A Journal of My Thoughts (Part 6)

December 6, 2019December 5, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning! How was everyone’s week? I am hanging out with some friends this weekend so I am very excited for that! Keep an eye on my Instagram for photos!

We continue with the case for Mr. Neasvelle. I hope everything goes in his favor. Enjoy the Adventure!

A Journal of My Thoughts

December 16, 20–

I am so furious! I have found out that Mr. Able pulled the fire alarm in the courthouse! I knew that he did. I called it yesterday when he was acting all strange outside the courthouse. Honestly, I hope this means that either the case gets thrown out or we get an advantage in the case.

I don’t know what Able was thinking. I know he’s a petty individual but I never thought he would ever stoop that low to win a case.

Then again, I’ve never actually tried a case against him.

I just…I just can’t believe someone would be that determined to try to win a case. I would be ashamed of myself if I ever stooped that low to win a case. Like…the audacity. Either Able is hiding something or he doesn’t have a solid case against Mr. Neasvelle. I haven’t figured out which it is.

James was so upset when I arrived at the office today. I could tell just by looking at him that he didn’t sleep well the night before. He had large bags under his eyes and his eyes were red from exhaustion. James told me that he was worried that the case was over. He was afraid that the judge wouldn’t see our case and wouldn’t see our side of the case.

And that’s when it happened. The phone on James’ desk started to ring. We both stared at it, not sure if we should answer or not. Then James’ arm reached out and picked up the phone off the cradle. He answered the phone in the most monotone voice he could’ve answered in.

Immediately his eyes widened. He grabbed a pad of paper and started scribbling something that I couldn’t read. Not that his handwriting is messy, but have you ever tried reading something upside down? It’s quite difficult. Anyway, he was scribbling something as fast as he could, all while nodding and agreeing with whoever was on the phone.

He said goodbye and slammed the phone back down on the receiver. He got a very goofy smile on his face and started to tell me what happened.

The judge was so upset about what Able did that he wanted to throw out all of the evidence that Able wanted to present. I don’t know if that’s even legal! The judge wanted the throw the entire case out and prove that Mr. Neasvelle is innocent. That would be amazing! That would be the best thing in the world for Mr. Neavelle. If he didn’t have to spend any time in jail that would be a win.

I couldn’t believe it. Was that even possible? Could a judge do that? The judge wanted to talk to us and Able to see how we wanted to proceed. I was surprised that the judge wanted to talk to all of us together, but that was a decision for him, not me.

James and I raced over to the courthouse to meet with the judge and Able. We hurried through the lobby to the small judges quarters to hear yelling. It was hard to make out what was being said, but all I knew two people were unhappy. James suggested that it was probably Able and the judge arguing about the judge’s decision, but we couldn’t be for sure.

James cautiously knocked on the door and the room with quiet. The door opened and the judge brought us into the room. Able was sitting in one of the chairs with a very angry scowl on his face. I could immediately tell that he was angry that he was caught, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The judge sat down and told us what he wanted to do. He said he looked at the evidence and knew that Mr. Neasvelle wasn’t guilty. Able went to object but the judge immediately silenced him. The judge told us that he was very ashamed of Able and how he had gone about trying to win the case. He shamed Able, telling Able that the trick that was pulled was low and uncalled for in a courthouse. Able’s face turned red, obviously not used to being humiliated in front of other people.

The judge told us that he was going to give a verdict that Mr. Neasvelle was innocent and that the police had the wrong man. He told us that the evidence was quite clear and he wasn’t going to change the decision. He turned to Able and told him that if he ever, EVER, saw Mrs. Neasvelle suing Mr. Neasvelle on his docket that he would immediately throw out the case. I could not have been happier with the decision. James and I stood up and shook the judges hand before watching Able race out the door.

James and I agreed to wait until tomorrow to tell Mr. Neasvelle about the judge’s decision. We wanted to make his day and maybe give him an extra little surprise. We discussed a small surprise for Mr. Neasvelle and went our separate ways for the night.

When I got home I told Rose about what happened. We were both so excited that we decided to open a new bottle of wine. It’s something we don’t do that often, but it was a good celebration. But now, I have to try to sleep before telling Mr. Neasvelle the good news. G’Night.

Neighbor

November 18, 2019November 16, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Hello! Did everyone have a good weekend? I spent some times with friends and family and I had a really good time with them. Did anyone do anything fun?

We continue on a new story. I won’t stall too long and let you read the Adventure story. Enjoy!

Neighbor

Mina stood in front of the giant house and was frozen in fear. The house was huge. It was barely 2 stories tall and looked like people hadn’t lived there for a while. It was slightly run down and the door looked like it couldn’t fallen off at any moment. There were a couple crows ominously sitting on the roof, cawing at Mina as she stared at the giant house.

She cautiously stepped up to her neighbor’s front door. She wasn’t great friends with him, actually she didn’t really know him at all. He was just their neighbor, but she hadn’t really interacted with him at all. He was kind of weird.

The reason she was there was her mom had asked her to to get some eggs for a batch of cookies she was baking and Mina still wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing. She was a little hesitant to do so, but she really wanted cookies so she went. Now her heart was pounding out of her chest and she hadn’t even talked to him.

She didn’t even know his name.

Mina cautiously knocked on the door and patiently waited for him to answer. And when he did, he barely opened the door. Mina looked up and saw two eyes peering out from between the door and the doorframe. She nervously smiled. “Uh…hello. I’m Mina and I live next door to you. My mom needs two eggs for a recipe and she was wondering if you had a couple she could use.”

There was a slight pause and Mina could see her neighbor’s eyes shifting back and forth, almost as if he was deciding if he wanted to invite her in or not. “Uh…sure. Come in.” He opened the door slightly more and Mina stepped inside. “Wait there.”

Her neighbor walked away and she stood in the living room. It was dark and creepy. There were deer heads hanging from the walls and some birds hanging above them. Mina could see spider webs in the corners of the walls, some of them could’ve been as big as she was. She could also see a layer of dust sitting on top of his TV stand like it hadn’t been cleaned in years. The TV had a strange channel playing, it was just showing a man wearing some patterned green clothes and sitting in a tree. She wasn’t sure why they were filming him sitting in a tree.

The man walked back into the living room. He handed her two eggs. “There you go…now get.”

Suddenly there was a bang. Mina dropped the eggs and covered her ears, not sure what was going to happen. “Really? I give you 2 eggs and you drop them? It’s just the TV…”

Mina looked up and saw the man who was previously sitting in the tree now standing on the ground next to a deer. The deer didn’t appear to be alive and sat motionless while the man posed next to it. Her eyes widened as the show continued.

Her neighbor walked away and came back quickly with two more eggs. “Here. Now don’t drop these and get! I don’t want to see you for any longer than I have to.”

Mina held the eggs close to her chest and turned toward the door. And she ran. She ran all the way home with the eggs clutched close to her, making sure to not drop them. She barely got in her front door when she stopped. At least now she was safe. Mina walked the eggs into the kitchen and handed them to her mom, thankful to be safe at last.

A Journal of My Thoughts (Part 5)

November 15, 2019November 14, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning! I am so glad that today is Friday! I have so many things planned for the next few days and I am very very excited. Anybody else have exciting plans for the weekend and next week?

We continue on with our court case. I hope that everything goes well for Mr. Neasvelle and I hope they can win the court case. But, you will have to continue the Adventure to see what happens. Enjoy!

A Journal of My Thoughts

December 15, 20—

Today was the big day. I wasn’t able to sleep super well but I felt well rested. I walked into the kitchen wearing my best suit and Rose smiled at me. She told me that no matter what the outcome was going to be, she was proud of me. That made me smile. Even though I know she will always support me, this just made me hold my head a little higher.

I filled my thermos with coffee and kissed Rose before walking out the door to my car. James was going to collect everything from the office before heading to the courthouse so I made my way to meet him. It would look unprofessional if we didn’t show up at the same time. I sent James a quick text to make sure he was on the way and he quickly replied with a simple yes.

The drive was uneventful so I won’t bore you with that.

We arrived at the same time and somehow parked next to each other. I promise we didn’t plan that. It just happened. Either way, we walked up the steps to the courthouse to see Mr. Neasvelle standing in the lobby. He was wearing a suit that was a smidge too big for him, but it didn’t look terrible. We walked up to him and shook his hand. He told us he was nervous and you could tell. His hands were very sweaty.

I told Mr. Neasvelle that we had to give the judge the small amount of evidence we had and he told us he would meet us in the courtroom. James told me he was so nervous but he had a feeling everything would go well. I laughed. I was feeling the same way though. I didn’t know that was a thing but here we are.

We walked into the judges chambers and saw the prosecuting attorney. It was someone we had battled against before and we didn’t do well. His name was Mr. Able. I was always kind of perplexed by his name. Was that actually his name? Or did he legally change his name? He always said he was able to win his cases, so maybe he changed his name to reflect that. Who knows, but what I do know is that he is a very successful prosecuting attorney.

I saw Mr. Able and shook his hand. He was always a very stone faced man, but he was at least polite. To an extent. He would shake our hands and ask how we were doing, but then he would slaughter us in court. But not today! I was determined that today would be the day we beat him.

Both parties presented their evidence to the judge and agreed on everything. I could tell Mr. Able was a little shocked by how much we actually brought in. Mostly witness statements but still, it was a bit of evidence.

I could tell that the evidence that he brought was much more physical. Like, he had a flash drive, most likely with security camera footage on it, and some fingerprints supposedly that matched Mr. Neasvelle. But what surprised me was that he brought the envelope of money that my client had given his client. It was still in an envelope with a small drawing on the front. It said Child Support across the front and underneath there was a small stick figure family. There was a taller person and 3 shorter people, presumably Mr. Neasvelle and his three kids. It made my heart skip a beat, it was cute. And very thoughtful.

The judge dismissed us and we found Mr. Neasvelle standing outside of the courtroom door. He seemed even more nervous than before and it looked like he had been pacing quite a bit. We tried to help calm him down and tell him that everything would be okay.

That was…until the fire alarm went off.

That’s right. They had to evacuate the entire courthouse because the fire alarm went off. All I could think of was that someone was trying to get out of their case today and would face federal charges for setting off the fire alarm in a courthouse. But when we stepped outside there were actual flames coming out from the roof. Everyone was a little shocked and couldn’t believe this was happening.

I remember seeing Mr. Able standing off to the far side. He seemed anxious, something I had never seen from him before. I couldn’t tell if he was nervous about the courthouse burning down or if he was nervous that the case would be pushed to a different courtroom. Or, maybe he had faked some of the evidence to make it look like Mr. Neasvelle was guilty.

It just seemed like very strange behavior from him. But pretty soon the fire department shows up and starts to put out the flame. The judges come walking around to tell everyone they will be receiving papers on when and where their cases will be handled. The attorneys were told to stick around to collect their evidence but everyone else was dismissed.

James told me he would get the stuff and I took Mr. Neasvelle back to his apartment. He told me he was more worried now that the case was being pushed off for a short while. I told him everything would be fine and nothing would change in the case. We still were going to win no matter what.

I’m not sure if he fully believe me or not, but he told me he was very thankful for everything that we have done. And I’m going to leave it there the night. I’m not sure when the case will resume, but hopefully it’s soon. G’night.

A Journal of My Thoughts (Part 4)

November 8, 2019November 7, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 2 Comments

Good morning! It’s finally Friday! I cannot wait to finish work today so I can have the weekend off! Just think of all the writing I can get done!

We are picking up where we left of in the case. What do you guys think will happen to Mr. Neavelle? I honestly hope he goes free, that just seems like the right thing. Especially with that new evidence that was found from a couple witnesses. If you want to see what happens, you will have to continue reading this Adventure. Enjoy!

A Journal of My Thoughts

December 14, 20—

Last night was a rough night of sleep. I kept tossing and turning, thinking about all of the information for our case. I think I woke up more exhausted than when I went to sleep.

Also, I drank three cups of coffee before I left for work which is something I never do.

When I arrived at work, James was already there. I didn’t even get a chance to ask him how long he was there because when I walked into his office I knew. He was sound asleep in his chair, his head resting on the desk in front of him. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how he was able to sleep with his music pounding. I was able to turn down the music without waking James up and left him where he was. Thankfully, our meeting wasn’t until 11 am.

I walked into my office and started prepping for our meeting with Mr. Neasvelle. We had all the new information for the case and the first day of trial is tomorrow. Let me be the first to say that I am really not looking forward to the trial. It is going to be a lot harder than we are hoping for.

I sat in my office for a while preparing stuff when James walked in. He asked how long I had been working for and I told him not long. He apologized to me for staying overnight, but he was just so worked up in the case trying to find a way to win. I feel bad for him. He’s been spending so much extra time on this case. He hasn’t been spending as much time off as he normally would.

He sat down in front of me and we went over the notes that we had accumulated for Mr. Neavelle’s case. We were hoping that we could get him out on the idea that there were no fingerprints and the fact that he couldn’t get to the store in less than 30 minutes. Both of those facts along with a witness telling me that he saw Mr. Neavelle in his apartment at 2 am helped to solidify that Mr. Neavelle was innocent.

We worked in our separate offices for a while when it finally became time for our meeting with Mr. Neavelle. We set up the small conference room on our floor to make sure that we were prepared. My phone rang from our secretary Alicia calling to tell us Mr. Neavelle was here for his meeting. I told her to bring him back and James and I waited.

Let me say that I was absolutely shocked to see Mr. Neavelle.

He looked like he had been through 10 wars. His eyes were sunk in and dark from many sleepless nights. His clothes were clean but they were tattered from overwearing them. There were a couple holes in his jeans and a large rip in the side of his shirt. I haven’t seen a client in this bad of condition for a while but it made me feel even worse for him. It made me kind of want to ask if he had clothes that were appropriate for court, but I held my tongue.

He looked exhausted and stressed beyond all belief. I have seen James endure a lot of stress with this case but I never expected to see double the stress on Mr. Neasvelle’s face. I asked him if he would like a cup of water or a cup of coffee and I saw tears forming in his eyes. He told me he hadn’t had coffee since he divorced his wife and he didn’t buy it because it was too expensive. He used his coffee money to pay for his child support. I immediately made him a cup of coffee and handed it to him.

We sat down at the table and discussed what was going to happen in court tomorrow. He told us he was borrowing a suit from his father to make sure he looked presentable. That made me feel a little bit better. I told him what evidence we had gotten from his neighbors and how it didn’t match up with the time frame of the break in. He nodded, taking in all of the information that we were putting in front of him. James kept asking him if this was all making sense and he would say yes.

After everything was presented we gave Mr. Neavelle a game plan of how everything would happen. We told him that we would do everything we could to get him off the hook, especially since the evidence was clear that he was an innocent man.

I will never forget what Mr. Neavelle told us. He told us that the whole time this has been happening, he hasn’t felt any hope. He felt like he had lost the moment he was unfairly arrested. But now that he saw all of the evidence in front of him, he finally saw a glimmer of hope. He finally saw the chance to continue to be a free man and not have to spend the rest of his life in jail for something he didn’t do. He told us he had been preparing to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Mr. Neavelle thanked us for our time and stood up. He had to get back to work but he was looking forward to what was going to happen in the coming days.

James and I walked him to the front door and shook his hand. We both wished him well before heading back to our offices and continuing to work. James told me before we left for the day that he actually slipped Mr. Neavelle a $20 bill when they shook hands, more of a ‘this is to help you’ hand shake. That made me smile.

And now we are at the end of the day. I need to get a good night’s rest for the case tomorrow. James and I are meeting at the office early to make sure we have everything. I know we can win this case. I know Mr. Neavelle will be a free man. I just know it. Either way, that is up to the judge to finally decide. G’night.

Haunted Hunters

November 4, 2019November 3, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 8 Comments

Good morning! How was everyone’s weekend? I had to work all weekend but I did get to do a Paint and Pour Fundraiser which was a lot of fun. I, unfortunately, didn’t take many photos because we were so busy having fun! But it was a lot of fun to do with my mom and some of our friends.

This week I bring to you a new story for Grammy’s Grid. The last story I posted for Grammy’s Grid was The Retelling, and it was her featured post! So if you want to go back and read it, click here. This time, instead of having a story based off of an opening sentence, we are getting inspiration from a photograph. I had a little difficulty deciding how I wanted to go about this story, but it all came together nicely. I hope you enjoy this Adventure!

Haunted Hunters

“This is making me feel worse than it did before.”

Luis rolled his eyes. “Serious Janay. We’ve been hiking for the past couple days to get to the most haunted cave this side of the Mississippi. Now you think you have a bad feeling?”

She shrugged. “No…But we’re now here and of course I’m getting more nervous. What if we see an actual ghost?”

Luis wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him. “Babe..we’ll be fine. We won’t go into the cave until tomorrow when it’s light outside. So tonight we can relax and stay in the tent and tomorrow we’ll go inside the cave. When it’s light outside.” He kissed her on the side of her head. “Does that make you feel better?”

Janay giggled and snuggled closer to him. “Yeah, I feel a little better. I don’t know how well I’ll sleep tonight with the cave being like, 500 yards away.”

Luis stood up and grabbed another log for the campfire. He walked toward the flames before pausing and setting it down next to the fire. He sighed. “I know what you mean. I’m pretty nervous as well. But I was afraid that if we camped too far away we wouldn’t find the cave again in the morning.”

He heard a sigh behind him. “I don’t know about you, but I am getting kinda tired. What about you?”

“Did you just ask me the same question twice?”

Janay groaned. “You know what I meant! I’m tired okay…”

With a chuckle, Luis walked over to Janay and kissed her. “I know babe, I’m tired too. How about you get ready and I’ll get the fire to die down.” Janay slowly stood up and stretched her arms above her head. Luis watched her walk into their small tent and zip up the entry shut.

He sat down on the mildly uncomfortable camping chair and looked toward the cave entrance. It was huge, the top of the entrance was almost at the top of the mountain. They had looked into the cave entrance when they arrived, but decided to set up camp and settle in for the night instead. It was probably better to go in during the day anyway.

Luis turned toward the tent to see if Janay was ready but he couldn’t tell. “How’s it going in there?”

“How about I just give you your pajamas and a fresh pair of boxers and you can change outside?”

Luis laughed. “You’re crazy. I ain’t changing out here when there is a haunted cave not too far away. Nice try.”

There was a giggle inside the tent. “What? You don’t want to change near a haunted cave? That seems like something you would do.”

“Oh heck no. Let me in to change.” Luis unzipped the tent and quickly stepped in their tiny traveling home. He grabbed his suitcase and unzipped it to change his clothes. There was low growl coming from outside the tent. Luis froze. “What was that?”

Janay sat on the air matress and pulled the blanket closer to her. “I don’t know, but you should go look.”

Luis slowly stood up and peeked out of the tent entrance. He scanned the area but didn’t see anything that they should be worried about. “I don’t see anything babe. That was weird.”

“It’s probably because we are staying near the haunted cave.”

He ducked back into the tent and zipped the tent closed. “Maybe. But…we’ve encountered spookier things than just a low growl coming from outside the tent.” He took his shirt off and threw it into his suitcase. “Do you remember that supposedly haunted bridge in Arizona that we went to?”

Janay giggled and snuggled into the blankets. “Yeah. According to the legend, if you mocked the bridge it would throw you off into the river below. But no matter how much we mocked it we never got thrown in the river. I think that one is safe to say it wasn’t haunted.”

“And what about the Henrick’s Haunted House?”

“Pfft. Please. That was a mistake on our part thinking that we were going to encounter a house that was haunted. Not a legitimate haunted house attraction.”

Luis laid down on the air mattress and covered his body with the blankets. “Yeah that was definitely a mistake on our part. But it was a fun thing to do.” He kissed Janay. “Let’s try to relax a little tonight so we are well prepared for tomorrow.”

In one swift motion, Janay flung her arm off the bed and hit the switch on their solar lamp. The tent went dark and it was quiet. The only sound that filled the air was the crickets that flew around the solo tent. There was a slight breeze but it wasn’t strong enough to cause any issues with the tent blowing away.

The two began to finally relax when that low growl sounded again. Janay’s eyes flew open. “Do you think there’s wolves out here?”

Luis rolled over to face her. “I don’t think that wolves would be interested in us. But a mountain lion might.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “But there isn’t anything in this part of the woods. I checked with the ranger station before we left.”

Janay sighed a sigh of relief. “Well that makes me feel better. Though I am still concerned what that growl is.”

“Maybe it’s the ghost’s dog. Maybe the dog is trying to warn us to not go in.” He snickered. “Unfortunately that’s not going to work.”

And with that the two of them were finally able to relax. The low growl never returned to disturb them yet again. The crickets continued to chirp and the breeze kept the tent cool throughout the night. Luis drifted off to sleep first and Janay followed shortly after, dreaming of what they would experience the next day.

A Journal of My Thoughts (Part 3)

November 1, 2019October 30, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful and fun Halloween! I unfortunately had to work all day, but I was able to dress up a little for work. And I had my fun Molly McIntire costume! That costume was fun to put together and wear around to take photos in. So my Halloween wasn’t too bad after all.

We continue on the journey of the court case. I hope that James and Daniel can figure it how to win the case. This Adventure will continue on and I hope you enjoy!

A Journal of My Thoughts

December 13, 20–

Today was interesting to say the least. James and I spent the entire day working on Mr. Neasvelle’s case. I didn’t want to waste any time on the case and I wanted to make sure we had the best chance at winning. I remember looking at the case file to see what the police had said.

There were no fingerprints on the safe except for our client’s ex-wife. It was suspected that the intruder was wearing gloves while he worked, but there still wasn’t any evidence that it was Mr. Neasvelle. The problem with the case is the money. Mr. Neasvelle says that he had paid his ex-wife in cash that he had received as tips from his waiter job. There was no way to prove that the money wasn’t stolen from the store.

I remember James telling me something that he thought was interesting. He told me that the police had talked to Mr. Neavelle’s neighbors about if they heard anything that night. One of them wasn’t home the night that everything happened and the other works nights so he wasn’t home. Everything seemed to not be in our favor.

But I wanted to check on that again. We ended up going to Mr. Neavelle’s apartment to talk to his neighbors. Was it against the law? Probably. I should probably brush up on that to make sure I wasn’t breaking the law. But either way we had to check to see what was true.

I knocked on the first door and a woman answered the door. I asked if they knew Mr. Neasvelle and she confirmed that she knew of Mr. Neasvelle but didn’t know too much about him. The woman, I think her name was Julie (?), was very sweet and said that Mr. Neasvelle just kept to himself all the time. I asked her if she knew anything about his jobs and she said no but she did see him wearing two different kinds of uniforms. Then I asked her about the night of the break in and she said she heard him come home around 10 pm but she fell asleep shortly after she heard her grandfather clock strike 10.

How a person can sleep with a grandfather clock chiming every hour I will never know.

So I pressed her harder to see if she knew anything else. She assured me that no, she didn’t know anything else. But then she stopped and told me that she suddenly remembered getting ready in the morning around 8 am and hearing some pounding outside her apartment. She looked out the window to see Mr. Neasvelle rushing down the stairs and toward his car. I thanked Julie for her time and gave her my card.

As I walked to the other apartment I realized that Julie’s story matched up perfectly with the police story. Mrs. Neasvelle arrived at her store around 8 am and Mr. Neasvelle showed up around 8:30 to give her his portion of the child support. I couldn’t be 100% sure, but I am almost positive that it is a 30 minute drive across town to her store.

I knocked on the second apartment to a very unhappy young man. He looked exhausted. I introduced myself and the man, Austin, asked me how long it was going to take because he wanted to get another nap in before he went to work. I apologized and told him I forgot that he worked nights. I promised him I would make it quick if he helped me out. He asked if I was here regarding Mr. Neasvelle and when I said yes he told me what happened that night.

According to Austin, he left for work around 10 pm and saw Mr. Neasvelle coming home from work. They exchanged hellos and went their separate ways. Austin told me that he came home during his lunch period, arriving at home at 2 am, and saw all of Mr. Neavelle’s lights off except for one. He told me it peaked his curiosity and he peered into the window to see Mr. Neasvelle counting out some money. He didn’t look too far into the subject because that was an invasion of privacy. I asked him if he remembered anything else which he said no to. I gave him my card and thanked him for his time.

On my way back to my car, I had to take a moment to think. I had to ask James about the time that was posted on the security tapes from Mrs. Neasvelle’s shop. I could’ve sworn that the breakin was at 2 am. And if it was, then Austin’s story would’ve proven that Mr. Neasvelle was at home during the time of the break in.

My butt barely hit the driver’s seat when I hit the call button on my phone. I had to ask James before I forgot. Thankfully he answered right away and I asked my important question. When was the break in? I heard some papers shuffle when James told me the awesome news.

The break in was at 2:13 am.

This meant that there was no way for Mr. Neasvelle to leave his apartment at 2 am and get all the way to his ex-wife’s store in 13 minutes without breaking every traffic law in the book. I told James what I found out and he cheered. We finally found a small piece of information that actually made our case winnable.

Does this mean that the case it cut and dry in our favor? Absolutely not. The police still think that our client did this and was very careful about the whole thing. Do I think this gives us a little more leverage into the winning the case? Absolutely.

Am I exhausted after finding all of this information? Yes. So I’m hitting the sack. G’night.

Ghost Stories (Part 2)

October 28, 2019October 27, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning! It is the spookiest week of the year and it is time to celebrate with the last spooky story! Or at least, the second part of last weeks story.

So we continue with our spooky story. I hope that you enjoy the Adventure story. Enjoy!

Ghost Stories

The only sound that filled the quiet woods was the pounding footsteps of everyone running. The 7 teenagers ran as fast as they could to the solo cabin in between all of the trees. All of their hearts were pounding but they didn’t want to stop running. Whatever they had encountered, they didn’t want to accidentally run into again. It had scared them enough and they didn’t want to see it again.

As they approached the cabin, the group started to race up the stairs to the main door. Samuel reached the door first and fumbled around for the keys to unlock the door. “Hurry up!” Emma nervous looked over her shoulder at the woods behind them. “Hurry up Samuel!”

“I can only go as fast as my fingers will let me!” Samuel finally shoved the key into the lock and turned it. The lock made a small click as it unlocked and the group rushed through the door to the safety of the living room. Samuel slammed the door shut and locked it again. He leaned against the door and looked at the group who were now spread around the living room trying to catch their breath. “What…what was that?”

Bella took a deep breath before looking up at him. “I don’t know. All I know is that there were large yellow eyes in the middle of the woods. I don’t know what they were, but it was scary.”

Miranda slowly sat up on the couch that she had been sprawled across. “What if it was Joey trying to tell us to go inside to safety?”

Brad stood up straight. “I thought that was just a ghost story? I didn’t think it was real.”

Miranda shrugged. “As far as I know it’s just a ghost story. But maybe Joey does actually haunt the woods and he was trying to warn us of something.”

Emma’s eyes widened. “I thought you said Joey didn’t want people to be in the woods alone. We were out there as a group, so why would he be trying to warn us of something?”

“All I know is this door is locked.” The group all looked at Samuel who was still leaning against the door. “As far as I am concerned, we are all safe and sound here in the cabin.”

Suddenly there was the sound of glass crashing. Everyone in the group shielded their eyes from the glass when they heard the same scream from outside. But there was another scream as well. Bella looked up to see Samuel was gone. “Samuel!” She rushed over to the broken window on the door and looked out.

But Samuel was gone.

“Where did he go?” Brad was now directly behind Bella and they peered through the window. There wasn’t a single trace that anyone had left the cabin except for the broken glass. “We have to go look for him.”

“Brad are you crazy?” Everyone looked at Emma who was in tears. “Our friend was just kidnapped and you want to go look for him? Are you trying to go missing too? What if whatever took Samuel is out for all of us?”

“Then that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Samuel is my friend and I’m not going to let him just disappear on me like that.” Brad swung the door open and marched out the door. The door slammed shut and the group watched him walk into the forest.

“Maybe someone should go after him?”

“Are you kidding? What if that thing takes him too? Then all of us will be wandering through the forest looking for our friend who isn’t alive anymore. I don’t think that would be very smart.” Joshua was standing to the side of the group, looking out the windows that faced toward the forest. He sighed. “I think we all need to stay inside, in our rooms, and not leave until the morning.”

The entire cabin went pitch black as the wind picked up outside. All of the girls screamed and held onto each other. “What…what was that? What is happening?” Emma had tears streaming down her cheeks. “I wanna go home.”

There was another crash and a large shadowy figure leapt through the window. Bella fell to the floor and covered her face. A high pitched scream filled the room and Bella peaked out from between her fingers. Emma was being dragged out of the broken window into the darkness of the forest. Her screams started to become more distance as she was dragged away.

“What is happening?” Bella looked around the room to see everyone panicking. Miranda and Jessica were both sitting in the fetal position next to her. Joshua sat next to the now broken window, covering his head with his arms. Everyone slowly looked up to see if the coast was clear.

Jessica sniffled. “Can we just go home? I don’t care if I leave my stuff here. I just want to leave.”

Joshua nodded. “I am down for that. I’ll grab my keys and we can leave.”

“Are you sure you want to go out there? All of our cars are in the open which means that we have to go outside and be exposed to whatever is out there until we can get in the car. Plus…” Miranda shrugged. “What says it can’t get us in the car? We are probably still accessible even when driving.”

“We might just have to if we want to go home.” Joshua got on his hands and knees and started crawling toward the kitchen. The girls all watched him, holding their breath and praying that the monster didn’t come back. Joshua slowly reached up and felt around the counter for his keys, finally finding them near the coffee pot. “Okay. I’ve got my wallet in my pocket. Let’s go.” He crawled toward the girls who were still sitting by the front door. “You ready?” The girls all nodded. “Okay, let’s go.”

The group slowly stood up in unison. Joshua gently gripped the doorknob and pointed toward his Jeep Cherokee. The girls nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. They took a step back and Joshua threw the door open. Everyone booked it toward the car when a loud roar sounded through the forest.

The lights on the Jeep flashed as Joshua unlocked it and the whole group got into the seats as quickly as they could. Joshua shoved the key into the ignition and the engine fired on. He threw the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway as quickly and safely as he could. Bella looked out the windshield to see a large black shadowy man starting to follow the car. Joshua stopped the car, threw it into drive, and sped away from the house.

Bella looked behind them to see the shadowy man start to follow them. The wind picked up and screamed through the forest as they drove away. The shadowy man got his way: he was telling them that they needed to leave. She felt her eyes starting to fill up with tears. 3 of their friends were gone and they wouldn’t be able to get them back. They would come back during the day to collect all of their things.

At least they were safe. For now.

A Journal of My Thought (Part 2)

October 25, 2019October 24, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning! How has everyone’s week gone so far? Mine’s been pretty slow, but nothing too serious. But I am ready for the weekend! I am taking photos in my Halloween costume (which is awesome if I do say so myself) so that will be a lot of fun!

We are continuing on our story. I really like how this story is turning out especially because it isn’t my typical writing style. This has been a really fun story to explore a new writing style and a new form of storytelling. It’s been challenging but it’s been fun as well. I hope you enjoy this Adventure story!

December 12, 20–

I’m writing this at 3:27 am. I couldn’t sleep because I have been so caught up in James’ case. I think I just need to write it all out and see if I notice any inconsistencies. So here goes nothing.

His client, Mr. Neasvelle, is being charged for robbery at his ex-wife’s store. She owned one of those DIY stores where she basically took furniture and repainted it and changed it up to resell. She also taught classes there. Actually, come to think of it, I think Rose went to one of her classes to paint that cool shadowbox in our hallway. That’s off topic.

Mrs. Neasvelle is claiming that her husband broke into her store in the very early hours of the morning to take the money that he still owed her for child support, and then pay it to her the next day. She claims that when they were married that he lied and he cheated her out of money and wasn’t the best dad, which is why she left him. She filed for divorce and got full custody of their children because he wasn’t deemed as a safe and good father.

Shortly after the divorce papers were served, Mr. Neasvelle lost his job at the local factory where he had been employed for 10 years. They claimed he wasn’t able to work at the same capacity he had when he started and they let him go. His friends said he was very down and didn’t leave his apartment very often. He got a job at the local Taco Bell and McDonald’s just to make ends meet. Mr. Neasvelle was trying to stay in his apartment along with pay for the child support for his 3 kids. It was tough for him.

He lost his job at McDonald’s for threatening another employee and his manager at Taco Bell made him go to anger management classes just to be safe. But, according to the new evidence, he went but never got the therapist to sign the form saying he completed the class. And even though he was taking those classes, Mrs. Neasvelle said she still didn’t feel safe from him. He would drive by their house and sit across the street for a long time before leaving. She never figured out why, but according to her she changed all the locks on the house just to be safe.

In a statement from the prosecuting side, one of Mr. Neasvelle’s friends noticed that he had collected many different kinds of locks and seemed to be practicing picking them. He asked Mr. Neasvelle about it and Mr. Neasvelle shrugged it off and said not to worry about it. It was just a random fun hobby he liked to do, but his friend wasn’t so sure about it.

According to Mrs. Neavelle, she had left her store at 5:13 pm, 13 minutes after closing. In those 13 minutes she made sure all the doors and windows were locked and counted up her cash drawer which sat at $500 altogether: 1 $50 bill, 12 $20 bills, 13 $10 bills, 12 $5 bills, and 20 $1 bills. She said this was what her cash drawer looked like every night and she had extra cash stored in a safe in case she needed it. She locked up her cash drawer in the safe in her office before locking her office and setting the alarm near the back door. Once she left she went home to her kids for the night and didn’t worry about the store.

When she came in the next day, she noticed that the alarm wasn’t set. She thought maybe she had accidentally forgot to turn it on, but that was unlikely. Then she walked into her office and saw the safe was open ajar and that’s when she called 911.

When the police came she gave them the security camera footage which showed a man break into the back door and turn off the alarm. He was about 6 feet tall and a thin build. He was wearing all black and had a black mask over his face. The burglar walked over to the office and picked the lock before swiftly entering and going to the safe. They broke into the safe without any problems and grabbed the cash out of the safe before running out of the store.

The first person who was questioned was Mr. Neasvelle who showed up at the crime scene almost an hour after the police showed up. They questioned him on why he was there and he told them that he was there to pay Mrs. Neasvelle the child support he owed her, $500. The police immediately arrested him and took him to the precinct to question him.

Now this is where I get a bit confused. The police said that $500 was taken from the safe and they arrested Mr. Neasvelle because that’s how much he paid his ex-wife for child support. But, the police never said how the money was given to Mrs. Neavelle. Yes, the $500 was the same amount as the cash drawer, but it was never stated that she was given the same bills. According to James’ client, he paid her in all small bills which is why it seemed suspicious to the police.

Also, there weren’t any fingerprints at the crime scene. So how did all of this get pinned on James’ client? The prosecuting side is trying to claim that Mr. Neasvelle did this is a fit of anger against his ex-wife for doing this to him. He broke in, stole her money, and gave it right back to her.

But according to Mr. Neasvelle he didn’t leave his apartment all night. He was at home and went to bed around midnight because he had to be at work at 10 am. But he had to be up early enough to go to his ex-wife’s store to pay his child support before going to work. He told us over and over again that he would never do anything like this to his ex-wife. He told us that he was mad at her, but he wouldn’t break into her store to steal money just to give it back to her. According to him, he paid her with all cash tips from his newest waiter job. He collected all of the tips to pay her child support. Unfortunately, there’s not really a way to support that.

I’m still very confused. I still don’t really know what to make of this. But for now, I’m going to try to get a couple more hours of sleep before having to go to work. So for now, g’ night.

Ghost Stories

October 21, 2019October 20, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 2 Comments

Good morning! How is everyone today? I went on a day trip on Saturday and I am still tired from the driving. Why is it that you take a trip for a day to try to relax and you are tired? Isn’t the point of going out of town to rejuvenate?

We are getting closer to Halloween which means we are continuing our spooky stories. I hope you are ready for a new Adventure story. Enjoy!

Ghost Stories

The woods were dark at this time of night. Every living creature had gone to sleep except for the occasion hoot of an owl and the chirping of crickets. There was a slight breeze in the air but not enough to cause any issues. But there was one small patch of light from a campfire that was blazing in the middle of the woodland.

Bella pulled her flannel closer to chest, trying to stay warm next to the fire. She looked around the campfire at all of her friends, 7 of them to be exact. She had been invited to her friend Samuel’s family cabin for the weekend so they could party with no adults, but they all enjoyed just sitting by the fire and swimming in a nearby creek. It wasn’t the kind of weekend she was expecting but she enjoyed it all the same.

Her friend Brad stretched his arms out and wrapped one around her. “You cold?”

She shook her head. “Not really. I just got a random chill.”

“Guys!” Everyone looked up to see Miranda standing up, her arms outstretched to the sides in excitement. “We should tell ghost stories! We are out in the middle of the woods and there is no one here. It would be fun!”

Emma shook her head. “No way! I don’t think I would be able to sleep tonight if we told ghost stories.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. “Come on Emma. They aren’t real stories. I’m sure it won’t be that scary. I’ll start.” She fell back into her camp chair and leaned forward. “It was a crazy windy night and a boy named Joey was walking home through the woods.”

“I don’t like this already.” Emma shuddered and leaned back in her chair pouting.

“Anyway. Joey was walking home through the woods when he heard a noise. He looked around to see what it was, but there was nothing. So he kept walking. But something blocked his path. A large rock was blocking the path that he traveled everyday. He wasn’t sure how the rock had gotten there but he knew he had to either get over it or go around it to get home. But…when he started to climb over the rock he heard that noise again. It was a whining noise, high pitch and loud. When Joey turned around he saw an old man wearing all black. He had a large black hat on his head and walked with a black cane. Joey tried to climb faster but the old man grabbed him instead. Joey was thrown on the ground and the old man’s cane pierced his chest. The wind that we hear tonight is actually Joey’s screams. He haunts these woods every night, trying to tell people to not be out here alone.” Miranda smirked while everyone started clapping at her story.

Joshua laughed. “That’s a good one. Where did you hear that story?”

Miranda shrugged. “My dad told me about it the first time we went camping. That’s why I refuse to go out to the woods by myself.”

Jessica grabbed a marshmellow of the table next to her and speared it with a roasting stick. “I don’t know if anyone can top your story Miranda. I know I don’t know any ghost stories.”

The group started talking about their ghost stories when Brad leaned over and whispered in Bella’s ear. “I hope you aren’t too scared. Ghost stories can be a little spooky sometimes.”

Bella giggled. “No I’m not scared. Thanks for looking out for me.”

The group continued to talk as the night grew later and later. The moon was starting to rise higher in the sky, peeping up over the trees. The fire continued to roar as the night seemed to be coming to a close.

Samuel stood up and stretched his arms over his head. “Well. I think we should start heading back to the cabin. These woods can get dangerous if we stay out too long.”

Everyone snickered. Miranda leaned back in her chair. “It’s the woods. There’s nothing out here that could really kill us.”

Suddenly there was a blood curdling scream that made everyone jolt. Emma’s eyes widened as big as saucers. “What was that?”

Brad stood up. “I think Samuel is right, we should head back to the cabin.”

Everyone stood up and started packing up their things. Bella scanned the woods around them to see if she could see anything. The trees didn’t move but the leaves rustled with the wind. But in the distance there was a set of eyes. They were yellow and round but seemed so far away. “Hey guys, do you see this?”

The group moved toward Bella to see what she was looking at. Brad wrapped his arm around her. “I don’t like this. We all need to head back to the cabin.”

“What is it though?” Miranda took a couple steps forward to get a closer look. Suddenly, there was another scream and every person in the group turned and ran toward the cabin. They weren’t planning on staying to find out what was out there. But what they didn’t know was that the thing in the woods would continue to haunt them.

To be Continued…

A Journal of My Thoughts (Part 1)

October 18, 2019October 16, 2019 ~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning! Is everyone ready for the weekend? I am excited for the weekend because I have some exciting plans! But I can’t tell you about them just yet, just keep an eye on my Instagram.

We are starting a new series! I just started this one recently and I am excited to share this with you. This one is a little bit different from what I normally write, but it has been fun to try something different. So I hope you enjoy this Adventure!

A Journal of My Thoughts

December 10, 20–

Today was a very long day. I was woken up at 2 am by the sound of my work phone ringing. It was blaring in my ear and I quickly grabbed it off the table so my wife didn’t wake up. I walked as quickly and quietly out of the room before answering.

It was my partner telling me there was a case that he wasn’t too sure about. It seemed rather odd and he definitely wanted a second opinion on it. I remember asking him if it could wait until morning and he told me no. I had to go down to the office right away to see what was going on.

I sighed and asked him why he was still at the office at 2 am. I could hear him let out an exasperated breath and say that he didn’t realize it was 2 am. He apologized and said that it could wait until morning if I didn’t want to come, but he was going to stay. I shook my head, knowing that he couldn’t hear me, and told him that I would be down as soon as I could. As long as he didn’t mind that I came to the office in sweatpants and a tee shirt.

We hung up the phone and I tried to sneak into my bedroom as quietly as possible. It didn’t work. Rose asked me what was going on and I told her. I didn’t like keeping secrets from my wife, especially ones about work. She was almost like a third partner at the firm. I told her that James needed help at the office and I was going to help him. She agreed before rolling over and going back to sleep.

I got dressed and grabbed a couple of items for work in case I didn’t end up coming home before going back to work. I kissed Rose goodbye before walking out the door and unlocking the car. I placed my clothes and briefcase in the passenger seat before moving over to the driver’s side and sliding in. And with a turn of the key in the ignition, I was on my way to the law firm.

James had been working hard on this case for a while and I could understand why he was having some difficulty trying to find a way for our client to win. It seemed obvious that we were defending the guilty party, but we had to find some way to say different. Our client has said from the beginning that he didn’t do it, but the evidence kept stacking up against him. Unfortunately James was stuck with the case and the trial was happening in a matter of days. I wanted to do everything that I could to help him out.

I saw the lights still on in the third story office of our law firm. Poor James was there through all hours of the night by himself. He had done it on more than one occasion but he always said that he was married to his work. I pulled into my assigned parking space and quickly got out of my car to head inside.

When I stepped out of the elevator onto the third floor I could hear very loud music blaring from James’ office. It wasn’t my forte of music, but it was what James liked to listen to to decompress. I turned the corner into his office to see his head banging on the table. I knocked on the doorframe and he looked up. There was a giant red mark on his forehead from hitting his head on the table so many times. James smiled a goofy smile before saying hi and turning down his pounding music.

I sat down in one of his client chairs and asked him what the problem was. He showed me the file that was almost 3 inches thick from paperwork regarding the case. He told me he was ruined. According to a new piece of evidence that was just brought up from the prosecuting attorney, there was absolutely no way that James was going to win the case. The evidence showed that his client had attended therapy for his anger and didn’t get the signature saying that he passed. James looked like he was about ready to cry knowing that this was going to be one of the few cases that he didn’t win. But this just put a nail in the coffin.

We worked through the night to see if there was anything that was missed. Every time that one of us found something, the other would find something to contradict it. We worked until the sun came up and ordered some UberEats breakfast before we started our actual work day. I wasn’t sure what he was going to, but I was going to help him as much as I could.

The rest of the day went on like any other day. I don’t remember what else happened except for the fact that I was exhausted. We both left the office right on time because we were so tired. I think I had 5 cups of coffee in total for the day. But when I left I went directly home to see Rose. The rest of the night was uneventful. But now I’m going to bed. G’night.