The Black Wolves, plus Carine and Kristina, are now on a treasure hunt looking for the remainder of that gold. Papa Levi had thoughts of getting hundreds of millions of euros from that recovered gold. However, he did not know that two thirds of the gold heist had been found already. That news had been quietly covered up in hopes of bringing the thieves out of hiding as they came to recover their gold. But they never did come back for it. The reason for that was simple, only two people knew where the gold was hidden and the three locations for it were engraved on the back of that emerald.

That is why they were so desperate to get their hands on the emerald. It also mentioned the location of the hidden jewels as well. Another thing that Papa Levi didn’t know was that the amount of stolen gold was greatly exaggerated by the original thieves, hoping that would get them better recognition by their boss at the time. But, the two men who hid this gold and jewels died shortly after the theft. One died naturally of a heart attack, the other in a shoot out with the police over another theft.

The emerald had been hidden too and no one knew where it was until Nadia’s husband found it and gave it to Papa Levi to keep in his safe. But then he realized that Papa Levi planned to keep the emerald because of the message on the back which Nadia’s husband hadn’t noticed. But one night he saw the safe door open and he again stole the emerald, hiding it in Ana’s toy bear. Anyway, Kat sent the Black Wolves to look for the gold since she figured it might be a dangerous assignment and they were better suited for such a task.

She also had Misty and her team close by in case the Black Wolves needed some extra help. Poor Misty, she is still trying to figure out a name for her team. Dawn also wants a nice name for her team, so Kat and Jennifer told them to get thinking of some possibilities and let them know. Then they can surprise me with their new names. Just what I need, more surprises. Less surprises would be even nicer right now. Well, maybe “right now” isn’t quite the right way to say that since I have just come out of my operation and I am still sleeping peacefully.

“When is he going to wake up?” asked Macy as she paced back and forth in my room. Finally Jennifer actually picked her up and plopped her down on one of the recliners in the room. “Sit still for a while please,” said Jennifer, “you’re making me nervous.” She smiled as she said it though and Macy giggled. Everyone was now back at the chateau, including Nadia and Ana. The cats were happy to be back in their playroom again. Erika and Ana were happy to be back home again too. Although Erika is 3 years older than Ana, the two of them get along great.

Mandi, being older, had some other thoughts and she came to Kat and Jennifer to see about joining the Investigators now. They were kind in listening to her but said no, she was still too young. She came back to them the next day suggesting how she could be a help to the Investigators on the home team. They both said “no” at the same time. “I like when you two talk at the same time,” said Mandi, “and I have another idea.”

“No!” said Kat and Jennifer together. The next day Mandi came to them again with another idea about being a junior member. They said “NO” once again, echoing through the chateau. Okay, a slight exaggeration. “Well, I’ll let you think on it then,” said Mandi and off she went. Both Kat and Jennifer sighed at the same time. “Wow, they can even sigh at the same time,” said Celestine. Kat and Jennifer turned to look at her. “Right, I’m off to visit Steve now,” said Celestine and she quickly disappeared down the hall to the clinic.

It was day 3 since my operation and I was still sleeping, something that was beginning to concern Kat and Jennifer. Was this operation too much for me to handle? What did Kat actually do to me anyway? She needed Sky and Angel to help with this one, plus Samantha to handle the blood transfusion. Sky was feeling fine, she only felt a bit weak that first day, but by the next day she was back to normal. Angel’s part of sharing some strength with me didn’t affect her at all. Kat is always secretive about what she does, although this time she did tell Jennifer.

I was still lying in bed, with Muffin, Jewel and Snow lying beside me, taking turns purring so that there was constant purring. The other cats would come in and take turns purring too. And there was always someone with me. Jennifer was with me nearly all the time, but she needed breaks too, so the other girls would come and take turns staying with me, even when Jennifer was there too. Right now Macy and Jackie were with me, but Celestine had just arrived with Sherry to take their place.

After Macy and Jackie left, Sherry stood there looking at me. “Hmm, you know Celestine,” she said, “both Sky and Amerie have kissed Steve to wake him up before. I’m going to give it a try. Check and see if Jennifer is coming.” “Nope, no sign of her,” said Celestine. So, Sherry bent down and gave me a nice kiss, but I didn’t respond. “Sigh, guess I don’t have what it takes,” said Sherry. Celestine giggled and giggled, nearly bursting out in a loud laugh. “Very funny,” said Sherry, “why don’t you try it and see what happens.” Sherry checked for Jennifer, but all was clear.

Celestine then kissed me, but again, nothing happened. Then Sherry tried again, then Celestine. Finally they had each tried 5 times, but nothing happened. Then Samantha came in and asked what they were doing, so they told her. She just shook her head. “When it happened before, it was just coincidence,” she said, “it can’t possibly work.” “Why don’t you try it,” said Sherry, “think of it as a medical experiment.” Celestine looked and said no sign of Jennifer coming. Sherry pushed Samantha closer to me. “This is silly,” she said.

“Oh come on, just give it a try,” said Celestine, trying desperately to keep from laughing. “Just bend over and kiss him,” said Sherry again. Samantha sighed, but she did kiss me. “Well, this is something I never expected,” said Jennifer. Samantha stood up, her face turning a bright red. Sherry and Celestine began laughing and laughing. “I knew you two girls were behind this,” said Jennifer, “therefore as punishment, you will stay here for the next 12 hours, and you will stay awake during that time.

It will be good practice for you if you need to stay awake on a case.” The two girls sighed. “Medical experiment,” said Jennifer shaking her head, “I can hardly believe she fell for that.” “You were here the whole time,” said Celestine, “that’s sneaky!” “Yep, it’s handy being a ghost sometimes,” she said, giggling. Meanwhile, back with the Black Wolves. They were closing in on the area where the final part of the gold should be hidden, but they suddenly came to a stop…

To Be Continued. ©2025 Steve McLeod.