Secretive and Haunted

~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 7 Comments

Good morning!  It’s almost the end of the month, how crazy is that?  Before you know it, it’s going to be Christmas!  And before we continue into the story, I want to announce that I have a Pinterest.  That’s the one social media that I didn’t have and now, I have it!  Click here and you will be whisked away to my Pinterest page.

This story is for Grammy’s Grid again!  I love writing these short stories because it can really get creative wheels turning.  This link party’s starting line is:

The old house, with its overgrown garden, was secretive and…

This story is a Paranormal story (I know…I haven’t done this in a while).  But I hope you enjoy!

Secretive and Haunted

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The old house, with its overgrown garden, was secretive and haunted.  Ty stood on the gravel driveway and stared at the large farmhouse.  The house was daunting in the evening light, standing tall and powerful in front of Ty’s six foot tall body.  The farmhouse was still in decent shape but it really needed some love and attention from the current owners.  The wind picked up, making the atmosphere feel even more eerie as Ty stood there.

He slowly took a step forward, his step crunching the gravel beneath his boots.  He made his way to the front door and reached out for the doorknob.  The knob was cold to the touch, which was strange considering that it was the middle of June and still 90 degrees at 8 o’clock at night.  The chill made Ty feel uncomfortable.  He took a deep breath, turned the knob, and made his way inside the house.

The inside was just as cold as the doorknob.  It was eerie to find a fully furnished house that people live in, but no one was home.  Ty was used to going into empty houses or buildings that had been abandoned for years, not houses that were recently purchased by someone and felt that their new home was haunted.  He sat down on the couch and opened his back pack to pull out an EMF reader.  The reader was set on the coffee table and Ty hoped and prayed that he would somehow reach the ghost that was haunting the building.

“Hello?  My name is Ty.  Can you hear me?”  He waited to see if there was an answer from the ghost in the house, but there was nothing.  “If there is someone here, can you state you name?”

Fr…Fran…Franklin…

Ty felt himself become a little stiff; he wasn’t actually expecting an answer from someone inside the house.  He nodded.  “Okay…can you tell me what you are doing here?”

Death.

He froze.  Did the ghost mean that he was going to die or that the ghost had died?  “Did you die inside the house?  Or did you die outside somewhere?  And did someone kill you or did you kill yourself?”  There was no response, just the never ending clicking noise that came from the EMF reader.  Ty cleared his throat.  “I can’t help you if you don’t give me any information.  So how can I help you?”

In…out…base…in…base…ment…

“Okay…so I need to go into the basement.  Is the basement inside or outside?”  Nothing else came over the EMF reader.  Ty nodded.  “Okay.  I will go find this basement and talk to you there.”  Ty picked up the device and turned it off, making the entire room silent again.  He shivered.  He wasn’t sure what he was going to find in the basement but he knew he had to go down there.  Wherever there was.

He made a quick journey through the downstairs of the house to see if there was a basement, but there wasn’t anything.  So, Ty walked outside and started to make his way around the farmhouse.  He kept his eyes open for any sort of door that he could find and his steps became heavier with the hope that he would step on the door.  And that’s when he found it.  He took a couple steps on something that felt like wood but it was severely overgrown.  Ty got down on his hands and knees and tore the weeds and grass up out of the ground to find 2 handles and 2 wooden doors.

He sat back on his heels and took a deep breath.  He didn’t know what he was going to find but he couldn’t prepare himself.  His hands gripped the handles and he pulled with all of his might.  The doors were stuck.   But Ty tried pulling on them even harder and the doors flew open.  Ty laid on his back looking at the opening to the basement in awe and confusion.  What was down there?

After slowly standing up, Ty made his way toward the opening.  The smell that came out of the basement was unbearable; it smelled like something was rotting and he hoped that it wasn’t what he thought it would be.  He slowly approached the opening and cautiously walked down the rickety stairs.  Once Ty reached the floor, the smell was much more overwhelming.  And he knew exactly where the smell was coming from.

Laying on the floor were 6 sets of bones.  All of them were bare meaning that they had been down in the basement for a long time.  Ty wanted to vomit from the smell but somehow kept his composure while staring at the bones.  He had been hired by the family to find the ghost, not to find 6 sets of bones in the basement.

There was a scream that echoed through the entire building, almost as if the soul of Franklin had been released.  Ty covered his ears until the screaming was done, which was longer than he was expecting it to.  But when it was over, he immediately pulled out his phone and dialed the police.

“Hi.  My name is Ty and I am at a house to investigate some paranormal activity and I have found 6 bodies in the basement.  I need an officer to come here immediately.”

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Now Hiring (Charlotte, Geoffrey, and Mackheenyaha)

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Hello!  How is everyone doing?  It’s Friday and it’s time for another part of our Now Hiring series.  I must admit, I feel kinda bad for Tammy for all of these people that she has had to interview.  It must be hard to interview so many…interesting people.

Anyway!  This story is and Adventure.  Enjoy!

Now Hiring

Seasonal work for Portside Doggie Daycare.  Starting at $10 an hour, part and full time positions available.  Must be able to work as a team and work well with other people and pets.  Feel free to come in and inquire about a job. We would love for you to join our team!

Charlotte

Do you ever have a time where you are doing something, anything, and you leave the situation just scratching your head?  That was this girl. Her name was Charlotte and I didn’t think anything of it when I got her application and resume.

I remember walking out of my office and seeing a young girl sitting in the lobby.  She kept looking around the lobby like something was out to get her. I brushed it off and walked up to her.  “Good morning, I’m Tammy.”

She cautiously took my hand and shook it.  “I’m Cassandra.”

I cocked my eyebrow and looked at the application.  “Uh…it says here that your name is Charlotte. Am I speaking to the right person?”

Charlotte shook her head.  “No…well kinda…you see my legal name is Charlotte but I prefer to be called Cassandra.  It’s like, Charlotte is a boring person and Cassandra is a fun person.”

I was taken aback.  What was happening here?  “Uh…okay…why don’t we step into the office and start the interview.”  I led Charlotte into the small office and sat her down. I sat down opposite from her and looked at the resume.  It wasn’t that full and there wasn’t any past job experience. “So…tell me about yourself.”

Charlotte shrugged.  “Who do you want to know about?  Charlotte or Cassandra?”

I felt my eyes start to widen.  “Uh…the one who will be working here?”

“Probably Cassandra.  Charlotte is so boring.  She only does the right thing.  She only follows rules. Cassandra though…”  She paused, almost as if she was trying to find the right word.  “Cassandra is fun. She loves to party and have a good time with her friends.  She sometimes listens but usually likes to do her own thing.”

I could feel my jaw start to drop but I had to quickly pull it up.  Was this girl serious? “Well I think that Charlotte sounds like the perfect person to work here.  I know my senior staff would love to have Charlotte on board.” I put on a semi fake smile to make it look like I was serious and playing along with her game.

Charlotte’s face dropped a bit.  “I figured you would say that. I guess Charlotte will have to finish the interview then.”  She ran her hand through her hair and flipped it to the other side of her head. She blinked quickly and smiled again.  “Okay. Charlotte here. Let’s continue.”

I could tell that my face was turning red; I didn’t really know what to think regarding what just happened in front of me.  I cleared my throat. “Okay. So…what do you think you could bring to the team?”

We continued the interview and I let her leave.  I told her I would let her know if she got the job.  But I knew I wouldn’t be hiring her, my senior staff would not appreciate having someone with a split personality.  It would be too hard to keep track of who they were talking too.

Geoffrey

Have you ever seen someone and instantly thought they were extremely hot?  That was Geoffrey. I remember walking out of my office and seeing this man that looked like Fabio sitting on the couch.  Like, he could’ve entered a Fabio look-a-like contest and won. I thought one of my staff members was pulling a prank on me.  I walked up with my arm outstretched. “Good morning. I’m Tammy.”

He slowly stood up, towering over me by at least a foot.  “Good morning. I’m Geoffrey.”

I smiled and shook his hand.  “It’s very nice to meet you. Let’s go into the office here and get this interview started.”  I lead him into the office and sat down across from him. I tried to imagine this guy as the perfect employee, but I honestly had no idea.  “So…tell me about yourself.”

Geoffrey smiled.  “Well. I love cats.  Like…love cats. I have 10 of my own and I would love to have my own cat rescue one day.  I want to make everyone aware of spaying and neutering your cats because they can have way too many babies and we don’t need anymore cats around.  I also trap and release any strays that are in my neighborhood and make sure that if there are any kittens that they are safe. Either by finding them new homes or making sure to they get fixed before they reproduce again.”

“Uh…”  I wasn’t really sure what to say.  “So…is there anything else I should know about you?”

Geoffrey flipped his hair over his shoulder.  “I also love to grow my hair. I haven’t cut it in 5 years and I wash it everyday.  I use a special shampoo that helps my hair to stay healthy and helps it grow longer everyday.”

“Awesome?  That’s really impressive.”  I wasn’t really sure what to think of this guy.  Was he serious?

He started looking around and cleared his throat.  “Are there any cats here that need homes? I would be willing to take one or two of them home to join my family.”

I shook my head.  “No, every cat here has a home.  So we aren’t looking for homes for any of them.”

Geoffrey’s face fell a little.  “Oh…well can I work with the cats?  I just…I love cats so much. I want them to be in my life always.  I just…I just…” He started to tear up a little. “I just want to be able to save every cat and give them the best life possible.  I want to be a friend with every cat. I just..I need cats in my life all the time.”

“I…I don’t think this is the right job for you then.  All of our cats here have loving homes and they are just staying for a couple days or maybe weeks.  I think you need to look for something at a shelter or a cat rescue, not here. Unfortunately I don’t think this would work out for you.”

He wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up.  “I understand ma’am. Thank you for the opportunity.”  Geoffrey walked out of the office and out the lobby doors.  I hoped the best for him and I hoped he could find a job. Just…maybe one that didn’t involve cats.

Mackheenyaha

I’ve seen some strange names in my time as a manager, but nothing like this.  How was I supposed to pronounce this? When I had to call her in regards to coming in for an interview, I couldn’t even try to pronounce her name.  I just said that I was calling to schedule an interview and thankfully she called back. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch how to pronounce her name.

As I walked out into the lobby she was sitting on the couch waiting.  She was tiny, she seemed like she was maybe 16 at the most. I stepped up toward her.  “Good afternoon. I’m Tammy.”

She stood up and held out her hand.  “Hello. I’m Mackhennyaha.”

I shook her hand but was still confused on how to pronounce her name.  I led her into the office and we both sat down. I didn’t want to go through the whole interview saying her name wrong the entire time.  So I had to ask. “I hate to ask this, but how to you pronounce your name?”

She giggled.  “I know…it’s crazy.  It’s pronounced as if it’s spelled M-C-K-E-N-N-A.  My mom was very obsessed with my name being spelled differently than every other Mckenna out there.  So, my name was spelled the way it’s spelled.”

“Oh…well…awesome.”  I asked a couple of standard questions before asking about what they could bring to the team.  “Alright. So what could you bring to the team?”

She took a moment to think.  “I would say that I am someone who follows instructions very well.  So I would have no issue coming into work and working under a fantastic female leader.”

That took me by surprise.  “Only a female leader? I have 2 guys who are leaders in the back so you would need to listen to them as well.”

Mackheenyaha scoffed.  “You hire men here? Don’t you think it be better to just have all girls around here?  You know what I mean?”

I nodded.  “Yes, I know exactly what you mean.  But that doesn’t mean that the business should only have women working around here.  Sometimes you do need a guy to help with something.”

She leaned back in her chair.  “I would’ve thought that the business run by a woman would only have women working.  It seems kinda counter intuitive to have men in the business.”

I snickered.  “Did you know that our CEO is a man?”

Mackheenyaha’s jaw dropped.  “What? I wouldn’t have applied if I knew that this company was run by a MAN.  Geez I’m stupid. Thank you. Sorry for wasting your time.” She stood up and quickly made her way through the lobby and out the door.  Strange interview. But definitely wasn’t the strangest.

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WW-Take Down

~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning!  It’s Wednesday which means that we are just a few days closer to Friday and the weekend.  Does anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend?  Unfortunately I have to work, but I will be writing more so that’s a plus!

We are back with another Winchester Wednesday.  Is everyone ready for another installment of this story?  I hope so because I have really enjoyed writing this story so far.  I really like seeing what Winchester is going to do and if he is going to actually help the police force.

This story is Adventure, but it can be found in the Winchester Wednesday tab in the menu.  Enjoy!

Take Down

There was a silence in the car that was only filled with the music from the radio.  Winchester held the ID badge in his hands, reading what it said. It was just saying he was a consultant for the force and he didn’t have a key card to get into the station, but it was still kind of cool.  It was kind of surreal, he was 17 years old and working with the police force. He wasn’t even a real officer, he was just trying to help out.

Anthony cleared his throat.  “Are you nervous?”

West look at him.  “Nervous? About what?”

“Going on your first official case as a consultant?”

They chuckled.  “Thanks for the confidence dad.  Nah…I’m just hoping that we can get some information and find the person who killed Nancy.  She deserves justice.”

The car pulled into a parking lot with a large gymnasium.  It looked like it used to be something like a YMCA but it had been converted into a competitive fencing arena.  There was a large painted fencer on the side, thrusting his sword towards the door as if it was pointing potential fencers as to where to enter.  It had some large windows so people could watch fencers practice. There were a few cars in the parking lot but West couldn’t see anyone inside.

Anthony pulled the car into a parking space and parked the car.  The two of them exited the car and made their way to the front door, pausing for a brief second.  Anthony grabbed Winchester’s shoulder and pulled him back. “Stay behind me and let me do the talking.  Do you understand?”

West nodded.  “Yes dad. I understand.”

Anthony nodded and opened the door to the gym.  They were welcomed into a small lobby with a woman behind the desk.  She smiled. “Good afternoon. How I can help you?”

Anthony pulled out his badge.  “Good afternoon. I’m Detective West with the Northridge Police Department, and this is my partner.  We are here to speak to the owner of this facility.”

She smiled.  “Sure. Let me go get him.”  She stood up and walked out of the lobby into a little side room.  She was only there for a brief moment before looking out the door. “You can come inside.  Mr. Meanter will see you in his office.”

The West men walked into to small office to see a tall lanky gentleman wearing a tee shirt for the gym and sweatpants.  He reached out his hand. “Good afternoon gentlemen. Please have a seat and let’s talk.”

Winchester gently sat down in the chair and looked over at his father.  Anthony pulled out a small notebook. “Good afternoon sir…”

“Please, call me Mark.”

Anthony nodded.  “Okay, Mark. Do you have a student by the name of Nancy Crowler?”

Mark nodded.  “Yes I do. What happened to Nancy?”

“She was murdered a couple days ago.”

Mark looked like he was about to burst into tears.  “What? Nancy died? What happened?”

“She was stabbed in her back multiple times.  Do you know if she had enemies here?”

Mark shook his head, a tear streaming down his cheek.  “No…everyone loved Nancy. She was a strong girl who knew her way around fencing.  She was a new student but she picked up the sport very quickly. Like…I’ve never taught a student with so much potential.  And it is a huge shame too…she had a lot to add to the fencing community.”

“Did you and Miss Crowler have relations together Mark?”

Mark had picked up a pen and immediately dropped it.  “What? No. She was my student.” He gazed to the right side of his office.  “I would never have a relationship with a student.”

Winchester watched his face, trying to see if there was anything out of the ordinary with this guy.  He noticed that the owner kept looking toward the right when he was talking about Nancy. And he had tried to shake hands with his right hand, and picked up the pen with his right hand.  This guy was lying. Winchester cleared his throat. “Do you wanna try telling us the truth?”

“Uh…”  Mark was stunned.

“Bug…I told you to let me run this.”

“Yeah, but Mr. Meanter is obviously lying.  He keeps looking to the right when answering questions and he is right handed.  He tried to shake your hand with his right hand and picked up the pen that he dropped with his right hand.  I think you are ashamed that you had a relationship with Nancy and didn’t want to admit it because you are ashamed that she was a student.”  West sat back in his chair. “So…do you wanna try telling us the truth?”

Mark let out a long breath and nodded.  “Okay…yes. Nancy and I were kinda in a relationship.  But we didn’t do anything in public, everything was done here.  I don’t know where she lives…well…I know where she lives but I have never visited it…and we only had relations here.  Her family didn’t know about me and my family doesn’t know about her. Actually…she told me her family and friends didn’t know that she fenced.  She came here for fun and she thought they wouldn’t approve of her learning how to fence because she was studying to be a doctor. But she told me she was tired of school and didn’t want to be a doctor anymore, she was only doing it for her family.  We actually talked about making our relationship more public soon because she was going to announce to her family that she was dropping out of school.”

“Did anyone know about your relationship?”  Anthony leaned forward as he was becoming more invested.

Mark shook his head.  “No…It was just us. No one knew about…”  He paused before his eyes widened. “Wait…I think Kayla knew about us.”

“Who’s Kayla?”  Winchester and Anthony both spit out the sentence at the same time.

“The receptionist.  She…she walked in on us once.  It was…it was a complete accident.  She had left her purse in here and walked in on us making out in here.  She quickly left and never said anything, but she did see us together.” Mark shuddered.  “You don’t think Kayla could’ve killed Nancy. But if she did…I don’t know how she could’ve done it.”

Winchester looked around the room and saw a picture of Mark and Kayla standing by a trophy.  They both had a huge smile on their face and Kayla had a medal around her neck. Winchester stood up and walked over to the picture.  “This is Kayla right?”

Mark looked over and nodded.  “Yeah. She was one of my top students for a long time, but then she injured herself and was never able to get back into the sport without being in a lot of pain.  She didn’t want to leave the sport completely so I hired her as a part time receptionist and part time teacher.”

Anthony cleared his throat.  “Did you and Kayla have a relationship before she got hurt?”

The owner shook his head.  “No. Nancy was the first person that I broke my own rule with.  I have never had a relationship with a student before Nancy. And I know I will never have another one after this.  But Kayla….Kayla…” He stood up and started marching toward the door. “KAYLA!”

Anthony and West followed Mark out of his office to see him marching toward the front desk where Kayla was sitting.  She stood up and looked at March with a smirk on her face. “So you finally figured it out huh? You finally realized that I was the one that killed Nancy.  Took you long enough. Maybe if you would’ve paid more attention to me then we wouldn’t be here.”

West stayed back as Anthony walked up and handcuffed Kayla.  “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.  Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

Kayla smirked again as she looked Mark straight in the eye.  “I understand and I do not wish to be provided with a lawyer.”

Exploration

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Good morning!  Did everyone have a good weekend?  I know I did!  It was crazy busy but it a lot of fun as well.  My parents and I planned my sister’s college graduation party so that was a lot of fun.  You can see a couple pictures of it over on my Instagram @2catsandalaptop.

This story was a lot of fun to write so I won’t give too much away before you get reading.  This is an Adventure story.  Enjoy!

Exploration

Exploration

It was an absolutely stunning day.  The sun was high up in the sky and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.  The birds were singing, filling the air with their tune.  There was a gentle breeze that kept the air cool on the warm day.  It was perfect.  Perfect for an adventure.

Lizzy walked down the street and stared at the big buildings.  They were so tall and beautiful but they were daunting as well.  She wasn’t exactly sure where she was, but all she knew was that she was adventuring.  She loved to explore and see what was in the world around her.

She crossed the street to a park that was filled with people.  There was a large fountain in the middle of the park, keeping some of the people cool from the mist.  Many of the people walked around minding their own business while others were talking amongst their friends.  Lizzy walked through the people not exactly sure where she was going.  But it was fun and exciting, that’s all that mattered.

As she walked through the park she came across some people playing chess.  Lizzy didn’t have the faintest idea how to play chess, but maybe someday she would learn.  She wandered over to the closest table and watched the two gentlemen playing.  After watching for a couple minutes, Lizzy continued on her way to her adventure.

The more she wandered around the city, the more she enjoyed seeing everything.  The architecture, the city life, the busy people.  Everything seemed so much bigger than she was expecting.  She didn’t know anyone and she felt like she could meet some awesome new people.

“Lizzy!”  She turned around to see her parents running toward her.  They picked her up and held in their arms.  “Where did you think you were going young lady?  We have been so worried about you!”

“I went exploring mama.  I was seeing the city.”

“The city is not somewhere for a 5 year old girl like you!  You need to stay with us and not run away, do you hear us?”

Lizzy nodded.  “I hear you mama.  I love you.”

Her parents hugged her tighter.  “We love you too baby.  Let’s go home.”

Now Hiring (Victoria, Steph, and Albert)

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Good morning!  Is everyone ready for the weekend?  I am so ready for the weekend as I get to see my sister again and that is very exciting.

We are continuing on our quest through interviews to see if anyone will be a good fit to work at Portside Doggie Daycare.  We are going to be reminiscing about 3 more people who came in for interviews and looking into why they did or didn’t get the job.  Do you think that anyone will be getting a job?

This story is classified as Adventure.  So sit back and enjoy!

Now Hiring (Victoria, Steph, and Albert)

Seasonal work for Portside Doggie Daycare.  Starting at $10 an hour, part and full time positions available.  Must be able to work as a team and work well with other people and pets.  Feel free to come in and inquire about a job. We would love for you to join our team!

Victoria

I have interviewed thousands of people in the years that I have been a manager.  Interviews are a breeze. Either they go really well or they go terrible, there’s not really an in between.  So when I got a glowing resume and an awesome application, I thought this girl was going to be an all-star.

When I walked into the lobby, there was a girl with more makeup on her face than what I owned in my lifetime.  Now, I like a good eye shadow palette, but this girl’s face looked like she had 10 different palettes on her face.  I was taken slightly aback but makeup didn’t matter. As long as she was a good worker then she would be welcomed into the team.

I reached out my hand.  “Good morning. I’m Tammy.”

She looked at my hand and then back at me.  “I’m Victoria, and I’m sorry but I don’t shake hands.  There’s too many germs.”

“Okay…let’s step into the office and get this started.”  I showed her into the office and immediately noticed she pulled a can of lysol out of her purse and sprayed the chair.  I cocked my eyebrow. “Too many germs on the chair?”

Victoria cautiously sat down.  “Yeah. I hate germs. I never get sick because I’m always on the lookout for germs.”

“You know you are interviewing for a job to work with dogs right?  And the job includes cleaning up after dogs right?”

The girl looked flabbergasted, or more like I had just slapped her across the face.  “What? I thought I was interviewing for a lobby position. Like, helping the people.  I don’t want to work with the dogs. They’re nasty.”

I let out a sigh.  “Okay, well…I’m not looking for anyone for the lobby.  I’m looking for people to help in the kennel and work with the dogs.  You could still potentially work in the kennel and just wear gloves while you work if you still want to interview.”

“Are you serious?  I can’t wear gloves.  I am ALLERGIC to latex.  I will break out into hives if I wear latex gloves.  You know what…never mind. I don’t need this job anyway.  Have a good day.” She swung open the door and flew through it.  I watched as she stomped through the front doors and to her car. I had to snicker as she didn’t try to Lysol any of the doors as she walked through them.

Steph

I know we are in an age where people like to experiment, but I still don’t quite understand why people will come to interviews like that.  Like, I walk into the lobby and this girl is just spaced out of her mind. I thought she was going to fall over when she stood up to shake my hand.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah man…I’m Steph…”

I could smell the marijuana on her breath as she spoke.  “That’s…good. Let’s go into the office and we can talk.”

“Is okay if I vape while we talk?”

“Uh…”  What? Was this girl serious?  “No…I’m sorry. That will have to wait until we are done.”

Steph shrugged.  “Whatever man. I get it.”

I led her into the office and immediately opened the window.  I knew she smelled like weed, but I didn’t need my boss’ office smelling like it too.  I cleared my throat. “So…tell me about yourself.”

She leaned back in her chair, revealing the bright tie dye shirt she was wearing under her hoodie.  “Well…I love smoking and I smoke weed everyday. I can’t imagine myself not smoking. And…I just want world peace and I want everyone to get along.”

My jaw must’ve hit the desk with how shocked I was.  “You do realize you will need to take a drug test before you work here, right?”

“What?  Why would I need to take a drug test?  I’m just here to pet the dogs.”

I shook my head.  “It’s a lot more work than just petting the dogs.  It’s cleaning up after dogs and making sure they eat their food and take their medication.  This job is not just petting dogs. So if you don’t think this is for you, I suggest you leave now before we go any further.”

Steph laughed at herself.  “I’m really dumb. I thought this was going to be a super easy job that wouldn’t require too much work.  I just wanna smoke weed and pet dogs all day. And I can’t even do that.” She stood up and made her way out the door.  “Sorry man.”

She slowly walked out the door and into the parking lot.  I watched her walk to her car and race out of the parking lot.  At least she had been honest during her interview.

Albert

I want you to imagine someone that just doesn’t get it.  You know the type. People who think they are high and mighty and that they are untouchable.  That was Albert.

The moment I saw him I knew something was a little off.  He was dressed in a full 3 piece suit and looked very sharp.  Maybe too sharp. Like, I understand if you want to make a good impression, but this was a little too much.  It was almost a little too good to be true. I walked up to him and held out my hand. “Hello. I’m Tammy.”

He stood up and shook my hand.  It was a firm hard grip. “Hello.  I’m Albert Octavious. It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am.”

He was very cordial.  It threw me off.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.  Let’s go into the office and we can start this interview.”  I couldn’t help but think that there was going to be something off since this guy was so nice.  What was wrong with him?

The interview started off well.  He answered every question without hesitation and his answers were flawless.  I got to the mandatory question about his past job, which happened to be at a vet office that we worked very closely with.  So I had to ask him. “So. I see here that you used to work at Myers Veterinary Clinic. Why did you leave?”

He cleared his throat.  “Uh…I left because the other staff didn’t get me.  They totally disrespected me and didn’t listen to what I had to say.  It got to the point where I got to work and everyone would hide.”

I felt my eyes starting to widen.  “And why was this?”

Albert shrugged.  “I don’t know! I just started working with them and I thought I was getting into the groove of things and they just stopped talking to me!  I didn’t do anything wrong. They didn’t understand my humor and they didn’t understand my lifestyle and they just didn’t like me. I tried to make them understand where I was coming from but it didn’t help.  They all just decided to gang up on me and I decided to leave. Can we stop talking about this? I would rather move on in the interview.”

“Of course.  I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”  The rest of the interview went off without a hitch.  I would’ve hired him right there if I didn’t have a nagging thought that I should call the manager at Myers to see what was going on.  I thanked him for his time and told him I would be calling him.

After Albert left, I scurried into my office and quickly dialed the number for Myers Veterinary Clinic.  I felt my foot start tapping as I became more impatient. The phone picked up and someone answered. “Myers Veterinary Clinic, this is Samantha.  How can I help you?”

I swallowed.  “Yes. Hi. This is Tammy Shorberg, manager at Portside Doggie Daycare.  I was wondering if I may speak to your manager about a past employee of yours that came in for an interview here.”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.  “Yeah, one moment okay?”

“Thank you.”

I waited for a few minutes before the phone was picked up.  “Hello this is Michelle.”

“Hi Michelle this is Tammy from Portside.  I had a few questions for you about a past employee of yours.”

I heard a sigh from the other end of the phone.  “Please tell me it wasn’t Albert.”

“Should I be really worried?”

Michelle cleared her throat.  “Yes. He is nothing but trouble.  I don’t know what he said in his interview but when I interviewed him he said that he didn’t get along with the people from his past job.  I didn’t really think much about it and hired him. But oh boy I was wrong. I swear he wanted to get with every girl here. He flirted with them and when they turned him down he would get angry.  And I don’t mean like leaving the room in a huff. I mean like throwing a temper tantrum like he was 2.”

I was shocked.  “You can’t be serious…”

“I’m completely serious!”  Michelle laughed. “I wish I could make this kind of thing up but this guy was crazy.  I had almost every girl here complaining about him always hitting on her. And when I finally talked to him about it he basically told me that all the girls had been ganging up on him and he was the victim.  I was completely taken aback. Like seriously? How out of reality do you have to be?”

“Well…I think it is safe to say that I should definitely dodge this bullet.”

“Yes please do.  And if you have any other questions about him let me know.  Because I would hate for you to hire him and immediately fire him.”

“Thanks Michelle.  I really appreciate it.”  We hung up the phone and I sat back.  I was so glad that listened to my gut and called Michelle.  I could only imagine what would have happened if I had actually hired him on the spot.

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WW (Winchester Wednesdays)-And So It Begins

~ 2catsandalaptop ~ Leave a comment

Good morning!  It is the middle of the week and we are back with another Winchester Wednesday!  This story has been really fun to write and express my creativity in a much longer form.  And if you didn’t read the last part, click here.  I promise that you will want to read part 1 before diving into this part.

This story is an Adventure, but the whole story can be found in the Winchester Wednesday tab in the menu.  Enjoy!

And So It Begins

Winchester followed closely behind his father as they walked into the police precinct.  It was so bright and open inside: all the walls in the lobby were white and there was a lot of windows.  There was a large desk with three receptionists behind it, but none of them seemed to notice that the two men had walked inside.  

The two of them walked up to a door and his father slid his a key card through a key slot, unlocking the door with a loud buzz.  “Stay close to me. I’ll grab you a visitor badge in just a moment.” They walked through the door and West followed his father closely.  This was a whole new place and West refused to get lost as he was following his father. They passed other officers working behind desks, none of them paying attention to the teenager walking by.  

Anthony led his son through the building, turning corners and walking down the hallways.  They finally came to a stop at a large door and Anthony knocked on it. There was a very faint ‘yes’ on the other side of the door and Anthony slowly opened it.  “I’m sorry to bother you sir, but this is very important.”

They walked inside and Winchester saw the police chief sitting behind his desk.  “Anthony, what can I do for you?”

Anthony cleared his throat and motioned toward Winchester.  “Sir, this is my son Winchester. I had…uh…mistakenly left this file from the Nancy Crowler case and I think Bug has cracked it wide open.  He took a look at it and noticed some things that none of us have noticed.”

The police chief stood up and reached out his hand.  “Winchester West. That’s a very strong name.”

Winchester felt himself starting to blush.  “Thanks sir. But I usually go by West at school, its…uh…a lot easier than Winchester.”

The chief nodded.  “That’s understandable.  I’m sure if I had a long complicated name like that, I would find an easier nickname.”  He laughed. “Heck, my Robert and I go by Bob. But, that’s besides the point. Please have a seat.”  All three of the men sat down in their respective chairs and the chief let out a breath. “So…what did you find out?”

West let out a breath.  “Okay…so Chief Dyner, I first wanted to apologize for snooping in on an ongoing police investigation.  So, I’m sorry for that. But…uh…I noticed some bruising on the victim’s wrists. Look.” He grabbed the folder and pulled out the photo, pointing at the very faint bruising.  “See here. It’s very faint but you can see a little bit of blue on her wrist. I may be nothing, but the murderer may have bound her wrists before killing her. Do you know if the coroner took any DNA from under her fingernails?”

Chief Dyner looked quizzical.  “Why do you think that it came from the murderer?  What if she actually hurt herself before she was killed?”

West shrugged.  “I said may, I’m not saying that’s what happened exactly.  But it is something to at least look into.”

His father sat there and smiled.  “He is right sir, it is something we can explore.  I can call the coroner to see if we gathered any evidence from under the victims fingernails.”

Chief Dyner slowly nodded.  “Yes. Why don’t we call her and see if she gathered any information.  Was there anything else you noticed?”

Winchester grabbed the photos and flipped through them to find the one of the stab wounds.  “Do you see this? It’s definitely not from a knife. It’s too odd of a shape. It looks more like a fencing sabre since those are triangular in shape.  It looks like the murderer shoved the sabre into her back and then slowly pulled it. The only thing I don’t quite understand is how the sabre actually pierced the skin because it is not a sharp object.  It’s actually a blunt object so that way it doesn’t hurt the opponent.”

Chief Dyner sat there with his mouth agape.  “And…uh…how do you know about fencing sabres?”

“One of my classmates did a presentation on fencing swords once in a communications class.  She is a competitive fencer and brought her swords to demonstrate what the differences were between them.”  Winchester shrugged. “I just remember her talking about them.”

“I didn’t even know there was competitive fencing around here.”  Chief Dyner sat back in his chair. “Also, none of her family mentioned that the victim was a fencer.  Anthony, why don’t you check into places that offer fencing classes and see if Nancy was a part of their class.  Maybe one of them would be able to tell us if she had a boyfriend.”

Winchester and his dad stood up then Anthony put his hand on his son’s shoulder.  “Thank you sir. We will check into those lead. Is there any way that Bug can come with me?  I feel like he might have some good insight for the case.”

The chief looked at the two of them standing in front of his desk.  “Now…why should I allow it?”

Winchester took a step forward.  “Please sir. I found things that your officers didn’t see.  And I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just…sometimes you need an outside perspective.  Sometimes you need someone to take a look at things that doesn’t know much about police work.  I’m just going off of things that I noticed in the pictures, not what the victim’s life was like or how she was a person.  But I looked through all the case notes and I didn’t see anything about the possibility of a fencing sabre or that there was bruising on the wrists.  I think this case might benefit from someone who looks over the photos and casenotes when you hit a dead end.” He let out a sigh. “You don’t have to pay me, I’ll do it for free.  I just want to help get justice for Nancy and her family.”

Chief Dyner stood up and reached out his hand.  “Winchester West. Welcome to the police force as a consultant. I will need you to sign some paperwork to make it official and your father will be in charge of you.  But if you do something stupid, I am not afraid to send you out and have you not collaborate with us again. Do you understand?”

Winchester reached out and took Chief Dyner’s hand and shook it.  “Thank you so much sir. I will not disappoint you.”

That’s What Friends Are For

~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 2 Comments

Hello!  Is everyone ready for a new week to start?  Or are we all still hoping that it’s the weekend?  For me, I’m ready for the week to be over because there are exciting things for me this weekend.  So, let’s get this week started!

This story is different from what I normally write.  I guess I was just looking for something a little different and this is what I came up with.  And it isn’t a dark story!  It’s actually a Feel Good Story so I hope you enjoy!

That’s What Friends Are For

That's What Friends Are Fod

“Uh…”  Being put on the spot made Ariel draw a blank.  She wasn’t expecting the professor to call on her and she wasn’t paying attention.  Her eyes widened as she scanned the board, trying to cling onto any information that would possibly help her.  “Uh…c=2?”

The professor smiled.  “Good job.  Now…can you please tell the class how you got that?”

Ariel felt her face turning red.  “Um…I took the whole equation and I saw that every number was divisible by 4, so that left me with 12+(4×3)/48.  So once I got that I calculated the top half which equals 24.  And then I divided, which means that c=2.”

The professor’s smile widened.  “Very good.  Did everyone understand how we got there?”  He continued to answer other student’s questions about the equation as Ariel was able to relax.

She hated school.  Okay…maybe not hate school, but she strongly disliked it.  She didn’t like going to school, she felt like it was a waste of time.  She was 16 and a freshman in college; she didn’t really fit in with anyone on campus.  She wished she wasn’t as smart as she was, maybe she wouldn’t be in college.

“Class dismissed.  I will see all of you on Thursday.”  Everyone quickly got up and left the classroom, racing off to their next class.

Ariel slowly got up and walked out of the classroom.  She was on her way to her next math class where she was going to bored out of her mind.  Math was her strong suit so she didn’t need to pay much attention in those classes, but she unfortunately still had to attend for points.

She turned the corner and immediately hit a wall.  She was knocked off her feet and fell on her back, leaving her dazed.  “Oh my gosh!  I’m so sorry.”  Ariel looked up to see a giant guy standing in front of her.  He looked like a giant football player, or a brick wall depending on how you looked at him.  He got down on his knee and reached out his hand.  “Are you hurt?  I’m so sorry again.  Please, let me help you.”

Ariel started to gather her papers as this guy started to gather her other belongings that started to scatter.  He came back and helped her to her feet.  “I’m Damien.”

She felt her face starting to turn red.  “I’m Ariel.  It’s nice to meet you.”

He smiled.  “I’m so sorry again.  I just…I don’t always know my own strength haha.”  He nervously ran his hand through his hair.  “I…uh…better get to my calculus class.  I have to really pay attention to somewhat understand it…so…I’m sorry again.  I hope to see you around.”

Damien started to walk away toward his classroom.  Ariel spun around.  “Hey!”  He turned back to her, an eyebrow cocked.  “I…uh…I could help you with your calculus if you want…math is kinda my strong suit.”

“Really?”  Damien’s eyes started to light up.  “That would be great.  I really…really don’t understand most of it so any help would be great.  Here.”  He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down his number.  “Text me later and we can meet up.”  He tore the paper out of his notebook and gave it to Ariel.

She smiled.  “Yeah.  I’ll text you after my next class and set up a time so I can help you.”  They went their separate ways and Ariel ended up in her classroom just in time.  She sat at her desk and looked at Damien’s number, not really sure when she would have time.  But he seemed like a genuine guy who really needed the help.  She pulled out her phone and punched in his number.

Hey Damien, it’s Ariel.  I have a three hour break after this class if you want some help.  Let me know!

Her phone buzzed shortly after.  I have a hour break but I could use the help.  Thanks again!

Ariel smiled as she text him back.  No problem.  That’s what friends are for.

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Now Hiring (Amelia, Quintin, and Joey)

~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 3 Comments

Good morning!  I hope you are ready for a new mini series.  This one is a lot of fun to write because I got to be really creative and create a lot of different characters.  I also wrote this one a little different because this is from a first person perspective, not third person like I normally write.

This is categorized as Adventure.  Enjoy!

Now Hiring

Seasonal work for Portside Doggie Daycare.  Starting at $10 an hour, part and full time positions available.  Must be able to work as a team and work well with other people and pets.  Feel free to come in and inquire about a job. We would love for you to join our team!

Amelia

I remember walking out of my office to see this girl sitting on the couch.  She was dressed to the nines; stunningly nice blazer, red button up top, perfectly pressed pants, and killer black heels.  Like, I was jealous of her shoes. Anyway, I walked up to her and held out my hand to shake hers. “Good morning. I’m Tammy.”

She barely looked up from her phone and stood up.  She reached out her hand as well. “Amelia.”

“Amelia it’s nice to meet you.  Let’s step into the office and we can get this interview started.”  I motioned toward the owner’s small office and opened the door to let her in.  I sat behind the desk and she took a seat opposite me. I set down her application and resume and looked up at her.  She was busy texting on her phone. I cleared my throat, “Okay, so tell me about yourself.”

She briefly set down her phone.  “Uh…well…I am going to school and I have two dogs of my own and I have an amazing boyfriend who I’m going to marry one day, even though he cheated on me but that doesn’t matter.  I still love him.” She giggled and picked up her phone again.

I sighed, this was not going to be an easy interview.  “So, what do you think you can bring to the team?”

Amelia set down her phone again, actually looking at me.  “Well…I can be the fashion designer. I mean…that is what I’m going to school for.  And it’s what I am going to do as a job once I finally move to New York. But that’s why I need this job.  I need some money to help me move!”

I wanted to smack myself in the forehead.  Why did I put myself in this position? “Unfortunately everyone has to wear a uniform so…uh…that role won’t be necessary.”

She seemed shocked.  “Oh…okay…then what roles are there?”

The interview continued like this.  Me asking her questions and her texting her friends and only looking at me when she answered a question.  Once I finally got through all the questions, I was slightly relieved. It was going to be over. “Okay…well thank you for your time.  We will be getting back to you by the end of the week about if you got the job.”

Amelia squealed.  “Thank you! I really appreciate it!  I won’t let you down I promise.” She actually put her phone down in excitement.

I shook my head.  “No, you haven’t gotten the job just yet.  We will let you know by Friday.”

“Oh…okay…well…thank you I guess.”  She got up and walked out of the office and out the front door.  

I watched her walk out the front door and unlock her jet black Mercedes.  I shook my head, again. Yeah…she really needed the job.

Quintin


 Now, I’ve seen some weird things in the 20 years of being a manager at this doggie daycare, but I always seem to be surprised.  I had an interview at 2 pm. I usually ask people if they prefer one time over another, but this interview had to be at 2 because I had a million other things to do and 2 seemed to be the only time I could actually fit in an interview.

So I gather my things and walk out into the lobby to see a man in his pajamas sitting in the lobby.  I cock an eyebrow at one of my front desk girls who rolled her eyes and nodded at me like, yes that’s the guy.  I walk toward him and take in his Spongebob pajama pants, a black tee shirt, a rather large winter parka coat for it being April and there being no snow, and large clunky brown Timberland boots.  It was a strange outfit to say the least.

I reached out my hand to shake his.  “Good morning. I’m Tammy.”

The boy almost out of his skin, I honestly thought I woke him up.  He quickly stood up and shook my hand. “I’m Quintin. I’m so sorry, I think I dozed off.”

“It’s alright.  Let’s go ahead and get this interview started.”  I motioned toward the office and he followed me to get the interview started.

Now he was an odd one.  Besides what he was wearing, he just was a little off.  None of his answers made sense and he somehow managed to avoid actually answering anything.  Though…I did manage to figure out why he was dressed in pajamas. Apparently he had just rolled out of bed.  Literally rolled out of bed and rushed to the interview.

I closed my folder.  “Well, thank you for your time.  We will be contacting you later this week about if you got the job or not.  Have a good day.”

Quintin stood up and quickly exited the office.  He rushed outside to his car and sped out of the parking lot.  I sat in the office and watched him drive away, knowing I was never going to see him again.

Joey

Now, there are people who really prepare for an interview and there are others who just don’t care.  This boy was very prepared. He knew exactly what to say when it came to the interview. Every question I had for him, he was able to answer perfectly and with such ease it felt like he had worked with the company for years.

I hired him on the spot.

I was telling my kennel staff leaders about him and about how he was perfect.  He must’ve worked at other pet places but didn’t want to talk about them. Joey was exactly the person that the company needed.

But boy was I wrong.

I had all of my staff members complaining about how absolutely terrible Joey was.  He didn’t listen to instruction, barely followed rules, kept disappearing on my staff members, and was not comfortable handling the dogs.  Like, this was his job. He was supposed to help handle dogs. I told my staff leaders to just relax and maybe he would improve in a week’s time.

But I was wrong again.

I have never heard so much complaining about one staff member in my entire career being manager.  This boy most definitely talked the talk, but did not walk the walk. He seemed to be getting progressively worse in the week that he was hired.

So I called Joey into my office and sat him down.  He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. I cleared my throat.  “Joey. I need you to be honest with me. I have had people complaining about your work ethic all week.  Now, I know you just started, but it is very unacceptable. So I want to hear your side and see what’s going on.”

Joey leaned back in his chair and threw his arms in the air.  “I don’t know man. These people just don’t understand how I work.  I just need to stand back and watch for a while before I feel comfortable doing, you know what I mean?  Like, it’s hard for me to just jump into something new if I don’t know much about it. You catch my drift?”

I nodded.  “I do, but unfortunately that is not how it works here.  Everything is very fast paced and go go go. But you have been holding the team behind.  I either need you to step up and help the team or…” I looked him in the eye. I wanted him to know I was serious.  “Or I will have to take disciplinary action. And I hate to do that to you when I just brought you on the team. But if you don’t step up I will have to do so.  Do you understand?”

Joey scoffed.  “You told me in the interview I was perfect for the team and now you’re telling me I’m struggling to be a part of it and I could be fired?  That is not what you said in the interview.” He seemed genuinely upset that I was not willing to let him get away with what he was doing.

I didn’t really know what way to approach this.  I didn’t want to just fire him because he wasn’t doing well for his first week.  But, I also didn’t want to let him keep getting away with slacking off and my team hating him.  I took a deep breath. “Well…I don’t really know what to say except that I need you to step up and try to work better with the team.  But I will be talking more with my team to make sure you aren’t falling behind. Okay?

He immediately stood up and took his shirt off and handed it back to me.  “Keep this. If you can’t work with me, then I can’t work for you. I quit.”  And with that he walked out the door. I had to take a few minutes to comprehend what just happened.  Thankfully I didn’t have to fire him.

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Winchester Wednesday-It’s a Brand New Series!

~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 7 Comments

Good morning! I know what you’re thinking ‘It’s Wednesday…you don’t normally post on Wednesday.’ And to that I would say, you dear reader are correct. But! We are starting a new series every Wednesday so you will have to come back each week to see what happens.

And before you start reading, this has nothing to the show Supernatural even though there is the name Winchester in the title. Winchester is our title character and he is an awesome character to write about. I have had so much fun writing this story and I cannot wait to see what all of you think about it.

So without further ado, this is the beginning of Winchester Wednesdays. These are in the Adventure but you will find them in the new Winchester Wednesday tab in the menu. These are also a little of a longer read so sit back and enjoy!

Day 1: The Beginning
Summer vacation had just started and all of the students couldn’t wait to get the fun activities started. Some of the kids were going on vacations with their families, kicking off the summer with some time away from home. Others were heading up to camps with their friends, ready to stay up all night and tell ghost stories. And others were staying home because it was hard for their families to get some time off from work.
Winchester West was a part of the last group. His parents both worked really hard at their jobs and they had a large family vacation planned in a couple weeks; but for the first month of summer vacation Winchester had to stay home. He didn’t have any plans with his friends because he didn’t have many friends. Or, the ones he had had left for vacation with their respective families. So he was left by himself in the large house.
He laid in bed and saw a small piece of paper that was taped on the wall next to him. ‘Thanks for an awesome school year West!’. He smiled. Most people called him by his last name, West, because Winchester was too long and complicated. Even his teachers called him West except for Mrs. Mayer, she refused to call him West because his legal name was Winchester. His best friend Cory was going to be away for a couple weeks with his family, but West didn’t mind. He knew he would see Cory again before school started.
He crawled out of bed at 10 am, thankful that he was able to finally sleep in and he didn’t have to think about writing another essay for a couple months. But he had promised his parents that he would look for scholarships and look at colleges for the next year. He only had one more year of high school before he could move out and live somewhere else for college. The only problem was that Winchester didn’t really know what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
His mom was a well known real estate agent in the town and she had encouraged him to get his real estate license when he turned 18. But Winchester wasn’t really sure if he wanted to do that. His sister Elizabeth had gotten her real estate license and was learning a lot from their mom. West didn’t think he would make that good of a salesman, he was too shy and liked to focus on school. Their dad was a detective for the local police department. This was something that he knew for a fact he couldn’t do: he was not a confrontational person and he knew he would burst into tears if he had to interrogate someone. Other than that, nothing else really interested him. Maybe he would just get a business degree.
Winchester waltzed down the stairs to get himself some breakfast. He reached into the cabinet and grabbed the box of Coco Pops. A bowl of cereal was quickly fixed and he went to sit at the kitchen table to eat it. But there was a folder sitting on the table near the spot where his father sat. It didn’t look like anything crazy, but it made Winchester curious what was inside. He set his bowl of cereal next to it and slowly opened the front of the folder.
Inside was a photo of a girl. She was laying on the ground, her arms and legs sprawled out to the sides. Her blonde hair was covered in blood and it covered her face. There were multiple stab wounds in her back so it was obvious how she died. Winchester felt sorry for her, she looked too young to die.
He started paging through the documents as he ate his cereal. He felt strange, he probably shouldn’t be looking through this file. It was most likely his dads that accidentally got left at home. But he couldn’t stop looking at the all of the evidence that they had collected. There was so much information that had been collected that it was hard to see everything.
He paged through the initial report and read about the crime scene and what the coroner found. But there was something that didn’t make sense. West looked at the photo and saw some slight bruising on her wrists. It wasn’t super obvious, it was actually pretty faint. But no matter how many reports he read, there wasn’t a single note about the bruising. It was bizarre.
Suddenly the front door opened, flooding the living room with sunlight. “Bug? Are you awake?”
Winchester turned. “I’m in the dining room dad.”
He heard the door close and heavy footsteps came toward the dining room. He looked over his shoulder to see his father standing behind him. His father snatched the folder off the table. “That is an ongoing investigation. I can’t have you looking at it.”
“Did you see the bruising that was on her wrists? I couldn’t find anything about it in the reports.”
His father sat down in the chair next to West. “Son. Why were you looking through the reports?”
Winchester shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t sure what it was so I opened it and saw her picture. Look.” He took the folder from his father and opened it to the picture. He pointed to the bruising. “Here. Do you see this slight bruising? It’s not super noticeable, but I saw it. And so I looked through the reports and there was nothing about it. There also wasn’t any notes about the coroner looking under her fingernails for any DNA. Did that happen and I didn’t see it?”
His dad looked a little shocked. “How did you notice that? The coroner didn’t even see the bruising.”
“I think that maybe she had gotten the bruises a couple days before she died. Like, the bruising was about to go away hence why it’s so faint. It’s possible that the coroner didn’t see it because the bruising went away completely by the time he got to her body. Who knows, but I’m kinda surprised he didn’t look under her fingernails for DNA. Wouldn’t that be the first place to check for any evidence? Also, the stab wounds look like they came from a fencing sabre.”
Winchester looked up at his father who was sitting with his mouth wide open. “Uh…” He sputtered, trying to get some sort of language out. “How…how did you figure that out?”
He shrugged. “Just being observant. I knew the stab wounds couldn’t be from a regular knife because of the shape. Fencing sabres have a triangular shape, actually I guess it’s more of a Y shape. But you see how there’s kind of a weird shape on the edges of the wounds? I think that it came from someone quickly stabbing her in the back with the sabre and then gently pulling it out. I believe that if it was vice versa the wounds would look more like the sabre.”
His father stood up and pulled everything into the folder. He grabbed Winchester’s hand and pulled him toward the door. “You’re coming back to work with me. I need you to talk to the chief about what you saw.”
“Dad? Can I at least get dressed first?”

I Must Be Imagining

~ 2catsandalaptop ~ 2 Comments

Good morning!  It is Monday!  Is everyone ready for the new week?  Any major plans for this coming work week?  Am I asking too many questions?  Probably.

This story is another one for Grammy’s Grid.  She gives us a writing prompt and we see what comes to mind.  The prompt for this story is:

As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked back…

I did write another story for this link party called Runaway.  If you want to read that one, click here.  And if you want to check out the other stories from this link party, click here.  This story is categorized as Adventure, so enjoy!

I Must Be Imagining

I Must Be Imagining

As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked back to see what she had been scared of.  There was nothing there.  Kiki was confused.  “What?  What was following me?”  She looked around the area to see if there was anything out of place.

Kiki took a deep breath and looked at her surroundings.  She was standing in front of her high school gymnasium and she was standing in the parking lot.  There were a couple cars sitting in their spaces but the lot was mostly empty.  There were the normal trees, all of the bushes, fun flowers lining the edges of the parking lot, and the creepy set of eyes hiding in the bushes.  Wait.  Were those supposed to be there? Kiki rubbed her eyes and looked for the mysterious eyes again.

But they were gone.

She stood in the middle of the parking lot with a confused look on her face.  What was going on?  Was there something following her or not?  She turned toward the school buildings and walked onto campus to get ready for the day.

When the bell rang for the school day to start, Kiki made her way out of the library and toward her English classroom.  She walked around the corner and saw a man wearing a long trench coat and a fedora standing at the end of the building.  She stopped in her tracks and stood in place for a few moments. None of the other students seemed to notice this random man standing on the schools campus.

Someone hit her shoulder as she was standing in the walkway.  “Sorry.”  They kept walking as Kiki brought herself back to reality.  She shook her head and looked for the man that she had been staring at.

But he was gone.

Kiki bolted for the classroom and walked through the door just as the second bell rang.  She looked around the room at all of the students sitting in their desks.  Everyone was there in their appropriate seats and Kiki took her place as well.  She took a deep breath and tried to focus on her schoolwork.

The rest of the day without a hitch.  Kiki walked out of the campus and looked for anything suspicious.  But nothing seemed out of place.  Everyone was leaving campus to head home for the day and get ready for their weekends.  Kiki made her way home as well, checking over her shoulders every chance that she got.  But she didn’t stop looking until she got into the front door.

She leaned against the door and slid down to the floor.  She held her hands in her head for a while just trying to comprehend what had happened over the day.  Was there actually something there or was it all her imagination?  She prayed that it was all her imagination and that she didn’t have to worry about this happening again.  She hoped that she wouldn’t see that man again but she could never be sure that she was safe.  All Kiki knew was that she was safe for now.

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