Anino returned at dawn, jumped on Glad's bed, and began kneading her stomach until she woke up.
"Anino! It's—" She checked the time. "Five AM?! This better be important."
Anino stared at her with an expression that clearly said, "It is."
"Okay, okay. Give me the report."
What followed was the most elaborate communication she'd ever received from a cat. Anino used a combination of gestures, sounds, and occasionally knocking things off the table to indicate direction.
Marikit went to a hotel near the boulevard. (Knocked a glass toward the window.)
She met with someone in the parking lot. (Tapped his nose—"person"—then pointed outside.)
A man. Human. Government-looking. (Stared pointedly at Glad's Department ID.)
They talked for an hour. She seemed angry. (Growled softly.)
He gave her something. A folder. She hid it. (Pretended to hide something under the rug.)
Glad processed this. "Marikit is meeting with government officials? The Department?"
Anino nodded. (He could nod. It was unnerving.)
"Why would an aswang meet with the Department? She's not registered. I would know."
Anino shrugged. (He could also shrug. Even more unnerving.)
"And she hid something. A folder. With what?"
Another shrug.
"This is bad, Anino. This is really bad."
She called Kim immediately.
"Marikit is meeting with government officials?" Kim's voice crackled through the phone. "That's not necessarily suspicious. Maybe she's registering."
"At a parking lot at midnight? With a folder she hid?"
"...Okay, that's suspicious."
"I need you to check Department records. See if anyone unregistered has been flagged recently. And find out who the Dumaguete field officer is."
"On it. What are you going to do?"
Glad looked at Anino. "I'm going to have a conversation with my boyfriend about his very suspicious ex."
An hour later, she met Ariel at the community center, pulling him into a private room.
"We need to talk about Marikit."
Ariel sighed. "I know. She showing up is—"
"She's meeting with government officials. At night. Hiding folders."
Ariel froze. "What?"
"Anino followed her. She met a man—human, government—in a parking lot. He gave her something. She hid it."
"A government official? Which department?"
"Kim's checking."
Ariel paced, his dog ears twitching anxiously. "This doesn't make sense. Marikit hates the Department. She refused to register for decades. Why would she meet with them now?"
"That's what I'm asking you."
"I don't know, Glad. I really don't." He stopped pacing, meeting her eyes. "But I'll find out. I promise."
"Be careful. If she's involved in something—"
"I will. And Glad?" He took her hands. "Whatever she's doing, I'm on your side. Always."
Glad wanted to believe him.
She really did.
But 173 years had taught her one thing: always trust the cat.
And Anino was very, very worried.