Chapter Two: The Empress of Japan
Doctor Gordon did his best to be diplomatic when he said, “I think, Doctor Shadows, that there seems no point to continuing this conversation. We have no thought as to who might want to hurt Chan. He was a great scientist and a good man. He worked very hard to honor the history of his country and disseminate that knowledge.”
Nyoka stood and the American investigator stood as well.
“Go ahead, Father,” she said, “I will sign the chit and join you.”
“Good day, Doctor Shadows,” the Englishman said. He kissed his daughter on the cheek and left.
This left the American and the girl alone at the table and the tension was palpable.
“How dare you come here and accuse, by inference, the members of this expedition.” Her eyes flared.
“I accused no one, Miss Gordon,” he said, “but I have to find out all I can to investigate Chan’s death.”
“My father has a heart condition that warrants monitoring,” she said in a tight whisper. “It was one of the reasons this last trip to Angkor Wat was so important. It might well be his last trip into the bush, so it’s a wonderful serendipity that we discovered the Eye of Darkness and the medallions.” Emotion was brimming behind her eyes and she fought to keep them from tearing up.
The waiter brought the bill and she signed it to her room and turned without a word to walk toward the elevator cages.
Dr. Shadows followed.
When she stepped into the lift and recited her floor the American stepped in after her.
“Miss Gordon,” he said, “it is not my intent to harm anyone, but as I have said, it is impossible to conduct an investigation without ruffling feathers.”
“Some doctor,” she spat.
“My degree is in petrochemical engineering, and I mean your father no harm.” Before he could say anymore the operator called her floor and the cage came to a stop.
When the door slid open she gasped.
A figure dressed in dark clothing and with a full hood-like mask was exiting a room down the hallway. It was her father’s room.
The man startled and stared directly at the two newcomers when the elevator door slid open. Then the man turned to bolt down the hall away from them.
“Stop thief!” Shadows yelled.
The granite man sprinted from the elevator without hesitation. He was like a grey streak of lightening, but he was not fast enough to overtake the masked man before the hooded intruder made it to the exit door leading to the stairwell and jerked it open.
Dr. Shadows slammed into the dark figure and the two of them tumbled out onto the landing of the staircase. They rolled toward the stairs in a tangle of arms and legs with the intruder fighting furiously for advantage.
The squirming felon was a skilled fighter for he was able to counter a number of holds that Dr. Shadows attempted. He finally managed to partially break free of the vice grip of the American. He reared back, lashed out, and launched a flurry of punches that landed hard. This caused the criminalist to have to cover up from the powerful blows.
A lucky elbow slammed into the American’s temple and stunned him enough to allow the masked man to pull completely free and race down the stairs. Before the granite man was able to regain his senses the sound of racing footfalls was gone and he was alone in the stairwell.
“Father!” Nyoka Gordon was kneeling over her father on the floor of the hotel room and frantic when the American returned. The white haired Englishman was on his back with a trickle of blood visible from his right temple.
“Loosen his tie,” Dr. Shadows said. He knelt and felt for the fallen man’s pulse. “Does he have nitro tables?”
“Uh—yes,” the girl said. She seemed stunned by the events and thankful for a direction to channel her energies.
“Go get them.” The tall American grabbed a pillow from the couch and placed it under Gordon’s head. He took a throw rug and pulled it over the fallen man.
“Here!” She handed the bottle of pills to Shadows who read the label quickly, opened the fallen man’s mouth up, and slipped the tiny tablet under his tongue.
“Is he—? “ Her voice trembled as she asked.
“No, he’s just unconscious with a steady but weak pulse,” Dr. Shadows said. “I think the British stiff upper lip extends to a nice thick skull as well.” He kept a finger on the wrist of the fallen man to keep track of his pulse, which at the moment continued steady, though slow.
She looked at the American, her expression flashing through annoyance at his attitude, concern for her father, and gratefulness for the pronouncement of Gordon’s prognosis.
“The Nitroglycerine is just precautionary,” Dr. Shadows said. “I suspect all he’ll have as consequence will be a head ache.” He looked around at the floor, covered with scattered papers and open drawers.
“Someone had been doing early spring cleaning,” the American said. “Can you tell from a quick look if they got anything?”
The girl looked around trying to organize her thoughts with concrete action. “It seems they took some of Father’s notes from the Cambodian trip.”
“And the medallion?”
This brought a ghost of a smile to the English girl’s lips. “No!” She reached into the neckline of her dress and held up the burnished circle. “I always keep it on me.”
Dr. Shadows smiled at her courage and rose to go to the phone. “Operator, give me the police—” he began just as a uniformed officer, summoned by the lift operator, ran in through the door.
“Well now,” the American said, “that is the service that keeps the Empire going strong.”