Again, thanks Missjennifer54 for your nice reviews, and encouraging me to continue writing!
Here is chapter 3!
Chapter 3: Golden Star
"Are you sure, Heiji, that he is the real thief?" asked Isaac Barker. For sure, the man in the picture was not unfamiliar. His name was "Michael Leah", one of Canada's most dangerous thieves.
"I cannot tell you that I am perfectly sure, but he is the prime suspect. As you know, he is a specialist of stealing valuable art pieces. And don't forget that he tried to steal the Golden Star before"
"Yes! I remember very well. He almost succeeded, but the police managed to return it back, and Michael escaped," said Isaac ashamed, as if it was his own fault.
"According to my investigation, Michael used to work in The Royal Ontario Museum. When I asked the workers there, they described his appearance differently. Looks like he changed his appearance in some ways" Heiji explained. Isaac offered him a seat.
"I think we should start looking for him", Heiji continued, as he sat down.
"There is a very important thing he has that will help us determine if that person in the picture is actually Michael the thief or if he just looks like him"
"An important thing?"
"Yes! The scare!"
"Do you mean the scare from that old case?"
"Exactly"
A year ago, as the police were trying to catch Michael, his hand was badly cut, and it left a permanent scare on his left hand. Isaac was one of the police officers there, and he mentioned that point to Heiji.
Just then, the phone on Isaac's desk rang. Isaac picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, honey!" it was Sarah, his wife.
"Hey, Sarah! Is something wrong? Are the children o.k.?" Isaac said in a worried tone.
"Yes, don't worry. Everything is o.k."
"What is it, then?"
"Can you stop worrying? I told you everything is fine" Sarah was always reassuring, Isaac thought.
"Sorry, sweetheart. You know about the case and everything" He gave a long sigh.
"I know, god with you!"
"But, why did you really call?"
"There is someone here asking for Heiji"
"What? Someone asking for Heiji?" Isaac made sure Heiji heard him. Heiji rose up from his chair, and walked over to where Isaac was holding the phone. He was concerned.
"Yes. A young girl. She says her name is Kazuha Toyama"
The phone was loud enough for Heiji to hear. He almost had a heart attack when he heard that Kazuha came asking for him.
At Isaac's House…
Kazuha was waiting in the living room. Events from this morning kept returning to her mind. Once she reached the address that was on her paper, she felt a little nervous because she was going to see Heiji. What was her reason for coming all the way to Canada? She could not tell him that she was worried to death about him! She was so surprised to find a young woman opening the door for her. The woman looked Japanese. For a moment, a weird thought came to her mind. She thought that Heiji married, and his wife lived in Canada! No, Heiji will never do something like that! She was then relieved to know that Sarah was Isaac's wife, Heiji's friend.
The woman seemed so nice and welcoming.
Just then, Sarah appeared from the kitchen holding a tray with a glass of juice and a plate full of cookies on it.
"I called them. They are on their way," Sarah said.
"T-Thanks" Kazuha replied.
She was so tired and hungry from the journey so, she could not resist when Sarah offered her what was on the tray, and she began eating.
When the doorbell rang, her heart skipped a beat. She was nervous to see Heiji. She still did not know what to tell him. As Sarah opened the door, two little kids, not more than seven years old, appeared.
"Hey, mummy!" both boys said at once.
"Hey, honey!" Sarah bent down and gave each of the boys a hug and a kiss.
"Come in!" Sarah said.
The boys did not expect to see guests in the living room. Kazuha smiled at the boys.
"Go say hi. Come on" Sarah pushed the boys lightly towards Kazuha.
"Hi! I am Andrew," said the older boy. "And that is my younger brother Victor" Andrew pointed towards the other boy who was standing behind his mother. He looked shy.
"Hey, Victor," said Kazuha in a light voice.
"Hey" replied Victor.
"Ok. Guys, go take off your clothes, and wash your hands. Dinner is almost ready," said Sarah.
The two boys then ran upstairs.
"Your sons are really cute," said Kazuha.
"And smart, too" replied Sarah, smiling. She sighed, "Like their father," she added.
Kazuha smiled to herself. She imagined how Heiji's children would be like. They have to be smart and handsome like him. Why is she even thinking about that? Suddenly, the house door opened. Isaac came in, followed by Heiji. Kazuha stood up.
"Hey, honey" Sarah walked towards Isaac and kissed him. A moment later, Andrew and Victor ran towards Isaac, and he gave each of them a kiss and a hug. All this time, Heiji avoided looking towards Kazuha. He ignored her completely, as if she did not exist. Who is the one who is supposed to be mad? After saying hi to Heiji, Sarah decided to break the cold welcoming Heiji offered Kazuha.
"I am really delighted to meet Kazuha, Heiji. You talked too much about her that I was eager to meet her"
It looks like that Sarah failed. Heiji still said nothing.
"Why did you come?" Heiji asked, when he finally said something. The question was so firm. He still refused to look up at her.
"I…"
"You what?" Heiji nearly shouted. "I will tell you are what" He looked at her, now. "You are a stupid troublemaker. What brought all the way here? To follow me? You did not think for a minute that you could get yourself into trouble, and no one will even know where you are or what happened?"
In a different situation, she would have shouted at him back, swore at him, and began a fight, as she always did. However, this time it was different. She was heartbroken. She was worried about him that is why she came. She was worried about him, because she lovedhim. However, she cannot tell him. Not when he completely misunderstood her, not when he just called her a stupid troublemaker, and not in front of Isaac and Sarah. She felt that she wanted to cry. All of them were alerted when suddenly hard knock was heard on the door. Who could it be this time? Isaac went to open the door. Two police officers stood in the doorway. Isaac knew both of them. They must have news about Michael Leah, he thought.
"Hey, guys. Did you find him?" He was certain that they knew what he was talking about.
"We did, sir" A relief was drawn on Isaac's face. He did not expect that they could find him that fast.
"Where did you find him?" Heiji entered the conversation.
"In the bus station. We were spying the whole time, until we found the chance to catch him. However, it looks like that he has a partner. In addition, probably she is the one has the golden star or at least knows where is it, because when we searched his things, we found nothing"
"She? His partner is a girl? Are you sure?" Heiji asked.
"Yes sir. She was with him the entire time in the bus station. When we asked him about her, he told us that she is his girlfriend, and her name is Kazuha Toyama"
The police officers were talking in English, so Kazuha did not understand a single thing. However, she heard her name and was confused.
At Isaac's Office…
"K-Kazuha!" said Justin, as she entered the office, followed by Heiji and Isaac. He raced towards her and gave her a hug. Heiji was confused now more than anytime before. Is Kazuha really Michael's girlfriend? Is she his partner in stealing? No, that cannot be. He knows her very well, more than anyone else does. She would never do something that horrible.
"Justin, w-what are you doing? Are you insane?" Kazuha said, blushing.
"I am sorry, Kazuha" Justin pulled away. "I didn't mean to disturb you"
"And what is with that girlfriend thing? Why did you tell them that? Did you want to get me in trouble?"
"Of course, I didn't. I just didn't know what else to tell them"
"Justin, did you really steal that golden star?" Kazuha asked, afraid to know the answer. What if he really did steal it? Both of them will probably go to jail.
"Of course, I didn't. Do you think I will do something like that?" She did not. When she met Justin, he seemed trustworthy and honest. She could have never expected that he would turn up to be a thief. It is like a dream!
One of the police officers started talking to Heiji and Isaac.
"What did he say?" Kazuha asked Heiji, after the police officer finished talking.
"He said that your…your boyfriend looks like "Michael Leah", a very dangerous thief that has tried to steal the golden star, before. Moreover, they expect Justin to be him" Heiji translated.
"What? Of course, I am not that Michael Whatever you are talking about. My name is Justin. Justin Broadway. I swear!" Justin shouted.
Michael Leah didn't look completely like Justin. He had blond hair and a moustache. Therefore, they did not have strong evidence against him.
On The Way Back To Isaac's House…
The police officers let Justin go back to the hotel he booked a room in, but he remained under the eyes of a police officer there. Isaac stayed at the police station to continue the investigation. Kazuha was also allowed to leave, and Heiji had to walk with her back to Isaac's house.
For most of the walk, both of them remained silent. Kazuha was grateful in some ways. If Heiji said something, he would probably shout at her and tell her how careless she was to get herself involved in a serious case.
"Heiji?" She decided to break the silence.
"What?"
"I am sorry," she said. Heiji looked up at her. "For all the trouble I caused," she explained.
"I hope you learned your lesson. Don't just screw up and start a relationship with someone who you don't know well"
"I didn't do that. Justin isn't my boyfriend" Heiji raised his eyebrows. He waited for farther explanation.
"He was lying. Trust me" They were close to Isaac's house, when Andrew came running out of the house and told Heiji something.
"What is it?" Kazuha asked. Suddenly, Heiji held her hand tight. That was not the response she expected.
"We have to get out of here" Heiji started pulling her in the opposite direction of the house.
"Why?"
"You left your bag inside. The police came and searched it"
"What? That is illegal…"
"Kazuha!" Heiji seemed so nervous. She felt that it was something big.
"They found the golden star!" he continued.
"What!"
In the next chapter, the water adventure will begin!
Please, read and review.