Then I lay there quietly while Beryan continued my massage. Finally I said, “How am I supposed to tell Cheryl what her parents said?” ”Sounds like it would be my job Steve,” said Galyna. She had entered the room just after the phone call. ”I did not hear a knock,” I growled. ”That is because I did not knock,” she said smiling, as she sat on the bed looking at me, “since when do I need to knock during the day?” 

“You have a point,” I said quietly, “sorry for barking at you.” ”I will accept your apology,” she said. ”Hey, having a party in here?” asked Aasta. ”I did not hear a knock,” I said, trying to be a little nicer this time. ”That is because I did not knock,” she replied. ”And why not?” I asked, “It is my bedroom, that could get you 1 month of inactive duty.” 

“But, but, the door was wide open,” she said, her eyes wide open, “that would not be fair!” ”Oh, guess I left it open,” said Galyna. ”Sigh, I should just take the door off,” I said. The girls all laughed. Then I shared the phone call with Galyna and Aasta. I don’t think I have ever seen Galyna get so angry, she is always amazingly calm. 

“We will be bringing her back here for now,” I told them, “until she figures out what she wants to do. Meanwhile, we need to make her feel completely welcome and comfortable while she is here with us. We will try to be her new family for a while, she will need us. Especially you girls. She may not trust the guys right now after what she has been through, so do not push her to like the guys.” 

“Right,” agreed Galyna, “she will move along at her own speed, we just need to be there and encourage her, and just be her friends, or really, her new sisters.” ”That part is easy,” said Aasta. ”Not necessarily,” said Galyna, “remember, Lauren was a woman too, so Cheryl may not trust all of us right away.” ”Aasta,” I said, “you are the same age as Cheryl, so you might be able to help her the most at the start.” ”Hey, someone my age!” she said excitedly, “Sounds great!” 

Meanwhile, the State had plowed the road and even into the property and the guys had the SUV’s shoveled out by that time too. So, they took the gold and silver with them while the gems went on the helicopters with the girls and Alfred. Mandar’s Team 4 came along to help with protection and look after the jet until everyone else got there. Another jet would be waiting for the guys at another location. 

Rossana and her friends will arrive a day later and will go over the gems with Alfred. Rossana knows about Alfred and though his connections with a criminal organization before could lead to his arrest by others, she will not do that. I need to talk with Alfred again about giving him a new identity. He did not like the idea, but it would be safer for him. Meanwhile, back with Lauren and her gang. 

“How did they manage to find those gems??” she yelled, “They took all my money! I barely have a million dollars left! I will kill that PI, I will, I will kill him and destroy The Investigators!!” ”Right now it might be best to hide away for a while,” said Michael, “that PI will be looking for you.” ”I will not hide from any PI,” she shouted, “instead I will set a trap for him! He will regret tangling with me!” 

Now, back to us again. ”I may have found Lauren,” said Annelie, “she has one of her little “studios” in the city.” That day fairly large, roundish gentleman arrived in a certain photo studio. ”I would like to speak with Ms. Lauren,” he said. The man behind the counter looked at him. ”Who are you?” he asked. ”Just let her know that I have some information for her that I am sure would be of interest to her,” he said, “it concerns a certain man named Steve, whom I detest a great deal.” 

He was led into a large office where Lauren was sitting on a sofa drinking tea. ”Would you like some tea?” she asked. ”That would be very nice indeed,” said the man. ”In case you are wondering,” she said, “these two dogs would kill you in a minute if I told them to do so.” ”I thought that might be the case,” said the man, “but surely we can speak to each other in a reasonable manner.” 

“Is she your bodyguard?” said Lauren, pointing to a beautiful young woman that came with the gentleman. ”I prefer to call her my helper,” said the man, “at my age I find it necessary to have someone along to help in various ways.” Lauren chuckled. ”I understand,” she said, “now, what is this about some information you have?” 

“Well, I will come to the point,” said the man, “my source tells me they have some gems that belong to you. And tomorrow the police will come to pick them up, which will make it difficult for you to get them back. That would give you only tonight to retrieve them…

To Be Continued.

©2024 Steve McLeod.