The nurse gasped in horror. "Oh my!"
Rishid picked the paper up, narrowing his eyes. "Someone is either playing a very abominable trick on us or else they are sending us an actual warning that my brother has been poisoned," he declared, staring intently at the symbols on the page.
"This is serious," the nurse said grimly. "I will call the doctor and see if he has had any results from the blood test he did earlier."
"The police should be notified as well," Rishid said, and the nurse agreed as she left the room.
Rishid looked at Marik's still body. "Oh, my precious brother, what have they done to you?" he said sadly.
****
Seto drove away from Lila's home later that afternoon, deep in thought once more. Somehow he needed to find this loanshark and speak with him. Since the man's telephone number and name had shown up on the phone bill, perhaps he was listed in the phone book. John Freddie was supposed to be a respected private loan officer, but there were many rumors that he was actually a vicious loanshark who tortured those who couldn't pay him back.
After a quick check in the phone book, Seto found that John Freddie was indeed listed and ordered the chauffeur to drive to his home.
In about an hour, the limo pulled up in front of Freddie's mansion and Seto stepped out. "I won't be long," he said emotionlessly as he walked up the winding driveway. At least, he certainly hoped he wouldn't be long.
When he rang the doorbell, a gruff-looking man in a business suit hauled the door open. "Whaddya want?" he growled. "Mr. Freddie ain't seein' nobody more today."
Seto wasn't intimidated. "I'm not here about a loan," he replied sternly. "I only wish to speak with him briefly."
The man's expression didn't lighten. "Yeah? And who are you?" His hand drifted underneath his coat.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Seto said coldly. "Just tell him that Seto Kaiba is here." He grabbed the man's arm and wrenched it around, spotting the glint of a revolver hidden in the man's suspenders.
"Seto Kaiba?!" the man grunted in disbelief, trying to pull his arm away.
"What's this about Seto Kaiba?"
Both Seto and the man looked up to see a classily-dressed man standing in the doorway.
"I'm Seto Kaiba," Seto said, still holding firm to the man's wrist.
The classily-dressed man started to laugh. "Well, fine! Come right in, Mr. Kaiba. I'm John Freddie." He looked sternly at his henchman. "Go off somewhere else, Vic," he ordered. "And no funny business with my guest!"
Seto let Vic go and the man went off into another room, muttering to himself.
Freddie turned back to Seto with what seemed to be a friendly smile. "Now, Mr. Kaiba, do sit down." He gestured toward the leather furniture. Seto sat in a nearby chair and then Freddie sat as well. "And to what do I owe the honor of your visit?" the man asked.
Seto leaned forward. "Mr. Freddie, my company owns the radio station KETY here in Domino City," he said. "One of the deejays disappeared from there yesterday under suspicious circumstances."
Freddie nodded, looking perfectly confused. "Yeah? Pardon me, Mr. Kaiba, but what does this have to do with me?"
"Perhaps nothing," Seto replied smoothly. "This deejay—a JP Palmer—made several phone calls to you before he was abducted. Do you remember him?"
Freddie shrugged. "Look, Mr. Kaiba, I get an awful lot of clients. I can't possibly remember them all."
Seto nodded. "Of course not. But you must keep a record of some kind, don't you?"
"Of course," Freddie agreed. "I could check it, if you don't mind waiting."
"Not at all." Seto stood up. "But if you don't mind, Mr. Freddie, I would like to come with you."
"Why should I mind?" Freddie turned and led Seto down a long hall into his den. Seto glanced around the nicely furnished room while Freddie looked through his computer files. Finally the man looked up. "Yeah, here it is—Palmer," he announced. "He took out a loan last month for ten thousand dollars. I remember him now. Friendly guy, but he seemed kinda nervous."
"Did he say why he needed the loan?" Seto asked now. "That might be an important clue."
Freddie shrugged. "I think it was somethin' to do with needin' the money to remodel his house," he said. "I didn't want to loan him so much money, but Vifa—my girl at the time—convinced me to let him have it."
Seto could barely control his utter shock. "Excuse me, Mr. Freddie, but did you say 'Vifa'?!" he demanded.
Freddie's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I sure did. I thought she was some kind of angel, but she proved me wrong. One night she broke into my safe and started loadin' all the money into some van of hers. When I came home and cornered her, she shot me." His fists clenched angrily.
Seto didn't like what he was hearing in the least. "Didn't the police arrest her?" he demanded.
Freddie shook his head. "It was dark and I hadn't been able to see clearly, so the judge threw the case right out the door because Vifa hadn't had the money or the attempted murder weapon when they searched her place. Of course, that was only part of it. That dame completely charmed the judge into letting her go! I haven't seen her since."
"I see." Seto nodded slowly. He paused, suddenly remembering something else. "Mr. Freddie, did JP ever pay back the money you loaned him?"
Freddie paused and blinked. "No, he didn't," he said at last, consulting the screen.
****
Joey never did have any luck finding information about Vivalene's family, but he was meeting her for dinner, so he made up his mind to just ask her if she had a twin sister.
Mai had left a while ago, but now the Brooklyn boy felt another presence standing by him and he whirled around to find Seto Kaiba there. The brown-haired boy stood with his arms folded across his chest and a disgusted look in his eyes.
"How long have you been there?!" Joey demanded angrily. "You been spyin' on me?!"
"I'm here to get Mokuba," Seto said coldly. He paused, then said, "But you'll never find the information you're seeking. Vivalene attacked Marik. I'm certain of it. She attacked someone else the same way. They couldn't prove it was her, but the victim knew it was."
Joey stood up, his brown eyes aflame with fury. "Shut up, Kaiba. Just shut up!! It wasn't her, I tell ya! It couldn't have been!!"
"Joey, don't be a moron." Seto only called the other boy by his first name when he had something extremely important to say to him. "What will it take for you to see what a devil she is?"
"I don't gotta listen to this." Joey turned to go. "I'm meeting Vifa for dinner."
Seto grunted. "Do as you please. She's not someone to mix with, but I can see that nothing your friends say will convince you." He turned to leave as well. "You would rather trust a woman you barely even know."
"You're no friend of mine," Joey replied hurtfully as he stormed off.
Seto looked momentarily stung. He had been trying to keep Joey from falling into a catastrophe he wouldn't be able to get out of, but that guy was completely ungrateful. Narrowing his eyes, he wandered off to find Mokuba. Joey had been so angry that he had forgotten to mention that Mokuba had gone off to see Marik.
****
Meanwhile, Yugi, Tristan, and Tea had just finished talking with another deejay—who, unfortunately, wasn't able to offer any information.
"What do we do now?" Tea wondered, throwing her hands up in frustration.
Tristan stopped suddenly. "Hey, do you guys hear that?!" he exclaimed.
Yugi and Tea stopped as well. "I do," Yugi said worriedly. "Someone's crying!"
Quickly the teens ran down the hall and found Mandy crying in a darkened storage room.
"Hey, miss, what's wrong?" Tristan asked, kneeling down next to her.
Mandy looked up, her face tear-streaked. "Mr. Von Wilkenson dismissed me!" she cried. "Just like that, boom, I'm fired!"
"Why would he do that?" Yugi asked. "Bakura said he wouldn't take the job unless you agreed, and I know he wouldn't go back on his word."
"He didn't," Mandy assured them. "But Von Wilkenson fired me anyway, even though he didn't have a replacement!"
"Well, that's odd," Tea remarked. She hadn't forgotten her dislike of the other girl, and she knew Mandy could be annoying, but she still felt sorry for her.
"He hates me!" Mandy sobbed. "He just completely hates me!" She paused. "And I think it's 'cause of what I heard the other week," she said conspiratorially.
Yugi gasped. "You heard something? Can you tell us what it was?"
Mandy nodded. "Well, a few weeks ago I was staying late at the station cleaning stuff up from one of JP's studio parties, and I happened to pass by Mr. Von Wilkenson's office. He was talking to some girl in there and I couldn't help but overhear what was being said. . . ."
"What was it?" Tristan asked.
Mandy paused. "Von Wilkenson was saying something about how they couldn't let anyone find out because it would be such bad publicity," she remembered, "and the girl was protesting. She said that this wasn't the kind of thing they could just keep silent about. And then Von Wilkenson said loudly, 'But what if they suspect me?!'"
The teens gasped. "That doesn't sound good," Yugi said, shaking his head.
Mandy hurried on with her tale. "Then I tried to hurry away, but he caught sight of me and grabbed me!" She rubbed her arm, obviously recalling the incident as if it was happening again. "He cursed at me and told me to forget everything I'd just heard. Then he shoved me out into the hall and slammed the door!"
"That's terrible!" Tea cried. "Why didn't you just quit your job then and there?!"
Mandy sighed. "I couldn't. I was afraid to," she admitted. She suddenly looked around wildly. "What am I thinking?! I shouldn't have told you guys all this while we're here! I should've waited and met you somewhere else later!" She wrung her hands frantically. "If Von Wilkenson learns I blabbed everything, we'll all be in terrible trouble!" She stood up. "I'd better leave."
"But what will you do?" Yugi asked, wide-eyed.
"I'll be fine," Mandy assured him, disappearing into the shadows and exiting through a back door.
The teens stared after her in disbelief.
"Man, never a moment's peace!" Tristan groaned.
"Hey," Tea exclaimed suddenly, "where's Bakura?!"
Yugi gasped. "That's true! We haven't seen him since he went to talk with Von Wilkenson, and that was hours ago!"
Worriedly the teens ran down the halls, looking into every room and calling for their friend, but to no avail.
"Man, I hope he's okay," Tristan said, shaking his head.
Tea, who had just looked in another studio, suddenly let out a horrified shriek.
Yugi's heart sank. "What is it?" he cried, but he was sure he already knew.
Tea let the door swing open wide. "It's Bakura!" she screamed, pointing to the boy's still body on the floor. Blood was everywhere. "And he looks like he might be dead!!!"
Rishid picked the paper up, narrowing his eyes. "Someone is either playing a very abominable trick on us or else they are sending us an actual warning that my brother has been poisoned," he declared, staring intently at the symbols on the page.
"This is serious," the nurse said grimly. "I will call the doctor and see if he has had any results from the blood test he did earlier."
"The police should be notified as well," Rishid said, and the nurse agreed as she left the room.
Rishid looked at Marik's still body. "Oh, my precious brother, what have they done to you?" he said sadly.
****
Seto drove away from Lila's home later that afternoon, deep in thought once more. Somehow he needed to find this loanshark and speak with him. Since the man's telephone number and name had shown up on the phone bill, perhaps he was listed in the phone book. John Freddie was supposed to be a respected private loan officer, but there were many rumors that he was actually a vicious loanshark who tortured those who couldn't pay him back.
After a quick check in the phone book, Seto found that John Freddie was indeed listed and ordered the chauffeur to drive to his home.
In about an hour, the limo pulled up in front of Freddie's mansion and Seto stepped out. "I won't be long," he said emotionlessly as he walked up the winding driveway. At least, he certainly hoped he wouldn't be long.
When he rang the doorbell, a gruff-looking man in a business suit hauled the door open. "Whaddya want?" he growled. "Mr. Freddie ain't seein' nobody more today."
Seto wasn't intimidated. "I'm not here about a loan," he replied sternly. "I only wish to speak with him briefly."
The man's expression didn't lighten. "Yeah? And who are you?" His hand drifted underneath his coat.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Seto said coldly. "Just tell him that Seto Kaiba is here." He grabbed the man's arm and wrenched it around, spotting the glint of a revolver hidden in the man's suspenders.
"Seto Kaiba?!" the man grunted in disbelief, trying to pull his arm away.
"What's this about Seto Kaiba?"
Both Seto and the man looked up to see a classily-dressed man standing in the doorway.
"I'm Seto Kaiba," Seto said, still holding firm to the man's wrist.
The classily-dressed man started to laugh. "Well, fine! Come right in, Mr. Kaiba. I'm John Freddie." He looked sternly at his henchman. "Go off somewhere else, Vic," he ordered. "And no funny business with my guest!"
Seto let Vic go and the man went off into another room, muttering to himself.
Freddie turned back to Seto with what seemed to be a friendly smile. "Now, Mr. Kaiba, do sit down." He gestured toward the leather furniture. Seto sat in a nearby chair and then Freddie sat as well. "And to what do I owe the honor of your visit?" the man asked.
Seto leaned forward. "Mr. Freddie, my company owns the radio station KETY here in Domino City," he said. "One of the deejays disappeared from there yesterday under suspicious circumstances."
Freddie nodded, looking perfectly confused. "Yeah? Pardon me, Mr. Kaiba, but what does this have to do with me?"
"Perhaps nothing," Seto replied smoothly. "This deejay—a JP Palmer—made several phone calls to you before he was abducted. Do you remember him?"
Freddie shrugged. "Look, Mr. Kaiba, I get an awful lot of clients. I can't possibly remember them all."
Seto nodded. "Of course not. But you must keep a record of some kind, don't you?"
"Of course," Freddie agreed. "I could check it, if you don't mind waiting."
"Not at all." Seto stood up. "But if you don't mind, Mr. Freddie, I would like to come with you."
"Why should I mind?" Freddie turned and led Seto down a long hall into his den. Seto glanced around the nicely furnished room while Freddie looked through his computer files. Finally the man looked up. "Yeah, here it is—Palmer," he announced. "He took out a loan last month for ten thousand dollars. I remember him now. Friendly guy, but he seemed kinda nervous."
"Did he say why he needed the loan?" Seto asked now. "That might be an important clue."
Freddie shrugged. "I think it was somethin' to do with needin' the money to remodel his house," he said. "I didn't want to loan him so much money, but Vifa—my girl at the time—convinced me to let him have it."
Seto could barely control his utter shock. "Excuse me, Mr. Freddie, but did you say 'Vifa'?!" he demanded.
Freddie's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I sure did. I thought she was some kind of angel, but she proved me wrong. One night she broke into my safe and started loadin' all the money into some van of hers. When I came home and cornered her, she shot me." His fists clenched angrily.
Seto didn't like what he was hearing in the least. "Didn't the police arrest her?" he demanded.
Freddie shook his head. "It was dark and I hadn't been able to see clearly, so the judge threw the case right out the door because Vifa hadn't had the money or the attempted murder weapon when they searched her place. Of course, that was only part of it. That dame completely charmed the judge into letting her go! I haven't seen her since."
"I see." Seto nodded slowly. He paused, suddenly remembering something else. "Mr. Freddie, did JP ever pay back the money you loaned him?"
Freddie paused and blinked. "No, he didn't," he said at last, consulting the screen.
****
Joey never did have any luck finding information about Vivalene's family, but he was meeting her for dinner, so he made up his mind to just ask her if she had a twin sister.
Mai had left a while ago, but now the Brooklyn boy felt another presence standing by him and he whirled around to find Seto Kaiba there. The brown-haired boy stood with his arms folded across his chest and a disgusted look in his eyes.
"How long have you been there?!" Joey demanded angrily. "You been spyin' on me?!"
"I'm here to get Mokuba," Seto said coldly. He paused, then said, "But you'll never find the information you're seeking. Vivalene attacked Marik. I'm certain of it. She attacked someone else the same way. They couldn't prove it was her, but the victim knew it was."
Joey stood up, his brown eyes aflame with fury. "Shut up, Kaiba. Just shut up!! It wasn't her, I tell ya! It couldn't have been!!"
"Joey, don't be a moron." Seto only called the other boy by his first name when he had something extremely important to say to him. "What will it take for you to see what a devil she is?"
"I don't gotta listen to this." Joey turned to go. "I'm meeting Vifa for dinner."
Seto grunted. "Do as you please. She's not someone to mix with, but I can see that nothing your friends say will convince you." He turned to leave as well. "You would rather trust a woman you barely even know."
"You're no friend of mine," Joey replied hurtfully as he stormed off.
Seto looked momentarily stung. He had been trying to keep Joey from falling into a catastrophe he wouldn't be able to get out of, but that guy was completely ungrateful. Narrowing his eyes, he wandered off to find Mokuba. Joey had been so angry that he had forgotten to mention that Mokuba had gone off to see Marik.
****
Meanwhile, Yugi, Tristan, and Tea had just finished talking with another deejay—who, unfortunately, wasn't able to offer any information.
"What do we do now?" Tea wondered, throwing her hands up in frustration.
Tristan stopped suddenly. "Hey, do you guys hear that?!" he exclaimed.
Yugi and Tea stopped as well. "I do," Yugi said worriedly. "Someone's crying!"
Quickly the teens ran down the hall and found Mandy crying in a darkened storage room.
"Hey, miss, what's wrong?" Tristan asked, kneeling down next to her.
Mandy looked up, her face tear-streaked. "Mr. Von Wilkenson dismissed me!" she cried. "Just like that, boom, I'm fired!"
"Why would he do that?" Yugi asked. "Bakura said he wouldn't take the job unless you agreed, and I know he wouldn't go back on his word."
"He didn't," Mandy assured them. "But Von Wilkenson fired me anyway, even though he didn't have a replacement!"
"Well, that's odd," Tea remarked. She hadn't forgotten her dislike of the other girl, and she knew Mandy could be annoying, but she still felt sorry for her.
"He hates me!" Mandy sobbed. "He just completely hates me!" She paused. "And I think it's 'cause of what I heard the other week," she said conspiratorially.
Yugi gasped. "You heard something? Can you tell us what it was?"
Mandy nodded. "Well, a few weeks ago I was staying late at the station cleaning stuff up from one of JP's studio parties, and I happened to pass by Mr. Von Wilkenson's office. He was talking to some girl in there and I couldn't help but overhear what was being said. . . ."
"What was it?" Tristan asked.
Mandy paused. "Von Wilkenson was saying something about how they couldn't let anyone find out because it would be such bad publicity," she remembered, "and the girl was protesting. She said that this wasn't the kind of thing they could just keep silent about. And then Von Wilkenson said loudly, 'But what if they suspect me?!'"
The teens gasped. "That doesn't sound good," Yugi said, shaking his head.
Mandy hurried on with her tale. "Then I tried to hurry away, but he caught sight of me and grabbed me!" She rubbed her arm, obviously recalling the incident as if it was happening again. "He cursed at me and told me to forget everything I'd just heard. Then he shoved me out into the hall and slammed the door!"
"That's terrible!" Tea cried. "Why didn't you just quit your job then and there?!"
Mandy sighed. "I couldn't. I was afraid to," she admitted. She suddenly looked around wildly. "What am I thinking?! I shouldn't have told you guys all this while we're here! I should've waited and met you somewhere else later!" She wrung her hands frantically. "If Von Wilkenson learns I blabbed everything, we'll all be in terrible trouble!" She stood up. "I'd better leave."
"But what will you do?" Yugi asked, wide-eyed.
"I'll be fine," Mandy assured him, disappearing into the shadows and exiting through a back door.
The teens stared after her in disbelief.
"Man, never a moment's peace!" Tristan groaned.
"Hey," Tea exclaimed suddenly, "where's Bakura?!"
Yugi gasped. "That's true! We haven't seen him since he went to talk with Von Wilkenson, and that was hours ago!"
Worriedly the teens ran down the halls, looking into every room and calling for their friend, but to no avail.
"Man, I hope he's okay," Tristan said, shaking his head.
Tea, who had just looked in another studio, suddenly let out a horrified shriek.
Yugi's heart sank. "What is it?" he cried, but he was sure he already knew.
Tea let the door swing open wide. "It's Bakura!" she screamed, pointing to the boy's still body on the floor. Blood was everywhere. "And he looks like he might be dead!!!"