Michael frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Where Bruno found them matters.”
“If they came from someone else’s private property, you cannot assume you own them because your cat carried them home.”
Michael leaned back.
Of course.
Even space rocks came with paperwork.
“What do I do?”
“First, locate the site.”
“I know where.”
“You do?”
Michael showed him the tracker history.
Carlos stared.
“You tracked the cat?”
“I got tired of rocks.”
“This is excellent.”
He zoomed in.
“Industrial parcel.”
“Who owns it?”
“No idea.”
Carlos said:
“Find out before anyone starts collecting.”
“We should not trespass.”
“Also, do not post this online.”
Michael laughed.
“I barely post birthdays.”
“Good.”
Carlos looked at Bruno.
“This cat may have accidentally found a meteorite strewn field.”
Michael looked at him.
“A what?”
“Area where fragments from the same meteor break apart and land across a zone.”
“Potentially.”
“We need data before saying that.”
The next morning, Michael searched county property records.
The parcel belonged to Weston Redevelopment LLC.
He expected a faceless corporation.
Instead, the listed manager was a local developer named Howard Weston.
Michael found an office number.
He called during lunch.
A receptionist answered.
Michael tried explaining without sounding insane.
“My cat may have been bringing geological samples from your property.”
Silence.
“What kind of samples?”
“Possibly meteorites.”
Longer silence.
“Sir, is this a prank?”
“No.”
He felt ridiculous.
“I have a university geochemist who can explain better.”
The call eventually reached Howard Weston.
Howard was sixty-seven.
He listened.
Then said:
“You’re telling me a cat has been stealing meteorites from my dirt.”
Michael closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“That’s the sentence.”
Howard laughed for almost thirty seconds.
Then asked:
“Are you trying to buy the land?”
“No.”
“Sell me something?”
“No.”
“Can your university guy call me?”
Carlos called.
Two days later, Michael, Carlos, Danny, and Howard stood at the locked gate of the abandoned parcel.
Bruno remained at home.
Michael had considered bringing him.
Carlos said no.
A research visit was already strange enough.
Howard unlocked the chain.
The property stretched almost six acres.
Broken concrete.
Weeds.
Old gravel.
Several mounds of excavated soil.
Survey stakes marked a future mixed-use development.
Howard pointed toward the northern edge.
“We cleared brush there six weeks ago.”
Michael checked the tracker.
“That’s exactly where he goes.”
Carlos smiled.
“Recent disturbance.”
They walked.
No one picked anything up initially.
Carlos photographed the ground.
Recorded coordinates.
Documented drainage patterns.
Then Danny shouted:
“Is this one?”
Carlos hurried over.
A dark lump protruded from loose soil.
He photographed it before touching.
Then lifted it.
Heavy.
Magnetic.
Exterior similar to Bruno’s collection.
Carlos looked at Michael.
“Probably.”
Over the next hour, they found seven visible fragments.
No digging.
Only surface collection with Howard’s permission.
Carlos labeled everything.
Howard became increasingly interested.
“If this is on my land, technically…”
Michael’s stomach sank.