Summerabbacat

It's unanimous, Jack (Red) is plotting something nefarious, but is it of his own volition, or is he perhaps doing it at the behest of someone else, Andy Thompson for example. I have to agree with @centexhairysub, Jack appears stupid enough to be easily manipulated, which well may be what happens shortly in Thompsonville. I for one will not care if he is the fall guy for Andy Thompson so long as mud is flung at Thompson and it sticks to him too. Tony has the Monolith, a gluttonous, bible-thumping hippo-crite who cares naught for him. Aaron has Kevin and Cheryl, drunken sloths whose best friends are the one-armed bandits at the local club. A trio of trash whose sons' only hopes are to get the fuck away from their parents and stay away from them. They are fortunate to have the residents of the 'queer house' and the owners of the 'queer caravan park' to provide them with friendship and support. This chapter closed with a feeling of unsettledness or dread for the 'queer family'. I hope the following portends bad times ahead for the likes of Andy Thompson and the town thugs "The new day was a Friday, bringing with it sunshine and a promise of change in our small town; even though he who would be most affected still had little idea of what was about to be brought down upon him." A slightly sinister turn @Mark Ponyboy Peters, which will hopefully be short-lived. Let justice be swift and forceful.

A whirlwind of activity in this chapter for Ralph and Nolan. One thing really stood out to me, the decrease in the once striking contrast in self-assurance between "work" Ralph and "private" Ralph. "Work" Ralph may at times get a little miffed but he tackles problems and faces challenges swiftly and with great decisiveness. It is my observation "private" Ralph is slowly moving in this direction too, encouraged and more importantly supported by Nolan to do so. I have to ask @Robert Hugill what is the "T word' to which Ralph alluded? I have wracked my brain trying to think what it might be, consulted Google and still cannot fathom it. It is likely something very obvious. And finally, I have no idea why, but for some reason the mention of the twins in this chapter made me think of the Bobbsey Twins, children's books, a few of which I read when I was in primary school or perhaps even younger. Given they were two sets of different sex fraternal twins and American, I don't know why Alisa and Jane made me think of them.

No surprises, Roland the rapist. Assuming Alex is telling the truth, and I have little doubt he is, I have zero sympathy for Roland. I still think Beverley is the most likely killer. You paint a far more sympathetic picture of Commissaire Herrera than I expected, and added a touch of vulnerability to Carlos which made him far less sinister than Beverley has led all to believe. Another excellent chapter @E K Stokes. And I just noticed you corrected his name in your prior chapter comment. I was much amused by this slight faux pas, the type of faux pas one might expect Inspector Clouseau to make. LOL.

I had 13 at one time @Philippe or 117 lives to 1. They were joyous times and I lived in a 2 bedroom house and the cats were all indoors.

Very proud @Ticklishboy30 (LOL). So much so that I am on a:

The Colbys was a spin off from Dynasty. The Colbys was set in California whereas Dynasty was set in Denver. The Colbys initially starred Barbara Stanwyck as Constance Colby and Charlton Heston as her brother Jason Colby. They were big movie stars and were supposed to be "drawcards" for the show. Rumour had it at the time that she loathed him (perfectly understandable) and that they fought constantly on the set. She left after the first series. I loved Dynasty, primarily because of Joan Collins who starred as Alex Morel Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan, but The Colbys was woeful. Its death knell was when Fallon Carrington (Emma Samms) was kidnapped by aliens in the Mohave Desert. Absolute bollocks. The best thing about it was Stephanie Beacham (Sable Colby) who was married to Jason Colby and Emma Samms, both of whom are, like Joan Collins, English actresses. Both had very posh English accents and Sable would smile so sweetly as she was backstabbing someone, which happened frequently.

I like I Don't Want To Throw Rice, it is hilarious. So un-Dolly like, full of vitriol and a desire for revenge, almost "murderous".

We both have exceptional taste. I just love Dolly's sense of humour too. The lyrics for Backwood's Barbie amply demonstrate this.

I spoke with our favourite Backwoods Barbie and she told me if you don't write at least a baker's dozen chapters you will be Starting Over Again, and you won't just be working 9 to 5, Jolene. I love Starting Over Again @Ticklishboy30, written by the greatest, the fabulous Donna Summer and her husband. It's just a shame the video quality is limited and I could not find an official video clip for the song.

And if they pee on you, you really know it, like concentrated cat pee.

A much better choice, fostering and adopting unwanted twins, rather than bringing more children into an already overpopulated world. The twins appear to be easy-going and well-behaved, for now at least. Good choice Michael and Doug, although I still think puppies or kittens were a better option.

The purrrrrrrfect family additions for Doug and Michael and they are already house-trained @chris191070. They also won't interrupt their sex lives, cost a fortune to clothe, shelter and raise, and will always be beautiful. They should be so lucky to have such a wonderful introduction to parenthood.

You are safe (for now) @chris191070. Any repeats of such heart-stopping cliffhangers shall be met with swift retribution. 24 hours in the company of Hyacinth Bouquet or a week of binge-watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians and/or The Real Housewives of Milton Keynes.

I anticipated this would be a top-shelf chapter when Kool & The Gang heralded its arrival with one of their very best Deodato-produced anthems, and I was right. AJ was the product of parents who strove to treat their children with kindness, fairness and above all love. AJ certainly flourished in such a positive home environment and grew up to reap the rewards from such a great start in life. He was not however superior, egotistical or prideful in any apparent way. A very admirable man who, like his father and his mother, lived life endeavouring to do good for others as well as himself. Fortunately for we readers @Lee Wilson there has been no reduction in the quality of your writing or its entertainment value in this sequel or spin-off to The Black Aura. It has not suffered the same fate as some absolute shockers like Staying Alive, Grease 2 or The Colbys and for that we applaud and thank you.

I think you omitted a crucial word from your comment, a word which you should have placed after both one and two, and the word is "dozen".

Bitch. LOL. You're foetus compared to me.

These wonderful contributions from @Al Norris and @Philippe are what your well-written and entertaining stories encourage @Mark Ponyboy Peters. An encounter with dolphins like those experienced by Al, Philippe and Justin must have been a joy which is impossible to imagine, one has to experience it to fully understand its beauty. They are such beautiful animals, so horribly abused in so many parts of the world still. It made me think with great fondness of The Promise (The Dolphin Song) from Olivia Newton-John's Physical album. Musically and lyrically very simple, but so very beguiling. A meeting between Andy Thompson and Jack is bound to result in grief for someone, and unfortunately not for either of them, or at least not directly. I can only hope that by causing grief for someone else somehow it will come back on them twenty-fold.

Your comments from the prior chapter which I quoted in my comments above made me think of a tapestry and I wanted to use that word specifically in my comments on this chapter but could not find the right word combinations to use it. Once again @drsawzall you have shown yourself to be the consummate "critic". It must be that rarefied air in Massachusetts.

Unfortunately I think you are correct in your assessment of Jackie @pvtguy. She will turn it all around and blame Ludo for her criminal behaviour, citing the lack of excitement in her life due to him being so "suburban" and her life of near poverty because he has not provided adequately for her and given her the life she richly deserves. She will likely accuse him of being unsatisfactory in the bedroom because he is a "fucking faggot". I am still not convinced she cares tuppence for Damian, but if she does, I hope he rejects her and tells her she was a lousy mother who treated his beloved father appallingly and that he cannot wait until his father is happily married to Arthur and she is gone from his life.

The many loose threads and tangents which @drsawzall referred to in his comments on the previous chapter were more evident than ever in this chapter. At one stage during the reading of this chapter I felt as if I had "literary whiplash" as one plot line moved in rapid succession to the next, which is very apropos given the race to save as many boys as possible seems to have kicked into hyperdrive. As noted by @Paladin the net is tightening, or at least appears to be tightening, on the paedophile ring. There are bound to be casualties, I just hope those casualties are limited to the baddies and if need be the not so bad baddies as so eloquently described by @Paladin. I sense Micah, Simon and Sammy will relate better to children than adults, as evidenced already by Micah's prior interaction with Thomas. For this reason, I have to wonder if Micah may respond positively to Mary. I doubt John Renkin will have a problem with Mary interacting with Micah, but I shudder to think what the matriarchal pariah will do if she finds out Rosa has exposed her daughter to such a child. I can easily imagine Rebecca having little sympathy for Micah and possibly even blaming him for the circumstances he finds himself in. She will find the whole investigation distasteful and an unwelcome intrusion and inconvenience. Hopefully she will receive no sympathy from John, which no doubt will piss her off big time. I will be doubly pleased if John discovers his sister-in-law is part of the team caring for Simon and Sammy and welcomes her with open arms into his life. Riveting, spellbinding, nerve-racking, all adjectives which well describe this chapter @empath. I had an image of multiple spinning tops (the toy not the sexual "aggressor"), spinning faster and faster, maintaining a fine balance between remaining on their axis or "crashing" out of control.

With Lesley arrives frankness and frivolity. She injected a great deal of humour into a day which was getting Ludo down, although Arthur was doing his utmost to keep his spirits buoyed. I think it is healthy for Ludo to realise and articulate what a fucking bitch his "wife" is. He has to date been very rational and determined to not speak ill of Jackie. In this chapter he went some way to addressing this, articulating that Jackie had planned to frame him. I hope his realisation of what type of person the "real" Jackie is continues. I also think he should disclose to Damian what Jackie's apparent intent was and let Damian make up his own mind about the implications of Jackie's behaviour. Damian is a smart lad, he will figure it out, in fact, to a large extent I think he already has. The noose is tightening around Jackie's neck a little tighter it seems @Robert Hugill. Unfortunately, it is only figuratively thus far.

"His investigation had brought him into the heart of the fashion industry, where intrigue and rivalry were as commonplace as designer gowns." Brilliant analogy @E K Stokes. "The glamorous facade of the fashion world was beginning to crack, revealing a world of secrets, lies, and deadly ambition." Not to mention cocaine, orgies and egomania. It certainly appears Beverley has used Carlos and has no intention of providing any information to Commissaire Herrera which may contradict the conclusions he appears to be drawing regarding Carlos, but is he really? Perhaps he is trying to lull Beverley and Arnold into a false sense of security. Another intriguing chapter @E K Stokes. Purely coincidentally I have found myself listening tonight to a number of albums from one of the greatest models of all time, a favourite of mine, the incomparable Miss Jones, Miss Grace Jones.

I seem to recall Gordy had been invited to Ludo's home before @Bft when there was the kerfuffle early on in the story after Damian saw Gordy naked when he stayed longer after school with Gordy at his workplace because it was "inconvenient" for Jackie to collect him, even though it was her turn to do so.

I had forgotten about him @drsawzall. He was brilliantly portrayed by Peter Falk. I did not see the show often as in rural Australia where I grew up we only had one commercial channel. I am not sure it was shown regularly or it may have been on at 11.00pm or later and I had to be in bed earlier than that as I was still a young teen as late as 1978 who had not found or exerted his rebellious streak yet.

A highly imaginative little romp with a quirky sense of humour prevalent throughout. Not to be taken too seriously (which I am often "guilty" of), the pomposity of the pro-Thanksgiving Americans' was a little aggravating at first, however, the absurdity of the situation in which the crew find themselves made me a little more forgiving than I thought myself capable of (except for the treatment of the turkeys). @Paladin once again displays his extraordinary imagination, whilst keeping everything rooted in a certain degree of reality and universal themes. A most enjoyable read.