The Investigators, Inc. The Lost Doll. Chapter 8.

Meow,meow.=There is reason, he going back to nowhere, must bring him back quickly or we lose him. And yes, there is gold, it drugs, hidden in plain view, but need to find doll first. “Hey,” said Jennifer, “maybe we’re not looking for a real doll. Maybe something else, like a picture, or an ornament.” “There is a lot of ornaments in this house, I haven’t been paying attention to them, but that would fit being hidden in plain view,” said Kat, “and a picture would as well, though I haven’t seen a picture of a doll.”

Meow,meow.=Maybe we not looking right. Remember what Annelie do to Rock one morning? He come in and say “good morning doll”, and she slap him hard. Kat and Jennifer laughed as they remembered that morning. “That’s a good thought Muffin,” said Kat, “these people just might use the word ‘doll’ to refer to a woman, not a toy doll. That would also keep things a bit more secretive.” “Yes,” said Jennifer, “that’s a good possibility, there are a lot of portraits of beautiful women in this house. Perhaps some directions are on the back of a portrait.”

“Well, it’s worth taking a look,” said Kat, and she called Annelie and told her and Rock to come back. I started sweating and sat up quickly, holding my head and screaming. Kat got me to lie down again. Annelie came in shortly after and took a look at me. “Muffin says he’s headed back to ‘nowhere’ again,” said Kat, getting rather anxious now. “Yes, I’m sure he is,” replied Annelie, “it’s because of that drug mixture they gave to Steve. But I’m afraid they will react badly with Steve’s regular medicine. But I can give him a shot that will calm him down a bit.”

“Good, do that,” said Kat, “Jennifer, call Baldwin, tell him to get in touch with Steve’s doctor about those drugs.” She did so right away. Baldwin was very concerned about this, but he was unable to get hold of my regular doctor. So he called the original doctor that had treated me the first time. That doctor agreed with Annelie, that the drugs might cause a very unfavorable reaction which could end up being deadly. They need something to counteract those drugs first. Baldwin relayed that information to Jennifer, and she told the others.

Rock had just come in from outside and heard the news also. “Danny showed me the door,” said Rock, “he’s outside enjoying a nap at the moment. Maybe there’s some kind of antidote in that doctor’s lab.” “We’ll have to try and find out,” said Annelie. “You will have to go Annelie,” said Kat, “we’ll need your medical knowledge. Rock, you come with us too, and M.C.” “Hey, I’m going too,” said Jennifer, “you need to stay with Steve.” “No, I want you to stay with Steve,” said Kat, “please. And Muffin will be with you.” “Okay, if you insist,” said Jennifer.

After they left Jennifer started looking at the pictures in the bedroom. There was one of a young woman so she looked at the back, but there was nothing there. Then she remembered that every room had a picture of a woman hanging on one of the walls. But they were all different from what she could remember. Then she thought about the large portrait in the living room, she was sure it was identical to this one, just larger. And there was a mantel under it, which she thought was somewhat out of place. She told Muffin about it.

Meow,meow.=M.C. and me think there is fireplace in that wall. Outside the wall is 4 feet longer than inside, lots of space to hide fireplace. “So Steve was talking about an old case to make you think about now and where we need to look,” said Jennifer. Meow,meow=Yep, he not able to talk right, so he did best thing he could to give us clue. “And he aimed the clue at you,” she added, “does that mean he doesn’t trust anyone else?” Meow,meow.=No, not mean that, it just best way he could talk. Just then I got up, yelling, and holding my head.

Jennifer tried to calm me down but I tried to punch her and missed. She then put her knee in my stomach and put a kick to my head, not too hard, but enough to stop me. She then put me back on the bed, crying again. Meow,meow.=Not worry, you had to do this, my human not be mad about it. And she gave Jennifer a hug. Meow,meow=Me know, me understand. Meanwhile, the others were in the underground lab and Annelie had found what she needed for me. Kat got another distress call from Muffin and she told the others, “more trouble, let’s get going!” They all ran fast, but M.C. was there first. MEOW!!

To Be Continued.

Photos of M.C. are kindly provided by his human, Nina.

Previous chapters of this story, and other stories, can be found on my home page under “The Investigators, Inc.”

©2021 Steve McLeod.