Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Mystery of Kat. Chapter 13. The Kat is Back.
Now we go back to Craig and Butch at their hotel. “Time to get going Butch,” said Craig, “those Investigators will be looking for us soon.” “Where we going boss?” asked Butch. “Scotland,” said Craig, “they will not think of looking for us there, not right away at least. We can get a flight from there to one of my hideouts.”
“Going back to Canada?” asked Butch again as they were driving north. “No, they will think of that,” said Craig, “we will go to Argentina for now, I have a nice place down there and have not been there for a while.” “Yeah, I remember that place,” said Butch, “it is nice.” “Now I need to find some men to come with us,” said Craig, “men I can trust.” “How about Cotton?” suggested Butch.
“Yeah, he would be perfect,” answered Craig, “he is almost as good with computers as Williams.” “You going to get Williams out of jail Boss?” asked Butch. “Yeah, I will, eventually,” said Craig, “but things are too hot right now, they will be watching him close. And they will be watching Fingers too. We need guys that are on the outside.”
“There is Forester too,” said Butch. “Yeah, another good suggestion,” said Craig, “my brain is working good today. I will call them and get them to meet us in Panama.”
Meanwhile, back to us. “We need to start checking the hotels,” I said, “and see if we can find Craig and Butch.” So that is what we did, but we came up empty at every place. “I think they probably left once they saw the news about Crook and Williams,” said Andrej, “that is what I would do anyway.” “Yeah, that make sense,” said Miles, “he is long gone now.”
So we checked airports all around this area of the country, but again we came up empty. “Well, they do not need to fly out from here,” said Sky. “Yes, that is unfortunate,” I agreed, “looks like he got away from us for now. I will make sure Annelie keeps checking around, perhaps she can get a lead for us.” “Terrible to know that Craig beat us,” said Kristina, “and now he is still on the loose.”
“True,” said Kat, “but sooner or later he will come out in the open.” A couple of days later we got together and had another team meeting. At this meeting we formally accepted Kat, Aoife, Beryan and Carine as members of The Investigators. Carine wanted to join us again and we are going to buy her hotel for us to continue using for recuperation of wounded team members.
And Kat wanted to talk with everyone about some things that we all have been wondering about. Well, almost all, since Sky and myself already knew at least part of what she wanted to tell. She is actually the real Kat. How could that be when she died? “Well, some things about me are hard to explain,” she said, “so it might be best to leave them for another time.
But some things about me are easy to explain. You should have noticed that every time I pointed at someone and told them they would die, there was always at least one of the cats nearby. When I said that, they would go into action. With those new slingshots they have, which are quite powerful, they can use smaller steel balls which are hard to see.
So, it was really them killing those people, not me.” “You mean the cats have known about you all this time?” asked Annelie. “Well, it started with Muffin, then the others,” she said, “and I have practiced a lot so I have gotten very fast and very good at fighting. And I had lots of time to apply a new hobby of mine, coming up with new inventions, which have helped the cats a lot, and me too.”
“So, how do you stop weapons from hurting you?” asked Rock. “Hmm, that one might have to stay a secret for now Rock,” she said, “it is something good, but, it is also, well, painful enough to kill. I want to be a part of The Investigators again, however, if any of this is a problem, I will just disappear.”
We all made sure she understood we wanted her to stay with us and that she was now an important part of our team and our family. Well, I guess this takes away the mystery of Kat, at least mostly. Craig is gone, so that wraps up the case against him for now. But I am sure our paths will cross again. For now, a time to relax until the next case comes along.
The End. But a new case will be starting soon.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
From The Heights. #19 Memories.
Good morning on this cool, cloudy Saturday! I must say, this has been one of the most cloudy years I have ever seen. But the sun is shining so beautifully in my window, just hitting the side of my bookcase causing the golden color of the pine wood to really glow which seemed to flood the whole room with a satisfying and comfortable look.
I love pine. It just has a real outdoor feel to it and it brings a warm atmosphere to any room. Actually, I like wood of all kinds, due to its natural look and feel. Oh, yes, it is cloudy this morning, but there was a small break in the clouds for a few minutes, that is why the sun was shining in here. It is gone now however.
An island on the lake in fall beauty.
Now to go way back. My friend Krissy wanted to join me on one of my “exploring” trips. She was brave, considering she knew the problems that sometimes found me while I was out exploring places. She was 18 at the time, I was 28. We picked a day in the summer and off we went one morning driving down some country roads looking for an abandoned place to explore.
We ended up driving down one road, then turned off on what was more like a trail than a road. But it was wide enough for my car, just barely. At one point there was a rather steep hill to go down. I looked at it. Easy to go down, but might be difficult to come back up. Krissy said we should try it, so off we went. It was good and solid so coming back will not be a problem.
A different island showing off its fall splendor.
We went around a curve and saw a couple of crumbling buildings before us, and the end of the road as well. We got out and looked around. We each had a good solid pole to carry, just in case we discovered an old well. There was a well, but it was well marked, so that was good. One building was the house, or what was left of it anyway. We walked carefully around the part that was still standing.
Not much in it, a couple broken wood chairs, a broken table, some cupboards, two old iron beds in one room that we did not go in due to the roof having collapsed in that section many years ago. There was a cellar with stairs that seemed to be solid enough. So I ventured down while Krissy stayed up top, just in case something happened to me.
The beauty of golden yellow.
Good thing I brought a flashlight with me. Half way down I heard a creaking sound, then a cracking sound, then… thump! The stairs and I landed on the dirt floor. I was not hurt, but it was going to be a little hard getting out now. But Krissy remembered that we saw an old ladder outside, so she went and brought it in, sticking it down into the cellar.
We had not been paying attention, but it had gotten cloudy and now it began to rain. Amazingly that ladder held me and out I came. That old roof was not doing much to stop the rain which was coming down quite heavily now. Which meant we were getting wet.
Looking north of town.
We ran for the car and were soaked by the time we got to it. Water was running down the hill which made it impossible to drive up, so we had to wait until it stopped raining, some 3 hours later. Since we were wet anyway, we decided to keep looking around that old place in the rain.
We did not find anything too interesting, but we did have fun anyway, and that is the most important part. It looks like it is going to rain today as well. There is supposed to be showers, I think. Oh well, it is still a nice day. I hope you enjoy the fall pics today. Have a great weekend everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 