What I had suggested to Jon the previous night went against management policy at The Gentle Touch. Being owned by a crime syndicate, I could easily be...disposed of and found floating in the Yarra River for holding out on them with their precious money. Around 8:15am, the phone rang; it was Jon calling to confirm he wanted me for the remaining nine days. Jon informed me he had to meet with Rupert Hamer, the Premier of Victoria and some of his ministers regarding a possible nuclear plant to be. The scrutiny felt very odd and my body had begun to tingle with uncertainty. “Miles?” It was then that I noticed the other dark figures surrounding us. Several men stood close, one had a hold on Smyth’s other arm. “You’re not going anywhere Bess. You will do as you are told and you will be quiet while you are here, or you’ll find yourself in a worse condition than this silly bitch.” He waved his palm towards Lorris. Smyth, I had noticed, had gone deathly white and very quiet. Her hand gripping. ”I handed over a two-pound coin, then put the CDs in my coat pocket, and the little data card in my jacket pocket for safety. We went out together to the counter, and the manager handed his assistant the two pounds.“Payment for two CDs, Prescott. Can you ring that through and give Mr. Jeeves a receipt?”“Certainly, sir.”I accepted the till receipt, politely thanked them both, then added, “Still no camera tripod in stock?”. The manager confirmed that, so I left. I tried the other charity shop in. If you would like, I can get it now and help put it in.”Her face lit up and she nodded. “I’ll follow any rules you give me Master, and I would love if you would help me with my tail. I wish you were just going to claim me early, but I’ve gotten very good with my fingers. Your pets have given me a lot of advice on how to take care of my needs while still keeping my pledge.”I waved Katherine over as I led Violet to the docks and on to the pontoon boat. I had her bend over the seat as Katherine.