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For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
After those men left, in a hurry I might add, we continued our conversation with Arielle. However, it might be cut short by a sniper who was getting a rifle ready in that building down the street from us. Up on the fourth floor, the window was open and the sniper was arranging the rifle in the best position to kill one of us, or perhaps all of us. This sniper seems to be able to shoot multiple people quite quickly, and that is not a good thing for us.
However, Angel is with us, though invisible, and she is truly our guardian Angel today, watching in every direction for any irregularities around us. She is absolutely amazing at times, and she certainly scared away those two men in a hurry! Now, back to our conversation. “Here is another photo for you to look at,” said Sky, “two adorable little children. This photo is from a year ago, this one is more recent.”
“They are cute,” said Arielle smiling, “who are they?” “You have never seen them before?” I asked. “No, never,” she said, “that’s why I asked who they were.” She smiled when she said it. “They are supposed to be Rose’s children,” I said, “though from what you said previously, I didn’t really think they were now.” Arielle laughed.
“There is no way they could be Rose’s kids,” said Arielle, “I would know about it if they were. Rose and I were kind of close, being the two youngest. And as I said, Rose was terrified of even talking with men, no way she would get that close to any.” “Did you get all that Cristy?” I asked. “Yep, and I am already on it,” she said, “but trying to find out who they are is like finding a needle in a haystack, literally.” “Yes, I know,” I admitted, “but check out some possibilities anyway.”
Now, back to our sniper “friend”. The sniper had placed the rifle just perfectly and the sniper’s finger was on the trigger. But then something odd happened. “I just can’t do this,” said the sniper and he backed away from the window, “Mr. Stone will kill me, but I still can’t do this!” Suddenly there was a sharp knife against the sniper’s neck. Then the sniper heard a deep, gruff voice. “Back further away from that rifle,” said the voice, “don’t try to pull that trigger, and don’t try anything else, or you will die.”
The sniper did so, slowly and carefully. “Now, sit on that chair right there,” he said, and the sniper did so. “Let’s take off this hood and get a good look at you,” he said, and he pulled back the hood to reveal the sniper’s face. “Come take a look at the rat I caught, Steve,” said Mac. Arielle looked confused a bit when she heard a new voice. “I need to leave for a few minutes,” I said, “but the girls will stay with you and keep you safe.”
“Oh, look over there,” said Colette, pointing in the opposite direction to where I was going, “oops, too late.” Arielle turned around and noticed I was gone. “Wow, he sure disappeared fast,” she said. “Steve does that sometimes,” said Sky, “especially when there are fresh donuts around.” She then explained this to Arielle and she laughed out loud over that one.
“Well, well,” I said, “who do we have here?” “I don’t have to talk with you, or him either,” said the sniper, “so you may as well kill me and get it over with.” “That is not quite the way we do things, Miss…” I said, “what is your name?” She just gave me a very stubborn look. “I could turn you over to the police,” I said, “you are wanted in a number of killings, something the police call murder. We are not police officers, but we are private investigators. Why do you want to kill us?”
“I don’t,” she said slowly and quietly, “it’s my job, and when I decided not to kill you and the others, well, that means death for me. Mr. Stone does not tolerate disobedience. I have seen what he does to people who disobey orders. It isn’t nice. So, please, tell your man to kill me quick, I, I don’t want to die at the hands of Mr. Stone. Please, I beg, kill me quickly.” She was in tears at this point and was actually on her knees in front of me.
I helped her get back up and sitting on the chair. “I told you we don’t do things that way,” I said again, “we obey the law. And, we can protect you from this Mr. Stone if you help us.” She looked at me and I could see she was doubting what I said. “No one can protect me from Mr. Stone,” she said, “he is all over the world, there is nowhere to hide.” Then she looked up at me. “But if you think you can help me,” she said, “I will help you if you take me with you, please?”
“We’ll take you with us,” I said, “come with me now to join my friends. Does Mr. Stone have someone watching you right now?” “Most likely he does,” she said, “that’s why I said there is no way to protect me.” “Did you hear or see Mac come in her looking for you?” I asked. “No, I didn’t,” she said, “and I’m always careful, looking around and listening for any noise that shouldn’t be there. I’m surprised he could sneak up on me like he did.” Mac just smiled at her.
“Years of practice,” he said, “helps keep me alive.” We then rejoined the others and I put another chair at our table for our new friend. Mac returned to wherever he came from. For someone who isn’t a ghost, he sure acts like one. I’m glad he’s on our side now. It also looks like we have picked up two new women to join our team, maybe, first it will be up to them to make the choice. “This is, um, I seem to have forgotten your name,” I said to the sniper.
“I didn’t tell you, remember?” she said, “Anyway, it’s Dorothy, I’m from Canada originally, then ended up in England where I met my, um, boss.” “Thank you,” I said, “this is Colette, Sky and Arielle,” I said. Meanwhile, not far away. “I’m sorry to bother you Mr. Stone…” But the man never got any further than that and he fell to the ground, dead. He had been stabbed. “Best leave the area Steve,” said Mac, “might be more visitors show up soon.”
I then told everyone it was not safe to stay here any longer, so we should go elsewhere. Arielle and Dorothy said they wanted to come with us and I was very happy with their decisions. Sherry drove up right away and we left for a safer location. Well, we found out who our sniper is, and hopefully she will tell us all about this Mr. Stone. He is a dangerous man and must be stopped. There are too many people involved in this case, and it still doesn’t make sense…
To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.
Jazzy had managed to find Arielle for us quite quickly. That woman has some amazing contacts, that’s for sure. She also told me that it’s necessary to look in the right place for a woman like Arielle. Hmm, I will have to remember that, however, it likely still would not help, it’s necessary to have the right contacts too. Knowledge is a good thing, but sometimes you need to have help to go along with that knowledge, or you don’t get anywhere.
So, here we are, at a sidewalk cafe in Paris, talking with Arielle, and hopefully she will be willing to help us with some information about her family. “We believe that Rose and Grant were murdered,” I told Arielle, “and we believe it was your other sister and her husband Tony.” “Who is this Grant fella?” asked Arielle. “We were told he was Rose’s husband,” I said. Arielle laughed at that.
“Rose was terrified of men,” she said, “she couldn’t even talk to one. She was single when she died, she overdosed on sleeping pills, took a full bottle of them one night, but Rose lived at home when she died.” “The coroner’s report said she died of a gas leak in the flat where she and Grant lived,” said Sky. She then showed Arielle a photo of Rose and Grant.
“That man is Tristian, our brother,” she replied, “he worked for the gas company, and yes, he died of a gas leak the same night that Rose died.” Then Sky showed her a photo of Gabriel and Josephine. “Who are they?” asked Arielle. “Have you ever seen them before?” I asked. “No, never,” she replied. Then Sky showed her that wedding photo. “That is mom and dad,” she said, almost crying at this point, “mom was 2 inches taller than dad so she decided to wear sandals on their wedding day so she wouldn’t look even taller.
They died 5 years ago in a car accident, or that’s what the police said anyway. One of those big trucks drove head on into their little car, crushing it totally, then he ran off and was never found. He didn’t work for the company who owned the truck, he had killed the driver and stolen the truck. Guess he didn’t know how to drive one of those big things.”
“I think he knew exactly how to drive it,” I said, “he deliberately killed your parents and was likely hired by someone to do it. And I think I know who that person is, but proving it won’t be easy.” Then I saw two men walking toward us and knew that they would be trouble, so I quietly told Sky to watch Arielle. “So, there you are Arielle,” said one man, “Mr. Dupuis wants to talk with you, seems you missed an appointment.” “Guess I have to go now guys,” she said.
“Do you want to go with these too misfits?” I asked, “Because you don’t need to, just stay here with us, we will protect you.” “No one can protect me from Mr. Dupuis,” she said with tears, then she looked at me, “can you help me get straightened out?” That’s when one of them grabbed Arielle’s arm. “Let go of her!” demanded Sky. “Yes, or you might get hurt,” added Colette. “You little girls better go back home and play with your dolls for a few more years,” said the one, and they both laughed.
“Please daddy, can we play with these big bad boys for a while,” asked Sky in a cute little girl voice. “Oh, I think that would be okay,” I said, “but try not to hurt them too much.” So, Sky and Colette stood up and Sky once again told the one man to take his hand off Arielle, which he did this time. As he did so he gave Sky a hard backhanded slap, knocking her to the ground. Colette, who looked rather small against her opponent, then went into action.
She is quite the acrobat and was kicking and hitting her guy, knocking him down three times before he hit her. But it was a direct hit to the side of her head with his huge fist, knocking her flat on her back. Sky was now having fun with her guy and he was soon unconscious. Colette was getting back up, but slowly, and her guy was about to jump on her back, so I got involved now. With a few well placed kicks, he was down, and out cold.
“Well, I almost had him,” said Colette. We all sat down again after relieving these men of their guns. “Mr. Dupuis will kill you, and me too,” said Arielle, “and there is nowhere for me to hide from him. Can you take me away with you?” “Do you want to change this life of yours?” I asked. “Yes, I would like to, but I need help,” she said, crying, “I sold myself to Mr. Dupuis 5 years ago after mom and dad were killed. He just came out of nowhere and said he would give me a job as a model.
I didn’t realize what he meant, but I soon found out. Then he used me for other things too. Rose told me she had a good friend in America that could help me. She was a wealthy and powerful woman. Rose said her name was Misty and she would definitely come and help. Poor Rose, she kept making up stories all the time and we never knew what was true and what wasn’t. I knew this story wasn’t true since none of us had ever met this Misty woman, so how could Rose have met her?”
“Maybe Rose was telling the truth,” I said. “Then why didn’t she come and help Rose when she needed it?” asked Arielle. “Maybe she didn’t know,” said Sky. “Yes, there is a woman here right now looking for the person, or persons, who killed Rose,” I said, “and her name is Misty. She seems to be quite wealthy and influential, she even stopped a police investigation into her and her friends she brought with her.”
“For real?” she asked. “Yes, and we have met her,” I said, “anyway, if you are serious about changing, then you can come with us. All I ask is that you tell us the truth, no lying.” “I live a life of lies,” she said, “but for you I will not lie, that is a promise.” “I was in a similar position as you,” said Colette, “and Steve helped me to change, and some friends of mine too.” Arielle told us where her parents were buried too, plus Rose and Tristian, or Grant, as we know him.
Cristy had listened to the whole conversation and was already at work checking things out, just to make sure she was giving us correct information. Those two men then got up, but for some reason they got scared of something and ran off. “That was a very strange way for them to act,” said Arielle. “Well, they didn’t have courage on their side, but we did,” I said smiling.
Courage the lion was standing there next to us. We could see Courage, so could those two guys, but Arielle couldn’t see him. While this was going on, something else was happening across the street, but down from us a few buildings. On the fourth floor a window was open and a rifle was just being put in place…
To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 