Chapter Twenty Nine - Out From The Sludge
The four detectives sat in their den in miserable silence.
Daisypaw sat down facing the den wall with her paws curled underneath her. She was as still as a stone and refused to move or look around even when Hazelpaw poked her with her paw. Lilypaw and Beanpaw were half sitting, half lying down on Beanpaw's nest, leaning heavily on each other. They looked as exhausted as Hazelpaw felt.
Are they even glad to be part of the Detective Society right now? Are they regretting their decision to join?
Meanwhile, the commotion and noise from the Clan Guard down stairs made its way up the apprentices. Hazelpaw could hear heavy paw steps, loud calls and the scraping of twoleg objects on the nest floor.
"We need the paw prints over here.." "..leader, no prey remains…" "Get Shrewtail to do it!"
Hazelpaw let out a sigh, looking down at her paws despondently.
The Clan Guard has all the resources they need which we simply don't have. What is the point of the Detective Society?
Suddenly, a voice spoke from the den entrance, and all the apprentices, except for Daisypaw, gave a start. It was Whitefur.
"Come down stairs apprentices." Said the white furred she cat, her green gaze surveying the den. "The Clan Guard wants to speak with you."
"Lilypaw and Beanpaw can go," responded Daisypaw, still facing the den wall. "But if they know what's good for them, they won't say anything. Hazelpaw will stay here. We're protesting."
Whitefur raised her brown quizzically, but didn't argue as she led Beanpaw and Lilypaw back down stairs. Beeflight came in soon after with a couple of mice, looking quite distracted and on edge. Her amber eyes seemed to linger on the still form of Daisypaw for a heartbeat, full of pity, before she too left. Hazelpaw ate her mouse in quick gulps, barely tasting it, and when the cream she cat didn't move, Daisypaw's as well. It would have gone to waste otherwise.
The grey she cat finally flopped on her side and stared melancholy at the den entrance. Hazelpaw flicked her tail, feeling all restless and unsettled. Her thoughts kept wandering back to the case - poking and prodding it - like a battle wound which she couldn't let be, no matter how much it hurt to keep annoying it.
The grey she cat closed her eyes, thinking of Whitefur, a secret undercover Clan Guard, of Spiderstreak's secret dealings with the rogue group which had been terrorising PineClan for countless sun-ups, and of Sparrowfeather, shouting angrily at the black tom and handing him the poisoned shrew which killed him, and standing at the top of the stairs looking down on the crumpled form of Rosethorn.
Had he really done it? It's either him or Falconflight.
There was no one else. They were the last two suspects.
Lastly, she thought of Haze, the young tortoiseshell tom who had helped to fill in gaps in the mystery about Spiderstreak. Suddenly, Hazelpaw opened her brown eyes with a start, remembering how they had arranged with Haze to meet him this morning, hoping to use his testament as evidence for when they discovered the murderer.
I hope he sees the commotion and knows to stay away. If the Guard was to catch him…..hopefully they would be too busy and just chase him off.
Hazelpaw let out a breathy sigh.
The grey she cat shook her head sharply, a low frustrated growl in her throat, before standing up and beginning to pace. Her restlessness clung to her fur like burrs and as Hazelpaw wandered the den like a trapped prisoner, Daisypaw still unmoving, she couldn't help feeling as though they'd missed something.
Her thoughts wandered to Spiderstreak's feather which they still hadn't found. She wondered briefly where Sparrowfeather had hidden it. The grey she cat had this weird feeling that the white feather was important somehow.
Beware the pure white feather which hides a hidden grudge, danger and death will come out from the sludge.
Oh enough about Ravenwhisker's StarClan cursed warning! Thought Hazelpaw with a snarl.
She paused in her pacing, swiping at the air with unsheathed claws. She could feel her frustration and despondency coursing through her tense muscles.
Foxdung! A fat lot of good it did to stop the murder from happening.
Hazelpaw sat down on her haunches with a sigh, her anger dissipating. Her tail twitched uncontrollable and she still felt restless however.
The grey she cat glanced out the hole and upon noticing it was only about mid-morning she decided she couldn't possibly stand it any longer. It was rather a very Daisypaw-ish feeling to have, but Daisypaw wasn't being very Daisypaw-ish at the moment, so Hazelpaw supposed she had to take her place.
"Come on," said the grey she cat to Daisypaw. "Get up."
"Go away." Replied the cream she cat flatly.
Deciding to take matters into her own paws, Hazelpaw simply padded right over to Daisypaw, grabbed her not-so-gently by her scruff and unceremoniously dragged her off her nest. The cream she cat landed ungracefully on her side with a yelp.
"Foxdung Hazelpaw! What in StarClan has gotten into you?"
"I can't bear it," explained the grey she cat with an agitated lash of her tail, "sitting here waiting. Can't we at least do something?"
"There's nothing to do," grumbled Daisypaw with a roll of her eyes. "But….Oh, very well."
The cream she cat rose to her paws and began padding towards the den entrance way when she suddenly stepped on some foliage causing her to slip. At first Hazelpaw figured it was just some moss from her bedding, but on closer inspection she realised it was a ripped leaf - the cardinal leaf.
"Mousedung," muttered Daisypaw, before Hazelpaw noticed her blue eyes widened upon recognition. "A load of foxdung, you are!" The cream she cat hissed before swiping at the leaf roughly with unsheathed claws. The ripped leaf shot haphazardly into the air, before drifting back down to land a few fox lengths away.
"Daisypaw…" Murmured Hazelpaw quietly. At the end of the day it was still evidence and as good detectives they couldn't destroy it, no matter how mad they were. The grey she cat figure the Clan Guard would want it at some point, but after all the events of today Hazelpaw didn't want to go near the thing - or the Guard for that matter.
Daisypaw glared at Hazelpaw. "Well you do something with it then. I want it out of my sight!" Snapped the cream apprentice before sauntering out of the den.
Hazelpaw sighed, before reluctantly padding over and picking the leaf up lightly in her jaws by the stem as if it was a manky piece of crowfood. The grey she cat then followed her friend out the entrance.
On the second floor Hazelpaw stopped and noticed the older Seasons' apprentice den, where Eaglepaw, Mudpaw and Beeflight slept, right across from their own den. Because the distraction was as good as anything else, the two she cats curiously padded their way towards the den. Unsure what to do with the leaf, Hazelpaw simply let it drift down just outside on the floor, before peaking inside.
There sat Eaglepaw in a fully extending flop on his most nest, mindlessly playing with a stray cricket. Mudpaw was nowhere to be seen.
"Hello? Oh, it's you sis and your friend." Said Eaglepaw upon spotting the two she cats. The cream tom pawed at his cricket. "Come for a game? Look at this little beauty."
"No, I'm not in the mood for games." Said Daisypaw with an annoyed flick of her tail.
"Yeah? I'm not either really." Replied Eaglepaw with a sigh, before returning to slumping in his moss nest.
Hazelpaw could tell that Eaglepaw was almost as upset as Daisypaw. She had never heard him be so nice before. "Where's Mudpaw?"
"Downstairs." Replied Eaglepaw, waving his tail vaguely in that same direction. "Being interviewed I think. Rotten few sun-ups have been for him. No, make that a rotten quarter moon. It's all brought up bad memories. You know that his father was murdered by rogues when he was only a kit?"
Hazelpaw nodded.
"Well his mother was a kittypet who had left her owners to raise Mudpaw. His father found them a nice place to stay where he visited them often because he was a clan cat. Servalleap I think he said. Possibly PineClan. But then Mudpaw's mother took up with this other filthy scoundrel of a tom instead who then killed his father in a cowardly battle with his rogue pack. Mudpaw witnessed it all. And would you believe it?! Not only did they kill his father, they took away the one thing to remember him by. Some sorta family token. It sounded like an accessory to me which is why I figured he was PineClan. And then - and then - the filthy tom used Mudpaw's mother to get control of their patch of land, before chasing them out of it!"
A low growl emitted from Eaglepaw, seemingly angry on behalf of his friend with the injustice of it all.
"The last thing Mudpaw remembers of his mother is her dropping him off somewhere inside the border for him to be found, before leaving him; never to be seen again." The cream tom sighed and shook his head. "Whenever Mudpaw talks about her he makes her seem like some sort of valiant victim - and I suppose she is a victim to some extent - but….I don't know. Bad form, I say, leaving your family - both your family - like that. Our family would never do something stupid and leave kin behind."
Eaglepaw then gave a start as if he had just heard what he'd said. "Er..sorry, I didn't mean-"
"I know what you meant." Said Daisypaw, scowling. "I don't care. Everything's ruined!"
Suddenly there was a lot of noise and commotion down stairs - shouting. Hazelpaw stiffened and pretended not to hear it and noticed the others did two. The grey she cat's brown gaze desperately searched the den for something else to focus on - when she saw it.
Growing out of a crack in the left side of the den wall, right next to a neatly made moss nest, was a long green stem growing upright. Growing out from the top and one slightly lower down, were two large green and yellow tinged leaves - cardinal leaves. One large and round and the other smaller and longer and ripped in half with a jagged edge.
Hazelpaw froze.
Without even registering it, the grey she cat padded swiftly just outside the den to fetch the deathberry stained half cardinal leaf they had found in the meal den. She quickly padded back inside to the stem and put the two pieces together, but deep down she already knew it was a match.
And it was. A completely perfect fit.
And just like that, all the jumbled up information of nearly right details and clues, which had been fighting against each other in Hazelpaw's head and refusing to make sense, suddenly clicked together.
"Eaglepaw," Hazelpaw asked very quietly, "whose nest is this?"
"What?" Said the cream tom distractedly. "That? Oh, that's Mudpaw's. He wanted to sleep there because the cardinal leaves reminded him of his old home. Odd, did he rip one? That's not like him. He's usually so boringly cleanpaw about being careful with things. Wouldn't even play with my cricket."
Hazelpaw didn't need to look over at Daisypaw to know that she had frozen. "Eaglepaw," said the cream she cat carefully, "does Mudpaw know about the secret stairs? That dark old staircase in the corner of this floor?"
"Eh?" Asked Eaglepaw. "You two ask the oddest things sometimes."
"Eaglepaw you prized idiotic mouse brain! Will you answer me? Does he know about the secret staircase?"
"That old staircase in the corner? Yes, we both know about it. It's hardly a secret. We used the stairs to sneak out to go hunting the first night we were here. He can get down there quieter than a mouse. It's almost as if he is at home in the shadows."
Hazelpaw remembered how they had ruled Mudpaw out for the second crime.
I had seen him in the shadows just outside the apprentice's Nest Lay den and thought that had been where he had come out from - but of course, of course, he could have covertly climbed up the secret stairs, ambushed Rosethorn from the darkness of the shadows and in the few heart beats soon after, quickly and quietly run back down the secret stairs to where they open right in front of the apprentice's Nest Lay den.
The thought made Hazelpaw feel sick. Could it really be? After all, Mudpaw was so nice and kind and a good loyal PineClan cat.
And yet he had witnessed his father be murdered by a group of rogues led by the scoundrel his mother took up with before he then went and stole their home and kicked them both out.
Hazelpaw then thought back to what Haze had said about Spiderstreak's mission to take over Cardinal Nest. About how he had done something like that before with the rogue's other base. And just last sun-up when Haze had come back with further information and explained how he had taken over a piece of land from a queen and her lone kit.
It's all there. Right there in that sad story told by Eaglepaw and Haze.
And then something else occurred to Hazelpaw.
Servalleap...his father's name was Servalleap. Like Servalstrike. It's a very strange coincidence for a cat to be named after someone so known, unless of course it's a family name. And names aren't the only thing passed down family lines...so are tokens and in this particular family, a pure white swan feather….
Eaglepaw's voice from moments before echoed in Hazelpaw's mind. "Mudpaw witnessed it all. And would you believe it?! Not only did they kill his father they took away the one thing to remember him by. Some sorta family token. It sounded like an accessory to me which is why I figured he was PineClan….."
The white swan feather which Spiderstreak had been flaunting around all this time like a won prize, actually belonged to Mudpaw's dead father, Servalleap, the true descendant of Servalstrike.
Beware the pure white feather which hides a hidden grudge. Danger and death will come out from the sludge.
Hazelpaw now knew that the secret behind the white feather was the murder of Mudpaw's father by Spiderstreak and the rogue group he was helping at that time too. The black tom had stolen his feather and Mudpaw had held a grudge against him ever since.
Had he recognised Spiderstreak when he came to PineClan and been planning his downfall for seasons or had he just been waiting for the right opportunity?
Whatever the case, the drama at PineClan involving Rosethorn and Sparrowfeather rowing, Spiderstreak sliding in between them, must have spurned him into action. Hazelpaw figured he might have felt as though it was happening all over again. And an awful thing it was to happen. Despite everything the grey she cat still felt bad for him and his family. But now, because of Mudpaw, there was now another family that was also in a terrible situation. He had made danger and death come to Cardinal Nest. He had killed Spiderstreak, almost killed Rosethorn and was now letting Sparrowfeather be framed for it all.
Hazelpaw remembered the white and brown pawed tom's words from just the night before.
"You're quite safe. Eaglepaw and I - we won't let anything happen to the four of you. I can promise you that…"
It had felt so comforting to hear him say it then on the moonlit floor, now it just felt like a lie. And now it just absolutely proved that he was the one.
He was the sludge.
He was the murderer.
Hazelpaw could now feel herself shaking all over in horror and confusion. How could it be him? How could, sweet, quiet, nice and kind Mudpaw who understood what it was like not to be clanborn be capable of murder?
But the facts and the truth were right there for Hazelpaw to see. The grey she cat tried to take a steadying gulp. She knew she had to push her feelings of betrayal and hurt aside and focus on being a detective. Sparrowfeather's future still hung in the balance and the two she cats desperately needed to prove his innocence before it was too late.
Even if it means dobbing in Mudpaw.
"Daisypaw, the feather!" Called Hazelpaw frantically. The cream she cat understood what she meant at once. Like a hunter on the scent of a mouse, the detective dived forward into Mudpaw's nest throwing aside moss, twigs and leaves.
"Fleaface, hey! Put that down!" Said Eaglepaw as he divided furiously after his sister. "Fleaface you dastardly foxheart. Put that down its Mudpaw's nest!"
By then Daisypaw had given up looking inside the nest and decided to look under the whole thing. Lifting it up with one paw, the cream she cat used her other paw to root around, before yelping with triumph as she slid out…..Spiderstreak's feather.
The final piece of evidence.
Mudpaw was really, truly guilty.
As Hazelpaw took it all in again she felt as if she had just been drenched head to toe in ice cold water; as if she had fallen into the lake at night and was drowning in the darkness. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe.
Then suddenly, the grey she cat's ears pricked as she heard, along with everyone else, the sound of the most furious roaring in the long den below.
"Sparrowfeather!" Cried Daisypaw. "Quick, oh, quick!"
Hazelpaw didn't hesitate and together the two she cats ran as fast as they could towards the main stairs.
…...
When they arrived at the top of the stairs, there was a mighty struggle happening in the long den below.
Sparrowfeather was wriggling like a fat StormClan fish in the grasp of Gorsestep and the lead Guard, Blackstone, who both held the brown tom firmly by the scruff. Shrewtail was standing awkwardly near them, tail flicking nervously.
Meanwhile, Beanpaw was sobbing, with Lilypaw, who almost looked like she wanted to sob herself, trying to comfort her. The large, fluffy ginger tom Lionmane, Beanpaw's father, who must have arrived earlier, was also there and glaring furiously at every cat around him as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
Jupinerbush was there watching proceedings through an agonized blue gaze and rapidly sheathing and unsheathing his claws. Rosethorn stood near the warrior's Nest Lay den, lips pressed tightly together, with her cobweb bandaged head leaning on Falconflight, who in turn had his yellow tabby tail wrapped tightly around her, blue eyes unreadable. Whitefur sat a little off from them straight up on her haunches, face impassive. Beeflight and Mintpelt were huddled together in front of the apprentice's Nest Lay den, identical expressions of shock, horror and sadness apparent on their features.
And Mudpaw...Mudpaw hovered in the shadows just inside the warrior's Nest Lay den, face gaunt and ears flat.
How did I not see how suspiciously he had been behaving? Thought Hazelpaw in despair. How could I have not noticed before?
Gorsestep and Blackstone then started to half drag, half walk Sparrowfeather to the nest entrance.
"Unpaw me!" Bellowed the brown tom. "Get your paws off of me this INSTANCE! I had nothing to do with this - nothing - why won't you believe me? I….I," Sparrowfeather's amber gaze darted frantically around the long den. "Jupinerbush! Uncle, help me."
"Nephew..I..I can't-" Replied the brown tabby tom, voice cracking.
"Sparrowfeather of PineClan," spoke up Gorsestep, voice stern and serious. "If you won't give me another explanation for how you came to hand Spiderstreak a shrew poisoned by deathberries only a few moments before he became ill and died, then I simply have to arrest you and bring you to the Guard camp. You must see that."
The dark brown tabby gave his tail an exasperated lash before sighing. "I am quite willing to believe there has been a terrible misunderstanding." Continued Gorsestep, tone softening but still firm with authority. "But I need to hear the truth."
"The TRUTH?" Roared Sparrowfeather, fur along his spine bristling spectacularly and tail lashing furiously. The brown tom sounded absolutely angry but Hazelpaw thought she detected mostly fear in his amber eyes. "I've given you my WORD! I swear by STARCLAN! Surely that means more than…...I tell you, I had nothing to do with that tom's death. FALCONFLIGHT! Can't you do something? Alert your tom, you leader, on the island. This is an outrage. HELP me!"
"I'm sorry," replied Falconflight softly. "I can't do that old thing."
He thinks Sparrowfeather is guilty! Thought Hazelpaw with a jolt. Everyone thinks he's guilty. But how can I blame them? After all, I had thought so too until only a few moments ago.
Hazelpaw knew the two she cats had to do something, and quickly, but Daisypaw seemed to be stuck. Her body absolutely frozen, blue eyes wide with horror and mouth slightly agape as she took in the scene below. Hazelpaw gave her a desperate hard nudge in her side, and the cream she cat suddenly came unstuck in a rush.
"No! STOP! Sparrowfeather didn't do it!"
"I know you think so." Said Gorsestep calmly. "But unless somebody in this case can give me evidence to the contrary-"
"But we do have evidence!" Cried Daisypaw. "Lots! And we know who the real murderer was too! It wasn't Sparrowfeather, it was Mudpaw!"
YESSS! Unbelievable! It's MUDPAW! Our adorable little MUDDYPAW….
Hello everyone! And what do you think of that?! Are you surprised? Or did you see it coming? Did you guess? Does it make sense? Are you disappointed? Does the warning/prophecy make sense now? Whatever the case, I still hope you enjoyed the chapter! Sad for Hazel though but good for Daisy I guess because it didn't turn out to be any of her family. The only thing left now is to clear Sparrow's name. Will they do it in time? Will Gorsestep believe them? Tune in next Friday to see what happens next and how Mudpaw reacts...
-Fastbreeze37 (Seven)
PS: Check out my profile for a pic of our adorable Beeflight!
QOTD – Looking back can you see some hidden clues which referred to Mudpaw as the murderer?
Reviews:
Hissing Mist – Ha, ha, that's cool! A lighter shade of blue would probably be more realistic, I went a bit too enthusiastic on the colouring…ah well. That whole scene with Daisy, Sparrow and Gorse was certainly a bit awks…with Hazel busy making some killer metaphors or whatever on the side. Glad you liked em! Oh that was just the she cat clan guard from the last book, the one that talked to the tom who was guarding the med-cat den when Hazel and Daisy were hiding there, nearer the end of MMUL. That tom who was guarding is actually Acornfur, the one who swam across first a few chaps back. Good point lol, but they're probably all safe and sound inside because Beeflight has to hunt quite early in time for morning meal and Minty most likely went with her then. But imagine if Falconfoxheart got stuck outside ;.) Soz it turns out that he didn't get to be the killer and Whitefur won't be able to do her dramatic divorce…(I mean she still could but it would have to be on other grounds, like him being such a stuck up drama queen or something lol ;.) Yep, even if Gorsestep has a point about the danger of murders, he probably didn't handle it the best mentioning that to Daisypaw, especially in the mood that she was in! But at least Daisy doesn't have to worry about that now. Glad you forgive Gorsey though for his slight slip. Another Falcon comedy scene sounds great and with a certain Mrs. Whitey too, can't wait! Thank you so much and hope you enjoyed this chapter :.)