| “ | Cat Burglar: Ha ha ha! You're too late, my little cheese niblets. Pamela: You won't be able to get the case out of here. That thing is heavier than the world's biggest block of petrified Parmesan! Cat Burglar: Ha ha ha! You think I'm going to try to carry it out on my back? You must take me for a real cheesebrain! |
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| ~ The Cat Burglar to Nicky and Pamela. |
| “ | Colette: My name is Colette, what's yours? Cat Burglar: Leon! Dimitri and I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling mouselets! |
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| ~ The Cat Burglar revealing his identity. |
Leon, also known as the Cat Burglar, is one of the two main antagonists (alongside his brother Dimitri) of the book Thea Stilton and the Mystery on the Orient Express. He is a notorious thief attempting to steal the Veil of Light.
History[]
Leon gained notoriety for performing nearly impossible thefts, including that of the King of Belgium's crown, which he stole right from him during his coronation; the great violinist Yo-Yo Mouse's Stradivarius, right in the middle of a concert; and the hands off the face of Big Ben. He was helped by his twin brother Dimitri in the robberies. Because of his cunning nature and agility, as well as him never being distinguished from his twin, no one was able to catch Leon or find out his identity. He was widely known as the Cat Burglar for this reason. The Cat Burglar wanted to surpass the reputation of Rattamouche, another infamous thief, by stealing the Veil of Light gown from the Orient Express. He sent an open letter to all the major newspapers in Europe declaring a challenge.
The Cat Burglar stowed away in one of the trunks belonging to the famous ballerina Zelda Mitoff, whose assistant was Dimitri. The trunk was hidden in Dimitri's cabin. At the first dinner aboard the Orient Express, the Cat Burglar drank a big chocolate shake. The Cat Burglar struck the next night, at a little past midnight. As he attempted to steal the Veil of Light from a glass case in the dark, the Cat Burglar encountered the wealthy heiress Peggy Rattfeller, who was looking for her fan and saw him dressed in black when she turned on the lights. She screamed and fainted and the burglar ran away. The Cat Burglar learned the case was actually empty with a holographic image of the gown.
The next morning, the Cat Burglar gathered with the passengers in the restaurant car, substituting for Dimitri, for news about the investigation. Colette noticed his paw was not burned, unlike Dimitri's. While the other passengers, including Dimitri, visited Peleș Castle and spent the night there, the Cat Burglar stayed on the train. The next morning, the Cat Burglar wore Dimitri's suit. As he was returning from the café car, Peggy bumped into him again, stepping on his paw. Shortly after, the Cat Burglar passed by Nicky, who observed he was untidy, limping and in a hurry. After the Orient Express journey resumed, the Cat Burglar broke into the safe and stole Pablo Picamouse's painting to distract Chief Inspector Malik Ratt III.
As the robbery of the painting was being investigated, the Cat Burglar climbed to the roof through a window in the ceiling from a rope. Nicky and Pamela followed him to the roof of the last car, where the thief had cut an enormous hole using liquid nitrogen. Inside, the Cat Burglar was attaching a harness to the case that held the Veil of Light. When he noticed the reflections of Nicky and Pam from the glass panes, he almost jumped but stopped, confident he would still be able to steal the Veil of Light. When Pam and Nicky dived in, the Cat Burglar taunted them and revealed he would take the case through a hot air balloon. He was not even discouraged when the guard Yusuf came into the compartment with Colette and Violet, but soon became surprised when the gown disappeared and a projection of Malik Ratt I appeared in the case. As he stood there confused, Nicky grabbed him by the tail and Pamela tackled him. Although the thief wriggled out of their grasp because he had covered his bodysuit with a slippery substance, Yusuf threw himself at him and Violet and Colette stopped the train. Inspector Ratt immediately handcuffed the Cat Burglar and Colette removed the hood from his snout. The Cat Burglar revealed his name and was furious that he had been captured. The inspector then divulged that the real Veil of Light was already in Istanbul and the Orient Express officials used holograms to lure the thief.