After getting the approval from Sky, I look at the cats. Meow,meow.=Me agree, take case. Meowr.=Me agree too, too. “Okay, we will check out the place tonight,” I said, “will you agree to certain things Penny?” “Such as…” she asked. “I want two of my girls to stay with you at all times, just for your protection,” I said, “if Mike cannot pay what he owes, they will come after you, and you do not want that.”

“Steve is right Penny,” said Sky, “I have been through that, it is not nice.” “Okay,” she said, “I have the house until the end of the month anyway so I have lots of room for them.” “And please,” I said, “do what they tell you, they know how to handle situations like this.” I turn to Sky again. “Who is with Crystal?” I asked her. “Well, there is Tracy and Aubrey,” she said, “they would be good for Penny.”

“Right,” I said, “they will be here this afternoon Penny.” “And here I thought you were alone Steve,” said Chief Darryl. “We are alone,” I said smiling, “but help is never far away for us.” Several people started coming in now so Penny had to get back to work. “There is something about this that does not seem right,” said Chief Darryl, “but I am not sure what it is. But having both Mike and Brent disappear at the same time is odd.”

“I agree,” I said, “they must have gone into hiding which is the wrong thing to do, it just makes their wives an easier target.” “Yes,” he said, “I wanted to give Brent’s wife protection too, but she said no to it. But I will have my men driving by her house on a regular, though irregular, basis, day and night.” “Good thinking,” I said, “maybe Penny can change her mind about protection.”

We talked for a while then we all left. It did not take long for Crystal and her team to arrive. They did not all come together though, something that we do now. After everyone was here we met in our room to talk. That evening we went to the casino to check on things. It did not look any different than other casinos though, and it was sure a busy place.

Sky and I tried our luck at different things so we would not stand out from the crowd. Sky actually won a little bit, so did Crystal and Sigurbjorn. They were on their own however, we did not even talk together at all. We managed to get photos of everything in that place as well which we then showed the others after we got back to the hotel. “What do you think Mac?” I asked. “Standard place,” he said.

Mac is a man of few words. “Would it be easy or hard?” I asked again. “No problem with this place Steve,” he said, “I would say something else is more important to them.” “That is what I was thinking too,” I said, “but this little town seems out of place for any kind of major operation.” “Not far from a big city though,” he reminded me.

Meanwhile, when we were at the casino… There was a knock at Penny’s door and Tracy answered. “I want to talk with Penny,” said a well dressed man. “She does not want to see anyone,” said Tracy. But the man just pushed his way inside. “It will only take a minute,” he said. But he made the mistake of putting his back to Tracy and she kicked him hard in the lower back.

He fell to the floor groaning and she then kicked him in the stomach. He groaned more and she bent over, taking his gun from his shoulder holster. “Now, get up and leave,” said Tracy, “before I get angry.” He did so, slowly. “I will remember this little girl,” he said weakly. “Here is something else to remember,” she said, “do not come back or next time I will not be so nice…little man.”

Later as he was back at the “office”. “A little lady like that got you on the floor and took your gun,” said the boss, “give him his pay and get him out of here. I do not want to see you again.” The man was paid and he left, but was not in a good mood. He was smart enough to leave town quickly though, he knew what would happen to him if he stayed around.

“So Penny has a bodyguard of some kind,” said the boss, “now that is interesting. I wonder how she arranged that so quickly, and without any money.” “Maybe it is a friend of hers,” said another man. “Maybe,” said the boss, “but she must be from out of town then, we know all of her friends here. Try to find out something about her.”

“Shall do boss,” said the man. After we were back in the hotel, then Tracy called me to let us know what had happened, and sent a pic of the man. “No need to worry about him,” said Mac, “he will have been told to leave, now.” Nice having Mac around, he knows how things work with people like this…

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.