Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The English Hotel Case. Chapter 15.
Well, the four men that went in the museum with us were arrested, but they will not likely be in jail for long since it was only an attempted theft of those diamonds. Unless the police have any other charges they can bring against them. After all, anything that M did, they would be accomplices to those actions. M was the only suspect in several other thefts of jewels over the last few years, but the police never could get anything positive against M.
And no jewels were ever found on any of his estates, or anywhere else, whenever the police had a search warrant. Very strange indeed. Considering that M loved jewels so much, he must have kept them fairly close at hand so he could look at them once in a while. There were 3 men found outside the museum as well, all had been shot. And Marven, well, he just disappeared. Too bad really. If he had turned those men over to the police, we could have helped him.
Now, he will be wanted for murder. He certainly made a bad choice. Our new hospital is nearly finished now, and it is usable the way it is anyway. That is a good thing. Bridgette, Annelie, Crystal and myself were the first ones to use the new place. I am not sure that is really an honor however. Rock talked to me about Annelie and him retiring from the Investigators to do something else a little safer. Something like Benson and Carine did in buying that hotel in England.
I told him if that is what they really wanted, then I would not try to stop them, even though I would sure be sorry they left. Rossana told me that if the Major was willing to help the police with their investigations of Victor, they would drop charges against him and give him a new identity. That would still be risky business for the Major and perhaps for Macey too. I will let the Major know about this however. I have a feeling he would like to get out, but in that business, getting out usually means in a box, or worse, like swimming with the fishes.
M did not have a will, guess he did not think he would die young. His only relative is Mandar and he quickly had his lawyers getting things legally changed over to him. Then he thought of hiring us to check each of the estates to see if we could find hidden jewels somewhere. We are all friends again. Mandar and Baldwin are back to arguing. Nice to see things normal again. If M did steal other jewels, as he claimed, then he must have kept them somewhere.
There were 4 estates, all in Europe. The one we had been kept at was in Germany. Another was in Spain, one in Romania and one in Greece. That could be an interesting case for us, and one that would be safer as well. But something kept coming to mind and yet I could not quite place what it was. Something that Marven said. Maybe Crystal would know. She was seriously hurt, but she will make a full recovery, which is good. I thought for sure she would die.
“You are a crazy girl,” I said to her while visiting her in her room, “you should not have gotten involved, he could have killed you.” I was trying to appear stern, but it did not work. “Well, he could have killed you too,” she reminded me. Poor Crystal, she was so sad right now. “There is no reason to be sad Crystal,” I told her, “you are a very beautiful and intelligent young woman”. “But who would marry me now?” she asked. “Any man that has some sense to him,” I said, “just look at Annelie.”
“I did not know Annelie…” she began. “And it did not prevent Sky from getting married,” I said. “Sky? Her too?” she said quite surprised. “Yep, because of that beast when Sky worked for Carole Ann the first time, he had beat her quite badly once,” I told her. “You must have been hurt quite badly too,” she said, “I am surprised you are walking around right now.” “Well, you probably noticed I am not walking very well at the moment,” I said. I looked down when I said that.
“You are not telling me everything,” she said. “Nothing serious,” I said, “I can live with it.” “I should slap you,” she said. “Okay, here, I will get closer, slap away,” I told her. Sky came walking in at that moment, with Muffin. Meow,meow.=That a long one. Sky giggled. “Oh, we did not hear you come in,” said Crystal. “I noticed that,” said Sky, “but that is okay.” Well, so much for this case, we all survived and recovered fully. I decided we would take a break for a while though, before taking on any more cases. We need a rest, but will that happen?
The End.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
It will only last for as as it takes for either the cats ir you and Sky to get bored with the daily routine of life! 😂Then you’ll be right back at it again!😁😉😊
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Our rest times are always short it seems, unless we are recovering from injuries, but that is not much rest. Something usually happens and I am sure it will this time too. But if not, we will be working for Mandar checking out his new estates. That might be fun and certainly not dangerous.🤔👩😼🕵️♂️
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Or so you think!!🤔 Now that M is gone, some of his former associates and enemies might think it a good idea to go and help themselves to his belongings!😬😬😬🤔🤔🤔 That could land you right back in a big bad hot pot of water!!🤨
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Well, Mandar is putting guards in place at each estate to keep an eye on things. He plans on selling all but one, but would like us to search for any jewels first, just in case. So at least we would not be alone. But I wish I could remember that thing Marven told me. Seems like it should be important.🤔🕵️♂️
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If hadn’t been feeling so ill and g ad so many others thing going through my head I might be able to help you remember…🤔 but I’m afraid this flu threw me for a loop.🤪
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I will probably remember when something happens that I’m not expecting to happen. However, I would like to remember before something happens, seems like it would be safer that way.🤔😼🕵️♂️
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Perhaps you could ask Crystal to help you remember?🤔
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I am going to do that once she feels better. She is still having trouble dealing with things.🤔
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It may take her awhile to get over the trauma….😔😔
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Yes, I think that might be true. Sky, Annelie, Angel and Crystal need to talk together about these things, that will help Crystal I’m sure.🤔😺👩🕵️♂️
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Yep! Everyone needs some kind if support even if they don’t realize it….😉
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Yep, that is so true, something I have been trying to get across to the girls. I am going to miss Rock and Annelie though, I wish they were not leaving.🤔🕵️♂️
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They want to slow down some I would imagine…🤔 they really haven’t had a lot of time to themselves since they got married… there will be others who will step up ir step in when needed.😁
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So true, they have tried 3 times to finish their honeymoon, without success! They will probably move to Australia, they like it down there. Rock could always get a job with one of Baldwin’s companies.🤔🕵️♂️
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I think it would be a good move for them!😁
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Hey, who’s side are you on? I want them to stay. So I figure a big farewell party with lots of sad mushy speeches should do the trick!🥺🕵️♂️
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Oh sure!! That will make them want to stay!!🙄🙄🤭
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That’s my thoughts too! Especially if I really break down and say “I’m losing my best friend.” That will get Rock, he’s a softy at heart.😊🕵️♂️
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Or….. he must just see it for what it is….🤔🤭 Be careful what you wish for!!!🙄 He might just want a larger roll in the day to day operations!! Which might not be all that bad…🤔 It seems like you’re having greater difficulty keeping up with the physical aspects of the job the last few cases. Maybe it’s time for more of an administrative roll instead of field work??🤔🤔🤔
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Yes, I really might have to slow down on the active part of cases, another reason I had hoped Rock would stay. And Sky doesn’t feel capable to take over too much yet, though I think she could do it. However, lack of confidence can be dangerous for everyone so better not to try and push her. But I guess it will work out somehow.🤔🕵️♂️
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Maybe you should approach Rock and Annalie about it? Maybe until Sky settles in a bit more?🤔
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I thought about it, but I really don’t want to influence their decision.🙄🕵️♂️
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Then you’ll need to wait and see I suppose??🤔
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Yep, that is so true, maybe they will decide to stay when they see I can’t do much anymore.🤔🕵️♂️
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It coukd be! I’m sure they’ve noticed the toll it’s taken on you the past few cases..
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That’s what I’m hoping. I did train him to take over if I was unable to do it anymore. But I can understand wanting to do something safer now. This kind of business is best for single people.🤔🕵️♂️
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Very true indeed!! I’ll bet Annalie has already mentioned it to Rock!😉
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I hope so, but he sure sounded definite in an indefinite sort of way.🤔🕵️♂️
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The last few cases has had everyone scurrying around a quite a bit!🙄 That takes a toll on everyone.
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Yep, so a good vacation is on the list coming up!😊🕵️♂️
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It seems you had some serious injuries and should wait before helping out Mandar. Looking for stolen jewels in M’s estates will certainly be dangerous. Criminals like to have easy access to stolen property and I am sure it will attract other fortune hunters that may have worked with M. Also, is Mandar really safe or is there an ulterior motive? It would seem that it would be better if Mandar gave you a break and handled it himself. He certainly has the money for guards and searchers but they might not be trustworthy. Seems like there are some things that are hanging in the air or hidden in plain sight that need to be remembered or discovered.
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Yes, Mandar is going to have guards at all the estates, which would be good for us. But he needs our experience for finding hidden places and passageways. And you are right, others may not be trustworthy. Any jewels found will be returned to the original owners however, so Mandar gains nothing from it, he just wants to make sure the jewels get back to where they belong and not end up with other thieves. And Mandar wants to sell the estates so would like the jewels found if possible before he does sell. I just wish I could remember what Marven said, seems like it might be important.🤔👩😺🕵️♂️
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Could it be that Marven said he was responsible for killing all of your team after the heist? That M was going to another house after he got the jewels? Or that he was leaving after the heist? Do many questions and few answers.
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Yes indeed too few answers. M had other jewels hidden somewhere and Marven is the man likely to know where. Perhaps that is why he disappeared after killing his friends.🤔🕵️♂️
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Agree Marven knows where the jewels are or is the custodian of the jewels. M needed him for more than a punching bag.
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We are about to find out what Marven knows very soon, in our new case coming out shortly!
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Great! I am sure it will be quite the adventure. Hopefully, you will be able to rest at home, while the rest of the team goes!
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Not a chance, I am going too! It is now out, just an introduction really.😃🕵️♂️
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Will go read it.
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Well, M is now out , but who will take his place? 🤔 You all need to rest which is sorely needed ! Have you remembered what you forgot ? Hmmm…What is your next move ? 🤔 be alert ! 😳
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