Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Thursday’s Thoughts #20.
Good morning everyone! It is a beautiful, sunny morning, and a little warmer than it has been lately. However, it is supposed to get cloudy soon with showers and possible thunderstorms. There must have been some thunder last night, Muffin decided to sleep under the bed. Only thunder will do that. We did get a little rain overnight, but not much. The blue jays and chipmunks are once again very busy out there. I’m inside, enjoying my coffee and watching the blue jays in the trees. They look so beautiful with the sun shining on them, making that blue really glow.
The chipmunks were busy picking up sunflower seeds and peanuts, when they weren’t chasing each other. And because they kept running across the step where I put the food the poor blue jays had quite a time trying to get peanuts. They would just bend over to grab a peanut and the chipmunks would come racing across the step and the blue jays would have to jump and fly out of the way. That happened so many times this morning. Speaking of things that happen many times (humorous story coming up).
I was shopping one day and needed new scissors. So I went to the stationary department but couldn’t find any. Now, to me it seems like the logical place to sell scissors, but I was obviously wrong. I looked around but couldn’t find them anywhere and I couldn’t find anyone to ask. Finally I found a lady working in the housewares department. “Excuse me,” I said politely. She let out this big sigh and said, “Yeah.” It made me think I was really disturbing her. “Could you tell me where I can find scissors?” “That’s not my department.” she said. “You’re the only person I could find in this half of the store,” I said. “I’m the only working this half, we’re understaffed,” she said.
That was an understatement. “So you don’t know where I can find scissors?”, I ask again. “I know everything in this store,” she said rather irritated, like she was hoping I would have gone away by now. “Can you point me to the scissors?”, I ask again. She sighs again. “What kind do you want?” she asks. “Just plain scissors,” I said. “We don’t have that brand,” she said and turned away. “It’s not a brand…” I began to say. “Then we don’t have it, we only sell brand name scissors,” she said. “I don’t care about the brand, I just want scissors,” I said. “Check the sewing section,” she said. I should have thought about that. Off I go, however, I didn’t want to spend $40 on scissors to cut paper.
Back I go reluctantly to the employee. “Oh, you again,” she said with another big sigh. “Don’t you have cheaper scissors, you know, just for cutting paper?”, I ask again. “Why didn’t you say so?”, go to the school supplies. Off I go, but all they had was those little kids scissors. Back I go. “Now what?”, said the employee. “All I could find was little kids scissors, I want regular sized scissors,” I said again. Another big sigh.
If she does that again I’m going to scream. “Two aisles over and to the right. Now, why didn’t she say this right at the start? “Isn’t that still housewares?”, I ask. “It was, not now,” she said, sounding very irritated now. “I have work to do.” And she walked away. I always thought that helping customers was part of the job. Anyway, I got my scissors, finally. No, she wasn’t just having a bad day, she was always like that. Sigh. It is cloudy now, looks like rain. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. The Old House. Chapter 11.
I know we have to hurry so we can catch Cinnamon off guard, but I also want to make sure we stay as safe as possible. First I go downstairs to tell the others to stay in the living room and not go wandering around anywhere. I try to explain things to them a little so they know how dangerous it is right now, but I don’t want to say too much and give away our plan. I don’t know how much I can trust these people, though I’m quite sure they are innocent in all this, they just came to hopefully find a ghost. I have M.C. with me so he can watch my back, I don’t want anyone sneaking up behind me.
But apparently there is only Cinnamon and a man named Rob, the only other 2 were Jo and Brandi, plus Susan. And we have those 3 now. But Rob has a machine gun, so we have to be extra careful. And Cinnamon has the boy as a hostage to use against us too, which is the worst thing. I don’t want any harm to come to him if at all possible, but from what Brandi has told us, that might be hard. M.C. and I go back upstairs to plan things with the others. Cinnamon and Rob will be in one of 2 hidden rooms in the house, and there is only one way to get into the main room which is likely where Cinnamon would be right now.
That’s the room where they listen to us and operate the cameras. It’s those cameras that are the biggest problem as they can see us coming for them. We have to reach the basement, that’s where the door is to their room, but we have to pass 4 cameras to do that. If they see us coming they will kill the boy for sure. If we try to block those cameras they will still know we have found them and are coming for them. No matter what we are beat. “We could just go down to the kitchen for tea,” said Kat, “then have someone suggest checking the rooms for any hidden passages, that way they wouldn’t know we are on the way to their secret room.”
“That’s a good thought,” I said, “but then we would have to leave those women alone, and I’m don’t like the idea of leaving Brandi alone with the others, even if they are all handcuffed.” “One of us to stay behind to watch them,” said Annelie, “that way it wouldn’t looks suspicious either.” “That’s true,” I said, “but it could be dangerous for the one staying behind.” “I don’t mind,” said Annelie. Meanwhile in that secret room…”I don’t like it,” said Cinnamon, “I don’t like not knowing what they are talking about. I still think Brandi talked, somehow she talked, and they are making plans, I just know it.”
“But how could she talk?”, asked Rob, “we have listened to everything they said, it was a great idea putting listening devices on those two.” “True, my ideas are always great,” she said, but as she was about to say something more, she stopped and thought a moment. “How come that machine of theirs blocked both of our other listening devices, but not the ones on the girls?”, she asked Rob. He thought a bit, then said, “that is odd, those devices should have been blocked too.” “That means they wanted us to listen, it was all a show,” she said angrily, “Brandi did talk! She’ll die for that and so will this brat, get him for me!” Rob did right away. “You’ve been with us too long kid,” she said, still angry.
“Okay, grab that gun of yours and lets get going, we’ll hit them before they hit us,” said Cinnamon. “Steve!”, exclaimed Kat. I turned to see Cinnamon and her friend with his machine gun. He opened fire. We never had a chance to do anything. Muffin rolled under a chair and M.C. rolled over by a wall and while Rob was shooting into the bedroom across the hall M.C. let loose! Thwock! Rob fell to the floor. Cinnamon started backing up and shooting as she went. M.C. squealed but let go with one more shot as Cinnamon turned to go and he hit her hip. She yelled in pain but kept going. She had another secret passage that only she and Rob knew about. I couldn’t move.
The cats came over and I told them to check Kat. They come back with heads down. Meow,meow.=We not think human Kat with us anymore. “Muffin, lie on her chest and purr loud,” I barely could say. She did right away. “M.C., call Baldwin,” then I just lay there on my back. Baldwin had been waiting for our call, but he wasn’t expecting this…”All shot, come fast.” Baldwin was shocked for a moment, then waved his arm out his car window and a line of police vehicles and ambulances raced down the road to the house. M.C. was now lying on my chest purring loud. I heard Baldwin talking, but I couldn’t move.
To Be Continued.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 