The room was very bright so I closed my eyes again for a few moments. I felt someone pick up my hand and hold it, then someone kissed me. I opened my eyes again and looked around, there was just one person in the room with me and it was Amerie. She standing beside my bed, holding my hand still, and smiling so cheerfully. “Where is Jennifer?” I asked weakly. “She cannot be here all the time Steve,” said Amerie, “so Katresa and I take turns to help out.”

Her smile disappeared when she spoke so I sensed that something was wrong. “I need some water,” I said, “please.” “Good thing you added please to that demand,” she said, sort of scolding me a bit. “I’m sorry,” I said, “another sip please.” “Do not drink too much at once,” she said, “you were hurt very badly. The doctor gave you medication to relax you so you could sleep, but drinking too much might not be good for you.” “May I be alone for just a few minutes please?” I asked.

Amerie looked at me, frowning somewhat. “I could get in trouble, leaving you alone,” she said. “Just 5 minutes, please?” I asked again. She sighed. “Okay, 5 minutes, no more,” she said, “and I will be standing right outside the door. Here, you push this button if you need help.” She then went out of the room. I tried very hard to speak normally, but the first time was not much above a whisper. The second time worked, “Sky, please come,” I said.

I then said the same thing a second time and felt a hand in mine on the other side of me. I turned my head and Sky was there smiling at me. “Are you the real Sky?” I asked, “Or part of my daydreams?” “I am real,” she said, and she leaned over and kissed me, “convinced?” “Yes, thank you for coming,” I said, “you will stay from now on, right?” “I am not sure if I should,” she said. “I want you to stay,” I told her, “Jennifer also wants you to stay. Did she talk to you?”

“I hid from her so she couldn’t,” said Sky, “are you sure she wants me to stay?” “Yes, I am sure,” I said, “we all want you to be a part of the Investigators again.” “We, or just you?” she asked. “We,” I said again, “I know what you are thinking, but it will work just fine, like it did with Kat and Jennifer when they came back. You underestimate Jennifer. Please talk with her, please.” “Okay, I will talk with Jennifer,” said Sky, “Amerie will be back in the room very soon, so I must go again, but I am close by.”

“Please stay,” I said, “Amerie knows about you, she would be very happy to see you here.” “I will think about it,” she said, “but for now I will stay invisible. Jennifer is still looking for me, tell Amerie to call her back because you know where I am.” She then disappeared just as Amerie came in the door. “Your 5 minutes is over,” she said smiling. “You are very punctual,” I said, “that is good to know. Get in touch with Jennifer and tell her to stop looking for Sky and come back to me. I must talk with her.”

Amerie just looked at me. “You are on health leave,” she said, “I should not obey your orders, I could get in trouble.” “I am too weak to communicate directly with Jennifer,” I said, “but this is important. I will not eat or drink until she returns and we get a certain problem resolved.” She sighed again. “The second time you wish me to go against the rules,” she said, shaking her head. “But you will do it for me, right?” I asked. She called Jennifer and gave her my message.

“Steve, if you haven’t eaten anything by the time I get there,” said Jennifer, “then you will be in big trouble! And I don’t like the idea of not looking for Sky.” “You don’t need to look for her,” I said, “I know where she is.” “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?!” she said. Amerie looked at me again. “I am not stupid,” said Amerie, “Sky is in this very room.” “Yes, I am, Amerie,” said Sky. “That is why you wanted to be alone,” said Amerie, “you do not trust me maybe?”

“That is not it Amerie,” said Sky, “but Steve knew I would not appear if you were in the room.” The three of us talked for a while, then we heard footsteps coming toward my room and Sky disappeared. Kat came in and slammed the door shut. She didn’t seem to be too happy about something, it had to do with someone not eating. Then she asked about Sky, who then reappeared. Sky asked Amerie to stay while we talked which made Amerie very happy. However, we did most of our talking once Jennifer arrived. At the end of it all, Sky will be staying with us.

Since I had been rescued, Rock called off breaking those 3 men out of prison. I imagine Granger figured that would happen after he disappeared, or maybe that is why he disappeared, knowing the team was getting close to rescuing me. We did discover those 3 men were high up in Granger’s organization and prison was definitely the best place for them. Without them his expansion into Europe will be much more difficult, and that is fine with us.

But, he did escape from us, and that is not a good thing. It looks like he will be slippery, like his uncle Toledo. We found out that Granger was Toledo’s favorite nephew and he trained him personally. That will make Granger a very difficult foe to fight. However, Matt and his Knight Riders did a lot of damage to Granger’s European plans, so perhaps he will stay on the other side of the ocean for a while longer. The Investigators are now a lot stronger with the return of Sky.

Kat, along with Sky, fixed our communication system between the ghosts and myself so that high voltage electrical charges will not interfere anymore. Sky’s ability to work with electricity had a simple explanation, though we are keeping it a secret for now, especially knowing that Granger watches us, or at least had been, so we want to make sure he doesn’t find out too much about our ghosts. It was good that we gave Carmen a new identity since Granger knew her from before.

Fortunately she picked up her two caracals after the time she knew Granger, or that would have been a real giveaway. So, she remains safe as Hannah, though nothing is really foolproof, but it helps anyway. Well, no one can say that our vacations are dull, although it would be nice to have one that is dull for a change. We won’t give up trying anyway.

Nicole and her younger sister are staying with us temporarily until they figure out what to do. It certainly has been a hard time for both of them. No one in their extended family wants them around and will not help them in any way. All because of things Nicole had to do working for Emerick. Both Nicole and her sister are receiving counseling from Galyna.

Annelie will be fine, but it will still be a long recovery. The cats are all doing fine as well, though Tracker, Storm and Midnight need to take it easy for a while. As for me, it looks like I will be on recovery for a long time too. That’s it for this case, or vacation, or whatever it was. I wonder what will come our way next?

The End. A new story will be coming soon.

©2024 Steve McLeod.