Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Lost Puppy Case. Chapter 13. Strange Things Again.
It would have been interesting to see the faces of that group in the living room that morning. “Well, mom,” said Thomas, “we got rid of aunt Denise for you, now we want to see some money.” “I have to wait until those people find the jewels,” she said, “you know that.” “Well, you did get money selling this chateau,” he reminded her. “Yes, and Mack took that from me,” she said, “so I have nothing. Besides, you did not get rid of her body like I told you.”
“Yes we did,” said Thomas, “we put her in that pond about 30km from here, and we tied weights to her feet so she would sink. No one will find her.” “You idiot, her body was found by these people in a trunk in the basement,” she said. The men looked at each other. “That is impossible mom,” he said, “I tied the weights on her feet myself. And we stayed until she sunk just to make sure.” “I tell you they found her body in the basement,” she said quite irritated now, “and the police are involved now.
They said it looks like she drowned and that something was tied to her feet alright and they can’t figure that out since she was in that trunk in the basement.” “Maybe someone watched us,” said Bernard, “and fished her body out and brought her back here.” “That would be stupid,” said Sofie, “too easy to get caught doing that. And you knew about that secret door to the basement Thomas.”
“So did that boyfriend of yours,” he retorted, “maybe he brought the body back.” “He was not even here at the time,” she reminded him, “now things are more complicated.” “How could you sell the chateau when you do not own it?” asked Pierre. Everyone looked at each other. “Well, I am her closest relative, and she is dead, so it would naturally go to me,” said Sofie. “But is there a will?” he asked again, “if not it would take a while to settle the estate. Until then you cannot legally sell it.”
“But I did already,” she said, “so what can anyone do?” “They might ask questions, like, how did you know Denise was dead already,” he answered, “that would be hard to explain.” “Well, we will not worry about that right now,” she said snorting, “the important thing now is Denise’s body, how do we explain that one?” “That is your problem mother, “said Thomas. “No, it is our problem,” she reminded him, “if the police start giving me a hard time, you will come into this as well, I will see to that.”
“Do not press your luck mother,” he said, “or you might find yourself taking a bath too.” Then the men got up and left. Sofie was red with anger when she got back into the kitchen. “That nephew of mine,” she said, “he gets me so angry sometimes. It is not my fault his mother was found dead in here!” “Well, do not let him bother you,” said Galyna, “just relax and have some coffee until the police get here.” “The police!” she gasped, “what are they coming here for?”
“Since it was your sister, they need to ask some questions,” answered Galyna, “like who her friends might have been, any boyfriends, any problems she had, or debts, that sort of thing.” “Oh, yes, I guess they would want to know those things to find out who killed her,” she admitted, “but I really do not know much about her personal life really.” “Any little bit might be of help,” she said, “and mention her son for sure, there may have been problems between the two of them.”
“Hmm, that is possible,” said Sofie. But she is thinking about how careful she needs to be when talking with the police. Any little slip about Denise or her son, she has to remember that she is supposed to be Denise and the dead woman is her. Oh my, she thought, one slip and the police would be arresting her for killing Denise, but really it was her son that did it. And she will tell the police that too! And she will be sure to say it was all his idea and he forced her to go along with it or he would kill her too.
After all, he even said today that he would kill her. That would be a great way to get rid of him for good, then she could enjoy the wealth from all those jewels all by herself. This might be better than she thought going into this deal with Mack. She did not care about Mack anyway, he came to her about finding those jewels, something she knew nothing about until then.
But one thing bothered her, how did her sisters body get back into the basement? Someone else is in on this too, but who? She was scared now, but she did not dare show that to anyone. “If you would like Denise,” said Galyna, “I could stay with you while the police interview you, to help you remember details, and just be some support for you.” “Oh, that would be so nice,” said Sofie, “thank you so much.”
To Be Continued.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
So mysterious and very unexpected ! 😳😯 Waiting for more info ! 🤭❗️Interesting plot…Please be careful ! 🕵️♂️👩🦰😼😼🎄
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Yes, very unexpected! Someone else is involved, but who? And how? Yes indeed, we shall be careful! 🤔👩😼😼😼🕵️♂️💎
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It seems that Denise/Sophie has got herself into a bit of a tight spot! Between her nephew and the police she’s walking a razors edge with her answers! But what I don’t understand is how she will get the jewels from you if she’s already sold the house to Sky?🤔 She has no legal right to them, unless it were included in the purchase of the property, but you would have had your lawyers make sure that didn’t happen! Very odd this case…. it seems lost a bit, kinda meandering around with no clear direction as to where the jewels are or who maybe after them…. 🤔🤔
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Yes, Sofie has to be careful now, especially since her son has entered the picture. She has to remember to call him her nephew and not her son or problems will arise, especially when the police talk to her. Well, since she is pretending to be the wife of Ben, she could say the jewels are hers since he could have claimed them. It would be tough though for anyone to just claim them, it would go to court first anyway. Lost? Only the puppy is lost, both Sofie and her son want the jewels, but where they are is another story. We have to find that lost puppy first and the answer to that is lost with the death of Denise. Perhaps she hid it somewhere because she knew that Sofie was after the jewels. Not all things are discovered with a straight line, sometimes many detours must be made to arrive at the final destination. But someone else is after those jewels too obviously, but who? Dead bodies do not walk around by themselves. 🤔👩😼😼😼🕵️♂️💎
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This is true! How certain are we that the husband was the one actually killed in the care accident? Perhaps he faked his death and is making it difficult for Mack and Sophie and son to find them?🤔🙄
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Well, they did have Ben’s body and he was cremated. Denise would know if it was her husband or not. I would hope. I am still thinking he sold those jewels years ago and hid the money in that puppy. Sofie does not know we have discovered the puppy we found is the wrong one. I think he deliberately hid the puppy and perhaps only told Denise where it is and now there is no way of knowing. 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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All excellent points! So then what it all comes down to is finding the original puppy if it’s still there??🤔🤔 Well… the first place I’d look for a puppy would be in the dog house!😉😁 Is there a dog house on the property??🤔
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Unfortunately not. However, your thinking is not far off the truth! Just the wrong idea. But yes, we do need to find that puppy and it must be in this chateau somewhere and likely in one of these hidden passageways. That’s where we are looking at this very moment! 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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Then I’m certain that tomorrow’s chapter will have some very exciting action to look forward to! Those hidden passage ways are always fun to explore! I wonder if there are any booby traps hidden in them? You don’t suppose the husband set a trap do you?😲😳🤔🤔🤔
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I am quite certain that if he hid that puppy, or the jewels, in one of those passages, then he likely set a trap or two for anyone looking for them. So we will need to be very careful. 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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Yes indeed! Sounds like a job for the kitties 😸
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Yep, they have their little sniffers working full time right now! I think we need to work fast now before someone else turns up dead, and I don’t want it being one of us. 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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That would be the best result if it can be done. I’m confident the cats will point the way wither tails!🤭🤭🤭😉😁
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Yes, those tails come in handy for many things! But will they point us in the right direction this time? I wonder… 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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Hey Muffin!!😺 Steve is doubting that you can point him in the right direction with your tail!!😲😲😲😳 What do you think??🤭🤭🤭
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She’s sleeping right now. I’m not doubting, just asking a question. A good PI always asks questions. 🤔🕵️♂️💎
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We’ll see when she wakes up…😁 I’m sure she will agree with you…😉🤭
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She’s awake and I told her, you were right, she agrees with me. 😃😺🕵️♂️
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Nice recovery!🙄😏😏😂😂😂😂
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That’s why we’re here, to recover those jewels! 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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Oh yeah…. that’s probably good to remember from time to time!😂😂
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Oh, that’s something we never forget! After all, it could make us unbelievably wealthy. Or they might not be worth much at all. Especially if he sold them already, he would have to sell for less than they are worth since he couldn’t sell them on the open market. 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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Well… it’s more about the fun than the money… since Baldwin pretty much supplies most of the necessities 😉😁😊
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Yep, that’s true, but he does get a cut of whatever we make. Which isn’t much most of the time! But he does look after us quite well indeed. 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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I woukd wholeheartedly agree! He’s such a wonderful fella!😊
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I think it’s the fun that he likes. Although he would actually like to be part of more cases. But it’s too dangerous for that most of the time. He did help on this case though, although he may have lost his money since we may not legally own the chateau since Sofie can’t legally sell it until it belongs to her and that might never happen if she ends up in jail. Sigh. 🤔👩😼🕵️♂️💎
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That would be really not good to lose Baldwins money on a property!😬😬🙄
But hey… what’s a million dollars here and there??😂😂
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Yes, a minor amount, he can claim it as a business loss on his income tax. Still, I’m sure he won’t be too happy with it, especially since the money went to Mack, not that he can spend it anyway. Perhaps Baldwin can get it back somehow. 🤔🕵️♂️💎
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I’m sure he’s got a way or three to recover it..😂😂😂
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Yes, after all, Mack is a criminal and everything.
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Details…🤭🤭
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Sophie is really going to be on her toes, when speaking with the police. Since she is angry, she very likely will make a mistake or two. It is hard to keep all the details together in a fabricated story. Also, the mystery men weren’t mentioned in this chapter but they should have some information on who retrieved the body.
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Yes Sofie is really going to need to calm down before the police arrive to question her. Galyna will be there to keep track of what she says too. Hmm, our mystery men, Walter and Crandall, they have been out and about, I am sure they will have something to tell us. They both know the criminal mind rather well. 🤔👩😼😼😼🕵️♂️💎
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Looking forward to hearing their report!
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Wow this is. Unbelievable
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Thank you very much! Have a great day!
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