The Investigators, Inc. The Inheritance Case. Chapter 3. Norway.

After holding a vote, it was decided unanimously that we should take this case of looking for the inheritance for Oskar’s friends. So, we are off to Norway. Even though Oskar and his friend are from Sweden, his friend married a Norwegian woman. They now live at Trondheim which borders one of the many fjords in Norway. Even though it is December, the climate there is quite mild, considering they are located quite far north.

The city isn’t large, having a population of just over 200,000. It is quite a beautiful place though, and the city has been around for centuries. Jennifer will be staying home this time, she wanted to spend more time with the children and helping with their education. Sky and her Bad Girls team will come along, but will stay hidden unless needed. I will take some of my team, plus Oskar, Mac, John and Alfred. I want to pick some specific girls for this case who might have abilities we could use.

I’m taking Cynthia from the Bad Girls and Fridr from the Wildcats, plus Angel from Kristina’s team. From my team I will take Victoria, Milena and Nakedra (since she is from Norway). Victoria has a great knowledge of antiques, and although we are supposed to be looking for money, sometimes that money comes in different shapes, like antiques. That’s why I want Alfred along for his knowledge of gems and jewelry, and Fridr is great with locks of all kinds, and so is Mac, and Chantelle, one of our nurses, will come also.

So, we will have 12 of us, plus 5 cats, Muffin, Storm, Tiger, Midnight and Tracker. Fortunately this house is large with lots of room for all of us, and even more, said Oskar’s friend. His friend’s name is Viktor and his wife is Enid. They don’t have any children yet and have been married for 5 years. We arrived in late afternoon and were able to get settled into our rooms and rest a bit before dinner, which consisted of fish, lots of fish. Sigh.

Needless to say I didn’t eat too much and could blame it on traveling and back pain. At the last minute Caleigh was added to our team list since Jennifer wouldn’t let me go anywhere unless Beryan or Caleigh came along too. Since Caleigh is with the Bad Girls team anyway, it made sense to add her to my team. “You do not like fish?” she asked me once we were alone. “No, I’m definitely not a fan of fish,” I said, “I like beef, pork, you know, French fries and hamburgers sort of thing.”

She got to laughing so much that she was unable to massage my back for a while. Sigh. “It is okay Steve,” she said finally, “I, too, do not like fish, nothing from the water for me.” “Oh good, someone on my side for a change,” I said, “but somehow I think there will be a lot of fish served here. Hmm, you and I could go out for lunch every day and get some real food and fill up so we don’t need to eat much fish.” “And what do we use for such an excuse?” she said, “People would ask why you and I go out so much together when your wife is not here.” Sigh.

“Don’t worry, I’ll think of something,” I said, “I will lose too much weight if we are fed fish every day.” For some reason that got Caleigh laughing again. “If you don’t stop laughing, I will pull you onto the bed and tickle you,” I said. “Oh no you won’t,” said Sky, “I’m not sharing my spot on the bed with anyone.” “Why did you come to visit?” I asked. “You don’t want me to visit?” she asked in return. “I would love to have you visit, as long as Oskar’s friends don’t see you,” I said, “it would be hard to explain how you got here.”

“Okay, I will accept that,” she said, “oh, I brought you something.” She got up and gave each of us a small bag containing a hamburger and fries. “Sky, I love you!” I said. “Yes, me too,” said Caleigh, “but how did you know?” “I heard you talking and I know that Steve does not like fish,” she said, “and since he mentioned hamburgers and fries, I decided to bring some. I can bring you some food each day to supplement your fish diet, that way you will not have to worry about explaining why you two go on a date each day.”

Poor Caleigh nearly choked when Sky mentioned dating. Now it was my turn to laugh. “That is not nice,” said Caleigh, “I do not wish people to think bad things about you.” “Well, I will go for now,” said Sky. She gave me a little kiss, then off she went. “How did she do that?” asked Caleigh, “I mean, hear us talk. And get here with food so fast?” “I have no idea Caleigh,” I said, “she can do some amazing things that I don’t understand.” “Oh,” was all she said.

Right then Angel, who is posing as my wife, came walking into the room. “You do not knock?” asked Caleigh. “Steve is my husband, remember?” she reminded Caleigh. “Oops, I forget,” she said, embarrassed. “Just don’t forget with other people around,” I said. “No, I will not do that,” she said. “Hey, how did you two get real food?” asked Angel. “You do not like fish too?” asked Caleigh. “No, I don’t, but I had to eat something,” she said.

“I would share my hamburger, but I have been biting it,” I said. “I don’t care about that,” she said taking it quickly from my hand. I quickly moved my fries onto the other side of me. “You didn’t answer my question,” she said, looking at me. “Oh, um, well, they just kind of appeared on that table,” I said. “That is not nice,” she said, pouting. For some reason that got Caleigh laughing again. “Sky brought it for us,” I said, “she heard us talking about the fish, so she will be bringing food for us each day.”

“Ask her to bring me some too please,” said Angel. Suddenly Angel turned and stared at the far wall. “What is wrong Angel?” I asked. “I was sure I heard something on the other side of that wall,” she said, “but nothing now.” We did some measuring in this room and the one next to it. There was a space of about 5 feet missing between the rooms, and that means a hidden passageway. They always seem to exist in every old house we have been in.

I was expecting to find some here too, especially since it is such a large house. Half is made of stone and a newer portion made of wood. I called a meeting of our team and told them what we found, and that someone else may be here, so we need to be careful. “Someone else may be looking for that inheritance money too,” I said, “perhaps someone from Enid’s family.” “She does have 2 brothers,” said Oskar, “but they have not talked with her since she married Viktor.” That night…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.