bite then ate the food
I'd put out earlier. I shook my head then made myself a drink and went to bed.
A few minutes later, Mephistopheles jumped up and paraded up and down the bed
before settling on my pillow, his tail draped over my face.
    An hour later, a claw poked my
face. I batted it away and went back to sleep. Something bit my toes. I sat
bolt upright and saw Mephistopheles with his front legs under my duvet.
    "I need a wee."
    "The window's open."
    "But I'm hungry."
    I growled, got out of bed and
followed him downstairs. He stood by the back door and waited for me to open
it.
    "Thought you were
hungry."
    "I'm bursting."
    "The window's open."
    "I'm descended from gods -
I'm not jumping out the window like a lowlife cat burglar." He strutted
out, his tail waving.
    I slammed the door and went back
to bed.

 
    ***

 
    Two days later, there was a knock
at the door. I stumbled downstairs wearing only my trunks.
    "I'll handle this,"
Mephistopheles said, weaving between my legs and tripping me. I slid down the
last three steps. Mephistopheles purred.
    I opened the door to find two
officers on the doorstep.
    "Aidan Trent?" One of
them asked.
    "Yes."
    "I'm DS Rochester, this is
DC Bolton. We'd like to talk to you about your brothers."
    I numbly stood aside while they
entered and went into the living room. Mephistopheles sat in the tall backed
computer chair, glaring at them. One of the officers headed for the chair.
    "That's Mephistopheles'
chair," I told him. "He won't be happy if you sit on him."
    "Who's Mephistopheles?"
    "My cat."
    He looked at the chair
quizzically then sat somewhere else.
    "There's no way I want to be
squished beneath that arse," Mephistopheles snorted as I sat on the floor
in front of him. "I'd look like road kill."
    "Is that your brother
Pierre's car, in the drive?" Rochester asked.
    "Yeah."
    "His colleagues contacted us
when he didn't return to work after his lunch break two days ago."
    "He's on holiday,"
Mephistopheles said. "Smarming his way around the camp site."
    "Your older brother, Rob, is
he around?"
    "They went together," I
replied.
    "You didn't go with
them?"
    "I don't like camping."
    "He just decided to leave
for holiday on his lunch break?"
    "I rarely see Pierre, I
don't know his holiday plans."
    "Your father's just died, is
that right?" I nodded. "Rob got the house, Pierre got the car, what
did you get?"
    "Screwed."
    "Oh yeah, that just screams
'innocence'," Mephistopheles muttered.
    " Ssh ,"
I hissed. "I thought you were handling this."
    The officers exchanged glances.
    "I would if I could get a
word in edgeways. Your mouth's chattering away like clockwork teeth. I bet you
a fiver you wind up in a cell tonight."
    "I noticed your carpets are
missing," Rochester said.
    "I'm redecorating. I hated
those carpets."
    "Do you mind coming down to
the station with us?" Bolton asked.
    "That bet was shortlived ." Mephistopheles smirked.
    "What for?" I asked.
"My brothers are camping in woods somewhere." Mephistopheles roared
with laughter. I shushed him.
    "Two days ago, an officer
stopped a car for speeding through country lanes about ten miles from here.
When he asked the driver to leave his vehicle, he was attacked and left
handcuffed on the side of the road. His description of the driver matches you.
The camera was stolen from the squad car. We ran the plate he gave us - it was
Pierre's car. Then we discovered Pierre's been missing for two days. Were you
driving his car at the time of the incident?"
    "I'm not allowed to drive
his precious car."
    "Then why is it here?"
    "Free parking."
    "A couple of miles from the
incident with the police, a security guard reported a fire in an abandoned
factory. There were traces of carpet at the scene. He said he was threatened by
an intruder, who remarkably, also matches your description."
    "I have one