Shownotes
Today’s story is the first of two parts of “Victor Tremblay in: Snowed Inn” by Pascal Farful, who’s script for “A Very Fucking Christmas” was soundly rejected by the Hallmark Channel, and you can find more of his stories on his FurAffinity and SoFurry pages.
Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.
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https://thevoice.dog/episode/victor-tremblay-in-snowed-inn-by-pascal-farful-part-1-of-2
Transcripts
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog. I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,
Speaker:and Today’s story
Speaker:is the first of two parts of
Speaker:“Victor Tremblay in:
Speaker:Snowed Inn” by Pascal Farful,
Speaker:who’s script for “A Very Fucking Christmas” was soundly rejected by the Hallmark Channel,
Speaker:and you can find more of his stories
Speaker:on his FurAffinity and SoFurry pages.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Victor Tremblay
Speaker:in - Snowed Inn” by Pascal Farful,
Speaker:Part 1 of 2 January 12th 1988
Speaker:Winter was particularly cold in north Idaho
Speaker:and we were right up against the border with Canada.
Speaker:Hotel stays without Charles were rough. But they were good pay,
Speaker:and that was what we needed most.
Speaker:This was an old place.
Speaker:Cozy, hospitable, but definitely showing its age.
Speaker:Red brick exterior, three floors,
Speaker:seemingly of a pre-war design.
Speaker:Though it was well cleaned inside, airy and bright. I had a small room to myself on the third floor, with a telephone so I could call Charles before bed and in the morning,
Speaker:as well as a very nice en-suite bathroom.
Speaker:On the eve of our arrival, myself and my partner for this mission, Don Harvey, made our way out of the hotel and into the small village opposite the hotel itself,
Speaker:consisting of a small restaurant directly opposite the hotel.
Speaker:Then a little further up the road,
Speaker:a small grey post office and a trade and commerce office alongside that.
Speaker:These existed just past a single-track railway line
Speaker:and a small station building.
Speaker:We made a safe crossing over the railway to the other road
Speaker:and elected to have dinner at the restaurant.
Speaker:Don managed his usual trick of being underwhelmed by the quality of food and service,
Speaker:while finding the small place struggling to survive
Speaker:quaint and cute all at once.
Speaker:While eating, I noticed a rat in a yellow coat having an overt argument with someone on a telephone, though
Speaker:I was distracted from this by Don’s constant complaining.
Speaker:“Man, I can’t tell if this steak is cooked too much or not cooked enough.” He said,
Speaker:poking his vegan steak with a fork.
Speaker:“Since when did you become a food critic?”
Speaker:I asked offhand, staring at the rat on the phone as he became more animated.
Speaker:“Since Ma’ picked up a spoon, told me it was an aeroplane and stuck it in my throat.”
Speaker:Don chortled. I blinked,
Speaker:remembering my youth,
Speaker:then wishing I hadn’t.
Speaker:“Charming.” I said, noting the rat had stormed out of the building,
Speaker:and turning back to my soup.
Speaker:We’d been brought along to investigate an investment conference
Speaker:hosted by the Benzyme Technology Institute.
Speaker:Stank of money laundering,
Speaker:pyramid schemes, that sort of thing.
Speaker:Don had a lot of experience with the workings of
Speaker:large piles of money,
Speaker:legitimate and illegitimate.
Speaker:As such, to my disappointment,
Speaker:he was chosen to accompany me on this.
Speaker:He was with the police detective agency, hence had a firearm
Speaker:and was seen as a “trusted pair of hands” for big money jobs,
Speaker:I was just a reluctant contractor, getting my pay where I could.
Speaker:This background in cash, I begrudgingly admit, was an advantage.
Speaker:Not that you could call having a billion dollars “legitimate”, of course.
Speaker:It was more money than me and Charles would ever see in our entire lives on this earth.
Speaker:Having dined without excess incident,
Speaker:we returned to the hotel and checked into my bed.
Speaker:Tomorrow would be an early start
Speaker:and a long, long day.
Speaker:Though not in the way I was expecting.
Speaker:I woke up to my alarm as intended and clambered out of bed and headed for the shower.
Speaker:My fur was still full of shampoo when the old, ornate telephone began to ring.
Speaker:With dry hands, I took the call.
Speaker:“Detective Tremblay?”
Speaker:“Yes?” I replied.
Speaker:“Due to the weather, I’m afraid we’re having to suspend the event until things clear up.
Speaker:We can’t get anyone down to the site safely.”
Speaker:I moved from the bedside table to the window and opened it.
Speaker:A thick, heavy flood of snow had coated everything in sight.
Speaker:Including Don’s rather horrible Porsche he’d insisted on driving up here in.
Speaker:“Understood, well, keep us informed and we’ll let you know of any developments.”
Speaker:I instructed, placing down the phone and getting dressed.
Speaker:The badger was an utter grump about the whole thing.
Speaker:“We can’t even get the goddamn door open.”
Speaker:He grunted, gesturing to the double doors at the front of the reception foyer.
Speaker:“Planning to make some snow angels?”
Speaker:I enquired with a smirk.
Speaker:“You’re a winter animal, this is practically your habitat.”
Speaker:I teased. A lemur such as myself was capable of surviving fairly diverse habitats.
Speaker:But snow was somewhat beyond our comfort zone.
Speaker:Hence I had evolved to bring along a big coat.
Speaker:Given that confence had been postponed,
Speaker:and that we were stuck inside anyway, I made clear to Don that our best course of action
Speaker:was to get a cup of coffee,
Speaker:sit back in a chair
Speaker:and wait it out. With coffee in paw,
Speaker:and a grumbling badger throwing a strop, I sat back in a wingback chair
Speaker:and waited for the snow to thaw.
Speaker:“What do you mean, it’s gone?”
Speaker:“It’s gone, it’s just gone.”
Speaker:My ear twitched. A pair of moles stood a few paces away,
Speaker:rummaging through a backpack.
Speaker:The pair were both clad in outdoorswear, seemingly ready for rough weather
Speaker:and bitter cold. I kept my ear trained on them for a while.
Speaker:“Yeah I definitely had it.”
Speaker:The one in blue whispered.
Speaker:The one in yellow shook their head and silenced their partner,
Speaker:and they began to move past my position.
Speaker:“Excuse me.” I said, standing up.
Speaker:“Could I be any help?”
Speaker:“Oh uhh, no, don’t worry we’ve got it under control.”
Speaker:The one in yellow briskly assured me.
Speaker:I took note of their appearance.
Speaker:Generally well-kept fur, though with a small scar on the back of the paw and some fur steadfast refusing to stay matted down.
Speaker:I nodded and sat back down as they scurried back upstairs.
Speaker:“You remember that vase they were talking about?” Don asked. “$70’000 for a damn vase. Absolutely insane.”
Speaker:I wrapped my head back over the check in.
Speaker:I vaguely recalled it, though the badger was quick to jog me.
Speaker:“C’mon Victor, call yourself a detective.”
Speaker:He smirked. “Sapphire,
Speaker:dark blue, tall long lookin’ thing.
Speaker:Was in the brochure when I picked this place.
Speaker:Sorta thing you’d want in your trophy cabinet.
Speaker:Hire some bikini babes to clean it for you.”
Speaker:Don started to cackle, in that awful way he did.
Speaker:My brain invoked his image.
Speaker:The modified idea of Charles with such a vase appealed,
Speaker:though then again that was because it was Charles.
Speaker:He could be holding an encyclopaedia of radiation diseases
Speaker:and it’d still be an appealing sight for him alone.
Speaker:Better yet of course,
Speaker:Charles owns the vase and I get to clean it in the bikini.
Speaker:Oh how the mind yearns.
Speaker:I’d completely gotten lost in how happy I’d be in such a garment that I failed to notice the pandemonium that had befallen the room.
Speaker:The owner, a skunk in her mid thirties appeared,
Speaker:teeth and claws out.
Speaker:“Not a single one of you is leaving this building until you find it!”
Speaker:She growled. I stood up and approached.
Speaker:“What’s gone missing?”
Speaker:She gave me a glare.
Speaker:“The Alpha Vase.” She took a look over my figure.
Speaker:“You wouldn’t happen to be one of those…”
Speaker:I took out my badge.
Speaker:“Yes, and my assistant, Don Harvey is also in residence.”
Speaker:“Oh! You were the uhh…
Speaker:Friend of Dorothy who checked in last night.”
Speaker:I went perfectly scarlet.
Speaker:“Uhhh…” “Margaret Lanier”. She said quickly.
Speaker:“Did you call me your assistant?”
Speaker:Don grumbled belligerently once he’d got to us
Speaker:“I’ll handle this, Tremblay.”
Speaker:“I’m sure Victor can handle it quite fine on his own.”
Speaker:She assured him with a knowing smirk.
Speaker:My blush turned into surprise,
Speaker:though how on earth she knew, I’d have to work out later.
Speaker:“Yeah, you’re right. It’s only a vase, you can probably work that one out.”
Speaker:The badger smirked,
Speaker:giving me a nudge with his elbow.
Speaker:I nodded. “Of course, last thing we’d want to do is tax that supercomputer brain of yours.”
Speaker:I grunted. “Where is the vase usually kept?”
Speaker:“Top floor, centre corridor on the north side. In a glass case.”
Speaker:She explained. I nodded
Speaker:and briskly departed for the stairwell.
Speaker:A little light excersize up to the third floor and I was soon faced with the debris.
Speaker:A wooden stand in the centre of the corridor up against the back wall.
Speaker:Around it were shards of glass
Speaker:and the vase was missing.
Speaker:Firstly to check for an implement.
Speaker:A smash-and-grab of this type would usually involve a primary weapon
Speaker:used to shatter the glass,
Speaker:then pick up the object with the paws.
Speaker:Though this seemed a shoddy job indeed.
Speaker:I couldn’t see any primary weapon,
Speaker:but, upon closer inspection of the glass, I could see blood on it.
Speaker:This suggested it was either broken by hand
Speaker:or the thief hadn’t used any hand protection.
Speaker:Perhaps an impulsive move, rather than a planned heist.
Speaker:Destroying the glass with a weapon could risk damage to the vase itself,
Speaker:although removing the case through detachment from the base would have been the best way for that.
Speaker:I pulled on some gloves and took out an evidence bag,
Speaker:placed the glass shards within it,
Speaker:wrapped the entire thing in bubble wrap and placed it in my pocket again.
Speaker:Something of this type would most likely come with an alarm system.
Speaker:Something to alert of a theft.
Speaker:In the base of the stand,
Speaker:I saw a small red LED and a tiny sensor.
Speaker:The LED was blank.
Speaker:It had not been triggered.
Speaker:Could be two reasons for this.
Speaker:Reason one was that the sensor was disabled prior to theft,
Speaker:though that would make smashing the glass somewhat pointless.
Speaker:Reason two, the one I was in favour of,
Speaker:was that the sensor simply wasn’t functioning correctly, either from being broken
Speaker:or being of shoddy workmanship.
Speaker:The bottom section of the glass remained intact around the connection point with the stand.
Speaker:This might simply be what triggers it.
Speaker:Again, destroying the case by force would likely
Speaker:drop glass shards onto and into the vase,
Speaker:doing damage that a collector thief
Speaker:would be unlikely to want to cause.
Speaker:I took a few preliminary photographs of the crime scene,
Speaker:then began to assess the hallway.
Speaker:Blood would be the big tell.
Speaker:Once one was in possession of the vase,
Speaker:leaving the hallway as fast as possible would be the logical move.
Speaker:And a hotel room itself would be a good location to escape into,
Speaker:at least for a moment.
Speaker:I had been staying on the same floor as the vase, though at the north end of the floor.
Speaker:I moved up and down the corridor,
Speaker:before at last, I spotted a few drips of red on one of the doorhandles.
Speaker:I photographed it,
Speaker:collected a sample onto a swab
Speaker:and placed it into another evidence bag,
Speaker:and then entered the room.
Speaker:I was blasted instantly with bitter arctic cold.
Speaker:The large double windows of the room were wide open and the curtains fluttered and waved from the wind and the snow.
Speaker:I grunted, tugging the door closed behind me and taking a few steps towards the window
Speaker:and moving to close it,
Speaker:then deciding against it
Speaker:and taking a long look
Speaker:down into the snow below.
Speaker:I took out my camera and got a picture of the snow formation.
Speaker:It’s possible the assailant attempted to escape via this window.
Speaker:Though, leaping from a third floor window, even with a snow bank below would be a fool’s errand.
Speaker:The snow didn’t seem that deformed,
Speaker:no evidence of an impact.
Speaker:It’s possible that this was a considered plan,
Speaker:but one reconsidered,
Speaker:given the scope. My blood went cold.
Speaker:There was no reason
Speaker:why the thief couldn’t still be in here.
Speaker:I spun around. The room door was open.
Speaker:“Tabarnac!” I growled, storming out of the room.
Speaker:Flash of fabric at the end of the corridor.
Speaker:I broke out into a run.
Speaker:Far wall. Left turn.
Speaker:Yellow coat. I didn’t get any other features.
Speaker:That was enough. End of the corridor. Left again.
Speaker:A circle. I was closing in.
Speaker:I saw my chance. I was a fool.
Speaker:A damn fool. The figure in yellow paused just above the stairs.
Speaker:In this moment, I could have stopped.
Speaker:I could have thought.
Speaker:I could have been smart.
Speaker:I was not. Like a cheetah, I lept.
Speaker:I tackled the yellow figure and hurled myself and them tumbling down the steps.
Speaker:I felt each step smack against my body.
Speaker:All I could see. Carpet. Rooftop. Foyer. Carpet. Rooftop. Stairs. Carpet.
Speaker:At last we tumbled to a halt and I understood the true nature of my disaster.
Speaker:I hadn’t tackled one person in yellow.
Speaker:I’d tackled two. This was the first of two parts of
Speaker:“Victor Tremblay in -
Speaker:Snowed Inn” by Pascal Farful,
Speaker:read for you by Khaki,
Speaker:your faithful fireside companion.
Speaker:Tune in next time to find out how Detective Tremblay
Speaker:solves the case of the Alpha vase!
Speaker:As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,
Speaker:or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to The Voice of Dog.