Good afternoon. I am Gigi the parti poodle. Welcome to my blog. This week my novelist had to travel and take care of business. She gave me free reign of the house for the day and left me in charge of our humble abode. Tucker the Maltese was locked in the panic room. I guarded over our home vigilantly. During that time, I read a few short stories, watched a cooking show and I made myself lunch. I barked at the occasional passerby, checked up on my stocks and of course worked on my story. I enjoyed my freedom immensely, but I was delighted when my novelist came home that evening. She was of course proud of the way I handled our property and was glad to see me again. I am certain she will give me more responsibility in the future. And with that delightful thought, here is chapter fourteen of Certified Sadistic Accountant. Enjoy.  

Certified Sadistic Accountant

by

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Fourteen

“You’re late,” Mr. Dupree said as Curtis came through the front doors of the Dupree Accounting agency.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dupree. I had to pick up some batteries for my dad.”

“Can’t your father buy his own batteries?”

“These are special batteries for a clock.”

“A clock?”

“My mom and dad got this crystal clock for their wedding years ago that only takes a certain type of battery.”

“Why don’t your mom and dad invest in a new clock?”

“The clock has sentimental value.”

“I’ll be glad to offer them my thoughts on clocks I’ve had good luck with. And aren’t you working on the VanArsdale’s taxes?”

“Yes. I’ll have them finished today.”

Mr. Dupree looked over at the receptionist’s desk. “Speaking of late, where’s my daughter? She’s supposed to be taking this job seriously.”

“Maybe she saw something in a store window that caught her eye.”

“That’s unlikely. She does nearly all her shopping online.”

“Nearly all?”

“I get the bills.”

“I see.”

As Curtis took a seat at his desk, Lance turned to him and said, “Check this out.” He stuck his phone in Curtis’s face. On the screen was a picture of Bexley smiling as she posed between two male volleyball players. Curtis felt his heart sink, but he kept his cool.

“Looks like she’s having fun,” Curtis said.

“Looks like she’s getting lucky.”

“Didn’t you get the picture, Cook?” Makenna snarked. “Everyone else got one.”

“I haven’t had a chance to check my phone this afternoon,” Curtis said.

He looked down and noticed his hand was shaking. He casually placed it on the desk to steady it hoping no one would notice. His arteries were still pumping with adrenaline. But he needed to remain calm. Make everyone think it was just another dull day at the office. He glanced over at Irving and Grady. Grady glanced back which made Curtis knock over his pencil cup.

“Whoa,” Lance said. “Little too much coffee there, Cook the Books?”

Calm, Curtis told himself. Stay calm. He picked up the pens and pencils and returned the cup to an upright position. He opened his folder on the computer for the VanArsdale account and began working. He felt a certain thrill about what had transpired that afternoon. For the first time in a long time, he had gotten the upper hand.

Curtis drove his Honda down Riverside Drive. It was a dark clear dusk, hardly a car around. He didn’t like driving to the cabin at night. The road was like riding on an indoor roller coaster traveling over and around corners on route to the lake.

He’d had the sense to shut off his phone before leaving for lunch that day. And he’d had the sense to shut it off before leaving the duplex. He’d also had the sense that afternoon to grab Fia’s handbag, drive back to the mall, park, and shut off her phone. It was as good of place for her to disappear as any. He’d put the phone back in the handbag and put the handbag in the trunk. He’d stick it in his aunt’s large safe when he reached the cabin.

Keeping his phone off at the cabin was not an issue. If he really needed to call someone Aunt Odette had a landline in her bedroom. His dad had been trying to get her to shut it off for some time. But his aunt insisted it was important to have a landline as well as a cell phone. Especially since one of the cabins on the opposite side of the lake had been burgled. The family, a man, his wife, and their two children had been home at the time. Although all four survived the incident there were rumors it had been a more terrifying ordeal than the local paper reported. Aunt Odette was not fond of terrifying ordeals and therefore kept the landline. In addition, she kept a set of throwing knives under her bed. If one were to go out back where the property overlooked the lake, one would find a bullseye set up where she practiced.

As far as how she became adept in the skills of knife throwing, it had started with her college roommate. The roommate came from a carnival family. She was the first to attend college. On weekends, the two young women would go out to the knife throwing range and practice.

One time in Japan while attending an art festival, Aunt Odette met a painter who had studied martial arts all his life. Aunt Odette begged him to teach her the skill of throwing stars. At first, he was apprehensive but later decided Curtis’s aunt was quite serious about learning how to throw shuriken and he became her shurikenjutsu instructor. She excelled and later kept a few throwing stars hidden in different parts of the cabin.

Curtis turned off the car in the small separate garage and sat relishing the victory of his efforts. His plan was not yet complete, but he had successfully executed part one. Now all he had to do was check on Fia.

He disembarked the car, put down the garage doors and headed into the cabin. Everything was as he’d left it that afternoon. He moved into the kitchen and grabbed a flashlight out of one of the drawers. He knew Fia would try to escape, and he would have to take measures against her if she did. And so, he also procured a large can of bear mace from under the sink. Then he headed up the stairs to the attic door.     

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and all five installments of the 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: POISON, THE RAT CATCHER, AND THE SWAN (2023)-NETFLIX

Last week’s pick was the Oscar Nominated, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. In addition, Wes Anderson has also made three other Roald Dahl shorts based on Dahl’s short stories. These thoughtful and whimsical tales are also well worth watching and star members of the same cast.

Poison is about a man named Harry Pope (Benedict Cumberbatch), an Englishman living in India, who while lying in bed discovers a small but poisonous snake on his stomach. His friend Timber Woods (Dev Patel) returns home to discover Harry lying very still. Whispering Harry explains his peril. Timber then calls Dr. Ganderbai (Ben Kingsley) to help save Harry.

The Rat Catcher is a creepy little tale (no pun intended) about a newspaper Editor (Richard Ayoade) who’s office is next door to a mechanic Claude (Rupert Friend). Claude has a rat problem and so by special orders from the Health Office an unusual rodent officer known as the Rat Man (Ralph Fiennes) has come out to deal with the rats. Pay close attention to the set when watching this one.

The Swan tells the story told by a Narrator (Rupert Friend) about a young boy named Peter Watson (Asa Jennings) who is pursued by two psychopathic boys. One of the large idiotic bullies (as they are called) named Ernie has been given a gun and a box of bullets for his birthday. He goes to the house of Raymond, the other idiotic bully to go out with him in search of something to kill.