Conversations with Critters
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the highly anticipated release of Chapter 9 of The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat!
Today, Critters, we are pleased to feature the highly anticipated release of Chapter 9 of The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat! Brought to you by the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency right on time, right here, right now, for our Detective Tuesday Post!
Previously! The Detectives discovered the bogged down identity of the Victorian Victim! They still must dig deep and deeper in their search for a perpetrator from the past! Where will the new leads take them now? And will they get a little help from their friends before the guests are due to arrive at the Manor House in the morrow?
Please, join our Core Community Critters Jasper Kitten, Chris and Jojo in excellent lead by example critter commentary and conversation. Take. It. Away!
Jasper: Hello, Everyone! Thank you for staying tuned for a whole new episode!
Chris: That’s right, Jasper! Critters, we are ready to magnify the action!
Jojo: Well said, Chris! By the way, did you eat already?
Chris: Yes! The end!
Jojo: Excellent, so let’s go go go!
THE CASE OF THE BOWLED OVER BOWLER HAT
BOOK 2 FROM THE J KITTEN, SLEUTH & PURVEYOR OF BRIGHT SHINY OBJECTS DETECTIVE AGENCY
BY JASPER KITTEN, CHRIS, JOJO AND STAR IN HEAVEN FUREVER AND EVER
DEDICATED IN LUVLUVLUVING MEMORY OF STAR
CHAPTER 9
TELL TAIL MISTAKES
Jojo locked the door to the Situation Room with the sole skeleton key in his own secure possession. The Critter Detectives proceeded to the foyer and a further focused perusal of the Purrington Ancestral Portrait Gallery.
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten, you were able to identify Reginald based on his Victorian Era portrait?” asked Star.
“In part, yes, Star. First and as far as I can see, Reginald is the only Victorian ancestor featured among all of the portraits and, therefore, the only one who fits the timeline of 1850. Second, I suspected that the portrait’s placement in a lower corner by the ancient ancestral oak door indicated a lesser status, although nevertheless still a rather prominent ancestor.”
“Lord Archibald sure did come around at the right time to help identify Reginald,” considered Star, the light flashing in her eyes.
“Yes, he sure did. He was able to name Reginald and give a version of his permanent departure from the Estate. Although, my instincts have led me to the conclusion of Reginald’s disappearance and demise in the bog, not the fictional family narrative of sunbathing on the Italian Riviera. Still, Lord Archibald has saved us valuable time on the case,” replied Jasper Kitten.
“The J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency has been quite fortunate with our Clientele. Not every agency has, shall we say, cooperative Critters,” barked Jojo with his tried and true Terrier temperament.
“Gosh, Jojo, that’s a very good point, but can we really be sure that Mr. Lord of the Manor is telling us everything we need to know to crack the case?” countered Star.
“Correct, Critters. There must be an implicit level of trust between Detective and Client,” offered and proffered Jasper Kitten. “And yet, it is up to us to detect any lapses in our Client’s rendering of the story, however they may or may not understand it.”
“What I wanna know,” growled Chris, low and slow, “is what’s up with Lord Archibald living here all on his lonesome when continuing the family Purrington-Smith line is of such paramount societal importance?”
“That’s a very good question, Chris,” mewed Jasper Kitten with a furrowed Orange striped brow. “What about littermates in some distant part of the country?”
“You mean…,” cried Chris.
“Are you saying…” barked Jojo.
“Yes. You. Are. Correct.” Jasper Kitten swatted the air with a white gloved paw. “I. Mean. A. Spare. To. The. Heir. Purrington. Hyphen. Smith.”
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten. This double barrel name situation is certainly complex in terms of lineage and geography in England,” said Star.
“Yes, I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten.
Chris heard the ping of his phone. He tapped the screen with a toebean.
“Arrived on earlier military transport,” he read the message out loud.
“Critters!” cried Chris. “Cadets Clementine and Petal are already in England!”
The phone pinged again.
“On our way. Is it the ancient ancestral oak door with the lionhead knocker?”
“Yes,” Chris tapped in reply.
“Copy that.”
“What is your ETA?” tap tapped Chris on the screen.
Again, the phone pinged.
“We can’t quite reach the lionhead.”
Chris hopped to it and flung the massive door open open open and there before them stood the Serval Furbabies in full Cadet uniform, at attention.
“Clementine! Petal!” roared the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency.
“Jasper Kitten! Chris! Star! Ret. Sgt. Det. Jojo!” they cried and saluted in return.
The Critters, one and all, cat, dog and serval alike huddled and cuddled on the Manor House threshold.
“My, how you have grown!” mewed Jasper Kitten. “We are all so very very proud of you!”
“Welcome to the Purrington Estate,” barked Jojo, returning a salute.
Jasper Kitten ushered the Serval Cadets into the foyer.
“Clementine and Petal, you have arrived at a crucial juncture of the investigation. Before you are briefed by Ret. Sgt. Det. Jojo on the case in general, please help us with our specific search for any Victorian Era ancestors of the Purrington-Smith family other than the British Shorthair, called Reginald, located in the lower corner of the wall by the door,” instructed Jasper Kitten.
Clementine and Petal set their small military duffels down and honed in on the task at hand.
“The cat by the oak tree?” asked Clementine.
“Correct,” said Jasper Kitten.
“Posed in the sunbeam?” asked Petal.
“Correct,” said Jasper Kitten.
Among the many many portraits, not one among them looked Victorian much less suspicious to the Critter Detectives.
Reginald was, as the Critter Detectives confirmed, the only Victorian Era British Shorthair on display, his pastoral pose in a sunbeam a distinctive painterly clue that had tipped off Jasper Kitten from the get go.
“Why, Jasper Kitten, your initial assessment sure does seem correct cuz none of these portraits look Victorian the way they’re painted. These ancestors are all older or younger than the Victorians. Plus, they’re all indoor only cats,” growled Chris, loud and proud.
“Thank you for the confirmation, Chris,” replied Jasper Kitten. “The Victorian Era British Shorthairs put a high value on outdoor portraiture.”
“Gosh and furthermore,” Star pointed with a cinnamon brown paw at the portrait of Reginald, “I may not be an art historian, but I did read about British Shorthair portraiture styles on our transatlantic flight. I believe that your aha moment, Jasper Kitten, with identifying Reginald is quite accurate.”
“My instincts have served me correctly,” nodded Jasper Kitten.
“Yes, Jasper Kitten. Victorian Era British Shorthair paintings had quite a distinct Critter Pastoral Style. Based on Reginald being posed outdoors by the oak tree and in a sunbeam, he naturally stands out. If. You. Know. Where. To. Look.” Star rested her cinnamon brown paw.
“And look at Mr. Lord of the Manor Archibald prominently on display in the center of the wall,” barked Jojo.
“Correct, Critters. Upon closer inspection we have been visually, and I suspect deliberately, led astray from the Victorian ancestors,” commented Jasper Kitten. “Therefore and Furthermore. Where are the rest of the Victorian Era Critters? Who was the Lord of the Manor at that time? And why are they missing from the pantheon of Purringtons?” Jasper Kitten asked in a rapid series of critical questions.
“You mean…,” said Clementine.
“Are you saying…,” said Petal.
“Yes, I am saying there is missing portraiture evidence which very well could contain a critical clue. Guilt. By. Association.” Jasper Kitten swatted the air with a white gloved paw. “I believe the Victorian portraits were deliberately removed and either relocated somewhere else in the Manor House or hidden away, so that no one in the near or long term future could associate a contemporary Victorian cat with Reginald,” continued Jasper Kitten.
“Then why leave the Victorian Victim on the Portrait Wall? Why not get rid of Reginald’s portrait too? And. Most. Of. All,” growled Chris, low and slow.
“Guilt leads to mistakes, to tell tail mistakes,” replied Jasper Kitten. “It is as I suspected. The Portrait Wall has been scrubbed,” declared Jasper Kitten and swatted the air with a white gloved paw again and yet again.
“What are those white stone things down the hall?” asked Clementine.
“Yeah. What. Are. Those?” asked Petal.
The Critter Detectives pivoted to the British Shorthair statuary.
“Isn’t that a Bowler Hat at the base of this statue?” peered Star.
The Detectives gathered round the statue in question. A Bowler Hat was carved on its side in the stone, hidden behind the toebeans of the British Shorthair.
“Gosh, there’s a plaque with the name of the Critter,” called out Star. “Theo Purrington-Smith. And there’s a date, too! 1852! I’d say, he’s trying to hide his hat!”
“I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “Critters, if my instincts serve me correctly, it’s time for a conversation with Lord Archibald about exactly who his Victorian ancestors really were.”
Jojo turned to Clementine and Petal.
“Well done, Cadets. I’m so proud of you. Immediately upon arrival, you have already led the investigation toward the discovery of a valuable clue,” Jojo barked in praise. He saluted the Cadets as they stood at attention next to the statue.
“Thank you, Ret. Sgt. Det. Jojo,” they saluted in return.
Jasper Kitten padded down the hall in search of Archibald while the Detectives continued to inspect the statuary with no further findings.
“Clementine and Petal?” asked Chris.
“Yes, Chris?” they replied.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“We ate our military rations in transit, but we’ll be ready for dinner,” they confirmed.
“Excellent. Cuz you gotta eat,” he said.
Jojo briefed the Cadets on the case while they waited for Jasper Kitten to return. They listened with their brows furrowed with deep deep intent and concentration.
“Any questions?” asked Jojo.
“I have a question,” said Clementine.
“I’m all ears,” replied Jojo.
“How do we know that the Bowler Hat found in the bog belongs to Reginald and not to the other guy? I mean, maybe during the fight, somebody else lost their hat.”
“It’s possible,” they heard Jasper Kitten say as he padded back down the hall. “You have good instincts as usual, Clementine. However, the Blue hair which I found in the Bowler Hat is a match for that of the victim, Reginald.”
“Thank you for the feline forensic clarification, Jasper Kitten,” saluted Clementine.
“Did you identify and verify this match under magnification, Jasper Kitten?” asked Petal.
“Yes, Petal, and thank you for the excellent evidentiary question,” replied Jasper Kitten.
“Thank you, Jasper Kitten, we’ve already learned so much and we’ve only arrived at the Manor House,” cried the Cadets.
“You are most welcome,” he saluted in return with a white gloved paw. “Now, Critters, Lord Archibald will gather with us in the library in ten minutes. He has a registry of his Victorian ancestors which will be quite helpful with our current line of inquiry.”
“Please, Cadets, in the meantime let us show you to your room,” said Jasper Kitten. “You will bunk with the Canine Unit. Two cots have been set up for your comfort.”
Chris returned to the foyer and gathered up the two small military duffels belonging to Clementine and Petal. He led the way upstairs and to their room. In preparation for meeting the Lord of the Manor, the Cadets settled their gear under their cots and spent a few minutes grooming and straightening their uniforms after their long journey. Jojo and Star showed them the amenities accorded to the Canine Unit and Jasper Kitten and Chris showed them the adjoining room.
Meanwhile, back in the library ten minutes later, the Critter Detectives met up with Lord Archibald stationed behind his desk. A large registry book was open before him.
Star flashed a glance at the globe and the Cadets gave a subtle nod in her direction, further shifting their gaze to the bookcase, stationary and seamlessly blended with the room.
Archibald gave a slight jolt when he spotted the Serval Cadets for the first time, aware of their rather small heads relative to their bodies and the characteristic horizontal white stripe on the backs of their ears. The Lord of the Manor made an immediate adjustment to his monocle and flinched.
“Clementine and Petal,” announced Archibald, “I do most heartily welcome you to the Purrington Estate and thank you for adding your assistance to the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency on behalf of my case.”
“At your service, Lord Archibald,” the Cadets gave a full salute and stood at attention next to Jojo.
“I suspect, Lord Archibald,” mewed Jasper Kitten, “that the source of the threats against you and which we have neutralized, and your soon to arrive guests in the morrow, has deep deep roots that reach back in time to your Victorian ancestors.”
Archibald’s Blue Coat began to turn ashen and Star and Chris rushed to his side.
“Please, your Lordship, rest assured we will fully protect you and your guests,” asserted Jasper Kitten.
“Yes, thank you, Jasper Kitten and my thanks to all of you,” said Archibald, mopping his brow with a handkerchief.
“Lord Archibald,” continued Jasper Kitten, “we must ask you a few direct questions of a rather personal nature in order to make sense of a series of clues which we have discovered and which we detect to be of the highest evidentiary value in cracking the case.”
“Of course, Jasper Kitten. Of course,” replied Archibald, steadied by Chris and Star and seated upright at his desk.
“Why are you living here alone, without an heir to the Purrington Estate?” asked Jasper Kitten.
“Ah yes, Jasper Kitten, I must confess and please, forgive me if I have been rather, well, rather obtuse on the matter,” he stammered with a downward cast of his eyes.
“Please, your Lordship. Proceed. When. You. Feel. Ready.” Jasper Kitten and the Critter Detectives waited with patience and calm reserve while Archibald composed himself.
“You see, I married quite young, against my family’s approval, and it wasn’t too much longer before I went through a rather messy and scandalous divorce, well, an annulment actually, made all the worse by the fact that I had not yet produced a litter. My marriage fell apart and I was met with shame and scorn from which I have not been able to recover.” A tear formed behind his monocle and he sighed and fell into silence.
“Lord Archibald, even at the highest levels of British Shorthair Society, I do understand how difficult it can be to open open open up about personal matters,” mewed and soothed Jasper Kitten.
“Yes, quite,” he replied. “You see, she ran off with a Manx. And I…I have been here on my own ever since. I have not formed my own family and slowly slowly have lost my money, my staff other than Sebastian, and my social standing is eroding and sinking into the bog along with my lands and some Smooth Operator has threatened to finish me off for good, I fear.”
“Gosh, Lord Archibald, you look like you feel woozy after being so eloquent and effusive,” gasped Star, steadying him in his seat even more than before with a cinnamon brown paw.
“I am, as you say, Star, A-okay,” he replied.
Chris, in a tandem act of toebean teamwork, also steadied Archibald more firmly in his chair.
“Do you have any littermates or distant relatives who can stake a claim to your inheritance of the Purrington Estate?” questioned Jasper Kitten.
“No, none, Jasper Kitten. I really am the last of the Purrington-Smith line.”
“I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten. He furrowed his Orange striped brow for a long moment of consternation.
“Jasper Kitten, would you like to see the registry of my Victorian ancestors?” queried Archibald.
“Yes, Lord Archibald. I most certainly would at this time. And I do have one further question,” said Jasper Kitten.
“Of course, Jasper Kitten. I’m all ears as you Detectives say,” said Archibald.
“Was there an Annual Gathering of the Royal and Incredible British Shorthair Society in or around the year 1850?”
“I believe so, yes, as it is a cherished and long held tradition here at Purrington. It is most humbly the last thing I have to hold on to.”
“Would you also have a registry of it?”
“I believe so, yes, Jasper Kitten. I keep all of the registries right here in the library.”
Archibald pointed to a bookcase near the desk and Jojo fetched it, finding a volume that contained the years 1848-1855. He carried it back and set it next to the family registry.
Jasper Kitten removed his pocket magnifying glass and inspected the pages of both books. He paused and looked up from the entries. A subtle and knowing look passed between him and the Critter Detectives while Archibald polished his monocle, his gaze still downcast.
“Lord Archibald, may I now direct your attention to a somewhat different consideration and ask why there are so very few Victorian British Shorthair ancestors in the entryway Portrait Gallery?” questioned Jasper Kitten.
“Ah, yes, I was told that they were moved to another room of the Manor House many years ago to make way for a new generation. It was quite an innovative decision, actually. Quite forward thinking. Did you happen to notice my own portrait in the center of the wall?”
“Yes, your Lordship,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “I did.”
Archibald beamed with pride.
“And where would we be able to find the Victorians now?” asked Jasper Kitten.
“I will have Sebastian show them to you.”
“Thank you, Lord Archibald. That would be most accommodating of you. Thank you very much.”
“Kindly excuse me now if you will, Jasper Kitten,” said Archibald. “I do so hope this has been a helpful discussion.”
“Yes, Lord Archibald,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “Indeed.”
“Detectives,” Archibald nodded to them, rose from his chair, and bowed out of the room.
“Gosh, with no heir apparent or unapparent what happens to Lord Archibald’s Estate?” probed Star.
“Good question, Star,” replied Jasper Kitten, furrowing his Orange striped brow. “And. Who. Wants. To. Get. Their. Paws. On. Purrington?”
“Why, in my humble opinion that Smooth Operator is leaving toebeans all over this,” growled Chris, low and slow.
Sebastian appeared in the doorway and led the Detectives to a drawing room further down the hall, beyond the Tea Room. He opened the door and then departed.
The Critters walked into the room, toebean by toebean, and scanned the walls. All together, Jasper Kitten, Chris, the Canine Unit, Star and Jojo, and the Serval Cadets, Clementine and Petal, set their collective sights on a singular anomaly. For there in the center of the far wall was a row of ornate Victorian frames as they had expected to find them, only the portraits themselves had gone missing.
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Critter portraiture
Inside or outside the frame
Offer and proffer
By Jasper Kitten, Chris & Jojo
Thank you for reading luvluvluv Jasper Kitten, Chris, Star in Heaven Furever & Ever, and Jojo
Critters! Catch up on all of the mystery and adventure with The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat! Book Number 2! 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
Furthermore!
The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope! The Complete Book Number 1!
Well, that was a surprise twist at the end -- frames without portraits. Hmmmm...the plot thickens, the mystery continues.
Thanks for this weekly instalment, Heidi and critters.
Oh my gosh, WHAT? They're MISSING!!!! *suspenseful shocked intake of breath* What does a feline skeleton key look like? A skeleton of a feline?