Chapter 3

Part of  Chapter 2 :  Daniel got hospitalized the next day.  One of his staff, Alison Kenwood helps Nicholas and Daniel.  

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Aunt Joyce was on her way to Paris so Allison called Daniel’s neighbor Renee. She was Nicholas’ friend Ellie Spark’s mother.  Nicholas could stay with her family until Daniel was released. That way Nicholas could stay close to this hospital.

          The Spark family moved from Seattle a month ago and lived across from Nicholas’ house.  Ellie would be thirteen in a couple of months and went to a school close to his. Something about Ellie was mysterious to him. It was not logic. It was an instinct.

          Her house had been previously vacant for a few months. Nicholas and Hunter called it “The Dream House” because it was like a castle with Spanish architecture and at least four times bigger than any other house on the block. The boys had imagined it would take a lot of moving truck for the new residents’ furnishings, but only one U-Haul trailer was parked in front of The Dream House on the day Ellie moved in.  He recalled an embarrassing bike accident he had in front of her house on that day:

          One of the trailer’s doors was open and Nicholas decided to take a closer look. He got his bike from the garage and pedaled up the sidewalk. The trailer’s door was still open, but there was nobody there. Disappointed, he tried once more, this time pedaling hard. As he passed the trailer again, he glanced up at the Dream House and — WHAM! He crashed into a big cardboard carton Ellie had just taken from the trailer.  

          She staggered back a step, and the carton flew from her hands. It landed upside down, its contents spilling out onto the sidewalk. One of the items was a jewelry box of large glass beads. Its cover opened in midair and the beads scattered everywhere, some smashing on the sidewalk, others rolling into the gutter. 

          The impact sent Nicholas reeling. He slammed down on the sidewalk, banging his head and gashing his knee. He laid there for a moment, eyes closed. When he opened them, he was dazzled by several of the colorful beads sparkling in the sunlight.

          “Are you okay?” Ellie asked.

          She was leaning over him.

          Dizzy from the fall, he couldn’t see her face clearly, but he noticed a shiny gold pendant hanging from her neck. Ellie and her mother Renee helped Nicholas up and took him inside the Dream House to patch him up. 

          There was a spacious foyer inside and two staircases led to the right and left wings on the second floor. They led Nicholas to the living room on the first floor and had him stretch out on a long leather couch. As Renee applied some ointment and bandaged his knee, Nicholas looked up and examined Ellie’s face. Her eyes were unusual: amber colored with a slightly blue tint to the whites. Her straight mahogany colored hair seemed to float in the air when she moved her head. There is something mysterious about her, he thought.

          He said with embarrassment, “I’m sorry I ruined your things.”

          She smiled. “That’s okay. Beads break. There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s just part of life.”

          Ellie sounded more mature than the girls in his class.

          “Why don’t you rest for a while,” Ellie said. Then she headed for the front door to go clean up the sidewalk. 

          Renee went to the kitchen. While she was there, Nichols looked around the room and appreciated the beautiful décor of the Dream House he’d long wanted to visit. It had a high ceiling and two tall French doors that led out to a patio and garden. There were a few unpacked boxes by the entrance, but most of the furniture was already tastefully arranged in the room. Two framed paintings of Asian landscapes hung on one wall.  Nicholas thought they might have come from overseas. A black lacquered coffee table, some oversized ceramic pots, and a three-fold black screen decorated with inlaid gold and colorful gems made the room seem like an elegant parlor in an Asian emperor’s palace.

          Renee came back to the room carrying a tray with three cups of cocoa and set it on the coffee table. Nicholas sat up and she handed him one of the cups of cocoa. It was much tastier than the cocoa he made at home. He felt comforted and welcomed. For the first time he hoped that—just this once—his aunt would be late for dinner today.

          Ellie came back and joined them on the couch. Nicholas looked at her and said, “I’m really sorry about the accident. It was totally my fault, and—”

          “Shh!” said Ellie, giving him a fake frown. “No more apologies.” She opened her hand and showed him four of the large beads. “These were my very favorites, so there’s no need to apologize, again.”

          Nicholas couldn’t resist giggling, as Ellie’s fake frown turned to a smile. She gently touched Nicholas’s bandaged knee. He was about to wince, but her touch was like a butterfly landing on a flower. There was a tiny soothing tingle but no hint of pain. 

          Later that night, Nicholas checked the wound on his knee. He gently peeled back the bandage to see if the bleeding had stopped. He was shocked to see the cut had already healed. He put his hand over the spot where the cut had been and pressed. It wasn’t even sore. That was a miracle…

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Chapter 3

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“Hi.” Jerry sat down in a chair across from Allison and Nicholas in a waiting area at the hospital.  His normally cheery face looked serious.

          “I’m so glad you could make it. We just came from his room,” Allison said.

          “How’s he doing?”

          “He’s fairly stable, but he’s still in a coma and his temperature went up. They’re taking care of that now, but he can’t have visitors for a while.”

          “I was at my parents’ house in Los Angeles when I got his message,” Jerry said. “He sounded really strange, so I cut my vacation short and caught the first flight back to San Francisco. I went straight to the museum, and Philip told me you were all here.”

          “Nicholas heard Daniel make the calls to Philip, you, and me. But he says there’s more to the story than he told in the messages.”

          Jerry turned to Nicholas. “Hey, Pal,” he said, “I didn’t mean to ignore you. I was just so worried about your Dad.”

           “That’s okay, Jerry.”

          “So what else should we know about the mysterious Mr. Tower?” Jerry asked.

          Nicholas had to think for a moment whether he should tell them the whole story. Should he leave out the part about the Dark Shadow and what it did to his father? And would they believe that Tower said his father would die if he didn’t bring him the diamonds? He wasn’t sure whether that part really happened or whether he and his father had been hypnotized. Either way, Jerry was skeptical about supernatural and might think he was making it up. Maybe he’d tell Allison later. For now, he decided, he’d just tell them what they needed to know.

          “Mr. Tower—Vix is his first name—came to our house pretty late. Like Dad said in his messages, he claimed he was the owner of the three magical diamonds. They talked for a while and Tower thanked him for finding the purple diamond and said the museum could use all of them in the Great Diamonds exhibit, but he’d have to find the other two first. Then he got really bossy about it, and he and Dad started to argue.”

          Nicholas paused to gather his thoughts. “He told Dad he had to bring him all three diamonds by midnight December twentieth.”

          “What’s so special about December twentieth?” Jerry said.

          “Well,” Allison said, “there’s going to be a total lunar eclipse that night.”

          “Yeah,” Jerry said, “but what’s that got to do with Daniel?”

          “I don’t know,” Nicholas said. “But Vix said if Dad doesn’t bring him the diamonds by then he’ll be in big trouble.”

          “That’s outrageous!” Allison said. “Did he have any proof that he owned the diamonds?”

          Nicholas shook his head. “That’s a part of what they were arguing about.”

           “Where was this guy from?” Jerry said. “Did he say?”

          “He gave Dad a business card, but I don’t know what happened to it.”

          “Do you remember anything else about what he said to your father?” Allison said.

          “He said he was very rich and powerful. Dad said he didn’t care, and told him to leave.”

          “I wish we had the business card,” Allison said. “It would make it easier to do some research on Tower and maybe untangle Daniel’s story.”

          “I agree,” Jerry said. “I’ve got to get back to the museum now, but I’ll go online and see if I can get any information on Tower.” He paused. “His first name’s Vic?”

          “Vix,” Nicholas said.

          “Hmm,” Jerry said. “Odd name.”

           “I’m staying here tonight,” Allison said, “but Daniel’s neighbors Renee and Ellie Spark are coming by for Nicholas. He’ll be staying with them until Daniel can come home. And I’ve already informed the Italian team and Father Luciano that now you and I are the contact persons on this project under the circumstances. Unfortunately Father Luciano will be soon out of town for his religious business trip.”

          “Okay, Thanks.” Jerry said, “Stay in touch.” He gave Nicholas another hug and headed for the elevator.

          Just as Jerry’s elevator closed, Ellie Spark and her mother stepped out of the elevator the one next to it. They soon joined Allison and Nicholas on the second floor, where she was talking with the nurse. The nurse told them all that they could see Daniel, but they could only stay for a few minutes. The four of them followed her down the hallway to Daniel’s room.

          Daniel didn’t seem to be as feverish as he was earlier. His eyes were closed and his breathing was steady. After several minutes, the nurse looked at her watch. “He’s a little better,” she said, “but he needs plenty of peace and quiet now.”

          She walked to the door and held it open. Nicholas, Allison, and Renee followed her, but Ellie lingered at Daniel’s bedside. She put her hand on his arm and whispered, “Nicholas will be safe with us.”

          Daniel’s eyes remained shut, but his eyelids twitched. The hint of a smile flickered across his face.

Ellie turned and joined the others in the hallway.

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It was growing dark when Renee, Ellie, and Nicholas got to the parking lot. Renee noticed how quiet Nicholas was. “I tell you what,” she said. “I’m not in the mood to cook dinner tonight. How about we hit a pizza restaurant and then catch an early movie?”

          “What movie?” Ellie said.

          “Let’s Nicholas decide,” Renee said. “It’ll be a late birthday present for him.”

          “Okay,” Ellie said. “But I get to pick the pizza restaurant.

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Jerry got back to the museum from Daniel’s hospital. There wasn’t much to do in his office. He hadn’t left a backlog when he went on vacation, and Daniel and Allison had made sure that his workload would be covered. It was actually good to be back to work. He’d spent his vacation helping his parents move from their house in southern California to an apartment in a gated retirement community in the same small town. His two sisters lived on the East Coast, and were too busy with their children to come across the country to help in the move.

          Now that his parents were settled, he’d have more time to focus on himself. He was ready for a change. He’d worked hard all his life, and most of his debts were paid off, except for his student loans. Sometimes he regretted not following his father into the business world. His job at the museum was rewarding in terms of personal satisfaction—but a nice fat bank account would be more than welcome.

          A large envelope on his desk caught his eye. It was from a courier service. It must have come in while he was at the hospital.

          He checked the return address and almost fell out of his chair.

          It was from Vix Tower!

          Inside the large envelope was a small envelope containing a formal invitation to dinner at seven that evening. There was no phone number, but an address was printed at the bottom of the invitation. A handwritten note said: “Mr. Goldman—Please join me at my residence for dinner and a discussion that should prove highly interesting to you.”

          It was signed simply, “Vix.”

          Jerry read the invitation again. Was this the change he’d been waiting for? He tucked the invitation in his pocket and got up from his chair.

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When Jerry exited the downtown MUNI subway station, he had to push through the flow of commuters who were leaving work. He’d considered taking a taxi, but he figured public transportation might be faster. Certainly cheaper.

          He checked his watch. Quarter to seven. The sidewalks were crowded with holiday shoppers and tourists, but he got to the address with ten minutes to spare. It was a high-rise building with a marble entranceway. Its tall glass doors were set in from the street. He pulled on one of them, but it was locked.

          Inside, two uniformed security guards stood talking near a desk, their backs to Jerry. He found an intercom on the entranceway wall and pressed the button.

          One of the guards moved around behind the desk. A moment later a voice came over the entranceway speaker. “Can we help you?”

          Jerry leaned toward the intercom. “I’m Jerry Goldman. I’ve got an appointment with Mr. Tower.”

          The man checked a clipboard on his desk and then walked to the doors and opened one.

          “Mr. Tower is expecting you, sir,” he said. “This way please.”

          Jerry followed him through the lobby to a bank of elevators.      

          Like the rest of the lobby’s décor, the holiday decorations were tasteful and luxurious.

          The guard ushered Jerry into an elevator and slid a card into a slot just inside the door.

          “This will take you directly to Mr. Tower’s penthouse, sir. Just leave the card in the slot. No one else will be using the elevator this evening.” He pressed the “Up” arrow and stepped back into the lobby. Seconds later the door closed, and the elevator began to move upward swiftly and silently.

          When the elevator glided to a stop, the door opened and Jerry stepped into a softly lit foyer that was richly paneled in some kind of dark wood. A large painting of boats on San Francisco Bay hung on one wall illuminated by a pin spotlight mounted on the ceiling. Jerry stepped close to it to see if he recognized the artist’s name.

          “It’s a late Gideon Jacques Denny work from the 1860s, one of my favorites.”

          Jerry turned and saw a man in a stylishly tailored black suit coming through the doorway to an interior room.

          “Welcome, Jerry,” the man said. “I’m Vix Tower. I’m so glad you could make it on such short notice.”

          Jerry shook his hand.  “That’s a beautiful painting.”

          “I love beautiful things. That’s why I invited you here tonight.” He moved closer to Jerry. “Please,” he said, “let me take your coat.”

          “Thank you.” Jerry slipped out of his coat and handed it to Tower.

          Tower hung it on a brass coat rack that stood near the inner door and gestured for Jerry to follow him into the other room.

          Jerry could see that Vix’s taste was exquisite—from the furniture, to the art objects on the mantel above the white-marble fireplace, to the paintings on the walls.

          Tower guided Jerry to a matched set of easy chairs on the other side of the spacious room. On the glass-topped coffee table in front of the chairs two champagne glasses sat next to a towel-wrapped bottle of champagne in a silver ice bucket. When Jerry was seated, Tower opened the bottle and filled both glasses. He sat down in the other chair and pressed a button on the arm of his chair. With a soft hum, the dark red drapes that covered a wide picture window separated and revealed a spectacular view of San Francisco by night.

          Tower lifted his glass. “A toast,” he said.

          Jerry raised his glass.

          “Here’s to what I’m sure will be a successful business arrangement,” Tower said.

          They clinked glasses and each took a swallow of champagne.

          “That’s excellent,” Jerry said.

          “I’m accustomed to excellence,” Tower said. “I hope you soon will be too.” He set his glass down. “This is primarily a business meeting, but I think we should relax and get to know each other first. To start with, do you have any special dining requirements? Vegetarian? Allergies to seafood, and so on?”

          Jerry laughed. “No, Mr. Tower, I suppose you could call me an omnivore.”

          Tower smiled. “Please call me Vix.”

          Jerry nodded. “Certainly…Vix.”

          “I think you’ll enjoy tonight’s offering. We’ll start with lobster bisque with cognac and a seasonal salad with raspberry vinaigrette. The entrée is filet mignon and jumbo shrimp. My cooks are working on some side dishes of vegetables, which I’m sure will be delicious. Dessert is white-chocolate cheese cake topped with strawberry and peach purées.”

          “Sounds wonderful,” Jerry said.

          Tower handed him an engraved formal business card. “I’ve written my private phone number on it,” he said. “I don’t usually give out my number, so please keep it to yourself.”

          “Thank you,” Jerry said. He glanced at it and tucked it into his wallet.

          “Jerry,” Tower said, “I had a courier take my invitation to you because I heard about Mr. Blue’s sudden illness this morning, and we were scheduled to meet tonight. I hope he recovers soon. According to what he told me, you’re more than well qualified to handle a matter he and I discussed last night.”

          Jerry had been prepared for unpleasant dealings with Tower, but he was now having second thoughts. His preconceptions were based on the report Nicholas had given him and Allison at the hospital.

          Nicholas had seemed sincere then, but he was also under a lot of stress because of Daniel’s situation. The boy had said Tower wasn’t a nice man, that he was bossy, and that he’d argued with Daniel. Yet in Daniel’s brief voicemail there hadn’t been even a hint of all that. And so far this evening, Tower had been nothing but gracious.

          “Vix,” Jerry said, “I’m really looking forward to that fabulous dinner, but perhaps we could get some business out of the way first.”

          “Of course, Jerry.”

          “First of all,” Jerry said, “we at the museum feel we should see some proof of your claim to ownership of the three, uh, magical diamonds.”

          “I spoke to Mr. Blue about that,” Tower said. “And they are indeed magical. I inherited those diamonds from my younger brother when he passed away many years ago. They are family keepsakes—tangible memories of my brother.”

          “I understand,” Jerry said. “But the purple diamond was found in the grave of Adamo Balducci, who was buried 500 years ago. How does that—”

          “I’m the last blood of the Giovanni Balducci family,” Tower said, his voice rising. “Mr. Blue started this whole business when he discovered the purple diamond, and I want him to finish it—once and for all. I want him or someone else from your museum to find the other two diamonds and bring all three of them to me. How complicated is that?”

          “Please don’t be offended,” Jerry said, “but we really need official paperwork to prove your claim to the purple diamond. As for the other two, I understand you mentioned a deadline that would be virtually impossible to meet—if it could be met at all.”

          “I need those three diamonds before midnight of December twentieth,” Tower said. “And let me assure you, for a man like myself, nothing is impossible.” He smiled. “Listen, Jerry,” his voice calmer, “I overcame a great many obstacles on my way to becoming who I am today. And why was that? Because I had a brilliant vision that I would possess whatever I desired. What I most desire now is to have my rightful inheritance. It is my destiny to have the magical diamonds in my hands at last.”

          Jerry gave him a blank look.

          Tower shook his head, seemingly frustrated that he wasn’t getting through to Jerry.

          “Jerry, I have a fantastic proposal to present to you. This is your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Either you can quit working soon and enjoy a life of unbelievable affluence, or you can remain stuck in your current position under Mr. Blue with no chance to rise in your organization. Your talent and passion will be doomed for the rest of your life. This isn’t guesswork. My people have conducted thorough investigations of your background and Mr. Blue’s. What I’ve said is beyond question the truth. I’m proposing to give you a guaranteed annual income of two million dollars for life—which will be adjusted upward to account for inflation. You will never need to work again. All you have to do is bring those three diamonds to me by midnight of December twentieth. Any expenses you foresee will be paid in advance.”  He gave Jerry a sly smile. “And there’s actually no need to involve Mr. Blue or the museum itself. How you manage the task is entirely your own business.”

          Jerry got up from his chair, his face reddening. “Mr. Tower,” he said, “please bring your ownership paperwork for all three diamonds to the museum and we’ll try to work out an agreement. We’ll decide if your deadline is possible. If not, there will be no agreement. The business will be conducted through the museum. And, by the way, I’ll require no compensation for my part in the matter other than my regular museum salary. I don’t like to have my integrity questioned, Mr. Tower. I find it insulting. This meeting is over. Please excuse me, but I’ll have to skip dinner. There’s no need to see me out. I know the way.”

          Jerry headed out to the foyer and grabbed his coat from the rack. The elevator was still open, and he stepped into it and hit the down button.

          As the elevator door closed, he heard Tower call from the other room: “You’ll be back, Jerry!”

          Tower finished his champagne in one long swallow and watched the Dark Shadow expand until it enveloped the room.

          An angry, inhuman voice said, “I can feel her force coming back. She’s trying to attack us again. We must get the diamonds before she destroys us.”

          Tower gripped the stem of the glass with one hand and with the other covered its rim. “We won’t let it happen!” he said.

          His fingers clenched the rim tighter and tighter until the glass shattered into pieces and the bloody shards clattered onto the hardwood floor.

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