CHAPTER 8
"AACHOOO!!"
Frank's eyes flew opened when he heard his brother's sneeze. His eyes grew wider when he saw someone else in the room – standing beside his bed! The man was holding something in his hand. With quick reflexes, Frank's hand shot up and grabbed the man's wrist before whatever the man was holding didn't touch him. And for extra measure, he kicked the figure right toward his midsection.
The figure grunted and landed backward straight toward Joe's bed. The impact made Joe lifted his head sleepily.
"Wha…What's going on?" he mumbled. His eyes were still closed. He didn't seem to notice someone else on his bed.
"There's an intruder in our room!" Frank cried as he approached the figure.
The person's face was covered with black ski mask. And he was pulling out something else from his pocket. A glint from the moonlight reflected against the metal. Frank's blood went cold when he saw an odd-looking dagger with curved blade. The man got up and lunged at Frank with the dagger.
Frank sidestepped from the attack, but his left leg caught against a tangled of clothes on the floor and he almost lost his balance. The blade grazed his right shoulder. Frank winced slightly when he felt the prickled of the sharp edge of the blade.
"Get away from my brother!" Joe, who was now fully awake, shouted and grabbed the man from behind. He couldn't help noticing the man was packed with muscles. He turned the man around and punched him right across the man's face.
The man didn't flinch. He reacted as if he was hit by nothing more than a pillow. With a growl, he pushed Joe away and dashed toward the door. Frank rushed over to Joe and helped him got up.
"Are you all right?" he asked Joe anxiously.
"Yeah, but are you all right?" Joe asked back. He rubbed his rear, wincing. He had landed on the floor harder than he had thought.
"It's just a scratch," he assured his brother quickly. "Come on, let's get him before he got away!"
Both of them rushed out of their room. The hallway was still lit by soft lights. There was no sign of the intruder. Everything was quiet.
"You go left and I'll go right," Frank told his brother. Joe nodded, and with that both of them headed in opposite directions. Joe checked every door in the hallway – all of them were locked tight. Then he checked the emergency exit and descended down the stairs since his room was on the highest floor. There seemed to be no sign of life when he checked the floor below and the ground floor. He even checked outside the building.
The night was windy, and only the moonlight helped him to see things around him. The cold night air made him shiver. When he glanced down, he suddenly realized he was only clad in a pair of boxers. Yikes! I'd better work fast, he thought, feeling conscious of his current state.
After a few minutes searching the area, he couldn't find any sign of the intruder. Sighing heavily, he went back to his room. His brother was already inside the room.
"Did you find him?" Joe asked as he shut the door behind him.
Frank shook his head. "He must have hidden somewhere. But it's too dark to see clearly," he said. He rubbed his injured shoulder.
"You should put a bandage on that," Joe said and looked closely at the wound. "I think I saw an aid kit in the bathroom. I'll go and get it."
A few minutes later, Frank's wound was already neatly bandaged. "I can't understand why someone wanted to kill you," Joe said as he climbed on his bed. "You're usually not…um, 'tasty' enough to be picked by criminals."
His brother gave a glare. "Both of us almost get killed," Frank corrected seriously. He checked every doors and windows in the room to make sure they were locked. Then he slipped under the covers on his bed.
"But I was left on an island. If Jim wanted me to have an instant death, he wouldn't leave me stranded there," Joe pointed out. "I don't think it was Jim who attacked you. Jim's too slim."
"Jim could have hired an accomplice," Frank pointed out. "Maybe someone like Tara Matteo's bodyguard," he suggested.
Joe sighed. "This is all so confusing," he admitted. "I'd feel better if we discuss this in the morning. I'm still sore from the swimming."
Frank couldn't agree more. A few minutes later, both of them fell asleep.
***
Joe felt worse the next morning when he woke up. Every muscle on his body was still sore. He sneezed a few times before he headed to the bathroom. When he came out a few minutes later, he was surprised to see Frank, still sleeping in his bed. Usually, at this hour, Frank would have woken up by now.
"Hey, big brother. It's time to wake up," Joe said cheerfully, shaking Frank by the shoulders. "You're making me feel weird. This is supposed to be your job – to wake me up."
Frank stirred from his sleep. He grudgingly struggled to a sitting position. "What time is it now?" Frank mumbled hoarsely. He felt slightly dizzy, and his head felt like it weighed ten times heavier than it should be.
"Nine o'clock. Are you all right?" Joe asked when he saw Frank massaging the sides of his head.
"Yeah," Frank said. "Just having a bit of headache. Maybe I slept too long."
"So, what's the plan for today?" Joe asked.
Frank took a moment to think. "Talk to Jim. We also still need to talk to Mr. Fisher. Maybe he knows how Bianco's assets were liquidated," he told Joe.
"Bianco? How did he got to do with this?" Joe asked in surprise.
Frank related to Joe about his findings at the library yesterday afternoon.
"Man, this is getting interesting," Joe commented when Frank had finished. "Where are we going to have breakfast today?" he asked.
Frank shook his head. "I don't feel like eating at Inzell," he replied. He couldn't understand why, but he seemed to have lost his appetite. "Do you think you could go there alone and bring something to eat here?" he asked.
"Sure," Joe replied, slightly surprised. "Are you sure you're all right? You look a bit pale," he studied Frank carefully.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Now, go and get us some food. We've already wasted half of the morning," Frank urged, slipping out of his bed.
"All right," Joe shrugged. "I'll be back before you know it," he told Frank before he walked out of the room.
When Joe arrived downstairs, he stopped over to see Shane. Since Jane wasn't at her desk, he just walked to Shane's office. He knocked on the door. A muffled reply told him to come inside.
Shane was at his desk typing something on his laptop.
"How are you this morning?" Shane asked, looking up from his laptop.
"Pretty sore, but otherwise I'm okay," Joe replied. "I didn't see Jane. Have you decided to fire her?" he asked.
"No. I told her to take some time off before I'll have another word with her," he replied. "Where's Frank?" he asked.
"He just woke up," Joe replied. "I'm not surprised, considering what had happened last night."
"Yeah, he was very worried about you," Shane nodded.
"Not that one. Something happened last night," Joe said and reported to Shane about the intruder.
Shane looked surprise, before turning into concern. "Are you both all right?" he asked.
Joe nodded. "But Frank got stabbed. Luckily, it was just a graze."
"This is terrible. I must talk to Neil to beef up security. It's getting pretty dangerous," Shane replied. "I never would have thought the sabotage case would turn this deadly."
"Nobody could have known it would happen like this," Joe assured him. "What about Jim? Have you talked to him, yet?" he asked, changing the subject.
"No, he's still not here. I'm afraid he might have run away. His room has been cleaned out," Shane said with a disgusted look.
"He could be the one who tried to sabotage this place," Joe pointed out, frustrated that their main suspect had escaped. He told Shane how he and Frank had seen Jim with Tara Matteo yesterday.
Shane frowned thoughtfully when he heard the report. "Maybe I'll have a talk with Ms. Matteo," he suddenly said.
"You'd think she'd talk to you?" Joe asked in surprise.
"It doesn't hurt to try."
"Tell us if you've found out anything from her," Joe said. "I've got to get some breakfast," he added.
"I will," Shane promised before Joe walked out of the room.
Joe bought some chicken and cheese sandwiches, and a couple of hot chocolate from a café in Inzell. As he was about to head out of the place with the wrapped food, he caught sight of Jane, sitting alone at one of the tables, with her back facing him. Instinctively, Joe headed to her direction.
"Hi, there," Joe said when he stood beside her table.
Jane looked up in surprise. Joe could see there were dark circles under her eyes, indicating that she hadn't much sleep last night.
"Hi," she said quietly.
"May I sit down?" Joe asked.
Jane shrugged. Joe took it as a yes and sat down beside her.
"Are you all right?" Joe asked, starting the conversation.
"Considering that I'm on a verge of an unemployment, it's been pretty good, Mr. Hardy," Jane replied, a little sarcastically. "Yes, I know who you are all this time," she said when she saw Joe's surprised look.
"So, you were pretending you don't know us?" Joe prompted carefully.
Jane looked slightly embarrassed. "I had overheard Mr. Unterhauser talking on the phone in his office a few weeks ago. I'd heard he wanted to hire a detective named Hardy," she explained. "When I heard the name, I panicked. I'd thought Mr. Unterhauser had found out about my past, and wanted to ask the detective to check on me. I even told Jim about this. He was even interested when he heard it."
I can understand why, Joe thought. "Do you always eavesdrop other people's conversation?" he asked with a roguish grin.
She blushed furiously. "Not really, I just happened to be there," she mumbled.
"Uh-huh," Joe nodded with a knowing look. "You were lucky Shane didn't find out about this."
"I know. I'm in deep enough trouble already," Jane agreed. "I'm really sorry about yesterday," she told him after a long pause.
Joe waved off her apology. "Don't worry about it. You're forgiven," he assured her. "Jim has no right to blackmail you like that." Then after a thought he asked her, "Did you hear anything strange last night?"
Jane looked puzzled. "Hear what?" she asked.
"Like someone running outside your room?"
"No, I don't think so. Why?"
Joe quickly told her about the intruder. Jane looked shocked when she listened to him. "Has anything like that ever happened?" he asked her.
"No, this is the first time I've heard it," she replied. "Is your brother all right?"
"Yeah," he answered. "I've got to go now. Frank's probably waiting for his breakfast," he added. After a wave of goodbye, he left the place and headed back to Verin Island.
When Joe entered his room, his brother was talking on the phone while writing something on a notepad.
"All right, thank you, Mr. Fisher," Frank was saying before placing down the receiver.
"Here's your breakfast," Joe placed the paper bag on his brother's bed. "Was that Mr. Fisher, the estate agent?" he asked curiously, as he flopped down on his bed. He noticed his brother had showered and changed, but what had made him surprised was that Frank continued lying on the bed with the covers pulled up to his neck. Instinctively, he felt something was wrong.
"Yeah," Frank nodded and picked up the bag. "I asked him about Bianco's properties. He told me after Bianco's arrest, none of properties were claimed, so they were auctioned by Blake and Bradley Liquidators. That was how Mr. Fisher got the island," he continued explaining.
"Hmm, there's nothing suspicious in that," Joe commented.
"But I've made a few calls and found out who had bought most of Bianco's properties. It might be nothing, but you might need the information just in case," Frank shrugged.
"Frank, are you all right?" Joe asked him, trying not to look worried.
"I'm fine," his brother assured him. "Just a little headache. I think I must be running on a fever," he told his brother. Ever since he woke up until he had finished his shower, his headache seemed to get worse, and his body felt cold despite the hot summer weather. He had to stay under the covers. The warmth of the bed comforted him. He couldn't remember the last time he had a fever. It felt like ages ago. I must have caught the virus from somewhere, he thought.
"Do you need a doctor?" Joe continued asking. He'd never seen his brother like this before.
"No, I'm sure it's just a common fever," Frank told him. He placed the breakfast aside, suddenly losing his appetite. "I want to check something from the Internet," he said and climbed out of his bed.
Suddenly, his world started spinning as Frank stood up. His head was pounding, and his breathing became labored. His world turned black as he collapsed to the floor.