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Night Owl Poetry – Dorinda Duclos

~ "The silence of the night awakens my soul"

Night Owl Poetry – Dorinda Duclos

Tag Archives: jiggled

Antics of an Arsonist ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

16 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in July Writing, short story

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

#JulyWriting, army, arsonist, Auti, book, Brian, candles, Charles, cobblestones, crime solving, dark, detective, doors, doorway, dorindaduclos.com, drums, eruptions, fire, game, gas, jiggled, joggled, magic, Night Owl Poetry, persnickety, plane, powerful, Putting My Feet in the Dirt, The Tenneesee Poet, tunnel, Walt, windows, words, writing, writing prompt, ~M

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!


Walt stood there for a moment, strategically studying his choices. He calculated distance from the set of doors to where he had entered the house. There had to be a connection, he was sure of it.

~M seemed to be getting a bit frustrated, tapping her foot, arms crossed, and sighing loudly. All distractions, Walt said to himself, as he attempted to shut out the noises. He finally made a decision, and turning to ~M announced that the third door from the left, was the door leading out. He heard what he thought was a gasp coming from ~M’s lips. He knew he got it right.

“How did you guess that so quickly?” she looked pale, as she tried to figure out how he did it.

“Simple” said Walt. “It’s the door that reflects the light coming through the window.”  Most houses are built symmetrically, so it only makes sense it would be across from there.”

Now ~M looked agitated. Something had gone wrong and she was furious. He never should have guessed the door. She would have to come up with yet another plan to detain this man, who showed up in a strange way, at a parade she had never seen him at before. After all, she knew all the band members, but not Walt. Realizing she lost this battle, she shrugged and motioned for him to lead the way. This time, Walt let her go first. He wasn’t falling for that again. Once outside, he showed her to the car and off they went.

I didn’t know where they were going.  I think it is probably better that way, for now.

You could hear the loud music coming from inside this small bar that was no bigger than a hole in a wall. In fact, that was the name of the bar, “A Hole in the Wall”. How original. But Walt didn’t lead ~M into the bar. Instead they made their way to the back of the building. There, ~M was confronted with candles, arranged in the shape of a heart, and piled on, you guessed it, dirt!. She was confused, Walt could see that by the look in her eyes. He was, after all, The Tennessee Poet, and there had to be a spark of romance in him somewhere.

Speaking of sparks, did I mention Walt was a renowned arsonist, known mostly from his fire antics? In fact, it was how we found him and then recruited him. He had set several small fires at different places around the country. He knew his stuff, but we had to be careful with him. He was a match waiting to be lit. This, was his dark side, the one we needed to keep in the light. And not the light of a fire.

He had something up his sleeve for ~M. I only hoped he didn’t get burned.

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Antics of an Arsonist – Day 16/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
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Chances Are ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

15 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in July Writing, short story

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

#JulyWriting, army, Auti, book, Brian, Charles, cobblestones, crime solving, dark, detective, doors, doorway, dorindaduclos.com, drums, eruptions, game, gas, jiggled, joggled, magic, Night Owl Poetry, persnickety, plane, powerful, Putting My Feet in the Dirt, The Tenneesee Poet, tunnel, Walt, windows, words, writing, writing prompt, ~M

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!


Chances are, Walt has some crazy scheme up his sleeve. He’s always wearing that silly grin! Imagine, making a date with ~M! I mean, does she really not know that Walt is an agent for…oh, almost slipped. If I told you, I’d have to kill you. And that would be really sad.

Knowing Walt made plans to dine with the divine ~M, I found myself lost for something to do. I mean, what exactly do you do in Wisconsin, besides eat cheese? I suppose I could just hang in my hotel room, order room service, take a bath, and watch TV. It occurred to me, I haven’t done that in forever. It’s official. I’m out of reach for tonight.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town

Walt waited patiently by the car for ~M to come out of her home. He was early, which was nothing new, which always made him seem anxious. He paced. A lot. Until finally, ~M appeared by the door. Motioning to him, she invited him to come inside while she finished getting ready. Without hesitation, and with much stupidity, Walt walked up to the door and entered the house. What ~M had in store for him was very much unexpected. Seems Walt is slipping a bit these days. But of course, I don’t know any of this. I’m immersed in a delightful bubble bath, while sipping a nice red wine.

Okay, back to Walt…

What Walt found when he entered the house was a row of doors, all exactly the same. White doors with black trim. A rather striking feature, he thought, but couldn’t help wondering what was behind them. Seven doors, seven unanswered questions. He was beginning to feel like he was on “Let’s Make a Deal”. Which door would he choose? ~M watched him carefully. She knew the doors had a mesmerizing effect on people, and she was pleased that Walt was no different.

“Tell me, why all the same doors?” he asked.

“If I tell you that, it would give away all the mystique.” replied ~M

“I see,” said Walt. “We’ll be late for the show. Shall we?” and he pointed to the door he had entered earlier. But it wasn’t there anymore. Behind him was a plain white wall, no pictures and no exit. He soon realized ~M’s little plan. If he chose the correct door, he gained his freedom. If not, well, only ~M knows the answer to that. Turning to her, he asked as calmly as he could, where the door he had entered from, had gone off to. ~M just giggled, smiled and pointed to the row of seven.

“Care to try your luck, Walt?” she asked. “If you can guess the correct door, oh the fun we’ll have. BUT, if you guess the incorrect door, well, we won’t go into that right now. So. Are you game?”

Game was exactly what Walt was beginning to feel like. Was he about to be shot, put out of his misery, or would he be able to outsmart this woman, who seemed to have all of her bases covered?

 

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Chances Are – Day 15/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

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Marching through Madness ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

14 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in July Writing, short story

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

#JulyWriting, army, Auti, book, Brian, Charles, cobblestones, crime solving, dark, detective, doors, doorway, dorindaduclos.com, drums, eruptions, gas, jiggled, joggled, magic, Night Owl Poetry, persnickety, plane, powerful, Putting My Feet in the Dirt, The Tenneesee Poet, tunnel, Walt, windows, words, writing, writing prompt, ~M

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!


Let me give you a little background on this agent I’m bringing in to apprehend ~M. He has a quirky way about him, which I think is the reason the others are not happy with my choice. He’s very conventional in his thinking, letting you know what it’s all about, but in a subtle way. He’s even taken to writing poetry and calling himself “The Tennessee Poet”. Personally, I think the man is brilliant, but he also has a dark side. I hope it stays well hidden.

He told me to meet him downtown, on Main Street, where I was sure to find him easily. When I got there, I found myself in the midst of a marching band, making its way up the middle of the roadway. Why on Earth would he want me to meet him here? I couldn’t even walk! This is such madness!! Then it occurred to me.

Looking through the marchers, I found him. There he was, in all his glory, banging away on his drums. It was a passion of his, a former musician, turned secret agent, turned poet. An interesting meld of the arts, don’t you think? I tried to wave to get his attention, but the street was packed and I couldn’t even lift my hand. There was only one thing left to do. Follow.

As I walked up the street, dodging parade goers, and kids with sticky cotton candy fingers, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a mother and her two girls. One of them was the little girl in the room, the one with the book!! I took off after them, but was quickly disappointed when I lost them in the crowds. Finally, we hit the end of the parade route and the band was breaking apart, and going in their own direction. I waited on the sidewalk, anxious to let him know ~M was nearby.

And I waited…and waited…

Surely, he had seen me standing there, right? I stood on a bench to get a view over the crowded street. I spotted him talking to a trio of females. It was ~M and her two girls!! That smoothie! He had made contact with them instantly. I couldn’t help wondering why it took me 12 days to do what he did in a matter of minutes. Then I remembered Cory, Fred and Mildred. Enough said.

When he finished talking to them, he spotted me and walked over to where I was standing.

“How on Earth did you manage that!?” I asked

“Smooth talking, N! Always smooth” he replied

“But you let them get away! Why?”

“No, I didn’t. I made a date for tomorrow. I promised to take them all to a rock concert. I told them I was the drummer for the band” he winked.

“Oh” was all I could manage. Wondering if I had made yet another mistake with this agent, I sighed and told him we’d be heading back to the hotel to meet up with the others. Throwing his drumsticks into the crowd, always the showman, he hooked my arm in his and off we went. Ever the slick one, this Walt.

But would he come through for me? I’d have to be patient, but time was running out.

 

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Marching through Madness – Day 14/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

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Enough is Enough ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

13 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in July Writing, short story

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

#JulyWriting, army, Auti, book, Brian, Charles, cobblestones, crime solving, dark, detective, doors, doorway, dorindaduclos.com, eruptions, gas, jiggled, joggled, magic, Night Owl Poetry, persnickety, plane, powerful, Putting My Feet in the Dirt, tunnel, windows, words, writing, writing prompt, ~M

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

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Salty Shorelines ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by Dorinda Duclos in July Writing, short story

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

#JulyWriting, army, Auti, beach, book, Brian, Charles, cobblestones, crime solving, dark, detective, doors, doorway, dorindaduclos.com, eruptions, gas, jiggled, joggled, magic, Night Owl Poetry, persnickety, plane, powerful, Putting My Feet in the Dirt, sand, tunnel, windows, words, writing, writing prompt, ~M

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!


She really had us running in circles. Trying to keep my composure so the others wouldn’t pick up that I was a bit panicked, I began running thoughts through my head. How could we be so easily fooled by one woman?

I decided we needed a break from all of this, after all, it had been 11 long days of chasing ~M and we hadn’t gotten anywhere. Except in tunnels, and behind doors. The weather had been beautiful so my first thoughts led me to a beach setting. Since we were in Milwaukee, I googled the info and decided on Bay View Park. It had great reviews and what looked to be a perfect “get away from it all” location.

We made our way out the door, back up the winding cobblestone roadway, through the tunnel (good thing I had that match!) and back out to where we began. Hopping in the rental car, we went back to the hotel to change and gather some things, then headed out again to the beach.

The sun made the sand rather hot and I found myself digging my feet into it, trying to find a cool spot. Wait! That’s it! ~M’s fascination with dirt! It had to begin on a beach. What better place to cool off, and since she no longer lived by the beach, this was as close as she could get to it. Why she chose dirt, instead of sand, I’ll never know. But I was sure the beach played a role.

Anyway, it was time to relax and just enjoy the down time. That is, until I heard a lifeguard’s whistle blowing over and over. I looked up from under my floppy hat, down to the shoreline, to see Fred in the water with this ridiculous looking float. I think it was a huge shark, I’m not sure. All I know is the lifeguard was pissed and people were screaming. I wanted to bury my head in the sand, forget my feet. When things finally settled down, we discovered that the beach doesn’t allow flotation devices. Leave it to Fred to play Jaws.

It was then I realized I couldn’t do this with the three of them. I would need to bring in someone else. And I knew exactly who it would be.

Stay tuned for more from this crime solving wordsmith…

 

July Writing Prompt – Salty shorelines – Day 12/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0

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