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Where We Left Off:
The Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency continue to keep tabs on the environmental impact of the changes made by humans on this neighborhood.
The Rat Savior:
If you haven’t been following along with Gus and Oliver’s case files for long, you might not know about the Moretti Rock Fortress. This is a rock wall covered in English ivy, Virginia creeper, and various weeds next to peonies, limelights, and short junipers. It’s named after Cheeks Moretti, the first chipmunk who befriended us. Cheeks was the original leader of the Chipmunk Mafia. He passed the mantle on after he retired and left for Florida.
After Cheeks retired, the rock wall was consistently used by chipmunks in the Moretti crime organization like Dyson and Murdock (we were still friends despite their Cosa Nostra ties); and a few northern short-tailed shrews from time to time. That is, until this summer.
It took months before a chipmunk showed up at the Moretti Fortress in 2025. He’s small and shy. He’s also smart enough to monitor the movements of Gus during our stakeouts. Sometimes, a patio chipmunk will run all the way over to the fortress if Gus isn’t following.
“Why do you think there aren’t more chipmunks at Moretti’s wall?” I had asked Gus back in May.
“My presence is clearly too much for them,” Gus said while sitting next to me and cleaning his claws.
Who Lives in Moretti’s Fortress?
Then we got to June, a time when Oliver took more interest in buggy patrols like the old days. The boys and I were in the lower parking area. The Moretti Fortress has seen better days. Many of the rocks have tumbled to the bottom creating windows into the layers of passageways. We were naturally looking for sightings of chipmunks. Instead, through a triangular window presenting a mini cave and tunnel, we watched something crawl through. That something had a skinny tail.
“What was that? Oliver? What. Was. That?” I said. “Gus? Did you see it? Go up there and use your Super Smeller.”
The boys agreed with me that the tail slinking through the cave was long, thin, not bushy or furry. We talked about it and debated whether that could have been a squirrel. A small red squirrel had taken a liking to the fortress snack bar. Both reds and greys grow their bushy tails, but it takes a month or more for those squirrel tails to be more than pipe cleaners.
Gus sniffed around the tall artemisia (common mugwort) and a skimpy lilac bush. He balanced on the wobbly rocks. I clicked Oliver’s parking brakes in order to go to Gus. He easily gets his leash tangled at the rock wall. Gus walked back and forth on the top of the fortress while I held his leash up. When he climbed down, he and I went back to Ollie’s carriage to discuss the investigation.
“I have to admit, the scent is close to other critters who live here, but,” he continued, “it is most certainly someone with a brand new constitution to my personal senses.”
The Investigation Continued
Throughout the days where there wasn’t rain between 6AM-8AM, all three of us had chances to stakeout the Moretti Rock Fortress. The best vantage point was at the corner where the snack bar resides. I used the sundial and a rock to balance my phone and make recordings of the critter we spotted popping up between the cracks, grabbing snacks, and quickly descending. Its speed and agility made getting good still photos a challenge.
The photos were good enough for me to upload to iNaturalist to confirm our suspicions. We had our first rat! We never saw them before, not even the summer when the elders were actively composting food scraps from the kitchen.
Who is This New Rat Friend?
There is no denying how adorable this new critter is. Many people “Eww” and cringe at the idea of a rat. Perhaps if there were a lot of them, I’d be grossed out. But one? A cute one? I’m fine with it. Gus and Oliver seem to have accepted the arrangement of the rat living in the fortress. However, I cannot guarantee that Gus will not capture our new friend in order forcibly get better acquainted.
Subject Identification
Species: brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Name/Street Name/Alias: Nicodemus
Approximate Age: adult
Residence: Moretti Rock Fortress
Associates: The Blue Jay Gang
Special Abilities: unknown
Case Findings:
Oliver, Gus, and all the humans of the detective agency were surprised by the sudden appearance of a rat, especially because of its chosen residence at the Moretti Rock Fortress. The new critter appears to be an adult. Due to the lack of babies (we honestly don’t want that close to the residence), we believe this is a male rat. This rat presents itself as a festitidiously clean critter. He’s nibble and quick. He definitely loves peanuts, but he doesn’t seem to eschew any of the snacks profered. We’ll continue to observe Nicodemus and get to know him.
We also have to consider that our initial findings are based on the knowledge we have today. Back in 1976, it was discoovered in Croatia that there are intelligent rats who can shapeshift into humans.
Case Status: Closed