Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce chapter forty-four of my story Certified Sadistic Accountant. I have spent much of this week reading through my tale to see how I wish it to end. Unlike my novelist’s works which require a lot of research and reworking, my stories are done like a chain where I write a link I think will fit into the last. I am planning on finishing it up soon and just wanted to make certain I had not gone entirely off the tracks. This is the longest of the six stories I have penned and, in many ways, the most challenging. I am presently in the process of consulting with my novelist on what I shall write next. We will let our readers know what we decide in the weeks to come. Until then, here is chapter forty-four of my story Certified Sadistic Accountant. Jouir!

Certified Sadistic Accountant

by

Gigi the parti poodle

Chapter Forty-Four

“He’s onto us,” Makenna said sitting down at her desk.

“How do you know?” Lance asked.

“He took the croissant. I’ve only ever seen him eat a croissant once. He eats that oatmeal for breakfast, the one he gets at the co-op store at the end of the street.”

“Yuck! That stuff tastes like racoon fur.”

“Not that I’d know that but, yeah. Point is he knows.”

“What are we going to do?”

“What do you think we’re going to do? We’re going to make sure the kidnapping gets pinned on him and not us.”

“We don’t even know he did it. We have no proof.”

“We did it and I think Dupree’s kid is in on it. What a great way to lash out at her dad: stage her own kidnapping. Curt must have said something stupid.”

“Like what?”

“I’ll have to listen to the recording.”

“You recorded him just now?”

“Absolutely.”

“I should have thought of that.”

“Well, you didn’t so…and we’ll follow him.”

“Follow him?”

“We’ll follow him home after work tonight.”

“What if he just drives home and makes tea and plays with his stocks?”

“Then we’ll follow him again tomorrow.”

“How many nights do we have to follow him home?”

“What’s wrong with you? Do the bolts in your neck need tightening? We follow him every night until he screws up.”

“Who’s going to drive?”

Makenna narrowed her eyes and tapped her red lacquered nails on his desk. Then she snatched up her pastel Steamed Bean coffee cup and marched over to Grady and Irwin.

“Hey, Makenna—” Irwin started to say.

“Cook is onto us.”

“What?” Grady said.

“He knows we broke into his house. He knows we plotted to kidnap his dog.”

“How?”

“Lance screwed up. Look we need to follow him home from work tonight. Grady, you need to drive.”

“I’m a good driver,” Irwin said.

“You can drive next time.”

“Idiot,” Grady said to Irwin. Then he looked at Makenna. “Cook knows?”

“I think he’s the one who kidnapped Fia and he’s trying to pin it on us. That was the reason he wasn’t here for Sheriff Bob-o’s sting.”

“How does he know?”

“That’s what I aim to find out.”

“But why follow him home?” Irving asked.

“Because I think he’s going to lead us to the place he kept her.”

“You don’t think he held her at his apartment?”

“No. I think he actually has access to a house with an attic.”

“How?”

“That’s what I intend to find out.”

“Look,” Grady said. “Irwin and I were never involved in the whole dog debacle. I don’t see why we need help you follow Cook the Books home tonight.”

“You were going to harbor the dog. And Irwin was going to write the ransom note.”

“But we didn’t.”

“You conspired to and that makes you guilty. All four of us are accomplices in this dead dog situation. You two, me and Lance. If you even think about bailing on me and Lance and I get arrested, Lance and I are prepared to back up each other that you planned the whole thing and all we did was carry out your orders. Now be a good boy, Grady and be the driver tonight so we can all follow Curtis’s Honda home tonight and find out what he’s planning next.”

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: MEMORY (2023)-SHOWTIME

It’s always a delight to come across a quiet unassuming thoughtful independent film sporting an interesting character study and a fabulous actor to play the part. This film happens to have two interesting characters played by two fabulous actors and is tenderly written and directed by Michal Franco. Sylvia (Jessica Chastain) helps people. She works as a social worker for mentally challenged adults. She is a former alcoholic who attends AA and has just celebrated her 13^th anniversary of being sober. She has a teenage daughter named Anna (Brooke Timber) who she protects fiercely including having an elaborate security system at her New York apartment.  Her younger and more financially successful sister Olivia (Merritt Weaver) encourages Sylvia to attend her high school reunion. Sylvia reluctantly goes dressing as casual and somber as she can. When she arrives and Olivia and her friends decide to go out on the dance floor, a man comes over and sits down beside Sylvia. He doesn’t say anything. He just smiles.

Irritated by his presence, Sylvia doesn’t say anything either. She picks up her purse and leaves the party. But as she heads to the subway, she realizes the man is following her, unnerving her even more. When she gets off at her stop, she hurries inside her apartment and flips on the security system. When she peers out the window, she finds the man is outside looking up trying to figure out which apartment is hers. Sylvia warns Anna to stay away from the windows and keep out of sight.

When Sylvia gets up the next morning the man is still there lying in the street near the next door tire dealership wet and cold trying to keep warm under a garbage bag. She gets him to give her his identification and finds out his name is Saul (Peter Sarsgaard). She calls his brother Issac (Josh Charles) to come pick him up. Issac explains to Sylvia Saul is suffering from early onset dementia and Issac’s adult daughter Sara (Elsie Fisher) later comes over to Sylvia’s place and asks if her if she would be willing to be a caretaker for her uncle. Sylvia, who unlike Saul has memories she can’t forget struggles with whether she should take the job.