Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Inheritance. Chapter 7.
Meanwhile back with Lena….She had called Rossana and talked about this situation, Rossana had told her to get away from here quickly and don’t get involved in this case. It could be very dangerous, for Lena, and for me. Lena admitted it really seemed very strange, but she was so tired from her trip, so she decided to sleep for a couple of hours and then leave. She made sure the doors and windows were all locked and then went to bed. She lay there thinking for a while, remembering the conversation we had before leaving on this case. We had both decided that though we liked each other, it certainly wasn’t love. So we would stay friends but that’s it. Lena couldn’t see herself as a PI or married to a PI, she said it would just be too much stress for her. And that makes sense, being a PI isn’t for everyone. Right now though she was worried about me and what we had gotten mixed up with, and where was I if I wasn’t here? Or was I already captured, or maybe even killed by now? Finally she fell asleep.
Voices! That woke her up quickly! It sounded like 3 people talking in the kitchen. She listened quietly. They were talking about her, about killing her and tossing her body in front of Steve to give him a good scare. They wanted to get rid of Steve somehow because he had gotten in the way of their plans. Then all was quiet. She got dressed quickly, grabbed her bag and went out of the bedroom. There was no one around. Her car was still parked up at the chateau and it wasn’t raining now. She ran to her car and took off out of there as fast as she dared drive! She didn’t know the bridge had been washed out with the high water because of the storm, and someone had removed the signs and barrier. She came around the curve so fast and by the time she saw what was ahead there was just no time to do anything….
Meanwhile, back at the chateau with the cats and I…That was no ghost, but how did he get in and out so fast? Meow?=Maybe it real ghost? “No, Mr. Cat,” I said, “no ghost could choke me like that, it was a real live human, and someone strong and tall. Meow,meow.=Yep, ghost was tall, no one here that tall, not even human Karl. “Karl is the tallest that we know, but we haven’t met Francois or Henri yet, one of them might be tall, I will have to ask Calanthe,” I said, groaning a bit and holding my lower back. Meow,meow?=Ghost hurt you? Maybe you sit down. I looked at Muffin and took her advice to sit. That “ghost” did put his knee up against my lower back as he choked me, and that’s where I had been shot. That was quite painful, but it’s not going to stop me getting this case done! “Check around for a secret door,” I said, “there must be one close by.”
So they did and sure enough it looks like there is a sliding panel on the wall right where the “ghost” disappeared. Now, how to open it. Hmm, we should be right above Calanthe’s bedroom right here. I know it wasn’t her that choked me, she’s too short, and so is Giselle. Ah, here we are, a button on the top wood piece and it opened the sliding panel. Amazing how quiet things are in this chateau. Down some narrow stairs which led to a door into Calanthe’s closet. Is she helping someone? This doesn’t look good for her. However, the stairs did continue downward, passing the main floor and going to a large cellar. Strange that Linnea never mentioned this cellar before. Sometimes I think that Linnea is hiding something, but she should be trying to help me, after all, she did hire me to find out what’s going on.
Now I think that Calanthe is also hiding something. Is there no one here I can trust? There’s an old wood chair in the cellar, so I sit down and think. The cats prowled around checking the whole room. They come running back, meow,meow!=Come quick, we find ghost clothes! I followed them to the other side of the cellar. Sure enough, clothes that had been treated with something to make them glow. “Someone in this house has a very sore side now, that will help us identify the “ghost”, I said. Meow,meow.=Lightning flash mess up my shot, or I get him in head. Meow.=That okay Muffin, we still get him now. “Yes,” I said, “this is still very good.
To Be Continued.
Pictures of Mr. Cat are kindly supplied by his human, Nina.
Previous chapters of this story and other stories can be found on my home page under “The Investigators, Inc.” and under “20/20 Investigations, Inc.”
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Coffee At Steve’s Country #46. Downy Woodpecker.
Good morning everyone and Happy Monday! Also, for those of us in certain parts of this big country of ours, “Happy Family Day”!! This is a real holiday here, but not in all provinces, however, most of the country calls it Family Day. Other provinces have the holiday but a different name for it. It’s another cold day, with that temp down at -31F (-35C) and with the windchill factored in that makes the temp -49F (-45C). Cold again tonight and then it begins warming up a bit.
So, grab yourself a coffee to warm up and relax for a few minutes while we look at another little bird this morning, the downy woodpecker. I checked and couldn’t find a woodpecker appreciation day, so I decided to make one, today. We’ll call it International Woodpecker Appreciation Day! So many people think that woodpeckers are harmful birds that kill trees, which is totally false. In fact, woodpecker’s help trees by eliminating the insects in the tree, and it’s those insects that kill trees. The downy woodpecker is the smallest in North America, just 5 to 6 inches (12 to 15cm) long from tip of the bill to tip of the tail.
They have a very short bill so generally look for insects under the bark of trees. They are very beneficial in orchards where nesting boxes (bird houses) are often put up to attract them. They are also a major feeder of the elm bark beetle and other bark beetles. They will do a thorough job of ridding trees of tiny scale insects. The live all over Canada and most of the US as well. They are the most common woodpecker in eastern N.A. They get along well with people and live in towns and cities, in parks and neighborhoods where there are lots of trees. They are easily attracted to feeders, especially for suet, but will also eat sunflower seeds and peanuts.
In winter they spend all their daylight hours looking for food. The male excavated their nesting cavity, usually in a dead tree or tree branch (plus they are easily attracted to nesting boxes). Once he’s near completion the female joins in for doing the finishing touches. They always sleep in different hole cavities. The female lays 4 to 7 eggs and both sexes take turns incubating the eggs in shifts of 15 to 30 minutes. At night it’s always the male that stays on the eggs. By the time the young are about 17 days old they are almost fully grown and the parents are bringing them large meals every 3 minutes. After 3 or 4 weeks the young can fully look after themselves. So much more could be said about these fascinating little birds, but I’ll stop before this gets too long. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
