The Attaché Case

by DeMaio, Harry;

  “One thing before we break up,” said the Bear. I would like to go to the Embassy this afternoon with my team and you, Major. Is there a ground vehicle in which we can all fit, especially me?”

  “We have a large utility van that should do the trick, Dr. Bear. It has conventional seats up front but removable storage and luggage compartments in the rear. You may have to sit on the floor, however.”

  Octavius laughed. (Or was that a sonic boom?) “I often do, Major, I often do! Let’s head for the house. I understand that four staff members besides Idi stayed over on the night of his death. We’d like to interview them down at the Embassy.”

  The Dog replied, “I’ll round them up. Meanwhile, before you go to lunch, perhaps you’d like to view the body, if it won’t upset your digestion. The Ambassador is eager to ship it back to Gotu. Doctor Mopsi, who performed the post mortem is here. I’ll get him to join us.”

  “Fine!” Turning to us, he asked, “Is that OK with you three?”

  Three nods of agreement. We never know what insights Octavius will bring to a situation.

  We headed down to the storage locker. Idi’s body was a bit worse for wear but essentially the same as we had left him. We pointed out the wounds, and the obvious bone breakage in his neck and right antler.

  “Could he have been killed elsewhere and then thrown down the stairs to mislead us?”

  I piped up, “That’s what the Frau thinks. Don’t you. Ilse?”

  The Frau was diffident. “A mere theory, Herr Bear. Oh, I located the fragment of his antler. The ‘clean up’ maid had dropped it in the trash bin. So much for preserving evidence. I haven’t had a chance to analyze it yet.”

  Doctor Mopsi intervened. “I am of the opinion that he was still alive when his neck broke. However, that doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have sustained the injuries in a different venue. I hadn’t considered that possibility till now.”

  “Do you think we can persuade the Ambassador to hold off on having him embalmed for one more day? I’d like to examine the body more closely.”

  The Security Chief said, “Actually, since we haven’t been able to contact a family or any next of kin, I was going to suggest cremation. It is not very popular in Africa. In fact, it is even taboo in some countries (Not Gotu!) but with land becoming increasingly scarce, cemeteries are being looked at with more critical eyes. It might even be easier if the cremation was performed here. I haven’t spoken to the Ambassador about it yet but I plan to. He will probably not be happy. He is afraid of an international incident and feels the more people and organizations get involved, the greater the chance of a leak. However, if it can be a quiet cremation, he may change his tune. We should all three talk with him.”His smart phone pinged. “We are being summoned to lunch.”

  Chapter Eight

  While she played with her brother at Tag,

  Arabella discovered some swag.

  On a shelf that fell down,

  Almost cracking her crown,

  They found twenty big stones in a bag.

  The dining room was laid out with one very large circular table and another smaller one on the side for the cubs and their governess. Given the size of several of the participants, the layout was a bit eccentric but effective. The Ambassador had joined the group and took up a lot of room on one side. Octavius balanced him on the other. Belinda sat next to the Bear and the rest of us were distributed rather evenly around the perimeter. Ever the runt in any group, I squeezed my two-foot frame between the Bearoness and the Frau. Sort of an accidental boy-girl, boy-girl arrangement. Joseph stood to the side and oversaw the progress of the meal. The conversation was being dominated by the stentorian voices of the Kodiak and the Rhinoceros, broken occasionally by the loud squeaks and laughs of the cubs.

  I leaned over to the Bearoness and said, “I’ve been here close to two days and I still don’t know the Ambassador’s name. None of us do. Has Octavius shared that bit of information with you?”

  “Only in the last few minutes. It’s René Rhino Reynaud. He’s French African. That’s all I know for the moment, but give me a little time and I will see what else I can unearth.”

  She turned to the Ambassador who was busily ingesting a large tureen of soup. “Your Excellency, forgive me for asking but is your mate available? I would so like to meet her.”

  “I am afraid, dear lady, that would be impossible. Alas, I am a widower. My consort passed away several years ago and I have chosen to remain unwed. When I require someone to play the role of Embassy Hostess, I call upon our Cultural Attaché, Madame Leonie, an African Lioness who has been with the Embassy for a number of years. Doctor Bear, I believe you will be speaking to her later in the day. She was one of the officials who stayed over after our staff meeting the night Attaché Idi had his unfortunate accident. You will also meet our Consul, Boswell Boar; the Deputy Chief of Mission, Charles Gibbon; and our Press Attaché, Oliver Ostrich. I am sure they will be forthcoming about that evening. Now, if you will excuse me, I am late for a teleconference. Please stop by when you return from Embassy Row.”

  As we rose from our seats, the cubs came running over to the Bearoness, “Momma, Momma, come and see what we found in our room. We were playing Hide and Go Seek and Arabella hid in the closet. As she jumped out at me, a shelf fell down and almost hit her. There was a little bag with stones in it. Do you think they’re diamonds?”Octavius heard all of this and said, “Show me, little ones, where is the bag now?”

  “It’s under our bed, Poppa! We didn’t want anyone to take it. Can we keep them?” Arabella grabbed Octavius and Belinda by the paws and started to lead them out of the room. The Bear signaled for me and the Wolves to come along. Mlle Woof caught up with McTavish and the parade left the dining room. Wonder of wonders! The cubs had also found the elevator I’d been searching for. Octavius squeezed into the car which was large enough to accommodate a Rhinoceros. Arabella wriggled her way in as well.

  Belinda turned to McTavish. “Tavi, where is your room?”

  “Top floor, Momma, way over in a corner. Isn’t that right Mlle Woof?”

  “He is correct, Bearoness. I think our party has taken up most of the available rooms here in the Residence. This one is a bit out of the way. It doesn’t seem to be used that often.”

  “I’ll wait here for the elevator to return. The rest of you should probably walk.”

  At that moment, Major Butho joined us. “The van is ready for our trip to Embassy Row.”

  I replied, “Come along, Major, we may have uncovered something very interesting. A bag of stones. Maybe diamonds.”

  Raised eyebrows such as a Rhodesian Ridgeback may have. “Where? Who found it?”

  “The cubs, believe it or not. They’re staying with their governess in one of the out of the way rooms on the top floor. They found it while playing in a closet.”

  He shook his head and started to climb the main staircase. The Wolves and I joined him. Belinda moved toward the elevator.

  When we had all reassembled at the cubs’ room, Arabella crawled under the bed and then backed out holding a black leather bag. “Here, Poppa. There are twenty stones in there. We counted them. Can we have them?”

  Octavius took the bag in his massive paws and poured the contents out on the bedspread. “Diamonds? Fakes? Some other kind of stone? Opinions? It seems rather cavalier to leave a bag of real gems like this up on a shelf.”

  “An unused shelf high in an unused closet in an unused bedroom, „said I. “Temporary storage, no doubt. Possibly made necessary by someone’s arrival.”

  “Octavius grunted, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We’re not even sure what these stones are. Any thoughts on how to check them out? Major, any trustworthy jewelers here in Washington we can turn to?”

  Before the Dog could answer, I blurted, “We’re on very familiar terms with someon
e who thoroughly knows her way around the jewelry world. I doubt there’s a diamond merchant on earth that she hasn’t dealt with.”

  The Frau laughed, “Of course! Chita!”

  Octavius frowned, “Chita! I thought I’d seen the last of that feline reprobate but you’re probably right. OK, let’s take these stones with us. Sorry, little ones. We’re going to need them. Major, why don’t we set off for the Embassy. Maury, see if you can get that felonious Cat on the phone.”

  As we descended to the entrance hall and out the doors to the parking lot, the Major looked at me and asked, “Who is this Chita?”

  Let me enlighten him and you, dear reader, at the same time. Chita is a beautiful, fascinating, clever, well-to-do, capable, sexy, immoral and highly independent feline who, at the moment, is the publisher and editor in chief of PURR and SOW magazines for the sophisticated female reader. As you no doubt suspected, she is a Cheetah and she is currently living in London. She is quite wealthy with domiciles in several major cities, oil wells in the North Sea and several investments with the Bearoness. Early in our relationships, she was a cohort of a mad criminal, Imperius Drake, whom we battled in several adventures. They had a serious falling out. (He tried to kill her. Eventually, she killed him.) Over time, she has crossed our paths in a wide variety of cases and situations. Her name still appears on the police “Wanted” list in many countries. Despite her checkered past, we are all quite fond of her, except Octavius. He is convinced she is an international menace but, even so, he has tolerated and, I believe, even admired her. Go figure!

  Chapter Nine

  Spotted Cheetah’s amazingly swift.

  It’s a truly remarkable gift.

  From zero to fifty

  In no time. How nifty!

  And just think! Not one gear must she shift!

  We reached the oversized van. Octavius squeezed into the back and the Frau, Colonel and I took up seats in the front with the Major at the wheel. Time to call England and the one-and-only Chita.

  A few back and forth, to and fro connections and reconnections. Finally, the Cat and I were on line. “Hi Chita, Maury here! Long time, no talk! I need some advice and a reference or two. How goes the publishing business?”

  “Hey, Short Stuff, good to hear from you. The magazines are going Gangbusters and we’re all over social media. How’s that insufferable boss of yours? How’s Belinda? I keep waiting for her to fly down to London from Scotland. After all, we are partners in a couple of ventures. I assume Polar Paradise and our genetic lab are doing well. Are the cubs driving everybody crazy?”

  “Can you switch to Skype so we can see each other?”

  “Nothing easier! Hold on. There!”

  A beautiful spotted face came up on my screen, complete with her ever-present diamond collar.

  “Hiya, Madame Catt! Octavius is Octavius! He and Belinda and the cubs are here in Washington with the Colonel, Frau and me on a very hush-hush inquiry into a rather bizarre death. Can’t tell you more than that. However, as part of our investigation, we have come upon a bag full of stones that look to our untutored eyes like rough, large diamonds. If anybody knows anything about diamonds, it’s you. I see you have your trademark neckwear on display. Can you give us the name or names of a diamond specialist in or around the DC area that we can trust and who has the expertise to let us know what we have?”

  “Well, DC doesn’t stand for Diamond Capital of the universe but give me a minute and I’ll do a couple of quickie lookups. Meanwhile, how are the cubs doing? I assume they are growing fast and driving Belinda, Octavius and that French governess of theirs up the wall.”

  “Believe it or not, it was the cubs who found the gems. They’re all set to tour Washing-Tub, as they call it, this afternoon.”

  “I’ll check the evening news for incidents. OK, here we go! There’s a Civet in Alexandria whom I have dealt with. A real expert. High priced but worth it. He will recognize my name. He can be trusted to be very discreet. Name is Alex. Alex of Alexandria. He knows me as Madame Catherine Catt. Copy down this phone number and e-mail address. A second, equally expert but not as trustworthy individual is an African Impala, Faluj. He might be involved in smuggling blood diamonds.”

  (“Blood diamond” is a term used for a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army’s war efforts, or a warlord’s activity. - Wikipedia)

  “I haven’t dealt with him directly but he does have a large clientele. I only have a web address. Here it is.”

  “That’s great, Chita. You’ve been more help than you know. I’ll get on Belinda to give you a shout and bring the cubs down to see you. Are you still in a rock group?”

  “Only occasionally. Jake is still in town and we howl every now and then. See ya, Short Stuff.”

  I looked at the team, “We may have a lead here. Another Impala.”

  The Colonel and Frau both nodded. I’m not sure the Major heard me and I’m certain Octavius had not. He had fallen asleep in the back of the van. Narcolepsy scores again!

  Washington traffic was its usual ugly self as we maneuvered our way toward the Embassy. Crawling along at the pace of an arthritic snail, I had some time to look up both Alex and Faluj. Alex had an elaborate website with dazzling illustrations and dazzling prices. Faluj, on the other paw, simply listed his contact points and address - downtown DC. He didn’t even mention his services or wares. “Referrals only.” Hmmm!

  We finally made it to the Embassy and parked behind the building in an open slot reserved for Residence vehicles. I skittered to the back of the van and woke Octavius. “Showtime!”

  I opened the rear door and jumped out of the way as he struggled to his feet. The Major came around and guided us through a large utility door, up a flight of stairs and into a reception area. He nodded to the Red Fox seated at the desk and proceeded to introduce us all. “We have appointments with the Consul, Cultural Attaché, Press Attaché and the Deputy Chief of Mission.”

  “The Consul is available at the moment. I’ll buzz Mr. Boar for you.”

  A medium sized Boar, well dressed with gleaming white tusks, emerged, shook paws and hooves all around and invited us into his office. Promotional photos of Gotu lined the walls along with images of passports and visas. He sat down behind a large mahogany computer desk. Another desk, no doubt for applicants, and a wall full of closets and file drawers took up the rest of the space. The Colonel, Frau and Major took seats at the applicants’ desk. I sat on a desk-high cabinet. Octavius stood - erect or barely so. He was squeezed between two chairs, neither of which would have accommodated his nine-foot frame.

  The Boar smiled, showing more teeth to complement his tusks. He reminded me of the late and not too terribly lamented Boar who was the Steward at the Bearoness’ castle before it reverted to its theme park/resort status as Polar Paradise.

  “How can I be of service, Major?”

  “I’ll leave that to Doctor Bear.”

  Octavius smiled, baring his large, scary teeth. It looked like we were going to have a dental beauty pageant. All we needed was a couple of smiles from the wolves to make it official. I don’t count.

  “As you probably know, Mr. Boar, we are investigating at the Ambassador’s request, the death of the Commercial Attaché. It seems you were at the Residence the night of his demise. The Doctor estimates he died between ten PM and one AM. What can you tell us about him and that period? First, why did you stay over after dinner?”

  “Not by choice. My car was in the shop and the Embassy shuttle was full of staff members leaving the Residence. I live a good distance from this office so I decided I would stay over at the Residence and take the shuttle here in the morning. Then I could pick up my car during the afternoon.”

  “Did you see or hear anything during that period that could help us determine the cause of Attaché Idi’s death?” />
  “He fell on the rear staircase, didn’t he? The room I had was in the front and to be honest, I had drunk a little too much during and after dinner since I wasn’t going to be driving. I was out of it and sprawled on my bed from nine o’clock on. Sorry, but I only found out about his death after I returned next day to the Embassy. Not much help, I’m afraid.”

  “Did you know the Attaché very well?”

  “Hardly at all. We only worked together when he wanted to bring someone into the country for a tour or negotiations. Then it was mostly e-mail, visas and other documents.”

  “Was he involved in any unusual transactions recently?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary that I know of.”

  I asked, “Mr. Boar, who manages the diplomatic pouch?”

  “I do. It’s actually not part of my consular duties but many of the documents involve passports or visas so I guess I’m stuck with it.”

  “Anything unusual about the pouch recently?”

  “Not really. Some of the staff are still treating it as their personal courier service. Probably time for another memo from the Ambassador.”

  “Any idea why Idi was using the back staircase?”

  “Well, it is a shortcut from the upper floor to the parking lot.

  Octavius looked at us. “Any other questions or comments? No? Well, thank you, Mr. Boar. We might be back to you but for the moment, we’re finished. Let’s return to the receptionist.”

  The Red Fox smiled, “Mr. Gibbon is now available, Major.”

  “Thank you. Will you ask him to meet with us?”

  The Deputy Chief of Mission (second in command) was named Gibbon but was in fact, a Bonobo. He was casually dressed and his messy office reflected his relaxed manner. After a round of introductions and welcomes, he laughed and said, “Before we begin, let me explain my name. Everyone asks about it. I am a Bonobo but I was adopted as a child by a family of Gibbons in Asia. I didn’t realize I was different until they all moved to Gotu to escape persecution. That’s when I met other Bonobos but it was too late to change my name. I’ve lived on and off with both groups. My experiences bridging species prepared me for diplomacy and of course, here I am in the Embassy. But enough about me. I gather you are investigating the untimely death of our Commercial Attaché.”