The reason I messed up Amber’s hair, which led to a tickle fight, was to stop her from saying anything more about the team. I gave in quickly, but while we lay on the bed I whispered to her not to say anything else. She understood. ”Now you owe me big time Steve,” said Amber, “since I won the tickle fight.” ”Hmm, I guess you did win,” I said, “that’s how we do things Adoncia.” 

“You guys are crazy,” she replied. Then she went silent and put her head down. ”Hey, what’s wrong?” asked Amber. She looked up with tears, “what is going to happen to me now?” Amber looked at me. ”You will come home with us,” I said smiling. ”You have enough room for me?” she asked. ”We have 30 bedrooms,” I said, “so I think we can squeeze you in.” 

Her eyes got real wide. ”For real? Like, 30 bedrooms?” she asked. ”Yep,” said Amber, “and all of the other girls live with us too.” ”The guys have their own place,” I explained, “except for me of course, and one other guy who is married to one of the girls.” ”Wow, are you like, some big millionaire or something?” asked Adoncia. 

“No, it is actually owned by a friend of mine,” I said, “but he does not need the place, so he lets us use it free. He built himself a new house where he could relax better, rather than living with us like he was doing at first. He just wanted a smaller place too.” 

Then she started crying suddenly and said she kept getting recurring thoughts and dreams about what happened. When she told me what it was about I walked out of the room. ”Where is Sky?” I asked Kat. ”In Crystal’s room,” she answered. I went down there and opened the door, since I have a key to all the rooms. ”Do you not believe in knocking?” asked Sky. 

“Not during the day,” I said, “Amber needs help with Adoncia, a nice sensitive woman like you. Plus Snow and Ginger.” The cats showed up right away so I picked them up for Sky. ”Do you know what those nice people did to Adoncia?” I asked the girls. I then told them and Sky was ready to explode, but I told her she needed to be calm right now, which I know will not be easy for her. 

I then sat down, shaking a bit. Crystal and Catalina came over to help me. After I calmed down I called Annelie and asked if she could get a message to Georgia, from Aari. She said that one of her contacts was in the next city and knew one of Georgia’s “messengers”. I told her what to say. 

Meanwhile, “What are you doing here Louis?” she asked. ”I got a message here from that Rockwood guy,” he said. She read it. ”He wants to make a deal,” she said, “he will give us back all our stuff if we buy Amber’s house for $400,000, plus give him the names of the men that killed her parents and her sister. Then they will leave.” 

“Sounds like a good deal,” said Phil, “that stuff is worth more than $25 million.” ”I do not like it,” said Robert, Georgia’s husband, “they just might stay anyway.” ”And if we do not agree they will take us down,” said Georgia, “which would you prefer? At least this way we have a chance. They will just take the money from the money they found and giving them the killers is no big deal, they were just hired hit men anyway.” 

She then sent a return message with her messenger, agreeing to the deal. She even called one of the killers back to the city to hand him over to us in person. The next morning I was sitting on a park bench near a children’s playground, waiting for whoever was sent to meet me. I was wearing a blue armband to identify me. Sky did not really like me going alone, neither did Amber. 

Aari was totally against the idea, but I was firm this time. Soon a car pulled up, the driver got out and opened the back door. A woman in her 30’s got out and sat beside me. I had the papers for the sale of the house and she signed both copies. Then she gave me pictures of the men who killed Amber’s sister, plus their addresses, they both lived in town. 

Then she handed me a picture, which was one of the two men that killed Amber’s parents. ”This is…” she began. ”Malcolm Colman,” I finished for her. ”You know him?” she asked. ”I know about him,” I said, “we will find him.” ”Then she handed me another picture of the other man. ”This is…” she began again. ”Reggie Wasters, also know as Craig Masters,” I said, “where is he?” 

She gave me the hotel name where she told him to stay until she contacted him, and his room number. We both got up to leave. ”All this for a couple of stupid drug pushers,” she said. I gave her a hard backhanded slap with my left hand, knocking her back onto the bench. 

Her driver went for his gun, but mine was out first. ”Go right ahead, pull your gun,” I said, “I would like to have a good reason to kill you right now since I do not know your connection to this.” He pulled back from his gun and dropped it. ”As for you,” I said, pointing my gun at Georgia, “I should just kill you now anyway considering what you did to Amber’s family…

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.