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Where We Left Off:
We faced a truly bizarre internal investigation inside the Winchester-Nabu residence.
Trigger Warning: This case involves the death of an animal.
Crash:
In the middle of July, our detective agency took on case from Bunny Hollow. Ollie, Gus, and I had been keeping to our summer hours getting outside by sunrise because of the heat. There are some other advantages to this schedule too like getting to see the bats come home to their roosts.
We were at one end of Bunny Hollow at the intersection with the private road. Gus crawled out from under the mobile command unit through the wet grass. He hopped up on a log and jumped over to a trailer where he sat on the fender.
“There’s a critter I’d like to chase,” Gus said to Oliver who was inside his buggy.
“You know she won’t let you,” the marmalade cat detective said.
“I’m right here. Why are you talking like I’m not right next to you?” I didn’t wait for a response. “And, Ollie’s right. Gus you can’t chase the rabbit. That stray tuxedo, Savile, has murdered one we could prove, but probably more.”
We watched as the bunny creature stayed on the pavement and edged its way to the grass with caution. As soon as it realized we were watching, it turned in a circle, momentarily deciding which way to go. Then, it hopped at a jogging pace all the way down the hill.
I petted Gus on the head and asked him if he knew which bunny it was. He said her name was Arden and that she wasn’t very experienced in coexisting with the humans in our neighborhood. She was likely born in 2025 and didn’t have a lot of guidance about survival.
I doled out treats to Ollie and Gus. “I think we were in her way. She probably wanted to go Big Rock through the junkyard. Hopefully she’ll find some snacks in Gnome Grove if she knows how to get over there.”
After about an hour, Gus wanted to inspect the front yard bordering the busy road. I dropped Ollie off first because wheeling him up stairs and over roots is aggravating. He was ready to return to The Cook anyway.
The bushes were getting tall and opening their flowers. Smaller perennials like echinacea were starting to sprout. Even the chrysanthemums were showing green leaves and buds which wouldn’t bloom for another month. Gus hoped to spot a chipmunk, but was disappointed when none of them crossed through the flowerbeds. He sniffed all around the porch and the trellis skirt covering underneath it. If anyone was under there, Gus didn’t care.
“There are our daily vultures.” I looked up at the sky to see more than the usual number of large black birds flying in circles. “Hrm. When there’s nothing dead around, there’s usually only four of them.”
“Something must be going on.” Gus walked down the porch steps. “Maybe over by the cemetery.”
My shoulders tensed up and I noticed my brow furrowing. Something felt off and my body was letting me know. I could have ignored it except Gus started to respond too. His nose caught something in the air. He put his face to the grass to check for scents under the grass and dirt. That wasn’t it.
“Let’s go to the Raccoon House,” he said.
I agreed, but only if I carried him across the street to the edge of the woods. Before we got down the next set of stairs, though, Gus roared for me to stop. I looked where he was facing and stopped abruptly in the lane. A car was heading right toward us. I stepped back and side-stepped up the stairs, clutching Gus in my arms as the car barreled down the hill. It went by just in time for a pickup truck to come from the other direction.
“Gus, it might be too late to be here. The traffic is picking up,” I said.
“No. You saw it too,” he said. “There’s something lying in the road not far from the bottom of the staircase.
When it was safe to proceed, we tried again.
I’m used to roadkill after all these years, but I don’t usually inspect it so fresh.
“It’s Arden.” I continued to clutch Gus into my chest even though he wanted to get down to examine the body. “I can tell by the pale patch of fur above her left hip. I can’t see her ears without moving her and they might not even be there.”
I snapped a photo for the case file we’d have to open and carried Gus back to the residence. He was eager to be released from my overprotective grasp when we got to the front porch. The Cook came to the door to let us in. I removed our gear, fed Gus second breakfast, and we went up to the offices where Ollie was already waiting. I made up the Murder Board and we focused on solving the case of who killed Arden.
Surviving Rabbits: Reed the baby and Brooke
Victimology:
Name: Arden
Species: Eastern cottontail
Age: 1 year old
Known family: Maud Hare (mother), Brooke (sister)
Known associates: Bramble
Case Findings:
We knew the vultures weren’t killers. They were there as soon as they detected blood on the ground. There weren’t any bloody animal tracks around which ruled out a deliberate or accidental stomping by a large animal. The blood spatter analysis was clear. This was a vehicular collision. Arden died quickly from the impact to her head. Exsanguination followed.
According to our research, the vehicles most frequently involved in accidents are Honda Accords and Ford F series trucks. This is also a numbers game. They’re the most popular vehicles sold*. When looking for data specifically about animal collisions, we found data collected and summarized by State Farm in the time period July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. They can state that there were 1.7 million claims in that period involving animals. A small part of that also includes rodents doing internal damage to the vehicles. A vast majority of the claims, 1.1 million of them, involve deer**.
I’m used to putting a lot of faith in Car and Driver, but I’m skeptical at their report of Most Popular Cars in New Jersey. They state our Top 3 are: Tesla Model Y, Honda CR-V, and Tesla Model 3***. Those are bound to be only new car sales. I popped over to a site I used to frequent, Edmunds, and discovered they have data up to 2025 and confirm the Honda CR-V.
Gus and Ollie were relatively confident that we were looking at Honda CR-V or other SUV. The driver remains unknown and at large. They’ll likely never be identified.
Case Status: Closed
Notes:
* Carxplorer, “What Car Causes Most Accidents Expert Data Analysis,” Matthews, Jordan. Last updated: January 9, 2026 8:19 pm. Accessed: August 13, 2026
** State Farm, “New State Farm® data reveals fewer animal collisions, but autumn months remain most dangerous.” Published: September 16,2025. Accessed: August 13, 2026
*** Car and Driver, “These Are the Most Popular Cars in Every State: Curious which car, truck, or SUV was most often chosen by your neighbors? We run down the top three for all 50 states,” Capparella, Joey. Updated: Sep 30, 2024. Accessed: August 13, 2026.