For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
It seems like I have been sleeping and dreaming the last nearly 3 months. Nothing seems real even though I can remember everything that happened. It is good to be back to myself again. Now I am getting acquainted with our new PI team members. Our team is getting bigger all the time. Annelie still has her eyes on Rock, but all that he thinks about is eating and exercising. I must have a talk with him one of these days, before Annelie gives up. Baldwin needs to get married too, unfortunately he is the oldest in our group, except for Chung who just turned 56. And Baldwin is now 55.
Kristina is 24, the youngest of the group and Candace is next at 25. Rock and Annelie are 32, and really, they are a good match. Well, here we are heading to that old house again. We were going to head off to Panama and look for John, but we decided it would be better to deal with him on our terms, not on his. He would likely be well protected at his place, but maybe if he knows we are at the house, which he now owns, he just might come out and confront us.
That is what we want, but we will see if that happens. Right now we are flying across the ocean in one of Baldwin’s newest jets, his new private jet, almost as big as a commercial jet and the inside is just amazing, very spacious and comfortable. However, it is night, so we spent most of our time sleeping, we need to be fresh for the day ahead. Once there we decided that only a few of us would go at a time, so we don’t scare John away, if he is there.
So Rock, Annelie, the cats, Kat and I went first to look around and see what we could find. The place was still empty, it looked very much like the very first time we went there, just Muffin and I. About mid afternoon I had finished going over the books, but nothing there seemed familiar at all. Yet apparently, when I was Bernard, there was a significant book of some kind that gave a clue, for whatever reason. But nothing stood out for me among the books, and it did not look like anything had been disturbed on that bookcase. Both Muffin and I tried hard to remember details of that first case.
All of our notes from our earlier cases were burned along with my house in Canada. I did have copies in a safety deposit box at the bank, but apparently someone came in pretending to be me and took everything. They must have stolen my key from the house before burning it. While we were all upstairs on that third floor, we heard some noises that appeared to be coming from downstairs, perhaps in the basement. Kind of groaning noises with sort of a hollow sound.
Annelie and Muffin did not like the sound at all. “Don’t worry Annelie,” said Rock, “nobody will hurt you with me around.” Hmm, maybe Rock is thinking about Annelie after all, I thought to myself. Anyway, we went all the way to the basement but were unable to find anything. Then that same sound came from upstairs. Rock and I ran upstairs while the girls and cats stayed together on the main floor. We still could not find anything so went back downstairs.
Finally we decided to head back to town for a meal. Rock and Annelie stayed behind afterwards and Baldwin and Kristina joined us back at the old house. After those noises I wanted to spend some time there after dark. I think someone is trying to play ghost again. Baldwin and I took MC with us while the girls spent there time on the main floor with Muffin. “Steve, look,” said Baldwin. I turned around just as a glowing figure disappeared into a wall laughing.
I ran to the wall, Baldwin and MC close behind me. MC sniffed around but could not find an opening in the wall, yet there had to be one. The girls came running upstairs and said there was a ghost downstairs that laughed at them. Down we all went. Oddly, Muffin had stayed there to watch. Meow,meow.=Ghost go in fireplace and disappear. I check around, it had been fixed nicely since that first case. Then we heard that groaning again. “That was definitely from the second floor,” said Kristina as she started up the stairs.
“Wait a minute Kristina,” said Kat, “you cannot go alone.” “I’m not letting some fake ghost scare me,” she said. So we all went upstairs to the second floor. We searched each bedroom, but found nothing, so we went back to the main floor. I stood there looking at that portrait again. There is something about that, I know there is, but what?
To Be Continued.
Β©2022 Steve McLeod.
Sounds like Rock isn’t as blind to affection as you may have thought.. now you’ve got to track down that ghost.
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Yes to both thoughts! Maybe there is another relative after all. Or perhaps John hired someone to scare people away from the house. But why would he do that? He must know something about this place that we don’t. Or this ghost knows something. Either way we do need to find that ghost!π€π±ββοΈπΎπΎπ±ββοΈπ©π©π©π©π±ββοΈππππ΅οΈββοΈ
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But the ghost isn’t real, so it’s either someone there or a projection of some kind.
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Yes, it could be a projection, that could explain why we couldn’t find a door upstairs. I think John hired someone to look after the place, so now we have to find out why. If only I could remember what Bernard remembered.π€π
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Maybe you should try hypnotism?π³
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How does one hypnotize a ghost?π€π»
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Very carefully!πππ
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Maybe if I take it’s sheet off first…π€ππ»
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Ooooooo…… that’s bare..ly good idea!!πππ
Then you can see through the disguise π₯Έ ππ
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Hmm, you might have a thought there, if I take the sheet off the ghost would be invisible and get away. Hmm, okay, keep the sheet on then. Wouldn’t work anyway, I don’t have a pocket watch.π€π³πππ€―
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What to do about that book??π€ There was definitely something about it… maybe you should go look at that picture again??ππ
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That’s what I was doing right at the end of the chapter. But that book seems to have an important clue in it about something. And I must have looked in that book before, otherwise I wouldn’t have a memory of it. But before I did not recognize the importance of whatever it was in the book that Bernard recognized as important. Sigh. Someone must have moved that book, all I remember from Bernard is the book was small. There are lots of small books in that bookcase though.π€πππ³π¬ππ
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Is the fireplace the same one with the passage way behind it?π€π
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Well, it had a false bottom originally, which Muffin and I found quite by accident when we went crashing to a passage below that led to the basement. Never understood the reason for that passage, kind of useless. Unless maybe we missed something since we were chasing the ghost at the time.π€π€ππππ»
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Hmmmm…. that might be worth another look see!!ππ
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Yeah, if we can find out how to get back in there again, without falling through the floor which looks like it was rebuilt much more solidly than the first time.π¬ππ
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It was the candle holder on the left side if I recall correctly?ππ€
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Nice try, it was a hook on the inside of the walk in fireplace that was used to hold pots for cooking.ππΈππ
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Oh yeah.. that’s what I meant.. π did I say candle holder? I meant the pot hook on the inside lime you said..πππ€
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I kind of thought that’s what you meant.ππ Wow, this took a long time getting here. Must be that strong north wind out there.π³π³π³
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Yeah, yours are slow π too. I’ve been replying right away.
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Well, this one was fast. My internet keeps going off for short periods tonight, I think that’s it. If it happens again I won’t be back until tomorrow.π³π
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I understand. Maybe it’s the truckers?π³π²
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Yeah, the fumes from all those trucks would stop anything!ππ
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The press sure has been going after Trudeau for the emergency act
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Naturally, he’s the first prime minister to use it as it is. Though his dad used it years ago when it was still called the war measures act.π³π But really, the police should have taken care of the truckers before now anyway. Those guys are trying to take over the country and yet 75% of Canadians are against what they are doing.π
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Yeah the upheaval in a lot of countries now is amazing… so much pent up irritation from the covid protocols..
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Yep, this generation is not used to major problems so it’s hard for us to handle it. People longer ago went through so much that they could handle things better than we can. I’m thinking of the period from 1914 to the end of WWII, it was just one thing after another, far worse than what we have it in this pandemic. I think our much easier way of life has had something to do with it. I have been thinking about that a lot lately.
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People were more accepting of things that happen as being part of life. But now if something happens it must be someone’s fault or it needs to be fixed. You just don’t need to fix everything… or find a solution.. now a days if a pet dies its the end of the world, back when I grew up that was part of life you accept and move on.
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Yes, that is exactly right. I would hate to see what would happen if something else happened right after this, there would be riots for sure. And it wouldn’t have to be another pandemic, a major cyber attack that shut down utilities would do it. What would we do really? No electricity? That would mean no computers, no cell phones, no heat. We couldn’t survive.
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That’s right!! Everything would stop and we’d be right back in the 1800’s and very few would have a clue how to survive.
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That’s for sure. People in the country would have a better chance but even a lot of country dwellers don’t really know how to survive country style.
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Where to get water, how to hunt how to butcher how to start a fire!! Let’s hope it never happens..π
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Yes, there would be panic and chaos everywhere! I agree again. I don’t think I could survive either!π³πππΉ
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People would sure learn quickly how much they actually need each other to survive. Except for those that would steal to survive.
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Yes, people would need to learn cooperation.
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My Instagram feed isn’t working either. That’s a first. Maybe it’s the Russians??π³π²π¬π¬
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They have been doing some cyber attacks in Ukraine lately, so anything is possible.π³π³
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I heard that today!! They cod really cause some problems with the utilities around the world if they wanted.
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Yes, our reliance on computerization has left us rather vulnerable. And the first one to attack that way has the advantage. Can you imagine what would happen if they shut down our electricity alone?π¬π¬
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Especially this time of year?? That would be a shock for a lot of people!
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We would have no heat without electricity, even though it’s gas heat, it needs a fan to blow that heat around or a house gets mighty cold in a hurry!π₯Άπ₯Ά
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That it does. No cars gas ir electric! Gas pumps wouldn’t work…
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Yes, that’s right, even stores couldn’t operate these days.
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Nope no groceries…
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Talk about looting that would take place.π²π²
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Yeah, that’s the side of the human condition I could live without…
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Yep, me too.
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I know it gets boring for you chatting with me every night. I’m just not out and about enough to have much to say everyday. So it’s up to you if you want to chat every night.
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I don’t mind chatting, I enjoy it actually. I never find it boring. I don’t have much to say either really, I’m home every day all day, except Sunday morning and for a short time Monday morning. Unless I can get out for a walk and it’s getting hard to line up a good day healthwise with a good day weatherwise. Sigh.π
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I understand.. I appreciate you keeping me occupied for a few hours. I think I need to start to consider some changes, maybe reverse course on some things. I don’t know that I’m cut out for being on my own. Especially this far from family.
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It isn’t always easy to be on your own that’s for sure. And it is nice to have family close by.
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Yep…
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Good thought you have there, I agree.
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You’re agreeing with my agreeing with your thought?
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Is that what happened? I must say I agree!
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I’m glad we agree!!
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Me too!
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That’s for sure!!
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Most posilutely! Oops, look at that time again, wow, that sure went fast tonight.
Sorry to cut it oof, but…
Good night Dusty! Back tomorrow with more fun and adventure!πππ΄π΄
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Alright.. good Night! Enjoy your sleep.
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You too!
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Okay!
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Can you describe exactly what was in the painting ? Is it an oil painting ? I am a bit curious…some fireplaces have hidden stairs…watch your back ! π΅οΈββοΈπ©π©π©πΌπΌ
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It was described in that first case, but I will describe it in tomorrow’s chapter. Yes, an oil painting, and old of the original owner of the house. Or is it? Muffin and I couldn’t find anything in the fireplace originally, except the bottom fell out dropping us to the basement! It has since been fixed, so perhaps a secret door has been added. But why is John so curious about this place? Did he hire this ghost to scare people away? Or is there actually another relative pretending to be a ghost? Either way we must find the ghost.π€π±ββοΈπΎπΎπ±ββοΈπ©π©π©π©π±ββοΈππππ΅οΈββοΈ
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