Written for Sunday Whirl Wordle. Our host is
Brenda Warren; her words for this week are
shown below. Here’s where they took me.
tolls ~ spell ~ inclined ~ mind ~ find ~ pretending
sigh ~ hit ~ guilty ~ fine ~ fault ~ liar
The clock on the wall tolls midnight, which suits me fine. I’m not inclined to do my best work in daylight.
She walked in like a spell someone forgot to finish …. all sharp edges and expensive perfume that had no business being in an office with a busted blind and three-week-old coffee on the desk. I didn’t mind.
“Mr. Malone,” she breathed. “I need you to find someone.”
I leaned back, let my shirt do what it always does …. look like it lost a fight it never should’ve started …. and studied her face. She was pretending to be calm. She wasn’t.
“Who’s the poor sap?” I said.
She let out a sigh that could’ve hit the back wall.
“My husband, Marcel. He’s been telling people I’m a liar …. the wrong people.”
“Are you?”
She smiled. Just a little. Just enough.
“That’s not the point, Mr. Malone.”
I dragged myself upright and reached for my hat …. also a mess, but not my fault.
“Doll,” I said, “in this town, guilty or innocent don’t mean much. But don’t worry …. one way or another, I’ll find your husband.”
She didn’t answer. Which was answer enough.
NAR©2026
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This is “One Way Or Another” by Blondie
Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.
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