The Case of the Hallowe'en Bandit
 This story is for Darcy, Stacey and all of us who have experienced recent challenges with health, work, moving, courts, and what-all. Good will triumph! 
 Well, it had been a great summer. Brin and McVetty had met again in the park, walking their assorted cannine friends. There had been games and picnics and Romatic diiners on decks , porches and terraces, with and wtihout moonlight. All of this was overseen by Maggie, the magician and her buddies: Chummie, Blue and Archie (who had settled back into a normal dog life after his terrible adventure with the Thugs in the Black Van.  ) Brin and McVetty knew that something wonderful was happening between them and each decided to take it easy. Brin was an incurable romatic and McVetty, hero that he was, was of the same mind, but of course, would never admit it! 
" Now the fall had arrived, things got busy at the clinic and Brin had started a new job as a reporter with the local newspaper. Walks and candlelight dinners continued. All seemed to be well, but... 
One early October evening, Maggie and Chummie were asleep by the fire. Suddenly, Maggie opened one eye and then the other and said : "Did you hear that?" "What?" said Chummie. "I was dreaming about chasing that black squirrel we saw yesterday!" (Note" Willoughby wants a squirrel in the storey!  )
"It wasn't a sound exactly" said Magiie. "I think it was a sending! Sendings are sort of like emails but come directly to your mind, if you have the right sort of mind. This one came from one of the coyotes back at Ed's ranch. His name is Pedro. Coyotes are messengers from the spirit world." 
What does he say?" asked Chummie. "He says to beware. something evil is coming our way. He quoted from the Scottish Play: "By the twitching of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes!" "He hasn't got thumbs, he has toes!" said Chummie. " Don't be so lieteral-minded. Pedro likes good poetry, expecially when it fits into his meassage" said Maggie. " "I wonder what he means?" 
At that moment, there was a deafening thunder crash and the lights went out. |
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| Lynda!!!!
Thanks so much for the update on that memorable story which captured all of our attention some time back. I wondered what happened to all the characters in the story! Marianne |
 Thanks for bringing back the story Lynda! |
| This is very cute so far... I suppose I haven't been here long enough to know "The Story" |
| Prof Boni and others: The story was originally created in the Members Only section and people kept adding to it. It's titled McVetty and can be located about 3/4 down that page in Members Only forum. It's good reading!
Marianne |
| Geez, guys. I just now ran across this thread. Now that I'm retired and in between major projects (much needed repairs and remodelling of the house) I'll killing some time catching up on some of the fun stuff I missed. Love the story. Maybe if it ever gets finished it could be published - proceeds to OES rescue or something. Keep up the good work. |
Aha! All a budding author needs is encouragement! The second installment will be written later today when I've walked Willoughby and unpacked my suticase. I've been away visiting friends.  Stay tuned. There will be really scary atmopherics and blood-chilling action! |
"Where is Sebastian when we need him?" asked Chummie. "I'm here" said Sebastian. And there he was, illuminated by the lightening flashes, his green eyes shimmering, his back arched and every black hair standing up! "Don't move: there's something on the stairs, just at the corner!" Something shadowy flitted briefly and then disappeared.  At that point, Brin came into the room with a flashlight. Everybody sighed with relief as the lights came back on.  "Well, that was interesting." said Brin. "I hope I haven't lost all my files. Are you OK?" Maggie and Chummie ran over to her and Sebastian , who had returned to normal started purring. "I'd better get the oven heated: McVetty and the boys are coming for dinner tonight. We'll see if their lights went out too." 
Needless to say, the evening was quiet and nothing else happened. But Maggie made sure to tell Blue and Archie about Pedro's sending. Sebastian, with whom she consulted regularly on occult matters joined the discussion, seated very darefully on top of the book case. Blue still liked to chase the odd cat or two and he wasn't taking any chances. 
Meantime, Brin and McVetty were deep in coversation, as usual. "Just a power failure." said McVetty."I don't think that we need to worry." I was sure I saw something on the stairs"  "Well, let's look!"
They went upstairs, follwed by everybody. Cupboards were opened. The space under every bed was examined by all. Sebastian, the smallest, skittered under the beds and announced:"All clear!" in a loud Meow.
Nothing much happened after that evening. The days got shorter and everyone waited for the fire to be lit and the lights to be turned on. Until one evening, just before Hallowe'en, Maggie suddenly sat up and howled. This scared Chummie, who joined in. The din was fearsome.  Brin and Sebastian came running. (Sebastian usually sat behind Brin's computer screen to guard it while she worked.)
Sebastian knew exactly what had happened, because this time, he'd heard Pedro's warning, which was much louder than the first time. "Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble!" Maggie and Chummie walked around the room, sniffing, while Sebastian took up his post on top of the book case. "Good heavens!" said Brin. "What's going on?" Maggie sent her a telepathic image of Pedro's message: a witches' cauldron over a fire in the woods. In a barely perceptible sigh, the verse was repeated several times. ""That guy likes Shakespeare" said Sebastian. "I have to admit that the Scottish play is my favorite. Perfect at this time of year!" Suddenly, it began to rain heavily and the lights flickered. There were footsteps on the roof followed by a loud crash!:twitch: At that point the phone rang and everybody jumped. "Now what?" said Brin. Maggie knew: It was McVetty. "Stay where you are:don't go outside. I'll be there in 2 minutes with the boys". the phone went dead. |
| No one moved! Then Brie crept over to the back window with Maggie and Chummie close beside her. She peered through one of the Venetian blinds and saw a black shadow flitting across the garden. At the same time, an eerie bluish glow lit up the fir trees that lined the fence. Maggie whined a warning and Chummie crept as close to her as she could.
Brie said: "I won't put up with this! Girls: come with me. I'm going to the basement to check on the breaker box." She took her flashlight and marched to the stairs, leading the way down. Suddenly, at the foot of the stairs , a huge snake reared it's head and hissed at her while a large, black rat glared with red eyes at her from the arm of the sofa. This was too much, even for Brin who was no shrinking violet. (Apologies to Violet.  ) She dropped the flashlight and everyone ran as fast as they could back to the living room, just as a loud knock sounded at the front door! 
"HI, Brin" said McVetty." It's OK: open the door. I'm here with Blue and Archie." Brin opened the door and McVetty and the boys burst into the room. McVetty gave Brin a big hug, the four dogs greeted each other and then McVetty said: "You have a small tree on your roof: As far as I can see, only a few tiles are dislodged but it must have made a big bang when it fell."
"That's not all" said Brin" There's huge snake in the basement with a large black rat as his side-kick!" "Did you notice what sort of snake?" "Of course not: we ran up the stairs and slammed the oor!" "Well, I'd better take a look. I'll just shine my flashlight down there and see what's what" said McVetty.
He opened the door, and very carefully aimed the light down the stairs. "There's nothing there that I can see. Wait ..." then he called up: "No snake: no rats. I'll get the lights on in a minute". Sure enough, the lights came on all over the house. "That's strange" said Brin. " I just had the lights on down here."
Maggie turned to her friends and said: " I think we need to talk. Let's lie down by the fire while these two sort out the mystery." Off they went, and Maggie and Chummie explained what had been happening to Blue and Archie. " She told them about Pedro and the sending. Then she said: " There were no snakes or rats in the basement. I don't think anyone was in the garden. I think that these things are emanations from something very wicked that has come into our neighborhood." : "What should we do? I must use my power to help or we might find ourselves in another reality that may not be friendly to humans or OES!" |
| At that point, Sebastian appeared, sitting very carefully on the mantel. His green eyes gleamed and he grinned at the dogs, showing his little white fangs: "Perhaps I can help? What ever this is, it doesn't like black cats either! I was chased downstairs by an aligator. I of course knew that it was an illusion but I wasn't taking any chances. As soon as I got down the stairs, it vanished in a puff of blue smoke!" He arranged his tail over his front paws and waited. Archie said, "You know, something smells funny: I can't quite put my paw on it!" "Well, said Maggie, "Let's get into a circle. We can include Sebastian by leaving a space for him on the floor. We definitely need his magic!"
The four dogs lay down in a circle, with paws touching and Sebastian, with a loud "Ouch!" dropped a black whisker into the space that was reserved for him."That should do it!" he said. "Quiet all!" said Maggie. "I have to concentrate if we want to reach Pedro directly.We're going to send him an SOS!"  |
| Meantime, Brin and McVetty decided to search the house from top to bottom. They started with the basement and went through every cupboard and cranny, finding nothing! The same thing happened on the main floor and in the berooms and bathrooms. Nothing: not a whisker or a feather or a scale did they find . (except of course, for OES white fuzz in favourite sleeping places! ) Finally, McVetty looked at the back stairs to the attic. Brin had bought an old house and was refinishing each room as she could afford it. She bought the house because of the attic which reminded her of her grandmother's house in the country. "Let's see what's up there." he suggested. Up they went and opened the attic door. There were trunks, and old chairs and an old cheval mirror as well as boxes of dishes that Brin had inherited.An old iron bed stood in the corner with a spare dusty mattress. The light was dull, 40 watts, as Brin planned to clean up the attic as her last project. (The kitchen was the first, of course!) Something moved in the corner!:twitch: A shadow detached itself from the back wall and began to move toward them! There was a faint odour of brimstone and with a blue flash, a tall man stood before them, dressed in black, antique looking clothes, with a black mask and carrying a duelling sword! |
| Oh, my how exciting. I need popcorn to read this... |
| That's a h....of a place to stop! |
| Wow, carry on!!!!
Ps: Marianne, thanks for the explanation! |
| While Brin and McVetty were otherwise engaged in the Attic, Maggie and her friends had succeeded in contacting Pedro. Maggie had shared her powers with the other three, giving poor Archie quite a jolt. As he later pointed out, this sort of thing was new to him as in his entire experience as a profesisonal bloodhound, the occult had never come up. "Let's get on with it!" said Maggie and she asked Pedro outright "What on earth is going on?" "You may have noticed that tonight is Hallowe'en" said Pedro. "At that time the spirit world and the world of the earthbound are very close together. It's not uncommon for sprirts to cross the portal into our world. " " There is someone in your house who is evil and must be driven out. We must call upon El Brujo to help your human friends." "Yikes" said Blue. "That 's not part of the spell." said Pedro. "Maggie and I will lead you through it. There is something in your house that this spirit seeks." And so they did. "Now, said Pedro, "You must all go to the attic and take Sebastian with you. He has the key to the mystery." "I have?" said Sebastian. "Remember", said Pedro, " Fair is foul, and foul is fair". And he disappeared. "Wow!" said Chummie, "Pedro really likes his Shakespeare!" "Let's go!" commanded Maggie. "We'll take the back stair and we have to tiptoe." It was quite a sight to see 3 OES and one bloodhound tiptoing upstairs with Sebastian noiselessly gliding ahead of them. Off they went to the rescue. But back in the attic ... |
| Sorry all I've been away for a few days: the grand finale is coming soon! |
Willoughby's mom wrote: "Maggie and I will lead you through it. There is something in your house that this spirit seeks." And so they did. "Now, said Pedro, "You must all go to the attic and take Sebastian with you. He has the key to the mystery."
THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY ? |
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Many apologies: I'm away again. Should get to it this evening!  Time is running out as the dramatis personae are frozen in mid-air waiting for me to bail them out! |
| Back in the attic...Three was a sudden thunder clap and a second man stood in the attic, also dressed in black with silver trim and no mask. His eyes were deep brown and he smiled at Brin and Mcvetty as he also drew a duelling sword. " "Do not fear" he said. I am El Brujo, the sorcerer, come to defeat this evil one" !:evil: Both men took up a duelling stance and began : thrust, parry , retreat, advance etc. etc. all at top speed all over the attic. McVetty grabbed Brin and pushed her into a corner, pulling boxes after them. They could still follow the action but without danger of being run through. Meantime, the four dogs crept into the attic and slid under the iron bed while Sebastian, with eyes shining bright green, headed for the old turnk. He hid behind it, peering around the corner to watch the duel. The duellists lept about, on top of the bed and off, into the corners, up on the trunk and back onto the floor. Then without warning, El Brujo dropped his sword and instantly, his opponent trapped him with the point of his weapon against the sorcerer's throat! You could have heard a pin drop. Suddenly... |
| Maggie sneezed! At that point everything seemed to happen at once. Sebastian let out a blood-curdling yowl, Chummie and Blue howled and Archie, bless him, began to bay. The noise was deafening ! The masked man lost his concentration and in a split second move, El Brujo retrieved his weapon and ran his opponent through: the masked man's body convulsed once and then shrivelled up, finally vanishing in a puff of black smoke! El Brujo calmly cleaned his blade and repaced in it in an ornate silver scabbard.
By this time all four dogs were on the bed and Sebastian was on top of the trunk, preening himself and scratching his claws on the lid. The squirrel who lived in the oak tree was peering into the room to see what was causing so much noise. Sebastian controlled himself and glared at the squirrel but decided that he had more important things to do.
Brin and McVetty came out from behind the boxes and stood looking at El Brujo, frankly wondering what was next! |
| El Brujo bowed deeply to Brin and McVetty, Sebastian and the four dogs on the bed. "Gracias" he said. "Let me explain" "That would certainly help" said McVetty. "Well, although it's a long story I will be brief" said El Brujo. :"Many years ago, a book was taken from me. This book travelled with the thief until it was hidden in the trunk that your excelllent cat is guarding! I am a sorcerer and the book lists my spells. Even more important, there is a map hidden in the book and I must have it returned to me!" "How did you know where it was?" asked Brin. "I used my power and tracked it to this house. My assistant Pedro sent a message to your Maggie to warn her and her friends that the evil bandit was on the trail of the book. Pedro warned her that he would use spells to frighten you so you would leave the house ."
"That explains the snake and the rats!" said Brin. "Yes" thought Sebastian, "And that alligator!" "Let's open the trunk." suggested McVetty, carefully removing Sebastain from the lid. He opened the trunk and there at the bottom, wrapped in an old curtain was the book. It looked very old; the pages were yellow and crumbly and it was bound in dark brown leather. "Here it is." said Mc Vetty. "But" ... El Brujo said:"It is not that simple! See, my hand goes right through it! I cannot pick it up!" Why is that?" asked Brin. " Because I"m in a different time continuum!!" "How are we going to resolve this?" asked McVetty. At that point, El Brujo vanished. No one moved!:twitch: |
| Suddenly, the sorcerer reappeared: sort of like the Cheshire cat in reverse! First, his smile, then his face, then his hand etc. "You must forgive me!" he said. "I haven't much time left. My energy is running down and I will have to leave you in a few minutes! You must bring the book to me. " "Where can we find you?" asked McVetty. "We're stuck in this time and can't travel as you do." "Not to worry. " said El Brujo." You may travel in your own time and space. I will send you a map. I can tell you, however, that I can be found in New Mexico. I will look after the appropriate spells but I'm much more powerful near my territory." And with that, he vanished, this time for good!:sidestep:
"Wow!" said Brin. " "We'd better put that book in a safe place just in case!" Everyone headed for the stairs, with the dogs running ahead ,wiggling and bobbing down the stairs followed by Sebastian, who was looking very pleased with himself. When they got downstairs again, Brin said" It's Hallowe'en after all. What a great adventure! I'll bet we're the only ones on the block who had real ghosts in the house !" And they decided to celebrate! Brin and McVetty set the table together and they sat down to roast chicken with all the trimmings.There was devil's food cake, with dark chocolate fudge icing and a pumpkin on top made of orange sugar.  Each dog had a new chewy after their supper (which included chicken , of course)and Sebastian daintily ate his supper from a china plate. After, everyone sat by the fire: Brin and McVetty on the sofa, Sebastian on the mantel and the four dogs stretched out in front of the fire. Maggie turned to her friends and smiled:" I wonder what's next?" she said. |
| Kep an eye: a Christmas story is about to start with a new cast of characters!:cheer: |
| >>>Momentarily stops to chew popcorn in mouth and removes nails that have etched themselves in the coffee table. Lynda I can't wait!!!
Fantastic writing and you'd make that Rowlands woman proud! I can't wait to hear the Christmas story and thanks for that awesome story! Marianne |
| My pleasure! |
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