Chapter 19: The Honeydew Meadow Massacre Part III.

Chapter 19: The Honeydew Meadow Massacre Part III.

It was a beautiful morning for hunting shrooms!

Wally Otter certainly thought so. An older gentleman now enjoying his well-earned retirement, he supplemented his monthly pension by foraging for shrooms with his beloved hound, Bessie. Together, theyd idle the weekend hours away in the beauty of nature, enjoying the majestic ambiance of Honeydew Meadow as only a woodsman and his dog could. But today, something was amiss.

On the way to their usual spot, Bessie had suddenly froze, and no matter what Wally said, the beast would not move.

Come now, dearie. Them shrooms aint gonna sniff emselves out! Wally said. But for some reason, the dog was reluctant to obey him. ere, now! I said some! Come, girl! Oi, yer not that old, lass! Dont act like ye cannae ear me! Come on with ye! Come on, now!

Still, the dog refused to move. Instead, she began to dig at the earth, barking excitedly as she did so. Wally was incensed. Most useful shrooms didnt grow in flat patches of the land because the nutrients they needed to grow were more easily provided by close proximity a tree. Whatever his girl was digging up, it wouldnt be worth the effort.

Stop with this nonsense now, ye wee silly thing! Taint no truffles there, ye willful littleoh mae GOD above me!

In the dirt, its fingers cruelly tightened by the grip of rictus, a hand jutted forth from its shallow grave.

MURDER! shouted Wally, as he ran from the sight with Bessie in tow. Murder! Murder! MURDER MOST FOUL!

__

Oh, lemon drops, what evil has come to Honeydew Meadow? murmured Detective Dachshund as the body was removed from the ground.

Detective Dachshund was a police dog from the big city, and in his time spent serving the public good, hed beheld many an awful sight. Seen people behave like animals. But still, even on his worst days on the job, hed never seen anything like this.

Never seen such butchery.

We got name for our victim? he asked.

Lydia Whiskerwit, replied Constable Carrot. I recognized her right away. She worked for the Bubblebelly family, providing services as a maid. I saw her just yesterday afternoon during the Baddieburr incident.

Detective Dachshund nodded to himself. Carrot was a good bunny. Professional, attentive, and possessed of a sharp intuition. The kind of reliable rabbit the public could believe in.

Providing services, you say? snorted Patrolman Pig. I wonder what sort of service she provided, hur hur hur.

And then there were idiots like Patrolman Pig.

What do you mean by that, Pig? Carrot asked in a mild tone of voice.

Oh, come on, Carrot. Think about it. This lady being what she was, this was probably a late-night tryst gone wrong.

And what was she, exactly?

She was a mouse! You know their type. Fast reproducers are what! She probably had a beau waiting for her in these woods and it got a little out of hand.

Like slaughtered like a pig, out of hand? asked Carrot pointedly.

Watch it, bunny! Thems offensive words! Like I said, she was a fast reproducer and

And you have a problem with fast reproducers, do you? asked Constable Carrot, a proud father with thirty-seven children of his own.

Well, its not like our ecological system can support them! Protested the pig.

Horse pucky! You know we've got owls around here!

Why are you getting so offended, Carrot? We all know youre one of the good uns!

Dont pigs maim and eat their own piglets?

HEY! Only the weak ones who wont survive, you stuck-up little hopper!

There we go! Theres the magic word! You've been wanting to call me a hopper since the day you met me, havent you, you five-chinned truffle snuffler!

Boy, you gonna act like a hopper, Im a call you a hopper, and I dont care how civilized you act. You aint better than me! yelled Patrolman Pig.

Well, I bet you aint gonna call me one again, said Carrot as he rolled up his sleeves. I just bet you wont.

Thats ENOUGH! barked Detective Dachshund, literally. Pig, get out of here. I mean it! Get going.

What? You see how this bunny treated me? Im a veteran of this force

Youre a dog-damned drunk and a disgrace to that uniform! You think I cant smell that flask in your pocket? Get OUT of here! ordered Detective Dachshund.

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You also have two years left until you can draw that pension of yours, and if you want to make it until then, what I say GOES! Now go home! And dont come back until I say fetch. warned the dog.

After Patrolman Pig left, Detective Dachshund turned to Constable Carrot and said: Im sorry about that, Constable. Ol Pig over there is a holdover from the good ol days, and the good ol boys, if you get my meaning. Id love nothing more than to fire his curly tailed ass but doing it would cause considerable mischief for us.

I aint worried about the likes of him, Constable Carrot said. You give a bully a whoopin and what you get then is a quiet bully.

I cant approve of that officially, but I can appreciate the sentiment, said Detective Dachshund. He turned back to the body and sighed. We found a ring on her, yknow. Poor little thing was betrothed. I wonder who to?

Hmm. First, Ive heard of it, said Carrot. Maybe the Bubblebellys know? I can find out.

Lets put a hold on telling anyone outside of her family, Detective Dachshund said. In a situation like this, the tighter we control the flow of information, the easier itll be for the killer to give himself away. Got it?

I got you, Chief.

__

Bunch of sons of bitches is what! Bunch of ignorant sons of bitches! Damn city slicker gonna come down to Honeydew Meadow and tell me my gab-blabbed business! Take a hoppers side over mine? This town has truly gone to the dogs! raged Patrolman Pig on his way to the Baddieburr farm.

Horace stomped over to the larder and returned a few moments later with a large block of cheese.

Here you go! Here you go, Mr. Mouse! Mice eat cheese, dont they? DONT THEY?

Scooter tried to say something, but before he could, Horace was on him, beating him to the ground with heavy, heavy hands. After knocking his son senseless, he took the cheese and began ripping chunks of it off and stuffing them into Scooters mouth.

Go on, boy! Go on, boy! Eat your cheese! Eat your cheese! EAT YOUR GODDAMN CHEESE!

Scooter struggled and writhed, and then began to choke. His father pressed his hand so hard against his face, that he could feel his nose begin to break. Finally, with a desperate surge of strength, he rocked his body left and threw his father off him.

Before Horace could recover, Scooter launched himself at him and wailed away with a furious set of clumsy but powerful punches that bloodied the older Badgers mouth and nose, and blackened one of his eyes.

Once he was finished, Scooter climbed to his feet, sputtering, and screamed: I hate you! I hate you, you evil old bastard and I aint NEVER coming back here! I hope you go to HELL when you die!

Scooter! Scooter, come back! Scotty cried as Scooter went stomping out the door.

Forget him, runt! I said forget him! He aint no kin to us, Horace said groggily from the floor.

But for once in his life, Scotty ignored his father. Scooter, please! Scooter come back!

But Scooter never returned.

__

Lydia, Scooter moaned to himself as he wandered directionless through the woods.

Oh, Lydia why?

Scooter knew what other people thought of him. The Baddieburrs were a no-good family of real baddies. Thats what everyone said. He even believed it himself for a time. It hadnt been his fault. His father was crazy. Everyone knew it, himself most of all. He was a drunk, a coward, and a wife-beater, and slowly, bit by bit, hed ruined everything around him; especially his sons.

Old Horace was obsessed with getting one over on the Bubblebellys. He blamed his every misfortune on them and wanted nothing more than to destroy their lives. He especially wanted that recipe for cream soder, for some damn reason, and had recruited his sons into every one of his hairbrained schemes. And Scooter, who for a time had wanted nothing more than to earn his fathers approval, had gone along with them. Even as recently as yesterday

But no more. Because hed met Lydia. And she had gradually convinced him that he could be a better badger than hed let himself become.

On the morning he proposed to her, hed let her know he was obligated to enact just one more of his fathers stupid plans. But then, that would be it, and he had no intention of letting it succeed. Hed go crush some walnuts at the jail for a few hours like usual, then pretend hed seen the light and do mischief no longer.

It wouldnt have been a lie either. Because Scooter had seen the light. And that lights name had been Lydia!

But now she was gone. Taken away to paradise and leaving him in darkness.

Forever.

She deserved it, whispered a familiar-sounding voice.

Who said that? Scooter demanded. Pa, is that you? I told you I was done with you! Git!

I could smell you on her. I knew what youd done. She was bad. She was very, very bad. And youre bad too. Youre a nasty, naughty Baddieburr, said the voice mockingly.

YouYOU KILLED HER? Scooter swore in a sudden frenzy. Out of his pocket he grabbed his switchblade and sprung it forth. You bastard, you bastard, Ill cut you for this, I swear

Before Scooter could attack, a heavy edged weapon swung down and severed his paw from his arm.

Im the one who does the cutting here! sneered the voice.

Shlek! The weapon swung horizontally and caught Scooter in the gut. He fell to his back, paralyzed with agony. It was pulled free in a shower of gore and then brought down with savage violence.

Chop!

Lydia Scooter whispered.

Chop!

Chop!

Chop!

__

The next afternoon, they found Scooter hanging between two trees. This time, his killer hadnt even bothered hiding the body. Instead, hed left his victim on display. As though the mad dog whod done this ungodly work wanted to share it with others.

Detective Dachshund shook his head in disgust.

What in the name of happiness is happening here, chief? asked Constable Carrot in dismay.

I think weve got ourselves a rabid beast running wild in Honeydew Meadow, Dachshund said in a brittle voice. But the question iswho?

__

Hey, Max? Lucy asked me after waking up that morning.

Hey-hey! I said happily. Lucy was my best friend!

Maxwhere did you go, last night?

Hee-hee-hee! Thats a seeeeeecret!

Hee-hee-heee.

Continued.