Mystery at the Pet Food Corp.

by Eleanor Kittering

  Still, she had to think of her options. She counted on getting a commercial, and now it appeared to be in limbo. Hedon Pet Nutrition, seemed like an operation with deep pockets, and she counted on getting a substantial paycheck out of this deal. But maybe she was being a little too pessimistic.

  Mandy wondered if this murder – no, wait, it hadn't been ruled a murder yet – this death would cause a lot of disruption in the business itself, since the deceased was the CEO of the company. Is a cat commercial important enough to them or do they have bigger fish to fry? They may scrap the whole commercial idea because they believe they're going to have a company re-structuring and other internal issues to deal with, which are far more important than some commercial advertising their products.

  So chances were this may not happen for a while, if at all. Which meant her classy cat commercial was on indefinite hold. All this depressed her. She suddenly remembered she had to call Jill and tell her what happened. She would want to know all the details about the commercial. What actually happened is the last thing she would imagine.

  Mandy picked up the phone and punched in the familiar speed-dial number “Hi there, just calling to let you know how it went.”

  “Well, it couldn't have gone too well; I saw on the news Stacy Parks died unexpectedly.” Mandy couldn't believe it hit the news already.

  “Yeah, but it gets better.” Mandy said sarcastically. “Listen to this: I found the body.”

  “What?”

  Mandy proceeded to tell Jill the story.

  When Mandy finished with an exhausted sigh, Jill offered some hope to Mandy's anxiety about her future. “Well, considering everything, I think we should focus on the website. At least it's something you have control over. And you still have the offer from the other pet food company. I mean, it's not Hedon, but by the same token, it might be a good way to get your feet wet in the whole pet commercial business. Once you have one commercial under your belt, whether it's big or small, it starts opening doors for you. So, I wouldn't worry too much about Hedon.

  “The main thing is to try to get Roger established with his own website, and start writing about him daily, while posting pictures of him. This is what people want to see, daily updates of Roger's life, what he's doing, what he's been up to. By doing this, you may get more interest from additional parties. It's not like Hedon is the end-all-be-all of advertising. Somebody else out there will take an interest in Roger.

  “In my internet travels, I remember there's this one Facebook page about a white cat. People love this white cat because he's very cute, and the owner is constantly posting pictures of the cat. He's got his own doll and everything. It took them a while to build up this following, but you know what? They were people like you and me with a nice cat. I think that could happen to Roger.

  “But we have to act now, because otherwise people lose interest. That's the fickle nature of the internet. Unless you're constantly updating things on a daily basis, people forget and move on.” Jill leaned back in her chair, satisfied she covered all the important points.

  “Thanks Jill, I'm so glad I talked to you, I was beginning to get down in the dumps about wondering what to do next, but you're right. I need to focus on the things I can control, because stuff like who's going to give Roger a commercial is something I can't control. Eventually it may happen; no wait, I know it's going to happen soon, with Hedon or not. Have to keep a positive attitude.” Mandy said kiddingly, but feeling better.

  Mandy hung up and started to think again about pictures of Roger. Meanwhile, Roger slept on the sofa, completely oblivious to Mandy's drama. But that's how it is with cats; they relaxed while their human owners are completely in a twist about something.

  In the middle of her ruminations, Mandy's phone rang.

  “Hi, Mandy?”

  “Yes?”

  “Hi, it's Loretta Gumble. I just heard Stacy Parks passed away unexpectedly. I hope you weren't there when it happened.”

  “Oh, I was there all right, I found the body.”

  “Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. I called because it's so strange how I hadn't thought of Hedon foods for a while, and when I talked with you yesterday, you were about to make a commercial with them, and today Stacy Parks is dead. It's certainly a weird turn of events. Well, listen, I know this not the time to start pitching anything, but I'll mention that when you're ready to make a commercial, I'm still interested in working with Roger, so if nothing comes out of your meeting with Hedon, give me a call. We can talk more about it then.” Loretta proceeded to wind up the conversation.

  “Sure, Loretta, I'm still freaked out by the whole experience. Finding a dead body was not something I needed in my life. And thanks for the open invitation; believe me, I haven't forgotten.”

  “Great, we'll talk later.” Loretta hung up, and Mandy felt a little better after the call. It seemed as if the universe whispered to her not to worry, there would be other opportunities, today was just a freak day. She calmed down and began to think about what to do tonight.

  While reviewing the day's events in her mind, the phone rang again.

  “Hello, is this Mandy Cummings?”

  “Yes, this is she, who is calling?”

  “My name is Gwen Fetlock. I've been an animal activist for many years and my main focus is how pets are portrayed in commercials. Don't think it's all fun and games Mandy; a lot of those animals suffer trauma from being in front of the camera for long hours and there is no union to represent them and give them the relief they need. I understand you were contacted recently by Hedon Pet Nutrition to make a commercial?” A slight lift in her voice at the end of Gwen Fetlock's statement kept the question from being an accusation.

  “Yes, that's right. But what is this all about?” Mandy felt confused.

  “Well, I called to warn you, Mandy. Hedon is not all it makes itself out to be. I heard about the death of Stacy Parks, and well, I don't mind telling you she is one of the worst offenders when it comes to exploiting animals. I don't believe for five minutes her farms are treating their chickens the way they say they do. I think they buy their chicken meat from China and pass it off as if they're doing all this humanitarian work.

  “I've been investigating them for years, and I don't believe for one minute how they portray themselves to the world. I think they are untrustworthy and underhanded and anyone with a pet should stay away from them and really re-consider doing business with them.

  “There have been rumors for years Hedon really makes its money from an international cock fighting gambling ring. Fights between the animals are televised and people place bets on which animal will win. The animals are equipped with razors on their talons, and it's usually a fight to the death.

  “The fights are held in countries where such activities aren't regulated, like Somalia, the Dominican Republic, and parts of Southeast Asia. Because it's worldwide, the gambling revenue is huge. This is the type of company you are contemplating dealing with.” Gwen Fetlock concluded her conversation with just a trace of admonishment in her voice.

  “Do you have any proof of this? I mean, I find it very hard to believe,” Mandy said skeptically.

  “I've been in the animal activism business for many years, and there are things I've discovered over the years you would find very disturbing, Mandy, but I won't bore you with that now. I'm calling to ask you to strongly reconsider doing commercials for Hedon with Roger. All these companies are exploitative of animals, some more than others, and it would be such a terrible shame for an animal as pure and noble as Roger to get involved with these pet food people. They're truly not to be trusted.” Gwen sounded like the prosecution resting its case.

  “Well, okay, thank you very much; I appreciate you calling.”

  “Remember, Mandy, beware.” And she hung up.

  Mandy thought to herself, Well, that was a very disturbing call. The woman sounded out of her mind and she's supposedly an animal activist. All those statements she made about Hedon not being trustworthy, a
nd that the pet commercial business exploits animals. Is that really true? Very disconcerting. Could she believe somebody who called her on the phone out of nowhere? And how did Gwen Fetlock know about the commercial with Hedon? That was one disturbing call, and who is this woman anyway?? Well, if anybody would know anything about this, it would be Jill. Mandy rang her up.

  “Hi Jill.”

  “Hi, Mandy, what's up?”

  “I just got this really disturbing call from a Gwen Fetlock, who calls herself an animal activist. She sounded like a real nut. Have you ever heard of her?” Mandy asked.

  “No, but let's look her up. Yep, there she is. Apparently she's been an animal activist for the last twenty years. She goes after companies that portray animals as cute and asserts animals have a right to be portrayed as they really are. The use of animals as cute playthings sends the message only cute animals deserve success in life, and non-cute animals equate to non-desirable animals. Honestly, she sounds like a nut,” Jill decided.

  “Oh, she definitely came off as one. I found it scary that she knew I went to audition Roger for a commercial with Hedon. How did she know that? Has she been stalking me? Does she have the phones tapped at these companies? She said Hedon is not a trustworthy company, that they don't treat their animals well. She also said the video is a fake and they really buy their chicken from China and put it out on the market as their own.” Mandy started to feel slightly paranoid.

  “Well, I'll have to do some research into Hedon and see what turns up. It's possible they really do all that with their private chicken farm; it could also all be a lie. This woman, Gwen Fetlock, may have it in for all pet food companies. Very strange. Who would think that doing a simple commercial could become so complicated?” Jill thought about where best to start her research.

  “Yeah, I just wanted to do a commercial with Roger. I thought it would be fun and I could make some money to boot. And now I'm getting calls from this Gwen Fetlock woman, who sounds like a complete crazy person to me. I wonder if any of what she said is true, about the pet commercial industry in general.”

  “Listen, as with any industry, it probably has its bad points as well as its good points. I think this woman is out of her mind, and she's making these people out to be monsters because they're using animals in a way she doesn't approve of. At the end of the day, who is she? Somebody who probably loves animals, but somewhere she got turned around and came to believe that every commercial with animals is exploitative. Which is not true. Now she's trying to bring these companies down by coming up with a whole bunch of fabrications about each of them,” Jill suggested.

  “Actually, she would make great friends with the secretary at Hedon. That woman kept accusing me of killing Stacy Parks when I went there, just because I held the vase in my hand.” Mandy shuddered at the memory.

  “Yeah, she sounds like a bundle of joy.” Jill commiserated sarcastically.

  “Believe me, she wasn't.”

  “I imagine Gwen Fetlock has a similar personality - always looking for trouble in the guise of championing animals because she has no life of her own. I think she's also diverting attention away from other things in her life that are bothering her.” Jill speculated on Fetlock's mental health.

  “That sounds very likely. Anyway, I wanted to call you because I was sure you could get some info on Gwen Fetlock and it would tell me if I was going crazy or if the whole rest of the world is crazy.”

  “Mandy, the whole world has been crazy for quite some time now. You're just now meeting some of the nuts.” Jill laughed.

  Mandy laughed too, both needing some comic relief from all this.

  “I'll let you know how the website is going,” Jill said.

  “Okay, thanks.” And they hung up.

  As Mandy sat around wondering what to do for dinner, the phone rang once again. Now she felt paranoid about answering. What if this is Gwen Fetlock again? But she looked at the caller ID and heaved a sigh of relief. It was Fred Stone calling her.

  “Hi, Fred,” she said hesitantly, wondering why he called.

  “Hi, Mandy, I'm calling you to let you know the doctor has confirmed the cause of Stacy Parks' death was a heart attack. The result of natural causes, so you and everybody else who could have been connected with this is technically off the hook. We don't have to have any suspects anymore because the status of the case has changed.”

  “Well, it's a great relief to know I'm no longer public enemy number 317,” she said, only half-jokingly.

  “No, Mandy, you know I never thought you did it. But it's something we have to do in these situations. It's just part of police protocol. Everybody is a suspect until we have more info.”

  “I guess I should be glad I'm no longer a suspect.”

  “Just a technicality in the due process of the law.”

  “Okay, Fred, well thanks for the heads-up.”

  “No problem, Mandy, I'm sure I'll see you sometime soon.”

  “Yep, we usually do run into each other.”

  Mandy always ran into somebody from her circle of friends as she went around town on her errands with Roger. When she went to the mall, she would park by the municipal building, and sometimes she'd run into Jimmy or Fred or other members of the police force she knew. Considering she knew them from way back in high school, running into them now and then was no surprise.

  Her mind started wandering back to Stacy Parks, asking herself why did she die at all right now? Mandy told herself to stop thinking about that again, start thinking about the website with Roger, and perhaps doing the commercial with Loretta Gumble. Hey, that would be an easy gig.

  The woman wants to shoot a commercial with Roger. Mandy didn't even know what products they sold, but she seemed down to earth and likeable. Well, she'll give it a couple of days and if she didn't hear from Hedon, she'd go with Loretta to start her journey.

  Mandy started to think about how life would be a lot easier if she just had a regular job. That meant she would get up in the morning, go to work and come back at the end of the day. She would be paid at the end of the week and she got to work another week. Millions of people did this every day and they worked at all sorts of professions. Why couldn't she be one of those people?

  She almost got the job the last place she worked as a temp; instead she discovered her boss, the owner of the company, was a murderer. That ended that job possibility for her and also ended employment for everyone already working at the company, an art gallery.

  Since then, she also considered the prospect of doing horoscopes for the local papers. In addition to that, she explored if some online publication might hire her to do an astrology column.

  Yes, Mandy had some prospects, but she needed something concrete. That's what scared her; that since Daniel, her husband, died, she didn't have anything certain as far as employment was concerned. And the years kept going by and she wasn't getting any younger.

  She felt as if she had all the rest of her life ahead and not enough money to cover the remainder of her life, kind of like covering herself with a too-short blanket, one that only went up to her waist, leaving the rest of her exposed. And she didn't like the feeling.

  Another call snapped her out of her funk; this time by Jill, with an inviting prospect. “Hey, why don't we go to Joanie's and get a bite. I'm hungry and I could tell you what I've dug up about Gwen Fetlock and Hedon.”

  “Sounds like a great idea. I was driving myself nuts here wondering about my future. And my phone kept ringing off the hook. I got a call from Fred and they don't consider me a suspect anymore. Apparently, the doctor has confirmed Stacy Parks died of natural causes.”

  “Well, now if you decide to travel, you can do it and not be considered a fugitive. Just like the movie.”

  “Trust me, I don't have the money to go anywhere right now. But of course, now more than ever, I need a vacation from my life.” Mandy sighed.

  “Okay, then, let's go to Joanie's and I'll tell you what I found.”

  “S
ounds good to me.”

  Chapter Four

  Mandy hung up the phone and started to get ready to meet Jill at Joanie's. She gathered up anything she thought she might need along with the leash, ready to take Roger with her. They left the house, got in her car and although it didn't take them long to get to Joanie's, Jill had arrived before her and already claimed a booth for both of them. Mandy greeted Jill.

  “Hi, there, I guess you didn't hit any traffic.”

  “No, the roads were pretty clear making it easy getting here,” Jill agreed. “And there's that beautiful big boy, hello, Roger.” Jill rubbed him under his ears and Roger let himself be petted, he liked this treatment.

  Mandy put down her bag, took off her sweater, and sat down to look at the menu.

  “So tell me, did you find anything significant on Hedon, or are we talking about the same old, same old?” She quizzed Jill.

  “Well, there were conflicting accounts. Some people were saying how great Hedon is because of the way they treat their chickens and listing all their ingredients. The things you would think a pet food company should do to sell its products. However, another group that found it awfully suspicious these chicken farms were supposedly out of town and nobody could visit. Hedon claimed visitors would disrupt the chickens and they didn't want that. So, there is some slight controversy about the truth of their advertising. But it's nothing too crazy.

  “I did a search for the cock fighting you mentioned, and although there are groups that do engage in the activity, I wasn't able to trace anything linking Hedon to it. For all we know, the claim was fabricated by this Gwen Fetlock woman, and it's yet another thing she's saying to dissuade people from using animals in commercials.”

  In the middle of this discussion, Joanie came by to say hello and to pet Roger. “I see you brought my favorite cat. How's my beautiful boy??”

  Roger looked up and slowly blinked as Joanie petted him. She took their order and went back to work.