AMBER LOVE 26-JULY-2021 This work is supported by the generous backers who adore my cat stories at Patreon.com/amberunmasked and they also get first access to what’s happening with my books and podcast.
Where We Left Off:
The Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency had unusual visitors — wild turkeys. Three of them. Their visit was documented with notes and photos.
Ride the Pink Horse:
In the middle of May, Gus was on a hot streak of capturing meadow voles per The Grumpy Old Man’s request. On a particularly sunny day, Gus was superbly efficient. He had a new perp in custody within seconds of being out the hobbit door. Like many of the voles, this one claimed to be in show biz, specifically a musical performer named Paula Vole.
Paula Vole had fought her way through a time before intersectional feminism was the buzz phrase of the internet. Her moment of resounding success was met with ridicule over her extra fuzzy appearance. Becoming a target of critical bullies opened up a different opportunity: to walk away from fame and fortune in order to pursue motherhood.
At this time of her life when Gus captured her, the Underground world considered her firmly focused on her authentic style — fame be damned. Paula had been funding her dreams with support directly from her fans through crowdsourcing. Even though she was no longer on every magazine cover (magazines were floppy books printed in regular intervals before websites were invented), she still had plenty of important connections that the cat detectives are more than willing to exploit.
She has been a deeply private vole since her departure from the limelight. Gus took her from the weed-filled flowerbed and put her in the grass under the blazing sun. He began his interrogation to find out if she knew any plans of hostile actions at the estate especially among the Blue Jay Gang or the Chipmunk Mafia. Paula was not eager to work with Gus. She held out while he gave her a little rough treatment.
“My best friend Shorty disappeared. I think she was killed and taken by the Jays.” Paula Vole took advantage of the time Gus used to listen to her to sneak her way close to the back porch. From there, she easily walked right into the snowblower behind the blades and used it for cover.
Gus realized she moved while his head was turned and he tried to reach behind the spiral blades to get hold of Paula again. He was unsuccessful every time. From inside the large metal machine, Paula admitted to Gus that he stopped her as she was about to go out on her own mission of revenge. She hadn’t done anything yet, but her plan was to hire a crow assassin to take out the blue jay responsible for her best friend’s death. The main problem she had wasn’t coming up with the fee. It was find a crow. This year, the crows weren’t making themselves at home within the estate borders. They flew overhead like Blackhawk choppers, squawking but rarely landing.
Case Findings:
Gus captured Paula Vole and she was unharmed physically by his attempts to keep her out in the open. She ended up in the snowblower and admitted that we had stopped her from hiring an assassin in her revenge plot. She didn’t have any proof that the Blue Jay Gang kidnapped nor murdered her best friend Shorty. Gus decided to show Paula mercy with a bargain. We’ll keep looking out for Shorty and keep tabs on the jays leaving Paula Vole free to go.
Case Status: Closed
