The Investigators, Inc. The Black House Mystery. Chapter 10. Time Runs Out.

Katresa’s parents didn’t know what to do, the headless body was blocking the door so they couldn’t escape from the bedroom. But then it disappeared completely so they jumped at the opportunity to get out of there quickly! But, as they arrived in the living room, they were met by a small white cat that was floating in the air. Meoweeeee! Meoweeee! said Snow and she kept on with that. Then another cat, this time Jewel, appeared and she sat in mid air growling at the parents.

Then the son that had been tied up came running out, but he screamed when he saw the cats floating in the air. This family is not a very tough bunch unless they are dealing with someone who cannot fight back. Then they have lots of courage. Then Kat showed herself again, but completely this time. “So, you are not a very brave family I see,” she said, “but you sure were brave when you beat, whipped and starved your little girl all those years. But then, she couldn’t fight back.

You killed her and she is now buried in a lonely cemetery in Toronto. She died at the hands of Sebastien and his men, but that includes you since you are related through his marriage to your wife’s sister. But now you are scared of me and my sister because we are ghosts and you can’t hurt us or kill us. So, we now take up the fight for little Cricket.” “Look, if you want money, I can give you money,” said the father, “I will write you a check, how much do you want?”

“What good is a check for a ghost?” asked Kat, “I want cash, from your safe.” Jennifer now appeared holding Snow and Jewel which she put down on the floor. The father took Kat back to his home office and opened the safe. “I will take all the money and jewelry,” said Kat. “But, that is nearly everything I have!” he exclaimed. “How much is your life worth?” asked Kat, “I could just kill you right now and take it anyway. I also want what is in behind the false wall at the back of the safe.”

He opened that and there were 6 gold bars and 6 silver bars. They were only 1/4 size bars, but were still quite heavy. He put them in a wood box he had that fit them perfectly. Kat carried the cash and jewelry in a cloth bag that had been in the box. He carried the box out to the living room. Meanwhile, outside at our van in front of the house. “Are you ready Amerie?” I asked. She had asked for permission to shoot anyone who came out that door trying to escape.

She wanted to do it for Cricket, so I said yes. Jennifer told one of the sons to open the door for his father so he could take the box out to our van. The son did so, but once the door was open he decided to run. Bad mistake for him. Amerie shot and he fell at the bottom of the steps. She had a silencer on her gun so we would not alarm the neighbors just yet. The mother then ran out to her son, but Amerie said quietly, “The one who tortures Cricket with Liana.”

She then shot again and the mother fell too. The other son decided to run for the back door but Rusty ran and jumped on his back, digging in his claws. Jennifer was right there too and told Rusty to jump off. Then she kicked the son in the stomach, then to his head and he fell dead. Next the all came out with the father carrying the gold and silver, which he brought to the van. “Now I am free man?” he asked smiling. “Free as a dead Cricket,” said Kat and she gave him one kick to his head and he fell, dead.

Off we went quickly after Melanie tossed a package onto their car and there was a loud explosion. That should bring the police along soon enough. “Oh, oh,” I said, “someone reported a black van leaving the house just before the explosion.” “We are in trouble then,” said Suzette. “No, not at all,” I said, “the report was a totally black van, ours is not.” We then pulled into a small park that we had passed coming out here and our girls quickly got out and removed paper and tape that had been painted black.

Once removed there were red and white stripes revealed, fairly wide so they could not possibly be missed in a description. “You like to be ready Steve,” said Chloe, “I like that.” “We girls like to be prepared too whenever possible,” said Colette, “saves problems that way.” “That is so true,” I said. “Tell me Steve,” said Amerie, “you have no radio turned on so how did you know that someone called in this description of a black van?” I looked at her and smiled, then gave her my hand.

“Are you brave enough to hold my hand?” I asked her. She looked at me, then smiled. “You are pushing me to the edge of my bravery Steve,” she said, “but, I have trusted you until now, so, I will continue to trust you. Will you provide answers at some point?” “I promise that I will do that,” I said, “but some things just take a while to explain. Please be patient with me, okay?” “Yes, I will do so, for now,” she said, still smiling. The other bad girls just giggled.

Hmm, I wonder if I could start a team called the “bad girls”? No, I guess not, they might not like that idea too much. Now, one more stop since these girls know where Sebastien would be hiding at this time of day. There is a certain nightclub owned by a friend of his and he is always there in the evenings until about 11pm. This evening we are going to join him. We pulled into the parking lot and parked in a darker area, but where the entrance was clearly visible.

Only Kat, Jennifer, Dawn and myself will be going inside, plus 3 invisible cats. Amerie and her friends will be watching for any of Sebastien’s men so they can alert the others. Amerie thought one of them should come with us since they know Sebastien’s men well. Kat agreed, so Amerie joined us and in we went. “There are 4 of Sebastien’s men at that table,” said Amerie, “and three more over at the bar, plus 2 sitting with him and the owner who has a large moustache.”

We walked over to his table. “Hello Sebastien, remember me?” I asked. He looked up, shrugged his shoulders, which was actually a sign for his men to come over, then continued talking to his friend. I then pulled one of his men backwards and he crashed to the floor. Dawn did the same to the other man. By then Sebastien’s other men had arrived and the fighting began. Amerie was amazing with her fighting skills, something she just called street fighting.

Kat and Jennifer took care of most of the men, but Amerie handled 3 on her own. Then as the bartenders took out guns, she shot 2 and Dawn shot 2 more and they each took a door guard. Then Jennifer spotted the owner’s gun under the table, aimed at me. “You die!” she yelled and the owner fell over off his chair. “Now, you die Sebastien,” I said, “this is from Cricket!” I then shot him 3 times and we all ran out to our waiting van that was now on the street looking very black once again…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.