I woke up nice and refreshed. I looked around and Jennifer was lying on the bed beside me, fast asleep. Meow,meow.=It okay, we cats are watching. Human Jennifer very sleepy so we say she go to sleep while we watch. We sound alarm if anything happen. “Good for you Muffin,” I said, “that was the right thing to do. But, do not tell anyone this or Baldwin might not want her to guard me anymore. Meow,meow.=Oh, we not tell, not want that to happen. Human Jennifer would be very sad then.

“Yes, I think you are right Muffin,” I said, then I woke up my guard. “Oh my,” she said, “I really did not mean to sleep for so long, I am very sorry Steve.” “That is okay,” I said, “the cats were awake and doing a good job. We will keep this a secret though.” “Thank you Steve,” she said, “I do not think Baldwin would be too happy.” Right then Sigurbjorn came in to take over guarding.

Fortunately Jenny was standing by that time. “Do you girls ever knock?” I asked. “Nope,” said Sigurbjorn smiling. Jenny left to get ready for breakfast and so did I. Then Sigurbjorn, the cats and I went down for breakfast. Meow!=Oh, it pancakes, yummy! Meowr.=Lots of bacon! Annelie laughed, she is our main cook now. She actually volunteered for the job. The other girls take turns helping her and cleaning up afterward.

Rock and I help out with that too, sometimes, usually we get chased out of the kitchen since we usually end up breaking something. Rock is especially bad at that. Rock and I went to the library with some of the girls. “You know, I have been thinking about this,” I said to Rock. “You are not supposed to be thinking,” he said, “you are supposed to relax. Every time you think, there are problems.” “Thanks,” I said, “but I shall continue anyway. I do not think anyone is after me. Someone just wants to tie us up here for whatever reason. Perhaps they want to go after Baldwin.”

“He has a lot of help over there,” said Rock, “I doubt anyone could get at him.” “You see,” said Annelie, “now you can stop thinking and relax.” “How can I relax when someone has said I will be dead by next Monday?” I asked her. “That is rather odd,” said Kristina, “why would they warn you like that? It just means that you will be guarded even better, and that would make it harder to kill you.”

“Yes,” I answered, “that is very odd, unless this person is so confident that he wanted to make it harder.” “How do you know it is a male?” asked Annelie, “it could just as easily be a woman.” “True, that would be even more dangerous,” I admitted. “Watch that,” said Carine, “remember it is women guarding you.” “Which means I have the best guards,” I replied quickly. “Hmm, that was a quick response,” said Sigurbjorn.

Everyone laughed. Just then Baldwin and Benson came in quickly. “Are we in time for breakfast?” asked Baldwin, somewhat out of breath. “No,” said Annelie, “but I did save you some pancakes anyway, and there is more for you too Honey.” Rock seemed a bit embarrassed when Annelie called him Honey. Everyone smiled. “I will get a crew in here today to tear apart your bedroom and see what we can find,” said Baldwin after breakfast. He got out his phone to call someone.

“Wait Baldwin,” I said, “maybe Rock and Benson could do that, I would prefer not having any strangers coming in here right now.” “Yeah boss,” said Rock, “I love breaking stuff.” “Okay, that does sound like a good idea,” he said. They went at it quite joyfully and did find cameras and recording equipment. After that we started using our scramblers in every room before talking.

“This must have been done when the chateau was rebuilt,” I said to Baldwin, “so it was planned for quite a while.” “Yes, that is quite interesting,” he said, “it also means they have been listening in to our conversations for a long time.” “Yes, that part is not good,” I admitted, “now we just need to figure out who is doing this.”

“Well, you have made a lot of enemies these last few years Steve,” said Carine. “Yes, but John told me that Avina’s husband liked to work with holograms, so he would be our main suspect for now,” I said. “You are not supposed to be thinking,” said Angel smiling, “just relaxing.” “Good point,” said Baldwin, “we will think, you relax.” “That is not possible,” I said.

The cats checked out another bedroom and there were no hidden cameras or anything else to worry us. “How come you are here again tonight?” I asked Jennifer. “I am not letting the other girls stay in here at night,” she said firmly. She is sounding more like Kat all the time. Sigurbjorn came in and gave me a good massage before I went to bed. That was certainly a good way to relax. Jenny and I talked a bit, but I soon fell asleep. Six more days.

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.