This story has been two years in the making. It started life as an intended two-book project, with the first one fully edited by Jill, then the second one with about a third edited. It went onto the back burner when other things and other stories came into my life. I sincerely thank Jill for her time, and Eric for correcting the factual errors I had made. So, after that, here is the first chapter of --- ‘Essentially Egg’.

Chapter 1

Part 2

I sat at my desk and pondered on what Cherry had found. Five deaths, spread over nearly forty years, was difficult to understand. The motive may be lost in time, maybe they weren’t linked at all. Maybe, the AI had just come up with gobbledegook. Maybe, no, certainly, this was going over my head this time.

Chapter 6

Sunday, for me, was another new beginning. I had breakfast, my man across the table, and he knew everything but still loved me for who I am now. It was as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The day was spent doing cleaning and laundry, kissing, and laughing. That night I got him worked up with my mouth before letting him have his way with me.

Chapter 4

We stopped talking to eat the meal that had been put in front of us. It was a seafood dish, but I couldn’t pick one of the ingredients. When I asked, Queenie told me that it was Moreton Bay Bugs and King Prawns in a Hollandaise sauce with a Greek salad and lightly toasted bread pieces. It was delicious and I told the waiter that when he came to pick up the plate. Queenie smiled.

Chapter 2

When Julia and Jessica came out and shed their suits, they had the bones, or parts of bones, in bags, along with the ammunition box, as well as three different saws that they had found, one being a tree saw. A squad car had arrived, so Jackson gave them their orders, shook hands with the three of us, and went off to his office to pull out all of the case files.

Chapter 6

Back in our office I told her that it was her show now. I stressed that she had the knowledge and had to get the confidence if she wanted to move up in the force. I reminded her that she was ahead of most officers by being on good terms with her Chief Super and also on a first name basis with the AC, even if his first name was Sir.

Chapter 4

I got my phone and took a picture, close up, followed by a couple showing the whole board. When I got back home, I uploaded the pictures to my laptop and added them to an email to Strachan. Well, he did say to report only to him, didn’t he?

Chapter 2

I was up with the lark on Monday morning, and dressed in my leather jeans, high boots, wool-knit sweater, and leather jacket. Today, I was Polly, the hard-nosed PI. I started with the car showroom in Arcadia Road, getting there as a young lad was washing the weekend grime off the cars on the lot.

Part 5

I hugged Sally and told her that she would easily cover the topics. We had done enough of these tours, now, for all three of us to be able to repeat the lines.

“Look, with the new slant on the narrative, there won’t be many places for the building details. What they’ve said is the title of my thesis, I could do ten hours of that with my eyes shut, it took up three years of my life. Come on, let’s get dressed and go out there and slay them in the aisles.”

Part 3

The three of us sat there, stunned. Derek had a big grin on his face and then he took up the explanation.

“We will want you to do the tour in period dress. We know that this is a bit of an imposition, but it would add to the accuracy of the delivery. You may have noticed a lot of pictures taken, late in the tour, today. I don’t think any of you saw what we saw.”

Superpowers!

My family is an odd one. My mother says it’s because we are direct descendants of the aliens of ’52. I wouldn’t know, but it could be true. The men in the family have something that normal men don’t have. I suppose that you could call it a superpower, I just think it’s being a bit crazy. It afflicts us when we reach sixteen. That’s what I’m worried about, as that birthday is just days away.

Saved By The…….

I was in that strange time, between sleeping and waking. I had the feeling that I had been in a deep and dreamless sleep. A thought struck me.

“Wanda doesn’t want to be my girlfriend, any longer.”

Chapter 8

There were three of the talkative ones, side by side, in their chairs, when we approached. Adrianne asked about the lady who looked as if she had died, and the floodgates opened. I just looked out at the sea and kept watch to warn if the orderlies came out.

Chapter 6

When we had cleared customs in Sofia, there was a driver with a board saying ‘Holdsworth’ on it. In the car he took us to our hotel. We checked into the hotel and our bags were carried up to the room. Tipping the two boys as they left, we closed the door. We freshened up, changed into jeans and tops, then went down to the reception, booking a dinner table for two, before walking outside and stretching our legs doing a little bit of sight-seeing.

Chapter 4

The next day we started the cleaning / searching process in the attic, then worked down from there. We found nothing in the attic, nothing in the family bathroom, and nothing in the other bedroom, where we put away all the sister’s clothes.

Chapter 2

Adrianne advised me that I should look my best when I went to see Helen. I didn’t take much urging. Since leaving the hospital I had been trying to be the best Babs around. I had spent a bit of my savings on clothes and shoes. All that time on courses with all food and shelter provided had given me a good bank account. My outfit was smart, yet sexy. Four-inch heels, smoky hose, tight skirt, and a silk blouse that showed my cleavage, and a bit more.

Chapter 1

They say that if you take life as a continuous learning experience, you will never be bored. You will also realise that you could never know everything. Some make learning an excuse for never trying to get a job, becoming life-long students. Others just learn as they go on the job. I fell somewhere in between.

Chapter Four

On the Monday we worked together song writing. As we worked it became even more of a collaboration. We thought as one, me now being able to write the music score. We went back to the ones we had written already for guitar and piano and wrote out the scores for the rest of the band. I could hear the tunes in my mind, played by the five of us.

Chapter Two

The cruise was an around the world affair, and was successful, on a professional basis. And professional we were. We were making good money from our shows and the cash injection of having a top ten record was enough to let us splash out a bit. We now had a manager, Jerry, another friend of Candice’s father. We had our own collection of good equipment, me with at least six guitars.

Say Cheese Part 3

The next morning, we assembled for breakfast at dawn and, after we had tidied up and got ourselves ready, we left the Refuge in the five Volvos, all fully fuelled from one of the tankers.

I opened the year with an end-of-the world story, and this continues the subject of earth-shattering occurrences . Like the previous story, this one was started early last year, and had to wait until the end of the year, when my muse came back from where-ever it had disappeared to.
Marianne.

Part 1

“Say cheese!” Those two words summed up a lot of my young days. My father, Allan, was an avid photographer, while my mother, Wanda, had been a model. They told me that when they met, it was a marriage made in heaven.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to wish you all a happy and safe Festive Season. I thank all the wonderful writers on this site who have raised my spirits during the year. I hope that 2023 will be better for everyone. My writing had hit a block due to a book project and other things this year. I hope to get back writing in 2023. Before that, though, here is a little story which has a tenuous link to the Christmas story.

Marianne Gregory

Chapter 1

Chapter 11

When we went to leave, Jim, who had been very quiet, then asked us all if he could stay with us over the break. He said he could use the smallest cabin and that he had some experience with boats. The girls were happy to let him, so he hugged everyone and thanked me.

I checked in with the marine chandler that looked after the moorings, and he was surprised at my appearance. I told him that it was only for the tour that I was flying around and found out that he and his daughters were booked in for the third show.

Chapter 9

Our company ground crew finally came on board to take the plane to its parking spot and check it over again. I signed off and picked up my personal bag, put my heels on and left them to it. I knew that Betsy would be in good hands because she was our meal ticket. Without her we may as well go by bus.