Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Mystery of Steve’s Envelope. Chapter 3. Candace Fired.
Candace got up and started yelling at me. ”You stupid fool, you could have been killed!” she yelled, “And if you had shot me in the neck with that dart gun it would have hurt, a lot! And I could have hurt you a lot by kicking you! Stupid fool!” Then Sky showed up and looked at me, then at Candace who was shaking and crying. ”I could have really hurt him with that kick,” she said through tears, “I could have.”
“You did the right thing Candace,” said Sky reassuringly, “so do not worry.” Kerstina checked me out but I was okay, just very sore. Baldwin and Mandar showed up around 8am for breakfast. They just got in the door and Sky met them. ”Where are the guys!!” yelled Sky. ”Still in bed I think, it was a late night…”Baldwin began to say.
“They should have been here 2 hours ago!!” she yelled again, “Do they not remember what a Code Red Attack means?” ”What Code Red, we got no Code Red warning,” said Baldwin. ”The alarm was sent!” yelled Sky again, “Steve could have been killed!” ”My dear Sky,” said Mandar in his usual soft tone, “is it really necessary to yell so loudly? We are only about a meter away from you.”
“Yes, it is necessary to yell this loud!” she replied, “Those guys should have been here 2 hours ago, Steve could have been killed and maybe several more of us too! Am I clear?!” Poor Sky was shaking now so Kat gave her a hug and took her over to sit next to me on the couch. Baldwin was on the phone to his butler, Norman and told him to get the guys up and over here.
“When should they be there?” asked Norman. ”Two hours ago!!” he yelled and hung up. ”Oh my, now Baldwin is yelling too. Perhaps I should have stayed home today.” I started to laugh, but stopped right away because my stomach was too sore. ”Why is your stomach so sore?” asked Baldwin. ”Because I kicked him rather hard Mr. B.” said Candace as she stood in front of his desk.
“And why did you do that?” asked Baldwin. ”I respectfully do not wish to answer that question,” she replied with her head down. ”I see,” he said, “Why did she kick you Steve?” ”She was trying to protect me,” I answered. He then turned to Pamela who was the leader of Team 7, an all woman Team. ”What is your story about this?” he asked her.
“Um, well, I did not see the first part,” she began, “I only saw her kick Steve very hard. I could tell it was a hard kick by the way Steve fell to the ground. Then Candace began yelling at Steve and called him a “stupid fool”, um, twice.” ”Is that correct Candace?” he asked. ”Um, yes Mr. B.” she said. ”Mr. B,” I began, “Candace had a right to kick me and yell at me.”
“This is my matter with Team 7 Steve,” he told me, “you will only answer questions that I pose to you, no other comments please. I know you are too soft to pass judgement.” ”Candace, you are hereby fired,” he said, “you will return to base and remove your belongings right away. Your paycheck will be waiting for you. Dismissed.” ”Yes Mr. B, thank you,” she said quietly.
Then she came over to me and fell on her knees beside me. ”I am very sorry for kicking you, and most of all for calling you a stupid fool,” she said through tears, “because it sure is not true. I was angry, but that is still no excuse for saying that. I am the stupid fool.” She then put her head on my leg. Please forgive me Steve,” she said pleadingly, “I do not care about anything else, but please say you will forgive me. Please.”
“Candace, I gladly forgive you,” I told her, “but really, it is all my fault. How much do you have to pick up at the base?” ”Oh, thank you Steve, thank you so much!” she replied, “Um, just my backpack, a suitcase and one box. Why?” ”Crystal, get a car ready to take Candace back to the base and pick up her belongings,” I told her, “take Tracy, Charly and Roxette with you as well.”
“There is already a car out here,” said Crystal. ”And bring Candace back here,” I said, “you will be put on probation for a period of 1 month during which time you will not be paid, but we will look after all your needs. If you would like to join our team then you can use that month to study and take our tests. And as punishment for calling me a stupid fool, you will have to clean the kitchen, by yourself, for two weeks.”
“Like, you are really serious about letting me join your team?” she asked, “for real?” ”Yes, of course for real,” I said to her, smiling. Then Sky whispered in my ear. ”That seems rather harsh punishment,” I told Sky, “but if you want that, then tell Candace.” ”About time someone is thinking around here besides me,” said Baldwin.
“Candace, as part of your punishment, for the probationary period you must say to Steve, “I love you Steve” and give him a hug, once each day.” ”What kind of punishment is that??” exclaimed Baldwin. ”It is basically the opposite of calling Steve a fool,” explained Sky, “and it can be quite humbling.”
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. The Mystery of Steve’s Envelope. Chapter 2.
I had just told my story to Kat and Sky which made Sky rather furious, not because I had not told her before, but because of what was happening to me. ”Sky, sit down so I can explain things better,” I said. ”I am still wet from swimming,” she said. ”I do not mind,” I told her, so she sat on my lap. I explained that after the night at the clinic when Kat said someone was watching us, then I had 2 phone calls which did not really make sense, so I just figured they were prank calls.
Until today, this time the phone call let me know what was going on, specifically. It was blackmail, of a different kind. The woman did not want money, she wanted me to surrender myself to be her servant, or she would tell her story to everyone on our team and even get it on the news.
The Investigators would be finished since no one would trust our team anymore, and she figured that Sky would leave me and no one on the team would trust me anymore either. Her story was not true, but I could not prove it. It likely would finish our reputation as PI’s and maybe it would cause some of the girls to leave as well.
“Look at me Steve,” said Sky, “I want to ask you a question and your answer does not matter to me because I will not leave you no matter what. Is her story true?” ”No, it is all a lie,” I said, “but I cannot prove that which is what makes it so bad. And I would not lie to you about something like that Sky, ever. That goes for you too Kat.”
“Came kind of close today Steve,” she said. ”True, but I stopped myself,” I admitted. ”Now, are you going to let us help you?” asked Sky. ”I will think about it,” I said, “but I just do not want anyone getting hurt over this, somehow I do not believe she is working alone, I think someone else is behind this and that could make things more dangerous.”
“When do you have to give your answer?” asked Kat. ”Tomorrow morning,” I replied. ”Then we need to start digging,” said Sky, “what is her name?” ”Lorenda Winters,” I said. Annelie was on it right away trying to find out whatever she could about this woman. By noon she had a complete profile on her, except for the last year when she seemed to just disappear.
That was odd, but maybe that is when she teamed up with someone else. A meeting was called to inform everyone what was going on. Sky and Kat offered to tell everyone, but I said it was up to me to do that. Amber came up to me afterward, “remember I told you to let us help you sometimes too, well, now we can help, somehow, I am sure we can find this woman and make her tell the truth.”
“How do we make her do that?” I asked. ”Just leave her alone with me for a while,” said Amber, “she will confess.” Several of the other girls said the same thing. ”Best to leave her with me Steve,” said Kat, “we ghosts can do some amazing things to get people to talk. And it is harder to hold a ghost accountable for anything since they have to find me first.”
Everyone laughed. She might just have something. Annelie kept digging for more information, even Mac, Miles and Alfred tried asking people they knew as well, but no new information could be found. That night I could not sleep, it just seemed like giving up to this woman was the best way to go, though that would look like I was guilty. But, perhaps I could approach this a little differently and only involve myself.
She was going to pick me up at 6am, she said, and in person, but I wonder if she would really come or just send others to pick me up. I was up and outside before 6 to wait for her, but unfortunately a member of Team 7 spotted me and came over to see what I was doing. ”Drop you gun Candace,” I said, pointing my gun at her. She put her gun down.
“What are you doing Steve?” she said walking toward me. ”Stop Candace, or I will shoot,” I told her. ”I have a vest on, as you should be able to see,” she said, continuing to walk, “so you will have to shoot me in the head.” I raised my gun. ”I will do it if you do not stop,” I said firmly.
She stopped, then took one more step and suddenly kicked the gun from my hand. Then she turned and kicked me hard in the stomach, knocking me to the ground. Then she heard a vehicle coming and she pressed her alarm. Code Red Attack! blared inside and out.
Everyone was running fast, all of Team 7 ran to the front of the house just as the van arrived. Candace grabbed her gun, threw herself on top of me and began shooting! Some of the girls were out and shooting now too, as were Team 7 people. The van swerved and hit a large rock in the yard, all 4 men inside were dead…
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 