Chapter 11

The audience gazed at the piano, ripe with anticipation. Most had merely heard about the silver medalist from the prestigious Tilburn Competition, others had read about her recent marriage to conducting talent, Chiaki Shinichi, while only a handful truly comprehended the full extent of the talent that was brewing under the unassuming façade. Whatever excited their curiosity in the first place, in the end, they were all lovers of good music. On this particularly fine afternoon, the Sala Terrena was packed to the seams with music aficionados.

It was five minutes before the start. There was the usual last minute scramble. A young couple was seen scanning the auditorium desperately for two empty seats when they finally noticed a hand in the third row motioning for them to head in its direction. The figure that had waved them over had been obscured by the large crowd that had gathered, hence, they did not wonder too much about it, only grateful that someone was thoughtful enough to guide them to a couple of empty seats.

"What took you two so long? You're lucky there just happened to be two empty seats beside me" A familiar voice demanded with acerbity as the two took to their seats beside it. "Now that you're married, you don't expect me to be still picking up after you, do you?"

"Mother? What are you doing here?" The daughter stood aghast, wondering whether to take flight. The usually loquacious son-in-law was learning wisely that silence was golden, wondering if had not been a mistake coming in the first place.

"Why… can't I enjoy a piano recital like the next person?" The mother barked. Then switching to a softer tone of voice, she remarked, "Nodame invited me."

"She did? Really?"

"Why is that so surprising? Do you really think your mother is incapable of making friends?

"Of course, you are mum… I just didn't think you knew Nodame…"

"We had a very good chat earlier today. She's an interesting person, so I accepted."

Rui produced a hint of smile. "I see."

"What do you see?"

"Oh… nothing really. I agree that she is interesting."

"I must say though, that she doesn't look like much… but she makes a lot of sense. It's a long time since anyone made this much sense…" Mei Son's eyes contained a faraway look, her mind drifting elsewhere momentarily.

Nodame making sense?… That must've been one interesting conversation. Rui thought to herself. But mum's different… she seems a lot calmer… Perhaps…

The son in law, on the other hand, was becoming more intrigued by Chiaki's crazy wife. Anyone who can take on the dragon lady and come out alive… deserves respect. Wonder what happened between those two.

The dragon lady turned to face them. "So why are you both here?"

"Justin's never heard her play so we thought we'd come along. We managed to procure a couple of tickets before they were all sold out."

"Is she any good?" Mrs Son asked curiously.

"I think you should listen and decide for yourself."

"I will."

As soon as those words were uttered, the lights dimmed, exuding a warmth that softened the semi-darkness surrounding the platform. Minutes later, the audience applauded as the woman of the hour ambled her way towards her instrument. She seemed oblivious… indifferent almost… to the applause that rang around her, as she made her obligatory bow before settling herself on the chair.

She gazed dreamily into the lighted space in front of her, apparently gaining her inspiration from powers invisible to all who were looking on. Perhaps the ghost of Grieg himself haunted the place as she struck the keys expressively, bringing his lyric pieces to life.

The passion and sincerity were undeniable. Megumi Noda immersed herself in the tide of the music and allowed herself to be swept away. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that she was would go far and that she had the makings of a virtuoso… but she achieved more than mere technical mastery of the instrument. Even more vital than that… she was a performer that drew out the emotional quality of the pieces and shared them joyfully to her listeners. It was clear from the first note that she would give them a recital to remember.

Rui Lee nee Son turned to glance at her mother. In the middle of the recital, she was suddenly struck by the rare speechlessness of the older woman beside her. There was none of her usual look of impatience in those eyes. Mei Son looked as if she too, was transported by the musical tour de force she was witnessed too. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Memories long forgotten and buried were being revived.

"She reminds me of your father… The way she plays…" Mrs Son murmured. "I miss him." She continued to say, staring beyond the piano.

"I miss him too, mum…" Rui slipped her fingers into her mother's hand.

"He would have liked her…"

"I think so too."

"Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with that man?"

"I do, mum."

"Does he love you?"

"I know he does."

"He'd better… I expect no less for my only daughter…"

What other admonishments Mei Son had been raring to fling at her beleaguered son-in-law, her daughter would not be privy to them. Lost in conversations and reminisces, she failed to notice that the performer had struck her final note. A thunderous burst of applause was followed by enthusiastic cheering in the audience. The first part of the afternoon's programme had ended all too quickly. The spirit of anticipation in the room was sensationally high at that moment but in the excitement of the moment, no one would suspect for a moment that it would be the end of that recital.

A pathetic and solitary figure remained in his seat, bemused, hidden amidst the roaring ovation around him. Whatever else he was, he was no hypocrite. Or at least that's what he told himself.

She's certainly as good as they all say she is… Such energy… such fervour… with undercurrents of playfulness. Wonder what she sees in that cold fish… How much would he miss her, I wonder, if she's no longer by his side? How much would they all miss her? Their precious Tilburn silver medalist.

It would be a pity to dispose of her entirely… such a unique talent too… a rare pearl.

Well, Anna… you said that I was a spineless imitator. Well, today, I'm going to prove your wrong… just as I'm going to prove them all wrong.

The after performance buzz was palpable during the intermission. Evidently the performance had left an impression on the entire audience, inspiring intense conversation. Five minutes into the intermission, the fire alarms sounded out urgently.

The blaring of the alarms had the effect that was intended… it brought everyone to attention and took them all by surprise. Clearly something had set it off although no one at the time would perceive the insidious design behind it.

The administration and security sprung into action immediately, herding staff and patrons around for an impromptu evacuation. The five hundred strong audience obediently followed their guides out of the exits to "safer" ground.

In the privacy of her dressing room, the young pianist was all but forgotten in the excitement, until a man, about twentyish, dressed in what appeared to be a police uniform and sunglasses came to her rescue.

"Mrs Chiaki… It's not safe for you to stay here. The rest of the building has been evacuated. You should leave too."

"Leave?" She echoed, giving him a bewildered look. "But what about the recital?"

"You will have to forget about the recital… safety first…"

"But all those people came to hear me play."

"Well, all those people have left and you should leave too, if you value your life."

"I don't see any fire." The young pianist insisted, craning her neck to look behind the long suffering fire fighter.

"It's at the other end of the building."

"Well, I should be fine then. I'll wait here for you to put out the fire over there."

"The fire could spread and you could get hurt. I can't let you endanger your own life or the lives of the other men, who may have to come back for you."

"But they came to hear me… It was a full house…"

"I'm sure they understand. These things happen."

"How could this have happened?"

The uniformed officer gently took hold of her arms. "Let's go, Mrs Chiaki."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Just through the back door and outside. Don't worry… we'll have it under control in no time at all."

Reluctantly, Megumi Noda Chiaki sighed. "Why do these things happen to me? This was going to be my finest hour yet."

On the front end, fire trucks gathered at the scene, in the hustle and bustle of the moment. The crowd that had filed out of the building were busy speculating and gossiping amongst themselves, waiting to be updated on the supposed fire that had broken out somewhere in the building. The woman that had captured their imagination was both out of sight and out of mind until some time later when her husband burst onto the scene bewildered by the large numbers gathered outside the venue.

"What's going on?" He demanded loudly, posing his question generally to anyone who could give him an answer.

"A fire has apparently broken out at the other end of the building." An elderly man in the crowd shouted back helpfully. "The fire fighters have gone in to investigate."

"I see." It did cross Chiaki's mind, if only for an instant, whether Nodame herself was responsible for the fire. Given the right circumstances, she could provide the catalyst for a major disaster. But he remembered quickly enough that they was nothing in her reach that could be a sufficient enough temptation.

His eyes scanned the crowds for the familiar reddish brown bob but after several attempts, she was no where to be seen.

"Where is she?"

"Where is who?" A man who was standing nearby asked politely.

"Nodame… my wife…" He muttered distractedly while still craning over the crowd for any sign of her. "She was supposed to be here."

"What does your wife look like, young sir?"

"Ms Megumi Noda… the pianist… where is she?"

"Er… actually… we haven't seen her. She was backstage when the alarm went off." The man remarked sheepishly.

"She was backstage?! On her own?" Chiaki gasped in horror.

"Possibly. I don't know. We just did what we were told. Everyone was so caught up with the alarm going off, we just forgot…"

Chiaki did not stick around much longer to hear what the man had to say and desperately elbowed his way through the crowd to the front entrance. His attitude had grown grave and was in no mood for social niceties. Chiaki was ready to charge through the front door when he was thwarted by security.

"Hey, young man… what do you think you're doing?" A firefighter ran towards him, stretching his arm out to keep him from going further.

"My wife… she's still in there…" Chiaki protested.

"There's no one in there, Mr…?"

"Chiaki… but she's not here. I don't see her anywhere."

"The entire building was evacuated."

"She was backstage… and there's a fire…"

"I'm telling you, we've been through the entire building with a fine toothcomb and there's no one. In fact, there isn't even a fire. Some idiot probably tried to light a cigarette in the men's restroom and set off the alarm."

"No fire?" Chiaki was in a daze. "But where is my wife?"

"She could have gone out the back entrance." Noticing the anxiety on the younger man's face, the fire officer demeanour softened. " I'll send one of my men to take a look. Meanwhile, you stay here, Mr Chiaki. Fire or no fire, this is not the time for heroics."

Chiaki felt the other man's sympathy but he couldn't help thinking that something was seriously wrong about the entire situation. Why wasn't she around? Was she up to some kind of tomfoolery? It didn't make sense for her not to be with the rest of the group.

"Shinichi… is everything alright?"

The voice made him jump. It was all too familiar and yet that was a different quality to it than when he last heard it.

"Dad?" In his disarray, he forgot his lifelong animosity against his father . "What are you doing here?"

"We heard on the news that the Sala Terrena could be on fire and so rushed here immediately to see how things were, knowing that Nodame was performing this afternoon." The father observed that his son had gone as white as sheet. "Are you alright?"

"It's Nodame… I can't find her… She's no where to be found." The son's tone of voice lacked his usual confident air.

Chiaki senior voice's turned serious. "Did she not evacuate the building with the others?"

Shinichi paused before saying, "Apparently not. She was backstage when the fire alarm went off. No one has seen her."

"She can't be far."

"The fire fighters have gone back in there to look for her. But…"

"I'm sure it's nothing…"

The young conductor allowed his body to go limp and fall to the ground. "If only I had been here. I should've been here."

"Shinichi… we don't know what has happened… yet…"

"Knowing her…"

"She's quite capable of looking after herself, I'm sure. I don't think she'd deliberately walk into harm's way, would she?"

Shinichi did not answer. His father was speaking a great deal of sense and yet even the sheer logic of what he said could not appease his troubled mind. He thought about the incident in Rome… how close he was to losing her and a cold fear seized his heart, reminding him that he could be reliving that entire nightmare again.

"Have you tried calling her?" His father suggested, seeing how racked with worry the son was.

Shinichi wondered why he hadn't thought of it himself. But then he had been far too preoccupied with the worst case scenario to think straight.

His hand immediately dived into his trouser pocket and pulled out the phone.

"Hello." Shinichi was taken aback to hear a male voice on the other side of the line.

"Who is this? Nodame? Is that you?"

"Mr Chiaki? It's Alfred Mann. We spoke a few minutes ago remember? I'm with the fire department."

"What's the matter? Where's my wife?"

"That's a good question sir. The good news is, there is no fire. The bad news, however, is that there is no trace of her anywhere. She left her things behind… her bag, music, personal items and this phone."

"What do you mean there's no trace of her?"

"She's no where to be found. Evidently she went out the back exit but she's not out there either."

"Where did she go?"

"Right now, your guess is as good as mine."

A simple false alarm was now turning into a missing person's case. Shinichi, his father and the law enforcement officials had moved into the lobby and were now locked in serious conversation.

"I don't understand this, officer. I don't believe she upped and ran away. She was very much looking forward to the recital. She told me as much yesterday." Chiaki Masayuki spoke up.

"And you are?"

"Megumi Noda is my daughter-in-law. This here is my son."

"When did you last see her, Mr Chiaki?"

"Yesterday afternoon. We had lunch together. She was very bright, cheerful and certainly looking forward to the recital."

"So she was happy?"

"As far as I know."

"Your son and daughter-in-law were happy in their marriage?"

"As far as I could tell."

"You don't seem to be very sure about that."

" I haven't seen my son for some time. I only met his wife yesterday."

"Ah, really. So you can't be sure that they were happy in their marriage."

"They've been together a long time, officer. And just got married a few days ago."

"It doesn't mean anything, Mr Chiaki. Couples that cohabitate before getting married are twice as likely to end in divorce."

"Look, if you want to know the exact nature of their relationship, you should probably ask my son. But what has any of this got to do with her disappearance?"

"Well, it could give us insight into her frame of mind before she went missing."

"Her frame of mind?"

"She could've been unhappy with the domestic side of things and decided to let the husband sweat a little."

"You don't know much about musicians, do you, officer?"

"Probably not as much as you."

"She was performing at a recital and, as you yourself have discovered, gave a brilliant performance. Why would she leave half way?"

"Lots of reasons…"

"Such as? She's a professional. Even if she was really upset, she would wait for the entire performance to be over before taking off without her husband's knowledge."

"And you're speaking from your experience as a musician or just from knowing her a day?"

"Both." Masayuki san remained unfazed.

At this point of the conversation, the son, who had been giving a statement to another officer some distance away, joined in.

"What's going on, Dad?"

"The officer here thinks that Nodame ran away."

"I didn't… I only said that we mustn't preclude the possibility…"

"Nodame ran away…? But why?" Shinichi face was a picture of disbelief.

"How were things between you and the wife?"

"OK. Nothing out of the ordinary. She wasn't happy with a few things that's come up. But nothing…"

"Can you tell me the exact nature of your disagreement?"

His frustration with his interrogator was becoming evident. "It wasn't a disagreement! And it's none of your business…" Chiaki blushed slightly. "It's personal." He ventured.

"I need to know, sir." The police officer persisted.

Chiaki gave his father a fleeting glance and hesitated before saying. "There's a person… of our acquaintance… that I'm not on friendly terms with. She… wasn't happy with my attitude towards him… and was giving me the cold shoulder."

"I see."

"No, you don't. We dealt with it." Well, almost. "She would never run away from a recital. Never. Do you know what this means to her? Years of hard work gone to waste. She lives for moments like these."

"One never knows, with women."

"Nodame is not like other women." Chiaki snapped.

Chiaki's interrogator shot him a penetrating look. "You seem so sure she's not run away. Yet you're worried about something."

Chiaki did not answer immediately.

"A few months ago… she was kidnapped… Well, not her… exactly… She was with someone… a princess and they were kidnapped… in Rome."

"And you think that's what's happened? Kidnapped?" The officer asked, not without some scepticism.

"I don't know what's happened but I'm concerned. With everything else that's been happening."

A subordinate of the uniformed police officer chose this moment to interrupt and whispered into his ear.

"I haven't told you this… but a letter was found in her dressing room."

"A letter? Really?"

"Addressed to you. We took it to look for distinguishing features."

"To me?" Chiaki looked like a man that had woken from a dream. "Where is it?"

The police sergeant took it from his subordinate and waved it in front of Chiaki.

"We took the liberty of opening it. Doesn't look relevant to the case at hand though. None of us could make rhyme or reason of it. If you'll pardon a bad pun."

Chiaki whisked it out of the police officer's hand like a thirsty man who had been handed a cup of cold water.

Little Miss Megumi sat at her piano
Because playing it was her forte
Along came a spy
Who was sent to get her
And drove Miss Megumi away.

Poor handsome Chiaki
went to the cupboard
To give his poor wife a holiday
When he got there
The cupboard was bare
So the poor wife had none.

Round and round the conductor's bench
The saru chased itachi
Itachi thought twas all in fun
"Drop" goes the monkey.

Chiaki found a little hen, not the prettiest I'd ever seen,
She barely washed the dishes and her house was scarcely clean.
I'm putting her through the mill just because I can,
Just to prove to everyone that I am quite the man.
She's quite the charming creature although a little pale,
I sat her by the fire and now she's up for sale!

The eerily malapert rhyme struck terror into Chiaki's heart.

"Sounds like someone is having a bit of fun at your expense." The sergeant smiled for the first time in front of father and son.

"My expense, yes… but fun? No. It's no laughing matter, sergeant." Chiaki turned pale. "It's my turn…" He muttered almost inaudibly to himself. "Or was it always intended for me?"

"You know who wrote this?"

"Yes… and no…"

"You're hardly making sense."

"There's someone I need to talk to… someone I know slightly…" Chiaki dug into his trousers and pulled out his wallet. "An inspector… Criminal Investigation Department."

"CID? Who?"

"Here's his card… can you contact him on my behalf? He knows everything."

The lowly sergeant took a quick look at the card and didn't bother to suppress a gasp. Kommissar Rex Moser… A legend in the police force…

"You've met him?" He asked awestruck.

"Only once… why?" Shinichi asked curiously in spite of himself.

"He's something of an icon in the Vienna police force."

"Aren't you going to ask me what this is all about?" Shinichi drummed his fingers nervously on the arm chair.

"I expect that you'll tell me when you're ready." His father took the opportunity to light a cigarette and offered his son one.

"Dad… about yesterday…"

"It's alright, Shinichi… It was probably a bit of a shock for you."

"Well, I won't say I wasn't surprised."

"I hope you weren't too hard on her."

"As if I could get away with it…"

Both men fell silent, wondering with some degree of unexpressed astonishment that they had fallen into dialogue so readily. There were still too many years between them to pretend that they could have a real conversation. Too much history to know where the barriers began and ended.

His father, however, chanced it and broke the embargo. "I can see why you chose her."

"Can you?"

"She won't win any beauty contests … but still… she certainly leaves her mark… utterly unforgettable. Not to mention, an amazing performer."

"Yeah… she is that…"

"I know that if I found something like that… I would never let it go willingly."

Shinichi felt a sudden rush of emotions wash past him. Was he father expressing his approval. All he could say, however, was, "She thinks highly of you."

"I'm glad. It gives me reason to hope."

"Reason to hope?"

"That I'm not a lost cause… That perhaps I may get a second chance."

"Dad… I…"

"I wasn't born yesterday, Shinichi. I'm not going to force myself on you. But I would like to keep in contact with her, if that's alright with you. Now and again… just to see how you're both doing. In all her glorious simplicity, she understands. It's a rare thing. And when you get to my age… you don't let opportunities like that pass you by."

"Opportunities?"

"Friendship, kindness… and love…" His father said wistfully. "I've found someone too."

Shinichi shifted uncomfortably where he was. He didn't know what to say. That his father was pouring his heart out to him had a surreal quality to it. Perhaps Nodame was right… perhaps underneath all that indifference that he had remembered, there was a core of vulnerability that he had carefully kept hidden.

"Her name is Sophie. We're getting married next month." His father remarked tentatively.

Shinichi had heard about it and nodded, equally tentatively, but the cat obviously had quite a stranglehold on his tongue.

His father appeared undeterred and continued. "There's a place for the two of you, if you're interested. Not that it'll be anything flash."

"I… I don't know… It all depends…"

"I understand." His father took the cigarette he was smoking and stubbed it out in the nearby ashtray. "Imagine that… both of us, having a civilized conversation outside the Sala Terrena. The last we were at the Sala Terrena together, you were in trouble with security for sneaking backstage to see Vieira sensei."

Shinichi saw the irony of the situation. "Yeah… who would've thought?" He muttered barely concealing a smile.

"The last few days have been full of surprises, to say the least." commented his father meditatively.

"I thought you were taking me the police station."

"I am."

"I didn't think Vienna was that big a place."

"It isn't."

Nodame had known for some time now that something was wrong. It was only then that she was able to put her finger on it.

"Mukya! I thought you looked familiar, you're the room service waiter, aren't you? Are you moonlighting as a cop now?"

"What makes you think I'm moonlighting as a cop?"

"You called me Mrs Chiaki… like you knew me"

"I did, didn't I? Rather careless of me."

"It had a familiar ring to it. I have good ears, you know."

"You don't seem afraid."

"Just a little."

"Still, you seem rather casual about it."

"Am I? I suppose it's because I've been kidnapped before."

"I heard."

"The second time is a little easier to handle. You're a lot more friendly than the man who kidnapped me the first time."

"Am I?"

"Mukya definitely! He waved a gun around and threatened us. You, on the other hand, at least, are pretending to be kind."

"I'm not an actor, Mrs Chiaki."

"Of course, it's not you I have to be afraid of. Your boss… who is he?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Why do you all say that? It's like the standard bad guy's speech."

"My boss… as you call him… he's the consummate actor and he hates it when he's not in the spotlight. He tends to get very angry."

"And angry is bad, right?"

"Very bad."

Author's Notes:

The nursery rhymes I took the liberty of using in this chapter include "Little Miss Muffet", "Old Mother Hubbard", "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "Little Hen". I was very interested to find out that the Japanese word for weasel is "itachi" (apparently a villainous character in Naruto) and "saru" is the Japanese word for "monkey" which also literally means "to dispel". I thought that was highly appropriate in light of what I'm trying to do here. If you're interested in English nursery rhymes and would like to read further, a very good website, is the one to go to. It provides interesting background information behind some very famous nursery rhymes.

For the longest time, I was keen to do a bomb scare but it occurred to me that would unnecessarily complicate a rather simple scenario so I went for a false fire alarm instead. I really wasn't trying to plagiarize kana-chan's idea from Cheeky Angel at all… it just seemed to work better for my story and besides, it wasn't a real fire anyway. :D

Komissar Rex or Inspector Rex is a bit of in-joke. Inspector Rex, was/is an incredibly popular Austrian cop drama featuring an Alsatian as the titled lead. Well, it's very popular in Australia anyway. Moser was his first handler.