Join me every day at Noon EST for the continuing adventures of the bungling detective, N. Owl, in her quest to bring the mastermind, ~M, to justice!  If you’ve  missed any episodes, you can find them HERE!

When it was time to leave the beach, I told them all to go to their hotel rooms, shower (yes, like talking to my kids all over again), and dress nicely. They were to meet me in the hotel restaurant. I needed to speak to them, together.

I took the time away from them to gather my thoughts. I needed to let them know they had to shape up or I was shipping them back to Jersey. I suppose just being blunt about it should do it. I couldn’t be concerned with hurt feelings. I had a job to do and I needed to get it done by the 31st. A deadline is a deadline. And my job depended on meeting it.

We were seated at a lovely table for four. The restaurant was quiet, which made what I had to do a bit easier but also a bit awkward. There was really no background noise to drown me out a bit. There were only a few other tables occupied with couples, and way too may waiters for such a slow night. Speaking of, here comes ours now. Excuse me, I need to place my order.

We ordered, drinks first. I stuck to my usual Diet Coke. I had to keep a clear head in this. Mildred had red wine, and the men had beer. Once we were settled with that, I began my talk.

“It’s been over 11 days since we started this quest for the diabolical ~M. Look where we are!”

“Wisconsin?” asked Cory.

Once again, I found myself trying to keep my cool, not because I was panicked. This time I was pissed.

“Of course we’re in Wisconsin!” I snarled. “Seriously, Cory?”

He looked at me like my head exploded, which I’m pretty sure it would in a matter of time. I took a sip of my Coke and continued, “We are nowhere. ~M has outsmarted us too many times then I care to count…”

“3”

“Excuse me?” eyes glaring at Fred.

“3 times”

That was it. I blew my stack. “Enough is enough!!” I screamed at them. “You three couldn’t boil water the right way if you tried! I’m done with you. I have decided to call in another agent to assist in the apprehension of ~M.”

“No!” “Wait” “You can’t” went the chorus of voices jumbled together. By this time the others in the restaurant had stopped eating because they were all watching me blow a gasket. I readjusted my chair, and sat back, picked up my soda and slammed it back like a shot. Too bad it wasn’t. I could sure use one right now! Somewhat more calm, I explained to them who I was bringing in and why. They pleaded with me to give them another chance, promising not to screw around anymore. I knew they needed their jobs, and sending them back home without an approval rating from me was a sure death sentence from the chief. I have a soft heart, what can I say. I agreed. But one goof up and they were done. I was still bringing in the other agent. To say they were not very happy about my choice, was putting it mildly. We’d have to wait and see exactly what would happen once he arrived.

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

July Writing Prompt – Enough is Enough – Day 13/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

Join me every day at Noon EST for the continuing adventures of the bungling detective, N. Owl, in her quest to bring the mastermind, ~M, to justice!  If you’ve  missed any episodes, you can find them HERE!

I found myself tiptoeing to the door, afraid that any sound I made would catch the attention of the stranger behind it. Then I remembered Cory’s sneeze.

I placed my hand on the door knob and slowly turned it. As the door slightly opened, I could see a brilliant light coming from a small area in the room. Pushing it a bit further, I could see a young girl, sitting on a sofa, with what appeared to be a rather mysterious book in her hands. The light that shined under the door was actually coming from a book!

Could this be ~M at a younger age? No, of course not. Perhaps this was one of ~M’s finest creations. A daughter. Or, maybe it was just one of her young recruits creating a decoy. We’d be so enthralled with the light coming out of the book, we wouldn’t even notice if ~M had come or gone. She truly was magic!

I approached the girl and realized her eyes were closed. She looked to be asleep but I think the light was probably blinding the poor child. I motioned for the others to come in, considering I could see them all gawking by the door. Cory and Fred entered the room, but Mildred didn’t. I motioned again, but she just stood there. She was caught in the glow of the book! I waved my arms frantically at her, trying to break whatever spell she was under. Fred and Cory thought I was having some kind of attack and tried to stop me, until I was able to point to Mildred, who was still staring at the light.

Now all three of us were waving our arms, trying to come between Mildred and the book. When, at last, we were able to break her gaze, she looked somewhat bewildered by what was happening. I told her I would explain later, that right now, we had to keep ahead of ~M or we’d never catch her. I knew I was kidding myself, but hey, someone has to believe it.

We walked back out of the room, deciding to try a few other doors before heading back out to the street for another chance at finding ~M. Closing the door behind us, we stood there for several seconds. Something wasn’t right. I could hear the sounds of girls giggling. Damn! She fooled us good. I ran back to the door, flung it open and…nothing. The room was empty. We had been outsmarted again.

And in the empty room, only the walls heard…

“How did I do, mommy?”

“Great job, Auti! They’ll never find us”

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

July Writing Prompt – She was magic – Day 11/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0