§ § § -- May 23, 2005
"So it's my understanding that the family is well," Christian was saying, standing in the study with Leslie and the triplets just prior to their heading home that Monday morning. "Rudolf telephoned the house last evening and told me he very much appreciates that painting you helped us get for his birthday Friday. He went so far as to say he thinks Tattoo is a far better artist than most others whose work he's seen, and is considering trying to get at least one more of his paintings for his suite."
"That's excellent to hear," Roarke said warmly, "and I'm certain Solange and the children will be happy to know that as well. I'll pass the word to them. How has your nephew's new marriage been working out, have you heard?"
"They seem to be doing well enough," said Christian, amused. "We had an e-mailed invitation to the wedding back around the first week of April, but when Roald told us he and Adriana were getting married on the twenty-fourth, we knew that was just too little advance notice and had to turn him down. To tell the truth, I was skeptical that he'd go through with it, so I'm sure you can imagine our shock when Anna-Laura called and said the wedding had proceeded as planned. They had one serious disagreement on when to start a family, but apparently they're getting along fine otherwise."
"Not just that, but it looks like we're spending our respective vacations in Lilla Jordsö again," Leslie said humorously. "Seems Gabriella met someone at the same spring ball where Roald and Adriana met, some Swedish earl whose name I keep forgetting, and on Friday night she sent us an e-mailed plea to be there for their wedding at the end of August. She asked Christian to give her away, and it was hard for him to refuse."
Christian said dryly, "At least she had the sense to give us more than three weeks' notice." They all laughed, making the triplets chortle too.
"Pass along my congratulations," Roarke said with a smile, "and in the meantime, you two enjoy your weekend. Have you any plans for it?"
"Nothing special," Leslie said. "Grady and Maureen might bring their girls over this evening just to visit, and we can all sit in the living room and watch April and the triplets throw toys at each other." They laughed again, and Roarke wished them an enjoyable weekend and watched their car retreat down the lane before going back inside and tackling the normal round of post-weekend cleanup and restock that Monday always brought.
It was approaching mid-afternoon and he was preparing to make a run to the fishing village to check on conditions there, when movement and sound simultaneously caught his attention and he looked onto the terrace, just in time to see Taro Sensei stagger across the flagstones. Even from here he could see a huge, swelling bruise on Taro's right cheekbone. "Taro, what happened?" he exclaimed, hurrying across the room and assisting the young man into the house.
"Somebody…caught me on the path," Taro mumbled, breathing heavily and stumbling even with Roarke's assistance. "Kept…kept asking me 'where is it, where is it?' When I…I couldn't tell him, he…he started hitting me."
"Where exactly were you when this happened?" Roarke asked urgently.
"On the…path, going home. Was…was quiet at work, so Anton…let me out early. Was going to head…home and meet my…my kids when they got back from sch…school. Just…just showed up outta nowhere and started…doing me in." Taro fell heavily into one of the leather chairs in front of the desk and gingerly cradled his right cheek with a cupped hand.
Roarke, mind flying in several directions at once, called Fernando Ordoñez and asked that he come to the main house as quickly as he possibly could; then he called for Mariki, who presently brought in a bag of ice for Taro to hold against his cheek. He then called Junko Sensei, who arrived before Dr. Ordoñez did, her face a mask of worry. She had baby Tia with her; the child's big dark eyes took in everything around her, but she made not a sound, which Roarke wondered briefly at and then set aside for the moment.
When Fernando got there and had examined Taro, confirming that nothing had been broken, Junko finally let herself collapse into the other chair. Tia blinked at the jarring this gave her, but she still made no noise at all. "Who on earth would do this, and why?" she asked, staring plaintively at Roarke.
Roarke focused on Taro. "Do you think you would recognize the voice of the person who attacked you?" he asked. "You said he constantly asked you 'where is it'."
Taro went still, thinking back, then murmured slowly, "I don't know who he was, but it was a pretty distinctive voice. Sounded kinda…I don't know, croupy, I guess. Like he really needed to clear his throat but wouldn't do it. He coughed a couple times, like he had lung disease or something…" His voice trailed off and a deep frown creased his forehead. Junko started to speak, but Roarke raised a hand at her, and she subsided, watching her son anxiously.
Fernando caught Roarke's eye. "Is there anything else you need, Mr. Roarke?"
"I don't believe so," Roarke replied. "Thank you, Dr. Ordoñez." Fernando smiled and departed, and silence fell after he'd closed the door, evidently striking Junko as oppressive. She began to shift in her chair and Tia looked down into her grandmother's lap, watching the movements of her legs, still quiet.
Suddenly Taro's features cleared. "Now I know," he said, staring up at Roarke. "This guy's been looking for me, for some reason. He's been calling at work—whoever picks up the phone says he asks for me, but when I answer, nobody says anything. The last time it happened, Prince Christian picked it up, pretended I'd gone out and asked for a message, and the guy hung up on him. He asked then if I knew anybody with a bad cough and a raspy voice. Ten to one that's the guy who assaulted me."
"Do you know anyone like that, son?" Junko asked.
"No, Mom, really, I don't. I told Prince Christian the same thing. That was just last Friday. I've been thinking about it ever since then…" He focused on Roarke again and spoke earnestly, despite the strain that tinged his voice from the pain caused by the beating he'd taken. "I've ruled out everything else, so I'm pretty sure it must tie in with Iriata in some way. That's my ex-wife, Mr. Roarke. We haven't seen hide or hair of her since she walked out on us, except for me, when we were in court for the divorce proceedings. She never contacts the kids. Sometimes I'm not sure she even realizes Tia's alive."
"Indeed?" said Roarke, slowly sitting down. "Why would you say that?"
Taro shifted in his chair, his gaze faltering. "She started acting kinda weird, even before we knew she was pregnant with Tia. Out of nowhere one day she started being a lot more active. She seemed to have this endless supply of energy, you know? And you should have seen the birthday parties she gave Noah and Stephanie that year. I think Noah was overwhelmed, and Stephanie just seemed confused—they'd probably have been happy enough for a little party with some friends and cake and ice cream and so on. But Iriata brought in a little traveling circus for Noah's birthday, and for Stephanie's she hired a locally popular rock band and had them perform at her party.
"And it seemed like she needed a lot less sleep than usual, but when she did sleep it was like she was in a coma. You could've bombed the house and it wouldn't wake her up. She slept through thunderstorms that even scared Stephanie." He shook his head. "And all the way through her pregnancy with Tia, she gained practically no weight at all. Thrilled her to death, but drove her doctor crazy. It was a wonder Tia was born at term and had normal measurements. But she almost never cries, unless she's so hungry or so wet that it makes her impatient. I know her hearing and eyesight are fine. She turns her head when we call her name, and she watches us when we move around."
Roarke was the one with the heavy frown now. "Is this why you were divorced?"
Taro shrugged. "Maybe indirectly, 'cause I have a funny feeling she must've been on something, though heck knows what. It was early in her pregnancy that I started noticing the steady drain on our savings account. I didn't want to believe anything was wrong, so I waited almost too long. I took what money was left and closed out that account, then put it in a new one under my name only. After that she went in and took out a loan against my business without my knowing about it. It was six months before I got a notice from the bank demanding payments. She wouldn't tell me what was going on and refused to be of any help at all, and then she left the next day. I had to sell my house and my business, so I could come back here and start over again."
Roarke nodded slowly, absorbing this information. After a moment he said, "Is there anything else you can tell me?"
"Just that…she had all that extra energy, like it never quit. Practically no appetite, so she was a stick when she walked out on us. Slept like the dead, but she went to bed after all the rest of us and was the first one up in the morning. She was always running off doing this or that or the other, so usually Stephanie and I wound up caring for Tia." He cast the baby a worried glance. "Can you recommend a good doctor to take her to? She's a wonderful kid—maybe too good to be true. She's so quiet and pliant. But she hasn't even started making talking noises, like kids do at this age."
Roarke nodded understanding. "How old is she?"
"Ten and a half months. I don't expect her to be a chatterbox, but she should be making sounds at least, and she doesn't. And I can't remember ever seeing her smile."
"I haven't seen it either," Junko admitted sadly, examining Tia's chubby little face. "She's such a beautiful baby and the least troublesome child I've ever encountered, but she worries me. Taro's right, I think a doctor should look at her."
Roarke nodded again. "If she hasn't had a checkup in some time, you should certainly take her anyhow. Dr. Gwen Corbett is Christian and Leslie's pediatrician; she has many years of experience with children and is highly recommended. She has her offices in the hospital." He cleared his throat when Junko and Taro both nodded. "However, she may not be able to answer your questions about Tia's behavior and apparent developmental difficulties. You see…it's my suspicion that her mother is addicted to a drug called black lightning."
Junko stared blankly at him; Taro looked confused. "What's black lightning?"
"It's a rare drug—fortunately for us," Roarke said heavily, settling slowly back in his chair and gazing into space. "It is made from an equally rare spice known as amakarna, and to the best of my knowledge there are but two sources of this spice on the entire planet. One of them is my cousin's son, Rogan Callaghan, who supplies the spice to Christian's nieces and grows it for that purpose only. The other is a certain Count LiSciola, who lives in Italy, and previously was the sole supplier on earth."
Junko's face cleared suddenly. "That's right, now I remember—the story behind Prince Christian's arranged marriage. But when that came out, it talked only about amakarna—none of the articles ever mentioned this black lightning."
"At the time, supplies of the drug had all but disappeared," Roarke said. "Its manufacturer was one of the count's daughters, the older sister of the young lady who was married to Christian. She had been dead for about two years by then. Lately, however, I've noted that the drug has been appearing here and there, and from the symptoms Taro described to me, I believe that's the answer." He looked sharply at Taro. "You say that Iriata had been using the drug during her pregnancy with Tia?"
Taro nodded, his face alive with alarm. "What kind of effects would this stuff have on an unborn baby, Mr. Roarke?"
Shaking his head slightly, Roarke said, "There are not many cases of prenatal addiction on record. I'll have to look into it and let you know what I find." He glanced back and forth between Tia's father and grandmother, then added, "I do have reference materials that can refresh my memory, so I believe something will turn up. For now, by all means, take Tia to see Dr. Corbett. She appears to me to be in fine health, but the doctor can determine that for you officially, so that you can rest easy on at least one count."
"We'll do that, then," Junko agreed. "But what about my son's attacker?"
"You've provided some excellent clues, Taro," Roarke said. "I'll see to it that word is spread, and if anyone encounters him, it will be reported and the man can be taken into custody." He cast a quick glance at the grandfather clock. "For the moment, you might want to hurry home, so that your other children don't worry when they find no one there."
"Oh dear, it really is that late," Junko murmured. "Can you make it, Taro?"
"Yeah, I can walk, as long as we take it slow," Taro assured her, pushing himself to his feet. "Thanks for your help, Mr. Roarke." Roarke nodded, then made eye contact with Tia and smiled at the baby. As much to his surprise as to Taro's and Junko's, Tia smiled back, right out of the blue, displaying a few teeth.
"I don't believe it," Junko exclaimed. "Hi, Tia sweetie, smile for Grammy?" Tia turned her head to gaze at Junko, her smile still huge.
"How'd you do that, Mr. Roarke?" Taro asked.
Roarke grinned. "Ah, if I knew, perhaps I could launch a sideline business." They all laughed, and Junko and Taro thanked him again and departed with Tia. As soon as they were gone, Roarke went directly to the stairs that led to the cellar where he kept potions and at the bottom of the staircase, instead of turning left, he turned right and entered another room outfitted as a library. It wasn't a large room, but all four walls were outfitted floor to ceiling with bookcases loaded with books—all of them in a language only two people on the entire island could read: Roarke and Rogan Callaghan. To one side of the room was a comfortable chair and a floor lamp placed next to it, with a small but sturdy wooden table on the other side; here Roarke placed four or five fairly large books, then settled into the chair and began to page through a sixth. Seeing little Tia Sensei had teased his memory about cases like hers, and he had hopes for an optimistic outlook. Once he had some kind of answer there, he planned to check the Internet for mention of recent arrests or drug-dealing activity in Samoa.
§ § § -- May 25, 2005
Taro had just returned to his desk from having lunch when a police jeep came to life, roaring across the town square with lights flashing and sirens wailing. Both he and Jonathan paused briefly, and Beth, Julianne, and Christian all looked up, in order to watch. This wasn't a common sight on Fantasy Island, so it was little wonder that not just they but everyone in and around the square stared after the disappearing vehicle.
"Wonder what's up?" Jonathan mused, just as the phone rang.
Beth reached hers first and then turned to Taro. "It's for you—your mother."
"Oh boy," Taro mumbled and grabbed his extension. "Yeah, Mom, what's up?"
"Taro, do you think Prince Christian will let you off for an hour or so? I just got back home from shopping with Tia, and the house has been broken into. The mess is incredible. All I've done so far is call the police and Mr. Roarke—I'm going to call your father next."
"Is every room like that?" Taro asked, hand over his stomach as though to prevent his lunch from coming back up. "Can you tell if anything's missing?"
"I don't know," Junko said helplessly. "Just do me a favor—put me on hold a few seconds and check with Prince Christian, then tell me if you can come home or not."
"Okay, Mom, calm down," Taro said and pressed the hold button on his phone. "Uh, Your Highness…excuse me, but is it all right if I go back home for an hour or so? My mother says someone broke into the house while she was out shopping with Tia."
"Herregud," said Christian, astonished. "By all means, go, then. Take as much time as you need, all right? I'm very sorry to hear that."
"I hope nothing valuable was taken," offered Beth.
"We don't know yet," Taro said. "Thanks, Your Highness." He got back on the line long enough to relay to his mother that he was on his way home, then headed for the door, saying as he went, "I guess that explains the police jeep."
"Good luck," his co-workers chorused, and he managed a smile before leaving and taking the usual trail home at a dead run. Since returning to Fantasy Island, he'd noticed he had lost a lot of sleep and about ten pounds, between the problems he'd been having with Noah, his constant low-grade worry over Tia, and then his roughing up and this break-in. The only one who seemed to have come out of this whole thing unscathed was Stephanie, and he hoped it continued so. She had friends in school and seemed to spend a lot of time with them, which he was glad for.
He slowed to a walk at the entrance to the small neighborhood where his parents lived and gave himself a chance to catch his breath before venturing into the house. His thought had been right: the police jeep they'd seen earlier sat in the Senseis' driveway, the sirens quiet now but the lights still rotating. The front door was open, and he stuck his head in. "Mom? I'm home."
Junko and two policemen emerged from the kitchen; Junko still had Tia in her arms. "Oh, good, there you are. We've been going through the house, and so far we haven't noticed that anything's missing. Mr. Roarke and your father should be here shortly."
As she spoke, Roarke stepped onto the front porch behind Taro. "Was anyone hurt?" was his first question.
"No, we were all out," Junko said. "Thank you for coming, Mr. Roarke."
Taro turned and regarded the enigmatic owner of the island. "Did Mom say why she called you?" he asked curiously.
Roarke smiled a little. "It's her belief that this break-in and the attack on you are connected, and I am afraid I must agree with her. Why don't you come inside, and the officers can take any notes while we talk it over."
When the policemen heard this, they looked at each other; then one asked, "Do you think someone may be targeting you, Mr. Sensei?"
Taro sighed and said, "I'm starting to think so. Nothing's been taken in spite of all the stuff lying around, and I've been knocked around, but the guy didn't even lift my wallet." He hesitated just then when something occurred to him, and he felt his insides shrivel with dread. "But maybe I know what they're after."
"That sounds like a quantum leap of logic to me," Junko said a little suspiciously. "How do you figure that?"
"Bear with me, Mom," Taro said and explained to the policemen about his divorce, his return to Fantasy Island, and the reasons for these events. "I talked to Mr. Roarke after that guy roughed me up, and he recognized my ex-wife's behavior as signs of addiction to some drug known as black lightning. If Iriata's hooked, then she has to get money to pay for the stuff she's using. Even if she isn't doing this directly, it has to tie into that."
"But that doesn't explain how you think you know what they want," said Junko.
Taro leaned heavily against a wall and jammed his hands into his jeans pockets. "I know this is pure conjecture, but it's the best I can come up with. I've met her brother a few times—guy named Hotaia Sese. He's a fairly powerful local crimelord, and his attitude suggested to me that he wasn't above using his own sister to further his, uh, career. She had a good million or more in prize money when she was crowned Miss Samoa in the late 80s. Obviously Hotaia saw her as a terrific source of income, but for a long time he confined himself just to asking for loans. But they were monster loans, and she never had any horse sense about money, so she just gave it to him and never bothered him about getting it back. Last I heard of him, he was living in a gated community in a near palace of a house—that was just around the time I noticed Iriata acting weird."
One of the policemen had been scribbling in shorthand as he talked; the other had stood up straight with recognition when he heard Iriata's brother's name. "Hotaia Sese is definitely a known commodity," he said. "Drugs aren't the only thing he dabbles in, but they do make up a pretty good part of what he calls his business. And lately he's been reported to Samoan authorities as possessing and selling black lightning." He looked at Roarke as he said this last, and Roarke nodded silently. "Mr. Sensei, you said your wife was draining your accounts and had taken a loan against your business."
Taro nodded. "By then Hotaia had taken just about all her money and she was down to using our joint funds, and then going into my assets when I cut her off. When the first demand for loan repayments came in, I had it out with her, and she left the next day. By that time she had nothing left, and I was almost in the same position myself. Well, actually, she did have one thing left to her name…"
"Please tell us, Taro," Roarke requested quietly when he paused.
Taro took a deep breath, released it and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Along with the prize money and a lot of other goodies, when Iriata was crowned Miss Samoa, she received a diamond called the Blue Moon. It was cut exclusively for her, to her specifications. She wanted a hole bored through it so she could thread it directly onto a chain, but she wore it that way for only a couple years or so. Then she put it away for safekeeping and didn't tell anyone where it was, including me. She said it would be safer if she was the only one who knew. She loved that thing—she didn't care about the money or the clothes or even the new car, that diamond was the best thing she got, as far as she was concerned. Sometimes I asked about it, especially after Hotaia had been around a few times looking for big money, and she said she was keeping it no matter what."
"Do you think she still has it?" the policeman asked.
Taro heard the skeptical note in his voice. "I know what you're thinking—drugs make people do things they swore on their lives they'd never do. But as far as I know, Iriata still has the thing—that is, she never gave it to Hotaia."
Roarke leaned forward, an intense look in his dark eyes. "Since Iriata was taking money that belonged to both of you, rather than her own, it's clear that her resources had run out. It seems to me that by this time she may be in dire financial straits, and perhaps having trouble finding money to buy supplies of the drug."
"That's what I was thinking too," said Taro. "And if she's in hock to her supplier, he'll want everything of value she has in payment. Like I said, Hotaia has practically no scruples. If he's her supplier and she's out of money, then he'll demand the Blue Moon. He knows perfectly well she has it."
"So you feel that Hotaia Sese, or someone in his employ, may have done this," Roarke said, indicating the rest of the house with a gesture.
"Right," Taro said. "Looking for the Blue Moon, I'm sure—that's why nothing's missing. For some reason they must think I have it."
"Do you?" his mother wanted to know.
"No, Mom," Taro said firmly, "I don't, and what's more, I have no clue where it is. You'd have to ask Iriata. There were some things that were obviously mine and some that were obviously hers—that was the way it was divided in the divorce. The Blue Moon fell into the category of her stuff, and anyway, what would I do with it?"
"Pay for the children's college education, for one thing," Junko said tartly. "Now that Iriata's cleaned you out, that's your last resource, unless you're lucky and Stephanie, Noah and Tia all win full scholarships. And Stephanie's not far away from college now, I hope you remember."
"Mom, I know," Taro said, slightly impatient. "That's great and fine and wonderful, but the fact is, I don't have the thing, and I don't know where to find it. Period."
"So you believe that Iriata's brother, or his toadies, are on the island," the policeman summed up, "and they think you have the Blue Moon diamond and are trying to find it. That's about the best theory we have right now. We know what Sese looks like, he has a rap sheet that'd stretch from here to Mars if you printed it out. And we have what information you could give us on the guy who attacked you…so I guess for now, that's it."
"Thanks for coming over," Taro said, and the policemen both nodded and made their way out. They brushed past Tadashi Sensei coming in; Taro's father looked quite tired, and when he saw the shambles of the house, he stood and slowly shook his head.
"Honey, they didn't take anything," Junko said quickly, going to meet him. "We just finished talking to the police, and Taro thinks people connected to his ex-wife's hoodlum of a brother are searching for something of hers that they think he has."
Tadashi gave a great, slightly shaky sigh and met her gaze; Taro winced, for even his eyes looked tired. "It's only that this seems like the last straw," Tadashi said quietly, in his faint Japanese accent. "The Enclave marina reported an unauthorized yacht moored to an empty slip." He looked up and noticed Roarke standing with Taro at the top of the stairs to the upper level of the house. "Mr. Roarke, you'll be aware, of course, that Gregory Nordeman recently sold his house and his boat here, and the slip the boat occupied has been empty since at least March. That's the one this yacht has taken."
To their surprise, Roarke said flatly, "The yacht is registered to a Hotaia Sese, and someone at the Enclave's marina allowed him onto the island without benefit of a pass."
"That's correct, Mr. Roarke," Tadashi confirmed. "We just learned of it today." The marina offices were part of the ferry company, in order to control access to the island; the employees were sharp, but occasionally there were mistakes.
"Why does it make you look like the world just ended, Dad?" Taro asked.
"This particular employee deliberately allowed Hotaia Sese onto the island. He's been fired, of course, but I feel personally responsible."
Roarke descended the stairs and rested a hand on Tadashi's shoulder for a moment. "Don't take it so hard, Mr. Sensei," he advised gently. "We have known for years that the marinas are the weakest security points on the island, and now that this incident has come to light, perhaps I'll finally be able to persuade the island council to rebuild the ticket office there so that it is necessary for everyone who arrives via that point to pass through it."
Tadashi managed a smile at that. "If some good can come of it somehow, Mr. Roarke, then I'll be much relieved," he said. "I appreciate your concern. You're a very good man."
"It's part of my job," said Roarke and smiled. "I'm glad to know that no one was injured and nothing was taken. If you'll all excuse me, I must get back to work."
"Thanks, Mr. Roarke," the Senseis chorused, and Tia even smiled at him before he left. Taro joined his parents and gathered the baby into his arms. "Tia, kiddo, seems to me you like Mr. Roarke better than anybody else on this whole island…even your poor old dad." His mother and father laughed, but Taro couldn't find much humor in the situation. What else had to happen before Hotaia and his henchmen realized he didn't have the Blue Moon?