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Detecto Kato,  and The Case of the Missing Paper in Pineewacki. 

This is a children's detective story in a series of detective stories. Pineewacki has lost its town newspaper. Detecto Kato has been called in the solve the problem. 

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Introduction of characters:

Detecto Kato is a feline detective. Kato is female cat with whiskers, some of which can extend to long lengths inside tunnels and caverns. She is calico in colors with distinctive giraffe like patches of orange near her neck. Only her tail is striped. She is very methodical, logical and sometimes goofy as a detective. She loves working with her sleuth assistants. Kato specializes in mysteries, like missing people or objects of great value. Sometimes she works on her own while other times she calls in her team.

Beth is a South American Coypu rodent assistant to Detecto Kato who speaks spanish. She has coarse darkish brown fur. She has a white patch on her muzzle, webbed hind feet and large bright orange-yellow incisors. She is sometimes mistaken for a muskrat. She has a round tail to help her swim.

Mozart is a male feline sleuth assistant. Mozart is very good at finding microscopic details which helps Detecto Kato immensely when looking for missing small objects.. Mozart has a long soft coat that is waterproof and floats wonderfully. He loves to laugh and make jokes of his fellow sleuths when he can but he can't take criticism too well.

Rockefellar is a Purple-Faced Langur monkey from Asia, assistant sleuth that is good at leaping to tall heights and being a lookout. He has a grayish brown coat and whitish trousers with a purplish black face. His hands and feet are also purplish in color. Rockefellar can smell and taste something and tell where it has come from.  He loves music and makes a whooping sound when he gets excited.

Sally is a feline assistant who's good at knowing Detecto Kato's needs. She has a beautiful coat that seems to change color in different lighting. Her favorite color is a mix of blue and yellow to make green shades. Her hearing is quite sensitive especially after she shakes water off her fur. She has whale-like hearing abilities. She is kind of shy but is very sensitive to Detecto Kato.

Mr Pinswalkle is the Mayor of Pineewacki. He is a very fragile young man who is skinny but makes up for it with his confidence as a leader. He needs to be reminded quite often though of his activities through the day. He has red hair and hazel green eyes. He paces often when problem solving. The faster he paces, the more brilliant his answers. Though he agrees with the citizens of Pineewacki that the town's newspaper should be found, he secretly is creating his own paper to replace the news so he can remain the mayor.

Pineewacki is a town where people walk everywhere. They walk around the corner, inside the corner, up the corner, below the corner, and through the corner until they come to the very corner of town.... where they buy their paper, the Pineewacki Times.

One day when all Pineewacki's walked around the corner, inside the corner, up the corner, below the corner and through the corner until they come to the very corner of town to buy their paper, but there was no newspaper! It was very noisy.  All the Pineewacki's yelled until dinner time. "Where is our paper? Now we don't know what happened yesterday. We have no stories.”

One Pinee [that’s the name of one citizen in Pineewackie] shouted,"Someone call Detecto Kato!" “Yeah. Call Detecto Kato,” they all agreed!

"Detecto Kato, we have no newspaper.  We have no news. But no news is good news isn't it?" Detecto Kato said. "No,” they shouted. 

Detecto Kato called her friends for help. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg.

"What do you want Detecto?"  “Well, Pineewacki's Paper is missing. There's no  news, no comics, no tourism, no anything, no nonsense at all.

It's sad! You should see them. They're desperate for their paper!”

“We must come and help you. Please fly us into the Pineewacki International Airport in the hugo jumbo jetto.” And the plane landed with a bump and nub and a lumpidty thump thump.

So off the plane came her family. Detecto Kato ran to them. There was Mozart, Sally and Beth. And there was... Rockefellar! “So what's the plan? Any clues yet?” they all said. “No, I was just waiting for you kinda,” Kato replied.

“Well, here we are. Any news for us today?” they said again with puzzled looks. “No definitely not. Their paper is gone, did you not remember?”

“But I thought you said paper, as in toilet paper?” One of them said with a frown. “No, the newspaper,” Kato reminded them. “But no news is good news. So why is everyone so sad?” “They're sad because they don't know what happened yesterday and that's the headline. And they look desperate,” this time Kato had her whiskers twirled around.

So Detecto Kato got to business. She sent out her family.  Each one by one went to one corner of Pineewacki to another corner, under this corner, behind that corner, below every corner until all the corners were searched.

"We didn't find it! We're sorry,” the tired bunch cried out. “Now we have to work together as a team. The Detecto Kato team once again!!!!!!” Kato purred loudly beaming her beautiful eyes!

“Yeah, the team! let’s get to it…you and me and anyone in between…we can do this together,” said Mozart. He was always dramatic.

Now, while the Detecto Kato team went on their chase corning all the corners of Pineewacki, Mr. Pinswalkle was up to something too.

Now we have the Mayor, the reason why Mr. Pinswalkle ran for office is a boyhood vow he made while at the Pineewackie Camp. He was a part of the tug-o-war team that lost and landed him on the bottom of the camper pile, all squished! Yikes! He said to himself he would never end up on the bottom again. "Pineewalkie Pineewalkie Wick Wack Woo" was the camp chant.

Well, Mr. Pinswalkle, gave Detecto Kato some useful information and some not-so-useful information to find the newspaper. He even gave Detecto Kato and her team an old wagon to travel in that had a lot of engine and chassis problems. Oogaa Bugguga Sham Sham it would loudly go down the street. 

Did you ever meet Miss P. Pimsbundle? She is a delightful young lady who loves cats, birds, dogs and even spiders. She always wears pink dresses with either polka dots or stripes. She is the new owner of an animal shoppe in Pineewackie called Pimsbundle's Pet Palace of Pineewackie. Her place is spick and span as she loves to clean and sing at the same time. Some of the animals even sing along. She's not a bad lady, just a bit presumptuous. She thinks that since everyone in town walks around talking to one another they don't read the newspaper and wouldn't miss it. She's new to Pineewackie and doesn't know the citizens very well.

On Friday, Detecto Kato and team found a tiny spot under a tree in the corner of the Pineewacki Falls. Rockefellar, the team’s purple-faced Langur monkey spoke up or rather squeaked out his best report. “Not one corner in Pineewacki has a newspaper today. Nobody knows the news and that’s so sad!”

Sally, Kato’s best Cato assistant, spouted, “My tail stretched this way and that way. My ears tuned here and there. But all was silent with hardly any creature talking. What is a town to do without it’s news?” 

Everyone was puzzled and muzzled. But not Detecto Kato! She had heard about this new animal shoppe in town, the Pimsbundle Pet Palace of Pineewackie. “We are all going downtown today to visit Miss P. Pimsbundle. She must know something and anything and everything about Pineewackie.”

Beth, Detecto’s rodent sleuth master, shubanged the old wagon into a sprint and off they went… “downtown here we come!” she shouted.

When they reached the store, the front door, where the squeaking sound sounds more like a laugh.. ha… opened all by itself. “I see Detecto Kato is here. So wonderful to meet you and your sleuths. Have you heard the news?” Miss P. Pimsbundle stirred up. “Greetings Miss Pimsbundle,” meowed Kato. “News you say? How would you hear about news? I heard it’s all missing. Not one jittle of news to my ears.”

“Oh, but you mustn’t be alarmed,” she said with a smiley playful grin. “The news is in good hands!”

Detecto Kato tilted her feline head back in surprise, “Who’s hands might that be? Is someone hiding the newspaper? What do you mean, don’t be alarmed?” Kato sputtered this off like a professional detective as only a Kato can do.

“I read the news everyday and it’s so teetering and so tottering. Who needs the news?” she wrinkled her nose. “Not even the animals want to hear the news, but I read it to them anyways.” Her striped dress seemed to vibrate even more as she flaunted around the shoppe with her stirring news.

The whole Detecto crew let out a gasp and the room shook too with disbelief.

“Where is this news you speak about? How can you have the news and no one else?” “Hmmm,” Detecto Kato said with a pointed finger straight in her face.

“Don’t be so frightful and flushed. I have it all under control,” Miss P. Pimsbundle blinked back. “There’s no sense in reading everything or anything under the sun in Pineewackie. “Even my pets frown at me with every word spoken from my delicate tongue.”

Now Kato lowered her fuzzy head and frowned her eyebrows, as much as a cat can do, and peered at her and almost sneered. The whole Detecto Kato team was leaning in, wondering what Kato was to say next. “Tell me where this news, this newspaper is immediately!”

“Look around! It’s right underneath!” she said with a defiant look. She knew what Pineewackie needed. Or, she thought she knew. But who knew? 

At that moment, the mayor, who usually forgets his words, forced his way into the shoppe and stopped everything and nothing and anything, all at once! “I demand the newspaper!” He said clearing his throat, making believe he was top dog… hah… in an animal shoppe? 

“The newspaper?” everyone said back. 

“Yes. The newspaper of this prestigious town of Pineewackie. A little puppy whispered something to me today and confessed to its whereabouts,” he shouted. 

Miss P. Pimsbundle abruptly changed the subject and said, “Would anyone like some tea? It’s freshly made with chamomile? It’s delicious. Made the headlines today, did you see?” She said taking in a deep breath. 

The whole shoppe stopped. The confusion and allusion came to a rest. Everyone found a seat like little bo peep and sipped their tea. Ah, what a scene!

Clearing his throat the third and fourth time, “U hum! I still demand the whereabouts of the Pineewackie newspaper.”

“Now, now Mayor Pinswalkle, all is under control. I and my amazing animals all understand,” she said with great confidence and a proud boast. The news has come and gone and no one needs to miss it. I know you want a happy village of Pineewackies all day long.”

Detecto Kato stood to her paws and raised another paw, “Awww. We are waiting in eagerness to hear your news Miss P. Pimsbundle.”

“Open your eyes! There is no disguise. It’s right before you. It’s around you. It’s right under you. Or, I should say, it’s right under them! Ha ha!” she said with such delight reaching out to every cage in sight.

“The cages? The animals? Animals don’t read?” the mayor said widening his eyes to his surprise.

“Oh, but Yes! We read it together and moan and groan and laugh and pop our giggly little sounds. It’s all so interesting to us. But no need to spread it around the town. We just keep it right here, under our feet! Don’t you see?” Miss P. Pimsbundle said with giddiness. She lifted the little puppy who whispered today to Mayor Pinswalkle on his daily walk. Under his feet is page one, two, three. And under the goose is page four, five, six. And under the turtle tail is seven, eight and nine. But under the pig is pages ten, eleven, twelve and thirteen and even up to sixteen! “That’s the paper!”

They all stammered and stuttered, “What? I don’t see? How is this the newspaper?” They peered and even sneered and snuffed the stuff below their feet.

“Of course, I see,” said Mayor Pinswalkle. “Indeed. It’s now amazing to me for I see a piece here. I see a piece there. I see pieces everywhere. Hah. Hah. The animals are so smart!”

Detecto Kato let her tail examine the snippets so closely for her tail had wisdom and knowledge beyond any feline ever born. And her sweet little nose smelled the news of the day, but a day old. “Oh! It’s the paper! It’s the newspaper we’ve been looking for! Miss P. Pimsbundle, how did you do this? Why did you do this? Are you still doing this?” Detecto Kato as a little laugh started to gush out.

“Yes, it’s old. It’s already been told. The paper is no longer needed. So I just feeded it, to the paper shredder bin. Every bit, every jit of every printed word. Why spread the bad news when all could be so amused. Yes, I shred it and spread it under the feet of my little animal paws. You should understand. Especially you Detecto Kato! You’re the sleuth. But oh, my little puppy.” She leaned into his little nose and said, “I shouldn’t have let the dog out and spread the horrible news that the news is nowhere to be found but in the dog pound.”

Mayor Pinswalkle laughed and bellowed his belly about. Detecto Kato’s team high-fived their paws and squealed. The Pineewackie newspaper is here. 

A week later, Mayor Pinswalkle paid Detecto Kato and her team for the great sleuth work. Even though the little puppy gave it all away. Detecto Kato visited Pineewackie often wondering what today’s news was, but no one knew, no one had a clue. And they were happy!

TM