My mouth fell open in disbelief. Marsa, my sweet, gentle tabby, a puppy thief? The very idea seemed absurd. I looked at the curled-up figure on the floor, her eyes half-closed with contentment, and couldn’t reconcile the two images. My mind raced to find a logical explanation, but it was impossible to ignore the evidence lying in the woven basket.

Mrs. Miller shifted in her seat, her voice tinged with accusation. “I’ve seen your cat wandering about at night. It wouldn’t surprise me if she found those puppies and decided to bring them here.”

“But why would she do that?” Lili piped up, her innocent eyes wide with confusion.