The Prince Of Whales (12)
Joan looked at the papers and said, ‘give me all the originals and keep the copies with you for your record. Where are the Swiss bank money transaction receipts? Okay. It will take at least three full days for our finance department to check every thing and give you the receipts. If every thing is okay with your files we will call you and let you know after three days. You can come and collect your individual receipts and transfer papers’. She looked at the list again and saw that Rodrigo’s share is the biggest among all the other members of Ibtos. Rodrigo thanked Joan with the promised tip. He gave her the money transfer receipt from the Swiss bank to her personal account. She looked at the tipped amount and its one point three British billbucks. She thanked him again and called the finance guys and gave them the originals, money transaction receipts and the other papers with the signatures of all the Ibtos members. Rodrigo v-signaled Nick, Dukh and Willy and confirmed to them that every thing was done and the Island thirteen would be theirs within three more days. Eliza saw Rodrigo in the main hall and said, ‘where have you been you sluggard! Now without further delay take me to the Kosher Twilight’. Sheikh waved at Rodrigo and said, ‘you fellow. The lady needs to go to the Kosher Twilight restaurant. What are you waiting for? Rodrigo was shocked to know that the Sheikh could speak perfect English. He pretended as if he did not know Eliza. Joan said, ‘oh no! He is not the driver. He is the main shareholder of Ibtos. You are mistaken’. The Sheikh then realized that he should not speak in English. He then managed and spoke a long sentence in the Kuwait language. Joan translated it to Rodrigo and said, ‘the old lady taught English to my boss. That’s all’. The Sheikh told Eliza, ‘he is not your driver any more. He is the main shareholder of Ibtos a new company’. Rodrigo felt very uncomfortable in that situation. He did not want Eliza to know that his name is on the Ibtos shareholder member list. That may cause unnecessary havoc and ruin his dreams. She might tell Feggy or the board of trustee members. They should not know that Rodrigo is trying to buy Island thirteen from the Sheikh. Rodrigo wanted her to leave immediately. He said to Joan, ‘poor old lady is looking for her driver. I know where she lives. I can take her to her bayside guesthouse’. Joan said, ‘you are a kind man. But the old lady is going out with my boss for dinner in the Kosher Twilight restaurant this evening’. Rodrigo said, ‘it seems your boss knows her quite well’. Joan said, ‘of course he knows her. He was the friend of her late husband’. Rodrigo is shocked to know that the Sheikh knew Boris. But he said to himself, ‘who cares? Eliza is still crazy and suffering with amnesia. She doesn’t remember a thing anyway. Even if the Sheikh tells her that my name is on the Ibtos list, she won’t understand. Even if she tells about the list no one is going to believe her. Everybody knows that she had been crazy for twenty years. She doesn’t no what she says’. While Rodrigo is proceeding towards Nick, Dukh and Willy Feggy came to him and said, ‘where are you Rodrigo? I am look all over for you and Lillian. Where is she? She is supposed to be with her mother. But She has sent Eliza alone. Let me introduce Dr. Cree and his friend to you. Talk to them and arrange a full search with his team. They seem to be very knowledgeable to lead the underwater search’. Rodrigo said, ‘Lillian is not feeling well right now. She asked me to take care of her mother. I brought her here. She is going out with the Sheikh for dinner now’. Feggy said, ‘talk to this wonderful search team. Cathy and I came to settle this matter here now’. Rodrigo asked Dr. Cree, ‘how long it takes and how much it costs? Give me your offer and I have to talk with the board’. Dr. Cree said, ‘its all settled. We already spoke with the new owners of all the thirteen Islands and got the licenses renewed and we are ready to go. Feggy thought that you should go with us for some reason. That’s why we are waiting for your word’. Rodrigo impatiently said, ‘give me a break. I will join you in three more days. I have to take care of some business here. Just wait for three more days and I will be with you’. Ignoring Rodrigo Dr. Cree turned towards Feggy and said, ‘okay Feggy! We will start our full search. Wish us good luck to find your husband, your son, your niece, Matthew and others’. Feggy said, ‘with all my heart I wish you more than good luck. Mazal Tov. We will be waiting for the good news. Rodrigo will join you in three more days. Goodbye and good luck to you’. Dr. Cree left the hall with new vigor. Feggy looked at Rodrigo and said, ‘I can see that you are very busy. Don’t worry about Lillian. We know how much you love her. We know how hard it is for you to handle all these things at a time. You take care of the businesses. We will go and see Lillian’. Rodrigo tried to say some thing but Willy came and urged Rodrigo to meet Dukh and Nick immediately. Cathy and Feggy byebyed Rodrigo and left the hall. Rodrigo and Willy came to the podium. Dukh said, ‘the auction is over. I have to get back to Washington DC to care some business. I may not be able to see you at the hotel. I feel proud of you. Welcome to Ibtos. Every thing will be cleared in three more days. You get the receipts and transfer papers from the Sheikh and proceed in your work. Ask Nick if you need any thing. We will be in touch. Don’t call me. I will call Nick’. Rodrigo triumphantly smiled and nodded his acceptance. Willy and Rodrigo left the hall. Nick collected all the Xerox copies of all Island registrations. He noticed that Island thirteen is registered in the name of Mrs. Eliza Jacobson. He thought that Eliza is Sheikh’s American wife. He did not know that Eliza is related to Rodrigo through Lillian. He did not care to mention this to Rodrigo. And Rodrigo did not care to mention to Nick that Feggy had hired Dr. Cree’s team for a full search. They were fully occupied with the dreamy thoughts of gold. They totally depended upon their mafia power and their craftiness. Dukh announced that the auction is over and all the Islands were sold out. The auctioneers called the naval patrol officer to shut down the antennas on the Islands. Everybody began to leave the auction center. Detective Bermann waited until Dukh and Nick left the hall. He came to his Goldhill Plaza Hotel suite and checked that all conversations were carefully recorded. Shea appreciated and thanked everyone for the wonderful cooperation. Shea called the mobile home delivery company and said, ‘this is just to remind you again. The naval patrol guys have cleared the antennas on the Islands. You can start your work now. It should be completed by 5 am sharp tomorrow morning. We will be there by five thirty. That’s the deal, yes?’ The mobile home delivery company general manager Stelepeg said, ‘yes sir! We took your case as a challenge for our company. Our workers are already landing on Island thirteen as I can see. They will finish the elephant feet pillars by midnight. I will personally deliver the resort homes by then. By three we will fix the water, electricity and phone connections. By morning five you can occupy your Island resort. If we take an extra minute, we will return all your money on the spot. That’s the deal sir. See you in the morning’. Joan suddenly came to Shea and said, ‘uncle Shea! I just got news that my mother is badly hurt and the housekeepers in the bayside guesthouse admitted her in the hospital. Detective Bermann said, ‘calm down everybody. I have already gathered information that she is all right. Feggy and Cathy took her to Shea’s house from the hospital. Listen to her conversation’. He switched on the tape and Lillian was telling, ‘he asked me to withdraw the whole amount from my personal account in Swiss Bank. I asked him what for. He did not tell why. He insisted and I denied. He hit me hard and left. He knows my Swiss Bank account code. I believed him all these years. He taught me a very good lesson. I called the Swiss bank and told them that my account code was stolen and my money was transferred. I asked them to change my account code right away. They have checked my account and told me that the money is safe. Then they gave a new code anyway’. Detective Bermann said, ‘now we can guess that Rodrigo has a separate account in the Swiss bank’. Shea called Boris and told him about Lillian. Boris said, ‘I will take your mom to Lillian and see you at eight’. Boris and Eliza finished their dinner and came to Shea’s house. Eliza introduced the great Sheikh Jihad Zorrilla to Feggy and Lillian as the best friend of Boris. She told that he had bought Island thirteen. Boris briefly said hello and returned to the Hotel. Detective Bermann gathered everyone and gave them the information about the latest developments. Boris said, ‘we will first do some shopping and leave the hotel by nine and go to the Island and see how the resort work is coming up. Before Rodrigo does any more harm to the girls, the Thalmulic folks and the ninja guys will go and bring Eliza, Feggy, Cathy and Lillian to the Island. Rodrigo will look for the girls. He will go crazy. In case he wants to contact us the Hotel guys should tell him that we are in the Kiritimati Islands on some urgent business. We have to keep these bad guys busy for these three days. They will suspect, betray and hold on to each other. We will take rest in the Island resort and wait for them’. The Thalmulic folks and the ninja guys went to Shea’s house. The girls are still talking. The phone rang. Lillian thought that Rodrigo is calling for her. Cathy lifted the receiver and said hello. The other side voice said, ‘this is Dr. Mendel from Beth Yacob Hospital in San Francisco. This is an urgent message to Lillian. She must contact me immediately. I am Dr. Moshe Mendelson. My number is 1-888-345-1234’. Cathy noted the details and said, ‘this is a taped message to Lillian. It says that Lillian must call the doctor in San Francisco hospital. This is the number’. Lillian said, ‘who is this guy? What is he up to? She asked Cathy to dial the number for her. Cathy called the number and gave the receiver to Lillian. The Thalmulic guys looked at their watches and signaled the ninja guys. The ninja guys tear-gassed the housekeepers and entered into the house. They went to the girls and laughing-gassed them by mistake. They carried the girls to the van. They brought them to the dock. The seaplane took them in and proceeded towards Island thirteen. The girls laughed and laughed until they got tired and went into sleep. Detective Bermann, Boris, Shea took care of all the official businesses and proceeded towards the Island. Matthew, Sam and Joan got all the necessary equipment and proceeded towards the Island with the rest of the team members. Rodrigo and Willy came to the bayside guesthouse. The phone rang. Rodrigo picked up the phone. It’s from San Francisco Hospital. Rodrigo patiently listened to the taped message. His face turned into many colors. He thought that Lillian went to San Francisco to meet with this doctor. He immediately called the Sanfrisco mafia leader and requested him to go to the Hospital and see if Lillian is with the doctor. Rodrigo did not care to call the doctor’s number. Willy told Rodrigo to call Feggy and see if Lillian is with her. Rodrigo phoned to Feggy’s house. But there is no answer. They both went to Feggy’s house. The housekeeping attendants told him that all the girls were kidnapped. Willy told Rodrigo to check with the Hawaiian mafia leader. But the Hawaiian mafia leader said that his ninjas did not kidnap any girls lately. Willy told Rodrigo to call the Sheikh and see if they knew any thing about the girls. The taped message from the hotel room has told them that the Sheikh and his team went to Kiritimati Island to take care some urgent business. Rodrigo called Nick and told him about the whole story. Nick said that he would wait for the sheikh. Willy said to Rodrigo, ‘I think we should also go to the Kiritimati Island and see if the Sheikh and the girls are with Nick’. They decided to go to Kiritimati Island. Rodrigo called the San Francisco mafia leader again and asked him to wait until further instructions. Willy invited Rodrigo to his house. Wilma prepared dinner for them. Rodrigo and Willy enjoyed the dinner and drinks. Rodrigo said to Wilma, ‘you know these pussy willow docs say this and that. They told me not to touch any drinks at all. Now they say that moderate drinking not only has protective cardiovascular effects for the general populace but it is also protective for those who have hypertension’. Wilma also drank too much. She could not distinguish between Willy and Rodrigo. They suddenly began to brag and confess what they did in the past. Rodrigo told that he had planned and killed Boris and took the insurance money. He further told that he planned and killed Lillian’s husband and took the insurance money and had an affair with the lady typist and with her mother same time. He said to Willy, ‘O father! I asked my wife to give me just three million. She refused and I hit her hard. She went to her brother’s house. I went to her brother’s house to kill her. But someone kidnapped all the girls. That is all I have to confess. Please forgive me father’. He ghastly laughed and said, ‘Willy! Now I play the priest and you confess all your sins including your affair with the Chinese girl. And I will forgive you’. He encouraged Willy to tell his past. Willy boastfully laughed and said, ‘I had an affair with the Chinese girl, my secretary for the last seven years’. Rodrigo said, ‘okay my son. Your sins are forgiven’. They both burst into laughter. Wilma looked at them and said, ‘then I can go back to my ex-boyfriend. Why not? I will call him now. Hello Jack! Where are you Jack? I am sorry. I misunderstood you Jack. Take me from these murderers. Take me to Mars with you Jack’. She mopishly muttered and suddenly shouted at both of them and said, ‘I can ride on both of you. Take me to the Mars you priapic donkeys, wife cheaters, drunkards and murderers! I want to see my Jacky now’. Willy heard this and demonically got angry. He suddenly hit her with the empty Vodka bottle. She cried aloud and became unconscious. Willy thought she is dead. He quickly woke Rodrigo up and they both rushed to the airport to go to Kiritimati Island to meet Nick. Matthew and Sam recorded all those confessions from the seaplane and transmitted to Shea and Bermann. Shea said, ‘I think she needs you. You must take her away from those sick guys. They may kill her’. Bermann recalled his relationship with her and felt sorry for her situation. He called her neighbors and requested them to help her. He gave her mother’s telephone number to them. The neighbors came out and rushed her to the hospital and called her mother. Her mother came to the hospital and took care of her. While listening to the previous phone conversations Matthew suddenly heard Cathy’s voice from Feggy’s phone. Cathy called the doctor in San Francisco and the doctor is telling her that he must deliver the message only to Lillian. Then she called Lillian saying, ‘Lillian! This is for you’. Lillian took the receiver and said hello. Her voice is suddenly stopped for some reason. Matthew wondered and immediately called the Thalmulic folks and asked them for Lillian. The ninja guys woke Lillian up and gave her the receiver. Matthew connected her to the doctor in San Francisco. Lillian said, ‘hello this is Lillian’. The doctor from San Francisco said, ‘Lillian! Your husband Michael is alive and he is with me. He wanted to say hello to you. You must immediately come and see him in my hospital in San Francisco. He is still very weak. But you can say hello to him’. Dr. Moshe gave the receiver to Michael and said, ‘Lilli dear! This is your Micky. Listen very carefully. Don’t tell anyone that I am alive. Don’t tell Rodrigo. I will tell you every thing. Go and tell Shea or some one you trust and come with them and see me immediately’. Lillian went into sleep again thinking that she was dreaming. But Matthew recorded the entire conversation and transmitted to Boris and Shea. Boris explained the situation to Detective Bermann. Detective Bermann called his best Detective friend Brummel Golding in San Francisco and asked him to handle the situation. Brummel went to the hospital and made arrangements for Michael and Dr. Moshe along with the other assistants to be airlifted to the Island immediately. The special air ambulance flew Brummel, Michael, Dr. Moshe and his staff towards the Island. The Board of Trustee members of Jacobsons Foundation came to know about the kidnap and decided to take the matter to the police. The police started searching for Rodrigo and the girls. The police called the airport and enquired about the night planes leaving for the Islands so that they can send the secret papers by night courier services. They came to know that the Sheikh’s private planes are leaving for Kiritimati Islands. Chapter sixteen Hello! We are here Dr. Chad and the scientists and Captain Roger Felix and his crewmembers are still stuck in a big underwater cavity that is connected to Island thirteen. But there is no way for them to know their whereabouts. They looked like the characters in the great painting of Turner’s Calais Pier but in the Hollywood version. They did not know how they entered into the cavity. They did not understand how long they floated down the cavity. They began to fly down inside the cavity and finally fell in a big pool in the cavity. They were screaming all the time. They were in the seawater, in the air and in the lake. That was a strange situation. Like the fallen angels they fell in the cavity lake. They had terrible daydreams, illusions and hallucinations in the cavity. They saw all the land animals walking on the seafloor. They saw 19 meter Anacondas and 50-meter mammoth snakes weighing 5 tons. They cried aloud in their daydreams saying, ‘sea lau, shipekwe, lipata, ailali, badgui and ngou are living in this lake’. They also prayed to the spirit of Sebastian Munster the author of Cosmographia to send the sea snakes to protect the legitimate ones and destroy the illegitimate ones among them. They constantly screamed for several hours. They saw Hydra Monstrosa the seven-headed hydra as described by Gesner in his Historia Animalium. They daydreamed that the underwater cavity was the ancient Upsala where gods used to hold their councils. They saw the spirit of Lamarck and Darwin walking towards them to change their organs day by day and to classify them as new species. Some got stretched necks like giraffes. Others became headless as appeared to Morcopolo in his tours. Some got atrophied eyes. Some have lost their right hands, right legs and right eyes but they happily evolved horns on their heads as they were angry and wanted to fight their rivals. Some got the webbed toes and stretched necks to catch fish. They felt that they are gradually becoming new type of independent species and interdependent types in Cuvier’s process. They realized that zoogeography had finally worked for them in an existentially topographical manner in that cavity. Their fear have fathered many visions and they began to see dragons coming to the top layer spewing flames to give battle to the giant squids, sperm whales and Tu-Matauengi the father of the fierce men. They saw themselves very active in those duals. They made Tantalus efforts to find fresh water and fruits in the caves. They drank the liquidated latimerias when they were deadly tired. They self hypnotized themselves and expressed their mutual hatred towards each other. They saw each other as underwater orangutans. In their dreams they suddenly saw themselves as kind-hearted sea cows and began to like each other. They started mourning for the dead ones and wanted to remain beside the dead bodies for hours. They felt that an oil tanker carrying about 300,000 tons of oil is floating about their heads. They saw the fish hunters in canoes. As sea cows they began to extricate harpoons. They broke the ropes attached to their fellows and overturned hunters’ boats forgetting their own safety. They became meek and harmless as the ghosts of the lories. Like the bitterns they looked upwards for help from above. Then they slowly became cannibal ticks and made queue to suck the dying person’s blood. They drank heavy water, as they knew that it intensifies certain vital processes in their bodies but they saw themselves dying. They had seen underwater Papuans who had a knack of appearing and disappearing quite noiselessly. They thought that they were in ‘the land of the devil’. They saw a huge crying Niobe stone and ran and suckled the tears of the stone like children and said, ‘stone mama! Don’t cry for us today. But cry again tomorrow and shed your tears until we quench our thirst’.
Go to part: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Copyright © 2001 Shmuel Yacobi |