Kat and Jennifer had been watching Carmen carefully and some of the things she said didn’t quite add up. Plus, when they asked her certain questions about her husband Vincent, she seemed to stumble a bit, even though for the most part she was able to talk freely about Vincent and she knew exactly what to say. That got them thinking that she was really an imposter and not the real Carmen. Perhaps she was being used by a rival organization to try and get information about Mr. Marchetti and his outfit.

So, I decided to contact Rossana and I discovered something, Carmen has a twin sister named Courtney, and they are identical twins just like Kat and Jennifer, or Misty and Cristy. But what is Courtney doing here? Does she work for Mr. Marchetti or for someone else? Either way she is in danger right now and hopefully Jennifer can convince her to come back to the chateau for her own safety. Just then Sky arrived with Courtney, who was asleep and was now lying on my bed.

Also, Frisky and I had been kind of having some fun and she threw some water at me just as Sky appeared. The water hit Sky on the side of the head. “AAAAA!!” she yelled, “I have water in my ear! I hope you have a good explanation for that Friskie!” “You were standing in front of Steve,” said Friskie. Sky just stood there blinking at Friskie. “I specifically said a GOOD explanation,” said Sky as she tried to drain the water from her ear. “Where am I?” asked Courtney. “Some place where it rains inside,” said Sky, “I’m going to change my clothes.” Then as she got to the doorway where the door had been broken off it’s hinges before.

“Hey, why is the door over here?” asked Sky, “It should be in front of the doorway so people can’t see in the room.” She then moved it in front of the doorway and there was a “whack!” and Sky found herself on the floor with the door on top of her and Misty on top of the door. “What person without a brain put this door in front of the doorway?” asked Misty. “Did Misty just call me brainless?” asked Sky. “Why are you under the door?” asked Misty. “Because you live here,” she responded. Misty then helped move the door. “You’re all wet,” said Misty.

“One more word and I will touch you with my finger,” said Sky, then she left. “I think she needs more sleep,” said Misty, “she seems a bit touchy today.” Friskie was laughing so hard she couldn’t talk. “You must be Steve,” said Courtney. “Um, yes, that’s me,” I said, “sorry for ignoring you.” “That’s okay, I was enjoying the show,” she said.

Meanwhile, back in Italy. Aari, Rock and John were sitting at a table in the restaurant waiting for Mr. Marchetti to show up. Carine was there too, but she was invisible and several other Black Wolves were nearby, just in case there was trouble. Mr. Marchetti would not get away alive if he caused any trouble. He showed up right at 6pm with two men, Giorgio and Nilo. They must have been good fighters for Mr. Marchetti to bring them. The three of them were checked for weapons by the Black Wolves, then they went back to their rooms and the guests went into the restaurant.

Aari introduced himself right away and asked Mr. Marchetti to sit next to him at the round table. “I am rather intrigued by your presence in our fair country Mr. Jensen,” said Marchetti, “after all, Canada is a long ways from here. I am even more intrigued by your interest in a certain young woman named Carmen that you took away from one of my men.” “Actually, there were 4 of your men,” said Aari, “we saw her obviously being abducted against her will and we didn’t like that. So, we rescued her and let her go.

It looked like she returned to her friends. I know of the man responsible for taking Carmen, Dimitri, also called The Lizard and I realized she was not in good company. Dimitri should be thankful he was able to walk away from there. As for our presence here in Italy, we thought it would be a nice place for a vacation, and we don’t need anyone’s permission for that, even if it is in your particular territory Mr. Marchetti.” “Very true,” he said, “do you know which friends Carmen was with? I would like to talk with her.”

“I’m very sorry Mr. Marchetti,” said Aari, “but it seems to me the girl has been scared enough by your men, so I would suggest leaving her alone now. Otherwise some angry wolves might come along and eat those nasty lizards who would want to hurt her.” “You shouldn’t be threatening me Mr. Jensen,” said Marchetti rather calmly, “you may have a large organization in Canada, but I doubt you have many of your people with you here.

As you already mentioned, this is my territory, and my people will crush any dogs that get in our way. So, if you are planning on expanding your operations, look elsewhere. As far as Carmen is concerned, you are better off staying away from her and enjoying your vacation instead.” “I will definitely consider your recommendation Mr. Marchetti,” said Aari. This conversation was near the end of their dinner together, then Mr. Marchetti and his men got up and left.

“I don’t think he liked your analogy of wolves eating his lizards,” said John. “I didn’t want him to like it,” said Aari smiling. “Can we talk about something else?” asked Rock, “I’m trying to eat.” “You’ve been eating for 45 minutes already,” said John. “But I haven’t had dessert yet,” Rock complained. “Bring it up to your room,” said Aari. “Everyone’s always in a rush,” said Rock as he stood up.

Four men entered the restaurant at that moment and began shooting! Carine was holding Aari’s hand, so he was protected, but John and Rock fell to the floor bleeding. Aari pressed his help button and when the 4 men went outside a black van pulled up quickly, the side door opened and shots were fired, killing the 4 attackers…

To Be Continued. ©2026 Steve McLeod.