Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Case of the Widow’s Mansion. Chapter 12. Greed.
As Sky and her team were driving along the detour, it was around midnight, and suddenly not far ahead of the first of the 3 cars, a large log was pulled out of the ditch and onto the road. They all came to a screeching stop! “Get ready everyone,” said Sky.
Several masked men came out of the darkness and up to the cars telling everyone to get out. They were all well armed, however, these cars were built by the Baldwin Corporation and were completely bullet proof, and small bomb proof too. The worst these men could do would be to shoot the tires, but that would be a slight problem since they were miles from any community.
Unfortunately Sky’s team was outnumbered by these masked men. They yelled again, motioning for Sky and team to get out of the cars. Just then two black vans, with lights off, came roaring up to the group, and they came to a sudden stop beside the cars. Several men then jumped out of the vans and a brief shoot out took place between them and the masked men, but those masked men quickly surrendered.
Sky had anticipated trouble, so she made sure that some security men from Baldwin Corporation had followed them, just a little behind. Good thing she thought ahead like that, or it might have ended much differently than it did.
They discovered these masked men had some rather large explosives hidden in the ditch, likely to be used against those cars if Sky and her team did not get out. The police were called, the masked men were chained together, the log removed and Sky and her team continued on their journey. But that journey was still long and anything could yet happen along the way.
Meanwhile, back to us in that secret room under the fountain. It did not take Mac and Muffin long to open that old safe, and inside, another book which said on the cover, “A Priceless Book”. Sigh. Is this another journal? “Do you mind if I put on my breathing device?” said the butler, “this damp, stale air is hard for me to breathe.”
“That is fine,” I said. He then put on a small device which obviously gave him some fresh oxygen to breathe. Then I noticed this was not a book at all, but a box with a lock. Everyone was looking at this book, anxiously waiting for me to open it, so none of us saw what was coming. The butler tossed a tube onto the floor, breaking it and releasing a cloud of gas making it impossible to see or breathe properly.
We were all coughing and wheezing while the butler grabbed the book and ran off down the tunnel to the other room. We had left one of our electric lanterns behind which lit up the room somewhat and when the butler arrived in the room he suddenly stopped and stared. Kat was standing over by the door which led upstairs, and Muffin was standing on the floor beside her.
“You!” gasped the butler, “that is impossible!” “Have you not heard that I am a ghost?” she asked him, “I can go wherever I want, as fast as I want.” “I do not believe in ghosts,” he growled, and he pointed his gun and tried to shoot. But nothing happened. He just stared again. “Guns are useless against a ghost,” she said casually. Muffin then rolled over and “Thwock!”
The butler fell to the floor. Kat went over and picked up the book. “I will take that book,” said ghost John. He was standing at the door pointing a gun at Kat, with his friend Herman beside him. “You do not learn,” said Kat, “guns are useless against a ghost, I am already dead.” “Yeah?” he said, “well I do not believe that, and I have a new gun this time.”
He then tried to shoot, but nothing happened. Kat pointed at ghost John. “Now it is your turn to die,” she said and briefly turned off the lantern and “Thwock!” She quickly turned it on again and ghost John was lying on the floor. “Is, is, he dead?” asked Herman, his voice shaking. Meow,meow.=He bad man, so he die.
“The, the, cat, talked!” said Herman, his whole body shaking now. “Naturally, what do you expect from a ghost cat?” asked Kat. That was too much for poor Herman and he fainted. Meow,meow.=Odd time for sleeping. Kat giggled. The rest of us finally made our way back to the main room where Kat and Muffin were waiting for us.
“It seems everyone wanted this book,” said Kat, “even the grandfather wanted that treasure more than his granddaughter. Greed, just greed. Oh, Muffin took care of the butler and ghost John, the other one is alive, he just fainted. Seeing a ghost and a ghost cat was just too much for him it seems.” “How did you get out here so fast?” asked Rock.
“Oh, we ghosts can do amazing things,” answered Kat. Muffin giggled. Rock just stared, as did the others. This is getting worse all the time to explain. I looked at the time, 1:30am, I should have heard from Sky…
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 
Have you figured out how the guns could not shoot ? 🤔😯 …So Sky has not arrived 😳 There is a problem here 😬 Kudos to Muffin ! Exciting reading ! More problems ahead for all of you ! 🕵️♂️👩👩🦰👩🦰👩👩🦱😻😼❗️
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I don’t know why the guns don’t shoot and Kat won’t tell me. She just says a ghost needs to keep some secrets. Is Kat a ghost? She was killed by Toledo and she is buried. Remember that Crystal came along to pretend to be my wife and used the name Kat instead of Sky. So, is Crystal Kat, or is Kat Crystal? So many questions. Yes, Muffin was quick thinking in taking down those two enemies. Yes, I think there are more problems for Sky, but hopefully no more on our end. Still, there is Jackie, Lily and Kenaston to deal with yet. And where is Toledo?🤔👩😼😼👻🕵️♂️
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Detours can often be dangerous and those masked men proved that point. Glad that Sky had a plan to take them out with Baldwin Corporation security forces. Hope she has further plans in place for the dangers that lie ahead.
Grandpa the Butler was greedy and does he love Tanya? Good question to ask because he quickly went after the treasure. He, however, did not factor in Muffin and her slingshot. Those who are greedy do not come to a good end.
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Yes, detours are usually problematic but fortunately Sky knows how to prepare. I just hope she has prepared enough for any other problems that might arise. I should have heard from her by now.
I think the butler had no love for his granddaughter, he was only there like the rest of them, to get his hands on that treasure. But is that treasure really worth it? That is a small box, what could it hold?
Muffin did good with her quick thinking and good aim with her slingshot! And our ghost Kat is still stopping those guns, somehow.🤔👩😼😼👻🕵️♂️
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The detour definitely has further danger that might not have been anticipated by Sky. Hope they do not lose Tanya, who is the real treasure.
The butler was out for himself, otherwise, he would have rescued her.
Muffin is invaluable and is getting good at cracking safes also!
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Yes, they may not be expecting anymore danger along the way, but I sure hope she planned for it. Guarding Tanya is the main thing and they all know it.
Yep, since Tanya didn’t know about her grandfather, we are not planning to tell her about him.
Yes, Muffin learned a bit from MC and her keen hearing is perfect for listening for that faint clicking. Her and Mac are making a good team.🤔👩😼😼👻🕵️♂️
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Agree that Muffin and Mac are a good team.
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And Kat and Muffin are also getting to be a good team, as witnessed in this chapter. Muffin knew what to do without Kat saying a word. Well, I guess she did say something to ghost John.
Now, how to explain to everyone how Kat was killed and buried a year and a half ago, yet she is here with us today.🤔👩😼😼👻🕵️♂️
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Should be interesting. Crystal is taking the name of Kat but seems to be Kat. Very strange!
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Yes, very true. It was Crystal that came along, I think, but is Crystal, Kat, or is Kat, Crystal? Now, if they both show up together, that will really complicate things. Toledo said he dug up the grave 3 days later and Kat was still there, with nothing keeping her alive and he verified she was dead. We watched him do this too. And how does she stop those guns from working?🤔👩😼😼👻🕵️♂️
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Who knows how the guns are stopped from working. It does appear that Kat was dead. But in this story, a number of people have seemed to die and have come back into the story. Will wait to see what happens, as the story continues.
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Yes, it would not be the first time for someone to come back. Still, this seems a bit different, but we shall see…🤔🕵️♂️
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Yes, it is different but in fiction, who knows????
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🤔👩👻🕵️♂️
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🤔😎
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