AMBER LOVE 09-MAR-2020 Find out how all this began. Catch up on Year One and previous Year Two cases at the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency. We are in the final stretch of YEAR THREE still because we started cataloging our criminal investigations in the spring.

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Where We Left Off:

The Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency discovered evidence that Theo Sciurus was murdered on The Boulevard and there’s no sign of his wife Synthia.

Apology for Murder:

The Grumpy Old Man doesn’t often give Gus a good performance review — as if he’s the superior one. He continues to put Gus to work inside the hangar looking for the trespassers and squatters to get rid of them. Gus hasn’t had any luck out there. But inside the residence and offices, he’s done okay.

Oliver would surely love to be in on the action, but since he’s familiar with Gus’ bullying and brutality towards targets, he stays back to supervise. Oliver is kind of like the goalie waiting for anything that scurries away from Gus so he can kick it back into the playing field.

The Cook found some damning evidence in the scary-as-hell basement back room that looks like a serial killer’s hideaway. She was looking for some decorations and uncovered a large cache of peanut shells in a pile. The critters have been good at stealing them from the (opened) bags at the backdoor and taking them through the various holes in the woodwork or old ventilation system. It will horrify you to know that one time while preparing dinner, The Cook saw a mouse pop up out from the back of the stove. She finished what she was doing and then ordered The Grumpy Old Man to scour the entire oven with that stinky foamy stuff. Perhaps Ratatouille was based on similar real events.

This brings us back to a particular night at 0200 hours. Oliver and Gus had been working hard all night rather than keeping watchful eyes over their humans. Something was indeed afoot. We had been hearing the clawing through the walls for several nights. Sometimes it sounded far too gigantic of a thing to be a mere little mouse. Gus and Oliver came racing into my bedroom. I could tell how Gus was pacing himself that it was not an ordinary round of playful cat antics getting their exercise.

As I listened to Gus racing around in circles and doing his quick direction switches, I could tell that it wasn’t Oliver he was after. I let it go on for a few minutes before I turned on the light and took a look around. It got momentarily quiet. My concern was that the critter would escape as the last one had. Gus — being a typical cat — lets his victims go in order to tire them out and then grabs them again. Most of the time though, the targets get away. Not this time.

I got to the floor and it was still too dark to see well under the bed. Fortunately, this bed frame has a nice lift to it and I keep it fairly empty under there except for the necessary strings of extension cords because we don’t have enough outlets for modern life’s devices. I could see that Gus did have a mouse. I reached for the flashlight for better viewing. It was average adult size. I’ve spotted a hefty one before. Gus tossed it up and around while underneath the bed. It wasn’t a lot of clearance, but seemed to be enough for Gus to do what he wanted. Honestly, he was having a great time.

Oliver moved a couple feet from the bookcase to the space behind the box fort (his office). He watch with interest, but showed no signs through body language that he was going to getting in on the action. He did look at me quizzically. Not sure if he wanted me to stop Gus or if he was warning me not to get involved.

Gus dropped the body at one of the legs of the bed frame. He was taking a break. I reached for the mouse’s tail in case there was any life in it. Whether alive or not, I wanted to take it outside. Nope. Gus snatched it back and growled at me. Not in a terrifying way. More like an angry version of a loud purr. He was just letting me know that he was not going to let me take his target away. The perp was squatting and Gus insisted on dealing with it in his own way.

Another round of throwing the obviously dead body around himself while under the bed ensued. Then Gus slowed down. He laid with the mouse between his hands. It looked like a peaceful scene had the mouse been sleeping instead of murdered. Oh, but then… CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH.

Gus made sure to break every possible bone inside the rodent’s body. Thankfully, he did not tear it open and make a disgusting mess! That sound though… ewww. Even tiny bones crunching is so gross. Nonetheless, I told Gus he was a good boy for doing his job. I wanted to trade him treats for the mouse, but didn’t have to. Gus took another break and walked out from under the bed to stretch and take one of those victory laps a champion would do. I guess he earned that.

It gave me the opportunity to reach for the tail again. I walked through two rooms and got to the door to the balcony. I stepped outside in my underwear and t-shirt, my bare feet freezing on the cold floor. Instantly the rest of my body felt the below-twenty temperature. I dropped the mouse over the railing and rushed to the bathroom to wash my hands.

I was surprised Gus didn’t show any attitude with me for getting rid of the body. He can be vocal when he’s needy or displeased. He got some treats and I crawled back into bed. The next morning, we filled The Cook in on the details and she added some to the story.

Before they came upstairs, Oliver and Gus were near her by the fireplace. Then all of a sudden Gus raced up the stairs with Oliver following right behind him. So the mouse was captured on the main floor and they brought it up. Lucky me.

Case Findings:

Gus and Oliver had a house mouse cornered on the main floor. Gus managed to get to it and snatched the mouse in his jaws. The duo relocated to the upstairs bedroom where Gus toyed with then murdered the mouse. We had no identification details on the critter. After combing through the photographic evidence I took, Oliver went back to his reference material. This particular type of house mouse is a known thief. They work tangentially for the rodentia organized crime families in close connection with fences and critters who need bribes.

Case Status: Closed

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.