Pudding Detective - Chapter 3

Pudding Detective

Chapter 3

Wiggy Hill - revisited  
 

You know when it's Christmas morning and you wake up super early and you're lying in your bed imagining how the day will unfold and there are mountains of presents waiting for you downstairs under the tree, and you're getting more and more excited, more and more restless like you're a bottle of coca cola and someone has just shaken you really hard and you're ready to EXPLODE, but first you've been told that you have to wait until your Mum and Dad are awake before you can go downstairs. You know that feeling, right? Well... times that by ten and that's how Labradors feel when they're ready to go for a walk. Times that by another ten if Pudding only had 'one' walk instead of two the day before. And times that by one hundred because Pudding had got a lead. 

A lead? No, not that kind of lead, silly - a lead into solving the horrible crime committed at Wiggy Hill. 

The blue touch paper was lit and Pudding was chomping at the bit to get on her walk, at last free from her owner's side. Since she'd arrived at Forest Oak, through the front window, she had witnessed so many dogs roaming freely - even on the pavement off the lead! There were prancing Poodles, bouncing Beagles, even a Basset Hound lolloping behind its owner - the cheek of it! Then, to cap it all, she also saw a black Labrador retriever running straight into the park next door. That was the first time Mr and Mrs Pumphry had heard her howl. But of course, they were not still puppies like she was. But she wasn't to know. I mean, a dog's a dog to a dog. Right? 

Pudding had truly dreamt of this for so long. Her garden was next to a park where dog walkers headed every morning and she would often hear lots of snuffling and scampering right up close to the fence, which would make her immediately do shuttle-run sprints up and down the lawn attempting to find what was going on. This would happen with the squirrels too, but they would also make her leap in the air like a balerina, pirouetting and twisting with such force she hardly knew where she was when she landed. She would often make Mr and Mrs Pumphry dizzy as they sat with their early morning coffee trying to enjoy their peace and quiet. 

Pudding was just so desperate to get out on the other side again because now she had a taste for it and she had plenty of work to do. Pudding had got more than just a sniff of a bone and a telling off from Mr Pumphry on her first walk. A whole heap more.

As soon as she got away from him yesterday, she knew something wasn't right with the world: she sensed it in the way the crows were circling above her, how loud they cawed and how their numbers multiplied with such speed, especially above certain parts of the path; she also noticed that scent trails were behaving oddly, being intensely strong one minute and then vanishing as quickly as they came another - even though there was hardly a breath of wind. However, having said that, she did know where she needed to head: to the rabbit burrows. This is where it all began and that's where she ran away from Mr Pumphrey. Not surprisingly, she arrived at the main burrow in an absolute frenzy of excitement and eagerness.

'Doesn't anyone ever knock anymore?' said a very sleepy rabbit as Pudding nosed her way deep into the burrow entrance. 

'What's happened, is everything alright?" Pudding questioned, her tongue hanging and dripping with saliva. "I heard that there was an incident,' She sniffed repeatedly around the burrow entrance as if her life depended on it.

Bunce the rabbit, suddenly realised it was a dog and immediately backed down the tunnel before Pudding could explain that she wasn't a 'normal' dog and would not harm him like a 'normal' dog might, and instead demanded that the elderly rabbit come back up the burrow towards her. 

'You certainly look like a normal dog to me. I see dogs like you all the time around these fields and around these very burrows,' he said, his body trembling. 'I just don't trust anyone at the moment, especially after...' 

Bunce paused and looked away from Pudding.

'...After what?... Look, I'm Pudding, and I'm new around here. I'm not just a normal dog...or Labrador for that matter. No, I'm really not. I'm a detective. And I haven't got much time.'

Bunce twitched his nose fiercely, looking like it was going to let out an almighty sneeze before suddenly bellowing with laughter. 'A detective? You? You gotta be kidding me,' Bunce sniggered. 

'Well, hear me out, I'm only young and I'm just starting out and it's not really very official yet...You see, I ate this Christmas Pudding a few months ago... and...and...also a 20 pence coin...and...and...To be honest, I'm not going into that now...I'm a detective, ok, - and I can really help.'

After a long pause and much deliberation, Bunce was eventually persuaded to come out and introduce himself to Pudding, and before long they were sitting behind the burrows looking out over the valley sharing the details about what had occurred on Wiggy Hill. And when Pudding started mentioning the names of animals that lived in the area, Bunce took notice, relaxed more and began to share what he knew, now realising that there may be more to Pudding's claims than he originally thought.

                                     ***

Bunce recounted that in the early hours of the night before a despicable crime had occurred, one which had shaken the valley to its core. There didn't seem to be any witnesses but there was lots and lots of finger pointing. The news quickly spread across the region and before long most animals were aware of it, a few even taking it upon themselves to spread gossip about what might have happened and possibly even taking some retribution. It turns out it was Bunce's nephew, Sprinter, that knew the most, so of course that's where Pudding had to go next, down towards Steep Burrow on the other side of Bry river. 

But on the way she realised it was getting extremely late. This was when she could see Mr Pumphry puffing and pacing, back and forth, looking rather upset in the heavy rain - his head down, kicking away at the tall grass in complete frustration. Pudding had to think on her feet before things got out of hand, so she made a diversion away from Steep Burrow and headed for some woods near to her owner, there finding a fresh deer bone, so she lay down there and waited to be found by her owner. She knew she needed a reason for running off, especially her first time off lead. She knew that without a good excuse Mr Pumphry would be less likely to give her so much freedom next time and that would be a disaster - for everyone! She hadn't helped her cause by running away in the first place and had made things difficult for herself. But her hunger instincts now had kicked in and it had sure been energy zapping work running all the way to Bunce and back. She then realised there may just be an alternative solution, one which would minimise any risk and reduce any delay in reaching Sprinter before the lead went cold.

Because after Mr Pumphry had caught up with her in the woods - his hair dripping with muddy rain and his boot socks squeaking inside his boots - he was not feeling like compromising. In fact, whenever Pudding wanted to sniff, she was yanked away immediately without a moment's hesitation. And whenever she instinctively pulled back towards the deer bone, she was met with shouts and gritted teeth, for Mr Pumphry was not in the mood for any more poor behaviour and was putting his foot down. A normally patient man had reached his absolute limit and, yes, the mood that day had certainly changed from the one which had started her first proper walk off the lead. That Christmas morning feeling was a distant memory now.

Trudging back to the village, the clouds still very heavy, Pudding began to question her impulse to run off, and began to wonder what this might mean for her future career as a detective and therefore the welfare of all the animals that would depend on her.