Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Inheritance. Chapter 11.
Looking over this little book briefly I notice a few interesting points about this chateau. Right from it’s earliest days it has been plagued with accidental deaths and murders, right up to the time the book was written, which was in the 1930’s. Apparently when the chateau was built they actually found some gold, not exactly common in this country but it has happened. They made some gold dishes, a shield and a couple of swords from this gold, plus a small crown for the original owner of the chateau and it was adorned with some beautiful jewels as well. All of this was kept in what was called the ‘treasure room’, a special room under the chateau among the rooms and passageways that were made for safety. But the location of that room has been lost, or forgotten, over the years and every owner has spent considerable time looking for it. Now we have something solid.
“That’s why Linnea hired us,” I said, “she found out about this treasure and wanted to look for it, likely telling at least one of the servants about it.” “That would probably be Henri,” said Calanthe. “Right,” I said, “and others found out what was going on so strange things began to happen which frightened Linnea, so she hired us to help her locate this treasure room, but she never had a chance to fully tell me what was going on. She didn’t like to talk about things inside where others could hear.” “That’s true,” said Calanthe, “whenever she wanted to talk to me privately, we always went outside.” Right then a huge gust of wind blew open the window in the room, so I ran over to close it quickly. I think that made all of us jump. I turned around, Calanthe was gone!
“Come cats!” I called to them and we all rushed into the hall. A flash of lightning lit up the entire hallway from the window at the far end. And right there…hanging from the ceiling…Calanthe!! I grabbed a chair from the room and cut her down as quickly as I could…it was too late. But it was not Calanthe! I wonder who this woman is? “They have Calanthe,” I said quietly, “I wonder where we will find her body.” Meow.=Not worry, we start to look for her right away. Meow,meow=Yes, we look fast, we find her. “But how do we look?,” I asked, “there are likely passageways in here we don’t even know about, Calanthe could be anywhere by now.”
Suddenly the cats ears go straight up! I turn…”Calanthe! What happened?”, I asked. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I needed to use the washroom.” “Next time Muffin will go with you, it’s just not safe,” I said. Calanthe hugged me again. Calanthe looked, “it’s Adalene!” I put her body in one of the bedrooms, then we all went back to the sitting room. “Is Adalene one of the servants on vacation?,” I ask Calanthe. “Yes, but they must be here. Claudin is her husband. He is tall, like Henri, but not heavy built like him, yet he is very strong, stronger than Henri. They used to wrestle in the yard and Claudin would always win. You do not want to fight with him,” she said. “Well, that’s good to know,” I said, “always use my gun. So, we have Francois, Karl, Claudin and Linnea.” “Also Claudin has a terrible temper, only his wife could control him,” added Calanthe.
“Is Linnea behind all of this?,” I ask, “or is she a prisoner right now? Are they looking for the treasure and think she knows where it is? Or is none of this about the treasure? It’s still kind of confused. Perhaps they are trying to hurt Linnea, or me, or both of us. But why?” Mostly I’m just thinking out loud, trying to figure things out. Calanthe also said that Claudin would do anything for his wife, so why would he let someone kill her? Or was he in a fit of anger and killed her accidentally and then hung her up, or someone did, as a warning? Questions, I want answers. We need to go back to the passageways under the chateau. Hmm, the fireplace in here is exactly the same as the one which took us to the passages the first time. I check around and sure enough, the whole fireplace swung open and off we went into the darkness…
To Be Continued.
Pictures of Mr. Cat are kindly supplied by his human, Nina.
Previous chapters of this story and other stories from this year and last year can be found on my home page under “The Investigators, Inc.” and “20/20 Investigations, Inc.”
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
Hoping more will be revealed in the passageway. 🤔 So Calanthe checked in with the killer or killers when you all were distracted with the window. That is my theory because everyone jumped and she chose that moment to go to the washroom….mighty suspicious. 🤨. Be careful Steve, Muffin and Mr. Cat! 😬😳
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Or Calanthe checked in with someone else and is really on the “good side.”
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But if she did, then why didn’t she tell us?🤔
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I must admit, it does seem a bit suspicious to head off right at that precise moment.🤔🙄 Still, a sudden scare like that can do it to some people, so that’s always a possibility.😳 But yes, we do need to be careful, perhaps she’s leading us into a trap?😬🙀🙀🕵️♂️👩
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That is true on a good scare doing that, but still…. 🤔 She has not being completely honest with you. 🤨 Yes, please be careful. 😳 Yes, just trust the cats!
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You’re right. I really do want to trust Calanthe, but, there are some things that cause me to doubt her intentions.🤔 So I’m watching carefully,😳 especially since the latest episode, just too suspicious to ignore it.😬
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Wow ! Things are happening quickly ! Frankly I trust nobody right now…except the cats ! Watch out for seemingly good actions ! ☕️☕️🕵️♂️👩🙀🙀
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Yes, things have begun to happen, it’s been a busy night and it’s not over yet! Yep, watching everyone closely!😳😾😾🕵️♂️👩
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Hmm, I already sense there is more than meets the eye with Calanthe! Best beware! 👁🤨🙀🙀☕️☕️
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Yes, I would like to trust her, but, after this last episode I will have to watch her carefully.🤔😾😾🕵️♂️👩
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Wow a passage way…. oohh….. it is getting exciting now, so now you worry about Calanthe? 😀 i knew she is a case,a suspect. well done so far, now looking forward to see what and all you are going to explore under the passageway 😀 have a lovely Sunday 😉
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Aha, you have caught up now.😀 We still have several suspects,🤔 Francois, Karl, Claudin, Linnea and Calanthe, all the others are dead now.😬 Perhaps Linnea is dead too, I haven’t seen her since she went to town with Karl and Francois.🤔 those two are back, so Linnea must be back, but we will likely just find her body I guess. But now, to explore this passageway!😁😾😾🕵️♂️👩🧐
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😄 I was determined to complete reading today 😁 Linnea is safe or not 🤔 that’s a question and like you said Karl Francois Calanthe Claudin is left, not sure who is going to be dead next, and what will you do with all the dead bodies 🤔 so many bodies to take care of… right now, let’s go with the passage first..
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Careful!
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Yes, I keep getting the feeling that I’m walking into a trap.🤔🙀🙀🕵️♂️👩
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A treasure room…of course there’s a treasure and people go crazy for treasures 😔 but from where are all these dead people? What a vacation these servants had…😣
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Somehow I think all these servants are working together, but some of them didn’t realize how it would end. Of course, they may have been forced to help out like Calanthe was told to stay in her room or she would be “dealt” with by Karl. Hmm, so many possibilities.🤔🙀🙀🕵️♂️👩
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Let me think Could Calanthe have done anything more suspicious than that?? NO! And just who was the woman who looked like Linnea who was stabbed in her bed. What if it was Calanthe’s body that was hung up and Adaline has taken her place and name? That would explain why Claudin is still under control. His wife is alive
Laugh a while See what happens
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Hmm, all very valid points indeed. I must admit, what Calanthe did was too suspicious, though it is possible, but…
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Wow, there’s too many passageways in this place. Calanthe seems a little sketchy but I’m not sure. Looking forward to seeing what happens now 🕵️♀️
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The next, and odd, chapter is out. Is Calanthe trustworthy? I want to think so, but…🤔😾😾🕵️♂️👩
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