For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
There seemed to be a coordinated attack happening against us right now. Christopher’s part was to go to our chateau and get Jennifer again under his control, though he didn’t know that wouldn’t be possible now. When Jennifer first reappeared after being killed, she was captured by Christopher and kept as his prisoner in two ways. One way was by using some kind of electrical magnetic pulse from a ring that Toledo invented which Jennifer couldn’t resist. So, with that ring he kept her doing what he wanted.
But he also used me to keep her in control too by saying he would hurt or kill me if she didn’t do what he said. That way she would help him in his criminal ways with the abilities she had as a ghost. Then he kidnapped me when she began to resist him a bit, and this way he kept her under his control still. But it backfired on him because I was able to convince her to not only help me to escape, but to come with me.
When Christopher went to the chateau, he thought he was talking to Jennifer, but really he was talking to Kat. He didn’t know Jennifer had an identical twin and Kat is too strong to be controlled with that ring even though Christopher had made it stronger now. He had also brought men and explosives along to try and kill as many of our team as possible. It was part of a major plan to attack us in three ways, at the chateau, at the hotel and at Elenore’s house.
He also didn’t expect to see me there since he had been told by Fiske that he had kidnapped me. But we had escaped, then Sky had brought Jennifer and I back to the chateau to capture Christopher. Unfortunately things didn’t go quite according to our plan, but Christopher was stopped and he, plus all of his men, were killed. Christopher also managed to bring in a knife, hidden up the sleeve of his jacket. The sleeves were lined with a special fabric, that we also use, that can hide weapons from being detected by x-ray.
When he stood in front of me, he was able to move quickly enough to stab me, seriously. So, I am now in the clinic with Samantha and Kat trying to keep me alive. Jennifer has now taken the Bad Girls with her to the city to try and find Swann and Williams, and hopefully find the identities of Gordon and Betty, two new people found on Swann’s computer with whom he has meetings lined up tomorrow. Then, as three more girls arrived at Elenore’s house, they were shot as they were coming up the steps to the house.
Angel understood that right away and she jumped to protect Elenore and just made it in time as two bullets came through the window. The bullets would have killed Elenore, but instead they hit Angel’s back. “Oh my,” said Elenore, “it’s a good thing those bullets missed us or we likely would have both been killed!” We have not tried to explain to Elenore about the ghosts, sometimes it’s best not to talk about such things. Our own two snipers were at Elenore’s house and went out the back door and around to the side of the house to watch the trees across the street while the other girls brought our wounded into the house.
Emily then saw a man jump out of a tree so she shot him. That caused a man in another tree to move and Charlotte shot him. He quickly fell from high up in the tree, crashing to the ground. Then Angel called Sky to come and pick up the wounded girls, which she did, making two trips taking them back to our clinic. This is not good, we now have 5 wounded on our team, plus Venus, and we nearly lost Elenore. Akila has discovered that Swann and Williams are planning to build a multistory nightclub with gambling available too, just like Venus told us.
They have already been given approval by the town council and the land has been rezoned for such an establishment. That is quite an accomplishment to get done in just 3 months in this town. That just doesn’t seem possible without a big payoff to the town council and likely the local police as well. There are also plans to build a new hotel not far away, right on the lakeshore. It will end up being the largest hotel in town too. Interestingly, the property was sold for far less than the actual value of the property.
The owner was likely forced into selling at that low price. Then I suppose when all of this is up and running, Sandra and Fiske will take over from Swann and Williams, perhaps even before that point. With a little more digging through Swann’s computer, Akila also discovered more about Betty, her last name being Porter, and a photo went with that information. She is know to us by the name of Helene, real name, Helen Porter. She is presently staying at a hotel near the airport in the city and that is where Jennifer and the Bad Girls will make their first stop.
Finally, after much more digging through Swann’s computer, she found Gordon again, last name of Henkley. Apparently he is the contact man for drugs and he has a new, and large, shipment for Swann which he will then take to Williams for safe keeping. Jennifer decided to visit Gordon first, then go see Helene, after all, they arrived in the city early enough to beat Swann to his 11am meeting. They arrived at 9am and since Jennifer doesn’t need an open door, she just walked in, through the door.
There was no alarm system, so she unlocked the door for the other girls and in they came. Jennifer went looking for Gordon while the girls looked for the drugs. Jennifer found Gordon asleep in his bedroom so she called his name. He didn’t move, or so it looked, but she could detect a tiny movement of his hand. She went closer and touched his shoulder and he swung around pulling a gun out from under his pillow.
Jennifer just laughed and slowly disappeared, then reappeared on the other side of his bed and said “boo!” He jumped and shot at Jennifer, but the bullets went right through her and into the wall. She laughed again. Then his gun became hot so he yelled and dropped it. “Now Gordon,” said Jennifer, “we need to have a little talk.”
To Be Continued. ©2026 Steve McLeod.
Good afternoon everyone! It is cloudy today and the temperature is on the rise, slowly, very slowly, but by tomorrow we should be above freezing once again. Not by much, but at least it will be better than the last few days of cold. Well, today is our time for a few chuckles, giggles and perhaps some outright laughter, and maybe a groan or two tossed in the mix as well. So, let’s get started…
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TRUTHS ABOUT CHILDREN
– A young child is a noise with dirt on it.
– An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.
– A child will not spill on a dirty floor.
– Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain.
– If you have trouble getting your children’s attention, just sit down and look comfortable.
– Avenge yourself; live long enough to be a problem to your children.
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It’s not a cat it’s…
> A small, four-legged, fur-bearing extortionist.
> A wildlife control expert impersonator.
> An un-programmable animal.
> A hair relocation expert.
> A treat-seeking missile.
> A lap-warmer with a built-in buzzer.
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I’m going to donate these bags of old clothes to Goodwill, but first I’m going to drive around with them in my trunk for 4 months.
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A guy had to ask his neighbor for help getting his new sofa inside the apartment because it got stuck in the door.
After about twenty minutes of vigorous pushing and maneuvering, the guy pants, “I think we’ll have to call it a day. There’s no way we’re getting it inside.”
The neighbor looks at him slowly, “Wait, INSIDE?”
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A man was overweight, so his doctor put him on a diet.
“I want you to eat regularly for two days, then skip a day, repeat this process for two weeks and the next time I see you, you’ll have lost at least five pounds,” the doctor said.
When the man returned, he shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 20 pounds.
“That’s amazing!” the doctor said, “did you follow my instructions?”
The man nodded. “I’ll tell you though, I thought I was going to pass out that third day.”
“From hunger, you mean?”
“No, from skipping.”
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If you do not like my musical puns, you have my symphony.
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That’s it for today everyone, I hope you got a laugh or two and maybe a groan as well. Have a great week and God bless!
Steve. ©2026 Steve McLeod.