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Johnny Wise was never known for his good manners. He was a rough and gruff man, who always seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. Despite his less than charming demeanor, Johnny was a well-respected member of the Mafia...
He had worked his way up the ranks over the years, and was now one of the top enforcers for the New York branch of the organized crime syndicate...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgNcltTQpo
However, Johnny had grown tired of the life of a gangster. The violence and deceit had taken a toll on him, and he longed for something more meaningful. So, he made the bold decision to quit the Mafia and become a private detective...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HWl36d5Fp
Johnny set up shop in the heart of the city and quickly made a name for himself. He was tough and relentless, and he always got the job done. But despite his success, Johnny remained a loner. He lived in a small house and spent most of his free time drinking and playing cards with his buddies at the local bar...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhSUdFkHGX
That all changed one summer day when Johnny was grilling in his backyard. He heard the sounds of laughter and chatter coming from the neighboring yard...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeeIZT85qZa
Meanwhile Rocky, his dog had gone over to the pond and seized one of their ducks and brought it back placing it at his feet. Rocky looked at him, wagging his tail expectantly. Johnny shook his head and picked up the duck, hoping it was still alive...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwccxNntds
Rocky looked at me, I honestly think that he wanted me to cook the duck for him. He got that sweet, crazy, delightful odor of barbecue chicken and now wanted some barbecue duck!327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23kYc6s6sE
But,327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNzCplHZgp
I rescued the duck and started strolling with the intent of returning it to my next door neighbor's pond,327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKXrrrCc7H
but, really, Quite honestly I did entertain the thought of some Mallard duck soup...
Heh, heh, heh!327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RrjvOp1Ps
Anyway, I gave Rocky several hotdogs off the grill, then walked over to the fence that separated my yard from the neighbor's and saw a woman sitting on a lawn chair, reading a book. She had long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a slim figure. And was wearing a red bikini that left little to the imagination...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt8f4gIWHJb
I cleared my throat and said, "Excuse me, miss. I think this belongs to you."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjze4JeIEVM
The woman looked up and gasped. She saw Johnny holding her duck by its neck, and Rocky sitting behind him, licking his chops...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWcYRSrL8ia
She jumped up from her chair and ran towards him, screaming, "You monster! You killed my duck! How could you do such a thing?"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDx5k4ZQNU
Johnny was taken aback by her reaction. He said, "Hey, calm down. I didn't kill your duck. My dog almost did. And he didn't mean any harm. He's just a playful pup."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcfXwOfjFK
The woman reached the fence and snatched the duck from Johnny's hands. She cradled it in her arms and checked for signs of life. She said, "You liar! Your dog is a killer! And you're an accomplice! You should be ashamed of yourself!"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkasjZ09bw
Johnny felt a surge of anger. He said, "Look lady, I don't know who you are or what your problem is, but you need to chill out. It's just a duck. It's not like it's your child or something."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKBM6hOnfN
The woman glared at him and said, "How dare you? This duck is more than just an animal. It's my pet. It's my friend. It has a name. It's Daisy."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMJMBzrcEH
Johnny rolled his eyes and said, "Daisy? Seriously? That's a stupid name for a duck."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVl4tjXUwk
What's your name sweetheart?327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKfWTEMj2m
"The name is Eva and I'm definitely not your sweetheart. Idiot! And you havn't any taste either. Daisy is a beautiful name for a beautiful duck!"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLpPhWTYv4
Johnny snorted and said, "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say lady!"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrtGPmyR9bG
Eva exclaimed, "You know what? You're not worth my time. You're rude and insensitive and ignorant. You don't deserve to live next to me."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBNVB712Fq
Johnny said, "Fine by me. I don't want to live next to you either. You're annoying, hysterical and crazy. You didn't deserve to have any ducks."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM02KNEgaLr
Eva said, "Oh yeah? Well, you don't deserve to have a dog."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnUAms7n3b
Johnny grinned, saying, "Well, you don't deserve to have a bikini." Eva said, "What does that even mean?"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wlbTCHoG4
Johnny begin chuckling, "It means you look terrible in it."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBvrvaajnF
She said, "That's it! You've crossed the line! I'm going to report you to the authorities!" Johnny said, "Go ahead! See if I care!" Eva said, "I will! And I hope they lock you up!" Johnny said, "Yeah? Well, I hope they lock you up for being a Loony Toon!" And disturbing the peace.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuic3hzTntq
Eva cried, "No, I'm not! You're disturbing the peace!"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENPiW56DJ9
Johnny said, "No, you are!"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZz2UxXnrk
The woman said, "No, you are!"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXx03mqD6Uz
They continued to argue like this for several minutes until they were interrupted by another voice.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2gBeecik4
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What's going on here?"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf26OkTjLzx
They turned and saw a man standing on the other side of the fence. He had short brown hair, green eyes, and a muscular build. He was wearing a blue shirt, khaki pants, and a badge. He was a cop.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznYDfu38My
He said, "I'm Officer Brad. I'm responding to a noise complaint. What's the problem?"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHG9cYcsKB
Johnny and the woman looked at each other and then at the cop. They both said, "He/she started it!"
The officer sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Alright, alright. Calm down. Let's start with some introductions.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8l7hZ2Ebdd
"Who are you two?"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmawevVLhM
Johnny stepped forward and extended his hand.
"Hi there. I'm John, and this is my dog Rocky. We live next door." The woman stepped forward as well, still clutching her dead duck. "My name is Evelina and this," she gestured to the lifeless bird, "Is Daisy. We also live next door." Officer Brad nodded, scribbling notes into his pad. 327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdfwClcUYW
"And what seems to be the issue, folks?" Johnny spoke first. "Well, my dog got loose earlier and ended up in umm...Miss Evelina's backyard where he unfortunately, accidentally killed her duck." The officer raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit of a mouthful Mr. ... uh ... John?" 327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABnwUwsfa3
"Call me Johnny. Sorry about that."
The officer smiled slightly. "Apology accepted Johnny. Now, let's hear from Miss Evelina." Evelina took a deep breath before speaking. "Mr. Officer, Johnny's dog attacked and killed my beloved pet Daisy without provocation. 327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSEMKBRgQR
Not only has he caused immense emotional distress upon me, but now my family won't have fresh eggs or companionship because of HIM!" Both Johnny and Officer Brad stared blankly at Evelina for a few moments before bursting into laughter.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwSdxZ1qWD
After gaining composure again, the Officer Brad began writing furiously in his note pad once more. Evelina narrowed her gaze, staring quite menacingly. "I assume you find my situation amusing, sir?"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ81kyK3WK40
May I remind the both of you, that someone just lost their life today due to his stupid negligence!" Officer Brad held up his hand to placate Evelina.
"Miss Evelina, I apologize if our reactions seemed disrespectful."327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiY27iITLBJ
However, it appears that there may have been some issues regarding the nature of Daisy's death. He winked and turned to face Johnny again. "Is that correct, Johnny? Did you witness exactly how Daisy passed away?"327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzGKrC0Tmu
Johnny scratched the back of his head and smiled. "Uh, no sir. I actually wasn't present when the murder took place."
Sir!
All I can tell you is that when I found them together, Daisy the duck was probably deceased.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6eHgmAZ8DH
Officer Brad then stated that no real harm had been done and that they needed to work it out.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbeRiJOUcC
And left the scene in his patrol car...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo0IYlQ99Jw
I said to Eva, "Hey I'm sorry about your duck. There's no point in my not being cordial.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyTszt4xxg
Sweetheart, won't you please come over and have some marvelous chicken with me. Yeah, maybe I was a little too rash, you're a sweet looking doll!327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcibCZrUxaK
(Still frowning, she looked at Johnny and hesitated but decided to join him)
It turned out that Eva was married to her husband named Jim, they had moved from Miami a year ago and had few friends...
Over the next few weeks, they grew quite close, some would say that they became almost inseparable. They spend hours chatting, barbecuing together, and Johnny finally felt like he had found someone who understood him.
But, one day when Eva's husband suddenly disappeared, Johnny knew he had to help her.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZlJdb6oup
He threw himself into the case, determined to uncover the truth. Following up on every lead, and interviewed every witness, putting together every clue. It turn out ironically enough that he was actually a hitman in the mafia but the bosses at the top decided when he got busted by a narc, that he was a liability and had to go!
Eva was absolutely taken aback by this tragic news because she had absolutely no idea of her husband line of work inside the mafia. Johnny and Eva became even closer after that tragic occurence and they soon grew very attached to each other...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvcLBYVjcu
Johnny started to change, he was kinder, gentler and even more patient than before. He finally had the serene, meaningful life he had been searching for, and he owed it all to Eva...327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhl0oQeTQKp
Years later, Johnny and Eva were still together. They got married and had a family of their own. As Johnny sat on their porch, sipping cold lemonade and silently watching their children play, he couldn't help but reflect on how far he had come. From a rude and brutish gangster to a loving husband and father. It was a transformation he never could have imagined before...
But he was grateful for every step of his tough journey, for it had brought him to the place where he truly belonged,327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVUEgoK3UF
by his wife Eva's loving side.327Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC71D6Neuq
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© Charles Kemp
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