I woke up at the doctor’s office again with the cats sitting on the bed beside me. One of Baldwin’s men was standing at the door, as a guard. The doctor came in and looked at me. “What will it take for you to listen to me?”, he asked. “Sorry doctor,” I said, “but someone is out to kill me, and the cats, I can’t just sit around and wait for that to happen. I need to find out what is going on and who is trying to kill us, before they succeed preferably.” “Yes,” he said, “I understand that, this Gisela woman, she is a cruel one. It was her that killed my nurse with poison.” “Gisela?”, I questioned, “you know her name?” “Yes,” said the doctor, “she wanted me to kill Muffin with some poison that can’t be detected, to make it look like heart failure. But I couldn’t do it, I just couldn’t. The next day my nurse is dead.”

“You and your wife are in danger too doctor,” I said, “you should go away for a while.” “If we went away, who would keep stitching you together?”, he said with a smile, “that was a close one, but not serious, just a lot of blood.” Just then Caren came rushing in. “What happened?”, she blurted out, “Steve, you’re going to get yourself killed, I don’t want that. Let me know what I owe you and then you can leave, I don’t want you dead!” She started crying. “Hey, the cats and I are here to stay,” I said, “this woman tried to kill Muffin and now me. We are going to find her before we quit this case, that’s our job. But there are two things going on here, your stalker and Gisela who is trying to kill the cats and I.

And yet, there is still something that isn’t fitting the picture here, a piece of the puzzle is missing, there’s something about that square house of yours that someone wants and is willing to kill to get it. These two things are just getting mixed up together.” Just then I got a phone call and the doctor handed me my phone. “Would everyone step out of the room for a few minutes please?”, I asked. After they left I called Baldwin back, this is the way we had decided to do things, just to make sure it was Baldwin. “Bad news Steve,” he said, “they found my 3 men at the airport, dead. Those men are not mine, so watch out! I’m sending more but I’m coming out too.”

I told him it would be better not to come, he can help more from there. “Okay,” he said, “but until my men get there, take it easy and rest.” If someone tells me to “rest” again I’m going to scream. I get up and get dressed, then go out into the other room. “Steve, you shouldn’t be up yet,” said Caren, “you need to…” “Don’t say it,” I said, “I’ll rest later, right now there’s work to be done before we all get killed. You 3 men go back to the hotel, I’ll call you shortly.” Off they went, though rather reluctantly. Once they were gone I told the doctor and Caren about those men.

“Doctor, it really might be wise to leave here for a while,” I said. “That’s an interesting thought,” he said, “I must consider that sometime, but right now there’s work to be done.” I almost got the idea he was mocking what I said, but it can’t be. “Okay Caren,” I said, “you will have to call in sick for a few days so you can stay home and “rest”, since that seems to be a favorite word around here. “But I feel fine,” said Caren. “You won’t after I give you this,” I said, “and the doctor here will verify that you are indeed sick.” I showed the drug to the doctor.

“That will work just fine,” he said, “but I will just step out of the room for a minute and get a prescription for Caren to help with her illness.” Then he left while I gave Caren a needle. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing Steve,” she said rather doubtfully. “No problem,” I said, “I need you at home so I can watch you and you can help me. But it has to look legitimate, I don’t want you to lose your job.” “Thanks,” she said, “I’m feeling hot already.” “You will have a fever, plus joint and muscle aches, but nothing serious,” said the doctor, “and these pills will help ease the symptoms for you.” “Now I know why the cats sigh so much,” she said.

To Be Continued.

©2021 Steve McLeod.