The Investigators, Inc. The Jigsaw Puzzle Mystery. Chapter 1. Children.

Posted on July 6, 2026 by

541 Comments

Detective reviewing documents with a translucent ghostly woman sitting beside him in a dimly lit office

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.

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

541 Comments on “The Investigators, Inc. The Jigsaw Puzzle Mystery. Chapter 1. Children.”

  1. Girls can be like that!🤭 Kinda flighty if ya know what I mean? Although they do generally like a camera, so it is a bit odd.😂
    I hope you’re enjoying the weather, it sounds as though the temps are about to fall soon.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I’m back, my PSW was just here and gave me a super massage tonight because she was 20 minutes late. Yep, tomorrow and Saturday are going to be nice days, then the temp drops terribly on Sunday and worse on Monday with highs only in the 30s. Oh well, it is the end of October. I have to go back to see my doctor again, my toe is still not healed. It’s taking a long time which is not good. Oh well, these things happen.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I haven’t bumped it even once this week, which is amazing really. I have thought about that too since I don’t do much walking anymore, not like I used to do. My doctor didn’t seem to think that was it however.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Well, perhaps not bumping it could be the issue?🤔 Ya know youve been doing it for years and now suddenly not is causing it to react by being sore? The more you bump it the more blood flows to it..😁😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Now that is something to think about, though not for long, it might cause my brain to start smoking again, and that’s hard on the ears. It was actually raining a few minutes ago. I did see some clouds moving this way before it got dark.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Yep, it was infected for sure she said and I believe it, there was lots of puss leaking from it before, but that has stopped now. Every time I soaked my toe in salt water it would draw out more of that puss. Still does a little, but not much anymore.
      Yeah, might set off my smoke detector too! That would set off the fire alarm. That wouldn’t be good at all.🤯🫪

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I didn’t notice them today, but I only looked once, carefully so they wouldn’t see me if they were out there. I’m still not sure why my neighbor has cats, she is seldom at home.
      I went to get water to soak my toe, then went to the bathroom, came back and sat down and remembered that I forgot my water. Got up, went to kitchen to get the water. When I got there I stood trying to think of why I came in there. Spotted the water, aha, and brought it back in here, sat down and forgot to put my foot in the water. Sigh.🙄 Soaking now.😂🤪

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Look on the bright side! At least you remembered!😂 I do that then go back and sit down and I remember but by the time I get up and go do what I forgot, I forget again!🙄😒 But Im an oldster, not you young whipper snappers!😉😁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Ha, ha and ha! I is older than you is! I think I’m starting to get oldtimers. I forget my keys on Sunday, now my water. Two things in one week, that’s an all time record. Speaking of cats, one of them is outside right now. Sigh.🙄😺

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I know the names, but I don’t know who’s who. One is Boo Boo, one is Baby (I think that’s the big one) and one is Emma Jean.
      Oh good, I don’t feel so bad now!😂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Ha and ha ha right back at ya!😛
    Im almost finished with elevators for my plane. I just need to glue on the sheeting and that’s that. Im glad I don’t need to do more of that.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I stayed in my apartment all day, hiding from everyone. I’m not doing so good right now, kind of at a low ebb, discouraged, down hearted, flibbed, flubbed and numerous other things. Sigh. But it was a nice day and our last nice day of the year most likely. Our temp wasn’t much different than yours today. I’m slow because my PSW was here longer than usual.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. I thought perhaps that was the case. No worries. It’s to bad you weren’t able to get outside on such a nice day. Hopefully you’ll feel better tomorrow and get out.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Not likely, it’s going to be much cooler tomorrow, very windy and showers. I have been trying to get an appointment with my doctor but all 5 that work together are booked up till the end of next week. Even phone appointments are booked. Amazing.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • In the apartment I just go barefoot. I also have adjustable slippers with Velcro fasteners if I’m staying in the building. I only wear shoes outside and I’m not going out much right now.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Apparently, according to my pharmacist, this was a large dose already, but it might need a different antibiotic. For that they need to test the infection to see exactly what it is. Can’t do that until I see my doctor, whenever that is.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • We have our ER and I checked on that, but since this is not an emergency, according to their definition of emergency, then the average wait time these days is 10 to 12 hours. I can’t sit that long on those hard chairs with my back.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Yes, I plan to do that, it at least does some good, even if not much. And I will keep phoning to see if there is a cancellation in an appointment. They told me to call 2 or 3 times a day, just in case. Unfortunately, they won’t keep my name on file, it’s strictly first come first serve basis.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Yeah, this free medicare is great, if you get a chance to use it. 😂 Well, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes just to get through on the phone, so calling every hour is almost full time! 🫪 Sigh.
      Well, did you work on your plane today?🛩️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. Yeah, I did… all that’s left of the tail to finish is sheeting the horizontal stabilizer. I wont be doing that until Sunday or Mo day. There’s a big fun fly at our club field tomorrow so that will likely take up most of the day.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yep, that’s the way it works it seems, wait until the day arrives. Our high for tomorrow is going to be first thing in the morning, then cool off throughout the day.🥶

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  19. Right on time, in MN when Nov 1st arrives it seems like that’s when it starts to go below freezing at night to just above during the day. Brrrrrrrr🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶 it’s making cold just remembering that!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yep, we will be dropping to the low 20s at night next week, at least a couple of nights anyway. Below freezing each night though.
      Well, time for bed again, have a good night Dusty and hope you have fun tomorrow! 😃🥱😴⛈️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Good morning Dusty! I was about to send this off but my PSW arrived right at that moment and just left. How was the flying today? Hopefully you didn’t crash again! Was there lots of planes flying today?😃🛩️🛩️🛩️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Still the same, at least it’s not worse anyway. Turned rather chilly today, the temp dropped from 59 this morning to 46 this afternoon and a very strong wind from the west.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Speaking of scents, someone must have been cooking during the night. I woke up at just after 3am to the smell of burnt food! I like the smell of food cooking, though not at 3am, but burnt food is not my favorite. What do people have against sleeping at night?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  25. That’s a very good question! Here’s another good one… what do they have a against food that they need to burn it?😂
    You’re lucky it didn’t set off the fire alarm!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yes, that’s very true, I was waiting for the fire alarm but thankfully it didn’t disturb my sleep. Well, at 3am they probably fell asleep, that’s why the burned food. People should do things like that during the day like normal people do. Sigh.🙄🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • It’s all that flying around, looking upward. 🫪🛩️ Maybe a good night’s sleep will help it.
      Speaking of sleep, time for bed, I want to be awake in church tomorrow! Have a good night Dusty and I will talk again tomorrow.😃🥱😴⛈️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Yep, especially on those plastic race sets the kids had. Church was good, a couple people were back that had been sick for the past two weeks. But it was a small turnout again.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Yeah, I was reminded that I should be trusting God more instead of worrying. He can take care of everything if we let him. I must admit that I am worried about my toe and that is affecting my eating and sleeping. Sigh.🙄

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  33. That is absolutely true. And you’re right to be concerned about your toe! It could cost you a limb if it gets worse and spreads. When can you start calling to check for cancelations again, in the morning ?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • No, that will be the next step. The antibiotics I had should have worked but because they didn’t, next is the culture to find out exactly what the infection is. Obviously it’s not something normal.
      I need to go to bed, haven’t been sleeping well, sorry for the short time tonight. Have a good night Dusty and I’ll talk tomorrow!😃🥱😴🌛

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Yes, their was a cancellation so I saw my doctor this afternoon. Got some new antibiotics, stronger than last time. Have to drink 8 ounces of water with each pill, plus several glasses of water in between. Only 2 pills a day though which is good, they are huge! If this doesn’t work I will be in the hospital hooked up to an IV.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • No, it would take too long to get the results back. She consulted with another doctor and they believed just getting going with this antibiotic would be the best way to go. This one should work, otherwise there is something odd going on. I choked on my supper tonight and had to press my help line button. It took over 4 minutes to get help, by that time I had thrown up which fixed the problem. I don’t think this help line thing is all that great, it takes too long for certain things.🙄

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Yep, by the time the PSW got here it was all over, thankfully on the positive side. Must admit it was scary and I panicked a bit. Now my stomach muscles and back are extra sore.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  39. I can imagine they would be! I would’ve panicked also! That feeling of not being able to take in air is frightening! Im glad to hear you are alright. You should really consider getting someone to cook for you if your cooking is that bad…🤭😉😂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  40. No, I did go flying though. I had to make a dead stick landing though. That was a little nerve racking. The throttle servo failed so I couldnt slow the engine down to land, so I had to fly it until it ran out of fuel then try to coast it around and land it.😬😱

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  41. Nope, I managed to float back to the runway and land it. But I was plenty nervous not knowing when the engine would die. I was trying to circle high enough so I still had enough altitude to coast it in. I got really fortunate!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hey, good for you! You’re getting to be an experienced pilot now! Next you’ll be wanting to fly one of those ultralights planes, or whatever they’re called.😃🛩️

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I agree with you, considering those things are a bit, um, tiny to be in the air with people in them. Me and heights don’t get along well, a large jet is okay, but nothing smaller than that for this old guy!🤣🫪

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  43. Yep! It seemed like it took forever to run out of fuel. It was only about 4 to 5 minutes after I had decided to land which would make it a total of about 15 minutes flight time and hoping g I woukd be pointing the right direction when it did. It could have ruined the plans for this coming weekend and the trip to the warbirds fly in I’m going to on Wednesday.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  44. I leave Wednesday to get there to get a good spot on the field to setup the planes. We start flying on Thursday, Friday and then Saturday morning.
    It could get pretty crowded as it was back in June.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hey, that’s nice, pick a spot away from trees.
      Well, time for bed, I’m very tired again, that episode at supper did it for me. Sigh. Have a good night Dusty!😃🥱😴🌛

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Kind of a lazy day, watered all the plants and tidied them up a bit, getting rid of dead leaves, that sort of thing. No difference on the toe yet, but it’s only been two pills so far, oops, 3 with the one I just took. So I don’t expect to see any change yet.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  48. That’s good you didn’t do much. Let your body use it’s energy to fight the infection. Have you beaten back the bugs 🐛 on your favorite plant(sorry can’t remember the name) or are they persisting?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yes, the bugs seem to be gone now, it has been free of those thrips now for quite a while, so it is back in the living room finally and growing some new leaves.
      One of the side effects of this antibiotic is muscle cramps, I had 3 in my legs overnight, one in my leg today, one in my side and one in my stomach area. My stomach and back muscles are still sore from last night too. Sigh.🙄

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I only have a shower here, yes, a warm bath always helped me when I had them before. A shower doesn’t seem to work as good for me, however, it’s better than nothing. I use my heat pad too which helps. My PSW was just here, so I’m slow again.🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Steve’s Country Archives
Translate Steve’s Country

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Follow Steve`s Country on WordPress.com