Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the Parti Poodle here to bring you the fifteenth chapter in my story. This week the Maltese and I have been enjoying the cooler weather and on the Fourth of July we watched one of my favorite drawing room dramas, Jaws. It is a delightful story about a misunderstood fish with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. As for myself, I am no stranger to the condition as the Maltese can tell you.

I am Tucker and I am a Maltese and Gigi can get terribly angry and it is scary and sometimes I want to hide.

Anyway, the fish may have picked up a chemical imbalance due to his random diet. One cannot go around eating small boats and expect to have a healthy outlook on life. That said I hope you enjoy today’s episode.  Buon divertimento!

And remember to stay out of the water.

What I Found In The Trunk

By

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Fifteen

“What happened?” Durwin asked his three buddies after they returned from the car dealership and entered the house.

“We lost him,” the first guy said.

Durwin shoved a Ritz cracker into his mouth, munching as he narrowed his eyes. “You lost him.”

“Yeah. He and his guard left in another car.”

“His guard? Gary has a guard?”

“We followed the signal on his car all the way to the dealership, so we knew he was there but while we were knocking his security guard around, he charged us with a different car, picked up the guard and took off,” the second guy said.

“What other car?”

“We don’t know. It was coming at us too fast.”

Durwin shoved another cracker in his mouth and munched it down. “Too fast?”

“He drove straight at us,” the third guy said. “I mean I jumped out of the way and yelled to these two to keep us from getting hit.”

“So, Gary switched cars. Which way did he go?”

“He took the freeway.”

“Right. So, now Gary is on the freeway with a witness, a car without a tracker and he’s headed…somewhere and we have no idea where he is.” Durwin shoved another Ritz cracker in his mouth and munched. “We need to talk to dear old dad.”

“He’s not going to tell us where his kid went,” the first guy said.

“That’s not the point. The point is to find out where Gary went, and which car he drove off the lot.”

“Maybe he won’t even realize it’s missing,” the second guy said. “He’ll know it’s missing because one of two things is going to happen. Either Gary’s going to tell his old man he took the car for some reason or other. Or dad who’s a guy who’s sensitive to things like grand theft auto is going to know a car is gone after he thoroughly checks his car lot tomorrow which he does every morning. Especially since I’m betting Gary isn’t showing up for work in the A.M.”

“But we already went to the dealership yesterday,” the first guy said. “The old man will recognize us.”

“You know,” Durwin said retrieving another cracker, “that’s why I like you. You always see the obvious.” He shoved the cracker in his mouth, picked up his phone and typed a text. “One of you go get me a beer,” he said.

The first guy lumbered into the kitchen. As he was looking in the refrigerator Durwin’s phone chimed. Durwin responded to the text.

“What did she say?” the third guy asked.

“She’ll be there at nine tomorrow,” Durwin replied.

Gary’s dad was livid. Rusty wasn’t there, his son hadn’t shown up for work and a Buick was missing from the lot. He’d called his son’s phone several times but never got an answer.

“Irresponsible son of a…!”

“Good morning,” a female voice called out in the front.

Gary’s dad stormed out of his office to find a twenty something woman standing there. She looked like a college girl with a bank account. “Can I help you?” he said his voice laced with charm.

“My BMW gave out, and I wanted to see what kind of cars you had.”

“We have some wonderful BMWs.”

“Well, I wasn’t really particular about the brand. I was more concerned about reliability.”

“Are you looking for a sedan or something sportier?”

“Well…if you were my dad what kind of car would you want me to drive.”

“A Mercades C Class. They’re one of the safest cars on the road.”

“Sounds good.”

“Any particular color?”

“I’m not picky.”

“I’ll show you what we have. Would you care for a cup of coffee?”

“That would be wonderful,” she said.

Gary’s dad led the young woman to the coffee machine. Now why couldn’t his son find a girlfriend like this one he thought. “What can I get you?” he asked.

“A latte, please,” she said.

“Coming right up. You a college student?”

“Yes.”

“What are you studying?”

“I haven’t declared a major yet.”

“My son majored in business.”

“Did he?”

“He should be coming in any time now.”

The young woman’s latte finished, and he handed it to her.

“Thank you,” she said. “Aren’t you going to brew one for yourself?”

“Would you mind if I did?”

“Please, do.”

“I appreciate it.” Gary’s father set the machine to brew him a double latte. “We have some beautiful Mercades on the lot. I think you’d love driving one. Classy looking car. Gorgeous in Jupiter red.”

“I’d love to see one.”

“The blue’s gorgeous too. Can never go wrong with a Lunar Blue Metallic.” He reached in and grabbed his coffee. “You ready to go pick out your new car?”

“Absolutely…it looks like your son is coming in.”

Gary’s dad turned to look out the window as the young woman slipped a pill into his coffee.

“I don’t see anyone,” he said.

“Must have been a reflection in the glass. My bad.”

“Alright, well let’s go.”

As Gary’s father led the young woman out the door and towards the lot she asked, “If I see something I like can I take it for a test drive?”

“Absolutely. How about this Jupiter red one here? It has exceptionally low milage and it’s in mint condition. As you can see it has a leather interior and an exceptional sound system.”

“It is a great looking car,” the young woman said. “I’d like to see how it drives.”

“Absolutely. I just need to make sure you have a valid driver’s license.”

“Of course,” the young woman said taking out her fake driver’s license and handing it to him. He looked it over and decided it was good. “Let’s go get the keys,” he said elated that he might be making a deal so early in the day. They headed back inside where he retrieved the key from the safe while the young woman waited in the room outside the office. Then the returned to the lot and he unlocked the Mercades. They got inside and he handed her the keys. She started the engine as she watched him sip his coffee.

“I think you’ll really like how smooth the car drives,” he said.

“Sure,” she said with a smile as she drove the car off the lot.

My Books

You can check out my books Chicane and the five installments in my Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!,Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad 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: THE LIMEY (1999)-AMAZON PRIME

Where Bryan Mills may have a certain set of skills, Wilson also has a certain set of skills…and deep-seated unbridled rage. The film, though an arthouse picture, is a thoroughly entertaining crime movie about a career criminal who learned how to be a serious bad ass after spending nine years in prison for robbery. Upon his release he finds out his adult daughter Jenny has died in a car accident. But he believes she was murdered. Wilson (brilliantly played by Terrance Stamp) is an intense unstoppable force to be reckoned with as he leaves the UK en route to the United States where he hunts down his daughter’s friend Eduardo (Luis Guzmàn) who sent him a letter alerting him of Jenny’s death. Eduardo then leads him to a ring of criminals who grossly underestimate Wilson. This encounter leads him to his daughter’s much older boyfriend Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda), a wealthy neurotic music producer with a bad taste in swimming pools. Eduardo also helps Wilson find Jenny’s acting coach Elaine (Lesley Ann Warren) who provides insights into Jenny’s character.

The film has an effective and unusual editing style thanks to wonderful work by Sarah Flack and director Stephen Soderbergh. Soderbergh uses clips from the 1967 British film Poor Cow as flashbacks for Wilson’s younger days as a fledgling father, boyfriend, and robber.