THE WINCHESTER-NABU DETECTIVE AGENCY
AMBER LOVE 09-APR-2018 My 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. Also, I’m an Amazon Influencer so you can shop through my personal recommendations and buy my books with these handy links below:
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ADVENTURES WITH GUS – CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: CAT ON A COLD TIN ROOF
- Chapter One – The Great Hunt
- Chapter Two – The Great Escape
- Chapter Three – The DaVinci Plan
- Chapter Four – On the Wild Side
- Chapter Five – The Leash I Could Do
- Chapter Six – The Maltese Finch
- Chapter Seven – The Two Snakes
- Chapter Eight – Heat Wave
- Chapter Nine – The Sleepless Detective
- Chapter Ten – Baby Beasts
- Chapter Eleven – The Blue Dahlia
- Chapter Twelve – Stray Cat Strut
- Chapter Thirteen – The Strange Case of DI Nabu and Mr. Hyde
- Chapter Fourteen – Gus and the Grumpy Old Man
- Chapter Fifteen – The Night of the Hunter
- Chapter Sixteen – On Dangerous Ground
- Chapter Seventeen – Escape in the Fog
- Chapter Eighteen – World of Witcherscape
- Chapter Nineteen – Romancing the Stone
- Chapter Twenty – Where the Sidewalk Ends
- Chapter Twenty-one – Out of the Fog
- Chapter Twenty-two – The Moletiverse
- Chapter Twenty-three – To Kill a Woodpecker
- Chapter Twenty-four – Follow Me Quietly
- Chapter Twenty-five – Hell’s Half Acre
- Chapter Twenty-six – Black Snake Moan
- Chapter Twenty-seven – Night of Terror
- Chapter Twenty-eight – Spellbound
- Chapter Twenty-nine – Ghost Rider
- Chapter Thirty – Chips in the Wall
- Chapter Thirty-one – Of Mice and Men
- Chapter Thirty-Two – The Fairies’ Dancing Place
- Chapter Thirty-Three – The Lovely Bones
- Chapter Thirty-Four – Two Hounds of the Baskervilles
- Chapter Thirty-Five – Training Day
- Chapter Thirty-Six -Â The House on Haunted Hill
- Chapter Thirty-Seven -Â Guardians of New Jersey
- Chapter Thirty-Eight – The Big Country
- Chapter Thirty-Nine – State of the Agency Address
- Chapter Forty – A Real Stick in the Mud
- Chapter Forty-one – Despereaux Times, Despereaux Measures
- Chapter Forty-tow – Footsteps in the Fog
- Chapter Forty-three – Four Boys and a Gun
- Chapter Forty-four – Rabbit Angstrom
- Chapter Forty-five – Gateways
- Chapter Forty-six – The Two Towers
- Chapter Forty-seven – The Two of Wands
Where we left off…
There were a couple of previous chapters where Detective Inspector Guster Nabu’s thievery and burglary skills were explained in detail. He’s still at it.
THE WINCHESTER-NABU ESTATE. EXTERIOR. SECOND FLOOR BALCONY.
As a cat guardian, I sometimes have a lot of self doubt despite an entire lifetime of being with cats. I’ve noticed that my anxiety and doubt get more out of control when either of boys exhibit low confidence. It’s been a fantastic exercise for both Gus and myself to go on outdoor adventures. He started out as expected — not being too sure what he was doing out there or where to go. Now he’s a relatively fearless leader after one year of leash walking. When he does show fear, it’s usually nothing like my clumsy footsteps stumbling or a truck out on the road going by the house and even people he knows. It’s weird.
When Gus is feeling confident it is clear as day. He wants to climb on all the giant trees that have fallen or climb up ones still growing. He’ll jump from boulder to boulder and balance on narrow pipes or branches. There is a downside to Gus becoming stronger, more agile, and more confident. Escape attempts!
I’ve lost count, but I think he’s made it onto the roof three or four times. This happens with long stretches of good behavior leading up to the incidents. He gets me to the point where I can put him out on the balcony and then turn my back to do something like fetch a drink. Usually I come back and he’s right there watching birds or spying on the neighbors.
Since it’s been a bit chilly in the morning, I don’t always want to stand out there with him and Oliver. I end up being only slightly chilly standing inside the glass door. But again, we had reached a point where Gus was standing at attention and focused on looking out over the land. I turned my back and when I went to check on him since it was so cold, I couldn’t find him. He wasn’t under any of the chairs. I looked on the side roof and sure enough, the little bastard was on the edge. He paced trying to figure out which landing was shortest. The closest corner is not that big of a drop to the ground; in the middle, there’s a patio table on which to land; the far corner is near a tall fence which would require a perfect balanced landing.
I called to him and he wouldn’t come back to me. I hoisted myself over the railing (now much higher than the original wooden railing). Climbed out and realized that the melting snow was making the metal surface pretty damn slippery. I managed to catch him, but my feet were slipping so I was unable to hold him and climb back to the edge of the balcony. I gave him a little help to the railing and he made it to a chair, but he was not happy and tried turning around. I had to swing myself back over the railing while keeping an eye on him so he didn’t make a break around me and do it again.
Later that day, I got Gus harnessed and ready for his walk. We usually go directly from the center back door to the first parking area. He followed that route and then headed down the driveway instead of up the hill. He loves rolling around on the cement and asphalt. There’s a small block of sidewalk, just a square of it really, in front of a high step leading to the back porch. It’s in such a dangerous spot close to the neighbors’ cars that I don’t understand why he likes it there. Since it is cement, he rolled around and enjoyed the texture. Plus getting dirty is a fun bonus.
He already lost the cute pineapple charm that was on his harness for all of two weeks. I was however surprised that he penchant for rolling around had other motives besides feeling good. He unclasped his leash from his harness. Oh, Gus!
Fortunately, his earlier bad behavior didn’t lead him into running away from me. I was able to bend down and get him latched again without any trouble. I was perplexed though. Gus doesn’t seem to understand that the leash and harness are for his own safety. He is all about freedom and adventure. He lives for the challenge of what he’s able to accomplish from day to day.
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.