We have been relaxing for a few days now, except for our newest prospective team member. Hannah has been going through all of our tests and is doing very well. She will have no trouble passing everything, I’m sure. One day she came to Jennifer and I to talk. “Enjoying our tests Hannah?” I asked. “Now I know why your team is so good Steve,” she said, “if people can pass all these tests, then they can do anything.” Jennifer and I laughed.

“I have been keeping track of your scores and you are doing very well,” I said. “Thank you,” said Hannah, “but there is one test where my score is not so good, that is running.” “Well, that is one we don’t expect everyone to score high in,” said Jennifer, “not everyone is a fast runner.” “And most of the time running is not necessary anyway,” I added, “if something does require fast runners, then we use our fastest runners, simple as that.”

“And thank you both for allowing me the opportunity to join your team,” she said, “you have put your trust in me and I will not let you down, not in anything.” “I believe you Hannah,” said Jennifer smiling. Later that day as I was waiting for my massage, lying on the bed, I began to daydream once again. Then I saw Sky lying next to me, smiling at me. “You are daydreaming again Steve,” she said, “that is not good, you need to stop that if you want to get back to leading this team.”

“I would like to stop, but if I stay cooped up all the time, it will never happen,” I told her, “plus, if I stop daydreaming then you won’t be here.” “I will still be here Steve,” she said, “but I don’t want to interfere with you and Jennifer.” “Well, Jennifer is just like you used to be,” I said, “so there would be no problem. But I don’t understand how you can be here without Dr. W.” “Well, that is hard to explain,” she said, “so it will have to wait for now, I need to talk with Kat about that first.

Oh, I see Caleigh is here now for your massage, perhaps I should go.” “Can she see you?” I asked. “No, not if I stay invisible,” she replied. I convinced her to stay a while longer to talk while Caleigh went to work on my back. “You seem to be in deep thought,” said Caleigh, “can I help you with that?” “Um, no, just daydreaming again, I think,” I answered. “You do not know if you daydream or not?” she asked, “Oh my, that is very odd, perhaps we need to talk more while I’m here.”

Sky disappeared at that point and I talked with Caleigh. I asked her where she would like to go on vacation if she was planning one for herself. “Oh, that is easy,” she said, “there is an old, old castle that is now a hotel. There are legends of ghosts and murder and treasure, it sounds so fascinating!” “Where did you hear about that?” I asked. “It is in one of Storm’s vacation brochures,” she said, “we looked at it together, he was as excited as me.”

“Yep, that sounds like Storm alright,” I admitted, “he likes castles and Muffin likes tropical island vacations with large sandy beaches.” She giggled. “And what about you and Jennifer?” she asked, “Are you also very different in your vacation places?” “No, we agree quite nicely about such things,” I said, “but unfortunately our vacations never work out for us. They usually just turn into another case, sometimes deadly cases.” “Hmm, maybe you should try to vacation right here at home,” she said.

“But I am trying to get away from home right now,” I said. She laughed. “Well, we could decorate the chateau and pool area to look more like a vacation destination,” she added, “and even our guest cottage would be the perfect honeymoon destination, since I hear you two have not had honeymoon yet, and that is not good. That needs to change.” “I agree with that Caleigh,” I said, “but I also like the thought of that old castle. I think Jennifer would like it too.”

“Hmm, maybe I should not have mentioned such a place,” she said, giggling, “now maybe Jennifer will not be so happy with me.” However, Jennifer liked the idea of ghosts so we were soon packed and on our way to this 800 year old castle. There was Jennifer and I, plus the whole Bad Girls team, there are 15 of them, the standard size now for one of our teams. They are here separately from us, however, since they are not listed as part of the Investigators, just like the Wildcats and the Knight Riders.

Beryan, Kitty, Milena, Aasta and Monika, from my Team 1, have come with Jennifer and I as our bodyguards this time. The Bad Girls are only here if we need them, and hopefully we won’t need them. Then they will get to have a vacation as well. Muffin, Storm, Jewel, Rascal, Ginger and Midnight are with us too. Our seven new cats stayed at home so the other cats can continue to train them. They are all doing well, even the two caracals are learning quickly.

The caracals can jump 10 feet high without any difficulty, something that may come in very handy at times. Our first night at this old castle hotel was nice and quiet, which was a disappointment to some of our girls, including Jennifer. Personally, I enjoyed having a good night’s sleep and now we were all in the restaurant having a nice breakfast of, well, pancakes.

They had a different name for them, but that’s what they were anyway. However, our waitress was very nervous about something and she could barely talk at times. But, she wouldn’t open up to us, so I signaled for Katresa to come over and she came, pretending to talk with our cats. “Try and find out why the waitress is so nervous,” I told her, and after saying hello to each cat she returned to the girls table…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.