The Investigators, Inc. Mountain Cabin Murder Mystery. Chapter 2. Who Did It?

Our teams arrived at this old hotel, or cabin, or whatever it really is, at midnight and the girls that were staying out there were very relieved to see them. Everyone was assigned different rooms, with 4 to a room. I had already told them to take turns watching throughout the night in 2 hour shifts, to make sure they are not surprised by any “ghosts” or anyone else. The girls out there didn’t mention anything about seeing or hearing “ghosts”, so that is good. However, someone must be out there which means that there must be a hidden room or two in that big place.

Angel communicated right away with Jennifer and I to tell us they had arrived safely and this old place is quite run down. Also, it is not a cabin or old hotel but an old mansion that is bigger than our chateau. There is likely some hidden doors and hallways in that big old place too, so I told Angel to look for that tomorrow. We need to find the murderer, or murderers, we cannot let them get away with this. There is no electricity or running water, but there is a good well, and it provides nice, cold water. The place is well furnished, even though everything is old.

It’s like everyone just disappeared one day in the past and left everything behind. It was kind of an eerie sight, Angel told us. It was like they expected to see a wealthy family sitting around the huge room that was first entered coming in through the massive front doors. Then meeting servants in the various rooms where they would be expected to be found. Yet the place was empty and it had an eerie feeling to it, like they were not alone and they were being watched. The next day they searched the whole mansion and walked around outside, but there was no evidence whatever that anyone else was out there.

Could that mean that the murderer is one of the remaining girls? We can’t overlook that possibility, that’s for sure. There was something else disturbing that Sky reported, their vehicles were no longer usable. Someone had slashed the tires, all of them, on all the vehicles. That was not nice at all. We could send more vans out there to pick them up but because of recent heavy rains, including the night the girls arrived, there was a large rock slide that made the road completely impassable.

And since it was now an unused road, there were no plans to fix it since it would be much too expensive. This is what we heard on the news, we haven’t told anyone that people are staying out there and it’s a good thing. The original girls that went out there for a 2 week vacation, didn’t exactly have permission to do so. They had tried to find the present owners but were unable to find who owns the property, so they thought it would be okay to stay out there anyway. Hmm, this is getting more interesting all the time.

The dead woman is presently in a cold cellar out behind the mansion and apparently it is very cold in there, so that part is good. I could get Sky to bring the body back here, but then we would have to notify the authorities and that could complicate our investigation. However, if we wait too long, that could complicate things as well. So, I called Rossana to see what she says about all of this. “Why did you have to tell me?” she asked, “Now if I don’t say anything, then I am complicit in this too. You understand that, right?” “Well, um, I didn’t really think about that,” I said, “how about we just forget that I called?”

There was silence. “I wish I could do that,” she said sighing, “you are supposed to report a murder right away.” “Well, we don’t know it was a murder for sure,” I said, “she might have died of natural causes.” “Doesn’t matter,” she said, “you need to report it right away. To me it sounds like one of the other women is the murderer.” “Yes, I tend to agree with you about that,” I said, “and yet it doesn’t really make sense. But I will keep you informed.” “I would prefer not knowing anything more about what you are doing Steve,” she said. “Ha, ha, always there with the jokes,” I said laughing. She just sighed long and loud, then hung up.

Very odd behavior, I thought to myself, perhaps she has been working too hard lately. I then talked with Samantha and she thought it would be wise to bring the woman’s body here where we can look after it properly. So, I communicated this with Sky and she reluctantly brought the body back to our clinic. She then took Galyna back with her so they can interview the other girls. Galyna can tell if someone is lying, so she is perfect to have along.

I then went up to my office for a while and Jennifer put in her time as teacher for the children. While I was thinking about the case I began to feel a bit odd. Soon I couldn’t concentrate on anything and I started to feel a bit dizzy. I don’t remember anything after that until I awoke in my all too familiar room at the clinic, with Jennifer sitting on the bed beside me. “Good, you’re awake,” she said, smiling, “I was just going to call Celestine to come and wake you up. Her kisses work better than mine.” “Very funny,” I said slowly, “I feel very tired for some reason.”

“Samantha said it’s stress again,” she told me, “she says you need a vacation.” “I told you that the other day,” I reminded her. “I know, but you always say that,” she said, “now it’s official.” “Good, start packing,” I said. “Not until the case is over,” she said sternly, “then we’ll go wherever you want.” “We could just go up to that mountain mansion and have our vacation there,” I said, “no one would know where we are so it would be nice and safe.” “Safe? There’s a murderer on the loose up there,” she said, “how is that safe?” “Well, it’s about as safe as our other vacations have been,” I said.

She looked at me. Then she started to laugh. “I can’t disagree with you on that!” she exclaimed, “but for now, you need rest, not excitement. I have even put one of our new locks on this door and only Samantha and I know the combination for it. That way I know you won’t be getting any extra visitors.” Then she left me. Sigh. I like getting extra visitors. About half an hour later, just when fresh donuts should be ready, the door opened slowly and a familiar little head peeked inside.

Steffie, Erika and Mandy came in, with donuts! “How did you open that combination lock?” I asked Mandy. She just smiled and looked at Steffie. I laughed. If she can figure out all the puzzles of this chateau, then I guess figuring out the combination to that lock would be rather easy. I just wish I knew how she does it. “Puzzle door locks easy to open,” said Steffie as she munched on her donut. “She got it on the second try,” said Erika, “I think you need to upgrade them.” Perhaps she is right…

To Be Continued. ©2026 Steve McLeod.