The Investigators, Inc. The Hidden Castle Mystery. Chapter 7. Cricket.

Well, it certainly is a bonus having so many ex criminals on our team. They can help us in so many ways, and make things a lot easier for us. So, Liana is from Alizea, Melissa and Melanie’s old gang and they are determined to put an end to us forever. They have Matt, so we need a bargaining chip to get Matt returned to us while he is still alive. Hopefully Matt will remember what to do in emergencies like this and not give up information too fast.

He has lots of false information in that head of his, but although it is false, it certainly would sound real to anyone interrogating him. And he is supposed to give up that information at predetermined intervals and not all at once. They would know that he is an important leader, which is why he was chosen to duplicate. That duplication was amazing, it would have taken them months of labor to get him just right for this job.

Someone wanted to take us down with a loud crash! That would be the new leader of that gang. If he can destroy us, that will help to give him more prestige among the other gangs around North America. We already have a team heading to Canada, with Aari in charge of that operation. Kat will lead the operation to the castle once we hear from Aari. “Do you know where to find this old gang of yours?” I asked.

“I can find out for you,” said Alizea, “I just need to contact a friend of mine. She is not a gang member, but she has a hobby of keeping track of all gang movements across Canada. She is amazing at her work Steve, and she is completely trustworthy too.” “You have permission to contact her,” said Jennifer, and she let Tracy know what was happening. Tracy cleared the call and soon Alizea was talking with her old friend, someone named Cricket, though I would imagine that is not her real name.

We were listening to the call on our end, but we could not hear the other end. Except me. For some reason I could hear both sides of the conversation, though at first I didn’t understand why, however, it began to sink in after a few minutes. I guess this is one of the things that our ghosts gave me, perhaps the only one. Kat did say they can’t give me everything they can do as that would mean killing me and it would also mean getting help from Dr. W.

We heard, just today, that he died one day short of his 80th birthday. That would mean no chance of Sky ever returning to us. But I can’t concentrate on that right now, first we need to get Matt away from this gang. And for that, we need some help, quickly. I asked Melanie if Liana was loyal to her new leader. “Yep, she is for sure,” she said, “the new leader is also her husband and they get along very well.” Hmm, that can be a very good thing indeed. That means we carry on with our plan to kidnap their leader.

I just hope we can do it in time. Aari called just as soon as they arrived. I was then able to give him the name of the city where they can find this gang right now. So, they didn’t waste any time, but quickly went there to look for them. Meanwhile, back to us. “Um, I don’t mean to be pushy or anything,” I said, “but, what happened to me after you put me to sleep? I don’t feel any different, except that I could hear both sides of that conversation.”

“Good,” said Kat, “that means it worked nicely. You can also communicate with the three of us, just like we do.” She then taught me how to do that. “Now, remember this one thing,” she said, “you are not a ghost like us, you can still be killed, and we can’t bring you back if that happens. But, you can go invisible like us. That will help to keep you safe in emergencies, which is a bonus. Now, remember also, some of these things are just inventions of mine, some are because we are ghosts, which you are not.”

“Hmm, still staying with the ghost story I see,” I said, “you don’t want to tell me everything yet.” “Why don’t you want to believe we are ghosts Steve?” asked Jennifer. “Well, because you do some things that a ghost would not,” I said. “Are you sure about that Steve?” asked Angel, “How many real ghosts have you met?” “Fine, hit me with logic,” I said smiling, “you three are the only ghosts I have known, so I guess I really don’t know the answer to that.” Sigh. They all giggled.

We talked some more about my new abilities, what I can and can’t do. I then suggested that Kat should get her team ready to fly. She will be using Kristina’s team for this one, except for Jacquelyn and Acadia. I thought they did not have enough experience for something like this and Kat agreed. So, in their place I will let her take Kitty and Victoria from my team, plus Aletia as their nurse. That way she will have a full team to use.

Plus she will have all the cats that go along with their humans, so she will have six of them to use. Jennifer and I stayed behind to talk some more, Dawn and Aasta were with us too. “Something is wrong Jennifer,” I said, “I can feel it, but what it is, I just don’t know.” “Well, that is working too, which is good,” she said smiling. “But wouldn’t you sense it too?” I asked. “No, I sense danger Steve,” she said, “not if something is wrong. There is a difference between the two.”

“Hmm, yes, I suppose you’re right,” I said, “but knowing something is wrong and not knowing what it is, doesn’t really help too much.” “Give it time Steve,” she said, “soon everything will work properly. Is the problem with Kat and her team, or Aari and his team?” “I am sure it is with Kat and her team,” I said. “Okay, I will notify her and let her know, unless you would like to do it?” “I will let you do it for now,” I said, “until I get used to using these ‘gifts’ properly.” She giggled again.

“Did you get her reply?” asked Jennifer. “Yep, quiet and clear,” I said smiling. Just then Muffin came in and jumped on the bed. “Why the sad face Muffin?” asked Jennifer. She came over to her. Meow,meow?= Maybe Storm not go on case today? Maybe please? He not feeling well. Jennifer contacted Kat right away and told her about Storm, and said to take Squirrel along instead since the guys didn’t take their cats.

Cassie, Hope and Fridr rushed Storm to the clinic so Bridgette could check him out. Dr. Jorgenson called shortly after and told us about Annelie. She had a partial hip replacement years ago when she was shot in that hip, plus her other hip was broken from a hard kick. Both of them were causing her problems and would need to be replaced completely.

He will do the worst one first, then when it has healed sufficiently he will do the other one. So, she will be on recovery for a while, but will still be able to help out, though not full time. The rest of the men that had been kidnapped with Matt have been cleared, which is good, however, they will be on inactive duty for the rest of the case. Now, we just need to wait until we hear from Aari…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.