For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
We were still visiting with Irene when Jennifer sensed danger at the hotel. I had checked with Sky who said Adamson had come to claim his “merchandise”. That is a term I loathe when people use it to signify people as their merchandise. I told Sky to deal with him, but I sent Angel over to help with Courage. Irene didn’t think she would make it in time but I told her we have some very fast runners on our team.
She said that she would like to see that sometime, so Jennifer took that as a “yes” that Irene would come with us. “Well, I,” she said, and sighed, “I really would like to get away from here. Everyone says they are afraid of me, because I have an invisible gang that are professionals. But really, I’m the one that is constantly living in fear, not knowing when someone will finally decide to kill me, or perhaps turn me over to the police.
I would likely spend the rest of my life in prison if that happened. Especially with my previous conviction of murder. There is a band of young men from the village on the other side of the island that watch over me day and night. They will kill anyone who tries to hurt me. I had to tell them to leave you alone when you came to the house today, or all of you would have been killed.
I helped their village set up their fishing business when I first arrived and they are now doing very well with it. Now they show their gratitude by helping me with protection. If you are wondering about my financial state, when my parents died while I was in prison, they left me a substantial inheritance. They never believed that I was guilty of murder.
I sometimes wonder if they were murdered as well, but guess I will never know that for sure. Anyway, that is how I bought so much property here. It was rather cheap, really, but it made me look more wealthy than I am. Geraldine paid me very well too, which has helped.” “I want to return to the hotel,” I said, “please pack whatever you want to bring with you.
I would like you to stay in the hotel until we leave. Also, I want to leave Kitty, Milena, Crystal, Melanie and Melissa here with you for better protection. Adamson will likely be angry and come over here with his men next.” I left 4 of the cats as well, with Storm as their leader. Meanwhile, back at the hotel. “Now, Mr. Angleson,” said Sky, “you need to be taught some manners.
I do not like being called a wretched woman, that makes me angry and I lose my head!” Sky’s head disappeared at this point which didn’t seem to impress Adamson. “Nice trick, you miserable brat!” he yelled, “Now, I’m taking my property!” He then pushed Sky aside and walked toward Summer. However, Dawn, Cynthia and Amerie stood in his way.
He then pulled out a gun, as did the 3 men that were with him. However they all dropped their guns quickly yelling about them being too hot. But Adamson kept heading toward the girls and Dawn was ready to fight him first, but Cynthia asked if she could. Dawn stepped back and Cynthia went into action. She has become an amazing fighter, using her feet and hands on Adamson, quickly knocking him to the floor groaning.
Sky went after the other three men, using her lightning talents, tossing the men across the room. They won’t hurt anyone ever again. They allowed Adamson to get up and Sky escorted him to the door while the girls dragged the bodies of his men into the hallway. “Take them with you Adamson,” said Sky. Adamson was looking up and down the hallway, but none of his men were around, except for two that were also dead. “I will have the police on you for murdering my men!” Adamson yelled.
“Sorry Adderson,” said Sky, “but it was self defense. Now, get out of here and don’t come back!” The girls stacked the bodies in the elevator with Adamson and down he went. He found his scared men in the lobby who told them they were chased away by a huge lion. He fired them for making up such a ridiculous story, but the manager told Adamson his men were right.
He then called more men to come from his yacht and they took the bodies away. We came walking back along the sidewalk about that time and Adamson was sitting on my favorite bench. “Sit down PI,” he said, “just you though, not those women.” “You have 4 bodyguards with you,” I said, “so my wife and bodyguard stay.” I then sat down with Jennifer but Misty remained standing.
“Oh, if your men try anything,” I said, “this young lady can pull her gun out and shoot, accurately, in just one second, and you would be her target.” Adamson just sneered. “I want to tell you a story of a man I once knew,” he said, “he thought he could fight against a larger enemy with a small number of men. But he didn’t realize how vulnerable he was.
Apparently he had some children away at a boarding school where he thought they would be safe, since no one knew of their whereabouts. But the man’s enemy found out and killed his children.” He then looked at me. “People with families are always vulnerable,” he said with a grin, then he stood up and began to walk away.
“Adamson,” I said, “I would tell my enemy not to think of it, because I would destroy him and I do have the resources to do it too.” He laughed and walked away. “Sky,” I said, and she was immediately beside me. “Take Angel immediately, pick up Mandy and Erika and bring them back here,” I told her. She disappeared again, grabbed Angel and off they went.
The girls were in school. Sky dropped Angel off at Mandy’s school while she went to pick up Erika. Angel found Mandy in biology class, so she opened the door and called to her. Mandy ran out to the hallway and Angel grabbed her hand right away and they went invisible. The teacher had come out almost right behind Mandy, but when she looked around, no one was there.
Same thing happened at Erika’s school, once in the hallway, Sky took her hand and immediately they were with Angel and Mandy. Sky took the two girls back to our room, where Jennifer and I were now sitting. Then she returned to pick up Angel and brought her back to the room also. Summer was wide eyed at this, and just a bit scared.
But when she saw Mandy and Erika hugging Jennifer and I, calling us mom and daddy, she did calm down a bit. I then brought the kids over to Summer to introduce them to her. I then explained about Sky and Angel being real ghosts and they had some interesting abilities because of that.
Mandy and Erika kept chiming in too which helped Summer to accept that explanation. She actually thought it was really cool to meet real ghosts. I asked the manager and he moved us to a room with 4 beds, which worked much better for us. But this is not over yet…
To Be Continued.
©2025 Steve McLeod.
DISCLAIMER= If you are not have expert knowledge of wild mushrooms, you should always go with someone who is knowledgeable. Your life may depend on it.
Hi everyone and welcome back to another look at our magnificent wild mushrooms! It has been a while since we have posted about mushrooms, so it’s time we get back to it. Today we will look at the Orange Milk Cap mushroom (lactarius croceus).
This is a fairly common mushroom in our area and is found all over the northeast area of North America. The caps can be anywhere from 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10cm) wide and the stem is from 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5cm) tall. The cap is smooth but will turn sticky when it is wet. The cap color is a fairly bright yellowish orange. The stems are paler than the cap and can look almost white at times.

Orange Milkcap.
The latex produced by this species is bitter and white, drying to a yellowish orange color. It also produces a fruity type odor. This mushroom can be found from summer through fall. It is a nice looking mushroom but is considered INEDIBLE. We have so many mushrooms that are poisonous or just plain inedible in our area.
That is why the disclaimer at the top. Don’t trust completely a book or online guide, as pictures can sometimes look quite different from the real life mushroom. Some wild mushrooms are delicious, but you want to make sure it’s the right one. Well, have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2025 Steve McLeod.