Kat didn’t really do much except get the dishes out, then she sat and talked with Annelie. The cats sat at their spots waiting with much anticipation for their pancakes. Rock and I sat in the living room talking a bit about the case. We had our scramblers plugged in and working both in the living room and kitchen, so we could talk more freely about things. Finally it’s time to eat and I must admit to being rather hungry. “Well everyone,” I began, “what do you think? Should we continue or should we just pack up and head back home. This wouldn’t be the first case we had to admit defeat.”

“No, we can’t quit Steve,” said Kat, “Jennifer wouldn’t want us to quit because of her. We all know the risks of taking on a case.” “That’s right,” said Annelie, “and I just feel sure that we will find that doll and soon too.” Meanwhile, in another room… “Hi Bert,” said the boss, “you sure come in quiet like.” “That’s the best way John,” said Bert, “easy to catch people that way, doing things they shouldn’t be doing on my time.” “Uh, what do you mean Bert?”, asked John. “You just couldn’t wait,” said Bert, “I told you this was no time for petty quarrels, you wait until after they find the doll. But you had to go and try to kill that PI’s wife and end up killing her sister instead.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” said John, “that wasn’t me doing that, it was someone else.” “You told me that the area was sealed tight,” said Bert, “and that no one could get through your men. That’s what you told me, correct?” “Well, yes, I did say that,” said John, “but somehow someone got through, I have no idea who it was. You can’t blame me for that one.” “I do blame you John,” said Bert, “it should never have happened, whether it was you or someone else. But to me it looks like you did it. Who else is after that PI right now?” “Well, I don’t know,” said John, “but he probably has a lot of enemies and…”

“And these 2 men break through your line of men, come in and kill one of those PI’s, and one of them escapes again through your line of men,” said Bert, “do you really expect me to believe that?” “I’ll find out who it is and how they got through,” said John, “I promise you that, no matter how long it takes!” “I will be back at 9am,” said Bert, “have the answer by then or I will start to eliminate some excuses.” Then he left again.

“This is just great,” said John, “how am I supposed to find out who did this in so short a time?” “So what are we gonna do then boss?”, said the man. “Go check those men we have guarding the place,” said John, “if any of them hesitate in their answer, or admit to being tired, bring them to me!” Off went that man in a hurry.

Now back to us… “Kat, you need to rest,” I said, “and you too Muffin.” “I like that idea,” said Kat, “we’ll just stay here and think about the case for a while.” “Good idea,” I agreed, “Rock and Annelie, you go back to the attic, M.C. and I are going to look around the basement some more.” So we all went looking for a doll, or something that maybe looks like a doll, such as a picture or ornament, or something. While in the basement M.C. discovered something we missed the first time. There was a door in the floor, covered with boxes in one corner.

It was locked but M.C. had it open quite easily. But try as I did, that door would not budge. “Go get Rock M.C.”, I said. Meow.=Okay, I go fast. And he did go very fast. Rock came down and easily pulled the door open but there was nothing under it. “Might have been an old well,” I said, “and they filled it in so no one would fall into it. Kind of disappointing though.” “Oh well, could have been worse,” said Rock with a laugh, and he went back to the attic. Then things started swirling in my head again, pictures came to mind, real or not I couldn’t tell. I kept seeing a lady in a white dress, and a fireplace. But there is no fireplace here, or…wait a minute, maybe that’s it! “Let’s go back upstairs M.C.”, I said and…

To Be Continued.

Previous chapters of this story, and other stories in this series, can be found on my home page under, “The Investigators, Inc.”

©2021 Steve McLeod.