Chapter Six: Out of the Frying Pan...

The sleuths' hours of captivity fell into a singular routine. The women were allowed occasional trips to the bathroom, but their gags remained fixed tightly throughout and they were always under guard by Dr. Wells who kept a pistol aimed at them. Afterward, the girl in question would be returned to her chair, re-bound and blindfold put back in place. Although Corrine was unable to see anything in particular, the blindfold was finally loose enough to allow some light through near her nose. An abrupt change in light told her that a lamp had been switched on.

"It's about time we leave, ladies" Anna announced, then proceeded across the room, 'We'll give you a chance to shower and change clothes however, and I don't recommend you try anything stupid. There will be a gun on you the entire time. Afterward you'll be prepared for your little trip to the boat. ” A few rustling noises any from Corrine told her Doctor Wells was untying Sasha first "Up we go." the professor announced cheerily.

Feet shuffled and shadows moved. “Sylvia brought you some fresh clothes from your bungalow.” Doctor Wells said. A door closed and Corrine heard water running. A few minutes later, Anna came to Corrine's chair, then untied the young sleuth and removed the blindfold. Corrine stumbled, and Doctor Wells reached out to steady her. Corrine grabbed her arms with both hands and pulled, putting her body weight into the action. Dr Wells' eyes went wide for a split second as she realized what was happening before launching over the actress's hip and hitting the carpeted floor face first. The gun hit the ground and flew across the room. Dr. Wells groaned apparently stunned.

Corrine gave the woman a deadly glare. Sasha stood off to the side, hair still dripping with an absolutely baffled look on her face. Her hands tied together in front of her with packing tape . A wide X of transparent packing tape sealed her mouth as well.

Corrine helped the detective get untied and Sasha carefully pulled the tape off of her mouth and spat out the foam rubber ball.

“Augh... water....” she grimaced after several breaths of air.”Where'd you learn to do that?”

“Jackie Chan movies.” Corrine replied with a grin.”Now come on let's get the Doctor trussed up before her friends come back.”

Sasha recovered the gun and the bag of tying supplies and together the two young women hogtied Doctor Wells with the bulk of its contents. Sasha's scarf blindfold was rolled up and stuffed in her mouth and Corrine's blindfold used as a cleave strap to secure it in place. Dr. Wells squirmed, muttering hatefully at the pair. After turning off all the lights, the detectives left the bungalow quickly and returned to their own. It was apparently no longer safe to stay there so the girls hastily packed their belongings and set off for another hotel.

“Shame, I really liked that place too.” Corrine fumed. Sasha hailed a cab and after some negotiation with the driver, the pair were on their way to other lodgings. After more turns than Sasha could have believed, the taxi came to a halt. Corrine gave the driver some bills and the girls alighted in front of a somewhat rundown motel.

“Home, sweet home.” Corrine said. Girls got a room at the lobby and after stepping inside the dingy two bed space with their long time in captivity weighing on them, they were simply too tired to unpack their meager possessions they had managed to cobble together.

There was a knock and girls froze.

“Trouble, I'll bet.” Corrine said tersely. Sasha nodded and hastily crossed the room and unplugged the lamp. The knock was repeated more urgently. Corrine edged up to answer the door as Sasha assumed a place to the left side, the lamp raised high overhead.

Corrine opened the door quickly, reached out, grabbed the visitor by the wrist and pulled sharply. There was a yelp of surprise and Sasha was about to swing then cried out, “Bella, is that you ?”

“Yes !” the young woman yelled, raising her arms to protect herself.

“You scared us half to death.” Corrine said, face flushed, hand going to her chest.

“So you were going to clobber me with a vase?”

“A lamp actually, “Sasha said dryly, lowering the object. The door was closed, bolted and chained, and after the room was set back to rights and the lights were back on, the women sat down for a talk. The girls revealed to Bella that the Yorkshires, Dr. Wells and two other women were conspiring in the same business.

“So how did you find us?” Sasha asked Bella.

“After I discovered you two were after the missing plane, I put a tail on you.”

“Well, we really could have used your help before now.” Corrine snarled sarcastically, folding her arms.

“My apologies, but I wanted to minimalize any chance of the tail being discovered. I had no idea if you were under guard or by whom.” Bella said. “Besides, I think one of my informants is working for the Yorkshires as well.”

“Great.” Sasha said, rolling her eyes,”So they could still find out where we've gone to.”

“I'm afraid so,” Bella replied with a shrug.”"Regrettably, my superiors think stealing national treasures is not a very serious crime." Bella added,”So there's no back-up if things go badly for us.”

“So what's our next move then?” Corrine asked.

Bella looked at her and said, "I've overheard Mr. Yorkshire talking about transferring the treasure from a warehouse to his private yacht. Perhaps you've seen it?"

“Not yet. But we were about to get a one-way trip on-board the thing.” Sasha said with a grimace.

“I've seen it.” Bella said with a nod,”La Cage aux Folles , it's called and it's huge. But Mrs. Yorkshire has always kept me busy at the house and I've never actually been on it.”

“Jealous?” Corrine asked sharply. Sasha and Bella frowned at her.

“Not of being on the boat or not,”Corrine explained,” I meant do you think Bianca is just jealous of you being too near her husband.”

“It's a possibility.” Bella admitted,” She seems very unhappy that Mr. Yorkshire has employed a lot of beautiful girls as house servants.”

"So we stake out his boat." Sasha said with an audible sigh.

"Won't you be missed?" Corrine wondered.

"So far they haven't figured out they have a police detective hiding among their staff." Bella said, "Or if they have, they've been playing it very cool. A lot of girls have left their employment after that party anyway, so one more shouldn't be missed."

“Well, as we have no choice, we'll just have to rely on that.” Sasha said grimly.

“Agreed.” Corrine responded.

Bella insisted on staying the night (She had brought her own sleeping bag along with a backpack)and voluntarily slept on the floor between the two beds.

The trio awoke early the next morning and decided to make the appearance of spending the day at the beach. They each chose a different style swimsuit, Sasha a white one piece, Corrine chose a light blue bikini, and Bella a black scooped back one-piece. As coverage, Sasha chose a colorful pink blouse, knotted at the bottom and denim shorts, Corrine a flower patterned sarong style skirt, and Bella simply a pair of white denim shorts.

Bella drove the the group in a tiny local car (which was little more than an overgrown golf cart, Corrine observed dryly) that Sasha had difficulty getting into and drove to the east side of the Island, the one facing the mainland. This was devoted mainly to commercial piers and and the ferry dock to the mainland. "But as you can see." Bella explained to her companions. "There is a bit of a beach, and Mr. Yorkshire owns all of it. That big house up the beach is his. Those two girls with Dr. Wells apparently stayed there before she came to make final arrangements with him. The opposite way is some sort of shop renting diving gear to tourists on trips from the mainland. Anyone staying on the island for any length of time generally bring their own."

The trio was by then at the water's edge, carrying bags-- or in Bella's case, her backpack-- and wading through the ankle deep surf. Sasha and Corinne found it difficult to keep their eyes off of the Yorkshires' massive yacht. Corrine took the binoculars Sasha had brought along and examined the vessel. She took careful account of the crew. There were at least 30 people working in or around the boat. The men went bare chested and the women in white halter tops. A tall thin man in a white suit stood at the aft, smoking a dark brown cigarette in a long silver stem.

“Mr. Yorkshire is on-board.” Corrine told her companions.

“Great. Let me see.” Sasha said, reaching for the binoculars. Corrine handed them over and Sasha scanned the boat and let out a low whistle,“He's got a small army with him too.”

“So what's the next move?” Corrine asked.

“We need to get closer to that house. “Bella said,” But first we need to get out of sight before someone notices our spying on them.”

With the binoculars stashed in Sasha's canvas tourist bag, the girls meandered casually toward the house, gossiping lightly back and forth, stopping to purchase a frozen fruit treat from a local vendor's cart. The short dark man looked like he was made of tanned wrinkled leather, Sasha observed to herself. Corrine tipped him generously, which he accepted with a gap-toothed smile before pushing his cart along the beach announcing his wares in a loud voice. The yacht loomed closer, a gleaming white metal edifice behind the manor house, nearly dwarfing it in comparison. The girls resumed their casual pace in that direction, turning toward the beach house as they reached a thick shadowy clump of palm trees placed to the left and slightly behind the manor house. After several minutes, Sylvia and Ilsa emerged from it, carrying snorkel gear and heading toward the boat.

"Now's our chance." Bella said, and the trio edged almost up to the house. They crept closer to the structure, where the deck extended behind, providing a bit of additional cover. A woman appeared on the deck: Dr. Wells ! Dr. Wells blinked sharply then blew a sharp whistle before hurling herself over the deck rail. The girls turned to run but found their escape was blocked by a muscular man on two sides and Dr. Wells on the other. Dr. Wells grabbed Bella and each man grabbed Corrine and Sasha. "Inside !" Dr. Wells ordered and the captives were taken into the house.

“Just when I thought you had tired of my hospitality, you two have come back.” Dr. Wells said with a wicked smile,”and you've brought a friend along too. We'll have to skip the introductions for now, however.” By now Ilsa and Sylvia were in the house. The three prisoners were made to sit in high-backed wooden chairs. Ropes and gags were brought out.

This is getting ridiculous, Sasha thought as her wrists and and ankles were bound firmly and a bandanna secured tightly across her mouth. And we're still no closer to the treasure than when we started. She watched Dr. Wells tie Bella up in a like fashion. As her chest and arms were being secured to the back of the chair by Sylvia, Sasha looked from Bella to Corrine and back again and sighed.