Once the DVD was finished, Annelie went to work trying to figure out where it was produced. The biggest clue is at the end while the woman, Kacie Trenton, was outside talking to us. There were several noises in the background but none of us could make them out to identify them. That is where Kristina may be able to help us. Jenny had gone to check on Kristina and Galyna, they were in Kristina’s bedroom.

“May I come in?”, asked Jennifer. “I, I, yes, that is okay,” Kristina finally was able to say, “I am sorry Jenny, I really am.” Jenny smiled at her. “Do not even think about that,” said Jenny, “you and Steve were drugged.” “You are not mad at me?” asked Kristina sobbing. “No, of course not,” said Jenny, still smiling, “why would you think that?”

“I know, I mean, well, we all know your feelings for Steve,” she said, “I, I, am going to resign, that is the best thing for me to do.” “No Kristina, that is not the best thing to do,” said Jenny reassuringly. Galyna echoed her words. “You are an important member of our team,” said Galyna, “and I am sure that Steve would want you to stay. He certainly would not hold that against you. I know Steve well enough to know that.”

“Yes,” said Jenny, “and now we need you very much. You are the best one to help us identify where this DVD was produced. Right at the end that woman is standing outside talking, and there are noises in the background, but none of us can place what they are. I know what you can do with things like that, you can be a huge help to us right now, and a huge help to Steve as well. Steve feels terrible about all this too, I know he does. Please, do not even consider leaving us.”

Right then there is a knock at the door. “Who is it?” called out Galyna. “Steve”. The girls look at Kristina. “It will only get more difficult the longer you put it off,” said Galyna softly. “Yes, I guess you are right,” said Kristina, “come in Steve.” I opened the door and came in. “Hey you,” said Jenny, “how come you do not knock on my door?” “Team leader privilege,” I said smiling, “besides, you do not knock on my door either.” The girls laughed.

It was nice to see Kristina laugh, she has a beautiful smile, and laugh. “We need your help Kristina,” I said, “but you can wait a while if you want and try tomorrow.” “No, I want to catch that woman as soon as we can,” she said, “so let us get at it now.” We all went back down to the library. Jenny asked me to come to the kitchen for a moment. Then she told me about Kristina wanting to quit. “I will talk to her,” I said, “we sure do not want to lose her, she is one of the family.”

Then a thought came to me, but I did not say anything just then. Tracy came into the kitchen to make tea for everyone. “What is wrong with coffee?” I asked. “It is mid afternoon, time for tea, not coffee,” she replied. “Check with your contacts and see what you can find out about that woman,” I said. “I already have the word out Steve,” she said smiling. The cats came in and wanted a donut, so I divided one into 3 parts for them and Tracy put out a dish of water for them too.

Baldwin arrived a few minutes later with Benson and John. I told John about Kacie Trenton, but he had not heard of her. “I will check with my contacts though,” he said, “might be able to find out something, there is one man especially who might even know her.” “Good,” I said, “the more we check around, the better chance we will have to find her quickly.” “She sounds kind of inexperienced to expose herself like that,” said Baldwin.

“She is just too sure of herself,” I said, “figuring we could never find her. But her boasting will be her downfall.” “She also might be long gone now,” said John, “still, it is worth checking it out anyway.” I excused my for a few minutes and took the cats with me to my bedroom. Then I called Mandar. “Ever hear of a woman named Kacie Trenton?” I asked him. “Yes, I know about her,” he said, “she is a very wealthy woman, why do you ask?”

“She is the one who had kidnapped Kristina and I,” I replied, “and she even beat us herself, laughing the whole time, after we had been drugged enough that we could not fight back.” There was silence on the other end. “That is amazing news,” he said, “she is a very upstanding citizen here in the UK and has never done anything that could be remotely considered illegal. Do hold onto that DVD.”

He then told me more about her. “That is amazing to hear,” I told him, “it is hard to understand why she would do this.” I then told him my theory about something else. “Oh my, that is terrible news, my good man,” he said, “you must have a meeting with Baldwin, then with your whole team, before this gets out of hand. Do not waste time, get it done quickly. I would like to come and visit, perhaps I may be of assistance on this atrocious affair.” “I would appreciate any help you could give us Mandar,” I said.

To Be Continued.

©2022 Steve McLeod.