StarFall Comics
A Division of Pullemouttayerhat Productions
A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of StarFall Innovations
Proudly Presents:
Swamp Patrol
#5: Scents You Mentioned It...
cover: A bloodhound sniffing around a house, while Alley Cat (in the background) makes off with a bust.
Pete and Brill had just started tearing into the guts of a classic '65 Nash Rambler, when the phone began ringing. Pete went to answer it, and Brill continued with the vehicle. Several minutes later, Pete stuck his head out of the office, and called to Brill:
"Cancel your date, pal! We're on duty!"
At Frank's apartment, Frank, Shelly, Jan, Ted, and Donna stood around the only table in the place. They were scrutinizing a map of the northeastern Pennsylvania area, particularly the near Allentown.
"Looks like Pete and Brill's idea of a pattern wasn't so far off after all." Frank stated. "The thief is definitely hitting the area in an X pattern. She's just not going for the places that we've anticipated."
"So what do we do, Frank?" Jan asked. "Split up to the likely targets, and wait?"
"Sounds good to me," muttered Ted.
"No. I think we had better start using the resources we have. Donna, just how much can you enhance your senses?"
Alley Cat sat back on her heels, waiting for the clock to tick down. She was at the townhouses near Rts 512 and 22. Most of the residents were off on vacation this time of year, and she was waiting for the automatic lights to come on.
Ridiculous devices, really, she thought. They were more help to a criminal than a deterrent.
Several more seconds passed, and the inside lights came on. Alley Cat then strode up to the front door, picked the lock, and was in.
Walking through the house, she admired the numerous portraits and antiques. Given that she expected the home to be well secured, she had probably tripped the silent alarm system. But that was the plan.
Heading from the front to the back, she exited the building, and went across the parking lot to the house directly adjacent to the one she had just left.
Moments later, the state police arrived, drawing a crowd from the other residences. When they left, the owner of the true target was making his call to the constabulary.
"...this time, the thief made off with a seemingly worthless heirloom. Police are baffled, but not ready to give up the search for this Alley Cat.
"Next up, weather and sports."
"That's it people." Frank said. "Let's get on it. Donna, you sure you'll be able to catch the scent?"
"Yeah. I'm sure," she said for the third time.
"Right!" Ted said, impatiently. "Let's move it!"
At the townhouses near the intersection of routes PA-512 and US-22, Frank and Donna, in the form of a basset hound, were sniffing around the two structures that Alley Cart had hit the night before.
"Anything yet, Donna?" Frank asked, keeping his voice low.
"Couple of scents." Donna replied. "I can't seem to nail down one specific smell, though. Too many for me to identify them all."
"Any of them stand out, or don't smell like they belong here?"
Before Donna could answer, a resident poked her head out of a window, and yelled in the most annoying New Jersey accent:
"Whatta ya doin' 'ere kid?! Git your stinkin' mutt offa my propaddy, or I'm gonna cawl da cops!"
"Let's go, Donna. We'll just have to go with what we've got."
The two walked back to Frank's Jeep, where Donna reverted to her human form.
"Did you find anything?" Ted asked.
"Nothing conclusive." Frank said blandly.
"But I should be able to recognize some of those scents, if we come across any of them again." Donna stated.
Pulling out of the parking lot, the small group headed back to Frank's apartment.
Carter Stevens clutched in his hands the object that Alley Cat had delivered not several minutes ago. It was a bust of a less than attractive woman, obviously an heirloom. Nobody else would keep something like that around.
Moving carefully, he carried it into a back room of his mansion, and set it on a work bench. Taking a hammer and chisel, he tapped a line around the bust's head, cracking it gently open. Lifting the upper part away, he reached into the cavity and removed a perfectly cut, totally clear diamond.
"At last! The final component!" he said to himself. "Now, my lovely, we shall never be apart!"
Inspector Joe Caruthers, Frank, and Donna, again shaped as a bloodhound, walked about the premises of the last robbery. The neighbors gave them no trouble this time, as Caruthers pointed out, quite forcefully:
"I AM the cops!"
Donna, who now had more time to sniff out the scents, gave a bark, and headed back towards Caruther's car. Once inside, she shifted back into her human form.
"So'd you find anything?" Caruthers demanded.
"Believe it, flatfoot! Several trails leading away from the area. All but one are ours."
"Excellent!" Frank said. "Find anything else?"
"Yeah. The other trail goes directly from the highway, disappears into one of the other houses, picks up again around the back, and leads into the robbery-house, and back to the highway. It's gotta be the thief's!"
"Good job, kid." Caruthers smiled. "Couple more of your kind on the force, and my job'd be a lot easier."
Donna ignored the 'your kind', and grumbled out:
"You're welcome."
Alley Cat turned another corner, checking for guards. She didn't see any IR beams or other electrical detection devices, so she padded silently forward. Reaching her objective, she slid the portrait from the wall, and retraced her steps.
The museum guards did not even notice that it was gone until the morning shift arrived.