Catfantastic: Nine Lives and Fifteen Tales Part 6

Ted had a cata"a black cat, named Einstein. It had disappeared the day Ted was killed.

"Lyssa!" He called out again, without luck. He got back into the car and parked it off the road, then started to go after her. He didn't have far to roam; Lyssa reappeared, with a wet, frightened black cat in hand.

Her bright face smiled at him. "Look who I founda"Einstein!"

David remained dubious. "It's a long-haired black cat, sure, but how can it be Einstein? We're miles away from campus."

The cat was s.h.i.+vering, its mud-coated fur ruining Lyssa's dress, but she didn't seem to notice. "I just know, that's all." She marched back to the car. "Come on, let's get back. Einstein needs a good meal and a bath."

David went along with her, shaking his head, and got them underway again. Lyssa cooed over the cat like a mother hen.

From the corner of his eye, David watched. "That cat is filthy. He's ruining your clothes."

But Lyssa paid no attention to him, continuing only to stroke the damp fur; the purr from the cat became loud and clear. The sound complemented the slap-slap of the winds.h.i.+eld wipers and the murmur of the gentle rain on the car roof.

Fir trees whizzed past, Lyssa lay her head back a moment, closing her eyes.

"Are you okay?" David knew the reaction from the alcohol and adrenaline rush was probably making itself known.

She opened her eyes, her head came forward, as she gazed out at the swiftly pa.s.sing evergreens. "Who was it that asked, 'If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it fall, does it make a sound?' "

"Socrates?" David shrugged. "I don't know. Philosophy isn't my forte."

"Where do all those extra socks go when they become lost in the dryer?" Lyssa was still studing the trees, "And have you ever watched a cat just stare and stare at nothing, for hours and hours? It's as if they know something we don't."

" 'Ah! Cats are a mysterious kind of folk.' Now, that was Sir Walter Scott, that much I do know."

" 'It is their task to see everything, to hear everything,' " Lyssa said. "An old medieval saying." She stroked Einstein. "Isn't that right, boy?"

They were just pulling into campus when David said, "You know, that cat isn't going to bring Ted back."

"If this cat could talk, it might tell us who murdered Ted."

"I still say that can't be Einstein."

"Look, I know you saw the cat at the funeral and you saw the cat that was at the wake. And now, this cat shows up. Do you know what I think?"

"Wronga"I didn't see the cat at the wake, only at the funeral. And so what if they were all black cats, that cat is not Einstein."

"How do you know it's not? I knew Einstein, you didn't. Besides, you don't like cats."

"I do so like cats. I like all animals. I just find cats area""

"Mysterious creatures of the night?" Lyssa smiled. "This is Einstein."

"Are you trying to say that all those cats are the same cat? Einstein, somehow teleported? How did the cat get from place to place?"

"Maybe using Tyler's theory of molecular transference," she smiled.

David found his gaze being drawn down to the cat, which stared up at him with luminous green eyes, the same smile that played on Lyssa's face, played on his. He raised an eyebrow at the animal. "They are still calling it Belson's theory."

"Not for long," Lyssa said, as David pulled in front of the physics lab. She quickly got out and headed for the building.

"Lyssa, why are you doing this? You should be home." David pleaded with her, as he caught up with her in the third floor corridor.

"Why? To mope? To grieve after a man who not only jilted me, but stole my theory as well?" Lyssa shook her head. "Oh, no, the time for that is past. Now, I have to go into action. To prove that Ted Belson was a fraud. That his theory was really my theory." She unlocked the lab door, as Einstein squirmed his way to the floor, das.h.i.+ng inside the darkness as the door cracked open.

Lyssa threw on the lights, revealing a modest laboratory, complete with long tables, test tubes, an a.s.sortment of electronic equipment, and several computers. She headed toward the back, behind several bookcases that were jammed with notebooks, stacks of papers, plus an a.s.sortment of books. A peculiar setup of what appeared to be a miniature jungle-gym, the kind found on children's playgrounds, was sitting on a table. To the side was an a.s.sortment of electronic monitoring devices, along with an array of laser equipment. The jungle-gym had a horizontal point of sorts which was aimed at a distant wall, where a large sheet of translucent plastic stood.

Einstein was currently nowhere to be seen. David wasn't worried about the cat, however; he was worried about Lyssa. David sat on a nearby stool, as she began turning on the various pieces of equipment. The silence of the room was soon shattered by a steady hum.

Lyssa was already studying her notes. She looked up long enough to note, "You could make yourself useful."

"I'm tired, it's been a long day."

"Well, no matter. I need to work. I want to work. Phelps had us on a deadline. That deadline is next week. It's either get results or good-bye grant money. So I have to work."

David watched her, furiously scribbling, checking her devices. A soft meow caught his attention, and Einstein reappeared at his feet, indicating want of attention or food. He smiled gently, and patted his lap. The cat gave out an approving meow, and with a graceful leap, landed neatly in his lap, immediately settling down. David scratched the dry fur, amazed at how clean the cat was, and how loud his purr. "Well, fellow, I can't say if you're the old Einstein or not, but regardless, welcome to your home, new or otherwise," he told the cat gently. The cat's purr got louder, as huge green eyes cracked open enough to acknowledge the human, then squeezed shut, a smile on its whiskered lips.

"Dr. Tyler, not only have you broken the rules that the police laid down on this matter, worse, you've disregarded my rule of not becoming involved further in this matter," Dr. Perry Phelps, the departmental chairman, chastised her. No wonder the faculty called him "windbag" behind his huge back.

"Dr. Phelps, you know this project was mine to begin with, not Ted's. He stole mya""

"Young lady, we have been over this a thousand times already. Right now, I don't care whose theory it is, the whole thing is academic now anyway. The project is dead. It died the day Ted died."

"But it doesn't have to be that way! I am so close. I know I am. You've got to give me more time. You've got to let me into my lab."

Perry steepled his hands together on his desk, his usual hangdog expression even more so, as his frown became deeper. "Look, Lyssa, I know you and Ted were closea""

"Oh, h.e.l.l, Perry," Lyssa shot back, now that the initial academic bull was over and they were back on a first name basis. "Ted and I were lovers for two years, everyone on the staff knows that. Maybe one day we might have gotten married, if he could have stopped chasing the skirts he was supposedly tutoring. Yes, I was mad when he finally said that portion of our relations.h.i.+p was over, but we've been working on this project for the last three years. We are so close. Wea""

"Wrong, Lyssa. You were so close. Now, Ted is done anda""

"And now, you want to cancel the project? Why? Because the theory isa"let me see, how did dear old Dr. Drake put it? 'farfetched'? I know it's farfetched, but, Perry, I am so d.a.m.n close. All I need is the rest of the time allotted for this projecta"just another weeka"that's all, to get back into my lab, and I will prove that there are other dimensions out there."

Perry considered her. "It's just that this whole thing is so a controversial. And the media is blowing this whole thing out of proportion, with the murder and all. You did ridicule Ted in public at that dinner. And your accusations toward Julie Andersona""

"My G.o.d, Perry, I had just found out Ted was dead, and she wandered in. I was in shock."

"Well, I understand that, but a" He was squirming in his chair.

"Please, Perry, just another week. That's all I ask." Perry didn't look comfortable, but he relented. "Okay, but if in a week, when the deadline is up, you have nothing to show, then not only will that be your last day here, but I'll make sure you'll never do research anywhere ever again."

"I ask for nothing more," was her only reply, and she headed out the door.

"There is a theory that cats are truly aliens from outer s.p.a.ce."

"And whose theory is that?" David asked, checking over his clipboard of data.

"Mine," Lyssa replied. She gave Einstein a gentle stroke, and the cat rolled over from its sitting position on the table, to fully stretched out, making accessible a long length of furry stomach to stroke. Lyssa obliged the request, and Einstein's purr rivaled the electronic humming.

" 'When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me?' Montaigne, 1580."

"Interesting theory. I'd almost buy it, too."

"But?"

"But I have a more interesting theory."

"Oh, really? And what is that, Mr. Elsner?"

"Well, Dr. Tyler, it's based on your own theory, actually," David expounded in mock tone.

"Tell me your theory then."

"I believe cats are truly a pan-dimensional creatures."

Lyssa smiled. "Pan-dimensional, eh?"

David nodded, a smile on his lips. "Now you wouldn't be mocking my dimensional theory, would you? Not after all this time working on it?"

"Not at all, my dear professor. Indeed, I believe your theory will prove my theory."

Lyssa studied him for a moment, and his eyes smiled at her in the same way Einstein's did when he stared at her, silent cat secrets swirling in his feline mind. "And here, all this time, I didn't think you liked cats."

David only smiled at her and beneath her hand, Einstein purred louder.

"Two more days and this project is over," Phelps warned her when he stopped by the lab.

"Two more days is all I need," Lyssa answered, not bothering to acknowledge him further, her pert nose in her notes.

Phelps glanced around, noting the presence of several half-eaten hamburgers left cold in their cardboard trays, stacked up in a nearby trash can. In the corner, David Eisner, with several days' beard growth, looked up bleary-eyed from his computer terminal. A large black cat sat by his side. It looked at Phelps and yawned.

"What is that animal doing in here? It is against regulationsa""

"It was Ted's cat," David announced, as if that was the only explanation needed. Lyssa glanced up, as if to defend the cat's presence, but David's p.r.o.nouncement seemed to satisfy Phelps.

"Oh. Well, then a." he looked about uncertainly, noting the cat was now staring at him, a look of disdain in its large green eyes. Phelps decided to leave.

"Good boy," David told the cat. Einstein glanced up at him, as if to say, "Of course," and then settled back to its own thoughts.

"Now, if your calculations are right, and we've made the necessary adjustments to the matrix correctly, then a"

"Then when we throw the switch on the laser cannon, and if the matrix is correct, we should a" Even David was afraid to speak the words.

"Then we should open a door to another dimension," Lyssa finished for both of them. "The only problem is, what dimension? What type of rift will we cause? What will we find?"

Her eyes glowed as brightly as Einstein's over the lid of her milkshake cup. She sucked on the straw briefly, then the features of her face became soft. "You know, David, if it hadn't been for you, putting in all this work, picking up where Ted left off a well, I just don't know how to say a thank you."

David glanced up from where he was feeding Einstein the last of his hamburger. "You know I believe in you, Lysa. I always have. That's why I wanted to work with you. I specifically requested to work for you."

"You did?" She smiled. "I never knew that." Studying his face, she found that she liked the beard. It seemed to suit him.

"That's probably because we never really talked like we have since a since Dr. Belson's a pa.s.sing." Lyssa wiped off the excess sweat from her paper cup, licking her lips slightly. "I guess I was sorta wrapped in a"

"Yeah, I know." He let out a sigh. "The police are no closer to finding his killer, either."

"Lt. McDonald called again yesterday, and warned me not to leave town. If after tomorrow, the matrix doesn't work and the project is a bust, then I'll be the laughingstock of campus. Dr. Phelps has told me that I'm history. Here or anywhere else."

"Don't worry. The matrix will be correct. I know it." David told her optimistically. From the floor, a loud meow was heard. "See, Einstein agrees."

Lyssa smiled. "He does, does he?" She bent down and the cat deigned to let her rub its head. "You and Einstein have gotten close these last few days, I've noticed."

"He's been helping me," David said. "Actually, I think it's he who fed me those last figures."

"You mean the figures the matrix is based on?" Lyssa asked. "Is this somehow tied in with your pan-dimensional theory?"

"Maybe. You're the one that got me started though. I still want to know how, if this cat is really Ted's Einstein, and if it's the same cat that somehow got from this lab, to the grave site, to the wake and then out along that back road, how did it get from place to place?"

Lyssa smiled. "Your pan-dimensional theory? Or my molecular transference theory? How do you think I came up with the theory in the first place? My grandmother had a cat which I swore disappeared into some other dimension. I'd go into the bedroom where I saw the cat run, and not find it anywhere. And then I'd go downstairs, and there it would be, grooming itself by the fire. Now, I know I didn't see the cat pa.s.s me on the stairs."

"Which made you begin to realize that maybe the cat knew something that the rest of us didn't. I read your paper, remember?"

"n.o.body took that paper seriously. Except Ted. He's the one that looked me up and said he could get us grant money if we pursued my theory." Lyssa rubbed Einstein's tummy. "Of course, he took all the credit, and I did all the work. I was blind, I was so in love with him. He was taking me for a fool."

"Careful, the walls have ears. Someone might think you really did the old boy in."

Lyssa looked up at him. "You don't believe that, do you?"

"Of course not." He stood over her, and slowly she rose to her feet, his hands on her small shoulders. His eyes, so green and gentle, gazed into hers. She found herself falling into those mesmerizing pools of green. Funny, she hadn't ever noticed how green his eyes were. Now, as his face drew closer to hers, she found herself thinking how very much like a cat's his eyes were.

His lips touched her lips, his strong arms held her tight, protecting her.

She withdrew, her cheeks felt hot. She turned away. "We a we have work to do." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Of course," he said. He bent down to retrieve the empty cardboard container from Einstein, who now sat up on the computer table, licking his lips, and silently grooming himself, a self-satisfied look on his whiskered face.

The calculations were complete; all the elements of the jungle gym were in place. The laser cannon was ready to be fired.

David was making last minute adjustments. Lyssa was donning a pair of goggles. Einstein was dozing on a far counter, wedged between a computer and a microscope.

It was only when Lyssa threw the switch to the laser and a steady hum escaped from the machinery, that the long-haired black cat decided to wake from his nap. Long limbs stretched into the air, green eyes squinted, then opened wide at the red light beam that played within the matrix. He let out a yowl.

Lyssa didn't immediately notice, she was busy monitoring the situation. "Aim the beam at our intersection point," she ordered David, who nodded and made the appropriate adjustments through the computer terminal.

"It's almost there!" he shouted, over the increasing hum.

The red laser beam danced among the bars of the jungle gym, slowly aiming higher, to a small opening at the horizontal apex. It was aimed at the plastic screen, which was beginning to s.h.i.+mmer, and take on a life of its own.