Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Saturday Stories. #10 Part 3
Good morning everyone! It is another nice, sunny day here. And cold. This cold weather does not want to leave us. So it remains cold. The sunshine is very nice though, it always feels so much nicer when the sun shines. However, it is cold. Well, guess I should finish off my story today, if you missed last Saturday, you can read Part 2 here.
It was very early spring, the ice had just gone from the lakes and the water still was icy cold. But it was a warm, sunny day so Krissy and I were enjoying our hike, except for that fall into the icy water of the creek. But, we did have dry clothes for that one. Krissy had just jumped, successfully, across the creek right where it flowed into the lake. It was my turn.
Pine Siskin on my hand.
I ran, and jumped…and almost made it. But almost does not help. I landed in that icy cold water, which was up to my chest deep. I was soaked. And because of the rounded granite rock on the other side, it was not easy getting out of that water. I had to walk up the creek a bit to get onto shore again and Krissy was there to help me. Good thing.
I was already shivering badly. I had spent way too much time in that icy water. I was shivering so much that I could not even stand up. Krissy told me to sit down and take my clothes off. “Here? In the open?” I managed to say. “And who is going to see you?” she asked. Just then a squirrel scampered by. “Oh, I see, you are embarrassed to take your clothes off because the squirrels might see you?” she asked, “Hurry up before you get hypothermia!”
Ned, the Red-breasted Nuthatch on my hand.
I was now shaking so bad that I could not even take my shoes off. Krissy got them off quickly, without even untying the laces. She got all my clothes off amazingly fast too, then vigorously rubbed me with a towel, but that didn’t seem to help much, I was still shivering badly. She had one of those emergency blankets in her backpack and quickly got it out, then helped me to lie down on it.
I tried to wrap myself in it. “No, not yet,” she said, “I am going to get in there with you.” She was soon beside me and wrapped us both in the blanket. “Hey, this thing really works,” she said. I was getting warmer, mainly from her body heat, not mine. It did take a while before my shivering stopped though. “Your dad is going to kill me,” I said. Krissy just giggled.
Black-capped Chickadee on my hand.
I did not see anything funny about that. “You worry too much Steve,” she said. “Well, he is a lot bigger than me,” I reminded her. She giggled again. “Dad will just say I did the right thing,” she said, “and dad likes you.” “That was before this,” I said. “You worry too much,” she said again, “and I certainly was not going to let you get hypothermia. And dad will enjoy hearing about our hike, especially the part with the squirrel.”
“Stupid squirrel,” I said.
“Stupid squirrel,” I said. She giggled again, then kissed me. “Your lips looked cold,” she said, “so they need to be warmed up too.” Krissy had brought double extra clothes so she still had dry clothes which she said I could wear. “Uh, I doubt they will fit me,” I said. “The T-shirt will fit,” she said, and these are guys jeans.” “My waist is bigger than yours,” I reminded her.
She took my knife and cut a slit on each side of the jeans. I had my doubts about this. But, with a bit of wire holding them together, the jeans sorta fit. “Well, better than nothing,” she said. She had a point and we did have a long walk back to the car, and it was getting late. We should be back home already. Sigh. We took a slightly different route back which made the hike a bit shorter.
Benson, the Boreal Chickadee, on my hand.
That was good, clouds had moved in and it was getting much cooler. The walking did help to keep me warm and once in the car I was able to turn the heat on which sure felt good. I was just going to drop Krissy off at home and keep going, but she said no to that and took my keys. Sigh. Krissy’s mom made supper for us and suddenly there was loud laughter in the kitchen.
Her mom came out. “Loved the part with the squirrel,” she said smiling. Krissy’s dad also loved that part. Sigh. Even with that mishap, it was still a wonderful day and nice hike with a great friend. Perhaps I will share another hike next week. I hope you all have a great weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2024 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. Case of the Missing Jet. Chapter 2. A Fool.
I was numb right now from the news of our jet disappearing. It can only mean it crashed, or perhaps it was shot down if someone had access to a small missile or rocket. I should have listened to Jennifer, she is never wrong when she senses trouble or danger. Why did I not listen to her? Sometimes I wonder if all my injuries are affecting my ability to think properly.
Jennifer kept her arm around me. She is not the type to say “I told you so”, she just keeps trying to comfort me. The authorities over there were very quick at getting a search plane in the air. According to Annelie our jet must have been very close to the airport at which they were supposed to land. That should make it easier to find. Except, we were then told there was no airport in that area.
The closest airport was more than 100 miles away and it would not be able to accommodate a jet like ours. That certainly did not make me feel good at all. Thirteen of our girls, 2 pilots and 3 cats, all of them likely dead because of my bad decision. That is a heavy load to bear. Mrs. Westerly, the one that came here, was a fake.
We were able to contact the real Mrs. Westerly and she had never heard of us. However, she did have a granddaughter who was kidnapped and even though she had not paid the ransom, her granddaughter was returned unharmed yesterday. That is an interesting bit of news. Someone put together an elaborate plan to get our attention.
Perhaps they were hoping I would be on that jet. A lot of people want me dead, so that would make sense. I told Rock to get our guys ready to go over and help with the search. I then called Mandar and told him what had happened. I asked him for some extra help so we do not spread ourselves too thin, which would make us easy targets.
This time we will land our jet far enough away from that area it will not be detected. Then the guys can drive to the area and begin searching. But, then something happened. “A call for you Steve,” said Annelie. “Not right now,” I said. “You will want to talk with her,” she said. I told everyone to come into the library but be very quiet. Annelie opened the call.
“Hello,” I said, “this is Steve, how can I help you?” “I was beginning to think you were not going to talk to me Steve,” said the woman, “it took you so long to answer.” “I needed to clear the room first,” I said. “Oh, that makes sense,” she said, “do you remember me Steve?” “No, can’t say that I do,” I said, “but something important has come up which is occupying my mind at the moment. So that could be the reason.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” she said, “news of your jet disappearing must be quite traumatic indeed. Especially with 13 beautiful women on board and 3 gorgeous cats. As you know, I love cats!” “Hmm, obviously you had something to do with this disaster,” I said, “may I ask why?” “Of course Steve,” she said, “I will be happy to answer your question and any other questions you might have.
Your precious girls are safe with me right now, and also these cute kitties which I just might decide to keep for myself. Unfortunately the pilots died in that rough landing. Now, what I want is money for the safe return of these beautiful girls and cats. I want $500,000 for each cat.” Poor Baldwin, he had just taken a sip of his tea and he sprayed it half way across the room.
“And for the girls?” I asked. “Well, I must ask more for them,” she said, “I’m sure you can understand that, so I figure they are worth $6 million dollars each.” I thought Baldwin was going to have a heart attack when he heard that number. “How do we pay you?” I asked. “I will give you the information for my Swiss bank account,” she said, “and, as you pay, I release 2 girls at a time, each day.
That way we should be able to trust each other. But only you can come to get them, no one else.” “I hurt myself on our last case and cannot walk or drive without someone to help me,” I said, “I will need to have one person with me.” “I noticed you were having difficulty yesterday,” she said, “so you may bring your wife with you, no one else.
Also, do not try to come and find me, it will not end well for these girls if you do. Everyone for 100 miles in every direction I own, so I will know when you enter my little territory. If you decide not to pay for their release, I will kill one girl each day until you change your mind.
I will give you 24 hours to decide and will call you again tomorrow at this time. It has been nice talking with you again Steve, bye for now.” She then hung up and I looked around the room, then at Jennifer. “You warned me and I did not listen,” I told her, “I was a fool. I’m so sorry, please…please forgive me…”
To Be Continued.
©2024 Steve McLeod.
