For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Calanthe comes back into the library about an hour later and says the other servants have gone to bed and she will be also and she wanted to see if I needed anything first. “A cup of tea would be nice,” I said. “Perfect,” she answered, “I just made some.” She showed me to my bedroom first and then brought the tea in and sat down to have a cup with me. I asked her about the other servants. She said there were 7 of them, but 2 were away on vacation right now. I won’t worry about them. “There is Karl, the butler and driver, I’m afraid of him,” said Calanthe. “Why is that?”, I ask her. “I really don’t know, but he never says anything kind to anyone except Linnea and Giselle,” she said, “and I just get shivers when I have to be alone with him. No one knows anything about him, he won’t talk about his past or family or friends. But he did come with a good recommendation from his previous employer.
Then there is Giselle, she hates me because she loves Karl and she thinks I’m interested in him too. I don’t even want to be near him! There is Francois, the cook, he’s the oldest one here and an excellent cook. He likes to talk, but there is something about him that bothers me too, but I just don’t know why. He changes when he talks about his parents owning this chateau years ago. He gets very serious then, and he hasn’t talked about that now for a long time. Then there is Henri, the handyman, a very good worker, dependable, always willing to help. I think he is the nicest person here, next to Linnea, and I think Linnea really likes him too.” Then she finished off her tea and went to her bedroom which was just down the hall.
There was an empty bedroom between us that was used by one of the vacationing servants. The cats and I had searched the bedroom for listening devices before Calanthe came with the tea, and there was nothing. I wanted to make sure no one was listening to the information that Calanthe was sharing with me. “Well you two, what do you think?”, I asked the cats. Meow,meow.=Me think human Calanthe is very nice, I trust her. Meow.=Yep, me agree, she can be trusted, don’t like human Karl, he give strange feeling. Meow,meow.=Yep, me agree, not like him, something bad with him. That’s interesting, I thought to myself, considering they didn’t see him much. Meow,meow.=Also not like human Giselle, she also bad. Meow.=Yep, that true, not trust her.
Hmm, and we haven’t met Henri or Francois yet. Francois, the cook, is still the main suspect. Perhaps Karl and Giselle are working with him, or perhaps those two are hiding something, maybe they are behind the thefts around here. Calanthe also mentioned hearing footsteps coming from the top floor, but that floor is always locked, no one is allowed up there. She has also heard weird type laughter down here. That’s not hard to do, just use some small hidden speakers. We waited about an hour to hopefully make sure everyone was sleeping, then the cats and I went up to the third floor to look around. Linnea had given me the keys before she left, so this is a good time to check. That storm was still raging out there, worst storm I have seen in a long time. Once upstairs I locked the door behind us, I don’t like people sneaking up on us. It’s unfortunate the electricity isn’t working, but I do have a good flashlight.
I didn’t put the cat’s mini headlamps on them this time, I want them to stay hidden in the shadows. That constant lightning, which had slowed down for the last hour, is back again. It does give a lot of light in the rooms however. Every room is furnished, and are mostly bedrooms. One room was quite large, a sitting room, and there was some kerosene lamps so I lit them. This is very nice indeed. The cats were busy checking out the whole room, there appeared to be no listening devices up here anywhere. Hmm, another copy of that fictional book I was reading, sitting on a small table, and the book was open. Hmm, this is interesting…suddenly I was grabbed from behind, being choked, can’t…”Thwock!” and a groan behind me as someone fell. Both cats came running over. Meow,meow!=I got ghost, but he disappear! She was right, no one was there, but that was no ghost that choked me.
To Be Continued.
Pictures of Mr. Cat are kindly supplied by his human, Nina.
Previous chapters of this story and previous story, can be found on my home page under “The Investigators, Inc.” Previous stories in this series from last year can also be found on my home page under “20/20 Investigations, Inc.”
Β©2021 Steve McLeod.
Now how do you shot a ghost?π€π€
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It’s not easy, you have to hold your tongue just right.ππ
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Your tongue huh?πππππ so can you show me? That visual is a little tough for me to imagine!ππππππ€π€π€π€
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It was Muffin that shot the ghost, not me!πΎπΎ And she hit him too!πΈπΈ Not bad at all.ππΎπΎ
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That was a grest shot! But where is it??π€π€
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Muffin’s muffin that she shot at the ghost was on the floor beside me.π€πΈ
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But no ghost?
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No, it disappeared through the wall.
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Ghosts aren’t real!! You said so yourself! So how could it go through the wall?π€π€
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No ghost could choke me like that! He’s real and alive. But how he went through the wall is a mystery.π³πππ»
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Then it’s good that you guys are on the case!!π€¨π€
My guess would be a hidden door! In the wall or floor!
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Yep, that’s what I figure too, but how could it open and close so fast the cats didn’t see it?π€π³
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Maybe… it’s a skeptical illusion?π€π
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That’s a good thought to think about thinking about.π€π³ππ
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That was my thinking!π€ Maybe the ligjtening is acting lime a strobe light?
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That lightning can do strange things alright, so maybe it just “looked” like he went through the wall!π€ππΎπΎ
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Ah ha!! That’s it!
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Yep, that’s it, I’m finished, time for bed, and hopefully some sleep too.π₯±π₯±π΄π΄ππ
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I sure hope so! Not being to sleep makes for a long night with pain.
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For sure. Good night!
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Good Night! Sleep Well!! Talk tomorrow??
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Sure thing! I’ll be around!
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Great!π
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πππI have questions about Calanthe π€, but will wait…π
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Yes, I do too. Can she really be trusted? She seems quite eager to give out information, but why?π€πππ΅οΈββοΈ
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π€π€π³π¬. Yes, why?
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But maybe she is just trying to be helpful.π€π³π
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Or setting things up… π³. How was Linnea able to get through to her when the power was out due to the storm and Lina could not even reach you? π€
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Yes, that is an interesting thought isn’t it? Maybe she is setting things up, for whatever reason. But where is Lena?π€π³
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Lena*
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Yes, I was wondering about the whereabouts of Lena. π€ Hope she is okay. π¬
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Yes, so do I. After all, she did come here, or did she? That part is still strange, but I’m sure she will show up again, but how….π³ππ
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There, but not there…π³π€
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Scary getting choked ! How could the person enter when the cats are so alert …hmmm…someone heard you talking althoβ you checked for βbugsβ… it probably came in the tea tray or teacup and saucer …thankfully , the cats have been well trained in the slingshots ! βοΈβοΈπ΅οΈββοΈπ©πΎπΎπ€π€
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Well, the door was open, so easy to get in and the cats were occupied with looking around. But how did he get out so fast, especially after being wounded?π€πππ΅οΈββοΈ
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Not a ghost More secret holes in the walls Hmmmm?
Take Five minutes to Laugh
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Muffin claims he went through the wall. I’m surprised he got away so fast after Muffin shot him. But who was it?
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I still don’t trust Calanthe
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To be honest, neither do I. But right now I don’t trust anyone except the cats!
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Good point
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Oh no ππ nothing good can come out from this! Iβm just happy you had the cats with you! πΎπΎ
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Yes indeed, without the cats it would have been the end of Steve!π³πΎπΎπ΅οΈββοΈ
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Francois does sound like a strong suspect. Keen to see who the “ghost” was π΅οΈββοΈ
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Yes, I would like to see that ghost as well!π€πππ΅οΈββοΈπ©π»
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