Asprin, Robert Lynn – Catwoman – Tiger Hunt (With Lynn Abbey)

Damn Batman for complicating her life!

A possible solution swept into her mind, washing away her anger: If Batman heard the screaming videotape, he’d drop everything and investigate. By the time Batman knew he’d been had, she’d have her money and be safe back home. It might work. She wrestled the unconscious lookout to the windowsill and let his body drop to the alley below. To her ears the crash was deafening, but if anyone else heard, they mistook it for a glitch in the sound system. Besides, the half-filled dumpster he landed in both softened his landing, and muffled the noise.

Returning to the apartment where she’d ditched her clothes, Catwoman deciphered the unit’s myriad controls. Like any techno-toy worthy of its nameplate, it had more functions than it needed: a digital clock, a timer . . . A timer that could start the tape player at a preset moment. She fiddled with the controls, tested her theory, then grinned with smug satisfaction as she set her mousetrap—bat trap—on the fire escape.

The screaming would start in ten minutes—just when she’d be putting her foot through the drug gang’s door. If he was anywhere in the neighborhood, he’d come a-running. He’d know he’d been snookered, but he’d never know why or by whom.

Catwoman’s smile disappeared. Batman needed to know why and by whom. She wanted to paint a message on the wall with bloodred paint, but the workers had been careful and she had to settle for a thick carpenter’s pencil. When the message was complete, she reset her trap beneath the handwriting and left to get her money.