Conversations with Critters
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the highly anticipated Chapter 7 of The Case of The Misplaced Priority Envelope!
Today, Critters, we are pleased to present to you the latest and greatest with Chapter 7 of The Case of The Misplaced Priority Envelope! It’s been a wild ride for the J Kitten, Sleuth and Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency so far! Are you ready for what happens next? You are? Then, get set! Go!
First and foremost and furthermore! We have an introductory commentary from our Core Community Cats, Jasper Kitten and Chris! Please, welcome welcome them in excellent detective critter conversation. Take it away, Critters!
Jasper: Hello, Friends! We are back for our Crittertime Detective Tuesday Post! We left off with quite a cliffhanger!
Chris: Yes, you’re right about that Jasper! What. Happens. Next. And I mean, what.
Jasper: We’ve kept everyone in the dark long enough! So, let’s fasten our headlamps and jump right into Chapter 7!
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 & Star in Heaven Furever and Ever
Dedicated in luvluvluving memory of Star
Chapter 7
Tunnel Vision
The Critters landed in a pile. They scrambled to get out from under each other, a toebean here, a whisker there.
“Is anyone hurt?” Jasper Kitten asked in an urgent hushed voice.
”I’m A-o’kay,” said Star, standing up and shaking off the dust and cobwebs.
”Ditto,” said Chris.
”Mr. Serval?” asked Star.
”I believe, I have hit my head again, but otherwise I’m alright.”
Jasper Kitten adjusted his headlamp and scanned their surroundings, the trap door hanging high overhead.
”We’re in a tunnel and there’s no way we’re going out the way we came in,” said Jasper Kitten, gauging the distance to the trap door.
”We’re under the streets of San Francisco,” confirmed Star.
”Does anyone hear the mewing?” asked Jasper Kitten.
”No,” said Star.
”No,” said Chris.
”Mr. Serval,” said Star, “you have the most exceptional species specific auditory capacity of all of us. Do you hear the mewing?”
”Nope. Although, I have a little ringing in my ears right now.”
Jasper Kitten peered into the tunnel, the beam of the headlight casting their shadows against the passageway.
”The mewing must have been coming from above ground, but we can’t find who it is as long as we are in this tunnel,” Jasper Kitten took a step forward, moving against the darkness.
”That spring sure is sprung,” said Chris, looking up at the trap door. “Why, wait until I get my paws on the perp who set that up.”
“I beg to differ at this juncture, Chris,” said Jasper Kitten. “Star was quite astute in zeroing in on the age of this warehouse. It could be some kind of architectural feature from the Victorian Era.”
”I hope you’re right, Jasper Kitten. But if a perp set us up, I’ll be doing something about it.” Chris flexed his toebeans and scratched at the dirt wall of the tunnel, sending a small spray of dust into the beam of the headlamp.
”Of course. Of course,” coughed Jasper Kitten, waving a white gloved paw to clear the air.
”My phone doesn’t have a signal.” Chris held his phone over his head, moving in a slow circle. He turned it off to conserve the battery power.
”We must proceed with all due caution,” advised Jasper Kitten, leading the way into the depths of the darkness. “I hope,” he added, “that we can stay oxygenated in here.”
They walked on, inch by inch, foot by foot, padding along, straining every sinew and every sense for light to come at the end of the tunnel.
Jasper Kitten held up a single toebean and gestured for all of them to stop. He then put his white gloved paw to his mouth and they stood huddled, still and silent.
Behind them, a dull bell rang once. Without a word, Jasper Kitten launched himself against the tunnel wall and ricocheted over the heads of his companions. They watched him vault in a long arc and stick his landing, crouched and ready to spring forward again.
”Who are you and why are you following us?” demanded Jasper Kitten.
A startled and shadowy figure retreated from him as a hiss began to reverberate in the tunnel depths.
Jasper Kitten called for backup and Chris lunged forward, followed by Star. They readied themselves. Focused. Set.
”Show me your paws!” called Jasper Kitten.
The hissing stopped, but all remained dark and hidden.
”Show me your paws!” he called again.
“No,” came a voice, small yet steady.
”This will not go well for you. Show me your paws!” Chris called out.
”I. Said. No.”
”Wrong answer,” growled Chris.
“You took my daddy.”
”We took your what?” called Star.
”You took my daddy and I want him back.”
”Who’s your daddy?” countered Star.
”You know who cuz you took him.”
Mr. Serval let out a gasp and stepped forward into the light of the headlamp.
Jasper Kitten, Chris and Star studied him as he stood by them.
“I couldn’t get that mewing out of my head,” he cried.
He wiped the tears away from his green eyes and when he looked up at Jasper Kitten, at Chris and at Star, a fierce expression came over him for the first time since becoming their Critter Client.
“Mr. Serval,” said Star. “Do you know who is following us, hidden in the shadowy depths of the tunnel?” the light flashed in her eyes and she went on to say, “You do, don’t you?”
”Clementine!” he cried. “Clementine!”
Jasper Kitten, Chris and Star looked at each other with alarming interest.
”Clementine!” he cried again and again. “Clementine!”
”Mr. Serval, we know you hit your head in the Big Rig Crash for the first time and you hit your head here in the tunnel for the second time. Confusion from concussions can be cumulative,” cautioned Jasper Kitten.
” I’m sure of this! I swear to you, Jasper Kitten! Her name,” said the Serval, “is Clementine, my own kitten. Clementine, please come to daddy.”
A serval kitten, small and lithe and rail thin, stepped into the beam of Jasper Kitten’s headlamp. She wore a leather collar with a dented chrome plated bell.
”Clementine! My Furbaby. My Furbaby,” cried the Serval, embracing her and not letting go.
Stunned into silence, the Critter detectives gathered round the reunited pair.
”That, Critters,” pronounced Jasper Kitten, “was quite a blow to the head.”
”Gosh, you mean…,” said Star.
”Yes,” said Jasper Kitten, “I mean, the first blow to his head caused amnesia and the second blow to his head brought his memory back.”
”Yes. I am the daddy! My Furbaby. My Furbaby.”
”Mr. Serval, do you remember your own name?” asked Jasper Kitten.
”Yes. Yes, I do. My name is Cecil.”
”Mr. Cecil Serval,” pronounced Star. “You really did leave your heart in San Francisco.”
”Thank you, Critters, thank you very much,” cried Cecil, holding Clementine close, but she hissed at Jasper Kitten, Chris and Star.
”Clementine,” said Jasper Kitten. “We’re here to help you and your daddy.”
”How do I know this isn’t some kind of trick? You seem tricky. How do I know you aren’t working for the nefarious perps?” She clung to Cecil.
”Clementine,” said Cecil, “these Critters are the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency.”
”Did you say, J Kitten?”
”Yes. I said, J Kitten.”
”I’ve heard that name before.”
“Clementine,” said Jasper Kitten. “Where did you hear of J Kitten?”
“Down on the docks when the nefarious perps were catnapping our family!”
”What did they say? Think carefully, Clementine. This could be very important,” said Jasper Kitten.
”They said no one would ever believe they were doing what they’re doing. Unless, haha, someone like Jasper Kitten came along to figure it out, but what are the odds cuz he’s kinda busy these days.”
”Thank you, Clementine. This has been most illuminating,” said Star.
”Yes,” said Jasper Kitten. “Most illuminating. Clementine, if you will allow me to do so, may I please remove your collar and chrome plated bell for a closer inspection?”
Clementine looked to Cecil who nodded in agreement and helped remove her collar.
Jasper Kitten pulled out his pocket magnifying glass and made a cursory examination of Clementine’s bell, tracing a toe bean across the chrome. He felt an etching in the shape of a jagged tooth and confirmed the design under magnification.
”Furthermore, this is a solid banded collar not a breakaway collar. You were not meant to escape,” said Jasper Kitten as he pocketed the magnifying glass.
“The collar was super tight,” said Clementine, rubbing her neck and the deep indentation in her fur.
”Clementine,” purred Cecil. “Where is the rest of our family? Where is Mommy? Where is your sister?”
She let out a mew and began to sob. Choking back the tears, she managed to say, “I. Don’t. Know.”
”Where did you last see them?” asked Jasper Kitten as Cecil helped to wipe away Clementine’s tears.
”On a boat. By the dock. They knocked my daddy out and put him on a truck and then they stuffed me in a burlap sack, but I could see through the weaving a little and I was able to chew my way out which came quite naturally cuz I’m teething.”
”Have you been hiding in the warehouse since then?”
”Yes, Jasper Kitten. As soon as you came to town, I could smell my family scent, but I’ve been too scared to go out, so all I could do was cry. Forgive me, but I thought you were the nefarious catnapper perps.”
”I see, it’s quite understandable and completely logical,” sympathized Jasper Kitten. “Pheromones are familial and thereby recognizable through the olfactory senses. With the sea air, a trail of pheromones would easily float and travel on the wind from the Earthquake Shack and even from the Golden Gate Bridge across town.”
”Gosh, this family’s dynamics certainly are complicated,” said Star.
“Yes, Star, and we need to find two more Critters,” said Jasper Kitten.
The group moved forward into the shadowy depths, Clementine riding on Cecil’s shoulders.
“We fell through the trap door, but how did you get in the tunnel, Clementine?” asked Jasper Kitten.
”I took the stairs.”
”Maybe we should go back and get out of here that way, back through the warehouse,” said Chris.
”You seem to know the layout quite well, Clementine. Where does this tunnel go?” queried Jasper Kitten.
”To the docks. We’re almost to the opening. I found my way in here when I made my escape from the nefarious perps. I followed the tunnel all the way to the end and found the staircase.”
”To help further our investigation and out of instinctive feline curiosity, was the trap door a trap for us?” asked Chris. “Why, I’ll shred those perps with my bare toebeans if it was!”
”Nope. I’ve been here all alone. It’s part of the flooring,” replied Clementine. “I found drawings of the warehouse and spent a lot time looking at them when I wasn’t crying.”
”Were these drawings blue?” probed Jasper Kitten.
”Yes.”
“Blueprints have dates on them,” declared Jasper Kitten. “Clementine, can you count?”
“Yes, Jasper Kitten. I can count to ten.”
“Did you see any numbers on the blueprints?”
“I saw 1-8-9-2.”
“In that order?”
“Yes.”
”So, it is entirely possible that this tunnel was used to bring in supplies from the dock. The blueprints found by Clementine indicate this. The trap door is, therefore, more than likely a Victorian Era architectural artifact, after all .”
”We definitely stepped on it,” said Star.
”And in it,” said Chris. “But architectural artifact or no architectural artifact, I’m gonna shred those nefarious perps.”
”Critters, let’s get out of here,” said Jasper Kitten.
They journeyed on. The temperature in the tunnel began to drop and they inhaled the faint scent of salt air. A pinpoint of light appeared, growing larger and guiding them forward with renewed hope for the rising sun and a brand new day.
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Nefarious perps
Pocket magnifying glass
A pinpoint of light
By Jasper Kitten, Chris & Star in Heaven Furever and Ever
Catch up with all the Chapters of The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope
Brought to you by the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency!
This was another excellent chapter, Heidi! I like the plot twist and learning more about Mr. Serval and his family. Looking forward to the Chapter 8!
We are relieved that Mr. Serval has his memory back, and he is reunited with Clementine. Jasper Kitten and Critters, we are ready to help you if you need it. Be very careful. Those men down on the dock sound very mean and nasty.
We have a new little brother. His name is Travis. He's four months old, 13.8 pounds and he's an Australian Shepherd Terrier cross. He still has his puppy teeth so they are very sharp and he's willing to gnaw on bad men for you Jasper Kitten. He doesn't like bad men because one of them dumped him on the highway and drove away! Our mom and dad rescued him though and now he has all of us.
We're on 24 hour call for you J Kitten and Critters. Your friends, William, Emily, Julie Rae the Cat and Travis