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Flaky and Filling ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

17 Tuesday 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!


“Did you bring me out here to romance me? I don’t even know you!” ~M screamed above the music.

“I was hoping to have a nice dinner out here. I thought the candles would add to the atmosphere. I am a poet, a romantic. I’m sorry if I offended you, my dear lady.” Walt said, trying to find a way to calm her down. But ~M kept her distance from him, and he could feel the cold emanating off of her. He offered her a seat, on a blanket the bar had laid down, by the candles. Since there was really nothing else to do, she sat.

Walt raised his hand and a woman, dressed rather nicely considering the venue, came over to them and asked if she could get them a cocktail from the bar. The name on her tag said Sarah C. She was the manager of the place and Walt had her at his disposal. They ordered drinks and off she went.

“What about dinner?”

“I took the liberty of having something prepared for us. I hope you like my choice.”

~M looked even more upset than before. A man she did not know, took her to a place she did not know and ordered for both of them, God only knows. She sighed. The candles gave off a warm glow and she figured she might as well enjoy it. But she kept her guard up. Shortly after their drinks arrived, dinner was brought out. They were tiny meat pies adorned with roses made from the crust. Ugh, she thought, more romance from a stranger.

~M decided she would test Walt. She stuck her fork into the flaky pie crust, scooped out some of the meat filling and offered it to him. Walt was unsure what ~M was up to until he realized she was trying to see if dinner was laced with something that would knock her out. Making him eat it first would let her see she was wrong. So he took the fork from her and ate the food on it. Remarking how really good it was, he then offered her a bit of his own. She never expected what would happen next.

 

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July Writing Prompt – Flaky and Filling – Day 17/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
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Antics of an Arsonist ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

16 Monday 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 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 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!


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?

 

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July Writing Prompt – Chances Are – Day 15/31

©2018 Dorinda Duclos All Rights Reserved
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Marching through Madness ~ On the trail of a mastermind – #JulyWriting

14 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

≈ 32 Comments

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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!


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.

 

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

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

13 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in July Writing, short story

≈ 14 Comments

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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!


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