Cadence and Craig Abbot Creative Photography
The Great Ice Rip-off
Opportunities Thief
Or
The Great Ice Rip-off
There were 5 of us together partying in our group that weekend.
Of the 5, I am the only one who knows the full story of how close a shave we had with a wretched fate that evening…
But I see no reason why I cannot tell my readers about it...
££££££££££££££££££££
The occasion was our Birthday weekend, my twin sister Cadence’s and me that is.
We had all gone up to the big city to make a night of it.
Our group consisted of My lovely wife Ginny, our married friends Merrick and Heather, Cadence, and myself.
Cade was supposed to bring a date, but that plan fell through. Bryan, the detective inspector she was dating, had to cover his department that weekend.
We had ended up booking 1 suite and two rooms at a rather posh hotel for the night.
But the one room was a waste since Cadence, being alone, had taken up camp in our suites living room. Her one suitcase in our living room with her cosmetics, jewel case, and dresses in the separate bath which she was using as a dressing room.
Speaking of dressing rooms, no surprise I’m sure to anyone who has read any of my stories, but the girls had all unanimously decided to go formal for our planned evening of dinner, dancing, and drinking.
Merrick and I were strongly encouraged to wear our black tuxedos. Mine had its black satin vest and Merrick wore a vest with a gold and black calico silk pattern.
Heather was really far too fetching in a long blue silk gown with rhinestone trimmings. She was wearing her best wedding pearls, a necklace, earrings, and bracelet set that had set Merrick back about a few months' pay. She also wore two diamond cocktail rings on her right-hand fingers, along with her wedding rings.
Ginny was enticingly wearing a very shiny black satin off shoulders gown with long white lace frills hanging down from the scooped neckline and puffy elbow-length sleeves.
Her jewellery was a ruby rhinestone necklace with matching earrings. One side of her hair was pulled back and held by one of her diamond chip hair clips. She also wore her favorite rhinestone diamond bracelet and several enticing rings.
But the real showpiece was the eye-grabbing broach she had pinned to the gown just at her waistband. It had a sparrow egg-sized diamond at its centre surrounded by 3 rows of smaller diamond diamonds. The top and bottom three stones of the third row were pear-shaped 5-carat diamonds. It looked like something from the royal jewels in the tower of London which indeed it was patterned after. Though that jewelled piece was worth a cool £2 million.
Over the years Ginny had worn this exquisite piece on a gown several times and it had always garnered plenty of compliments and notice, with some actually thinking the piece was genuine.
Cadence was radiant in an eye-catching sleek on one shoulder canary yellow satin evening gown that fell sweeping to her silver heels.
She was proudly wearing her set of dainty but real diamonds. She had saved for years buying the pieces bit by bit.
There was a gold necklace set with seven matching diamonds of 1 carat each, set in a V pattern. Her earrings were 3/4 diamond studs with a full 1 carats worth of diamonds dangling down, 3 to a side. She was wearing white elbow-length satin gloves. Around her right gloved wrist was a wide gold bracelet set with two outer rows of 1/4 carat diamonds, with a layer of diamond chips in between. A diamond cocktail ring worn on her right index finger nicely completed her diamond ensemble.
Dinner was an elegant affair, which for the price was expected. I knew we were in for a show when the hostess was wearing a gown rivaling anything our girls were wearing. Even the snooty French waiters were in tux and cumberbund. A roving pair of suited violinist meandered around would play for tips.
Later we went out dancing and drinking at a club on the other side of the city. Piling into a cab van to reach our destination.
Merrick and I taking multiple turns on the dance floor with each of the girls. Bring spelled only when they were asked to dance by several other males.
The girls' seemingly unstoppable desire to dance finally took its toll much later as we noticed they were getting much more clinging upon us when dancing. Cadence, missing her boyfriend, seemed to be the neediest of the three. And at Ginny’s insistence, both Merrick and I, for her own good, had to cut in and peel her off several times from strangers she had been drunkenly dancing a wee bit too close with and finish it with her.
The last time Merrick performed the task she didn't even realize she had started with someone else, my sister was that pie-eyed!
After we had closed down the dance club
Heather told us of an after-hours place where we could still get a few drinks before heading home. It was a fun sort of spot she had heard of. like one of those old cellar speakeasy that one always sees in American noir films set during the depression.
You had to knock and when asked for a password just bribe them with a fiver to get in
We were all pretty happy drunks at that point and probably should have called it a night rather than go to an unfamiliar place in a part of town we were strangers to.
But we were happy drunks who didn't care.
We found a cab and asked the driver if he knew where it was?
He did and we all squoze in.
It was like Heather said...
Located on a deserted side street lined with old Victorian-era discolored brick buildings
To me, it looked like the post-war area that my favorite author Tony Broadbent would set up his main protagonist, Cat Burglar Jethro, in.
Going down the below street stairs we found ourselves at a sturdy door with a closed slot and a large lion's head with the knocker in its mouth. Once we banged it the slot opened and a pair of male eyes looked us down and down.
“Password?”
When asked that, both Merrick and I handed over a pair of crisp fivers before being let in.
It was an interesting place, to say the least. It was located what looked like an old meat butcher brick-lined cellar, and I swear the walls were stained with some of the byproducts of that work.
££££££££££££££££££
No fancy hostess waiting to seat us here...
On our own, we managed to find a table in a far corner that fit our party. A gum-chewing waitress in a spandex dress came up and dryly took our drink order. We settled back to soak up the new surroundings.
We were literally in a smoke-filled, dimly lit room. Listening to the jazzy music bring played on the stage.
We were served our(watered down) drinks and as we chatted found ourselves becoming mesmerized by the activity around us and becoming rather sleepy due to the lateness of the hour.
I suddenly had an annoying, but the overwhelming urge to go to the loo and have a sit-down.
The old redbrick room was deserted, with only one old stall of two there was working.
Some wanker had done their wet business on the floor so I raised my feet against the door and was about to begin my business when these two blokes come in.
I held off, something about the way their feet moved about, and their hushed tones of voice told me to do so.
They began to speak as I listened:
“Thanks for calling me, Ronnie”
“Anytime Fred, Can I bum a Cig, it's been a night tailing them here.”
I hear a match strike and soon smell cigarette smoke.”
“Did you get a closer look at the one I was telling you about ?”
The other one, Fred, his voice raspy answered
“Yeah, I got a peak. Short notice though, and short-handed with the Scarborough and Heighton jobs both on tonight. “
“What about A lifter, Charlie? I saw him working around here earlier?”
Raspy didn't appear to agree and snickered...
“I wish Ronnie, Naw, we’re not talking about a wallet in the dames' purse here. Anyway, I think the bluebird caught me trying to look. I had to back off. if I tipped my hand they may be skittish of any close approaches from a stranger now.”
That canary, though, defiantly is wearing ice, not a huge amount, but no telling what other baubles the bird is sleeping with? And she looks to be alone. What do you think, should we call Dinky to tail?
Raspy Fred didn't appear to totally agree...
“I still find the blackbird’s feathers interesting, I agree it's mostly paste, but that sparkler at her waist, what she has on her wrist, Hard to tell with only a quick glance. If only one was real they'd be worth a fortune. But would the Dame really be that naive to wear them out around here? “
“Sally would know if it's ice if we can track her down quick enough before they fly away.”
With a cold chill, it had finally dawned on me that the subjects of their conversation were our girls and their jewels!
“Go head call Dink to see if he wants the shadow job on the canary usual fee, jack needs the cash, see if he is interested in plucking the ice from her flat tonight, usual split, I’ll try and find Sally for a looksee on the blackbird before she flies.”
“Jack is out again, I didn’t know that? He has talents that one, could sneak into an unlit room with a floor littered with empty cans and manage to lift the rhinestone collar from a snoozing Persian cat without it noticing.”
“Well, we're not talking about trimming a canary with rhinestones now are we?”Raspy snorted rudely
“No, we're not.”
“Let's get moving on this if Sally can confirm the blackbird's diamonds are real we can still set up to lift the feathers of all three birds. Farm it out to the east end for a split of the job. They can have one of their Cabs waiting outside.”
“But I need to be sure of this. Not wasting good money on paste. We’ll use the phone across the street.”
I saw a cigarette drop to the ground, a shoe grinds it out as sparks flew. The two men disappear as I hear their footsteps walked with purposeful strides to the door and leave.
It was like a bloody movie I thought, except this was really happening. Out girls had attracted the attention of the wrong kind this evening.
It was very frustrating that I still had to wait while finally attending to my original business before leaving.
By the time I got back to our table. I found my lot had just ordered another round of drinks.
I would have to wait until we finished them before herding them to safety without causing alarm.
The minutes passed as if in slow motion as I spent the time on guard trying to spot the pair, or anyone else looking too close.
I talked to Cadence who was by then two sheets to the wind ( like us all, except now me). And planted a seed that we should all go back to the suite and everyone do sleepover in our living room and tell stories.
She was too easy, taking off with the idea like it was her own, and soon was encouraging us all to get cracking and quickly finish our drinks
Finally, after paying off the tab, we left the joint. I had a few anxious minutes as I hailed a cab and we all piled in. I felt the girls were in a very vulnerable situation and did not really breathe until we arrived safely back at the hotel.
Once we were inside I felt that we had given them, whoever they were, the slip.
And the fact that this whole situation appeared to be lifted from Tony Broadbent’s ‘The Smoke’ did not escape me atoll.
££££££££££££££££££££££££££
Everyone was still all for changing into PJs and doing a sleepover so we could party a little longer.
Heather said sheepishly...
“I sleep in the round. Then giggled that she would just sleep in her dress. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
So with Ginny and Cadence wearing their satin PJs, Heather in her gown, Merrick and I in our jams we all sat around with drinks as Merrick began to tell one of his Irish Drinking Stories. He fell asleep before finishing it. But no one noticed, we were all there before him.
££££££££££££££
The next morning Cadence went into her room through the connecting doors to tidy up, even though everything of hers was in our room, and she had not spent more than ten minutes there yesterday before deciding to invade our room.
As she went in, I heard her question back,
“That’s odd, why is my balcony door wide open?”
Fini
The Great Ice Rip-off
Opportunities Thief
Or
The Great Ice Rip-off
There were 5 of us together partying in our group that weekend.
Of the 5, I am the only one who knows the full story of how close a shave we had with a wretched fate that evening…
But I see no reason why I cannot tell my readers about it...
££££££££££££££££££££
The occasion was our Birthday weekend, my twin sister Cadence’s and me that is.
We had all gone up to the big city to make a night of it.
Our group consisted of My lovely wife Ginny, our married friends Merrick and Heather, Cadence, and myself.
Cade was supposed to bring a date, but that plan fell through. Bryan, the detective inspector she was dating, had to cover his department that weekend.
We had ended up booking 1 suite and two rooms at a rather posh hotel for the night.
But the one room was a waste since Cadence, being alone, had taken up camp in our suites living room. Her one suitcase in our living room with her cosmetics, jewel case, and dresses in the separate bath which she was using as a dressing room.
Speaking of dressing rooms, no surprise I’m sure to anyone who has read any of my stories, but the girls had all unanimously decided to go formal for our planned evening of dinner, dancing, and drinking.
Merrick and I were strongly encouraged to wear our black tuxedos. Mine had its black satin vest and Merrick wore a vest with a gold and black calico silk pattern.
Heather was really far too fetching in a long blue silk gown with rhinestone trimmings. She was wearing her best wedding pearls, a necklace, earrings, and bracelet set that had set Merrick back about a few months' pay. She also wore two diamond cocktail rings on her right-hand fingers, along with her wedding rings.
Ginny was enticingly wearing a very shiny black satin off shoulders gown with long white lace frills hanging down from the scooped neckline and puffy elbow-length sleeves.
Her jewellery was a ruby rhinestone necklace with matching earrings. One side of her hair was pulled back and held by one of her diamond chip hair clips. She also wore her favorite rhinestone diamond bracelet and several enticing rings.
But the real showpiece was the eye-grabbing broach she had pinned to the gown just at her waistband. It had a sparrow egg-sized diamond at its centre surrounded by 3 rows of smaller diamond diamonds. The top and bottom three stones of the third row were pear-shaped 5-carat diamonds. It looked like something from the royal jewels in the tower of London which indeed it was patterned after. Though that jewelled piece was worth a cool £2 million.
Over the years Ginny had worn this exquisite piece on a gown several times and it had always garnered plenty of compliments and notice, with some actually thinking the piece was genuine.
Cadence was radiant in an eye-catching sleek on one shoulder canary yellow satin evening gown that fell sweeping to her silver heels.
She was proudly wearing her set of dainty but real diamonds. She had saved for years buying the pieces bit by bit.
There was a gold necklace set with seven matching diamonds of 1 carat each, set in a V pattern. Her earrings were 3/4 diamond studs with a full 1 carats worth of diamonds dangling down, 3 to a side. She was wearing white elbow-length satin gloves. Around her right gloved wrist was a wide gold bracelet set with two outer rows of 1/4 carat diamonds, with a layer of diamond chips in between. A diamond cocktail ring worn on her right index finger nicely completed her diamond ensemble.
Dinner was an elegant affair, which for the price was expected. I knew we were in for a show when the hostess was wearing a gown rivaling anything our girls were wearing. Even the snooty French waiters were in tux and cumberbund. A roving pair of suited violinist meandered around would play for tips.
Later we went out dancing and drinking at a club on the other side of the city. Piling into a cab van to reach our destination.
Merrick and I taking multiple turns on the dance floor with each of the girls. Bring spelled only when they were asked to dance by several other males.
The girls' seemingly unstoppable desire to dance finally took its toll much later as we noticed they were getting much more clinging upon us when dancing. Cadence, missing her boyfriend, seemed to be the neediest of the three. And at Ginny’s insistence, both Merrick and I, for her own good, had to cut in and peel her off several times from strangers she had been drunkenly dancing a wee bit too close with and finish it with her.
The last time Merrick performed the task she didn't even realize she had started with someone else, my sister was that pie-eyed!
After we had closed down the dance club
Heather told us of an after-hours place where we could still get a few drinks before heading home. It was a fun sort of spot she had heard of. like one of those old cellar speakeasy that one always sees in American noir films set during the depression.
You had to knock and when asked for a password just bribe them with a fiver to get in
We were all pretty happy drunks at that point and probably should have called it a night rather than go to an unfamiliar place in a part of town we were strangers to.
But we were happy drunks who didn't care.
We found a cab and asked the driver if he knew where it was?
He did and we all squoze in.
It was like Heather said...
Located on a deserted side street lined with old Victorian-era discolored brick buildings
To me, it looked like the post-war area that my favorite author Tony Broadbent would set up his main protagonist, Cat Burglar Jethro, in.
Going down the below street stairs we found ourselves at a sturdy door with a closed slot and a large lion's head with the knocker in its mouth. Once we banged it the slot opened and a pair of male eyes looked us down and down.
“Password?”
When asked that, both Merrick and I handed over a pair of crisp fivers before being let in.
It was an interesting place, to say the least. It was located what looked like an old meat butcher brick-lined cellar, and I swear the walls were stained with some of the byproducts of that work.
££££££££££££££££££
No fancy hostess waiting to seat us here...
On our own, we managed to find a table in a far corner that fit our party. A gum-chewing waitress in a spandex dress came up and dryly took our drink order. We settled back to soak up the new surroundings.
We were literally in a smoke-filled, dimly lit room. Listening to the jazzy music bring played on the stage.
We were served our(watered down) drinks and as we chatted found ourselves becoming mesmerized by the activity around us and becoming rather sleepy due to the lateness of the hour.
I suddenly had an annoying, but the overwhelming urge to go to the loo and have a sit-down.
The old redbrick room was deserted, with only one old stall of two there was working.
Some wanker had done their wet business on the floor so I raised my feet against the door and was about to begin my business when these two blokes come in.
I held off, something about the way their feet moved about, and their hushed tones of voice told me to do so.
They began to speak as I listened:
“Thanks for calling me, Ronnie”
“Anytime Fred, Can I bum a Cig, it's been a night tailing them here.”
I hear a match strike and soon smell cigarette smoke.”
“Did you get a closer look at the one I was telling you about ?”
The other one, Fred, his voice raspy answered
“Yeah, I got a peak. Short notice though, and short-handed with the Scarborough and Heighton jobs both on tonight. “
“What about A lifter, Charlie? I saw him working around here earlier?”
Raspy didn't appear to agree and snickered...
“I wish Ronnie, Naw, we’re not talking about a wallet in the dames' purse here. Anyway, I think the bluebird caught me trying to look. I had to back off. if I tipped my hand they may be skittish of any close approaches from a stranger now.”
That canary, though, defiantly is wearing ice, not a huge amount, but no telling what other baubles the bird is sleeping with? And she looks to be alone. What do you think, should we call Dinky to tail?
Raspy Fred didn't appear to totally agree...
“I still find the blackbird’s feathers interesting, I agree it's mostly paste, but that sparkler at her waist, what she has on her wrist, Hard to tell with only a quick glance. If only one was real they'd be worth a fortune. But would the Dame really be that naive to wear them out around here? “
“Sally would know if it's ice if we can track her down quick enough before they fly away.”
With a cold chill, it had finally dawned on me that the subjects of their conversation were our girls and their jewels!
“Go head call Dink to see if he wants the shadow job on the canary usual fee, jack needs the cash, see if he is interested in plucking the ice from her flat tonight, usual split, I’ll try and find Sally for a looksee on the blackbird before she flies.”
“Jack is out again, I didn’t know that? He has talents that one, could sneak into an unlit room with a floor littered with empty cans and manage to lift the rhinestone collar from a snoozing Persian cat without it noticing.”
“Well, we're not talking about trimming a canary with rhinestones now are we?”Raspy snorted rudely
“No, we're not.”
“Let's get moving on this if Sally can confirm the blackbird's diamonds are real we can still set up to lift the feathers of all three birds. Farm it out to the east end for a split of the job. They can have one of their Cabs waiting outside.”
“But I need to be sure of this. Not wasting good money on paste. We’ll use the phone across the street.”
I saw a cigarette drop to the ground, a shoe grinds it out as sparks flew. The two men disappear as I hear their footsteps walked with purposeful strides to the door and leave.
It was like a bloody movie I thought, except this was really happening. Out girls had attracted the attention of the wrong kind this evening.
It was very frustrating that I still had to wait while finally attending to my original business before leaving.
By the time I got back to our table. I found my lot had just ordered another round of drinks.
I would have to wait until we finished them before herding them to safety without causing alarm.
The minutes passed as if in slow motion as I spent the time on guard trying to spot the pair, or anyone else looking too close.
I talked to Cadence who was by then two sheets to the wind ( like us all, except now me). And planted a seed that we should all go back to the suite and everyone do sleepover in our living room and tell stories.
She was too easy, taking off with the idea like it was her own, and soon was encouraging us all to get cracking and quickly finish our drinks
Finally, after paying off the tab, we left the joint. I had a few anxious minutes as I hailed a cab and we all piled in. I felt the girls were in a very vulnerable situation and did not really breathe until we arrived safely back at the hotel.
Once we were inside I felt that we had given them, whoever they were, the slip.
And the fact that this whole situation appeared to be lifted from Tony Broadbent’s ‘The Smoke’ did not escape me atoll.
££££££££££££££££££££££££££
Everyone was still all for changing into PJs and doing a sleepover so we could party a little longer.
Heather said sheepishly...
“I sleep in the round. Then giggled that she would just sleep in her dress. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
So with Ginny and Cadence wearing their satin PJs, Heather in her gown, Merrick and I in our jams we all sat around with drinks as Merrick began to tell one of his Irish Drinking Stories. He fell asleep before finishing it. But no one noticed, we were all there before him.
££££££££££££££
The next morning Cadence went into her room through the connecting doors to tidy up, even though everything of hers was in our room, and she had not spent more than ten minutes there yesterday before deciding to invade our room.
As she went in, I heard her question back,
“That’s odd, why is my balcony door wide open?”
Fini