Good morning. It is I Gigi the parti poodle once again to post another chapter in my ongoing story. It’s that time of the year when my novelist gets all perfervid about the Oscars. There is no stopping her. She went to the store yesterday and procured appetizers. Last week she acquired plates, napkins, and sparkling cider. She also made sure we had fine chocolates on hand. Although she is eccentric when it comes to cinema, I have thoroughly enjoyed the films we have been watching as of late. I am especially fond of a great documentary that opened my mind to…
Hello! I am Tucker and I am a Maltese and I like watching movies with our novelist. I am especially fond of psychologically challenging stories. They make me sleepy. I can just shut my eyes and let the television turn into white noise.
My what a cinephile you are. Anyway, I think my novelist is calling me to fill out my ballot for our little competition. Without further ado here is chapter six.
What I Found in the Trunk
by
Gigi the parti poodle
Chapter Six
Gary turned back to the table to find black widow spiders crawling everywhere. The girl who wasn’t screaming grabbed her food tray and began slamming it down on the table trying to kill as many of the wretched arachnids as she could. Gary slipped his loafer off his foot and proceeded to help her kill the nasty things.
The other girl kept screaming, “Help! Help! Help!” which prompted the restaurant manager to come running out.
“I’m calling the police!” the restaurant manager yelled upon seeing the situation.
“Please don’t!” Gary begged still slamming his shoe like a hammer on the poisonous spiders. “It’s under control!”
“It definitely is not!” she yelled back and dialed 911. Within three minutes the police arrived.
“So, let me see if I understand this,” the detective said as he sat across from Gary in the stark claustrophobic interrogation room. “You say this college student…”
“Rune,” Gary said.
“Right. Rune. This Rune sold you her car at your father’s dealership this morning and happened to have left a strongbox in the trunk.”
“Yes.”
“And in the strongbox was a key on a gargoyle keyring…”
“A house key. Yes.”
“A house key. And a diamond engagement ring in a velvet box and an address on a blank card.”
“Correct.”
“And you tried calling the number Rune left with the dealership, but it was disconnected.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then around five this evening you drove to said address in Sandpoint to return the strongbox and its contents thinking this might be where Rune lives.”
“Correct.”
“And when you got there, you were kidnapped by four male college students who claimed there was something missing from the box, but they wouldn’t tell you what that something was.”
“Exactly.”
“And when you told them you had no idea what they were talking about they dragged you downstairs to their basement and threatened to take you for a ride. Then you escaped out this doggie door…boy, that must have been some dog if you could escape out a doggie door.”
“I was thinking possibly a Great Dane.”
“Right. And then you came face to face with the neighbor’s dog who attacked you.”
“Yes.”
“And the neighbor, an older female, got the male perpetrators to let you go at which point you demanded the strongbox back, drove to Kid Valley Burgers where you opened said strongbox for the first time since leaving…
“Escaping…”
“…the residence. And when you opened it black widow spiders came crawling out every which way.”
“Yes.”
“And you assume those spiders were put there by one of the four college students with intent to harm you.”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay. We’ll send a couple of our officers over to the residence in Sandpoint to check out your story. The two women and the restaurant have chosen not to press charges and you haven’t technically done anything illegal so you’re free to go. We’ll let you know what we find out about the house.”
The police officers dropped Gary off at Kid Valley Burgers where he hopped back in his car with the steel box which still had the velvet box with the diamond engagement ring and the gargoyle keychain with the house key inside. He reached into the pocket of his blazer and took out the small aluminum pocket box he’d found in the milk crate in the basement. He opened it and found a credit card. Upon closer inspection he saw the card had Rune’s name on it.
Gary turned the card over in his hand a couple of times and ruminated on how to proceed. He put the card back in the small strong box, closed it and stuck it back into the inside pocket of his jacket. He took out his cell phone and called his buddy Bennet.
“Sup?” Bennet asked when he answered Gary’s call.
“Hey, buddy,” Gary said. “I need a favor.”
“Shoot.”
“Look…I was wondering if I could come up there for the weekend and chill.”
“Yeah,” Bennet said with a mouthful of something. “I’m at the cabin in Soap Lake though.”
“Soap Lake? What are you doing in Soap Lake?”
“Man, I love it here. It’s quiet, I can hear myself think, I can go slap mud on myself like at a spa getaway…”
“Okay, fine! I’ll drive over to your cabin in Soap Lake!”
“Awesome! I could use the company.”
“Great. Thanks…I’ll take off in about an hour or so.”
“Say, you sound kind of, I don’t know, man…unhinged.”
“Yeah…well, I’ll tell you about it when I get there.”
“Alrighty. See you in a few!”
A few hours, Gary muttered to himself.
My Books
You can check out my books Chicane and the first four installments in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist! and Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!!!
STREAM OF THE WEEK: NOMADLAND (2020)-Hulu
Clearly one of the best films of the year this is an absolute must-see Oscar contender. Gorgeously directed and edited by Chloé Zhao Nomadland is a character study on a large scale. Fern (Frances McDormand in a stellar Oscar nominated performance) is an ISTP female who has never been satisfied to remain in one place. After becoming widowed she makes a valiant attempt to stay in the town she and her husband resided. But during the Great Recession with only seasonal work at Amazon, she cleans out the home she can no longer afford, packs everything she holds dear and heads out in her van looking for work wherever she can find it. Along the way she becomes involved with an organized group of other nomads as they weave in and out of each other’s lives searching for their place in the great American landscape.
Gigi Catches Air 