The Investigators, Inc. The Case of Steve’s Disappearance. Chapter 12. Baiting a Trap.

Well, we had a nice quiet night, which was nice after a busy day. Alfred called early and was quite excited about those gems we found. Apparently there are some very rare gems in that batch, some worth millions of dollars each. He estimated the total worth to be around 70 million dollars, in US funds. That nearly knocked me over when he said that, I certainly would never have guessed it. The bad news is, most of them are stolen gems, with only 6 of them that he couldn’t place with their owners.

That’s okay, we now have the bait we need to catch Whitaker and his friends. We have already contacted another man, through Jazzy, that had helped to steal these gems and then they went missing, ending up with Whitaker. This other man was not too happy when he heard that news and is now on his way to have a talk with Whitaker. We will use this opportunity to capture both of these criminals at the same time. Or rather, the police will capture them.

We are just giving them the information they need to arrest these men and capture this ring of international jewel thieves. The other man won’t be here until tomorrow, however, so we have a whole day to relax and enjoy ourselves. I asked the girls if they would rather go to the beach or go on a hike. They all laughed. Not quite sure why, but anyway, we are going to the beach. Sky and Angel wanted to see me in swimming trunks again, something they don’t get to see normally.

“Why is that Steve?” asked Celestine, “You told me about this huge swimming pool you have. Don’t you use it?” I told her about our rules, that only women are allowed to use it, the men have their own pool at their chateau. I could go and join them, but I need to have at least 4 bodyguards with me at all times, so that makes it a bit hard, unless 4 of the guys come to pick me up. I just don’t see the point, so I skip pool time except sometimes when the girls are not using ours. Celestine looked at me, blinking as she does.

“Steve, that makes no sense at all,” she said, “you will have to change that rule so you can use the pool at the same time as the girls. I’m sure they won’t mind, and if they do, then have a special time for them.” “Well, it’s not that easy to change the rules,” I said. “Why not?” she asked, “Just change the rule, it’s really quite simple. You need that relaxation time, with others around, not always by yourself. There are times you need to be by yourself and there are times you need to be with others.”

She looked at me firmly. “Oooo, this is going to be fun,” said Sky. “Agreed,” said Angel. I looked at the three of them. “Right, last one to get ready for the beach gets buried in the sand!” I yelled and started up the stairs. But they didn’t move. They were ready already, so didn’t need to get ready. “That was not fair,” I said, and they agreed, so they didn’t bury me in the sand. Sigh. It was a beautiful day, sunny and no wind. The beach was getting more crowded all the time, but we had our favorite spot, so we were happy.

After spending time in the water, Sky and Angel joined some other women to play some volleyball and Celestine came with me for another counseling session. We talked about various things, from ordinary day to day things to working as a team and doing things right as a team leader. For a woman who is just 21, she certainly has a lot of wisdom.

Jennifer told me she wants Celestine to be our personal counselor, that way Victoria will be free to help Galyna and Samantha as team counselors. Samantha has begun to help in counseling too, something she is really enjoying, though she will continue as a doctor too. Cassie is also a part time counselor, but now we will have 2 full time counselors and 2 part time. Plus Celestine for Jennifer and I. Anyway, back to now.

Sky and Angel returned and we went to pick up some hot dogs and fries for lunch. That is all they sell at that snack stand, but they are good. We then went to eat on the grassy area in the shade. We had just finished and I sensed trouble coming our way and looked around. “Some of Whitaker’s boys are coming again,” I said. Sky and Angel went off to meet them before they got too close. But I still sensed trouble and told Celestine to hold my hand which she did quickly and tightly.

I looked around but could not see anything. Sky and Angel were now fighting those other guys and suddenly two vans slammed on their brakes close to us and 10 men got out and came over to us. Ten against one is hardly fair, but if Celestine wasn’t with me, it wouldn’t be a problem. However, I had to keep her safe. The men surrounded us and then kept walking closer to us, making the circle ever smaller. This was not good.

I then pulled Celestine close to me and put my arm around her and said to close her eyes, which she did. I then shot some electrical jolts at the men, quickly turning around in a circle so as to hit each of them. It was just enough to knock the men onto their backs, but not kill them. “Sky, I need you,” I said calmly. “No Steve,” said Celestine, “this is how you call.” She then yelled for Sky, loudly, just like Misty yells.

Sky arrived just as the men began to get up and she proceeded to fight them all. We then heard sirens and several police vans pulled up and arrested the men who attacked us, 17 in all. One of them managed to escape and will likely tell Whitaker, which is fine. The man did tell Whitaker who told him to go and hide somewhere. “This is getting worse all the time,” said Phil, “that guy is going to destroy us.”

“We’ll take care of him,” said Whitaker, “but first we have an important guest arriving tomorrow. I don’t know what he wants, but he said it was very important and he wanted our help with it. And he did say it paid very well, which would be good for us right now.”

To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.