Wednesday's Words on a Friday

On Wednesdays, assorted people have been taking monthly turns at putting up a selection of words which is called “Words for Wednesday”.

We have taken over this meme from Delores, who had been having computer problems.

This month the meme continues right here, with words supplied by me!

Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.   

Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or images.   What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...

Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog.  We would really like it if as many people as possible joined in with this fun meme.

If you are posting on your own blog - let us know so that we can come along and read your masterpiece.

I’m hopeless at poetry so I always do a story.

It’s a fun challenge…why not join in?

This week's words are:

1. copious

2. executive

3. remember

4. question

5. undrinkable

6. optimum

and/or:

1. bear

2. deadly

3. phase

4. employees

5. unproven

6. procedure

and/or:

"it was never enough" 

Here is my story: it's a long one, you might like to get a cup of tea.

(This is a "bridging" chapter linking two of my previous short stories. The Shabby Man: 14th November 2014; and Old Billy the Tracker: 15th & 22nd April 2016)

Beginning at the end of "The Shabby Man":
 

"Ah," said Detective Inspector Wayne Grimshaw. "I remember a bit about that, Sgt. Henry told me about the case when he heard I was coming here. Landed myself in the thick of something have I?"

"Come into the break room while I make us cups of tea," said Sgt. Barry. "You can tell me how much you know, and let's drop the Sgt. okay? My name's William." "Yeah, sure, my name's Wayne," said the new Detective Inspector. "Are you sure we can leave the front desk unattended?"

"It'll be fine, we can hear anyone coming in and be back there in a second, how do you take your tea?"

"Strong, no milk, a truckload of sugar." said Wayne. 
"A truckload?" said William. "You'll have to start bringing in extra then." He grinned at the newest man on the team. "Constable Sandy also goes through copious amounts of sugar, but not in his tea. He sneaks it down to the bend in the river, where Old Billy and Old Pearl set up camp whenever they come to town."

"Old Billy and Old Pearl?" asked Wayne. 
"A pair of Aboriginals," said William. "They show up now and again, stay by the river for a while, then take off again. No one knows how old they are, but Old Pearl has a grand daughter here in town, name is Mary, married to Rick Stanton, a real bastard he is. Hits her. There's two little ones, I think the old pair keep coming by to check up on the three of them. Anyway, tell me what Sgt. Henry told you about Stephen Jenkins." He handed the younger man his cup of tea and opening the biscuit tin, set it on the table between them.

"I'd heard Stephen Jenkins was an executive in his firm, worked long hours, made lots of money, gave his wife, Beverly, if I remember right, everything she wanted, but it was never enough for her; always wanted the biggest, the most expensive, the newest of everything. He had a nervous breakdown and lost his job, Henry told me, and that witch wife didn't even question why, just packed up and walked out. Is that right?"

"Yep, that's about it," said William. "We've spoken to Stephen's doctor, but can't get much out of him, keeps citing patient confidentiality. And his boss at the firm won't say much either, just says investigations are still ongoing. None of the other employees will talk to us."

"Sounds like there might be something shady going on," said Wayne. "In the city the procedure for something like this is to call in a few informants and get one or two of them to buy a round or two at the pub, see if anyone can be loosened up enough to spill the beans."

"We don't have anything like informants out here," said William. "Got a few old gossips though, seem to always know everything about everyone. Something about Stephen's boss is niggling at the back of my mind, though. Something unproven and it's been three years since Stephen got fired, so I can't put anything together." 

They finished their tea and Sgt. Barry led the way through the rest of the small offices, saying who used which one and where they were right now, when they were expected back in.

"Constable Sandy is out at the Stanton place today. Seems Rick had too much to drink again last night, when he woke up Mary and the kids were gone. He doesn't know how, the house was all locked up from the inside, but they're gone and there's no trace of them. Probably Sandy will go on down to the river and see if Old Pearl knows anything. I reckon Mary couldn't bear another beating and took off with the kids. We might not look too hard for her just yet, wait and see what Old Pearl says first."

They heard the front screen door opening and headed back towards the front desk. "Hello, anyone here?" A young voice, female, "Will?"

"We're here Jenny," said William, "just showing Detective Inspector Grimshaw around the place."

William introduced them, "Jenny, this is Wayne Grimshaw, just down from the city, taking over from Bob Smith; Wayne this is Jenny Sanderson, Sandy's wife. She makes the biscuits and cakes for the break room. Makes a real nice Ginger Spice cake with a recipe handed down through her family from an old Swedish great grandmother I heard." Wayne and Jenny shook hands and Wayne said he'd look forward to trying the cake one day.

Jenny asked about Sandy and William said he was probably down by the river with Old Pearl.

"I hope he took some sugar with him, those two old ones make their tea so strong it's just about undrinkable without it," said Jenny. "I'll bring more sugar later today, I'll get an extra bag when I go shopping. I just stopped in to see if Sandy remembers his mum is coming for dinner tonight and to see if you have enough biscuits for the rest of the week."

Just then, Constable Sandy returned to say, “They’re not there Sarge, gone like the wind, nothing left in the camp but a couple of deadly brown snakes curled up In Old Pearl’s humpy.”

“Oh right,” said Sgt. Barry. “It’s the waxing moon phase and tomorrow night’s the full moon, they’re always gone by then. I’d forgotten. I suppose we could send someone to look for tracks, but Old Billy is a master tracker himself, he knows how to cover a trail like no one else.”

Without Sgt. Barry or Detective Inspector Grimshaw noticing, Constable Sandy breathed a quiet sigh of relief and gripped Jenny’s hand.

Things were going as planned.