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And On That Note
A Spontoon Island story
© 2023 by Walter Reimer
(Various characters are copyright their respective owners.)
Thumbnail art by
Warren
Twenty-one.
“Well, darn,” Veronica said as the Constabulary’s Riot Squad showed up and the mayhem gradually died down, accompanied by the little feral dog’s high-pitched yapping. The Riot Squad looked relieved that they had found something to do.
The dancer turned and eyed Betty. “Draw?”
“Yeah, no bet,” Betty nodded. “We didn’t expect a girlfriend.”
“Nobody expects – “
“Oh, shut up, Juanito.”
***
Thursday August 31, 1939:
One of Franklin Stagg’s ears twitched, and twitched again, swiveling as he drifted awake.
Was that - ?
Yes, it was.
The literal knock on the door in the middle of the night.
The whitetail buck gently eased away from his sleeping wife and stood up, put on the silk robe that Rosie had given him as a wedding gift, and headed for the door to the apartment. He didn’t use his cane, because there was enough furniture on the way to the door to give his injured hoof some support.
There was another knock just as he reached the door, and he switched the porch light on before unlocking and opening it. “Sergeant?” he asked.
Sergeant Orrin Brush looked tired, and his expression appeared to be a cross between amusement and irritation. “’Morning, Sir. Sorry to wake you up, but I need your help with something.”
Professionalism asserted itself. “Of course, Sergeant. Come in, please, and – “
“Franklin?” Rosie asked, tying the belt on her own robe as she stepped out of the bedroom. “It’s almost one in the morning – oh, hi Orrin.”
“Missus Stagg.” At the use of her married name, the cheetah femme paused, ears flicking backward as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. “Sorry fer wakin’ you up.”
“It’s okeh,” she said. “I’ll get a pot of coffee started,” and Rosie went into the kitchen after turning on one of the lamps in the living room while her husband ushered the fox in and closed the door.
Stagg settled into his favorite chair, gestured for Brush to sit across from him, and asked, “Please tell me what’s happened, Sergeant.”
“Yes, Sir.” Brush pulled out his notebook before sitting on the couch. “About nine-thirty last night the Riot Squad got a call for a fight at the Grand’s restaurant.”
Stagg frowned. “Mr. Buckhorn wasn’t involved, was he?”
Brush chuckled despite himself. “Heh. No, Sir, although that was my first thought, too. He’s been very quiet since getting here. Anyhoo, come to find out that four furs were involved, with no property damage apart from some thrown food. All four’re charged with affray an’ disorderly conduct.”
“Messy,” Rosie remarked from the kitchen. There was a liquid plopping sound as the coffee percolator hit its stride.
“Who was involved, Sergeant?” Stagg asked.
Brush’s ears flattened against his head. “Milo Gracilis, skunk, an’ Winifred Needham, feline. They’re both Seebers – “
“’Seebers?’”
“From th’ Sea Bear Republic, Sir.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. Go on, please. Pardon me for interrupting.” The whitetail buck leaned slightly forward. “Who else was involved?”
Orrin Brush took a deep breath. “Kara Karoksdottir an’ B’onss Karoksson.”
Stagg’s ears went straight up.
Rosie poked her head out of the kitchen. “B’onss?”
Brush rolled his eyes and nodded.
“And Miss Karoksdottir?” Stagg asked. Brush nodded, and Stagg said, “Your older sister and younger brother?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Stagg closed his eyes in thought. “I understand why you came to see me, Sergeant. There’s a question of a possible conflict of interest.”
“That’s what I figured, Sir.”
“In that case, Sergeant,” Stagg said, “I would like you to give me your notes, and I’ll take over this matter.”
“Thank you, Sir,” and the fox started to go over his notes to make sure that they were legible enough for the whitetail buck to read them. “Furs would think it’d smell.”
His superior nodded. “Of course, I will leave it to you to inform your parents.”
Orrin Brush’s ears went flat against his head again as he removed the pages from his notebook and extended them to the Inspector. “Rosie?” he asked.
The cheetah asked, “Yes, Orrin?”
“How’s that coffee comin’?”
Rosie chuckled. “A few more minutes. Need a bracer? I have a bottle of whisky in the cupboard.”
The fox thought for a minute, weighing options and the fact that he had to talk to his mother and father, and tell them that two of his siblings were currently in jail.
“Yeah, gimme a belt. Please.”
***
Ni Peng-wum was not a happy fur.
Which meant that a number of furs were also, or about to be, unhappy.
At least, he thought, there was no need to get Hao involved, or ask Fang to put his paw in. His younger brother and brother-in-law were notorious for making problems go away, usually to the benefit of the shark population around Krupmark Island.
A message had been sent to his house in Pangai, a village on Main Island, and he had taken the time to get dressed before getting into the boat that took him across the lagoon to Casino Island. Being awakened in the middle of the night was the first layer of his unhappiness.
The second layer was the sight of part of the Grand’s restaurant. A table and several chairs had been overturned, and the cleaners would have their jobs cut out for them. After the fight, the restaurant had been closed.
Hopefully, it would reopen later for breakfast.
The third and final layer of the red panda’s unhappiness was when he had learned that Kara Karoksdottir had been arrested. He knew her, having been present with his father when he had retained her to obtain a business license for a branch office of the Ni and Sons investments company. The similarity between her last name and the name of another arrested fur told him that the two were related.
And he knew that she was related to one Orrin F.X. Brush, Detective Sergeant, Spontoon Islands Constabulary, which meant the tod was related as well.
He steepled his fingers together as the two furs standing across the desk from him fidgeted. The Grand’s manager and the stage manager had told him what they had been planning, and he said softly, “So. You were determined to try and get back some of the money the tod-fox won in the casino.”
“Yessir,” the cougar said, taking out his pawkerchief and mopping his brow. The stage manager swallowed hard at the look the younger red panda gave him. “But we didn’t know the singer had a girlfriend! Honest!”
“Or that the guy’s sister would be here too,” the hotel manager said defensively. He flinched as Peng-wum turned his head to look at the saluki.
“What,” and the two had to strain to hear him, “are the charges?”
“Affray and disorderly conduct,” the hotel manager said.
Peng-wum nodded. “We’ll see what the judge says in the morning. You,” and he turned to look at the stage manager, who promptly froze, “are fired.”
“Wha-a-a-a-at!?” the cougar said.
“You heard me. Get out of my sight.” The cougar promptly got.
The hotel manager gulped. “I’m sorry, Boss.”
“Sorry doesn’t help matters.” The red panda got to his feet. “I’m going home to get some more sleep. Get that mess cleaned up. Spotless. I’ll be back later to check. And then I’ll figure out what to do after the judge hears the case.” Peng-wum left the office, and the manager reclaimed his chair to extract a bottle of whisky from a desk drawer.
He had to be careful with the bottle. His paws kept shaking.
***
Karok Karoksson, as Orrin Brush was known to his family, finished telling his parents what had happened while wishing that he had simply asked Rosie for the bottle and not just for a measure of the liquor added to his coffee.
His father, a retired constable, had nodded, although the elder Brush looked quite amused.
His mother, however, fetched Orrin a clip across one ear and had to be talked down by his father before she went to the jail to rescue her children.
Ignoring his aching ear, Orrin assured her that B’onss and Kara were both all right, and they would be up before the judge in the morning. Inspector Stagg was handling the case, which reassured both parents somewhat, and they decided to leave things in the paws of the Gods and the whitetail buck who the Spontoonies called “Lawgiver-Who-Limps.”
With that, Orrin left to head for his own house, to try and get a little shuteye before the sun came up.
***
There is, some say, a kind of bond between twins.
K’nutt Karoksson, B’onns’ twin brother, merely mumbled something in his sleep, rolled over, and hugged a plush coconut to his chest.
Another, stuttering mumble, and he was again fast asleep.
<NEXT>
<PREVIOUS>
<FIRST>
A Spontoon Island story
© 2023 by Walter Reimer
(Various characters are copyright their respective owners.)
Thumbnail art by
WarrenTwenty-one.
“Well, darn,” Veronica said as the Constabulary’s Riot Squad showed up and the mayhem gradually died down, accompanied by the little feral dog’s high-pitched yapping. The Riot Squad looked relieved that they had found something to do.
The dancer turned and eyed Betty. “Draw?”
“Yeah, no bet,” Betty nodded. “We didn’t expect a girlfriend.”
“Nobody expects – “
“Oh, shut up, Juanito.”
***
Thursday August 31, 1939:
One of Franklin Stagg’s ears twitched, and twitched again, swiveling as he drifted awake.
Was that - ?
Yes, it was.
The literal knock on the door in the middle of the night.
The whitetail buck gently eased away from his sleeping wife and stood up, put on the silk robe that Rosie had given him as a wedding gift, and headed for the door to the apartment. He didn’t use his cane, because there was enough furniture on the way to the door to give his injured hoof some support.
There was another knock just as he reached the door, and he switched the porch light on before unlocking and opening it. “Sergeant?” he asked.
Sergeant Orrin Brush looked tired, and his expression appeared to be a cross between amusement and irritation. “’Morning, Sir. Sorry to wake you up, but I need your help with something.”
Professionalism asserted itself. “Of course, Sergeant. Come in, please, and – “
“Franklin?” Rosie asked, tying the belt on her own robe as she stepped out of the bedroom. “It’s almost one in the morning – oh, hi Orrin.”
“Missus Stagg.” At the use of her married name, the cheetah femme paused, ears flicking backward as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. “Sorry fer wakin’ you up.”
“It’s okeh,” she said. “I’ll get a pot of coffee started,” and Rosie went into the kitchen after turning on one of the lamps in the living room while her husband ushered the fox in and closed the door.
Stagg settled into his favorite chair, gestured for Brush to sit across from him, and asked, “Please tell me what’s happened, Sergeant.”
“Yes, Sir.” Brush pulled out his notebook before sitting on the couch. “About nine-thirty last night the Riot Squad got a call for a fight at the Grand’s restaurant.”
Stagg frowned. “Mr. Buckhorn wasn’t involved, was he?”
Brush chuckled despite himself. “Heh. No, Sir, although that was my first thought, too. He’s been very quiet since getting here. Anyhoo, come to find out that four furs were involved, with no property damage apart from some thrown food. All four’re charged with affray an’ disorderly conduct.”
“Messy,” Rosie remarked from the kitchen. There was a liquid plopping sound as the coffee percolator hit its stride.
“Who was involved, Sergeant?” Stagg asked.
Brush’s ears flattened against his head. “Milo Gracilis, skunk, an’ Winifred Needham, feline. They’re both Seebers – “
“’Seebers?’”
“From th’ Sea Bear Republic, Sir.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. Go on, please. Pardon me for interrupting.” The whitetail buck leaned slightly forward. “Who else was involved?”
Orrin Brush took a deep breath. “Kara Karoksdottir an’ B’onss Karoksson.”
Stagg’s ears went straight up.
Rosie poked her head out of the kitchen. “B’onss?”
Brush rolled his eyes and nodded.
“And Miss Karoksdottir?” Stagg asked. Brush nodded, and Stagg said, “Your older sister and younger brother?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Stagg closed his eyes in thought. “I understand why you came to see me, Sergeant. There’s a question of a possible conflict of interest.”
“That’s what I figured, Sir.”
“In that case, Sergeant,” Stagg said, “I would like you to give me your notes, and I’ll take over this matter.”
“Thank you, Sir,” and the fox started to go over his notes to make sure that they were legible enough for the whitetail buck to read them. “Furs would think it’d smell.”
His superior nodded. “Of course, I will leave it to you to inform your parents.”
Orrin Brush’s ears went flat against his head again as he removed the pages from his notebook and extended them to the Inspector. “Rosie?” he asked.
The cheetah asked, “Yes, Orrin?”
“How’s that coffee comin’?”
Rosie chuckled. “A few more minutes. Need a bracer? I have a bottle of whisky in the cupboard.”
The fox thought for a minute, weighing options and the fact that he had to talk to his mother and father, and tell them that two of his siblings were currently in jail.
“Yeah, gimme a belt. Please.”
***
Ni Peng-wum was not a happy fur.
Which meant that a number of furs were also, or about to be, unhappy.
At least, he thought, there was no need to get Hao involved, or ask Fang to put his paw in. His younger brother and brother-in-law were notorious for making problems go away, usually to the benefit of the shark population around Krupmark Island.
A message had been sent to his house in Pangai, a village on Main Island, and he had taken the time to get dressed before getting into the boat that took him across the lagoon to Casino Island. Being awakened in the middle of the night was the first layer of his unhappiness.
The second layer was the sight of part of the Grand’s restaurant. A table and several chairs had been overturned, and the cleaners would have their jobs cut out for them. After the fight, the restaurant had been closed.
Hopefully, it would reopen later for breakfast.
The third and final layer of the red panda’s unhappiness was when he had learned that Kara Karoksdottir had been arrested. He knew her, having been present with his father when he had retained her to obtain a business license for a branch office of the Ni and Sons investments company. The similarity between her last name and the name of another arrested fur told him that the two were related.
And he knew that she was related to one Orrin F.X. Brush, Detective Sergeant, Spontoon Islands Constabulary, which meant the tod was related as well.
He steepled his fingers together as the two furs standing across the desk from him fidgeted. The Grand’s manager and the stage manager had told him what they had been planning, and he said softly, “So. You were determined to try and get back some of the money the tod-fox won in the casino.”
“Yessir,” the cougar said, taking out his pawkerchief and mopping his brow. The stage manager swallowed hard at the look the younger red panda gave him. “But we didn’t know the singer had a girlfriend! Honest!”
“Or that the guy’s sister would be here too,” the hotel manager said defensively. He flinched as Peng-wum turned his head to look at the saluki.
“What,” and the two had to strain to hear him, “are the charges?”
“Affray and disorderly conduct,” the hotel manager said.
Peng-wum nodded. “We’ll see what the judge says in the morning. You,” and he turned to look at the stage manager, who promptly froze, “are fired.”
“Wha-a-a-a-at!?” the cougar said.
“You heard me. Get out of my sight.” The cougar promptly got.
The hotel manager gulped. “I’m sorry, Boss.”
“Sorry doesn’t help matters.” The red panda got to his feet. “I’m going home to get some more sleep. Get that mess cleaned up. Spotless. I’ll be back later to check. And then I’ll figure out what to do after the judge hears the case.” Peng-wum left the office, and the manager reclaimed his chair to extract a bottle of whisky from a desk drawer.
He had to be careful with the bottle. His paws kept shaking.
***
Karok Karoksson, as Orrin Brush was known to his family, finished telling his parents what had happened while wishing that he had simply asked Rosie for the bottle and not just for a measure of the liquor added to his coffee.
His father, a retired constable, had nodded, although the elder Brush looked quite amused.
His mother, however, fetched Orrin a clip across one ear and had to be talked down by his father before she went to the jail to rescue her children.
Ignoring his aching ear, Orrin assured her that B’onss and Kara were both all right, and they would be up before the judge in the morning. Inspector Stagg was handling the case, which reassured both parents somewhat, and they decided to leave things in the paws of the Gods and the whitetail buck who the Spontoonies called “Lawgiver-Who-Limps.”
With that, Orrin left to head for his own house, to try and get a little shuteye before the sun came up.
***
There is, some say, a kind of bond between twins.
K’nutt Karoksson, B’onns’ twin brother, merely mumbled something in his sleep, rolled over, and hugged a plush coconut to his chest.
Another, stuttering mumble, and he was again fast asleep.
<NEXT>
<PREVIOUS>
<FIRST>
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Red Fox
Size 57 x 120px
File Size 57.4 kB
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