Braxton Snow P.I. (The Snow Adventures Book 1) Read online

  “There's no hurry, it'll keep until morning.”

  “For another note, I'll swing by the post office for you.”

  If it were any other rickshaw owner, I'd have said no, but Tanner had long ago earned my trust. “Why not? It'll save me the trip. Thanks, Tanner.”

  He smiled and stamped the note on my card, and then gave it over. Besides the obvious advantage in a rickshaw ride, if you got the right owner, like Tanner, he or she would douse you in the latest news, being they wandered through out Furlton City every day. This Tanner gladly supplied me with news as we traveled to Millie Ann's Moonlight Café.

  After I disembarked his comfortable rickshaw, I shook his paw and bid him a good night. Tanner reciprocated and set hooves to street in search of other customers.

  I looked up at Millie's sign. The place had started out as a small café, but over the years the diner had grown into a nighttime hot spot for the nocturnal animals who sought out a reasonable meal at a fair price before heading home like I was.

  Standing in front of the doors in, I breathed deeply the enticing odors of pan-seared or BBQ meats, from un-evolved pheasants, rabbits and squirrels to ocean fish like red snapper, grouper and cod, and then followed my black nose inside to take up an available counter seat.

  “How's it going, honey?” Joann stepped up in her blue waitress apron with pad and pencil ready to take my order.

  “Only so-so,” I remarked, and took note she'd dyed her hair light blue sometime after I left for work this morning.

  Joann was an old paw at this. Fresh out of high school, having no bank notes for a college education, she hopped from job to job for twelve years until she landed this gig three years ago. Not exactly a lifestyle for a white-tail jackrabbit; Millie's serves several kinds of meat, including a distant ancestor of her kind, though separated by thousands of years. Maybe she didn't see them as part of the leporidae family, as they took a different path and never developed in stature and intelligence. Regardless of her reasons, I hadn't ordered rabbit since getting involved with her, even though I'd never seen her get squeamish to serve up rabbit or any other kind of meat to carnivore customers.

  “So what's the occasion?”

  “Hmm?”

  I gestured toward her head. “Your hair.”

  She looked up and patted her short cropped hair, understanding, and smiled crookedly. “No occasion. The store was out of pink dye, so I decided to wash it out and try another color.”

  I tiled my head and motioned her to turn hers left and right for a better overall view.

  “I like it better,” I said truthfully. “The pink always seemed a bit loud and the yellow you wore before you dyed it purple didn't seem to suit you either.”

  After a moment Joann frowned and planted her paw on her hip. “You could have told me you didn't like the yellow color when I changed it to purple.”

  “How was I to know it wasn't Millie who requested that you dye your hair? Every time I come in, the other waitress's hair is always the same color as yours.”

  Joann looked across the room at a young Sand Cat, whose name coincidently was Sandy. Joann's facile expression turned to distain.

  “Oh her…she's still trying to find herself. She's got no imagination, so when I dye my hair she does the same the next day.” Joann eyed me. “I guess if I'd dyed my whole body pink you wouldn't have said anything either.”

  “In point of fact, I would have. Your natural coloring is far more fetching, in my eyes.”

  Joann's eyes held irritation. “My coloring is commonplace and you know that.”

  “That's true.” I smiled. “But you wear it so well.”

  She rolled her gray eyes, still miffed. “Fine, whatever you say.” Noting a customer along her counter needed help, she quit our familiar banter. “So what'll it be tonight?”

  “Hmm, oh, uh, how's the cod today?”

  Joann looked over her shoulder at the daily posted board. Her long, brown, black-tipped ears were pinned down her back to keep from being hit by the ceiling fans above our heads that kept the air circulating.

  “Latest catch was brought in nine hours ago. So it's already cleaned and ready to drop in the fryer.”

  “That'll do.” I smiled.

  Joann nodded and turned to the order window, already distancing herself from our banter to better serve her customers. This afforded me a nice view of her furry bare back, strong legs and short white and brown fluffy tail. The owner, Millie, had all her waitresses wear simple halter tops and tight-fitting shorts, a simple tactic used by a lot of places to draw in the male working class. Joann returned, set a tall glass of milk before me, and walked away. Although I hadn't ordered milk, it was what I normally ask for.

  With the cod and milk finished and Joann too busy with the homeward-bound evening shift, I exited Millie's and strolled the three blocks to my apartment complex. The building stretched four blocks wide and three blocks deep. Yes, I did say my complex, or better said, at some point it might be mine, as ownership had been in limbo for six years. The deceased, a Mr. W. M. Levy, passed away presumably without any living relatives, or so he thought. I, having befriended him some years before his natural death, was given sole inheritance of the complex in his will. However, once the news of his death hit the papers, five well-off felines and their spouses hit the courts with legal documents showing them to be distant relatives, and therefore entitled to the property by blood relation over someone like myself, who wasn't even of the same species. Since that time, since I had no funding to hire a lawyer, the courts provided me with one who had made certain all profits from the apartment building’s monthly rent were paid to him first to cover his exorbitant fees and lastly to counter-sue on my behalf while the courts sorted through the seemingly endless deluge of legal documents and liens concerning the property.

  As for myself, I don't really care. I'm not the managerial type. If Mr. Levy's relatives had only talked to me before going this route, I would've signed over the place so long as I got a free room for life. However, they didn't, so I'd instructed my lawyer to keep the title in limbo until purgatory swallowed us whole or Mr. Levy's relatives ran out of bank notes.

  I took the stairs to my third floor studio den. After dropping keys on a walnut table by the door, I locked the door and stripped off my clothes to dump them in the hamper on the way to take a hot shower. Bachelorhood had many advantages. No one was up waiting to unload her day on me, and I need not worry as to when I came home. A female-friend, however, was another matter. She did put restraints on my time, but not being married, I could always say no. After a good grooming in the bathroom to make certain no fleas or ticks had made me their home, I checked the hour, set my alarm for seven in the morning by habit, not out of need, and lay down on the floor mattress.

  Sometime in the night, a soft pair of paws uncovered my shoulder and Joanne awoke me with gentle kisses on my shoulder and cheeks.

  “Mmm…”

  The kisses moved to my muzzle and I reciprocated, turning to lie on my back.

  “Mmm…so how was your day?” I asked.

  “Tiring,” Joann whispered in my ear, her whiskers tickling my skin slightly. “I could really use a strong set of paws to massage my back muscles.”

  I shifted onto my forearms, waking further with a wide yawn that displayed my sharp canine teeth, without thought as to how they may look to an herbivore. “You know, I sometimes think you only stay with me because of free rent and my strong paws.”

  “Not so,” Joann whispered with a smile.

  I could see by the light of a street lamp she was sitting on her haunches, looking down at me. Her long brown ears, no longer pinned behind her back, rose high over her head. She took up her halter top and pulled it over her head, allowing my eyes to freely roam over her soft, fur-covered bare breasts. She shook out her blue hair and turned herself around to present me with her back. After a shift, she looked over her shoulder.

  “Please, honey, your paws do a lot more than a h
ot shower could ever do.”

  I yawned again. A glance at the wall clock, illuminated by the street lamp, told me the time. “It's two in the frigging morning?” I complained, laid-back ears telling Joann I was annoyed.

  “Please…” She squeezed my leg through the blanket.

  How am I supposed to say no to those beautiful gray eyes? I rolled my own, sat up on my legs and did her bidding, kneading the soft brown fur around her shoulder blades.

  “Mmm, yes, that's it.” She pushed her back into my paws. “Harder...yes, right there. Aww…” She put her paws on her thighs and pushed harder as I continued.

  Now that I was awake, I leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “As I have solved your problem, what are you going to do for me?”

  She turned her head enough that her whiskers played with my muzzle and gave me a coy smile, exposing her upper four and lower four sharp incisors. “I'm going to take a hot shower, as I smell like a slaughterhouse.” She playfully fingered my black nose and stood.

  I slumped as she headed for the bathroom. “Now you're plan being mean. You get me all fired up by the feel of your soft, warm skin and leave me hanging.”

  There was silence in the bathroom for a moment then she leaned out holding the door jamb with one paw and tossed me her shorts with the other. “I did nothing of the sort. I told you what I was going to do. I never said you couldn't join me.”

  ****

  The alarm clock went off hours too soon, at least I held out hope it did. Disentangling myself from the warmth of Joann's body, I hit the snooze button and briefly lay on my back. Joann's breathing changed. She rolled into my side and snuggled up. I eyed her arm that slid across my chest then had to shift my head, as her long ears covered my face when she laid her head on my bicep. The alarm went off a second time, this time getting a reaction from her.

  “Turn that blasted noise off,” she ordered in muffled words.

  “I was about to,” I remarked and did just that.

  “Humph,” she snorted. “Why you, of all animals, would have such an inconvenient thing in the first place is beyond me.”

  “It's call a job.” I smiled down on her and lightly pushed her hair out of her eyes.

  “You call what you do work?” I heard her say through a deep yawn.

  I used a finger to lightly play with her whiskers. “Unlike some animals who have male-friends to mooch off of, I have to work to make a living.”

  Joann wrinkled her nose and batted my paw away. She rose up and kissed my nose. “We'll talk about your inadequacies later.”

  She playfully rubbed her nose on mine with a smile before she looked me in the eyes with her own sleepy ones. “If you're going to leave me all alone in your bed, do so, so I can get some sleep.”

  Before I could contrive a rebuttal, she lay down and rolled away, pulling the covers off me. The cool morning air within my apartment rolled over my fur, sending a chill up my spine. “Joann?”

  She giggled, planted her pads on my outer thigh. “Get moving, buster, before I kick you out of bed.”

  A threat like that coming from any other class of animal would normally leave me shrugging it off, but coming from Joann, whose leg muscles were strong enough to lunch a bear across the room, I took the threat in earnest and rolled until I gained my pads. Once erect, I gave Joann a half glare as she shifted for better comfort. A yawn took over my face and I stretched, reaching for the ceiling. I smacked my lips and stretched out each leg as I stepped into the bathroom. After a quick shower to wash off the scent of last night's sex, I flossed my teeth and brushed out my fur. Once I was out of the bathroom, Joann sat up, the covers pulled up to her chin and her large gray eyes watching my every move.

  “My sister wants to show off her new male-toy, I mean”—she giggled—“friend, this afternoon. Are you working a case or can you make an appearance?”

  “I'm uncertain.” Which was true.

  During the few hours of sleep I was allowed, my mind crawled over Catharine Nelson's request for help. Despite her brother's interference, I considered that Lieutenant Barkly did not recommend animals to seek out private investigators if he believed the case a hoax, and he certainly did not recommend me. This in itself demanded I have at least a cursory look, if nothing else. I opened my closet and took note Joann had shoved all my clothes to one side to make room for more of her stuff.

  “I hope you don't mind, Menagerie clothing store had a fifty percent off sale, as summer's just around the corner. I couldn't pass it up.”

  I shot her a look that said, “as if I have a choice” and searched out my dress shirt and pants combo. “When was this?”

  “Yesterday, while you were at work, or so you say.” She pulled up her knees, placed elbows on knees and chin on paws, and then dropped her ears to give me her best innocent look.

  I eyed her for that last jab. “Did you get me anything?”

  “As a matter of fact, I did.” Her ears rose as a mischievous smile worked its way out on her lips. “It's in the long box leaning on the wall on your side.”

  I eyed her and playfully said, “My side?” I gestured to the closet. “The whole closet is my side.”

  Joann wiggled her nose. “Fine then.” She lowered the blanket to allow me to see her mouthwatering breasts. “If you want to have it all to yourself, I can leave.”

  I raised my paws in surrender. “Okay, okay, you have a side. But could I have a little more room than a single paw's width?”

  Joann's eyes twinkled, her ears high in the air telling me she was enjoying our banter. “What need do you have for so much room? You only wear one kind of outfit.” She pressed her paw to her breasts. “Whereas I must have several different clothes to make you look good when we take a stroll in the parks.”

  I bent and picked up the thirty-by-sixteen-by-five centimeter box, {12”x6”x2”}, knowing we could play this game for hours, yet I didn't have the time. I pulled the string off and unveiled a white tie with a black silhouette of a very shapely, long-legged rabbit bowing slightly, blowing a kiss. I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?”

  “I think it's becoming. Try it on.” She dropped her paw in her lap to join the other.

  Joann's playfulness could, if I allowed it, end up with me back in bed with her. But I'd have to take another shower afterward, which would push back checking up on Ms. Nelson's story until tomorrow. That fact alone made me toss the tie up on the shelf, as I don't like unanswered questions. “Mayhap later. Today I need to look more dignified.”

  “Hummph, see if I buy you anything ever again.” She playfully pouted, lowering her ears and head.

  “As our testes seem to be different, that might be a good thing.”

  “Oh you…” Joann threw her pillow at me.

  I ducked, then donned my cotton black slacks and slid on a white cotton short-sleeved dress shirt with black tie and vest. Lastly, I pulled out my best white flat cap and used the mirror on the closet door to check out the impression I was presenting.

  Joann stood. She tied the blanket around her to cover up her lovely body from the slight cool air, and put her paws on my shoulders. “You look beautiful, honey, so what's the occasion that can't keep for a few hours?”

  “A case I may pick up.” I turned to give her a firm hug and kiss, ever so glad she understood me. “It may not work out, so where do I find you, if I can meet up, to see this friend of your sister's?”

  “In Green Squirrel Park, at the north entrance.” Joann playfully pulled down my cap and swatted my rump before heading to the bathroom.

  Joann tossed our blanket away so I could eye her lovely figure, which included a shapely butt, white and brown tail, and strong legs. She swished her hips in a deliberate display to emphasize the pleasures she'd be willing to grant me if I were to stay. I licked my lips to such an alluring display of her femininity but forcefully turned my head away, reset my flat cap, raised my tail high, and then locked the door on my way out.

  ****

  It was eight thir
ty by the time I hit the street. I glanced up at the bright and cloudless day. Enjoying an easterly breeze that would keep the air clean, I headed to my office on foot, stopping off at a rickshaw outlet to turn in my used prepaid card and pay for a new one. Once inside my office, I unlocked the bottom drawer to my desk and opened a locked box. From inside, I pulled out my tranquilizer dart gun and took time to inspect the empty chamber before I ran a cleaning rag through it. Then I laid the gun on the desk. Next out was the revolver cartridge cylinder. After I ran an oil rag through each cylinder, I pulled out the spare and did likewise. With the gun checked, oiled and ready, I had a look at the tranquilizer dart box top to confirm the darts were still good, and found their expiration date to be another two months away. I extracted one for each open chamber and reconnected the cylinder to the pistol then gave it a spin, listening to the free rolling cylinder until I stopped it. Next out were the CO2 cartages. After a check of their expiration date, I opened the palm grip of the pistol and inserted one. Closing the palm grip, I made certain the safety for engaging the CO2 was on. Last out was my shoulder holster. I stood and took off my vest to slip the holster on. A check of my license to carry the weapon showed it was good for three more weeks before I'd need to renew. A slight shift of irritation rolled along my lip as that meant three hundred notes plus prequalifying at a target range at my expense.

  The extra loaded cylinder slid into its holder, as did two extra CO2 cartages, and then finally the pistol. With all in place, I donned my vest. Why the hardware, you ask? Because I learned long ago that when on the job, it's better to be prepared than empty-pawed.

  As this was a fact-finding excursion, I also took out my lock picking tools and slipped them in a hidden pocket in my vest. After which I dropped the leftover supplies back in the desk and lastly slipped a notepad and pencil into my pocket before I locked up.