Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
This is the Six Sentence Story bloghop.
It is hosted by Denise. (She requests we use the week’s prompt word and make the sentence count come out to Six.) (Hence, the name.)
This week we check in with our reflective detective, Ian Devereaux.
Previously, on the Case of the Missing Fig Leaf…
As with virtually all detective agencies, large and small, Ian Devereaux’s cases resolved into one of two categories: those successfully executed leaving a satisfied client or an unhappy client disappointed by the lack of the desired, (and paid for), outcome. To date, none had ended with a dead investigator.
Despite a beginning that included first class travel to Europe, the finest of hotels and interaction with lesser-known aspects of ancient European culture, Ian now found himself on the wrong side of an unmarked doorway, peeling paint-glued to an abandoned storefront, in the Whitechapel district of East London; where he now sat, bruised and battered, most of which merely physical trauma.
Feeling very much the 21st century version of a medieval Knight Marshal, Ian Devereaux stood between Anya Claireaux, easily the most capable woman he’d ever likely encounter and Sister Aclima, a member of a religious Order that, if he chose to believe her, was the best that some of the kids could do after the First Divorce.
Prompt word:
SEASON
“Here,” I held out the phone in Sister Aclima’s direction, the display blanked, only the built-in speaker to make it seem less like a loaded gun ready to go off and kill the wrong person; for the record, I had no idea who that was, as usual, my life, professional and otherwise, was filled with incomplete equations, like the blackboard of a sixth grade math class at 3:01 in June.
From her cellular perch, Anya addressed anyone in range of her voice, “I just gotta say, whatever you’ve done to mask your location and block the video feed, well, between you, me and your local confessor, it’s kinda turning me on, you know what I’m saying?”
Satisfied to have me hold the phone, a deacon with a non-smoking thurible appeasing nameless gods, Sister Aclima replied in a quiet, but not the, ‘Oh, that’s good, she’s not upset,’ kind of quiet, voice, “I seek information, unfortunately Mr. Devereaux has not provided anything useful, so allow me to tell you what I need, after which we can discuss payment, which, as Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, provides in one of the Bible’s genuinely useful insights, to everything there is a season;” I noticed two things about my captor: a wisp of dark brown hair flirting with her eyes, which, in turn, like emerald eyes in pagan idol, made me think of serpents and apples.
Anya laughed, Aclima frowned, and I decided that being a commercial fisherman had a lot going for it; then decided to laugh, figuring when it came time to pick sides, the devil I owe is better than the devil I don’t.
“That you would believe my interest is in your… baubles, tells me you need to get yourself a new staff down in whatever passes for opposition research at your convent or coven or whatever the correct term;” Anya’s laughter subsided, the phone’s display flickered into life, a view clearly from a skyscraper, the vast blue of Lake Michigan made incidental by the intelligence and insatiable Will that raged in her eyes, “Before I let you go, let’s plan to talk again, ’cause despite our differences in motivation, we’re both determined to find the esteemed Dr. Egmont’s Time Mechanism.”
About clarkscottroger
I’m thinking the expression: “the devil I owe is better than the devil I don’t” (very cool!) is like: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”.
I liked: “you need to get yourself a new staff down in whatever passes for opposition research at your convent or coven or whatever the correct term”
Never thought about the closeness of those two words before!
yeah, as accidental as it was, I love the malapropism
…damn! and in reflection (as disturbing or amusing) given I wrote it, I missed the similarity
lol
As Jung is purported to say, upon confronting the evidence of archtypes…”Ach du lieber, aiiyeee!”
Very enjoyable six sentence story.
I find I like both women.
Thank you.
yeah, Aclima is starting to grow on me. (Anya I loved from her first appearance*)
* I really should go look that up
It’s always about Time, isn’t it.
Imogene Coca and Joe E Ross!!!
(It’s About Time)
You put a whole lot into this six. Michenerian. Good job
not a lot of space, even with the magic of parenthesiseses
thanks, Paul
Very amusing, sir
Ah yes, the Time Mechanism… I love how this is slowly playing out under the direction of such splendid characters!
Thanks, Chris (I have high hopes that my characters will continue to entertain us)
That is one formidable woman. Or two, but Anya yikes
Hey! what’s with the sixth grade math simile? My students would happily stay to work out those equations.
I especially liked the fourth paragraph.
Yeah, here’s a shocker, Anya Claireaux is one of my favorite villainae. In fact, she goes back farther than most in my oeuvre*
* no, he dih’nt! lol
Two strong women. What could possibly go wrong?
The descriptions are so vivid and you really let their characters shine through
‘the devil I owe is better than the devil I don’t.’ I love this!
Thanks, jenne49
it’s interesting (purely after the fact) that some characters can maintain a distinctive voice (surely encouraging of their becoming more real… but then, as I mentioned to D.Avery Anya goes way back and is a total fave
So the hunt continues and keeps us all returning for the next episode.
Favorite lines this time. . .
“I had no idea who that was, as usual, my life, professional and otherwise, was filled with incomplete equations, like the blackboard of a sixth grade math class at 3:01 in June.”
“the devil I owe is better than the devil I don’t.”
This story is ratchetting up nicely. To think Sister Aclima and Anya will be joining forces! What happens when one of them acquires Dr. Egmont and/or his time mechanism before the other?. Much “fun” lies ahead!
Interesting choice of music. And rather appropriate. Light hair, dark hair. Singing solo and harmonizing.
Look forward to the next installment. Too bad we have to wait 2 weeks :)
Though not without hazard, to anticipate an entertaining collaboration between the two, I somehow think the appearance of collegiality is more apparent than real.
loves that vid, as, by virtue of being live, makes the skill of the singers clear and all the more impressive