The night passed quickly and peacefully, which was unfortunate. I was hoping that Mack would come back looking for those jewels. However, that would seem to prove he has not found the puppy, and that is good news for us. Now we need to work quickly to find that puppy ourselves and then locate those jewels and put them in a safe place so we can set our trap for Mack. We could smell the fresh coffee, plus eggs, bacon and toast all the way up to our bedroom.

Down we went to find Denise and Carine busy making our breakfast. Benson was already eating, which is quite natural. “We better join in quickly,” I said to Sky, “or Benson will have it all eaten.” He gave a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, you do not have to worry,” said Denise, “when I knew you would be coming, I went out and bought a lot of food. And, I have been doing a lot of thinking too, about selling this old chateau. I do not need a lot of money.

After all, at my age, what would I do with it? I am quite content to sit in my flat and visit with my friends. I certainly do not like to travel, neither does my best friend. So, how does 100,000 euros sound?” “It sounds too cheap,” I said, “I need to give you more than that or I would feel like I was cheating you.” “Oh my, no, you would not be cheating me,” she said, “besides, it would be kind of a wedding present for you two. I would really like that very much. You would not want to hurt my feelings, now would you?”

“But we really should give you more,” said Sky, “this chateau is worth much more than that.” “Yes, I know, a friend of mine said it would be worth more than 600,000,” she admitted, “but I have no family to leave an inheritance for them. And you two already feel like family to me.” She started to cry a little. “Okay,” I said, “then it is 200,000 like you wanted.” “Now, now,” she said, “my memory is not that bad. But alright, if you insist, I will accept your offer. But only on one condition, that you all help me pack and move to my new flat.”

We all laughed and said we would be happy to do that. I called Baldwin and let him know and he came over later that morning with his lawyer and the papers needed to buy the chateau. He did not want to give Denise a chance to change her mind, he knew it was a good deal. While all that was going on someone came to the door and Crystal went to answer it.

“Good morning,” said the man, “I would like to speak with Denise Allard.” “I am sorry, but she is busy right now,” said Crystal, “she is finalizing the sale of her chateau at the moment.” The man looked genuinely shocked. “Oh, but I must talk with her first,” he said, “I have a buyer for her that will pay more than anyone else. My name is Max Barbeau.”

“I am sorry, but you are too late,” said Crystal and she began to close the door. The other man that was with Max put his hand out to stop the door from closing. Then he began to pull out a gun. “I think you should keep that gun where it is,” said Crystal, “my brother would not like it if you pulled a gun on me.” “And who is your brother little girlie,” said the man as he pointed the gun at Crystal. Suddenly a large hand covered his hand, and he began to squeal in pain until he was on his knees.

“You will let go of the gun,” said a booming voice. Max turned to see Rock standing there. He then began to pull out his gun, but Crystal had hers touching the side of his head. “Please hand me your gun slowly,” said Crystal, “or I will not hesitate to pull the trigger. And this is my brother. That one has another gun.” Rock checked and sure enough, he did have a second gun. Then he checked Max, but he only had the one.

“Now Mack Carver,” said Crystal, “you can leave with your friend, and do not come back. Everything here now belongs to my cousin and her husband. And that includes those jewels you are after.” “You are well informed young lady,” he said, “but I am not a man to play with.” Rock then picked him up and put him against the wall. “Neither am I,” he boomed out to Mack, “now, my sister said to leave, so that is what you do.” He then dropped him.

I showed up at that moment. “Well, hello Mack,” I began, “I see you have met some of my ‘family’. My name is Steve, and I just want you to know that I have a rather large ‘family’, so do not try to mess with me. Now I suggest that you and your friend leave and not come back. And forget about those jewels.” “I will forget about nothing here today,” he growled, and off they went. “Did we do okay Steve?” asked Rock. “Just perfect,” I said, “he will be back for sure.”

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.