The Night Cats of Paris
An illustrated story by Inkwell Tales · Mystery · Noir · All ages · English, Turkish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean
Also in: Türkçe · Deutsch · Español · Português · Français · Bahasa Indonesia
After closing time, a gang of museum cats investigates a small painting that changes a little every night.
When the Musée Lumière closes, its cats take over. Inspector Gaspard, a grey veteran tomcat, sharp-eyed Minette and big, hungry Bouchon notice that a small faded painting, The Garden at Dusk, is different every morning: a new bird, a new moon, a new rose. Following wet paint and a peppermint wrapper, they find the 'thief': Monsieur Armand, the kind old night guard, secretly finishing the painting his late wife Céleste began. When the director catches him at dawn, the cats fetch Céleste's sketchbook to prove it, and the garden is finally finished, with a small grey cat on the bench.
Characters
- Inspector Gaspard (Detective and leader of the museum cats): A grey veteran tomcat who has guarded the Musée Lumière for twelve winters and trusts his nose above all.
- Minette (The sharp-eyed one): A sleek black cat who knows every painting in the museum by heart and sketches them in her notebook.
- Bouchon (The big one): A huge fluffy tomcat, the strongest of the gang, who is always thinking about his next snack.
- Monsieur Armand (The night guard): The museum's elderly night guard, a widower who has walked its halls every night for thirty years and always saves treats for the cats.
Episode 1: The Painting That Changes
The museum cats find that a small faded painting has changed again, discover wet paint and a peppermint wrapper, and nearly get caught by a mysterious figure.
Paris, after midnight. The museum belongs to the cats.
Inspector Gaspard: Quiet night. Too quiet.
Minette: Boss! The little garden painting changed again.
Inspector Gaspard: Again? Show me.
Bouchon: Paintings can't change. Is it breakfast yet?
Three nights in a row, something in Room 12 was new.
Minette: Last night there was no bird on the bench.
Inspector Gaspard: And the night before?
Minette: No moon in the sky.
Inspector Gaspard: Fresh paint. Still wet.
Inspector Gaspard: Someone was here tonight.
Inspector Gaspard: Turpentine. And... peppermint.
Minette: Turpentine? That is for painters.
Bouchon: A ghost painter!
Minette: Ghosts don't buy paint, Bouchon.
Click.
Inspector Gaspard: Hide! Now!
Inspector Gaspard: Our painter likes peppermints.
The case was open.
Episode 2: The Peppermint Trail
The clue points to Monsieur Armand, the kind night guard. The cats follow him from his lodge to Room 12 and watch him paint, until a sneeze gives them away.
The next night.
Inspector Gaspard: Who in this museum eats peppermints?
Bouchon: Monsieur Armand always smells of peppermint.
Bouchon: He shares his sardine biscuits with me.
Inspector Gaspard: Armand. The only human who was ever kind to us.
Minette: Look. A paint box. And brushes.
Monsieur Armand: Time to work, my Céleste. Tonight, the roses.
Inspector Gaspard: Same garden. Same bench.
Dong... Dong...
Bouchon: I'm hungry.
Minette: Shh!
Monsieur Armand: Good evening, Céleste. Just one rose tonight.
Minette: He isn't stealing. He's painting.
Inspector Gaspard: Then why in secret?
ACHOO!
Minette: Bouchon!
Monsieur Armand: Ah. My three night inspectors.
Inspector Gaspard: Caught by the suspect. Not my finest hour.
Episode 3: The Garden at Dusk
Armand tells the cats about his late wife Céleste and the painting she never finished. At dawn the director catches him with wet paint, and the cats race to fetch Céleste's sketchbook to save him.
Monsieur Armand: My wife Céleste began this garden forty years ago.
Monsieur Armand: She fell ill before she could finish it.
Monsieur Armand: But she left a sketchbook with every flower planned.
Monsieur Armand: So each night, I add a little. For her.
Inspector Gaspard: Not a thief. A husband keeping a promise.
At dawn, the director came in early.
Monsieur Armand: Madame, I can explain...
Inspector Gaspard: The sketchbook! To the lodge, now!
Scrrrape!
Bouchon: This book is heavier than me!
Inspector Gaspard: Read it, Madame. Please.
Monsieur Armand: Her sketchbook? But how...?
"Armand, finish our garden for me. Love, Céleste."
The director read it twice. Then she smiled.
Monsieur Armand: She says I may finish it. In daylight!
Bouchon: Does this mean extra biscuits?
One spring evening. Case closed.
Inspector Gaspard: Nice likeness. He got my good side.