“So now they have proof from you that Sabine, or Amelie, is the person they want?”, asked Lena. “Well, not quite,” I said, “so far it’s just my word, that’s why I wanted Sabine (Amelie) and Gaston to pick up the Jade Cat in person. Then the police can catch them in the act.” “But couldn’t she just say that she’s recovering the Jade Cat from us?”, asked Lena. “Very true,” I said, “which is why we have to let her take it and get away, without doing anything to stop them. Then we get out of there as fast as we can to our getaway point.” “And where is that?”, she asked again. “Sorry, that’s a secret right now,” I said, “even I don’t know where it is, yet.” Lena just looked at me. “What if we can’t make it to that unknown spot?”, Lena asked. “Well, then we could either be killed or arrested and sent to prison for 20 years or so,” I explained, “it just depends who finds us first, the police, or Amelie’s gang.”

“Hopefully it will be neither one, but instead, the police we are working for right now. The plan is for them to find us, before the others do,” I continued. Lena just looked at me again. I think she’s having second thoughts about coming along on this trip. There are times I think I should have said no to this case. It would have been more simple if Bernard hadn’t been killed, it’s too bad he didn’t follow orders that one time. Sabine, or Amelie, has many police officers working for her, and others just follow orders because she was put in charge of finding the Jade Cat. That part is somewhat comical. She is the one stealing the Jade Cat, yet she is also in charge of finding it and the people who stole it. Which is us, of course.

So far she is keeping her word and has not killed us. She could have several times and taken the Cat. But for some reason crossing the border into Switzerland would have been hard for her. Now however, the Jade Cat is here, she no longer needs us, so now we see if she keeps her word or not. It’s a bit unnerving. I can’t trust Lena, though I wish I could, she has been a good actor all this time, but I know… The cats are ready for a fight, I am too, but I would hate for everything to end here and for Amelie to get away with all of this. We shall see what happens.

We drive through a small town that has a beautiful looking small hotel, and we’re not far from Zurich, so this is where we stop. Fortunately they have one room available. I wonder, is that Amelie’s (Sabine’s) work again? I guess we will find out. I call Sabine and let her know where we are. She will meet us here in an hour. “Just you and Gaston,” I reminded her. “And Joseph,” she added. “Who is Joseph?”, I inquired. “He is a man that will be checking the jewels inside the cat,” she explained, “just to make sure they are the real jewels.” “How do you plan on opening the Cat, just smashing it?”, I asked. “I know the combination from some old writings I discovered about the Cat. But that’s not your worry,” she said.

After the call I took the cats outside and we looked around while I talked to them and we now have our plan working out, so far. Back to our room we go. It overlooks the main road, that’s good, we can see who shows up. “Are you nervous yet?”, I ask Lena. “Just a little,” she said. Her voice and short answer told me she was genuinely nervous. I guess she realizes too that Amelie no longer needs any of us. The time has arrived, and so have 2 police cars, though the officers are staying in their vehicles right now. Another car shows up and Amelie, Gaston and Joseph get out and come into the hotel. This is not looking good. There is a knock at the door and I let them in. Gaston has a gun. “I thought there was to be no guns,” I said to Amelie (Sabine). “I don’t like taking chances Steve,” she answered, “now, where’s the Cat?”

To Be Continued.

©2021 Steve McLeod.