For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
“You know nothing about another Steve that took my place at the chateau?” I asked, “someone who looks just like me, talks like me, does everything like me?” “I do not know anything about that,” he said sweating, “honestly, this is the first I heard about it. I did know your jet went down and there were no survivors, although I see that was not true now, but I know nothing about another look alike Steve.”
“Then why did he put out a contact on you?” asked Mac, “a contract that is now mine. He is paying 500K to kill you in order to get you out of his way because he is afraid you might kill him and take over Baldwin Corporation.” I could see from the look on Toledo’s face that he might actually be telling the truth.
“Look, if you let me make a couple phone calls, maybe I can get this cleared up,” he said, “I do not like someone fingering me for something I did not do.” “Okay, make your calls, but be quick, I am rather impatient these days,” I said. Muffin was sitting beside me on the bed. Meow,meow.=Me think he tell truth, he look too surprised.
Toledo took out his phone and called someone he knew and asked him to check around and see if there was another Toledo out there. It did not take too long, about 20 minutes and the man called back. Toledo put it on speaker so we could all hear.
“Found out something,” said the man, “a man named Charles Bentwood has been using the name Toledo lately. Apparently he has something big going on to steal a company named Baldwin Corporation, and it would make him one of the wealthiest men on the planet.
But he had to remove a guy named Steve first, so he made a twin for the guy who would inherit the Corporation, then he would kill that Steve and inherit it all for himself, and for 9 friends of his who would get shares in the company. Now there is a contract out for Toledo, but someone could mistake you for the target now, so you better hide for a while.”
“Do you know this Charles Bentwood?” Toledo asked me. “Yeah, I know him, and his 9 friends,” I said, “supposedly they were men that Baldwin could trust but obviously he was wrong about that.” Right then I got a call from Roger saying that they had caught the fake Steve and his fingerprints did not match, so they knew he was the fake.
He is still claiming to be the real me however so I guess we will need to have a longer talk with him. “Well Toledo, it looks like you are innocent this time, so I apologize,” I said, “but I am still handing you over to the police for the murder of Kat.” Right then I felt that squeeze on my shoulder again, on both sides this time, from Sky and Crystal. They both looked at me.
Meow,meow.=Me think they try to tell you something, how you can arrest him for murder? I look down at Muffin. Seems like there is 3 against one here. Sigh. “I am going to hand you over to the police Toledo,” I said again, “for your part as an accomplice to various murders and crimes. We will let the courts decide if you are guilty or not.”
“Okay, that sounds fair,” he said, “right now it might be safer in jail anyway, until you catch this other Toledo, or someone kills him for the money.” The police arrived quite quickly and took Toledo away. The rest of us went back to Mandar’s office, that is where they were holding the fake Steve. “I know that was not easy Steve,” said Sky, “but it was the best thing to do.” She smiled so nicely, how could I argue? Kat giggled. Sigh. I wonder how the others are doing back at the chateau…
To Be Continued.
©2023 Steve McLeod.
Baldwin (now deceased), he is the president of The Investigators, Inc., also the owner. Though Muffin and I started it, we sold it to Baldwin for no money, but he now pays all the bills and our wages. He is a multi billionaire with companies all over the world. He is 50 and single. He is a large man (sort of barrel shaped) and has become a good friend of Steve.
Steve, he is the team leader and makes the final decision on cases and choosing new team members. He has been wounded many times, nearly died twice, most serious wounds were bullet wounds close to his spine. As a result he can no longer participate in things too strenuous. He needs daily massages and a drug to counteract another drug that was given him which makes him go into a “nowhere” state. He is 32, married to Sky.
Sky, she fell in love with Steve almost immediately that they met. She is from America, has long blond hair and blue eyes. Her blue eyes are why her mother named her Sky. She is an amazing fighter, and fast with a gun. She is 23. Due to things in her past, her family will not talk to her.
Trisha, she was given a new identity for her safety. She is 16 and after her mother died, her dad and brothers kept her chained in a filthy basement for 2 years and abused her and sold pictures of her. We ended up rescuing her and Steve and Sky adopted her. She does not participate in cases, but is in training.
Crystal, another new member, same size as Sky, also long blond hair and blue eyes, they look like they could be twins, but are not, but they are cousins, along with Angel. Their mothers were triplets. She is also an amazing fighter and good with a gun. She is single and 25 and has no family.
Annelie, has been around longer than anyone else except Steve. She was with a criminal organization but because of her help she was given a whole new identity by the police and given freedom. She has no family. She is the tallest woman on our team at 6 feet. She is amazing with a computer and can find most any information for us. She was shot in one hip and had the other hip broken, so has had 2 hip replacements and no longer goes on cases. She is married to Rock and is 34.
Rock, the largest man on our team at 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 350 lbs. He is all muscle, a very strong man and Steve’s best friend, he is 33. He is generally a very quiet man, but stay out of his way when he gets angry. He is the second leader on the team after Steve.
Kristina, has been with us quite a while too, very good with guns of all sorts. She is fearless and an amazing fighter. She is 28 and single with no family.
Angel, we found her trying to avenge the death of her friend. Her and her mother were working together, but her mother was killed. She joined our team after that and has been with us quite a while now. She is a fabulous fighter in martial arts and excellent with a gun. She is 24 and single, no family.
Sigurbjorn, from Iceland, speaks 10 languages and has an amazing memory. She is our masseuse. She is strong, a good fighter and knows wilderness survival. She is 27 and single, with no family. Her father had been with a criminal organization.
Galyna, our counselor and advisor to Steve. She can usually tell when a person is lying or having problems that they are not dealing with. She will try to help them and if that fails she will tell me. She is 28, single with 2 sisters who will not speak to her.
Tracy, spent time in prison for drug trafficking. She was the sister of a man named Jake who had helped us many times. He asked me to give her a chance, which I did and never regretted it. She is fearless, great fighter, good with a gun, also has a great memory. She is 22, single with no family since Jake was killed.
Saranna, our medical doctor, loyal and very knowledgeable in medicine and surgery. She is 34, single and from Canada where she still has family.
Li Jing, our other medical doctor and also is our vet. She knows much about herbal medicines. She is single, 28, her parents were from China but died when she was young, so she was mainly raised by her uncle, Chung, who used to be with us but was killed some time ago.
Carine is French and she helped Steve when he was in a “nowhere” state, not knowing who he was or where he came from. She is from a criminal gang but left it just prior to finding and helping Steve. She is 30 and married to Benson.
Benson, has been around for a while, used to be Baldwin’s driver, butler and numerous other positions. He is a big man and very strong as well. He is also 30, with family in America. He and Carine now operate a hotel in the U.K. but still help us sometimes.
Astrid, from Sweden, was in the armed forces. She can use many weapons, is an excellent fighter and good in wilderness survival. She is 25, single, with family in Sweden. She has blond, shoulder length hair and blue eyes.
Bridgette, from the U.K. is one of our nurses, has not been with us long. She is presently working her way to being an MD. She is 28, single, with family in the U.K. She has brown shoulder length hair, hazel eyes.
Marlene is from Canada and is another nurse that has not been with us long. She is excellent in her knowledge of countries and is fluent in 6 languages. She is 26, single, with family in Canada. Has long brown hair and green eyes.
Felina, from Canada, is an old friend of Steve. Her father was a lawyer who helped me get started as a PI. She came to join us after her parents were murdered and was given a new identity. She has been with us only a short while. She is 22, single, no family. Has long light brown hair and green eyes.
Aasta, is from Italy but was given a new identity due to her father being in a criminal organization. We rescued her from kidnappers for her dad. She is 18, single, with a father and 2 brothers. She speaks 5 languages and has an amazing knowledge of 50 different countries.
Aari, his name was Major, he was high up in a large criminal organization but came out. He was given a full pardon and a new identity for his protection. He is the father of Aasta, is a widower and is 45. He is a very intelligent man, knows much about the criminal mind and speaks 8 languages fluently.
Tiffany, given a new identity due to her involvement in a criminal organization. She is a new member, 22, single, with family in America who will not speak to her.
Kyan, a new member, used to work for Mandar. She is from America, is 27, great in wilderness survival, can use numerous guns, excellent sniper, was in the military for 5 years, also excellent fighter. She is single with family that will not speak to her.
Cinnamon, a new member who used to work for Mandar with Kyan. She has a unique memory, she can basically look at a page and have it memorized quickly. Also great in wilderness survival. She is 27, from the U.K., speaks 4 languages, excellent with several types of weapons and fighting. She has a mother and sister living in the U.K.
Catalina, given a new identity for her protection, has been in the military and is excellent with explosives of all sorts, not only in their use, but in disposal as well. She is a new member, quick and accurate with a gun, excellent fighter. She is 24, single, with family who will not speak to her, except for her mother.
Cynthia, given a new identity for her protection, is a new member. She is a PI by trade, though new at it. But she learns quickly, excellent with a gun, good fighter, great spy, she is fluent in 8 languages. She is single, 24, has no family.
Logan MacAllister, known as Mac, was given a new identity due to having been with a criminal organization. Now a valuable member of our team. He is 38 and single with no family.
John, he used to be our enemy but had a real change of heart. He is now a valuable member of our team as well. He is a big man and very strong, though certainly not like Rock. He is 6ft tall and weighs 220 pounds. Both he and Mac know the criminal way of doing things which is a big help to us. John is 37, single and no family.
Muffin, my cat, has numerous talents. Storm, Angel’s cat, is a Margay, a wildcat from South America, found in a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert. Tiia joined us recently as a kitten, but now full grown, Astrid’s cat. Snow, also joined as a kitten, with Tiia, now full grown and is Annelie’s cat. All 4 cats can understand humans and can make themselves understood to any human they want, but only do so to those they like and trust. All four cats can use a special slingshot and have their own backpacks. All are trained to sniff out listening devices, cameras and can also sniff out drugs in food.
Friends of our team include, Mandar, a wealthy businessman from the U.K., a billionaire with companies around the world. He has “adopted” our girls that have no family. He has helped us many times. He has a cat named Tandi. He is a widower and is 55. Clarence, a friend of John who also has helped us a lot. He lives in Italy with his wife and 3 children. He is 37.
Well, that is about it for our list of characters for The Investigators, Inc. Feel free to print this page or bookmark it for future reference, it really will help to keep track of things and people. Have a great day everyone and God bless.
Steve and Muffin. ©2023 Steve McLeod.