Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Jigsaw Puzzle Mystery. Chapter 1. Children.
We have had a few nice, quiet days since our last case and it has been very nice, but we could definitely use more such quiet days. Today Jennifer, Kat, Friskie, Carine, Mandy, Erika and Steffie are in the city shopping. I wanted to go along with them, but for some reason they all said no to that idea. Jennifer said that having 3 children to look after was enough while shopping. Not sure what she meant by that, though maybe it’s because I don’t like shopping. While at one large store they were walking along one aisle and suddenly Steffie screamed, “TOYS!” She then took off running in that direction with Erika right behind her, followed by Mandy.
The ghost team were not really that far behind, so I was told, but when they got to the toys none of the girls were in sight. They ran around quickly and frantically, checking every aisle and asking people if they had seen the 3 girls. Oddly, no one had seen them which made no sense. Before they even had a chance to inform me that the girls were gone I received a video call from an old “friend”. It was Helene. “I have your children Steve,” she said, “and I know you would like to have proof, so here it is.” She then showed me the girls, who were not looking too happy.
“Sorry Daddy,” said Mandy, “she got us, but we’re okay though.” “There you go Steve,” said Helene, “but don’t worry, I don’t plan to keep them, I’m not really a big fan of children. I will gladly give them back to you, for a price.” “Yes, I thought we would get around to money sooner or later,” I told her, “so, how much are you wanting?” “Oh, you have me all wrong Steve,” she said, “I am not looking to sell them back to you, not at all. I want you, dear Steve. Just give yourself to me and your girls are free to go.”
“And how do you propose that we make the switch?” I asked, “Especially since we don’t trust each other.” “Yes, that is always such a problem,” she admitted, “so we will meet at a popular beach in the city. You can have one person with you, of my choosing, who will take custody of your daughters. And my men will take you. If you do things correctly and follow orders, then your daughters will be returned safely. If you try to trick me, then they will have to die. Please keep your snipers away from the area. I am very good at spotting such people and that will not bring favorable results.”
“And who would you like me to bring along to pick up the girls?” I asked. “Misty,” she said, “not for any particular reason except that she is one of your team leaders, so she would be a good one to kill if anything should go wrong. However, I’m certain you will make sure that everything goes smoothly.” We then agreed on a time to make the exchange, which will happen tomorrow at 9am.
Meanwhile, back with the others in the city. “I can’t seem to communicate with Steve,” said Jennifer. So Kat tried next, but again I didn’t answer. Then Kat tried Sky who answered while I was just finishing up with Helene. “Helene has the girls,” said Kat, “and she is going to trade them for Steve tomorrow morning.” “He can’t do that,” exclaimed Jennifer, “it goes against our rules, well, sort of anyway. Okay, I guess it doesn’t really since this is a personal matter, not a team matter.” “Right,” said Kat, “so we will need to handle this very carefully, or we could lose those children.”
That made Friskie sit on the floor and begin to cry. “Hey, don’t worry,” said Kat, “we’ll get the children back safely. Let’s all go back to the van for now.” They began walking out to the van when Carine noticed that Jennifer wasn’t with them. Kat looked around. “She’s with us,” said Kat, “just invisible. She’s crying too.” Once back at the van Kat called me so we could all talk together. I told them what Helene wants and I will trade myself for the girls at 9am.
I told them to stay in the city, but to stay away from the exchange area until after the exchange has been made and I have been taken away. Then they can come and pick up Misty and the girls. “I will make sure there is a good escort for you coming home,” I said, “though I realize you don’t really need it, but I want it to look good in case you’re being watched.” “One of us could come along with you Steve,” said Jennifer, “we can’t just let her take you away somewhere. I mean, she obviously wants to kill you.”
“Yes, I figure she wants to kill me too,” I said, “but I want those girls home safely, that’s the most important thing.” “Yes, I agree, we want them safe,” said Jennifer, “but, we can do both.” “No, not this time,” I said, “we will play by her rules since she has the upper hand for now.” I didn’t get much sleep that night, yet the time went by quickly and soon I found myself sitting on a bench with Misty overlooking the beach waiting for Helene’s men to show up.
At 9:02am a van showed up and a man got out with the girls and came over to us. Before they got to us Misty whispered to me that she could easily deal with that man. I told her no, Helene likely has other men around the area, waiting for an opportunity to kill us all. She sighed, rather loudly. The man told Misty to take the girls and leave, which she did. Then he told me to get into the van. I was sure they would take me somewhere and kill me since they had blindfolded me.
However, we drove a long distance instead. A very long distance. Ten hours later we finally stopped for the last time and we all got out. We then got in a helicopter and flew for some time, then landed. We drove again until at midnight we arrived at an airport where we boarded a small jet and flew, somewhere. We then drove to a country estate where Helene was waiting for us. She allowed me to shower and she had clean clothes ready for me. I was then escorted down to the dining room for breakfast…
To Be Continued. ©2026 Steve McLeod.
You’re probably right. Maybe I imagined it. It seems I’ve done a lot of that in the past, so you’re right! It’s just my imagination again. I really need to stop doing that. It gets very embarrassing 😳 🫣
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Or perhaps it was my imagination and you just imagined it was your imagination, or maybe it was the other way around, but I’m getting mixed up. Speaking of that, a week or so ago, I thought about something thinking it was real, but it wasn’t. It sure seemed real though and it was hard to shake it. Very strange, I’ve never had that happen to me before.😬🙄
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I can only imagine what that was! What was it?🤔
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Oddly enough I can’t remember now, it’s really weird. Maybe if I thought about it more, but I didn’t like it so I tried to forget it.😬
Well, time for bed, I just can’t sit any longer. Have a good night Dusty and I shall return on the morrow with something! 🙄🥱😴🌛
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GN 😴
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Good morning Dusty! 😃 How’s things in the wet south? Work on your plane today? Go swimming? Feasting on frozen dinners?🤔
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Naw, Just another day.
Helped Bruce and little bit. Im taking a few days to do nothing and ponder a few things.
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That’s not a bad idea sometimes. I have been doing that myself lately which is why I’m not really getting anything done. I have almost finished my plant shelving, kind of anyway. Right now the top is kind of balancing on the bottom half, not really a safe setup, but I ran out of energy to do anymore today. Actually, I definitely overdid it today. Sigh.🙄😬
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Yeah, I need to rest my mind and body. A rainy 🌧 weekend is coming at exactly the right time for me. I told you to space out the work on the shelves so you wouldn’t overdo and hurt yourself. I hope you can recover quickly.
The rain hasn’t started here yet. Im beginning g to wo Der if it will even get this far south.
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I do remember you mentioning that, I should have taken the day off and did this work tomorrow, but…. Anyway, yeah, you might miss the rain, happens here all the time, only the other way around, we get rain even when it’s not forecast. It was supposed to rain today, but all we got was clouds, with a temperature of 48 degrees! A touch on the chilly side. My PSW just left, that’s why I’m slow.
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No worries. Like I said, I’m just taking today as it comes. I have no expectations for today, and I’m really beginning to think that mindset is the way to go for life in general. One can’t be disappointed if we have no expectation of things being different! Right?🤔
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Yep, that’s a good way to do things, one day at a time. Yes indeed, no disappointments that way for sure and a lot less worrying if we just focus on today.
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Well it helps for today anyway.
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Yes indeed, that is so true. I forgot they were doing fire alarm testing today, so when the alarm went off I nearly hit the ceiling! It certainly is loud enough along with flashing lights. It only came on twice today, usually it’s three times.
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You’ll probably get one just as you fall asleep tonight!🤭😂
Timing is everything!😉
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Ha, ha, ha! That’s not nice. We did get an alarm at night once. Someone couldn’t sleep so they got up to make something to eat and fell asleep. The food burned and set off the alarm!
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Anyone by the name of Steve?🤔🤭
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Ha, ha, ha! 🙄 No, I don’t eat at night, even if I can’t sleep. If I eat I won’t be able to sleep and since I can’t sleep then there’s no point eating when I can’t sleep which is why I can’t sleep when I’m not eating.🤯
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That actually makes sense in a weird kinda way.🤔
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Really? Cool. Speaking of cool, it was today, very cool in fact. Only 48 in fact. Which is colder than the high was supposed to be in fact. So, I stayed inside today in fact. I was going to have some tea this afternoon, but I forgot since I was so busy doing things I shouldn’t be doing that it made me forget what I should be doing.🙃
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Oh… you mean like resting and not hurting yourself?🙄
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Um, well, something like that I suppose. Sometimes I think I can hurt myself even while resting.
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Ad we all can do from time to time. What’s on the calendar for your weekend?
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Nothing on the agenda for this weekend, just relax and relax. How about you?
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That’s what I’m doin’
Maybe watch some football
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Good thinking, I’ll watch a movie maybe, or watch my plants grow. I will need to water some of them on Saturday.
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How do you know if they’ll be thirsty?🤔
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Some are just on a regular weekly basis because they dry out faster than others, some I just wait until they get dry enough to water. I just stick my finger into the soil, if it comes out dry, it’s time to water. Works for some plants anyway, but not all. I was going to get a moisture meter but then I read those things are not always accurate, so, my finger works okay. A thin wood dowel also works and it goes down deeper.
Well, time for bed again. Have a good night Dusty! I will return on the morrow tomorrow to chatter some more. 😃🥱😴🌛
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Good Night 😴 🥱 🌃 🌙 ✨️
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