The cats were jumping with excitement right now while everyone was looking into the old mine. Meowr!=Look behind you! Men with guns! Everyone turned around to see three men with shotguns standing there looking at them. The oldest man spoke to them in Swedish. Kristina could understand a little, though not much. Then Matt spoke to the men in fluent Swedish.

He and two other men from Team 4 were standing behind the 3 visitors with guns pointed at them. Meanwhile, back home at the clinic. The clinic is now our home for the survivors of the devastating attack. Kat had gone to get some food for the three girls guarding me. Sky was in worse condition than me so was in the main room with Li Jing at all times.

Kera was trying to nap and Dawn was beside my bed looking at me so sadly. “Careful,” said Kat, “that can become a habit.” “Oh,” said Dawn as she jumped at hearing Kat’s voice, “I, I did not hear you come in.” She looked over at the door which was shut knowing that it makes quite a bit of noise when it closes. “Where am I?” I said suddenly, “Wait, this is the clinic, why am I here?”

I then started to get up. “Hey, hold it Steve,” said Kat, “you need to be careful.” “Why?” I asked, “I feel just fine. And why am I hooked up to all this?” “Do you not remember what happened?” asked Dawn. “No, what happened?” I asked, “and unplug me from all of this.” “No Steve,” said Kera, “only Li Jing or Dr. Peters can do that.” Dawn then called for Li Jing who came quickly to my room and checked me thoroughly.

She then unhooked me from everything and asked me to stand up, which I did easily enough. “That is amazing,” said Li Jing, “just a few minutes ago you were in a coma, now you are okay.” “The kiss of the fairy princess,” said Kat. Li Jing and I just stared. Then Li Jing told me what had happened to me, but did not tell me of what happened to our home and the others. She left that for the girls to do.

“Thanks Li Jing,” said Kat. “I hope I have some clothes here,” I said. “Steve, you always have clothes here,” said Kat shaking her head, “this is usually your second home.” “Hmm, yes, I guess that is true,” I said, “but it will feel good to get back to our real home again. While I change you can tell me what Li Jing meant about leaving the other news for you to tell.”

“We will wait until your dressed,” said Kat. I came back out and looked at Kat rather puzzled. “Sit down Steve,” she said, “this will not be easy.” I sat down while the girls took turns telling me what happened. News of all the deaths hit me hard, especially about Carine and Trisha. I just broke down at that point. Then they told me about Kristina and team that were looking for the gold.

Apparently those 3 men that showed up had found the gold 5 years ago and turned it over to the police who then discovered where it all came from and returned it all. The 3 men were given 2 bars of gold each as a reward. It was in a pit right at the mine entrance, so the team made a big deal of opening that pit and getting excited.

Then they called for the choppers, one took the prisoners back right away so they could not see what was going on. But they reported to Ronja that we had found the gold. Amazingly, the first time the gold was returned to the police, they kept it quiet like the owners wanted, so it would be kept safe from more theft. I then went in to see Sky. Muffin was with her, purring nicely beside her. I held her hand, talking softly to her.

The next day our team returned and we all lived in the clinic. It was a bit tight, but was okay for now. Mandar, however, decided we needed a better place to live so he went house hunting and bought us a new, and very large, country estate. When I say “new”, it was not new, just new for us. It actually dated back about 300 years or so.

We will have to do some work so it will be suitable for us, and safe as well. Ronja seems to have disappeared for now, which is a good thing for us. We need to relax and heal for a while. Perhaps we need to make some changes as well. Malcolm will be joining our team, he is a good man and will be a welcome addition. Engla will be staying with us too.

Two of Astrid’s friends, Kerstina and Roxette, both from Sweden, will also be joining us, as will one of the old man’s sons. He is a big man, though not quite as big as Rock, but very strong. His name is Sten. Kerstina is a doctor so she will be a big help to Li Jing. Annelie is going to live, but will be in the clinic for a long while yet, as will Sky.

Baldwin is back with us. He had been badly burned the first time so his death was faked for protection. It was a long time with many operations before he could finally return to us. Nelson was a cousin of his and a reliable man. All the other wounded team members will be fine and back with us soon.

We will not be taking any more cases though until everyone is back to good health again. Clarence will also be joining us full time now. His two sons are living on their own now and just recently his wife and daughter were killed in a car accident. More changes will be coming to The Investigators, Inc. later.

The End. A new story will be coming soon!

©2023 Steve McLeod.