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And that’s actually how we felt when we’d finally made our way to the roof of the hotel and found it was just us up there, and not the entire Paris cat contingent.

“I guess they probably gather in the Bois de Boulogne,” said Dooley sadly.

I jerked up my head to take in my friend.“What do you know about the Bois de Boulogne?” I asked.

“Oh, just that it’s a very nice forest here in Paris,” said Dooley. “Odelia was talking about it and Chase said they probably didn’t want to visit it since it’s always full of gaiety.”

I gulped. The Bois de Boulogne is indeed full of gaiety, especially at night, but of the more gay variety, which is probably what Odelia was discussing with Chase. I decided not to dwell on the subject, though it was of course entirely possible that cats did indeed flock to the forest under discussion, as did a lot of men, and other men, to be with those other men, and do mostly manly things. Together.

“So sad about Agatha Kinetic, isn’t, Max?” said Dooley, proving once more what a sensitive, feeling soul he really is.

“Yeah, it’s never pleasant to catch your husband engaging in relations with another woman,” I said.

“And with Agatha’s best friend, no less.”

“That friendship will probably be ruined now, as will that marriage.” Unless Agatha leaving the room did indeed signify that she’d gone back to her own room—or suite—to talk things through with her husband. Husbands have been known to stray, and so have wives, and still some of those marriages survive, though not without a lot of effort and healing.

We both gazed out across Paris by night, which was very nice, I have to say, with plenty of flickering lights proving that Paris really is a city of light.

“It’s very nice, isn’t it, Max?” said Dooley finally, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Looks very different from Hampton Cove.”

“That’s because Hampton Cove is a small town and this is a big city.”

“Is that the Eiffel Tower in the distance?”

“I think it is, yes.”

“Yep, that’s the Eiffel Tower, all right,” suddenly a voice spoke near where we were sitting. It startled us so much we both jumped about a foot in the air.

“Easy now,” said the voice, which belonged to the small black cat I’d seen that morning in the lobby. “You don’t want to fall off this roof. It’s a long way down.”

“Oh, hey,” I said. “You startled us.”

“Are you the cat burglar?” asked Dooley, panting slightly from the shock.

The cat laughed.“Cat burglar! That’s a good one. Now I’ve been called many things, but never a cat burglar!”

“Are you… Marion?” I asked. “Barnabas Sheffield’s cat?”

Her eyes were sparkling with merriment.“Now that’s more like it. You’re a clever one, aren’t you?”

“Max,” I supplied. “And this is Dooley. We saw you this morning when we were checking in. Or at least,” I quickly corrected myself, “when our humans were checking in.”

“I remember,” said Marion as she took a seat, gracefully draping her tail around her buttocks. “I was wondering when I saw you, if we’d get to have a chat. Most people who arrive have dogs, you see. Almost never cats.”

“That’s because cats don’t like to travel,” said Dooley, who’d recovered from the shock and had taken a seat again.

“Absolutely,” said Marion. “Which is why I’ve never set foot outside of Paris myself, and if it’s up to me, I don’t think I ever will.”

“We’re from a small town named Hampton Cove,” I said. “But our humans wanted to get away for a little while, so they decided to take this trip to Paris.”

“Chase is a cop and Odelia is a reporter,” said Dooley. “And Chase is here for a police conference.”

“And Odelia for a reporter’s conference?” Marion guessed, cocking her head a little.

“No, she’s just here to get away from home. It’s been very busy and she needed a break.”

“Don’t we all?” said Marion with a smile.

“So how is life at the Fritz-Parlton?” I asked.

“Oh, it’s absolutely grand,” said Marion. “In fact I can recommend it to anyone. It’s a lot of fun to live in a hotel, and of course we have a great kitchen that never stints for the good stuff. And my human is just the best human in the world.”

Dooley frowned.“That’s weird.”

“Why?”

“Because our human is the best human in the world.”

“I don’t think it’s a competition, Dooley. They can both be best humans in the world.”

“Oh, all right.” He puffed a little. “Is it hot up here on the roof or is it just me?”

He did look a little hot under his collar, I thought. Maybe he’d caught a bug.

Marion grinned.“Must be a hot night.”

“So you’ve always lived at the hotel?” asked Dooley.

“Do you spend a lot of time on the roof?” I asked.

“Do you have brothers and sisters?”

“Where do you live? In one of the rooms? Or a suite?”

Marion laughed and held up a paw to stem the flow of questions.“Easy, fellas. One at a time, please. Now you go first, Dooley, cause I like your eyes.”

Those eyes now went a little wider.“You like my eyes? Really?”

“They’re very kind eyes,” she said.

“Oh, boy,” said Dooley, and seemed to melt under Marion’s gaze. “So… where do you… is this… oh, it’s so hot up here—I feel like I’m melting!”