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Where We Left Off:
Oliver Winchester and Burton Guster Nabu had opportunities to do some citizen science in the field of Cervidae behavior, specifically deer.
Monster House:
There’s a building nearby that actually appears in Issue #2 of the Winchester-Nabu Detective Agency comics (coming soon!). When it was condemned and declared inhabitable for humans, naturally Mother Nature saw an opportunity. Raccoons moved in despite the broken glass and holes through the walls, floors, and roof, or maybe because of all that. Oliver, Gus, and I have been calling it the Raccoon House for a while.
If I had unlimited amounts of money, I’d buy that building and turn it into something beneficial like getting it to be an official wildlife rehabilitation facility which are scarce and tragically underfunded. Or, maybe I’d knock it down and have a safer tall lighthouse style building put up specifically for raccoons, squirrels, owls, and bats to make their own home. It wouldn’t need to be elaborate and it wouldn’t need all the amenities humans require. A structure with cubbies, rafters, ground level and high openings, and clean water. That’s pretty much all they need. The building is next to a tiny spot of woods which leads down to a pond and houses on a road that barely exists.
Oliver and his Butler have explored around that area many times. Gus was more of a mountaineer. Back in the good ol’ days, he and I would go hiking instead of neighborhood exploring like Ollie. I did take Gus around the neighborhood once with him in his backpack. We had to go by this Raccoon House on the way to a cemetery. That day, we were following the turkey vultures and found a bone.
July 2, 2025 yet another tree broke and fell across our yard right in the spot of the “Invisible Path” where all the wildlife traverse from the busy road to what remains of the woods at the back 39 acres. The next day, The Grumpy Old Man had the tree chopped into pieces good for firewood (even though Lord Theodore has previously insisted we have no right to trees at that borderline.) They fall across our property line or have the potential to cause damage. Therefore, he’s incorrect. We do have the right, and so, in the 93°F temperature, this added one more dead tree to our list that faced the chainsaw. July 4th came and went without incident. The local fireworks were thankfully canceled for the first time in my lifetime because the company who does the show took a different contract.
That brings us to July 5th. Gus and Ollie were ready to make their routine patrols. The Butler was here which made it a lot easier. I had Oliver parked in the yard to study the squirrels and talk to his favorite bird informants. Oliver has been enjoying his time outside with his friends.
Adventure Takes Over
“I need to go,” Gus said suddenly. “Ollie’s fine.”
Gus looked from Oliver’s buggy to the edge of the property against the busy road. I watched him carefully. Most often, Gus goes over there to stalk a chipmunk. The air was already hazy and thick at 6:30 in the morning. My skin was sticky. I felt gross. Gus felt something else. Inspector Hercule Poirot would call it tingling in his little grey cells. Guster’s intuition and senses guided him around the fence which meant I had to go after him. That’s when I left Ollie alone and texted the Butler to let him know that Gus was on a mission and I had to stay close to him.
I watched as Gus sniffed the unkempt border of flora around the mock orange bush. Something enraptured him. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been a chipmunk. I didn’t see anyone.
“I must keep going.” Gus went for the cement stairs leading right into the road.
I wanted to panic, but I also didn’t want to discourage him from trying to explore new places as long as I was there for proper Cat Adventure Training and protection. Plus, I always wore something highly visible and had a bright orange umbrella for walking assistance or blocking the sun. Still, this was an extremely dangerous spot where so many drivers have carelessly driven right into our wall. That’s why the stairs were built, in fact. The number of crashes into our wall grew to an accident per year maybe every other. The entire wall was replaced after one of these crashes and the corners softened into curves with one ending in that staircase. Gus wanted to go down those steps bedecked in many reflectors. I decided to let him, but carried him across the road before putting him down.
We were particularly fortunate that July 4th fell on a Friday creating a long holiday weekend for many people. It was noticeably quieter than usual as far as traffic went.
This part was recorded on video. Across the street, Gus immediately began smelling all the mugwort and weeds in front of the trees. We were at the spot where wildlife pops out like performers coming through stage curtains. From the pavement, you can’t see that it’s a steep drop down to the forest floor.
Gus sniffed enough of the mugwort (it does nothing for cats) and made his way over to the Raccoon House. His senses continued homing in to something only he could detect. I kept my stride to stay between him and the road. At the far side of the Raccoon House, Gus found the second staircase. First, he went under it and then into weeds. He wanted to keep going, but there was no path, no way for me to follow him. I told we couldn’t go that way and he came back to the staircase.
If there’s one thing Gus loves, it’s an easy way to climb high off the ground. The video shows Gus sniffing with intensity at the top landing where a door bears a No Trespassing sign.
The extended summer daylight would occasionally allow for the raccoons to see the sunrise. By the time we were at the Raccoon House, they were likely inside.
The 2025 Raccoons
Several of the longtimers in our raccoon database have been spotted in trailcam footage this year. This month, the cameras caught three new babies with a not very large mother. Ollie studied those images and felt strongly that Diamond Doris was probably the new mom with her first litter tiny bandits.
“Gus, what are you after? Why are we here?” I asked while he sat on top of the staircase landing at the Raccoon House.
“There’s something inside that doesn’t smell like raccoons.” He looked off in the distance. “It doesn’t smell like any animal I know.”
“You’re sure it’s not the smell of the mice who have been released through our Witness Relocation Program?” I said.
“Not them. I’d know them,” Gus said.
The Butler and Ollie appeared unexpectedly. Three of us watched Gus work on his reconnaissance. For years, the Butler and I have jokingly called this building the Meth House. It looks like a derelict building that may held together by termites and survived an explosion from someone handling their chemicals incorrectly. The meth part is just a joke, though seriously, one never knows what lurks behind closed doors.
“You can’t go in there and find the source of whatever you smell.” I warned my investigating partner and tried to emphasize exactly how dangerous it could be inside. Gus tried to argue. The Butler agreed with me and called Gus to come down.
It was a speedy trot back home. What was funny was that we spotted one of our deer friends on a paved driveway used by the town and county. Mąera spotted us and even tried coming over for a visit. The Butler urged us to go back home and see the deer some other time.
Case Findings:
Gus discovered unfamiliar scents inside and around the Raccoon House. He was not allowed to go forward with the investigation alone. The building is far too dangerous for breaking the law and going inside. Not for a cat and not for a human. Although some of the local free-roaming cats have probably risked their lives going inside to seek shelter after realizing our doors were not open to them. Poor MamaCat Marsh has begged to come in our house many times.
After a Risk Assessment, we decided this case could only be pursued with exterior research and evidence gathering should Gus ever feel like going back over there. Otherwise, we will not be keeping up with this case.
Case Status: Closed