Chapter 4

Sammy got his phone out and made his call.

“Inspector, we have a positive identification of James Norman as Jamie Murphy, brother of Jock Macready.” He listened for a few moments and then hung up.

“The Inspector says to thank you for that. We have James Norman on our radar as an associate of one of the Angels’ Chapters. I think that he may have a group of thieves who steal the goods and then the items are sent elsewhere for sale in pubs, or even on the internet.”

“That will be a good one, boss,” commented Arty.

Chapter 2

In the nurses’ office it was a little cramped so we took it in turn to get changed. One by one we took the uniform off for the last time and passed it to those outside to put with the other uniforms in the spare room. Ingrid was first, coming out in a shortish shift in the school blue, accentuated by a white belt and piping.

Just a Lark

It was all just a lark, a little harmless fun. I mean, what could go wrong?

Chapter 11

When we had finished the meal, Suzette and I packed the dishes in the washer while my mother chatted with our guests. May was regaling her about some of the odd ladies she had made dresses for and when she mentioned that a few had been men my mother said “Wouldn’t that be difficult?”

I said “Mother dear, have you looked at the photos in the window of the shop?”

She nodded so I carried on. “One is of a lot of local ladies at a celebrity wedding and the other is a group at a party.”

Chapter 9

At the shop I found that my bolt ends had been delivered so I stored them in the ‘special’ room. Everything seemed to be ticking over nicely and I chatted with everyone for a while until Roberta commented, “You’re happy today. I would think that you may have got a good seeing to last night. Was it Jim or have you found another stud?”

I laughed. “About as far from a stud as it’s possible to get but I was satisfied and so was she.”

Chapter 7

The appointment at the fashion house was on a Wednesday morning so I made an appointment with Hector at his rehearsal rooms in the late afternoon and worked my butt off putting together a folio of drawings for him and the troupe to look at.

We had eight different guys, all built a bit differently but, thankfully all reasonably slim and about the same height. I had a basic shape but each had subtle differences to suit the individual characters.

Chapter 5

Back home I got my bag out of her car, gave her an air-kiss, and walked to my house. It was a lovely evening and I was feeling great. I let myself in and was greeted by my mother and Suzette who wanted to know how my weekend had gone.

I told them that I had been careful but had fun and that the concert was great. I didn’t think they needed to know any details. Back in my room I separated out the items for the laundry and put away the ones I had not used.

Chapter 3

Saturday morning we were all up bright and early and, after breakfast, we went off to the station in the little car. When we got there I could see why they used it as it was very easy to park. We caught the first train that arrived and travelled the forty minute trip into Victoria Station.

My mother told me, once we had walked to the Victoria Underground, that when I started at the Chelsea College of Arts I would need to take the Victoria Line to Pimlico and walk a couple of blocks.

Chapter 1

I really didn’t kick the dog, honest. It was an accident and it was my word against his but he was family so I wasn’t believed. The consequences were to change my life, maybe for the better but we’ll never know how else it would have panned out.

Spot Kick

I stood at the lounge window, looking out to the north and the vista of London in the distance. I was in my apartment, on the thirtieth floor of a high-rise block in Croydon. Up until recently, I had been a reasonably famous player in the sweet game known as football, or, as some others know it, soccer - the world game.

I was now at a crossroads in my life, brought about by a wayward knee, and my future had looked bleak. There were, of course, the two loving arms that encircled me, and the waft of her perfume. They made everything better.

Part 15

Monday morning Sarah went off to work and I sorted out the cleaning, dusting and a bit of washing before getting a light lunch and making ready for a trip into town.

The teller in the bank called the manager when I went to deposit the cheques and he asked me about them, ‘purely as a matter of prudent banking, in case I started to deposit similar amounts in future’.

I told him that the bulk of my cheque was for the sale of paintings I had done and that I would possibly be depositing similar amounts once I had put on a show in a gallery.

Part 11

Mrs. Butcher was nodding as I spoke and then remarked, “The change in you was almost too sudden to believe. There was no way the Sam I had been seeing would suddenly become the Samantha I now know any other way. I’m a believer.”

The Inspector was still not convinced and pulled out another file.

I said, “If that’s the William Williams file you can follow what I say”

Part 7

I asked about the Mythral gowns and he said that items being shown in the window are there to attract a particular customer and are not for sale.

The window was bare today because I had been granted a rare second visit and there was nothing he could show me that I needed at the moment.

Sarah wanted to know if it was the disc that caused our happiness yesterday.

Part 3

While we were waiting for the train she asked about the process of supplying the drugs, now that my fingerprints were on file. I told her that the baggies were pre-packaged and the dealer, or his assistants, used nitrile gloves.

They would come to me in a paper bag and I would transfer them to envelopes using tweezers and avoid touching the envelopes unless it was by the edges.

She then asked about the money and I told her that I was paid double what each baggie had cost me and that there were virtually no overheads.

This was a story I set aside to put up on Patreon last year. I don’t know if anyone read it. Certainly no-one interested enough to sign on to my page. It remains the only thing I have put on that platform. It’s one of the stories in a collection I sent to Erin for publication, should she want to. Anyway, here it is, in full, for your enjoyment as I hate to see a story wasted.
Marianne.

Chapter 1

Chapter 3 “Monkeying Around”

The following morning there was a table for four and they sat to eat a solid breakfast. Jasmin was still on a high after last night and hoped that there would be other evenings where the two of them could grace the stage. Shelly wasn’t so sure, thinking that every moment was already mapped out and that last night had been a one-off.

Chapter 1 “All Aboard!”

Sheldon was happy the day he opened his mail to find the bomb his mother had sent. He had gained a good First in chemistry and had enjoyed his time at university. He was at a crossroads in his life but had not truly thought beyond the end of his study.

E’volvo’lution Chapter 15

When Berget went to work with Melody in a pram she found out that working in a team of women is a different thing altogether. There is a feeling that the baby belongs to everyone and everyone wanted to look after her.

She would gurgle happily as she moved between offices and the ‘Ready Room’ and it allowed Berget to get into the swing of things.

E’volvo’lution Chapter 13

February was the big wedding. I had backed away from being the Maid of Honour. I pointed out to Halina that we both looked so alike. With me already well known to a lot of people, I could end up stealing the show.

She saw the problem almost as the words ‘stealing the show’ came out of my mouth so organised a couple of her friends who had been at her first wedding to come over and take the bridesmaids parts.

E’volvo’lution Chapter 11

On the way back I checked out the work-site and was amazed at how much had been done. Anders must have tied up every cement truck in Tallinn as the hard stand had been laid in a big ‘U’ shape. The space where the building would be was left with a path from it to the gate also not poured yet.

E’volvo’lution Chapter 9

When we landed we had to go through customs after we had picked up our bags. I could have gone through the express gate if I’d been using my own passport but was testing the Estonian one which was a lot closer to how I now looked.

I deliberately dressed down as I didn’t want to overshadow my sister so just had a denim skirt and silk blouse with light tights and low boots for comfort. When we got out of the arrival hall I saw my parents waiting for us, my niece in a stroller.

E’volvo’lution Chapter 7

There were four applications in the ones that Berget had given me so I looked through them while having a hot drink. The extra supplies, a kettle and a small fridge had been put into the office just after I arrived, and I was getting quite comfortable.

I would have to ask about a computer and then thought that, with the resources at my disposal, I didn’t need one yet.

E’volvo’lution Chapter 5

We kissed a bit more and then she said that we had to work again in the morning. We got back on the bikes and went to our respective homes. Astrid was still up when I got in and she took one look at my face, “A good night, I see.”

I suppose that I looked blank so she laughed, “You can always tell when a girl has had a good night, especially when she’s forgotten to redo her lipstick.”

E’volvo’lution Chapter 3

He looked so radiant I gave him a peck on the cheek, much to my wonderment. Then we were back to photos and explanation but this time I was also being asked about the specifications and was able to hold my own.

I tried to get them interested in the electric just a couple of trucks away but most wanted to talk about lots of capacity and brute strength.