Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Accidental Murder Case. Chapter 10. Victor.
Another day and another night. “So, what kind of plan do we have Steve?” asked Sky. “I am not really sure yet,” I said, “I know what I would like to do, but too many people know me now.” “Not many people know me,” Sky said, “can I fill the spot for you?” “You would be good for it,” I said, “except this would be something for 2 people, I would never let you go alone. To be honest, I would not want you to go at all.”
“But you said I would be good for the job,” she replied, “why the change?” “No change,” I said, “I just do not want you doing something like this.” She looks at me. “Does this mean you do know what is going on around you?” she asked. I smiled. “Yes, I always know, well, almost always,” I said, “sometimes I am just a bit slow to catch on. Or perhaps I am afraid.” “You? Afraid? Of what?” she asked with a quizzical look, “are you afraid of me?”
“No, not at all,” I said putting my head down. “This time I get to lift up your head,” she said smiling, “I understand what you mean. There is no hurry.” Meow.=They sure practice lots. Meow,meow.=That not practice, that real. Meow.=Ohhhh. Right then Sigurbjorn came in for my massage. We talked a bit more about Mandi, I was just not sure if we could trust her completely yet. The girls agreed. “There is something strange about Mandi,” said Sigurbjorn, “I am not sure what it is though.
But I do think she is trying to play both sides in this. If something goes wrong with Alonzo, then she has us for protection. She might even be giving info about our movements to Alonzo.” “Yes, I was wondering about that too,” I said, “so from now on we keep things very quiet around her, except what we want her to know. Just as a little test for her.”
“Angel did find Mandi’s secret phone,” said Sigurbjorn, “but nothing exciting on it. She has called Alonzo, just twice, both were fairly short calls, especially one. She has a texting friend, named G, but nothing much there either, just talking about normal stuff, how she hates this castle, she wants to move to Paris, travel the world, buy a huge country estate, learn to fly, not much else really. But something that got me in that is she has no money to do any of that.”
“Yes, that is true,” said Sky, “still, it is not unusual to have dreams of what we would like to do.” Strange, Sky seemed to emphasize ‘dreams’ in that sentence. Just then the cats growled at the door. Sigurbjorn got ready with her gun and stood by the door while I pulled it open. But no one was out there, or anywhere in the hall. The cats looked. Meow,meow.=Someone by door, we know. Meow.=Yep, absolute someone.
“Well, too late now,” I said, “if someone was there, they could have quickly disappeared into a hidden passageway. You may as well head back to your bedroom Sigurbjorn.” She did so while I watched until she was safely inside. “I do not like that,” said Sky, “someone else is here, but who?” “Yes, I would like to know that too,” I said. “Should we go looking?” she asked. “No, it is too late, and I am tired,” I said, “but tomorrow we go looking for more hidden passageways.”
It was a long night. I did not get much sleep thinking about what to do next. We need to trap Alonzo and Betty. I wonder if Alonzo’s wife knows about Betty? “You are not sleeping yet Steve,” said Sky, “what is wrong?” “Just trying to figure things out,” I said, “what exactly is Alonzo up to?” “Stop thinking and sleep,” she said, “staying awake all night will not help things. But if you insist on staying awake, then talk so I can hear you too.” We did talk for a while, then I fell asleep.
After breakfast Annelie called so Sky and I went back to our bedroom. “The man in charge of that area is Victor, a hard man with no conscience,” she said, “he eliminates anyone who gets in is way. He would have had someone in that area, and it is strange he does not know of his disappearance. But apparently Alonzo and Betty have been in touch with Victor and want to talk with him about this area and expanding into Germany. So, Victor is sending ‘the Major’ up to talk with them.”
“And who is ‘the Major’?” I asked her. “No one knows his name,” she said, “he uses a different name with everyone he meets. It seems that John knows of Victor and the Major.” “Hmm, that is interesting,” I said, “I have a plan…”
To Be Continued.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
Hope your plan is well thought out and has an element of surprise. Hope you and the team are able to find all the hidden passageways in the castle. It is dangerous to have people outside of your door.
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Well, this plan will be used only if we have to do so. First I want to find these hidden passageways and hopefully find the room that Alonzo is using for his forgery. Then we can start to lay the trap for him and Betty. Yes, I do not like the idea of people spying on us. They may have heard something and that is not good. 🤔👩😾😾😾🕵️♂️
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Glad you are going to find the hidden passageways and the forgery room, along with other rooms. It is so important to know all that is there so you are not blindsided.
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Yes indeed! We want to know exactly what is going on before we can make our move. And finding as much evidence as we can is important right now. Hopefully without any more accidental murders! 🤔👩🕵️♂️
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Now we’ll get to see how goid John is at this!! Mandi may not be as timid as she makes out!
She grew up with Alonzo and something made him turn hard and I suspect it would done the same to Mandi… don’t you think?🤔
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Yes, hopefully it will work out well. John knows his business, so I am sure it will work. I hope. I am just not sure my plan will work. It only takes a tiny misstep and someone is dead. Alonzo could have gotten in with a bad crowd after he grew up, which would not affect Mandi, unless he got her involved, and those pictures show that he did to an extent anyway. They are both tough to figure out. 🤔👩😾😾😾🕵️♂️
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This week should be interesting learning more about both!!🤔
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Yes, I am quite sure we will find out some interesting things about these two. And perhaps someone else as well. 🤔👩🕵️♂️
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Oooo… now that sounds ominous!😬😳😲
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I like to toss in those thoughts now and then. But there could be some, um, action parts coming up. And maybe something else might happen too. Or not. 🤔👩🕵️♂️
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Action sequences!!😊😀 Ssssweeettt!!!! Can’t wait!!😁
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But it could also mean someone gets killed, like, like, no, that couldn’t happen. 😲👩🕵️♂️
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Not you!!😳😲
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No, I’m safe, if I get killed, that ends the series, so that won’t happen, yet. 🤔👩🕵️♂️
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Better not be Sky!!😳 She’s kinda the center of attention now!🤔
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Well, she is the newest team member. She’s the center of attention? What happened to me? 😲👩🕵️♂️
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Sorry….🙄 but she’s kinda taken over the story!! She seems to have your number!!😂😂
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She does have a way about her that attracts attention. Even Muffin agrees! 😲👩😺🕵️♂️
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That she does!! Some wo.en are line that!!🙄🙄
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Yep, Sky took over right from her entrance to the story. I wanted someone in there that was a little different. 🤔👩🕵️♂️
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Mission accomplished there!!😉😁😂
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Thank you! Maybe I will keep her a while longer. Or not. 😲👩🕵️♂️
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😳😲🤔🤨
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😲😲😬😬
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I know!! Scary 😨 huh!!
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Yep.
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