Conversations with Critters
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the highly anticipated release of Chapter 7 of The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat!
Today, Critters, we are pleased to present Chapter 7 of The Case of the Bowled Over Bowler Hat! The plot really thickens here! What will happen when the Canine Unit of the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency digs deep and deeper into the bog? Will they get stuck in the mud or will the primordial ooze give up a well kept family secret? Let’s. Find. Out.
Please, welcome our Core Community Critters Jasper Kitten, Chris and Jojo in excellent mucking about critter commentary and conversation. Take. It. Away!
Jasper: Hello, Friends! Thank you for joining us as the plot thickens in our detective story!
Chris: Thank you very much for this conversation opener, Jasper! We’re taking a deep dive in this new chapter, isn’t that right, Jojo?
Jojo: That’s right, Chris! I’m ready to turn the page, so let’s dig in!
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 7
DIG DEEP AND DEEPER
The Critter Detectives huddled on the brink of the bog and conferred and concurred on a deeper dig. In record time, Star and Jojo plunged back in, searching searching in the grid pattern that had so successfully yielded the clues of the monocle, the diary of 1850, and the Bowler Hat.
Chris dropped the bundle of umbrellas on the lawn as he and Jasper Kitten continued their vigilance of the excavating efforts of the Canine Unit.
“Our grid pattern was specific before, Star, but we must narrow it further,” barked Jojo.
“Good thinking, Jojo,” Star barked back, her cinnamon brown paws ready and set to go go go deeper and deeper into the mud.
“Based on all of our combined years of experience in the field, it stands to reason that if there is a British Shorthair bog body then we are most likely to find it in the vicinity of the monocle, the diary of 1850 and the Bowler Hat,” Jojo assessed the situation.
Star honed in on the specific evidentiary site and started to dig and dig in a widening but nevertheless narrowed grid pattern. With her keen canine olfactory senses on high alert and with her pound per pound Chihuahua strength, she worked shoulder to shoulder with Jojo and his tried and true Terrier temperament, precise and steadfast.
They sniffed at the surface, but no signal alerted them and they spread out a foot further in the revised grid.
Meanwhile, back on the brink of the bog, Chris felt his phone ping against his toebeans. Jasper Kitten furrowed his Orange striped brow, watching the screen light up.
“What is it, Chris?” asked Jasper Kitten.
“More like who not what, Jasper Kitten,” replied Chris, his meow rising in pleasant surprise.
Jasper Kitten leaned in and mewed with pleasant surprise, too.
“A text from Clementine and Petal! The Serval Furbabies we rescued and who played such an instrumental role in helping us crack our last investigation in The Case of the Misplaced Priority Envelope!” Jasper Kitten swatted the air with a white gloved paw, damp and muddy.
“Why, I wonder how their mother and father, Rose and Cecil, are doing,” cried Chris.
“Our previous Clients,” mewed Jasper Kitten with a hint of nostalgia.
“Clementine and Petal are checking in with us from Officer Training School in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. They luvluvluv being Cadets and are learning lots, but miss their folks who are happy and free back on the Savannah. But! There's plenty for the Cadets to explore in the Pine Barrens. Over a million acres in this biosphere preserve, they say!”
Chris tap tapped his toebeans on the screen in response.
“We are on a case across the Pond. Canine Unit searching a bog. Serious stuff. Not to be taken lightly.” He tapped send.
The screen lit up again.
“Funny you should mention searching a bog. We practiced how to search a Cranberry bog in New Jersey. What kind of bog is it across the Pond?”
“Peat bog, lots of mud,” tapped Chris.
“Similar for sure. Good for preserving evidence. Acidic and anaerobic.”
“Correct,” tapped Chris.
“We did bog body training. Found a dummy mummy. Learned a lot. Much deeper dig than we would’ve thought, but that’s what happens when you’re a Cadet.”
“Canine Unit digging deep now. Two senior levels of experience in the Field. Star and Jojo on it. Canine Unit plastered with mud.”
“Heading to Scottish Highlands for more survival training soon. Could stop by on the way if you need extra paws on deck.”
Chris and Jasper Kitten locked eyes and nodded to each other.
“Affirmative,” tapped Chris. “We are on the Purrington Estate near the Village of Mewingham.”
“Landing on military transport plane, London. Manana. Early AM. Then 3 days shore leave. Will text on way to you.”
“Chris,” said Jasper Kitten, “The Serval Cadets arrive around the same time as Lord Archibald’s guests.”
“The timing couldn’t be better,” growled Chris, loud and proud.
“Text Cadets Clementine and Petal that we await their arrival. Please. Proceed,” mewed Jasper Kitten.
Chris tap tapped the phone screen and received a toebeans up emoji.
No sooner did the texting finish than a howl let loose from the bog.
Jasper Kitten and Chris shot a glance toward the Canine Unit. Star and Jojo were moving toward shore, carrying a shape that even in the distance of the murk and the mud looked remarkably similar to that of a British Shorthair.
“A. Bog. Body.” Jasper Kitten swatted the air again and again.
Star and Jojo sloshed out of the wetlands onto the lawn. With respect and reverence, they set the bog body down.
The J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency knelt around the discovery, around the long since departed life given up at last from the depths of the bog.
“As I suspected, the bog body is that of a British Shorthair. Based on the year of the diary of 1850, we have a timeline of great evidentiary and investigative value,” reported Jasper Kitten. “Furthermore, under dry indoor conditions and with proper lighting, our feline forensic analysis may define the coat pattern and better help us understand the lineage.”
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten, where are we going to do this analysis without Lord Archibald having another vasovagal episode?”
Jasper Kitten stood up in a moment of solemn silence before the bog body and considered Star’s question.
“We must find a secluded and secure part of the Manor House with the appropriate atmospheric conditions for maintaining the integrity of the evidence.”
“Jasper Kitten, I will stand guard before the door of this examination and evidence room. Please, allow me to inquire with Sebastian for the appropriate set up. A. Situation. Room.” Jojo stood at attention.
“Yes, that is excellent, Jojo,” replied Jasper Kitten. “Furthermore, while you were digging for this most important finding, Chris received a text message from the Serval Cadets Clementine and Petal.”
The Canine Unit let out a series of barks and yips. Chris briefed Star and Jojo on the progress of the Cadets in Officer Training School and their pending arrival at Purrington.
“There is no better training,” remarked Jojo, “than a real life investigation. I will be most honored to supervise them and continue to mentor them in their education.”
“Thank you, Jojo. Thank you very much,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “Upon their arrival, slated for tomorrow morning, please proceed with briefing them fully on the case.”
“Of course, Jasper Kitten. I’m on it,” barked Jojo.
“Why, the Manor is gonna be hoppin’ manana, and I can’t help but wonder if that darn Smooth Operator won’t be among the guests,” growled Chris, low and slow.
“Gosh, you could very well be right about that, Chris,” agreed Star.
“Critters, Chris could very well be right indeed. We. Must. Proceed. I believe our work here at the bog is done. Let us return to the Manor House without bringing any attention to Lord Archibald should he be awake by now.”
Jojo trotted ahead with the monocle, the diary of 1850 and the Bowler Hat, eager to establish a situation room for all of the up to the minute developments in the case, for the collected physical bog based evidence, and for the feline forensic analysis.
Star gathered up the umbrellas from the lawn and walked in solemn silence with Chris and Jasper Kitten who carried the British Shorthair bog body with all due solemn respect.
By the time they traversed the soggy lawn, the mud from the bog and the pieces of peat had dissolved and fallen away from their coats. The Critters shook themselves off, clean and calm and ready to carry on.
Jojo darted back to the group and directed them to the rear of the Manor House.
“Sebastian said that Lord Archibald is awake and grooming and is expected to come downstairs within the hour,” he relayed.
“Thank you for the update, Jojo,” replied Jasper Kitten, “we must consider how much of our latest findings his Lordship can handle without experiencing further duress.”
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten, in my humble opinion perhaps less is more for his Lordship,” surmised Star.
“Yes, I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten.
A small flight of stairs led to a basement storage room, dry and warm. Jojo unlocked the door with a skeleton key. He flipped the switch on and the room flooded with light. A large wooden table with a lamp, a porcelain farmhouse sink, and a wall of cabinets provided the necessary set up for the further feline forensic investigations of the J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency.
“Sebastian recommended this room for a secure location,” said Jojo. “No one comes in here and the access to the outdoors will give us a way to come and go undisturbed from the rest of the household activities, especially once the guests arrive. Plus. The only way in and the only way out is through this door with the skeleton key. I can guard this room with the highest level of security for both access and egress. Full stop.”
“Thank you, Jojo,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “This spacious room is most inconspicuous and will provide us with all the necessary space, privacy and security for our needs and leads.”
Chris and Jasper gently set the British Shorthair bog body on the table and again the Critter Detectives huddled round in a moment of silence.
Jasper Kitten then arranged the monocle, the diary of 1850, and the Bowler Hat nearby and switched on the table lamp. He withdrew his pocket magnifying glass for a cursory examination under well lit indoor conditions.
“Star, may I please ask that you fetch the large magnifying glass from my Attache Case for a more thorough inspection of the collected physical evidence before us?” queried Jasper Kitten.
“On it, Jasper Kitten,” barked Star.
She returned in a flash with the large magnifying glass clasped in her cinnamon brown paws, fully focused on the methodological task ahead of them.
Jasper Kitten began an objective, thorough and thoughtful analysis of the bog findings, starting with the monocle. The crack in the glass was complete and extensive and the whole lens, in its single and solitary form, was shattered in a manner suggestive of blunt force trauma.
He moved on to the diary of 1850. The cover opened readily under the dexterity of his white gloved paw. In big bold numbers, the inscription of the year proved to be highly legible.
“1850,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “What was happening here on the Purrington Estate in the year 1850? Yes. I wonder.”
Toebean by toebean, Jasper Kitten began to slowly slowly open the dates for January of 1850, but the pages adhered to one another, damp with peat and mud and he made the executive detective decision to set the book aside to dry.
“We will come back to this,” he mewed to Chris, Star and Jojo who stood gathered round in fascination of the unfolding feline forensics.
Next, he moved on to an examination of the Bowler Hat. Looking through the large magnifying glass, the Bowler Hat appeared to the watchful eye and expertise of Jasper Kitten to have no obvious signs of damage.
“If this Critter really was the victim of blunt force trauma, the violence was not inflicted to the crown. Here,” he said, “observe the well defined shape of the hat in all of its rounded aspects.”
Chris, Star and Jojo leaned in and each took a turn, looking through the magnifying glass held steady in Jasper Kitten’s white gloved paw.
“Gosh, Jasper Kitten, again I must reference my research conducted during our transatlantic flight. Because. In addition to the invention of the Bowler Hat in 1849, it was one of the first hard hats created in order to protect gamekeepers against outdoor injuries from low hanging branches while riding horses or driving carts,” said Star, drawing in a deep deep breath.
“Thank you, Star. I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten.
“So. Gosh. Jasper Kitten, isn’t it possible that no damage is visible to the crown of the Bog Bowler Hat due to its built in strength and resilience?” asked Star, the light flashing in her eyes.
“A most excellent line of inquiry and reasoning Star,” replied Jasper Kitten. “However and Furthermore. The hat is remarkably undisturbed other than a covering of mud. There is no visible sign of damage to it, especially under magnification. Here, take a closer look.”
Jasper Kitten passed the magnifying glass to Star and she made her own examination. She studied the contours of the domed crown and then gave a nod of her own head.
“What I see and have determined here, Jasper Kitten, supports your findings. Perhaps the assailant also understood this and attacked from the front instead,” she surmised. “The monocle, after all, is clearly cracked.”
“Amazing,” growled Chris, low and slow. “Why, in my humble opinion, whoever committed this heinous and felonious crime must have been face to face with the victim.”
“Please, Chris, your humility is most appropriate, but we mustn't jump too far ahead of the feline forensics. We need further corroborating and validating proof,” replied Jasper Kitten. “The monocle indicates a face to face confrontation, but we’ll know more when we examine the bog body.”
“Jasper Kitten, if that’s the case of a face to face confrontation, then this Critter was no coward,” barked Star.
“Yes, I see,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “This characterization is quite important, Star.”
“If the bog body supports this initial finding of a face to face fight, then what did the other guy look like?” asked Jojo.
“That,” replied Jasper Kitten, “is a very good question. Critters, let us move on to the examination of the bog body. Please. Proceed.”
They shifted on their toebeans and huddled over the table. Jasper Kitten swept the magnifying glass up and down, back and forth, and all around the bog body, scanning for signs to identify and analyze the British Shorthair whose fate had been sealed in the mud.
Jasper Kitten set the magnifying glass down with an inhalation and then he exhaled, all the way out.
“This British Shorthair was a male Blue. The coat pattern is definitive under magnification and with proper indoor lighting,” he confirmed. “Furthermore. We have unmistakable signs of blunt force injury in several anatomical locations to the front of the body.”
Jasper Kitten then commenced with another detailed look, peering through the magnifying glass again, motionless, focused, not the twitch of a whisker here, not a twitch of a whisker there.
“If my instincts serve me correctly, Critters, these are bog body bite wounds to the face. Please, take a closer look for yourselves.”
Jasper Kitten passed the magnifying glass to Chris who then passed it to Star’s cinnamon brown paws and then on to Jojo. They agreed on the finding after their careful individual inspections.
“It’s subtle, but clear, that these bite wounds support our evidentiary conclusion,” mewed Jasper Kitten. “The. Fight. Was. In. Fact. Face. To. Face. Combat.”
The J Kitten, Sleuth & Purveyor of Bright Shiny Objects Detective Agency finished their feline forensic study as a chill descended on the situation room and the rain began to fall again in earnest. The lamp on the exam table flickered off and on like the blink of an eye cast from the mummified British Shorthair. And the mystery only deepened in the Detectives’ minds as they wondered who this Critter was so long ago in life, the keeper of a family secret that reached back into the mire of the past, buried in a bog.
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Dig into the past
Find a secure location
How to right a wrong
By Jasper Kitten, Chris & Jojo
Wow, he's like Quincy Kitten now! Haha! And that's great the Servals are coming back for another appearance. So. Much. Fun. Full stop... 😎
I am way behind on this story , if i an i will read and catch up . I left a health update 3 days ago , think i explains why i am so far behind . hugs and love to you and the critters