Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency Year Five:
Case File No. 23-231
AMBER LOVE 18-OCT-2021 Find out how all this began. Catch up on Year One, Year Two, Year Three, and Year Four cases at the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency.
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Where We Left Off:
We had some curious visitors of the amphibian variety and had to figure out if they were from the magickal realm or possibly a threat.
The Story of Ivy:
Gus and I have had a couple of good meetings with Bun Solo. Sometimes the Butler and Ollie are there too, but generally they zip by and patrol places farther away from the residence and offices of the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency. Bun Solo and Gus have been getting along. However, the cat detective recognized when another wolpertinger was much smaller and therefore, would be an easy opponent. I did not like this turn of events. Not at all.
First, I’ll share the data on that smaller critter, Ivy. She had been seen frequenting the square of the yard closest to the building. Its sidelines are a hedgerow, the rock wall and bird bath with shrubs, open space, and then the building. The small creature enjoyed this space and it seemed like she wanted to make the ivy bed her home so that’s what I named her. Unfortunately, this is easy to get to territory for Gus.
When Gus began stalking the ground of the flower beds, I had a feeling a critter was in there. I was hoping for a chipmunk, because when Gus captures them, they are tough. Chipmunks are resilient and not afraid to return after an attack by Gus. Sadly, Gus was on the scent of a bunny rabbit creature. I didn’t get a good look at her, but she’s possibly a wolpertinger too. Gus snatched her in his jaws and began to make a bee-line for the back door, but The Grumpy Old Man leapt up from weeding and intercepted!
She didn’t appear to be putting up a fight once in his mouth, but she screeched in a horror movie decibel that was quite disturbing. The Grumpy Old Man was wearing gloves so it would have been better if he could have taken the baby critter from Gus. No matter, Gus dropped her when he saw his path was blocked. She bolted in super turbo speed across the private road, under the neighbors’ cars and into their yard somewhere. I couldn’t find any sign of her to see if she was hurt.
This brings us to our next set of bunny rabbit creature interactions. Bun Solo is way more calm than other critters, especially compared to that baby bunny. He’s a loner. Perhaps, there’s something about him that intimidates others of his kind. He is notably content to sit alone gnawing on foliage and grass.
I was inspired by my own work. ‘Tis true. In Witches at the White House, some secret agents wear enchanted spectacles that allow them to see spectral trails where recent magic was active. I decided this would be an especially useful tool for me to have in real life as I explore the lands with Gus and Oliver. I took lens filter for my camera and cast a spell on it. This lens can be screwed onto the long zoom lens or the short 35mm lens.
I tested out my experimental filter on Bun Solo since he was being chill and patient. You can see his wolpertinger features now: fangs, antlers, and wings.
Although Bun Solo spends more of his time next door (what’s wrong with our grass?), he has met us in Bunny Hollow.
I asked him, “Do you have any interest in running against Lola Rabbit to be mayor of Bunny Hollow?”
“Me? Nah. Not my style. I don’t live in the Hollow full-time anyway. I like to set my own rules. Go wherever I feels like it. Ya know,” the wolpertinger said.
“I hear ya. Respect.”
Gus gave me an incorrigible look. “You’re not cool enough to talk like that, human.”
I looked at Gus without turning my head and continued to talk to the wolpertinger. “Anyway, I was wondering how you feel about the dogs returning home next door. They were gone for over a year and now that they’ve been back, they can get pretty loud.”
There’s a standard poodle and two raggedy little dogs next door.
“They don’t seem to notice when I’m around, but they sure hate yous guys,” Bun Solo said.
“Yeah, I know,” I said. “If you happen to see the young bunny named Ivy, could you please let her know that we are sorry Gus’ attack? We hope she doesn’t hold it against us and feels comfortable making this place her home.”
“If I see her, sure.”
I gave the leash a tiny tug to show Gus I was ready to continue our walk. He showed no interest in chasing after Bun Solo that time. I think Gus can tell the critters apart more easily than I can. I think Bun Solo has a brother who only comes around with another rabbit creature. That pair is more energetic and frequently playful with each other. Gus would rather go after someone like that.
Case Findings:
Little Ivy hasn’t been seen in the area since Gus attacked her. Bun Solo hasn’t been around for several days, but it could be that we’re simply missing each other. He said he’ll convey our apologies to the small bunny if he sees her.
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.