The cats and I were up early and went over to the chateau and do some reading in that fabulous library. Meow,meow?=Why we up so early, you not like to sleep anymore? “We need to read a bit and do some thinking Muffin”, I said. Meow.=Oh no, back to thinking again, more trouble ahead. “Thanks Mr. Cat,” I said. “He might have a point.” “Oh my, I’m always outnumbered,” I said somewhat sarcastically, “but it’s amazing what can be found in these old books.” “What’s your next step in all of this craziness?” “I need to go see Rochelle, the bank manager this morning, see what her part is all about,” I said, “and see if she is even interested. She went to the funeral of Linnea, that doesn’t mean she wants the chateau.”

“That’s true, I think Adalee and Antoine are the main contenders.” “Yes, but Baldwin gets it in the end,” I said, “Calanthe has a good idea, turning this place into a spa resort for seniors. And Lena would be a good addition to that, helping Calanthe, she’s a good accountant.” “Are you planning to keep your chateau?” “I want to, even though it’s a bit close to this place,” I said, “but it might still work out okay.” “Sure, 3 hours isn’t really that close, and it is a beautiful chateau, especially once you get that main floor looking the way it did originally.” “That’s going to take a lot of money,” I said, “but the money I get from the sale of this place will help out with that.

So I’ll likely keep it for now anyway.” “And now?” “Now I need to stop a war from happening between the 3 big players,” I said, “they are all too proud to give in easily.” “And who is the strongest of the 3?” “That’s a good question,” I said with a sigh, “I wish I knew the answer to that, I think they are all quite equal actually. Now here is the book, look at this right here. Remember this number 1,876. I’m sure glad all these books are numbered, makes it so much easier.” “So let’s check it out.” “Right, let’s do that right now,” I agreed. “Well, look at that, you were right, or maybe I should say, the book was right.” “Okay, now we’ll leave that for later,” I said, “it must be time for breakfast. Are you two cats awake yet?” Meow,meow=We awake, it time for breakfast? “Yes, that it is,” I said, “let’s get going.” Meow.=Anything exciting happen while we nap? “No, not really,” I said casually, “but the excitement might come yet.”

We got back to the cottage just as the pancakes were ready. We ate until we could barely move and then got ready to see the banker. The ladies wanted to come along and do some shopping while I did the banking. When we got to town I dropped off Calanthe and Lena, then went over to the bank. The police were there when I parked the car. I went over to see what was happening. They let me come in. Apparently Rochelle was working late last night by herself and someone managed to come in and kill her. She was found in her office this morning by one of the employees. Hmm, now we’re down to 2 players in this, not counting Baldwin. I went back outside and noticed Baldwin’s car across the street so I went over. He invited me to come in and talk. “What’s up at the bank?”, he asked. “Seems someone killed Rochelle last night,” I said, “I hope your hand was not in this Baldwin.” “I told you before, I don’t do things like that,” he said, “I use money to get what I want. But I have some interesting info for you, Antoine is an arms dealer, very successful, probably has as much money as I do. He’s dangerous Steve, don’t mess with him.”

To Be Continued.

©2021 Steve McLeod.