I don’t have my backpack or phone, but I do have some matches and oddly enough there is a candle, however I don’t light it since it would use up our oxygen faster. We have to sit here in the darkness?, asked Karin. It will give us some time, I said. What happened to the cats? I don’t know, when that guy showed up at the car they were already gone. That means they are around somewhere, perhaps they can find a way to open that trap door. That’s a very heavy looking door, said Karin. Yes, that’s true, but those cats can do amazing things sometimes. Soon we hear some noises by the trap door. Sounds like the cats are at work, I said. But after a couple of hours there was silence. We have been in here for 10 hours now, said Karin, it’s getting hard to breathe. Don’t worry, I think the cats are at work again.

Then some creaking and a bit of light shows through. The door goes a bit higher and… meow, meow?=You okay down there? Yes Muffin, we are okay. Then she slides my backpack over and pushes it down, landing right beside me. Meow, meow!=Can’t open door more than this, too heavy. I help Mr. Cat hold door, you climb out quick. I get my rope ladder out and toss it up to the opening. Missed. I try again. Still missed. There’s not much space to get this bar out and across that opening, I said. Once more. Got it! Karin climbs out first and pushes the door open while I climb out. I see you make enemies in this PI business, said Karin. The cats come running over to give us both a hug. They had taken Muffin’s special rope that has hooks on it, hooked it to the latch, then they tore their way through the wall so they could wrap the rope around part of the wall to pull the trap door open. You did great with that you two! Meow.=They take our car, we have to walk now.

Hmm, it’s already too late in the day to go anywhere. We will have to spend the night here. If they come back to check on us then we can get our car back, or at least a car. But they have guns, said Karin nervously. So do we now, I said while checking on my guns. Plus we have the cats, so they are outnumbered. I get a phone call right then so I wander off by myself. Well, I just found out that the Karl I met is actually a private investigator too, just started up 2 months ago. And he was found dead in his office yesterday. Karin’s eyes get real big at that news. The cats just look at each other. There is one group that wants us dead. Well, I guess Sofia’s group does too, but she is really only after me, the other group is after Katharina too, but for some reason they want us out of the way before we find her.

That could mean they know where she is already, said Karin. Quite possible, I said. Or maybe they are the kidnappers, she added. No, I don’t think she is kidnapped. She’s afraid of someone and she’s hiding. But she must have something that the other group wants. Karl does have a lot of money, where he gets it no one knows. The police think the real Karl is possibly the head of a crime syndicate dealing in drugs. I think that Katharina found out some information and so the people that work with Karl, his suppliers perhaps, want Katharina, so she went into hiding. And she wants you to help her, said Karin. Right. Meow, meow!=And we help, get all those bad people! Meow!=Yep, we stop them doing bad things!

This is not exactly the nicest place to spend the night, said Karin, the furniture is probably full of mice. Meow, meow.=Me and Mr. Cat check for mice. They searched all around but no sign of mice or anything else, they were a bit disappointed. Karin didn’t want to be in a room by herself so I brought a mattress in to the biggest room so we could all be together. Surprisingly Karin and the cats fell asleep quickly. I couldn’t sleep, I was thinking too much about what is going on and the information I received. Karin is very nice, but…can I trust her? She’s holding something back. I just found out she had been in prison for 2 years. And what did Katharina find out? And now there’s Hannah too…I drift off to sleep, finally.

To be continued.

©2020 Steve McLeod.