March 4, 2025 · 2:36 am

The Dog That Inherited A Palace Chapter 17

©GeraldineBanksMarch2025

Tommy and Tedi ran down the street away from the Police Raid. After about ten minutes , they both felt they were far enough away to stop and get their bearings. Unbeknown to a lot of people, dogs have an amazing GPS system, no one knows how it works, but their brains are like supercomputers, in fact probably a lot of animals have this ability. When Tedi stopped, he knew he was free and there was one thing now he had on his mind and that was getting back home. He was going to take Tommy with him.

They were in London, and they had to get to Oxfordshire, and they would have to find food and shelter on the way and avoid busy roads and anybody that might try and capture them. Tedi sat down and Tommy sat down beside him.

” What will we do now little dog?” Tommy said quietly, not knowing what to do himself.

Tedi put a paw on Tommy’s shoulder, Tedi’s brain was processing the information of where they were, he sniffed the atmosphere and realised that there was an awful lot of pollution. So initially scent was not going to help. However, a picture came into his head and he knew exactly where to go. The little boy would help him with the roads and perhaps finding food. They had rested enough it was time to go.

Tedi stood up and signalled to Tommy to follow. Tommy got up and followed him and their adventure began.

Meanwhile Chief Superintendent Napper was on the phone to Cross.

” We had sight of the little dog, but he disappeared during the raid, no one knows where the dog is.” The Chief Superintendent said very disheartingly.

” Do you know if the kidnappers have still got him?” Cross asked .

” We don’t know, none of the people that we arrested seem to have a clue , it could be they are lying but I don’t think so. I think we need to go along with the meeting on Friday. Act as if no one knows anything. Someone is behind all this and that is the person I want.” Napper said firmly.

” Do you think Tedi is still alive.” It was a question that broke Cross’s heart to ask.

” My gut feeling is he is , we haven’t found the little boy who was looking after him, both of them are missing. My feeling is that the boy took him and probably has headed for another safe house. On that assumption then the people you are meeting on Friday still have the dog. “

“OK, well the meeting’s on and I’ve got the money, but I’m not handing it over until I get Tedi back. “

” We’ve got a team of people trained for this eventuality, I’m just arranging for them to go see you , they’ll have the cover of maintenance people, so they’ll be with you tonight. They’ll go through everything with you. “

“I had the usual threat, don’t get the Police involved. ” Cross said

” As far as the raid was concerned it was drugs and animal welfare, bit of a coincidence perhaps, but as I say the ones we have in custody are not the brightest. The ones you are dealing with , may well be a bit brighter, personally I think they’re going to try and pull the wool over your eyes and get the money without giving you anything.” The Chief Superintendent said matter of factly.

” Well in that case , I hope your people can help, so you think they’ll get here tonight? ” Cross felt disheartened , but that he did need help and he wanted to do the best for Tedi he could.

” Oh yes, and they’ll have a lot of monitoring equipment and believe it or not a psychiatrist too, to help you negotiate .” Napper smiled, policing had become so much more than when he started on the beat.

” Thanks Chief Superintendent.” Cross put down the phone gently. He was worried.

Lettie arrived at the House later that evening , and Cross updated her about what had happened, shortly after that the ” Maintenance Team ” arrived and both Cross and Lettie went through with them everything that had happened so far and they looked at the monitoring equipment the Police had and talked through when and where the meeting was going to happen on Friday. Cross said the money was in a suitcase in the safe.

Cross , got James to show the ” Maintenance Team ” around and where to get coffee and tea when they wanted and anything from the larder in the kitchen if Mrs Graham wasn’t around. There were also rooms to set up their equipment and camp beds if they needed them.

All this busyness helped Cross not to worry and also it was good to have Lettie around.

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March 4, 2025 · 1:51 am

You’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening Sentence.

World Peace seemed a very unrealistic ideal, but what other option was there?

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March 3, 2025 · 2:55 am

Two Forks and A Cloth

What are three objects you couldn’t live without?

A fork both big and small

And a cloth to wrap them all.

Sad to say I need so much more

But to list them here would be such a bore.

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March 2, 2025 · 7:04 am

The Dog That Inherited A Palace Chapter 16

©GeraldineBanksMarch2025

Tedi rolled over onto his tummy on the posh velvet padded chair that was his favourite in the State Drawing Room of the Palace. All the other dogs were asleep and Trinnie was beside him in her favourite chair. Meanwhile the dream Tedi was having continued and he began to growl and his paws flicked backwards and forwards as if he was indeed running.

Tommy and Tedi had heard the man and woman downstairs who came to look at the puppies. Tommy got washed in the bathroom and signalled to Tedi that he would bring him outside. They walked down the stairs and passed by the couple who were looking at the cages where there were a number of female dogs who had either recently had litters or were about to have them.

” Oh , do we need to get a puppy? Look at that nice little dog , can’t we get that one, look he’s house-trained and he’s walking so nice with that little boy”. The detective said out loudly , turning around to pet Tedi.

The two detectives realised who Tedi was.

” That one’s not for sale, he’s the little boy’s dog, special he is , Tommy wouldn’t be parted with his little dog would you ? Tom.”

Tommy looked up and shook his head, he wondered who the man and woman were who were looking at the puppies.

The dealer who was selling the pups said. ” Now rung along , you let the dog out in the garden and get some breakfast, good lad.”

” Shame, he would have been ideal. ” The two detectives looked at each other.

Tedi and the little boy disappeared downstairs and out through the back of the house.

Back at Police HQ, the detectives who had been looking at the puppies and had indeed purchased two of them were now in the meeting room.

” You’re not getting those on expenses!” Chief Superintendent Napper said gruffly.

“No Sir, we just wanted to keep our cover straight, and anyway I couldn’t leave them there, some of those dogs are in a hell of a state. We need to raid the place.” The puppies licked the police officers faces.

” Well, looks like we know where our little Lordship is and there’s nothing to stop us now. ” The Chief summarised the situation. ” We best move quickly as we don’t want to lose them. Lets put our plan into action.”

So just after lunch, the kidnappers had a knock on their door and all hell let loose.

The plain clothes officers who entered the building, knew exactly where to go, they had weapons because the police knew that this group, as they were involved with drugs, as well as illegal puppy farming could be dangerous and sure enough once the criminals realised that it was the Police all hell let loose. They ran into different rooms and into the garden trying to hide evidence and escape if they could.

Meanwhile Tommy and Tedi were upstairs in Tommy’s room looking out into the garden below.

Tommy heard the word “Police” and said to Tedi, “We got to get out!”

In the chaos , Tommy and Tedi ran by everyone on the stairs and out the front door and down the street. Tommy was so small and the Police and the gangsters so big and everyone was fighting that no one saw them leave.

Back at base, once the raid was over and the relevant agencies contacted. Chief Superintendent Napper was not happy.

” Great Job on animal welfare, rubbish job on solving the kidnapping, where is the little dog now?”

” We’ve checked the cctv and the bodycams , it looks like Tedi escaped down the street with a little boy. None of the others we arrested will say anything about who the boy is and they won’t admit that the dog is theirs either. We’ve got a description. Should we go public?” One of the officers said.

“Great !” The Superintendent said exasperated ” The Police are after a little boy and his dog, the News will have a field day. What a mess!” Chief Superintendent Napper barged out of the room. Thoughts raced through his head. No he was not going public, but he knew he had to get hold of Cross and tell him what had happened. What would the kidnappers do now? Would they still try to get the money off Cross? That was a possibility. No , no publicity. He quickly turned around and went back to the room.

” Guys, we need to keep the lid on this a bit longer, I’m going to speak to Cross , in the meantime let the uniforms and anyone else you know in London keep an eye out for the little boy and the dog. Great if we find him, but if not the kidnappers are going to still be looking for him. We need to find them first, or keep the kidnappers sweet, they’ve got to think that we still think they’ve got the dog.”

Team meeting 5.00pm and I’ll update you.

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March 2, 2025 · 5:49 am

Allotment of Life

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

Well I know the fashion is not to dig, but use layers of cardboard to insulate the soil and encourage the little critters that live in it to thrive while keeping weeds at bay.

But ….I like digging,it’s very therapeutic and experience has taught me that my kind of digging breaks up a clayey soil and with thorough weeding creates that loam that is ideal for starting seeds and growing on plants.

That and my foot action on the fork, it doesn’t take much pressure when you put the fork in at the right angle,so no need to do your back in. I do look out for worms though  and rescue them regularly as they are the powerhouses of my plot.

Digging has taught me a lot.

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March 1, 2025 · 7:05 am

The Dog That Inherited A Palace Chapter 15

©GeraldineBanksFebruary2025

Lettie found Arthur in his local pub and it didn’t take her long to get the whole story. Arthur’s loose tongue had led to Tedi being kidnapped and it was now very serious as they had no idea where the little dog was. She realised, while she was talking to him, that he was very unhappy and needed help .She changed her approach.

He wanted his old job back and he knew he had blown it, she knew he meant it. Lettie needed someone to start collating the photographs and researching the archives of the House for Tedi’s biography.

” I don’t want this to have a sad ending”. Lettie said.

” Neither do I , Lettie, you’ve got to believe me, I don’t know who that man was I talked to , but you’re right , it is my fault, and I’ll do anything to get that stupid dog back, and get a job. I can’t go on living like this.” Arthur put his elbows on the table and pushed a half finished drink away from him.

OK, well , I don’t think there’s anything you can do at the moment, to be honest. I can’t say much, the less people who know the better about what is going on, but when we get him back , it’s going to be quite a story and you are a good photographer, start writing a list of the equipment you’ll need and in the meantime I’m going to send you some archive files which I want you to start collating and getting into order for the book….. oh and Tedi is not a “stupid dog” far from it. In fact ,he might just save you , if we can save him.”

This took Arthur by surprise, but he smiled; ” It’s too early for thanks but I’m not going to mess up this time.” They both stood up and gathered their things .

Lettie looked him straight in the eye. ” No , Arthur something tells me you won’t.” They left the pub and went their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Chief Superintendent Napper was presenting his plan to his group of handpicked detectives. The House where they suspected Tedi was being held had been watched by a number of Crime Agencies in the past, covering drugs, and illegal dog breeding and now kidnapping. They had enough evidence to raid the place, although they could not be sure that they would get Tedi out without harming him. They wanted the little dog back safe and unharmed. Not finding him alive; was not an option ; so they would hold off until they were sure they could rescue him unharmed.

” How can we know for sure? Should someone go in undercover, maybe looking to buy a dog, or a puppy whatever?”

“Best try the internet, Facebook or whatever, then get someone to send you to the address, that ‘d be a good cover.”

“Sounds good” said Chief Superintendent Napper. ” Get on to it. First one who gets an appointment at that house, I’ll buy them a pint. You can toss who does the visit.”

By the time the detectives had done their searches and finally got the appointment, it was too late in the evening to do anything and they needed some rest. The appointment was booked for the morning. They were all pleased with the result and they made some more preparations before they went home, they had to be ready if they managed to find Tedi.

The phone rang as the Chief Superintendent picked up his car keys from his desk, it was Cross, he had received a call from the kidnappers, they wanted to arrange a meeting to hand over the money and get Tedi back.

Napper immediately said “When?”

” They want to meet on Friday, it’s Tuesday now. “

” What did you say ? I said I’d have the money by then, I want Tedi back.”

” Interesting, that’s OK. Thanks for letting us know, we’re working on something tomorrow, but to keep them sweet, we’re up for the Friday meeting. Can you text me the details of what they want and where they want to meet. I’ll update you tomorrow. “

” Great Chief Superintendent, speak to you tomorrow.” Cross felt relieved something was happening, the waiting was awful.

So Tedi spent another night in the strange house with it’s comings and goings at all hours. The little boy , whose name was Tommy, would pop into the room and bring Tedi some food and biscuits and refill his water bowl.

Tommy even managed to bring Tedi up to his bedroom at night, it seemed that the person who was supposed to be looking after him had been taken unwell from something he’d eaten or drank or worse and Tommy had been asked to look after the little dog.

Tommy was delighted and his regular visits cheered Tedi up. When Tedi followed him up the stairs to the little room at the top of the house and hopped on top of Tommy’s bed, he snuggled up to the little boy. The bed clothes smelt stale and unwashed and the boy’s bedroom was very neglected , Tedi couldn’t see any toys or books, but nevertheless Tommy found a little rag for him and Tedi to play with. Still Tedi felt safe with Tommy and he hoped Tommy felt safe with him. They both fell asleep in each others arms.

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March 1, 2025 · 12:15 am

Belief

Do you believe in fate/destiny?

Beliefs do sometimes beggar,

Who knows what’s true or not

We must never I think say never,

Or give up when we cannot

Follow a path we don’t understand,

And drop that crystal ball we carry in our hand.

To watch it shatter,our dreams within it held

Our future and senses relinquished and quelled.

For what does the future hold

That my friend is a story yet untold

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February 28, 2025 · 2:39 am

I kind of miss ….

Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.

I do kind of miss when I was ten and my mum,my dad and my three brothers and sister all lived at home.

That was when everyone was beginning to go their separate ways.Until then,we were a functioning unit.

I suppose I knew it was ending and in truth never wanted to have to say goodbye…but I suppose I did…the child in me still feels the warmth of family life.

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February 27, 2025 · 6:01 pm

The Dog That Inherited A Palace Chapter 14

©GeraldineBanksFebruary2025

Tedi was very annoyed with himself, he had brought all this trouble on him and the House through his own carelessness. Cross had tried to tell him not to go wandering off by himself, that he was at risk of being kidnapped and now it had happened.

The first night he was there he had been let out in the garden accompanied by one of his minders, the same thing had happened the next morning. However, it had been a while since anyone had came, and there had been a lot of noise in the house. Tedi thought he heard the whining of puppies and barking of dogs somewhere but he wasn’t sure where. There were slamming of doors as well as regular arguments and men and women shouting.

Suddenly the door opened and a little boy aged about ten came in the room. He looked very uncared for and very thin and there were holes in his teeshirt and jeans. He closed the door very gently and walked up to Tedi and said.

” You alright little fellow?” and bent down and rubbed Tedi on his tummy.

Tedi looked up at him with his big eyes and gave him his paw.

” Aw you are so cute, I wish you were mine. I’ll wait until it’s clear and get you some nice biscuits and some fresh food. The door hasn’t got a lock on it , so as long as no one sees me coming in and out you and I can be friends. I can’t stay long but I’ll be back.” The little boy tickled Tedi under the chin and stood up and quietly went out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Tedi watched as the little hand of the boy closed the door gently. The little dog saw this as a ray of hope and it cheered him up.

Later that evening the little boy came in again and this time he had some kibble biscuits and half a tin of fresh dog food. Tedi had to eat it out of the tin but the little boy helped him, he gobbled up the biscuits and then the little boy poured some fresh water into one of the bowls.

” That will keep you going for a while, I’ll just take a little out at a time, they never feed the dogs enough.” He said.

Tedi looked up gratefully and held his paw out in thanks. ” I wonder how many dogs are here?” He thought to himself.

“That’s alright, they’ll be up later to take you out in the garden, I’ll be going to bed , but if you look up you’ll see my window, it’ll have the light on. I’ll make sure you’re alright little one.” Again the little boy left the room very quickly.

Tedi was amazed , who was this little boy? Sure enough, that night the man came with the slip lead and roughly dragged Tedi out to the garden. Fortunately, when they reached downstairs, he just let him go into the garden as it was totally enclosed. Sure enough Tedi looked up at the back of the building and timed it just as he took his wee. There, indeed,was a light on in the window.

Tedi counted the floors and the position. Perhaps he may visit the little boy some time, maybe not tonight, but he knew where he was. The strange man put the collar over Tedi’s head again and pulled him roughly. Tedi cooperated resentfully so as not to get hurt. He was tired and wanted to go to bed. Once he got back to the smelly , dark room, he lay on the floor and fell soundly asleep.

Unbeknown to Tedi , the Police had enough information to know the location of where he was being kept and they were watching the house.

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February 27, 2025 · 3:26 am

Omniable The Person

Prompt :If I could be someone else for a day , who would you be, and why?

Well here I am as the person that AI said I would like to be and in truth he doesn’t look too shabby. The name Omniable comes from my blog name and then the search was for a person. So if I could be someone else for a day this is who I would be.

Namaste and thank you for reading, may your omni being go with you.

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