The Investigators, Inc. The Killer Mystery. Chapter 11. Concluding.

Posted on June 13, 2026 by

776 Comments

Man in leather jacket reading notes with ghostly woman beside him in office

Steffie had just finished her little speech and everyone throughout the chateau had gone silent while she spoke. Cristy had allowed everyone in the chateau to hear Steffie, all but Jennifer and I. We were in my office and Cristy turned off the speaker into the office so we couldn’t hear what was going on. At first Friskie had reprimanded Steffie for saying her aunties were bad, but now she was silent too. Sky had heard Jennifer and I talking before Steffie began her speech and she “sneaked” some donuts from the other girls to bring to me as a present while she apologized to me.

Sky has the ability to hear me talking no matter where I am, even if I’m half way around the world. She just doesn’t normally use that ability unless necessary. However, at times she likes to listen in, the sneak. I think Jennifer is angry just like Steffie and she says that there will be some major changes within the Investigators from now on. Sky agreed that changes need to be made. “We need to get those changes done quickly,” said Sky, “I know you can do it Steve.” “That was a quick move from ‘we’ to ‘you’,” I said sighing. “Well, you are the leader,” she said smiling.

“Sometimes I’m not so sure about that,” I replied. “I will be making the changes myself if Steve doesn’t get things moving,” said Jennifer. “Oooh, sounds interesting,” said Sky excitedly. The Black Wolves and Wildcats made it back home safely and I announced to everyone that tomorrow was going to be a free day to just relax, then we would have a team picnic two days later since that is the date that Muffin and I launched the Investigators, Inc. Everyone was totally excited about that and much of the work was already done by the home team during this last case.

That case is officially closed since there really was nothing else we could do anyway. We did close down what we could of that international gang of sex traffickers and whatever else they were. With help from Kat, Samantha was able to get Harley up and walking around again so that she will be able to participate in our anniversary picnic. Yes, we did do a little misleading of our enemies in order to bring them out in the open so that we could stop them. We just never imagined how big that group was!

I’m so glad that Harley survived, I would have felt totally responsible for her death because we never checked out her family before sending her back home. That is something we are going to do from now on though, just in case. We had to make things look good just in case we were being watched. We almost lost John though and although Samantha says he will recover, she isn’t sure if he will recover fully so he can go on cases. I think that will be harder on John than it is on me having to stay home. However, there are other ways he could still work for us, such as a driver, something that we always need.

The day between our free day and our picnic we will be having a team leaders meeting which will also include all ghosts, Samantha, Galyna, Celestine, Victoria and Sienna. I wanted our doctor and 3 counselors to be in attendance to give their opinion on some things. Sienna also has a wealth of knowledge that she can share with us. Storm, Jewel and Snow will also attend this meeting. I even called Mandar to join us if he has the time as I’m sure he could also have much wisdom to share with us.

He wasn’t quite sure if he could make it until I mentioned our anniversary picnic that would be on the following day. He then said there was indeed an opening on his calendar so he would be happy to join us. Nothing like food to get Mandar’s attention! Well, the day of our meeting has now arrived after a very relaxing day yesterday and our meeting is now underway. I told everyone that we need better communication from now on, especially keeping me informed as to what is happening on a case. So they will give me a daily update, more often if there is a problem of any kind.

Team leaders will also pick a junior leader who can take their place in an emergency. They will each give me their pick but I will have the final say. Junior leaders can’t be any of the ghosts, however, since the ghosts get moved around a lot on cases even though normally assigned to a specific team. We will also have a team leaders meeting before all cases so everyone knows what is going on first hand. There will be two ghosts at home at all times, which is something we do now, but we will try to change which of them stays home each time so that all get a chance to go on cases too.

I will not be confined to my office, or even inside, as long as both ghosts are with me at all times while outside. And one of them will have to hold my hand at all times while outdoors in order to ensure my safety. Jennifer will stay home most of the time with me as one of the ghosts, unless she specifically needs to be on a case. Mandar is going to provide extra security for our picnic so that all of our team can participate.

The last time we had such a large team picnic we were attacked by Toledo and Kat was killed. Mandar wants to make sure there is no such repeat, especially since he will be here too. Well, I wonder what kind of case we will have come our way next? I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a simple case for us, but perhaps something that isn’t quite so complex would be nice. We shall see.

The End. A new case will be on the way shortly. ©2026 Steve McLeod.

Category: Adventure, Fiction, Mystery, Story, Strange Happenings, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , ,

776 Comments on “The Investigators, Inc. The Killer Mystery. Chapter 11. Concluding.”

    • Yeah, the toe is much better, still a bit of redness but not bad. The swelling and infection is gone, although I guess the redness is part of the infection. I will finish the pills on Thursday morning.

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    • I figured out something that would work. I will buy a bunch of cheap pillows to put around all my furniture, that should protect my toes!🤣
      Oh well, time for bed, shopping tomorrow. Have a good night Dusty, talk tomorrow! 😊🥱😴🌛

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  4. Oh…! Putting some water away for next year already?🤭 Have you gotten your winter parka out of the closet yet? Better do it soon or you’ll be a frozen Stevecycle before you know it!🥶

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    • I just bought me a new winter jacket, but not a parka, I already have one of those. 🥶 They finally had winter jackets and parkas at the store, kinda late this year so I bought one quick while they still had one my size.😊

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    • AAAAAAAA!! Not that cold!! Break out the sweaters! I was visiting a friend in Denton years ago and it was in the 90s every day I was there, the last week of March. He would wear a heavy sweater all the time while I wore a T-shirt.😂

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  7. I know! You coukd freeze after a nice warm summer like I had this year! I got into my truck today to go somewhere and the temperature read 109! Then it came down to 100 after I started going.🤭😂

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    • Aha! Your truck was trying to lie to you. Just can’t trust vehicles these days! Yep, it can feel quite cool even though it’s still warm because it was warmer than warm for so long that your body adjusts to that heat and when the heat isn’t hot anymore but only warm then it feels cool because warm isn’t hot.😃🙄I think.

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    • Sorry for the slow response, my power keeps going off because of the wind and that messes things up and I have to get back on WP again. Sigh.
      Shopping was dull, I did forget 3 things on my list though. But then, I didn’t have a list except the one in my brain and that list is never reliable!😂

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    • That’s a good point. Worst thing is, I can only remember one of those 3 things now!! I wanted to write them down so I would remember if I go out again this week. Siiiiigh!🙄

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  10. 😂 tomorrow’s a new day… 🤭 it’ll come back to you during the night as you’re not sleeping. Then you’ll forget it again by morning. You should write it down when you think of It though so don’t forget.😵‍💫😂😉

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    • Good morning Dusty! Sorry for the sudden departure but the power went out again so I gave up and went to bed. It was the strong winds that did it. I did some repotting of some new plants today, not much else.😃🪴

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    • I decided to try buying some plants online from a nursery in the southern part of our province since it had good reviews. I bought some different hoya plants, nine in total, but they are small and well rooted. They come in 2.5 inch pots so I potted them into 4 inch pots as recommended. That should keep them happy for another year. I like hoya and have 5 already that are much larger. Once mature they produce the most beautiful scented flowers. It can take up to 5 years to mature depending on the variety. So, now I have 14 varieties.

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    • Yep and those clusters are waxy like, almost looking unreal. Yep, it’s between 3 and 5 years depending on the variety and providing they get enough sunlight. They are a bit particular in what they want, but they are beautiful plants even without the flowers. I have some with variegated leaves in 2 or 3 colors, some with splotches of white or gray. They grow fast, except for some varieties. There are several hundred varieties of hoya.

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    • Yep, that they are, probably why I like them so much! Years ago I had a big one that produced over 60 flowers each summer. Such a beautiful scent! It lived for 23 years, then I moved into an apartment with tiny windows and it didn’t get enough light so it died. Sigh.
      Hey, know what my favorite memory of childhood is?

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    • I have a terrible time getting Jennifer the same all the time. The detective is almost exactly the same each time, but Jennifer comes out different for some reason, no matter what I do. Jennifer in the story is supposed to look young but not quite that young. This one is more like Sky really.

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    • Yep, it’s the WP AI generator. Steve came out older looking than I wanted, but at least he’s the same. I tried to do Kat and Jennifer once, but AI didn’t seem to understand the term “identical twins”!😂🙄

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    • Yep, then I add or subtract details from the picture generated. I can also get Jennifer’s cat Jewel to look the same each time I put her in the picture. It’s just Jennifer that never comes out the same. It’s maybe because she’s a ghost and that kind of messes up the AI generator.

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    • I do specify an age but it doesn’t help much, there’s no way to save a description and it won’t paste from somewhere else. I think the WP AI needs a bit of an upgrade, or maybe I’m just doing something wrong. I tried using a different AI generator but it was even worse. It would likely be better quality if I paid for one instead of using free AI generators. Or maybe I just need more practice.

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  28. Well, I think its great the way it is. But knowing you to a particularly particular kind of author I can understand you wanting it to be closer to what you envisioned. I say, keep at it, try a few different things with it and if you need to, change to another Ai generator.

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    • Talk about exciting news here, I’m telling you! Mrs. Herkles bird escaped again but was found in the shower. Mr. Bently’s Bulldog splashed in the puddle in the parking lot again. A deer was seen lying on the ground under one of the maple trees causing a stampede of old ladies running away in sheer terror. A man was found sleeping in our buildings garbage bin again causing a stampede of old ladies running towards it yelling “a man, a man!”😬🙄

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    • Well, that’s just what’s reported in our apartment complex’s daily newspaper called, “The Daily Rag”. Some of it seems a bit unbelievable at times, like the one about Mrs. Herkles bird taking a shower. But, I got an exciting parcel in the mail today!

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    • Too late, the name has been registered already and the whole membership likes it. Of course, if I ever get another member we might consider changing the name.🙄🤣😂
      Well, time for bed again, have a great night of sleeping and dreaming and I will talk again tomorrow!😃🥱😴🌛

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  43. Ha! I got ya beat today! I crashed a plane today because I thought I was flying mine , but I was watching another thinking it was mine!🤪 Im still not sure how that happened but all that was left was kindling wood!

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    • Hmm, maybe you guys need an air traffic controller out there. Of course, the pilot is supposed to be watching where he’s going. Isn’t there an easier way to get kindling? Sorry to hear you lost a plane though, is it fixable? Can you salvage parts at least? Did you two have identical planes? Guess what? It was dark and gloomy this morning with rain and cold. Then the sun came out this afternoon and the temperature soared to a staggering 64 degrees!😮

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  44. ATC would be helpful, but you’re right the pilot should be watching the plane they’re flying not another one. I still can’t figure out when I started trying fly the other plane.
    Wow! 64? Almost a second summer season!

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    • Yeah, supposed to be 39 tonight though but back up to 60 tomorrow and sunny! Same thing on Monday! Hmm, it’s almost dark out there already. The PSW this evening never remembers my name, she always calls me Patrick. Very odd.

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  45. You look like you could be a Patrick!🤔
    Yep, it’s definitely fall! As I was returning from the pool this afternoon the sunshine and shadows made it feel like fall. The sun angle I’m suspecting is what gave me that feeling.

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    • Yep, that sun is getting lower in the sky all the time, so it shines into my living room quite a bit now. When it shines. Which isn’t often. Leaves are changing color and falling off the trees.

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    • I have to get the pics first, the only time I see deer is when I don’t have my camera or it’s raining. And deer are so common that I often don’t even take pictures because I have hundreds already. Unless I see bucks, but they only show up when I don’t have my camera. And when I see deer from my apartment, by the time I get downstairs, they’re gone! Sigh. Amazing really.

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  48. Oh boy…. that seems like they’re watching you and only shiw themselves when they know you can’t get a picture! Maybe try hiding the camera when you go out, then surprise them!😃

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    • You don’t have crows down there?? Wow, that’s too bad, all you guys have are those colorful parrot birds that know how to talk.🙄
      Well, I must go to bed, it’s an early morning tomorrow, my PSW has to come early at 7:15. Have a good night Dusty and I will be back with more chatter tomorrow!😃🥱😴🌛🍂

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    • Good morning Dusty! How’s things today? Lounging by the pool again? Beautiful fall day here, high of 59 degrees, going down to 39 tonight, high tomorrow of 62 degrees and sunny again!😃🌞

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  50. Nice!😁
    No lounging by the pool today. I did go to the airfield from about 8 to 12 or so today. Then came home, watched a little feetball and putz’d on a plane for a few hours. How bout you?

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    • I made it out to church this morning even though I wasn’t feeling well. Lots of pain today, much more than normal. I was really bad by the time I got home, so, I didn’t do much of anything except watering some plants and checking out some things on Amazon.

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