Conversations with Critters
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the highly anticipated release of Chapter 13 from The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope…
Today, Critters, we present to you the highly anticipated release of Chapter 13 from The Case of The Misplaced Priority Envelope! Welcome welcome to our Mystery Tuesday Post brought to you by the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency!
Last week, we literally left off on a zipline while our Critter Detectives, Jasper Kitten, Chris and Star made their crossing to the most wild and remote place yet! What will they find now? What will happen next? Are you ready? Then, let’s go! Please, join us for an introductory commentary and detective critter conversation as the mystery continues to unfold.
Jasper: Hello, Dear Gentle Critters!
Chris: Hello, Dear Gentle Readers!
Jasper: Thank you for being here with us as we release Chapter 13! Did you enjoy that zipline crossing of the Jordan Channel? Great, that’s great!
Chris: We’re so glad to hear it!
Jasper: We are seeing a lot of cracks in the case! Full stop.
Chris: That’s right, Jasper, and I’m ready to tear the Nefarious Perp to shreds as our story brings us closer and closer to the edge of our seats! The end.
Jasper: Is that the seat of the Couch, Chris?
Chris: Yes it is, Jasper! Now, Critters, let’s read all about it!
The Case of The Misplaced Priority Envelope
Book 1 from the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency
By Jasper Kitten, Chris and Star in Heaven Furever and Ever
Dedicated in luvluvluving memory of Star
Chapter 13
Bright Shiny Objects
Jasper Kitten, Chris and Star set out across the wind blown and rocky terrain of Maintop Island. They searched for the opening into the corridor of the bunker from which Rose and Petal had made their escape with the guidance of the Scribe, Finnegan the Rhinoceros Auklet.
Yet, the ground proved unyielding and as solid as the granite that formed the Farallones.
”Jasper Kitten, wherever this opening was located for the Servals, it’s not here now,” said Chris, studying the land.
”Gosh, how could an escape hatch simply disappear?” asked Star.
”Exactly, Star,” replied Jasper Kitten. “I believe it has been deliberately camouflaged.”
”Perhaps there is a hidden hydraulic system that can open and close it, so that it blends in seamlessly with the ground,” suggested Chris.
”Or a mechanical mechanism operated with a crank from underground and similar to the boat crane, only for escape hatches,” suggested Star.
”I see,” said Jasper Kitten. “Both of these suggestions are distinct possibilities. Whether the escape hatch is operated by a motor driven switch or by a mechanical crank, we must find access to the bunker. It. Is. Imperative.”
Jasper Kitten furrowed his orange striped brow.
”We could be facing a logistical circumstance similar to that of finding Clementine in the warehouse tunnel.”
”Gosh, Jasper Kitten, are you saying that a simple solution may be the answer to gaining access to the bunker?” asked Star.
“Yes, Star.”
”Jasper Kitten, could this be as straightforward as finding a flight of stairs rather than falling through a trap door in the floor?” queried Chris.
”I believe so, Chris. Therefore, this could be quite elementary.” He strode ahead, his whiskers set to their most sensitive level of detection.
He followed the curve of a rocky outcropping, downslope and out of sight of the zipline. Sure footed, he remained cautious of the cliffside and crashing surf below.
“Jasper Kitten! Watch the placement of your toebeans!” cried Chris as he and Star hurried after the orange blur of fur.
The rough hewn trail continued on the downslope and the Critter Detectives went single file as they covered the distance together.
The crags narrowed up ahead of them, but a cleft in the rocks allowed enough access and they pressed on. As they exited the passageway, the maw of a cave confronted them. Water ran in rivulets along the edges and pooled at their feet, a small sandy beach still a hundred feet below.
Jasper Kitten adjusted his headlamp and peered into the depths, fearless of the darkness that enveloped him as he ducked inside with Chris and Star following in his muddy tracks.
“The downslope has brought us to an underground level that is perfect for the placement of a bunker,” surmised Jasper Kitten, focusing the beam on what appeared to be a large rectangular object against the wall.
As they moved closer, letters and a drawing of a jagged tooth began to appear. The Critters made a quick inhalation and then exhaled as they read outloud.
”Op Secre,” they said.
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten and Chris, this is a steamer trunk just like the one that Cecil described when he had a memory flashback in the midst of his amnesia!” barked Star.
”Yes, I see,” replied Jasper Kitten as he reached out a white gloved paw toward the open padlock.
“Why, it’s unlocked. Someone nefarious has gotten a little too comfortable, in my humble opinion,” growled Chris low and slow. “How convenient for us.”
”Top Secret,” mewed Jasper Kitten.
He unfastened the padlock from the latch. Star took the lock and held on to it while Jasper Kitten lifted the lid on the trunk.
The rusty hinges creaked and released and then before them, in the beam of the headlamp, was a trove of bright shiny objects, of chrome plated bells in a wide array of sizes, sparkling and silent and reflected in all of their eyes.
A ping went off and they jumped. Jasper Kitten slammed the lid on the trunk.
”Chris, how can your phone possibly work in here?” Jasper Kitten wheeled around.
Chris held up his phone, shocked to see a Wi-Fi signal.
“Jasper Kitten, we must be very close to a functioning modem,” he said with all due caution.
They all held their breath while Chris aimed his toebean with a deliberate and steady motion. He made a decisive tap on the screen and the words leapt out at him.
Welcome to Maintop
Turn your back on the ocean
At your own peril
“Why, I’m gonna shred you for this Haiku text, Perp. We’re that close,” Chris pocketed the phone, his growl rising in the chill of the cave. “Yeah, Mr. Nefarious, maybe we’re getting too close for your comfort.”
“Critters,” whispered Jasper Kitten, “I believe that Chris is correct. We are close. The cracks in the case are widening. But. We still do not have the upper paw. Not yet. We must find a way to gain access to the bunker.”
”Gosh, in my humble opinion, I’d say the Nefarious Perp is using more scare tactics to get us off the case,” said Star, sniffing the air.
“It does seem like a scare tactic, Star,” agreed Jasper Kitten. “It also means that the Nefarious Perp is making a certain strategic decision if not a mistake, in my humble opinion, which somewhat sacrifices the element of surprise.”
“Why, we don’t scare so easy,” stated Chris, pointing a toebean. “Look Perp, we’ve come this far.”
“I detect a most unusual odor,” said Star.
”What is it, Star?” mewed Jasper Kitten and Chris while they, too, began to catch the scent.
”My olfactory senses are quite keen in this cave. The marine salt air is most conducive to detecting certain rather volatile odors.” She considered this for a moment, then went on. “There is something vaguely familiar here, but I can’t quite put my cinnamon brown paw on it.”
”It reeks of danger,” said Chris.
“It does,” confirmed Jasper Kitten.
”It is a type of mammal, one I encountered long ago.”
”How long ago, Star?” asked Jasper Kitten.
”When I was a pup,” she said, “a very long time ago.”
Her eyes began to mist over and she gave a long sigh, but then her Chihuahua can do attitude kicked right back into gear.
”Over the course of my long life and drawing on the depth of my hard wrought experience over so many years on the open road, which I might add, helped to develop my very own street smarts, I would say with all senior sincerity, that the scent we have detected belongs to none other than a Hooman.”
The Critters took a moment to reflect on the full impact of Star’s olfactory based discovery. A Hooman scent. In a cave. On the Farallones. In this wild place, rugged and remote and protected from Hooman habitation, the Critters had detected a nefarious presence, lurking in the vicinity.
“This is quite a development in the case,” mewed Jasper Kitten, breaking the momentary silence among the Critters.
”Are you saying…,” said Star.
”Do you mean…,” said Chris.
”Yes, exactly, Star and Chris. Based on the eyewitness accounts of the Servals, starting at the docks of Dogpatch, I have suspected that the Nefarious Perp is a kind of ape, known in the vernacular as a Hooman. Furthermore, here on the Farallones, our suspicions were further deepened with the intel that he continues to lurk in the vicinity. And now. Full stop. We. Are. On. Track. To. Find. Him.”
Jasper Kitten stepped back to the steamer trunk and lifted the lid again. He pulled out his pocket magnifying glass.
“A thought has occurred to me as to what is really going on here. Star, would you please assist me in conducting a random sampling of these chrome plated bells to see if they do indeed and in fact show evidence of a jagged tooth engraving?”
”Gosh, thank you for asking me to help with this real time study, Jasper Kitten.”
”Of course, Star. Of course.” Jasper Kitten selected 10 bells that represented the variety of sizes contained in the steamer trunk.
He focused his sight through the magnifying glass and examined each bell in minute detail. Then he passed the pocket magnifying glass to Star and she repeated the examination.
At the end of the sampling, they concurred. Each bell had been engraved with a jagged tooth insignia, subtle yet distinct.
”It’s definitive,” said Jasper Kitten.
”It is,” said Star.
They replaced the sampling of bells in the steamer trunk and closed the lid.
“Which one of those bells is making that squeaking sound?” asked Chris.
”None of these bells squeak, Chris,” replied Jasper Kitten. “In fact, there is a range of tones from soprano to bass, depending on the size of the bell itself. The acoustic clarity is quite remarkable.”
”Gosh, Jasper Kitten, do you think an artisan’s fine craftsmanship fashioned all of these?” queried Star.
”They are certainly of an excellent quality. However, I believe they are clearly being used for something other than artistic purposes, although they are quite high end. Perhaps, that is part of the point,” mewed Jasper Kitten.
His voice trailed off as his thoughts began to rise about the plight of the Serval Family, so recently reunited due to the unwavering investigative efforts of the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency.
”If my instincts serve me correctly, the Serval Family was being sold into some kind of domestic servitude.”
“This is beastly,” said Star, the light flashing in her eyes.
“Perhaps Cecil and Clementine were destined for one form of servitude because they each had non-breakaway collars and bells.”
“But what about Rose and Petal? They lacked collars and bells,” Chris pointed out with a toebean.
“Correct, Chris. Rose and Petal lacked collars and bells of their own and, furthermore, based on the comment from the Nefarious Perp himself who said that they wouldn’t, and I quote, need a collar and bell where they’re going, is indicative of a different but nevertheless equally disturbing outcome.” Jasper Kitten swatted the air in a rapid arc of his white gloved paw.
“Don’t forget about the creep’s laugh, too. Why, that’s all the more reason to tear him to shreds,” said Chris.
”Gosh, Jasper Kitten, I shudder at the thought of the Servals being sold into domestic servitude,” said Star and she shook herself off like she had been drenched in the rain.
“Jasper Kitten, if the bells didn’t make that squeaking sound that I heard, then what did?” asked Chris. “Was it the rusty hinges on the lid of the steamer trunk?”
”The lid is shut. Chris, did you hear the squeak only once?”
”Nope. I just heard it again. Maybe it’s something acoustic based on where I’m standing, but as far as I know, granite caves don’t squeak.”
Jasper Kitten switched off his headlamp. They all stood stock still, listening, listening in the pervasive darkness. From the opening of the cave came the crash of the waves, of the wind that whipped the rising tide closer and closer to shore.
A sliver of light appeared from the wall behind the steamer trunk. The squeak of metal and rust resounded in the cave. The stone wall opened further, a sliding door of both granite and steel and framed in the emergent light was a Rhinoceros Auklet, holding a Quill Pen.
”Please,” came the voice as he waddled forward, “allow me to introduce myself to the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency. My name is Bartleby.”
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Find a path inside
How to describe the darkness
If you are a scribe
By Jasper Kitten & Chris
Critters! Catch up on all the mystery and adventure so far! Links to Chapters 1-12 of The Case of The Misplaced Priority Envelope! Brought to you by the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency!
Chap. 1🐾Chap. 2🐾Chap. 3🐾Chap. 4🐾Chap. 5🐾Chap. 6🐾Chap. 7🐾Chap. 8🐾Chap. 9🐾Chap. 10🐾Chap. 11🐾Chap. 12
A most excellent Chapter 13, Heidi! I like the reveal of the species of the Nefarious Perp and look forward to the detectives and Servals catching the perp soon. Thanks for sharing!
Another great chapter ,Heidi . I hope Jasper and crew .Can figure it all out . Hugs to all pets to the fur babies , And keep rising in your rainbow star , You are sadly missed