Tag Archives: The Tenneesee Poet

Pouty Penelope ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

22 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

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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!


Pouty Penelope, from Perth
An Aussie, from the other side of Earth
Was called in by the Chief
Claimed she was quite the thief
Seems he felt us, all, rather dearth

So we add this Sheila to our repertoire of tomfoolery. I’m now saddled with the three stooges, firebug Walt, and the wonder from down under. I’m not sure what I did to deserve this, but I was determined to find out!!

They called her Pouty Penelope because she pouted whenever she didn’t get her way. Good luck trying to pull that one on me. I was in charge here. So, I rounded up the troops, laid out a battle plan I had concocted the night before, and sent them on their ways, hoping, no praying, they wouldn’t get caught. Penelope didn’t like her assignment, and so, she stood in front of me, lower lip fully extended out, and waited. I glared back at her and shooed her away, but she kept standing there.

“Your pouting will not work with me” I told her. “Go on, get to your work. We have to get to ~M before she gets to us.” I reminded her. She wasn’t budging. I was so uptight from the weeks of dealing with idiots, I blew my stack, yet again. Screaming in her face, I told her to move her arse or she’d be fired. If I was trying to be discreet and not draw attention to us, I was failing miserably. This was the last thing I wanted. I waited. She got the message and off she went, mumbling something to herself. Damn accent of hers.

Now that I got rid of her, I needed to head into the lower section of town. God only knows what I’ll encounter there.

 

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July Writing Prompt – Pouty Penelope – Day 22/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
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The Answer is the Question ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

21 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

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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!


The piles of dirt were placed in a circular pattern in the back of ~M’s yard. I thought it strange she had not come out to investigate what all the noise was. A bulldozer isn’t exactly quiet. But there was no sign of her anywhere. Maybe she had gone to the store, or she was just out for the day. Even the girls were nowhere to be found. I made sure to keep my eyes open just in case she had something planned for us. Well, Walt. She didn’t know us. Did she?

When ~M finally arrived home, she found me sitting in her backyard, with my feet in a pile of dirt. I have to admit, it’s an interesting sensation, a rather cooling, calming effect. When I heard her on the patio I glanced up, with a smile on my face, and waved.

“I’m sorry?” ~M looked confused. “Do I know you?”

“We met a couple of weeks ago! I was walking past and you were sitting out front with your feet in the dirt. I’ve been thinking about that ever since, so I decided to stop by to ask if I could join you. No one answered your bell, and I have to admit, I was kind of bummed when there was no dirt in the front yard, but on my way back to the car, I spotted all this dirt back here. I hope you don’t mind. This is wonderful!”

Still looking confused, ~M put her packages down and slowly walked over to where I was sitting. Truth be told, I was in a rather precarious predicament. If she decided to pull one of her tricks, I was a goner. I couldn’t move, unless I kicked the dirt. I’d have to remember that, and be sure to have good aim, too.

“I’m N” I said. “And you are?”

“I’m ~M” she replied.

“Great, we’re a couple of letters!” and we both laughed. That eased the tension a bit and ~M decided to join me in the dirt. Looking around, she asked, “Was all this dirt here when you got here?” I nodded yes and swept my hand across the yard, indicating the mounds were all here when I got here.

“Hmmmm” she said aloud. Then “HA! I know the answer!”

“Okay” I said. “Um, what was the question?”

“The answer IS the question.”

“Swell. So what’s the answer?” It seems ~M had a fondness for riddles. She refused to say anything further and just continued to play in the dirt. I’ll figure it out eventually….I think.

 

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July Writing Prompt – The answer is the question – Day 21/31

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

20 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

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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!


We arrived back at the hotel, feeling somewhat like catawampus creatures. We had basically destroyed a woman’s home, in search of, what? What exactly was it we were searching for? Looking at the other four, I posed the same question to them. The blank look on their faces said it all. We had no idea what we were doing. All we knew, was ~M outsmarted us yet again. She truly is a mastermind.

I sat down at the hotel bar, ordered that drink, and thought long and hard about this whole ordeal. I had recruited top vigilantes, who were proving otherwise, discovered both homes, made it through dark tunnels, and crazy cobblestone streets, and most recently, a parade, for what? To wind up back at square one. Square one. The dirt!! I needed to get back to the dirt. Gathering my things, I yelled to the others across the bar. We had work to do. No pity parties for this crew.

I reminded them all of the dirt, and we decided it was time to dig a bit of it for ourselves. Hoping for good weather, we went to the quarry, ordered the dirt, and asked to have it delivered to ~M’s address. Surely she’d be happy to sink her feet in some new soil. I wasn’t looking forward to joining her, but it had to be done. I also needed to remind myself to ask her how she gets the dirt out from under her toenails. It’s the little things…

Planning with the others, Walt was instructed to stay far away from ~M’s. We needed to remain unknown. Walt didn’t have that luxury anymore.

 

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July Writing Prompt – Catawampus Creatures – Day 20/31

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

19 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

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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!


More like time perspired. I had less than two weeks left to bring this mastermind they call ~M, to justice!

However, according to Walt, time remained on our side as we diligently ransacked ~M’s entire home. We didn’t care if she knew we’d been there. We were looking for one thing. And none of us had found it. Exasperated by our failings, I knew we needed to gather our thoughts, compare notes, and finally, get out of there.

Walt had already exited through the house, on his way to take ~M in and set her down on the sofa. We all hoped when she awakened, she would just think she had fallen asleep. Explaining the rather large headache she was sure to have, would be something else. Minutes passed and still no Walt. I was getting worried. What was taking him so long? When he showed up again at the door, he was a white as a ghost. And empty handed. ~M was gone. Walt had miscalculated the time the sleeping powder would remain in effect. When he got to the car, the door was open and ~M was gone. He searched but couldn’t find her. Not even a foot print left behind. Damn, she was good, but boy, is she gonna be pissed!!

We left the house, got in our cars, and started to head back to the hotel. Fire engines, with sirens blaring, raced past us in a blur. Walt watched as they headed in the direction of the bar. He turned, winked at me, and got in his car. It was then I knew. Shaking my head, I got in my car, Cory, Mildred and Fred all jabbering away in the back seat, and took off. I needed a drink, and this time, Diet Coke wasn’t going to do it.

 

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July Writing Prompt – Time prospered – Day 19/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
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A Real Humdinger ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

18 Wednesday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

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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 pulled a real humdinger. He made sure Sarah C gave ~M the pie that was tainted with sleeping powder. Knowing she would be suspicious of anything he gave her, he recruited Sarah from the local office and worked it out with the owner of the bar. Turns out, the only music playing was a loud stereo system. The bar had been closed for months now.

Taking the opportunity to investigate ~M’s home, Walt carried her to the car, buckled her in, (safety first, ya know), and headed back to town. He radioed me to let me know the plan had succeeded and he was on his way. I had no idea what he was talking about. He never let me in on it. . On the way past the bar, Walt threw something out the window. The place went up like a volcano erupting. His fancy for the flame had gotten the best of him. The bar was a pile of ash in no time, leaving no evidence behind as to what might have happened nor who did it.

We met up at ~M’s. We had to be careful because we knew her daughters were home. Picture if you will, myself, Walt, Cory, Fred and Mildred, sneaking into an occupied space, trying to be quiet. Yeah, I can’t picture it either. When all of us finally entered, we split up in five directions, hoping one of us would find out exactly what ~M was up to, and stop her before anything happened. We also had to remember the sleeping powder wouldn’t last forever. We were on borrowed time, so we had to shake our tail feathers. No messing around, no mistakes. Like that will ever happen, I said, as I tripped up the stairs. Mad skills, I tell ya!

Oh! You might be wondering what happened to Sarah C, since Walt torched the building. No worries. She was long gone and back at base before the first spark ignited.

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July Writing Prompt – A real humdinger – Day 18/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
Photo via Pixabay CC0