Annelie made up a nice job for Aari and Rock, then they went and bought the house across from Margaret’s home. They moved in with a small rental truck that day and the next day the remainder of their furnishings would arrive in a larger truck from London. Then Kate got an idea and called Rock to see if she could do it. “Sounds like a good idea Kate,” he said, “but only if you are being watched, and not just by the cats.”

“Okay Rock,” she said, “I will agree to that.” Then she set out to get things done quickly. Kate disguised herself and then picked Sigurbjorn, Aasta, and Karin to go with her. She needed girls that the Butcher and his men would not know. She also took Muffin and Snow along. They had only been put to sleep before and had not been hurt, so they were ready for action.

Kate wanted to visit with Reggie’s ex-wife and see what she could find out. The team could have gone after me, but that might make it harder to find Karalyn, and she was the object of our case, not me. However, the idea is to try and find out where they are keeping Karalyn and then they will try a two pronged attack to get us both at the same time.

They do not have much time, only 6 days left. They figure that the Butcher will keep me alive until the time he said anyway, just in case I am needed for something, like a bargaining tool, if things get too hot for him. They also figured that Reggie’s ex-wife, Bethany, is likely being watched just in case she tries something. Butcher does not trust anyone, except his sister Freda.

Meanwhile… “Hey Butcher, got some video for you,” said Sam. Freda turned on the monitor and they watched a nicely dressed woman walk up to Bethany’s flat carrying a briefcase. Next they listened in on the conversation. “Hello, my name is Darla Fennel, I am a private investigator,” said the woman, “I am investigating the disappearance of Karalyn Carnwell for her grandmother.

I wonder if you could give me any information about Karalyn you might know about. Like her friends, her likes and dislikes, hobbies, boyfriends, whatever.” “She certainly never had a boyfriend,” said Bethany, “she was afraid of men. Probably because of all the weird guys her dad had around the house so much.”

Then Darla held up a sign saying that no one could hear them so she could speak freely. “You mean men like the Butcher?” asked Darla. “Oh, you know about him,” she answered, “yes, especially him, and others that worked for Butcher. He is one evil man, absolutely horrible.”

Meanwhile… “Why is it all scratchy like that?” yelled Butcher, “I cannot hear a thing!!” “I have no idea,” said Reggie, “it is a new bug, it should work fine, it has been working fine anyway.” “Yeah, it has been when nothing important was happening,” said Butcher shaking his head, “I do not want excuses! I want things to work when we need them to work!”

Then it cleared up. “Oh yes, a cup of tea would be nice,” said Darla. Then they talked about normal things, and a bit more about Karalyn and hobbies. Apparently she liked photography and nature. Then it went scratchy again and Butcher exploded! He stood up, picked up a table and smashed it against the wall, then broke it into pieces.

“Pick up that PI, and I mean as soon as she gets out of that flat,” he said fairly calmly. Men scrambled for the door. When Darla came out there were two cars parked right up against her car, front and back, so no way she could leave. She smiled and went to her car, putting the briefcase inside. Four men came up to her, two on each side.

“You are coming with us lady,” said one man. Darla looked at him casually. “Make me,” she said. The four men moved in closer and the fight began! Darla had her legs moving so fast those men never had a chance. Finally two men pulled out guns. “Go ahead, shoot,” she said.

Then suddenly, “Thwock!, Thwock!” and those two men went down. Muffin and Snow jumped back into the car, Darla picked up the steel balls and left a note behind. Then she moved the one car so she could leave and off she went. Then another man showed up. “You will not believe it,” said Lucky, “that gal killed all 4 of them, and she left a note for you.

Dear Butcher, this is just a start, I am coming for you too. You cannot kill a ghost.” Now Butcher was furious and nearly destroyed the room, but Freda finally got him to calm down and convinced him to go home and relax, but make sure he had some guards around. Then Freda and Reggie went home too…

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.