“So,” squeaked Marlin, “in answer to your question. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that any or all of them decided the world would be a better place without The Muskox. Now, the number of ‘interesting animals’ keeps piling up. Where do we go from here?”
A chorus came back, “Scrub the e-mails!”
Condo shrugged. “Back to the salt mines. Ursula and I could use some assistance on this one. Any volunteers?”
Without waiting for any response, Octavius gave an order. “Colonel, Howard and Marlin. Top priority. Maury. Where the hell is the Cougar? Get to the FBI and see what they can dig up.”
I called Special Agent Honey Badger and it seems that Octavius wasn’t far wrong. They didn’t exactly dig him up, but Covington Cougar’s body was found early this afternoon not far from his Florida office. The FBI had sent out an All-Points Bulletin to determine his whereabouts. The federal police at the Kennedy Space Center responded to an anonymous tip and discovered him face-down in a salt marsh. They then called the FBI’s Detroit office. Same MO as the Professor. Blunt instrument. No signs of drowning. Nothing stolen. No signs of being dragged or deposited. Killed in situ. No meaningful paw or hoof prints. He probably wouldn’t have been found if it wasn’t for that call. Someone wanted him located. A message?
Back I went to Octavius. The rest of the team had left to re-work the e-mails. I told him the news. After a couple of initial “Hmmms,” he said, “Well, if the two crimes are connected and the style strongly suggests that they are, that should get me out of the ‘Animal of Interest’ category. I’ve been here all day and I have a ton of witnesses to testify to it, including my wife and cubs.”
Speaking of whom, Belinda, Hurricanes Arabella and McTavish and Inspector Wallaroo entered on cue with Mlle Woof taking up the rear. “Poppa, why were the police here questioning you?” McTavish blurted, “Did you do something bad?”
Belinda, Inspector Wallaroo, Mlle Woof and Octavius all reacted simultaneously. I just watched. “McTavish Bear,” said his mother, “what a thing to say. Your father definitely did not do something bad. You apologize!”
“Sorry, Poppa but what were they doing here?”
The Inspector looked at the two cubs and said, “Yer Poppa is always helping the police. That’s why I’m here. I’m the police and your Poppa and I are investigating a serious case.”
Arabella couldn’t resist any longer. “Tell us about it! Tell us about it!”
“Not now, mes petits, it is all very confidential. Is that not so, Docteur Bear?”
Octavius agreed but McTavish would not be put off. “What does “confidenchul” mean?”
Chorus: “It means we can’t talk about it!!”
Chapter Fifteen
She’s a beautiful sight to behold,
With her shimmering coat of white gold.
Polars rule in the North.
Over ice they set forth.
But they never seem bothered by cold.
Bear cub pouts are something to be seen. Mlle Woof, bless her, can contend with the fiercest of them and she cleared the room of the brown and white whirlwinds, leaving Bel, Bruce, Octavius and me. I called up Ursula. I brought the Bearoness and Inspector up to speed on the latest events, including our analysis of Howard’s team and the brutal demise of Covington Cougar.
“What do you think, Tavi?” asked Belinda. “Sounds too similar to be coincidence. What’s in that data the Cougar was sharing with the Professor? Someone clearly wanted its release to stop. Do you think he was playing with someone else? Probably the Muskox’ killer or killers. Or do you think the Cougar did the Muskox in and was then knocked off by a concerned third party.”
“Those thoughts and a few others have been occupying my mind ever since I heard that Covington Cougar is no more. I have our group scrubbing the e-mails between the Cougar and Muskox as well as any pertinent communications by Howard’s teammates. You’re right. The answer or answers lies in the e-mails and the discoveries the group has been making. Doctors Shepherd and Shrike were not taking the news of the Cougar’s betrayal lightly. And there’s always the benign presence of General Turmoil and his staff. Of course, there may also be a yet unidentified individual involved. Annoying.”
“Well, here’s something you won’t find annoying,” said Bruce. “As you know, I’ve been following up on The Phox law firm. You can’t discount them, either, as potential assassins. However, you’ll be interested to know that the partnership of Phox, Fox and Foxx is now just Felicity Fox. The Weasel and Skunk have resigned, possibly to fend off pressure from law enforcement and the Michigan State Bar. I think she’s getting ready to sell the practice and regroup. However, I believe Wolford can wrap up that end of the story. Now, all we have to deal with is a couple of murders. I suspect you will no longer be an ‘Animal of Interest’ to the Detroit PD unless they believe you can bi-locate between Cincinnati and Cape Canaveral. Oh, by the way, Chita is on her way back to London, having made her contribution to the fate of the Phoxes.”
“I didn’t get a chance to thank her. She is indeed something else.” said the Bear. Probably the first time he openly expressed admiration for Madame Catt. Maybe he’s mellowing.
“Is the FBI involved in the Cougar’s death?”
“You bet! They share our belief the two deaths are related.”
“How about getting Agent Honey Badger to allow us to visit the scene of the crime. While you’re at it, let’s see if Detroit PD will take me off their ‘Animal of Interest’ list. I’d like to travel without having to report into them.”
I got on the horn to the Special Agent and relayed the Great Bear’s requests. She said she would call Inspector Ford and the Resident Agent at Cape Canaveral.
I called in The Flying Tigers, Ben and Gal, and told them to get the Bearoness’ SST, the Flying Aquabear, ready for the 770-mile flight to Melbourne International near Cape Canaveral. Belinda decided she, the Cubs and Mlle Woof would go along for the ride and give her offspring a chance to see the Kennedy Space Center. If Octavius was cleared by the Detroit Police, he too would be on board, although he is not all that fond of the confined space in the Concorde. Rounding out the group would be the Frau, Wallaroo, Otto, a version of Ursula and me. Howard, the Condor, another version of Ursula, the Colonel and Marlin were still working their way through the e-mail maze.
True to her word, the Badger called back saying Detroit PD was still interested but saw no further reason to keep the Bear confined to his home. She also was making arrangements with Canaveral FBI to view the Cougar’s body, the murder site and his offices.
Needless to say, the Cubs were ecstatic. McTavish had become a military and space flight enthusiast during his visit to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in “Washing-Tub.” (See Book Six - The Attaché Case) Arabella just loved flying in the SST. Unfortunately, this trip would have to be subsonic.
I called through to arrange ground transport and lodging and had a brief chat with the Canaveral Resident FBI Agent, Robert Bobcat. They were trying to trace the anonymous call that put them on the track of the Cougar’s body. So far, no results. They were analyzing the recorded message. Nothing distinctive about the male sounding voice. Since he was discovered on Federal property, the Canaveral Police had taken charge of the body. They’d be ready for the arrival of our team early tomorrow morning. They would pick us up at the airport. I warned him about the Cubs. Given their need to deal with all sorts of extreme weather, he was not put off by the prospect of two fur covered hurricanes. He made arrangements for them to visit the Space Center with the Flying Tigers and Mlle Woof.
I passed on all this information to the participants. Howard in turn, contacted his scientific partners with news of Covington’s killing. The reactions were interesting. No one shed a tear or equivalent. The Shrike was all for invading his office and tearing it apart in search of any
other materials he had purloined. Since it would have involved flying from California to Florida, (not on her own power.) she was pleased to hear that we were making the journey instead of her. Doctor Shepherd set to musing about the similarities of the two killings. That seemed to be the common theme. Same killer or copy-cat?
Alfred Armadillo, who until this moment had been relatively diffident about the situation, was especially concerned about whether the rest of the team might be threatened. He wondered if the entire project was an invitation to violence for the participants. A thought-provoking idea but why and who would benefit? Once again, The Business and its Equine Leader bobbed to the surface. Was General Turmoil seeking to eliminate competition? If so, he was going about it in a rather bizarre fashion.
Commander Cormorant, based in Washington at the Pentagon, decided to join our group at Canaveral. Howard turned him over to me, so we could get ourselves synchronized. He’d meet us at the offices of Space Enterprises LLC. A member of the Great Cormorant species, he grew up in the Florida wetlands and would, no doubt, be able to assist us in surveying the site where the Cougar’s body was found.
A good night’s sleep; a Frau Schuylkill breakfast by dawn’s early light; last minute packing and re-packing of the Cubs’ paraphernalia; fueling and checking the aircraft and we were off. Assignments were handed out as we flew. The Flying Tigers and Mlle Woof would stay with the Cubs as they visited the Kennedy Space Center. The Frau, Otto, Ursula and I would investigate the workplace of Space Enterprises LLC along with FBI Resident Agent Bobcat. We called the office manager and told her we were coming. Octavius, Belinda, Inspector Wallaroo and Commander Cormorant would first go to Canaveral Police Headquarters where the body was being held and then investigate the marshes where it was found. We would all meet again at Police Headquarters and review the bidding.
Chapter Sixteen
Off we went on another big chase,
Flying south at a double-quick pace.
In a marsh by the sea,
We expected to see
The dead Cougar with mud on his face.
Melbourne International Airport: We probably could have landed directly at the Cape but that would have required NASA clearances, impounding the aircraft and other botheration. So we’re using the ground transport arranged by the FBI to get us to the crime scene and in the Cubs’ case, the Kennedy Space Center.
Two large SUVs were on hand at the general aviation terminal. A Kennedy Space Center bus was also waiting for the Cubs and their three chaperones. Arabella and McTavish scrambled on board along with Mlle Woof and waited, not very patiently, for Ben and Gal to seal up the SST. Resident Agent Bobcat greeted us and led us to the SUVs. The team heading to Canaveral Police Headquarters met Lieutenant Burt Beaver, loaded up and left. The Frau, Otto and I were heading for Space Enterprises in Port Canaveral with the agent in the driver’s seat.
I asked Agent Bobcat if he had prior dealings with Space Enterprises and Covington Cougar. He did, on several occasions when their projects with NASA or independent contractors required special clearances. The Cougar was one of several “Mission Managers” who packaged finances, staffing, logistics, scheduling, publicity and the like for space operation developers. That put his role with Howard’s Quantum Multiverse program in better perspective. Since the Entangled Electron agenda was still in its very early stages, it would have been a good while before his skills and resources were called into action. However, it still wasn’t clear how he got involved with the Professor, but involved he was.
We pulled up in the parking lot of a single story office building that was topped by a cluster of antennas and a rocket-shaped, multi-colored neon sign that proclaimed that this was the home of Space Enterprises LLC. We were met at the door by a Lynx dressed in Florida Casual attire. The Office Manager, Lynda Lynx. The President was in Houston at the moment but she was authorized to cooperate fully with us in our investigation. She took special notice of Frau Ilse who returned the compliment. About two dozen workers sat at workstations loosely arranged in an open pattern. One wall was taken up with executive style offices that varied in size from the presidential corner suite to what looked to be a conference center/kitchen/lunch room. A closed off area probably housed the company servers and other equipment. The Cougar had a private office several doors down from the President. We settled in the conference room where the typical sequence of introductions and commentary on Covington’s demise took place. A white tailed deer named Vanessa joined us. She, it seems, was Covington’s assistant. If she was upset by his death, she was controlling it masterfully.
“Vanessa, can you tell us what the Cougar was working on before he died,” asked the agent.
“I hadn’t seen him in the last few days. He was out of town. That’s not unusual. All of the VCs like to meet face-to-face with their clients, especially when there’s hardware development at stake. I know he was in Detroit for a few days getting together with an engineering shop.”
Bells rang for the Frau, Otto and me. I asked, “Do you have a name for that shop?”
“No, that’s one he kept to himself. Covington wasn’t the easiest guy to work with. He wouldn’t let me near his e-mail, for example.”
“Do the names MAPS Ltd. or Professor Hercules Ovibos mean anything to you?”
“I took a phone message from a Professor Ovibos a while back. He needed to talk to Cov. I passed the message on. Never heard of MAPS Ltd.”
“Any idea why he would have been out in the salt marshes. That’s where his body was found.”
“I didn’t even know he was back in town. He didn’t stop in the office - at least not while I was here. I can check the sign-in log. You need a badge to come in and the reader creates a log entry.”
“Would you do that, please?”
While she was out, I turned to my three companions and said, “Well, there’s an important link. I wonder what Condo and Ursula will uncover with the e-mails.”
Vanessa came back into the room. “The last badge entry was five days ago. He wasn’t here the night before last or yesterday. Someone might have let him in but the crew here is pretty security conscious.”
The Frau changed the subject, “Did the Cougar have any contact with a porcupine named Howard Watt?”
“Oh sure, some mysterious project Covington wouldn’t talk about but I’ve seen the name several times. Would the porcupine have something to do with his death?”
Agent Bobcat replied, “I really doubt it, Ms Vanessa. I realize we don’t have a search warrant but would it be possible to look in his desk? I assume he took his computer with him. Can we access your servers and look at his files.”
“I’ll have to ask Ms. Lynx. Lynda may be able to give you permission.”
I looked over at Otto and the Frau and said, “So much for keeping the Multiverse team a secret. I bet if we were to mention the other members, she’d recognize them too.”
Lynda Lynx came back to the conference room. “I can grant you access to his desk and his files on our server. He has his own files on his laptop or out in a confidential cloud. I don’t know how to get to them.”
“That’s all right. We can search for them when and if we need them.
Last question: “Do either of you recognize these names?
Professor Karl Shepherd Ph.D.- MIT Quantum Mechanics Laboratory
Doctor Susanna Shrike - Director of Extraterrestrial Studies - Caltech
Commander Cornelius Cormorant - US Navy Advanced Research Command
Alfred Armadillo - Sr. VP Communication Technology - Goggle Plex “
Vanessa recognized them all as animals on the Cougar’s contact list but that was it. Lynda drew a blank.
“Well,” said I, “may we adjourn to the Cougar’s Office?”
We spent the next hour under Lynda’s watchful eye, opening and closing desk and file
drawers. Some cash, a small bottle of bourbon, a few unpaid bills but nothing to do with any of his projects. Pretty much the same on the server. It was clear that Covington Cougar had a separate communication and file system outside the company. Lynda was pretty upset about that. So would the president be when he returned. It seems all of the Cougar’s business and technical traffic was off line and it wasn’t clear how the firm was going to retrieve any of it. So much for security consciousness. We, of course did not mention that Condo and Ursula had tracked his e-mails and files and was poring over them for clues. We’d have to make up our minds to selectively share them with Space Enterprises Ltd. A chore for a later day.
As we left the building, Otto, who had been relatively quiet till now asked if he could bring any of his special talents to bear. Sorry to disappoint. Let’s get over to Canaveral PD.
Chapter Seventeen
Now that Covington Cougar’s deceased
Our confusion has really increased.
We end up in a box.
Did he kill off the Ox?
Then got knocked off by some other beast?
Octavius, Belinda, Inspector Wallaroo and Commander Cormorant were at Canaveral Police Headquarters, getting ready to go over to the marshes where Covington’s body was discovered. Lieutenant Beaver had shown them the cadaver. Same general condition as the Muskox. Struck behind the head several times; no signs of drowning; no signs of being dragged; clothes wet but not damaged; looks like he died on the spot.
Belinda asked, ‘Have you notified his next of kin?”
“We are searching for them now. According to Space Enterprises, he was a bachelor. A brother who lives in California. He’s been notified and is on his way. Nobody else, yet.”
“Was he carrying anything?” This from Inspector Wallaroo.
“Keys, wallet with money, credit cards, IDs, driver’s license, Space Enterprises entrance badge. No attempt by the killer to hide his identity. No documents, no computer storage devices, no computer.”
The Suit Case Page 9