Lower Case

Harry DeMaio

Description

The Case of Scotch - Volume Three of the Casebooks of Octavius Bear, concluded with a triumphant singing debut at the Edinbeargh Opera by Octavius' and Bearoness Belinda's proteges Bearnice Blanc, a polaratura soprano and her baritone singing partner, Leperello, a highly talented Himalayan Snow Leopard. In this volume - The Lower Case - they arrive at Winnipeg, Manitoba to begin a North American tour. With them is Maury Meerkat, our narrator, Octavius Bear's sidekick and talent agent for the singers as well as Bearnice's twin sister Bearyl, a budding actress. Unfortunately, they are also accompanied by Honoria Heifer, a preposterously bad voice coach, mistakenly hired by Bearoness Belinda to aid the singers on their musical journey.No sooner have they arrived than the cow appears on a TV chat show and essentially says that the singers are light on talent and skill and that she, Honoria, has been totally responsible for their current rise in esteem and popularity.Bearnice and Lepi are enraged and storm out of the hotel lounge where they were watching the show, in pursuit of Honoria.Next morning, Honoria is found dead outside the TV station with her neck broken and several gashes in her hide. The singers are the number one suspects.Enter Octavius, Frau Schuylkill, Colonel Wyatt Where, Otto the Magnificent, Chita and L.Condor to assist the Royal Canadian Unmounted Police in finding the real culprits.Another murder, this time of an Arctic Fox, the personal assistant to the TV station manager, serves to liven things up even further. Are the crimes connected? It seems so but how and why? Populated by an assemblage of potential suspects both at the Opera and the TV station, the plot definitely thickens.Alternate universes play a major role in this volume.

Informations

• Publié par: Andrews UK
• Date de parution: 28 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781780929521
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Lower Case
Volume 4 of the Case Books of Octavius Bear
Harry DeMaio
“Alternative Universe Mysteries for Adult Animal Lovers”




Originally published in the UK by MX Publishing
335 Princess Park Manor, Royal Drive,
London, N11 3GX
www.mxpublishing.co.uk
2016 digital version converted and published by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2016 Harry DeMaio
The right of Harry DeMaio to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious or used fictitiously. Except for certain historical personages, any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of MX Publishing.




Dedicated to GTP
A Most Extraordinary Bear
and
to the Memory of Bob Gibson
A Most Extraordinary Artist



Acknowledgements
These books have evolved over a long period of time and under a wide range of influences and circumstances. I am indebted to many people for helping to bring Octavius and his cohorts to the printed page. Thanks most especially to my wife, Virginia, for her insights and clever suggestions as well as her unfailing enthusiasm for the project and patience with its author. To my sons, Mark and Andrew and their spouses, Cindy and Lorraine, for helping make these tomes more readable and audience friendly. To (Madame) Cathy Hartnett, cheerleader-extraordinaire for her eagerness to see this alternate universe take form. To Jack Magan, Rick Talerico, Dan Andriacco, Amy Thomas and Zohreh Zand for their assistance and support.
Kudos to Jim Effler, Bob Gibson and Brian Belanger for their illustrations and covers. Thanks, of course, to Steve Emecz and MX Publishing for giving Octavius et al. a great home.
If, in spite of all this help, some errors or inconsistencies have crept through, the buck stops here. Needless to say, all of the characters, situations, and narratives are fictional.



The Development of Civilization Volume 4 Part 1 Our Origins
(From “An Introduction to Faunapology” by Octavius Bear Ph.D.)
About 100,000 years ago, according to scientific experts, a colossal solar flare blasted out from our Sun, creating gigantic magnetic storms here on Earth. These highly charged electrical tempests caused startling physical and psychological imbalances in the then population of our world. The complete nervous systems of some species were totally destroyed. For example, “Homo Sapiens” lost all mental and motor capabilities and rapidly became extinct. Less developed species exposed to the radiation were affected differently. Four-footed and finned mammals, birds and reptiles suddenly found themselves capable of complex thought, enhanced emotions, self-awareness, social consciousness and the ability to communicate, sometimes orally, sometimes telepathically, often both. Both speech production and speech perception slowly progressed with the evolution of tongues, lips, vocal cords and enhanced ear to brain connections. Many species developed opposable digits, fingers or claws, further accelerating civilized progress. Some others (most fish and underground dwellers) were shielded from the radiation and remained only as sentient as they were before the blast. This event is referred to as The Big Shock . It remains under intensive study.



The Players in Volume 4
Octavius Bear – Mega sized Kodiak; Narcoleptic war hero; Consulting Detective; Scientist; Inventor; Seeker of Justice; Mega-billionaire owner of Universal Ursine Industries; Gourmet/gourmand; Somewhat sedentary and grouchy just on general principles.
Mauritius (Maury) Meerkat – Narrator; Assistant to Octavius; Theatrical Agent; African émigré with a French-Dutch background; clever with a shady history.
Bearoness Belinda Béarnaise Bruin Bear (nee Black) – Gorgeous polar superstar, with the Aquashow, “Some Like It Cold.” Now wife of Octavius; Very rich widow of Bearon Byron Bruin living in Bearmoral Castle in the Shetlands; Owner-pilot of the last flying Concorde SST.
Bearyl and Bearnice Blanc – Belinda’s stunning twin polar sidekicks; Actress and singer, respectively; Co-pilot and flight engineer of Belinda’s SST.
Leperello - (Lepi) – Himalayan Snow Leopard and singing partner of Bearnice Blanc.
Madame Honoria Heifer – Cow - Infuriating voice coach for Bearnice and Lepi.
Otto the Magnificent - AKA Hairy Otter – An absolutely terrible illusionist magician, Otto the Magnificent escaped the claws of the evil genius Imperius Drake, but not before he developed some amazing powers courtesy of Imperius’ genetic alterations.
Frau Schuylkill – Octavius’ beautiful Swiss she-wolf housekeeper/cook/pilot/ security officer with many other mysterious and military talents. She rescued Octavius from his dive off the Breakurbach Falls while he was struggling with his nemesis, Imperius Drake.
Wyatt Where – Another wolf. Former military intelligence officer who had retired to a security post at the Bank of Lake Michigan in Chicago and then quit to join Octavius.
Howard Watt – Porcupine. High tech security authority who also left the Bank with Wyatt Where to join Octavius. A laser and particle beam accelerator expert.
L. Condor – Andean Condor cyber-net genius with a 12-foot wingspan.
Forrest F. Fox – Winnipeg Based Criminal Lawyer.
Chita - AKA Madame Catherine Catt – Beautiful, fascinating, clever, sexy, immoral and highly independent feline who among other things, is the publisher and editor in chief of PURR and SOW magazines.
Cyd - Chita’s probably fictitious twin sister.
Imperius Drake – “Moriarty with wings.” Arch-villain, leader of the Black Quack gang; brilliant but loony duck who has developed a serum to make the animal kingdom his slaves;
Superintendent Rowan Caballus of the Royal Canadian Unmounted Police (RCUP) – Horse
Sergeant Preston RCUP – Officious and none too bright dog.
Kitty and Maxie - Canada Lynx - Proprietors of Kitty’s Kozy Korner - a Winnipeg neighborhood bar
The Staff at CWP - TV
Wally Wapiti – Station Manager
Beatrice Beaver – Features Reporter and Anchor
Felicia Foxx – Assistant to Beatrice Beaver
Morley Moose – News Anchor
Grigor Gregory – Special Events Manager - a Grizzly Bear
The Staff at the Winnipeg Opera
Dr. Woodrow Wolverine – Opera Director
Godfrey Gander – Associate Director
Herr Professor Doktor Dieter von Tripp – Red Stag - Musical Director
Hartley Hare –Orchestra Leader
Giselle – Mountain Goat - Pianist
Bartholomew Badger – Security Officer
Marty – Communications Manager - Stone Marten
Viveca Vixen – Assistant to the Opera Director
Superintendent Nigel Wardlaw of Shetland Yard – Bearded Collie –The Scottish Police.
Fetlock Holmes - The Great Horse Detective and sometime associate of Octavius Bear.
Doctor “Odd” Vark – Aardvark - Chief Geneticist at Universal Ursine Industries.
Doctor Chiti BingBang – Orangutan - Chief Physician at Universal Ursine Industries.
Locations in Volume 4
Winnipeg, Churchill and Manitoba, Canada; Cincinnati, Ohio; Bearmoral Castle, Unst and Baltasound in the Shetlands; Edinbeargh, Scotland



Prologue
Monday Morning - Winnipeg, Manitoba
This weather is getting quite old.
I hate the Canadian cold.
But it’s simply my luck
To be frozen and stuck
Until my wild “tail” is all told.
The jet stair rolled up to the door with the traditional thumps and bumps. One of the polar twins, Bearyl or Bearnice, pulled switches, turned handles and swung open the pressure door of the Flying Aquabear, the lone surviving, airworthy Concorde SST, pride of Octavius’ wife, Bearoness Belinda Béarnaise Bruin Bear (nee Black.) (The lady has been around.) I had half risen from my grossly oversized ursine-tailored seat and was smacked in the face with a true Canadian welcome - blustery Arctic air. Welcome to Manitoba!
For someone who has spent most of his early life in holes and tunnels in the sun-baked Kalahari Desert, I seem doomed to finish out my existence in the most frigid climes of the universe. I’m a Meerkat. My name is Maury (Mauritius) Meerkat, wily detective, high powered talent agent, unprepossessing utility infielder, lovable friend to millions and most of all, indispensable chancellor to the sovereign, Octavius Bear. He’s not really regal. He just acts that way.
Pardon my chattering teeth, but we have just disembarked in Winnipeg, Canada from the Shetland Islands. Out of the refrigerator and into cryogenics.
Unlike my ursine boss and his wolf companions who will be joining us in a day or so and also unlike our current entourage, the twin polar bears and Leperello, a Himalayan Snow leopard, I wasn’t built to withstand cold...especially winter Canadian cold. There is one other animal on board, Honoria Heifer, a Scottish cow and vocal coach who is on the tour with us. She was lowing plaintively in her most dramatic mezzo soprano about the temperature, wind, bleak atmosphere and the entire experience of air travel. In an extravagantly