Chet The Dog

Posts Tagged ‘film can’

Iggy: Cineaste

Sometimes things happen fast. Ever notice that? So fast that you only figure out what happened later, and that’s if you remember all the details, which isn’t always the case. In fact, hardly ever.

But: I’m absolutely sure that Kelo, backing out of the house, tripped and fell head over heels, although why humans say that I don’t know because I have a clear memory of his heels being over his head. The gun and the film can dropped from his hands, the gun going off and a bullet pinging off our garden shovel, left outside from the last time Bernie tried to plant a garden, long long ago. In all that commotion, nobody seemed to notice that the top had popped off the film can. And what was this? Iggy had the film in his mouth? Yes, he did,  at least some of it, the rest coiling down to the ground. He gave me a funny look. And then? Then Iggy took off, running faster than I’d ever seen the little guy go.

Surprise (At Least For Me)

Because, distracted by Iggy, I didn’t hear that someone was in the house. Then all of a sudden there he was, coming in from the back. He had a gun in his hand. “Drop it,” he said. Bernie dropped it. The guy was dressed in a sharp suit, no tie, had the biggest whitest teeth I’d ever seen on a human.

“Hi, Kelo,” Bernie said. Hey! It was Kelo Printz, our missing client.

“Nice work,” Kelo said. “You got the kidnappers and the film. The kidnappers you can do whatever you want with. As for the film, I’ll take it.” He held out his hand.

Two Questions, No Answers

“Here’s a couple questions,” Bernie said. “One – did Ezra Printz know how to fly a plane? Two – did he have mental problems?”

Portia, Trimmer and Freddie all looked at one another. Two questions – and two’s a number I can handle – but their meaning zipped right by me. I did have a memory of that wrecked old biplane in the box canyon, the box canyon where we found a film can, the film can with film in it. And somewhere else we’d found another film can, the one with the Martin Ramirez painting inside. All of a sudden I thought of this baseball player with dreads that Bernie likes to watch – Manny Ramirez. How confusing was that?

“What the point of these questions?” Freddie said.

“The point is,” Bernie said, “that whoever gives us the answers gets a break. The other two go down.”

“A break like walking out of here?” Freddie said.

Bernie laughed. The laugh is the best human sound, and Bernie’s is tops. I just listened.

Answer for Mollypop: Yes, there will be Kindle for Thereby Hangs A Tail. Admin is very curious about how many people are reading for pleasure on Kindle.

A Bad Situation

“Speaking of getting hurt,” Bernie said, “how’s Kelo Printz?”

“Not familiar with the name,” said Freddie Dancer. But I was. Kelo Printz was our client. The client is the one who pays. I don’t forget a client. Our finances are a mess, something I may get into a little later. But not now. Now we were in a bad situation, Suzie held by Freddie Dancer and the bald guy, a gun to her head. Bernie stood still, his eyes on Freddie. I stood still beside him, my eyes on Freddie, too, just waiting. “I want that film,” Freddie said.

Bernie nodded. “It’s upstairs in the safe,” he said. And so was the shotgun! “I’ll go get it.”

“Tell you what,” said Freddie. “We’ll all go.”

Uh-oh.