Let's see if we can get today right without a complete spaz, shall we?
Part 4 Edwin was never fully satisfied when having to pass information on to a subordinate. It was one of the reasons he only dealt with Dr. Vargas. He was in charge of all of the other indoor staff and as their commander, he had the right to know first if something was afoot. He found the thought of Ms. Evan sending out a memo before clearing it with Dr. Vargas somewhat unseemly as he thought command should have prior knowledge before the mass announcement. “Nothing to be done about that,” Edwin said as he crossed the grounds back to his office. The doctor was out until the afternoon and he couldn’t risk someone going into that section of the grounds before then. He consoled himself with the fact that he had only given Ms. Evans generalities. To apologize to the doctor for going around him, specifics could be provided. Settled on the matter he stopped at his office door and turned to look over the grounds. His office faced a low wall. If he looked beyond the wall, he could see the mass of the grounds, although not the maze as that was behind him. Here winding paths dotted with carefully maintained trees and shrubbery threaded through the view. The tress were only occasional things and placed in strategic locations so that the residents could always be seen by their caretakers. While Edwin disliked the winding paths, he knew that every element of those paths was designed for a specific reason. Despite it’s more artful appearance, there was a precision of thought Edwin could appreciate, even if a part of him did want to tug the lines of the pathways straight. In truth, Edwin rarely looked beyond his little wall. Once the wall had been shrouded in creeping vines, flowers at their bases. He had them removed and a line of shrubs planted in front of them instead. The wall was exactly five feet tall and the shrub had been allowed to grow to a two foot height before being trimmed into neat two by two foot squares. After the sight of both the elephants and Ms. Evans unsightly messy desk, seeing the neatly trimmed shrubs filled him with a deep sense of calm, of rightness in the world. Satisfied that at least some things were as they should be, Edwin turned back to his door and unlocked it. Before he could step inside, Michaelson came rushing down one of the paths. He was doing a strange sort of quick walk, as though longing to run but not quite daring to do so. Edwin decided to withhold comment until he determined the level of urgency in his arrival. If the matter was grave, he could decide Michaelson’s gate did not count as rushing about and let it slide. Despite what others thought, he could be lenient if the situation merited it. Michelson saw Edwin was waiting and steadied himself, walking more normally as he approached. “Sir,” he began. “Lucas found his bees, a large hive on the east side.” Edwin turned cold inside. A hive was so much worse than a lone bee. A hive was where the honey was made. Edwin twitched his fingers and tried not to think of honey. “Have the hive removed and search the surrounding area diligently to make certain there are no outliers.” “Of course sir,” Michaelson replied. “In addition, we believe we may have found information about the …elep…defilement sir.” “What did you find?” Edwin barked out the question. “We believe we found his stash of tools sir, hedge clippers, flashlight that sort of thing.” “Show me.” Edwin said. Michaelson nodded and Edwin followed him across the estate to a secluded spot. Edwin grimaced. He considered it one of his trouble areas and had yet to figure out a way to deal with it to his satisfaction. Once it had been a popular spot for trysts between wealthy visitors. A large tree shaded the area as well as blocked view of the spot from the main House. The roll of the land further assisted in concealment. It was the one spot that could be seen clearly from nowhere on the property. Over the years Edwin worked out several plans but as he had been forbidden to level the land with earth moving equipment or to remove the tree unless it died on its own, there had been little he could do. Briefly, he toyed with the idea of poisoning the tree himself but such surreptitious acts were beneath him. In the area once frequented by illicit lovers, the would-be sculptor made his nest. As Edwin surveyed the tools. They were not quickly discarded as though the invader feared discovery, they were neatly placed, wiped clean after use. This meant only one thing in Edwin’s mind. Whoever had defiled his hedgerows meant to come again. Edwin smiled tightly. When he did return, Edwin would be waiting.
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Valerie GaumontJust the record of the random flotsam and jetsam of an insomniac writer's mind Archives
March 2021
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