Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency Year Four:
Case File No. 07-163
AMBER LOVE 29-JUNE-2020 Find out how all this began. Catch up on Year One, Year Two, and Year Three cases at the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency. Thank you for all your financial and social support! Oliver and Gus are looking forward to bringing you more fascinating discoveries and investigations into the chipmunk mafia, the blue jay gang, the neighborhood critters, and cryptid sightings.
This 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. For a one-time tip, you can go to the new PayPal.me.
Where We Left Off:
The cats were extraordinarily active and efficient catching mice roaming inside the residence.
A Tale of Two Kitties:
We’ve had a few free-roaming cats invade the Winchester-Nabu estate in the past: the long-haired black kitty; the short-haired black cat we gave the codename Faustus; and now, a tabby and white stranger who has opera length white gloves and white boots. We’ll get to Faustus in a bit. First, let’s talk about the newest stranger, the one with the boots and mittens.
We’ve seen this mittened trespasser around the mobile command unit and close to the main house. I’m inclined to think it’s another male based on how Gus and Ollie react. They tend to swat and fight each other when they can’t get to their suspects. This suspect is so gallant and saunters away with the attitude of what we call on Twitter, DGAF (don’t give a fuck). His brazenness with crossing over the property lines and spending time around one of the prized possessions of the detective agency, the mobile command unit (MCU), has led me to assign the codename: Alan Golder, a famous thief who began his criminal career at the age of six and eventually in the ranks of the Genovese crime family. He even robbed Johnny Carson along with other notable celebrities.
Now, we have not witnessed this gentleman feline suspect in any robbery activities, but he must be casing out our buildings for some reason. He’s been around the MCU, the important hangar which houses the workshop, and the cars. I have to admit, I have a fondness for the gentleman thieves of history and fiction (or what is called the phantom thief in Japanese stories). Bernie Rodenbarr, Pierre Despereaux, Parker’s dad Archie from Leverage, Neal Caffrey, and of course Hans Gruber.
Gus and Ollie have kept routine stakeouts from the observation deck. They’ve also discussed their concerns with the elder humans. The Cook said she saw a neighbor man — who bought the house of people the Grumpy Old Man knew well — holding this gentlemanly feline. If that couple is feeding the cat, it’s wandering around in search of excitement, not food. Does Golder belong to that house and new neighborhood couple? Do they feed him? Why else would he be friendly with them?
During our patrols, Gus gets into the mobile command unit once every few weeks to check things out. He looks for squatters like mice and to see if anything is out of place, new or missing.
Case Findings on Suspect 1:
Golder is possibly casing our property to make plans for a heist. We don’t know what his target is or if he’s working alone.
Case Status: Open
Faustus Update:
On June 1st, Gus and Oliver had a short but highly exciting adventure today. I tried managing both cats at once. Oliver received his luxury class carriage a few days ago and he LOVES it so much. He has stopped napping in his old plaid buggy and in the old dog bed. He immediately knew that the enormous box and item inside that the Butler assembled was for him. He hopped around the dining room trying to find a window so he could watch the new PetGear jogger stroller being assembled. Since the upgraded luxurious stroller seemed to go over grass well, I figured I could handle it plus Gus on his harness. (I did a review on Amazon, and the only cons to this stroller is that it does side-tip easily because of the three-wheel design; it also doesn’t have flaps to cover the sunroof and rear window screens that the cheap Vivo strollers had; otherwise, it’s a smooth ride and spacious; Oliver loves it.)
It wasn’t terrible especially when we got to the safe zones where I unhook Gus from his leash. He was willing to lead or walk beside us calmly. We eventually found ourselves at the bird/squirrel feeding tree. I heard a loud rustling above us and looked up to see Parker the squirrel high up the tree. Both the cats saw her too.
In a surprise twist, Parker came down the tree and Gus didn’t even budge to chase her. She assumed he would (as did I) and went as fast as possible down the tree and through the bushes. Yet, Oliver pawed at his screens wanting to pursue.
A moment later, something led Gus to leave the serenity of the bird feeding tree and go to the junkyard. As we got there, I saw a black cat scale the slope by the old barn doors and head towards the woods. I thought it was Gus. It was not!
Gus immediately followed Faustus. I couldn’t get the carriage through all the stuff at the junkyard, so I had to backtrack and take a trail through Bunny Hollow. Gus was there at the end stalking with his attention directed into the thick bushes. He headed in.
Ollie and I went around until we reached the privet drive. I kept listening for Gus’ jingle bells or sounds of a battle. The birds were loud and sometimes they sound like the bells on Gus’ collar. Ollie and I checked down the Boulevard trail to see if Gus went into any other backyards. No sign of him.
Ollie does not like when his carriage sits still. He expects to keep moving. I decided to drop him off back home and wait for Gus to return. He was probably gone 20 minutes or so. I worked up a sweat walking all around the woods and trails calling for him and clicking. I found him back in the junkyard as if everything was cool, but he was missing his new green collar (one he got for Yulemas and only started wearing in the spring). I don’t know if he got it caught on a branch or if it came off in a hand-to-hand fight with the perp.
Case Findings:
Faustus is on our list of Most Wanted criminals for trespassing and impersonating a detective.
Case Status: Open
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.