Jennifer and I came down the stairs just as Bjorn asked his question, “What is going on here?” “That is what I would like to know,” I said, “things are getting rather complicated and interesting.” “A helicopter came and took Shimeka and Vanda away,” said Angel, “we were chasing those two when we saw them sneaking down the hall. But that helicopter barely landed, someone grabbed hold of those two, pulled them on board and the chopper took off immediately.” “That was a deliberate pickup,” said Bart, Bjorn’s personal butler.”

“I agree,” I said, “but why? Who would send a helicopter here, at night, and pick up a maid and a cook’s helper? That makes no sense at all.” “Unless they are more than they seem to be,” said Sky, “perhaps they were instrumental in kidnapping your wife.” “I don’t understand what all this is about,” said Bjorn, rather convincingly, “who would be doing this to me, and why?” “I want to ask you some questions,” I said, “you hired me to find out what happened to your wife, and that means I have to check every possibility.”

“Yes, I know, that is why I hired you,” he said, “so ask what you like.” “Any financial problems lately?” I asked. “No, not at all,” he said, “I inherited a large sum of money 6 years ago, I would gladly allow you access to my bank account.” “Not necessary for that,” I said, “any other problems in your marriage?” “Nothing major,” he said, “we have some disagreements now and then, but nothing big.” “It is strange,” I must admit, “you do seem to have a good marriage, your kids are happy, so it doesn’t make sense that your wife would just walk away.

But now this incident with the maid and cook’s helper makes me think that she was kidnapped, and perhaps murdered. Except for one thing, this looks like the work of a criminal organization, a fairly large one, but why would they want your wife? Do you know anything about her past that might make this puzzle fit together?” “I wish I did,” he said, shaking his head, “but honestly, I know very little about her past, she never wanted to talk about it so I just left it alone.”

“Uh, may I add something Steve?” asked Angel. “Sure, do you have something that might help us,” I said, “I noticed you have been busy on your phone.” “I saw a marking on that helicopter,” she said, “and I thought it looked familiar, and I was right. It is a marking that the Knight Riders use all the time on their vehicles, except their motorcycles.” “Ever heard of the Knight Riders?” I asked Bjorn, “They are a criminal organization, quite large and rough. They like their motorcycles, and they are led by a man named Matt Knight.”

“Bart, look them up,” said Bjorn. Bart went to the laptop in the living room and quickly checked on the Knight Riders. “He’s right Bjorn,” said Bart, “they are a large bunch, and tough, not afraid of anyone. They have a presence in every major city in Europe, plus he has at least 50 men that he calls Riders, apparently his top persuaders. While you were in your business meetings today, a friend called me and said he saw these Riders in the city today, about a dozen of them. I forgot to tell you about that.”

“Interesting that they should appear here right now,” I said, “and send one of their helicopters to pick up two of your servants. A maid and a cook’s helper. They must be very important to Matt and his organization, yet you know nothing about them. Do you not check the backgrounds of your servants? After all, the safety of your family is at stake. One of my girls is wounded, another one is dead, I need to know what you know so I can help you and keep all of us safe.”

“I wish there was something else I could tell you,” he said, “I guess that I have been rather careless in hiring people that are going to be around my family, but I never thought anything like this would ever happen.” I decided to leave it at that for tonight and we all went back to bed. “Well, he certainly doesn’t mind lying to us,” said Jennifer. “Yes, I think he knows what happened to his wife,” I said, “he might even have murdered her himself and is trying to cover it up by doing everything right to divert attention from himself.” “I feel bad for those kids,” she said.

Then she remained silent for a few moments and I knew something was wrong. “What is wrong?” I asked her. “I feel that there is something wrong with the kids,” she said quietly, “I don’t know what it is, but there is something bad even though Sky was not able to find out anything about the library.” I then noticed Muffin by the door pointing with her tail at the door. I showed that to Jennifer, then got my gun out while she went to open the door. She went invisible first, then opened the door quickly. Erika was standing there crying so I asked her to come in.

As she came in the room Jennifer reappeared behind her and closed the door. That made her jump but when she saw Jennifer then she smiled and ran over to her and gave her a big hug. Jennifer brought her over to our bed and told her to jump on with us. “You are so very nice,” she said, “I feel very happy when you are close by.” “I am so glad to hear that,” I said, “I guess you must miss your mother.” She then began to cry again and cuddled with Jennifer. Guess I said the wrong thing. I decided that Jennifer should do the talking.

“Why do you not like the library?” she asked Erika. The answer surprised us both. Apparently she was taken in there once a week where Bjorn’s butler Bart would tell her to remove her clothes so he could take pictures of her. Sometimes Enar would be there too and they would have to do things together for those pictures and videos. Sometimes Bart would abuse Erika and sometimes Zina would abuse Enar. Then she told us something else amazing, only Enar was Bjorn and Gabriella’s child. Erika’s parents were killed a year ago, her grandparents died when she was little and she has no other relatives that she knows of.

Bjorn and Gabriella came along while she was in an orphanage and took her home. But it has been a nightmare since she came here. Dordi, the youngest girl, came from somewhere else but Erika didn’t know where she is from. Apparently Dordi keeps making up different stories about her past. That would explain why these people were trying to kill Enar, the only child of Bjorn and Gabriella. But it still doesn’t tell us who is doing this.

Then Erika looked at me with tears. “You and your wife are so nice,” she began, “will you please take me home with you and make me your daughter?” I looked at Jennifer and she was crying now too. Well, that certainly didn’t help me. I looked at Erika and smiled. “We will take you home with us,” I said. Then she hugged me very tight. I am not quite sure what happened, but she ended up staying with Jennifer and I that night. She was scared to stay alone after what happened tonight and we couldn’t tell her that it was part of our team and our plans…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.