Episode 10 - The Cat Who Went Underground

 Episode 10 - The Cat Who Went Underground

We go back to where it all began for Qwill, the Klingenschoen Cabin on the lake!  Polly's in England for the Summer so Qwill packs up the cats and heads off for a summer in Mooseville, two years after he first visited and learned that he would inherit the Klingenschoen fortune. 

His summer, however is filled with MIS-Fortune - missing carpenters, faulty plumbing, and even a Visitor or two!  But when a carpenter winds up dead and Qwill finds a serial killer's list in the cabin crawl space, it's up to him and Koko to clear up this mystery  (while Yum Yum catches mice). 

Listen to the podcast here: 

https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-jjtmr-f522d1

Horoscopes are the theme of this book and the running gag is that Qwill doesn’t even know his sign.  So we hear a lot about other people’s horoscopes and what Qwill’s would have been if he paid attention to them. He's a Gemini, by the way, according to Mildred Hanstable.

This book has almost as much exposition as actual story and we are quickly populating Moose County with new and notable people.

New People: 

• Yay, we finally meet the Comptons!  Lisa and her famously grouchy husband Lyle.  

• The Bushlands, John (known as Bushy for his lack of hair) and his wife Vicki.

• Captain Phlogg, the scammy owner of the Captain’s chest Antiques in Mooseville and a former ship’s carpenter.  He’s been a background character for several books, but is found dead early on. At one point, it’s thought he was one of Little Joe’s victims, but it turns out he drank himself to death. (When Rosemary gives Qwill a Scrimshaw carving of a cat in "Played Brahms", it's from Captain Phlogg's shop)

• Osmund Hasselrich, Qwill’s attorney and we are re-introduced to his daughter Irma (once again staffing the senior center).

Arch Riker is starting to acclimate to country life - he talks about how Down Below he’d write a flippant headline about a fire that killed 150k chickens, but now he empathizes and sees the amount of work that went literally up in smoke… Holy cow that’s a lot of chickens…

There is mention of an annual Fish hook Festival in Mooseville, the Queen of which rides in the 4th of July paradewith a formal ballgown made of camo fabric and a crown of deer antlers…  I've started a list of festivals and such so we can see what comes back.

Sign of the times - during his police interview Qwill is asked how much he prepaid Iggy for the days work and he answers, $55.  Wow...

Restaurants  - There is a dinner at a place called The Fish Tank in Mooseville, famous for their clam chowder and navy Grog that has a fun scene with Mildred and a former student - she instructs the kid to take Qwill’s poorly boned fish back to the kitchen and “No Excuses”.  Qwill asks how long her influence over her students lasts and she responds that they “have her for life.”  The power of the teacher!!

The Hot Spot doesn’t fare so well - Qwill orders enchiladas and Roger orders Cajun pork chops. What arrives is nothing like either of those things, and Qwill in a stunningly bitchy move takes their plates to the host stand and tells them to “warm them up and serve them to someone else” before they leave and go to the Hotel Booze for the Boozeburger.  We also see the Palomino Paddock in Lockmaster which is the fanciest restaurant yet to be found in the north country (Long dresses, wine stewards with chains, but all the servers dress as stable hands.) 

I've also started a list to track the restaurants in Moose County - some appear only once, like the Hot Spot, while others because institutions.

There is a moment where Qwill runs into Lori and Nick Bamba out having dinner and he talks about how well she types with one hand while she “holds the formula bottle with the other” and when she mentions that his mail has doubled since he started his new column, he tells her to “start typing with both hands.”  Well, now we know why you’re divorced with no plans to marry and procreate Qwill.  I have issues with this - possibly because I’m the new mother of a 9month old, probably because I’m a woman in a support role to a bunch of equally clueless men and his flippancy pisses me off.  You would get nothing done without your support staff, stop dismissing us like we’re expendable.

Also, I wish she would stop writing that Roger is “Babysitting” his own kids...He’s being a dad and staying home with them so his wife can do her work.

This is also the first serious reference to “The Visitors” (there were some references in the Cat Who Played Brahms) Qwill has a couple of late night encounters with green lights over the lake and these continue through the series when he goes to the cabin - apparently they’re communicating with Koko.

Cats will be cats:  Yum Yum catches a mouse!!  And we are introduced to Mildred’s unintended cat treats - apparently they love her homemade cereal.  Bushy makes his first attempt to photograph the cats for a calendar competition.  They are not having it, and remain in their hamper the entire time.  Ah well, there’s at least one more attempt in the series.