Good and Evil (2): Mulder Honey-Fox

There I was - Darcy Fielding about to hear about something called the Packbat from the paranormal investigator Mulder Honey-Fox. My curiosity itch was going to be scratched!

"The crimes varied from village to village and appeared to have nothing in common. Stealing all the carrot crop in one place. Trying to flood another. Kidnapping key critters..."

"He kidnapped people?"

"Don't worry. He was never totally successful. Sylvanians always pull together and his plans were always thwarted. And yet there was a concern that one day he might succeed, so he needed stopping. That's why they called me in."

I stared at Mulder. "And you can..."

"...sometimes see patterns others miss. I consider the unusual options, make connections that some may think whacky. But I frequently succeed where others fail."

"You do?"

He laughed. "I'm not being big-headed. I'm weird. Happy to be. Clara - my wife - likes me this way. She wouldn't have married me otherwise."

I couldn't help but laugh too. "So how did you help with the Packbat problem? I presume you did."

"I did. I took a step back. Instead of looking at the crimes themselves I looked at the consequences of those crimes should they succeed. These did have a common factor. So obvious it was overlooked. All the crimes seemed designed to disrupt the communities."

"Why would anyone do that? It's not..."

"Not a Sylvanian trait? No."

I remembered what Bisto Wildwood had said. "So Packbat isn't Sylvanian?"

Mulder shook his head. "It wasn't likely even before my encounter. Because of my experience - investigating unusual situations - a non-Sylvanian was something I'd easily consider."

"Right," I said, still finding this extraordinary, "and you seem to be confirming this from when you met him. Was it a him? No - never mind that. How did you find him?"

"It probably was male - I don't know. As for finding him, I examined my maps to plot the locations of his crimes. This had already been done in a general way, but I factored in geographical features, weather cycles and mathematical patterns that standard maps don't include. There appeared to be in a random pattern, and no logical sequence to assist predicting future crimes. But then I spotted something. You know about calm strips, of course?"

"Marking seasonal boundaries, yes."

"But did you know that they always pass through wetlands? And within these there are small swamps that appear and disappear, in varying locations?"

"Vaguely. Whilst there are some homes on calm strips, nobody builds near the wetland  sections."

"Sensible. I'm assuming you don't know the current theory about these calm strips and these temporary swamps? No? Well, apparently the thought is that these pop-up swamps are safety valves to ensure the calm strips remain unchanging in climate and humidity. And now you're wondering about the relevance of all this?"

 

I shrugged.

Mulder continued. "It's relevant because my maps show the migration patterns of these swamps, and what do you know? The crimes were in villages within striking distance of the swamps."    

 

 

I frowned. "You think this Packbat lived in swampland?"

"More than that. Although he was forced to take a circuitous path, he was choosing swamps that allowed him to travel between different mountain ranges. You may not know it, but mountains are connected throughout Sylvania..."

Under my breath I whispered a rhetorical question: "the routes of Sylvania?"

"Did you say something?" said Mulder.

"You figured out his route?"

"Why yes! Very astute," he said with a respectful nod. "There was a likelihood that he was approaching Mellowdene."

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I wasn't sure what to say. I'd lived in Mellowdene all my life and consider myself well-informed. Some might even consider me a little nosey, which - given my newspaper background - is a fair assessment. Yet I'd heard nothing of the Packbat. Until Bisto mentioned him I wasn't sure if I'd even heard the name. I confess I was a little indignant at the thought no-one had before mentioned him. And hadn't Bisto said that the Packbat hadn't been here?

"I'd never been to Mellowdene," Mulder was saying. "I'd heard of it, of course. A year or two earlier I'd been brought in to consult on a chocolate mine that had mysteriously emerged at the other side of the mountains, and the village had cropped up in conversation."

 

He seemed to be momentarily lost in his memories before returning to the point.

 

"I'd heard rumours that Mellowdene was a nice place - but then, where isn't in Sylvania? But these rumours were later validated by Clara as her sister Karen lived there. As such, my wife accompanied me."

"Go on."

"I was going to contact the Sheriff's Department and introduce myself to Bisto, but Clara wanted first to meet up with Karen and her husband Haru Kitsune. They were expecting their first child, and I wasn't going to argue."

"So when did you meet Bisto?"

"I didn't. Not then, anyway. My attention was diverted by something that cropped up in conversation. The ladies were discussing child rearing methods and, in particular, the subject of spirituality and morality. They were talking about the Snow Queen myth and Karen was quite animated about it. In my job I am aware of countless myths and beliefs over Sylvania, so I had heard of the Snow Queen. I didn't realise how serious some critters are about it."

I nodded. "After living here some years you do now, I expect. The Melting Festival and Beastie Hunt alone raise the myth's profile."

"Yes. But back then it made me wonder: if Mellowdene villagers are so bound to the myth, might the Packbat think that it could be used in some way to attack the morale of the village?"

"I don't follow."

Mulder leaned back. "If my theory about Packbat disrupting Sylvanian life was correct, threatening Mellowdene's primary belief system would fit. In other attacks he'd concentrated on the prime concern of that village. That had been via key economic interests, infrastructures and people. I just needed to know what symbolised the Snow Queen in Mellowdene."

I instantly thought of the Dreamstone but Mulder didn’t have that in mind. He meant the centrepiece of the Melting Festival. The statue on the village green.

 

 
"When Haru told me about the statue, I resolved to go there first thing the following morning and assess whether it was something that could be damaged beyond repair."

Mulder had a point. If the statue was destroyed, the negative effect on morale would be considerable. Who knows what could follow? It was an awful thought to think it could result in anger and the decimation of our Sylvanian values. Or maybe it would cause mass depression leaving us open to manipulation. I had no idea how this Packbat worked so bowed to Mulder's experience. I renewed my concentration and listened to what he was saying.

 

"So that's what I did. Bright and early I went to the village green. There was nobody about, or so I thought. But when I approached the statue there was a figure already there, walking away from that impressive representation of the Snow Queen."

 

I don't know if it was for dramatic effect, but Mulder paused from his flowery words and regarded me before the payoff.

"It was the Packbat."

 

 

 

(To be continued)

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