Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
20/20 Investigations, Inc. The Wilderness Staircase. Chapter 9.
While I was watching over Lena as she woke up, the cats were on the other side of the bedroom by the fireplace talking quietly together. Hmm, I need to find out what they are talking about, but without Lena around. That won’t be easy. “What happened?,” asked Lena, “my head is pounding.” “That’s because you were hit on the head, likely by David, so the cats killed him,” I told her. She just sat there, I don’t think she’s fully recovered just yet. The cats came over finally and we all started talking about the latest note which I had just shown to Lena. “So that’s why this is going on,” said Lena, “there’s a treasure that John is after. But why include me in this treasure hunt?” “Probably to ensure that I will help look for these hidden jewels, I explained, “John knows the cats and I are good at finding hidden treasures and he knows I won’t just step up and offer to help him.”
After about an hour Lena was feeling fine again and hungry. “I’ll go make us something to eat,” she said. And as she left added, “David and Diane seemed like such a nice couple, hard to believe they would join up with that John character.” “So true,” I agreed, “Muffin, you go with Lena and don’t let anyone get near her. And call out if anything at all happens. Mr. Cat and I are going to look around for a bit, but we won’t be far away.” Meow,meow.=Okay, I watch real close and call for help if something happen. “Good girl,” I said as she quickly caught up to Lena. Since my scrambler was still working it was safe to talk in our room. Hmm, John could be using a scrambler just like this, only a little bigger to block us from calling out from here. I just need to find it. “Okay, Mr. Cat, what were you and Muffin talking about?,” I asked.
Meow.=Just talk about case, very confusing. Not think that David and Diane would be part of this, they hire us to find out what going on out here. “Yes, that’s true,” I said, “but it could have just been a way to get us here to help look for the treasure.” Meow.=Not seem like that kind of human people, Muffin agree. “Did you hear what Lena said about David and Diane just now?”, I asked him. Meow.=Yep, not strange thing to say. “But it is strange,” I told him, ” she was knocked unconscious at her home and she knew nothing until she woke up here. At least that’s what she told us. So where did she have a chance to meet David and Diane?” Meow.=Oh, that right, I miss that one, so she lie somewhere, why she do that? “That’s what I would like to know,” I said, “now, what else did you talk about?” Meow.=The notes, they not written by John, not same handwriting, not even close. We say it written by human woman. We say it written by….
Right then Muffin screamed loudly and we took off running to the kitchen! Lena was gone and Muffin was lying on the floor bleeding. I picked her up gently while Mr. Cat watched carefully and we went back to the bedroom. I put Muffin down on a blanket and examined her wound. She had obviously been sliced with a knife on her side up near her shoulder. It wasn’t deep though so she will be okay, but she’s also unconscious which is odd. Meow!=Look here! I looked on her back and there was a tiny dart. It must have had something to knock out Muffin. The slash on her was a warning of what they could have done, had they wanted to. They went too far now, forget the hidden jewels, it’s time to fight! “Okay Mr. Cat,” I said, “what about those notes? You said they were not written by John, that’s what I figured too, but I couldn’t think of who might have written them.” Meow.=Muffin and I think they written by human woman named Candy from ‘Country Estate’ case, twin of Jessica. “Hmm, I knew the notes were not written by John, and John doesn’t seem like he would be smart enough to do all this,” I said, “Candy is someone who could do it however, except she is supposed to be dead.”
To Be Continued.
Picture of Mr. Cat kindly supplied by his human, Nina.
Previous chapters of this story, and other stories in this series, can be found on my home page under 20/20 Investigations, Inc. Thank you for reading.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
Morning Coffee At Steve’s Country #18.
Good morning everyone and Happy Friday! Coffee’s on, so grab a cup, sit back and relax for the next few minutes. It’s a very mild morning, still cloudy with a strong south wind, and bringing with it a bit of snow for today. Then it’s going to be very cold tonight again. It’s a very up and down type of winter this year. Jasper was here very early this morning and since it was mild I thought maybe it would be good to go out and talk with him. I give him a peanut and he sits there eating it. “I have some bad news Jasper.” Chip? “Yes, it’s about Jenny, she was run over by a car.” He stops for a minute and looks at me, then starts eating again. Chip. “Yes, she was a very pretty squirrel, you picked out a real nice mate.” Chip. “It may not be too late to find another mate, but don’t cross the street please, it’s too dangerous.” Chip. “Thank you.”
“I have been watching you chase the blue jays, I think you are getting faster.” Loud chip. “The blue jays are more annoying than the chipmunks? I can understand that, they fly, makes it harder to chase them. But I noticed you have found their peanuts a couple times now after they dropped it.” Chip? “Yes, I did see it, very well done Jasper!” Chip. “You’re welcome.” I give him another peanut and he scampers off with it. He is taking that one a long ways, probably going back home for awhile. The blue jays have finally arrived. I can’t figure why they don’t show up early anymore. They used to be here as soon as it was daylight, now it’s about an hour later. Very odd. But it’s been odd all around for birds this winter. But for some birds at least, the natural food supply seems to be good for now, that will likely change by about mid January.
I had to redo my second bird feeder pole yesterday, it wasn’t working out too well. And since it was mild, 25F (-4C), it was perfect since I had to work with bare hands. But after an hour and a half, my hands were cold, red and stiff. But I was finished anyway and everything is much better with that pole now. I should have done that work when I fixed the main pole. Oh well, it’s done now and my hands are back to normal. And today we have a couple more of my favorite pics of the year, which is what I will be sharing from now until the end of the year. I hope you enjoyed your coffee this morning, have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2020 Steve McLeod.
