CHAPTER 11
Neil Sterling! That bull! Wait till I get my hands on him. Joe fumed silently, unaware that his fists were clenched in anger, as he continued glaring at the monitor. He also learned something more about Kurt Bianco, too. He noticed the man was divorced three years before he was arrested. His wife, Samantha Bianco, won the custody to take the children with her. He wanted to search further, but there didn't seem to be more information of her and her children.
By this time Joe was itching to confront Neil, as he quickly shutdown the laptop. He placed back the laptop underneath the bed. Then he began thinking, now that he knew Neil Sterling was Nicholas Stein, Joe was convinced the man was the one behind the attack. He also knew there was still hope to find the antidote for Frank.
Instantly, Joe left the room, and rushed downstairs. He started searching for Neil Sterling at the construction site. After asking around from the workers, he found out Neil had gone to New York to get some hardware supplies. Joe couldn't help wondering why Neil always seemed nowhere to be found when he was wanted for questioning. Well, if Neil isn't here, then that'll give me a chance to take a look in his room, Joe thought hopefully. Somehow glad that Neil wasn't on the island, Joe went back inside the building.
Since Jane wasn't working today, Joe had easy access to the files in Jane's desk drawer. He found an appointment book. Curious, he began leafing through it. It was Shane's appointment book where Jane had recorded all of Shane's previous appointments. He noticed Shane kept having his appointment at Flash Courier Service in New York. He'd guess that might be Shane's company, too.
Closing the book, he searched again through the drawer. A few minutes later, he found a register book, which told him which room Neil was staying. He didn't waste his time going there.
Joe managed to pick the lock of Neil's room in record time. Okay, he knew he was breaking-and-entering, but he mentally redefined the term for that. He kept telling himself he was merely entering-and-searching the room, and not breaking anything, literally speaking. That sounded better than the original term. Tell that to the police!
The lock was easy to pick, though. Maybe that was why Neil didn't bother with the security on this island. So, that he could easily sneak into our room and kill us all, Joe silently reasoned.
Cautiously, he stepped into the room. The room was dark because the heavy curtains covered the windows. Joe turned on the lights and closed the door behind him silently.
Neil's room was tidy as if he never lived in, but that didn't discourage Joe to find clues – anything that might help him to cure Frank. He glanced around the room for a moment before deciding to search the closet first. Joe snorted in disgust when he found the closet empty. He turned his attention to other part of the room. He spent a few minutes searching. It was quite an easy search since Neil didn't keep a lot of things in his room. This made Joe wonder if Neil was hiding something.
He suddenly uttered something under his breath when he found something inside a drawer, underneath a pile of clothes. A bulky twenty-by-ten inches brown leather sheath lay hidden at the back of the drawer. When Joe reached for it, his hand almost dropped because of the surprisingly heavy weight of the object. He placed it on the floor and unlaced the string that closed the leather flap together. He unrolled the material.
"What in the – "
There, lay inside the leather was an assortment of different kinds of daggers. Most of them were authentic-looking. Joe counted ten of them. He recognized some of the daggers. A German Dolch, a Scottish Dirk, a Turkish Jambiya, and a Malaysian Keris. He wasn't sure the origin of the other daggers. But all of them had something in common – the deadly looking snake-like blade.
Joe shuddered inwardly. He was sure one of these daggers was used on Frank, even though all them were cleaned of dirt or blood. From the shiny way the daggers looked, told Joe that Neil spent a lot of his time polishing them.
A noise outside the door snapped Joe out of his thoughts. He quickly tied back the leather and placed it back where it came from.
Joe tensed and listened again. The noise seemed to have stopped. He took a risk to continue the search. But after a few minutes, he couldn't find anything that might lead him to the antidote, or the poison itself. A feeling of helplessness washed over him when he realized he might not be able to save his brother. He kicked a nearby trashcan in anger and frustration. The trashcan tumbled to the ground, spilling its contents to the floor.
"Great," Joe muttered. He kneeled down and started collecting the crumpled newspapers, and put them back into the trashcan.
His hand suddenly touched something soft and wet. He glanced down. It was a cotton ball. What was Neil doing with this? He wondered curiously. Instinctively, Joe took out his handkerchief and covered the cotton ball with it. He slipped it into his pocket. He realized it might be nothing, but there was a good chance it was connected to the case.
The poison! Joe smacked his head in realization. Why didn't he think of it before? If he could prove this was poison, then he could prove Neil was the one behind the attack. He quickly washed his hand, just for a precaution. He returned and searched the trash, hoping it would bring more clues.
Finding nothing more, he carefully arranged the trashcan before heading out of the room. As he walked along the hallway, Joe glanced at his wristwatch. Uh-oh, it's dinner time. I'd better get some food!
***
Joe entered his room wearily after his trip from Inzell. It took him almost an hour to get their dinner because of the long queue. As he placed the dinner on the table, he noticed Frank was starting to wake up. His brother rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"How are you feeling?" Joe asked in concern.
"Fine, I guess," Frank mumbled. "How long have I been sleeping?" he asked, propping himself on his elbows.
"About four hours," Joe replied.
"Four hours!" Frank exclaimed. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" he asked angrily. "We could have used that time for the case together – and possibly find the antidote before I – " Frank stopped, as if finally acknowledging the inevitability of his death.
Joe looked hurt and guilty by Frank's tone. "I'm so sorry, Frank. I didn't realized that," he apologized. "You look so sick, I didn't have a heart to disturb you."
Frank knew his brother was right. He took a deep breath. "It's okay, Joe. I'm sorry," he said in a calmer tone. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that." He ran his hand through his hair – a sure sign that he was nervous. He swallowed a lump in his throat when he thought about leaving his brother behind, his family – and Callie! He wondered if he should tell his girlfriend, Callie Shaw. He didn't want to get her worried. Maybe he would call her later. But what was he supposed to say to her?
"Dad's coming over," Joe announced simply.
Frank looked surprised. "Why?"
Joe relayed the conversation that he had with their father. He went on to explain what he had found out the last few hours.
Frank couldn't help feeling slightly relieved. At least the day hadn't gone to waste. "Good work, Joe," he said. He couldn't help feeling proud for his brother. He knew methodical thinking wasn't Joe's kind of thing. Joe would only use it when he thought necessary, otherwise he would leave all the thinking part to Frank.
"But I still haven't found the antidote," Joe added with a grim look. He should have known Neil wouldn't leave it in the open. He must have hid it somewhere.
"Neil's got to have it. If he made the poison, he should have the antidote, too," Frank said. "Maybe he didn't hide it in his room," he said thoughtfully.
"If not, where else? Does he have another house in Inzell?" Joe asked, frowning.
"I hardly think so," Frank said. "But we can check it out, just in case. But my best bet is – he carries it with him everywhere."
Joe shook his head in disgust. "How are we going to get it from him? That guy could beat us to pieces with just one swing of his arm," he pointed out.
"We'll figure out when he gets back from Inzell. I supposed he would be there, too, when Shane meets Ms. Matteo," Frank replied. "In the meantime, I think we can send the cotton ball that you've found to Dr. Nilson. Maybe it'll give him more information on the poison type."
Joe nodded in agreement. "Do you want something to eat?" he asked changing the subject.
For the first time, Frank realized he hadn't eaten for almost a day. "Yeah, I could use some," he agreed, patting his empty stomach. He climbed out of bed. His dizziness seemed to have gone, but still he walked carefully toward the kitchen table.
They quickly ate before they took a ride to Inzell Island, where they were planning to meet Dr. Nilson. The boys were relieved when the doctor was still working despite the late hour. They gave him the cotton ball and explained quickly about its significance. Dr. Nilson immediately analyzed it and found out it definitely covered with the poison. He also had prepared a trial antidote for Frank, but it wasn't strong enough to fight the poison, much to Joe's disappointment. That would mean, they still needed to find the real antidote. After thanking the doctor, they walked out of the building.
When the brothers got back to Verin Island, they were caught by surprise when Jane suddenly approached them at the resort entrance.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here!" Jane said between excitement and apprehension.
"What's wrong, Jane?" Joe asked in puzzlement.
Jane seemed unable to calm down. She became more and more agitated. "It – It's …" she started pointing frantically to the back of the room.
"What are you trying to say?" Frank asked calmly, hoping that it would calm her, too.
"The workers – T-They found…him!" she managed to choke out.
"Who?" Joe asked curiously.
"I think it's better if you could show us," Frank suggested gently.
Jane nodded eagerly, and brought them to the end of the construction site. Frank and Joe could see the construction workers were crowding something at the beach.
"What's going on here?" Frank asked when he arrived at the spot.
"We don't know. We happened to find him like that," one of them replied.
The crowd dispersed to give way for Frank and Joe. Frank stopped immediately when he saw what the workers were crowding around. He heard Joe took a large intake of breath.
Lying on the sandy beach, with pale blue eyes staring lifelessly at the sky, was the dead body of Jim Owen.