“Talk about a dream,” I said, “though I suppose it might work. But how will they know if I will follow through with it at the end?” “Because the guard will give you the word you have been programmed with, so you will follow through with it no matter what,” he said, “unfortunately we don’t know what that word is that he will use. It might be a very ordinary word, we just don’t know, so there’s no way you can be ready for it.” “Then it’s best to stay away,” I said. “Except that would put everyone around you at risk of being killed,” he reminded me. “Right, I wasn’t thinking about that,” I said quietly. Right then Baldwin got a phone call so he went into another room. This is just so fantastic, in a bad sort of way, I really don’t know what to think. I start thinking about Muffin again. I seem to remember more about her now, but nothing else.

“That could mean you are starting to remember,” said Calanthe, “and soon you will remember other things too.” “I sure hope so,” I said, “because this is really starting to weigh me down. But what your brother has been saying about Pete, something just doesn’t make sense. Why doesn’t the President say something about it then?” “Yes, I was thinking the same thing,” she said, “it doesn’t seem like something the President would keep quiet about. Unless they have threatened him in some way.” “You seem to be very quiet Mr. Cat,” I said, “worried about Muffin?” Meow.=Yes, I very worried, she not look good when we see her at animal hospital. But I also thinking.

I start to remember some things too, about time taken by bad people, where they take us when they take away your remembering. We there before, in old case. “What?”, said Calanthe, “you know the place?” Meow.=Yep, we there when looking for Katharina, when she fake her kidnapping and she tie us up, then burn the place on us. Except we get away. We in cellar of that house. They mention it good hideout, burned house on top mean no one think of looking for them there. And it close to forest, maybe same forest where they leave us. “Do you remember exactly where that place is?”, I asked him excitedly. Meow.=No, not house, except it place that up for sale, but only pretend. I remember some towns we drive through going there.

Calanthe went and got a map of the area where they found us and spread it on the huge library table. Mr. Cat jumped up and started looking at names of towns near where we were found. Meow!=There one town! And here another! And he remembered where we started from initially and the hotel we stayed at one night. Calanthe checked the hotel and a restaurant we stopped at just to get an idea which way we were driving on that one highway. The house was between two towns that were about 30 km apart. “It shouldn’t be too hard to find a burned house in that short section,” I said.

Just then Baldwin came back with more news. Apparently Pete is up to something far worse. He has really moved into buying and selling of military weapons on the black market and he wants to increase now that a void was created by our last case. He wants to buy a small group of four islands belonging to France in the south Pacific, only one island is really worth anything, the others are just bare rocks. The French territory that they are part of is wanting the President to okay the sale, there’s a lot of money involved, but the President has heard things, which unfortunately can’t be proved, and so he doesn’t want to sell.

If Pete can get these islands he will declare his own little country and have a safe haven for his organization. So, with the President out of the way, he hopes the deal can be done. Sounds like a far fetched idea, but it could work I guess, at least Pete thinks so. And he would get his money back soon enough, so he’s not afraid to spend a large amount. Then we tell Baldwin what Mr. Cat remembered, that got him excited too. If they are using that old house for a current base to hide in, then they might still be there, and we could trap them. But the only thing certain right now is…that I’m still nowhere.

To Be Continued.

Previous chapters of this story and other stories can be found on my home page under “The Investigators, Inc.” and “20/20 Investigations, Inc.”

©2021 Steve McLeod.