‘Sounds ghastly.’
‘Only if you’re on the receiving end.’
Mr Doyle glanced at his watch. ‘There are a number of talks beginning in a few minutes,’ he said. ‘I suggest we head down. We should keep up a pretence of being here for the symposium, just in case our enemies are watching.’
They followed Mr Doyle downstairs, where they bumped into Hiro. He and Scarlet headed off to a talk about the Hot Earth crisis, while Jack and Mr Doyle chose one about Darwinist inventions for the oceans.
‘I would have thought that Scarlet had heard enough about this Hot Earth thing,’ Jack said, frowning, as they disappeared through a doorway.
Mr Doyle shrugged. ‘Maybe she wanted to get to know Hiro better,’ he said. ‘Ah, here’s our room. Looks like it’s a packed house.’
Get to know Hiro better? Jack thought. In what way?
Finding a pair of seats a few rows from the front, Jack realised his stomach was rumbling uncomfortably.
Why would Scarlet want to know Hiro better?
A horrible thought occurred to him. Surely she wasn’t interested in him?
Dr Einstein took to the stage.
‘Allow me to welcome you here today to one of the more interesting seminars at this year’s symposium,’ he said. ‘Travelling the oceans will be a truly new experience once these creations are revealed to the world. Please welcome our next speaker, Dr Anna Livanov.’
A handsome middle-aged woman, with grey hair, came out on the stage. She held her head up high, but Jack noticed her clothing was old and worn.
‘Thank you, Dr Einstein,’ she said with a Russian accent. She wore dark eye makeup and crimson lipstick. When her eyes settled on Jack, she smiled. ‘It is a great pleasure to see a young person here today. The future lies with the young.’
Several heads turned to look at Jack and he felt himself blushing.
‘The world is changing,’ Livanov continued. ‘We all know of the growing Hot Earth crisis. If it is not averted, large parts of our world will soon be underwater, destroying cities, valuable farmland and displacing millions of people.
‘But my talk today is not about Hot Earth.’ She flashed another smile. ‘You’re in the wrong room if you thought that’s why we’re here.’ The crowd laughed. ‘I want to speak about whaling ships. But not ships that pursue whales, but ships that are whales.’
She pulled back a curtain, exposing a cross-section sketch of a whale. Jack stared at it in fascination. Most of the creature was empty with the front made of a transparent skin.
‘Our new generation of whaling ships is based on the blue whale,’ said Dr Livanov, ‘the largest creature to currently exist, and the heaviest that has ever existed on Earth. Our modifications have made the creature three times its normal size. They have been bred without brains and mouths, but with their nervous systems intact.’
She indicated a hole at the top.
‘The creature is fed krill through here, providing sustenance for the whale. The bridge is at the front, the living quarters at the rear. The whale is capable of carrying up to two hundred people. Not only can it travel on the surface, but it can dive to any part of the ocean bottom.’
She tapped the picture.
‘With this invention, the wonders of the seven seas, even the Mariana Trench—the deepest part of the ocean—will finally be revealed to us. My fellow scientists, this is truly a new world in which we live.’
There was a moment of silence, and then the assembled scientists broke into thunderous applause. Jack was with them. A whale that can carry passengers and take them to the bottom of the ocean? It was incredible!
Mr Doyle and Jack went up to congratulate Dr Livanov after her presentation.
‘Ah,’ she said, ‘the young scientist.’
‘I’m not a scientist,’ Jack said, blushing. ‘My maths isn’t good enough.’
Einstein stuck his head over Jack’s shoulder. ‘Never fear, young man,’ he said. ‘I’ve had problems with numbers too. There’s just too many of them!’
They all laughed.
‘Whatever you decide to do,’ Dr Livanov said, ‘make certain you give it one hundred per cent. Science has not made me rich, but it has made me satisfied.’
‘Thank you,’ Jack said. It was wonderful advice. ‘I’ll do that.’
Saying goodbye, they returned to the lobby. Jack wished Scarlet could have been there to meet the doctor. She really was an inspiration.
His eyes searched the packed room, finally landing on Scarlet and Hiro as they were leaving their seminar. Hiro had his hand on Scarlet’s arm.
Jack pushed through the crowd. ‘There you are!’ he said. ‘I was wondering where you’d gotten to.’
‘What do you mean?’ Scarlet said. ‘We went to the Hot Earth talk.’
‘I know.’ He turned to Hiro, who was looking at him with an amused expression. ‘I didn’t know you had an interest in science.’
‘I have interests in many things.’
Jack found himself wanting to punch the boy in the face.
‘Are you all right?’ Scarlet asked. ‘You’ve gone red.’
There were two more afternoon sessions. This time Jack went to the same session as Hiro and Scarlet, a talk entitled ‘Enlarging Flying Insects for Mass Transportation’. Many of the diplomats had come along—some were arguing furiously about the Hot Earth theory.
‘But surely there have always been fluctuation in world temperatures,’ one said.
‘Never in such a short period of time,’ the other replied.
‘How will you vote?’
Jack did not hear his reply as the session started.
It looks like there’s a lot of disagreement over Hot Earth, he thought. I just hope everyone makes the right decision.
By the time the seminar had finished, it was almost dinnertime.
Mr Doyle joined them. ‘Hello everyone,’ he said cheerily, popping a piece of mouldy cheese into his mouth. ‘What would everyone like to do now?’
‘We could go out for food?’ Hiro suggested.
‘What a wonderful idea,’ Mr Doyle said.
‘Shouldn’t we be trying to work out the meaning of the parchment?’ Jack asked. Hanging around the symposium and listening to lectures wasn’t really moving them ahead in the search for the Kusanagi sword.
Mr Doyle tapped the side of his head. ‘Something will occur to us,’ he said. ‘The subconscious is a powerful tool.’
Jack, Scarlet and Mr Doyle went upstairs to change, while Hiro went in search of a suit for dinner. Putting on a new white shirt, blue pants and a black jacket, Jack thought it looked quite good.
Scarlet appeared at their doorway, dressed in a pale-green evening dress.
‘You look very nice,’ he said.
‘Thank you.’
Hiro turned up in a black suit. Even Jack thought he looked dashing.
‘You look delightful,’ Hiro said to Scarlet, bowing. ‘As beautiful as a lotus.’
‘Thank you,’ Scarlet said,
tittering.
Jack fumed. As beautiful as a lotus! What a line! He held his tongue as they made their way downstairs.
‘I know of a restaurant we can go to,’ Hiro said. ‘It’s not far from here.’
A steamcab pulled up outside and they piled into the back. Glass separated them from the driver. Hiro told him the address and they started off. It had started raining again, and Jack stared out gloomily at the falling rain as the others chatted.
Hiro let out a small cry, glancing outside. ‘This is wrong,’ he said. ‘This isn’t the way to the restaurant.’
He banged on the glass, but the driver ignored him.
Mr Doyle sighed. ‘It looks like we’re missing dinner,’ he said. ‘It appears we’re being kidnapped.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
The rain poured down as the steamcab trundled through the crowded Tokyo streets.
Mr Doyle tried the door and found it opened easily. ‘I doubt our kidnapper means us harm,’ he said, pulling it shut. ‘Not yet, anyway.’ He leant forward and said through the glass, ‘Can you tell us where we’re going?’
‘To a meeting,’ the driver said over his shoulder.
‘With whom?’
‘You will see.’
Sighing, Mr Doyle sat back. ‘I thought he might say that,’ he murmured.
Jack’s heart was in his throat, but they didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger. The rain eased, leaving some of the roads flooded, and the steamcab had to pull onto the footpath to avoid puddles.
Finally, they left the crowds and lights of the shopping district behind, entering a district of older buildings, with dark stone walls, and tiled awnings and roofs. Two metal gates swung shut as they pulled into a gloomy lane. Jack realised they were trapped.
‘Mr Doyle—’ he started.
‘We’ll be all right. Just keep your wits about you.’
Jack, Scarlet and Mr Doyle climbed out. Hiro went to follow, but the driver stopped him.
‘Not you,’ he said.
‘But—’
‘You are in no danger,’ the driver said.
Jack swallowed. What about us?
Closing the door on Hiro, the driver led them to a gate at the end of the alley where they went through to a garden.
Jack was ready to defend himself, but there didn’t seem to be anyone to fight. The garden looked very peaceful. Ahead lay a tiny bridge that crossed a pond. On the other side, they found themselves on a narrow path bordered by raked sand.
In the corner of the garden was an old-looking cherry blossom in full bloom. At the far edge of the garden was a high hedge backing onto the neighbouring buildings.
Behind the cherry blossom a faint light appeared as someone holding a lantern came walking towards them. Jack soon saw it was an old man dressed in a white kimono, loose pants and a half-coat.
‘Welcome to my garden,’ he said. ‘I am Hikaru Satou.’ He raised the lantern. ‘And you are Mr Ignatius Doyle, Scarlet Bell and Jack Mason.’
‘Why have you brought us here?’ Mr Doyle asked.
‘You westerners are always the same,’ Satou said, smiling slightly. ‘Always straight to the point.’ He indicated to a small building to one side. ‘Will you join me for tea?’
‘We were going to dinner,’ Scarlet said, pointedly.
Satou smiled. ‘You will have tea,’ he said. ‘Please wait one minute before following.’
He entered through a small door into the building.
‘We should leave,’ Jack said. His stomach growled. ‘Even my stomach agrees.’
Mr Doyle shook his head. ‘This man may have some information pertaining to our investigation. And besides,’ he added, ‘the Japanese tea ceremony is a custom not to be missed. Follow my lead.’
They crossed the small lawn and were forced to bow by the low doorway as they entered the tea house. Taking their seats opposite the old man, they watched as he cleaned the implements, scooped a green mixture into a bowl and added hot water. Once Satou had presented the bowl to Mr Doyle, they exchanged bows. The detective took the bowl, rotated it and took a sip. He wiped the edge, then handed it to Scarlet and Jack, who did the same.
Nothing like English tea, Jack noticed. It’s more soothing.
After the tea was drunk, Satou cleaned the utensils again and presented them for inspection. Mr Doyle nodded and Satou took them away.
‘What was all that about?’ Jack whispered.
‘It’s a ritual,’ Mr Doyle explained in a low voice, ‘dating back thousands of years.’
Satou returned. ‘I note the impatience of Jack,’ he said. ‘The young are often impatient.’
‘Not just the young,’ Mr Doyle said, smiling. ‘Old men such as myself don’t have as long to live. We grow impatient too.’
Satou laughed. ‘You have come in search of the Kusanagi sword,’ he said. ‘Why?’
‘We wish to return it to the Japanese people.’
‘To gain favour with us.’
‘That is true,’ Mr Doyle hesitated. ‘But also to find my brother.’
Satou nodded. ‘Family is very important,’ he said. ‘But you know of the sword’s power?’
‘I know it has legendary properties.’
‘They are more than legend,’ Satou said. ‘Yamato Takeru used the sword to save himself from an evil war lord, turning a fire away that would have surely killed him.’
‘That is the legend.’
‘The Kusanagi sword can control the wind. It can probably do much more.’
‘We respect your beliefs,’ Mr Doyle said, gently. ‘But we do not share them.’
The old man looked through the window into the ancient garden. ‘It is a shame,’ he said. ‘A frog in a well does not know the sea.’
‘I can only know what is evidenced by my senses.’
‘Does the wind not blow when we sleep?’ Satou asked. ‘Does a tree in the forest not die when no-one’s eyes glimpse its passing?’ He slowly stood and led them to a small enclosure where a twisted tree grew in a pot. ‘This bonsai is over eight hundred years old. Tended by generations of people, long dead, long forgotten, their names have been consigned to the dust of history. Yet the tree exists. But even it is not eternal. Its life will ebb one day and return to the river that flows through us all.’ Lowering the lantern, he turned to Mr Doyle. ‘You have solved many mysteries, but some things cannot be solved.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘There is a gap between knowing and science,’ he said.
‘That’s very poetic.’
‘The path will find you,’ Satou said enigmatically. The old man’s eyes settled on Jack. ‘The Kusanagi sword can only be wielded by one who is true of heart and believes in its power.’
The old man walked them to the front entrance. The door swung open, as if by magic, and he pointed to the alley.
‘Thank you for the tea,’ Mr Doyle said.
Plucking a flower from a plant, Satou handed it to Scarlet. She tucked it thoughtfully into
a pocket as they went through the doorway. Glancing back, Jack saw the old man had already disappeared.
‘What happened?’ Hiro asked, when they returned to the steamcab.
They explained everything that Satou had told them.
‘It does not sound like he was threatening you,’ Hiro said.
‘He wasn’t,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘I believe he was trying to help us, but I’m not sure his advice gets us anywhere.’
The steamcab took them back to the hotel. Jack’s stomach was growling more than ever, so they went to the hotel restaurant and ate a meal of rice and steamed vegetables.
‘I had no idea vegetables could taste so good,’ he said, patting his stomach happily.
‘Everything tastes good when you’re hungry,’ Mr Doyle replied.
‘Have you had any thoughts about the parchment?’ Scarlet asked.
‘Not yet. Although it does remind me of a case I once investigated involving a purple frog, a mushroom and an opera singer—’
Scarlet feigned a yawn. ‘I’m feeling rather tired,’ she said.
‘Oh, I see. Then it’s probably best if we retire for the night.’
They asked Hiro if they could find him a room, but he again declined.
‘My aunt will worry if I do not return.’
After they’d said goodnight to Hiro, Jack led Scarlet and Mr Doyle back to their room.
‘Hiro is so lovely,’ Scarlet said. ‘He takes such an interest in his aunt.’
Jack groaned.
‘What is going on with you?’ Scarlet asked.
‘Nothing,’ he replied, grumpily.
Is Scarlet keen on Hiro? he wondered. And how does he feel about her?
Opening the door to their room, Mr Doyle let out a cry.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The apartment had been ransacked. Every piece of furniture had been overturned, clothing pulled from drawers and paintings torn off walls, as if a tornado had whipped through the room.
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