The Krakow Klub (20 page)

Jim sighed, “Well, I’m not at all surprised
that Tom isn’t his real name.
He’s always been
secretive and
mysterious,
so I just assumed
that he was probably protecting his privacy. To many of us, that’s
a priceless commodity.”

John had specifically instructed him to
answer all of Jim’s questions truthfully except one. He was
forbidden to reveal that another guest would be on the island
during his visit, and that the other person just happened to be his
old flame, Sylvia.

At that
point,
Mister T
had interrupted John with a question, “If she’s an old flame, why
hasn’t she already been reduced to ashes?”

John had laughed
good-naturedly
and explained the term. Mister T thought
that it was rather stupid at best and declined to add it to his
vocabulary bank.

Mister T slowed their air speed significantly
and opened the viewing ports so that Jim could get a good view of
the island from above. They circled the island several times while
Mister T pointed out the various features including the main villa,
the guest house, and the new golf course.

Jim was stunned. The place was unbelievable.
How could Tom, no, John F. Scott have afforded a private island?
The golf course was incredible. It
was beautifully
designed,
and it blended into the landscape perfectly.

The ship settled gently on the lawn without
crushing even a single blade of the carefully tended grass. The
hatch slid
open,
and the
warm,
humid air rushed into the cabin. Jim picked up
Mitch and stepped out into the blazing Florida sunshine. He
breathed deeply and thanked the gods that he was out of the big
city.

The
craft
had landed at
precisely 11:32 AM and John bounded down the pathway from the villa
to meet them.

“Welcome to Scott Key! I’m sure that Mister T
has told you that my name is
John,
and you
should call me that from now on. Sorry about the little subterfuge
but I had my reasons. One of these days, I may clue you in but not
today. We’ve got a busy schedule.”

Jim continued to look around in amazement.
The main house, a Caribbean style villa, stood majestically before
them and the guest house, of matching style, was tucked away in a
grove of palms nearby. The place was an architectural
masterpiece.

He expected some smelly fishing camp with a
ramshackle structure passing for a house. He had imagined that John
probably led a Bohemian kind of existence spending his days in
ragged shorts and fishing from some tumbledown pier. Nothing could
have been farther from the truth.

“I always knew that you had more than your
fair share of
secrets,
so I wasn’t all that
surprised that your name wasn’t Tom. But as for this place, I’m
stunned. How in the world did you come up with this kind of
money?”

John just smiled slyly in response and then
knelt down to pick up little Mitch and give her a welcoming
hug.

Jim had leashed her before they left the
craft,
and that had displeased her immensely.
How could she explore the place while tethered to sixteen feet of a
retractable
leash? Then, her tiny little nose
suddenly quivered.
An unexpected scent!
Faint
but distinctive. She moved her head in various directions to try to
determine its source.

Then, with a start, she realized what the
scent had to be. She sniffed John’s hand suspiciously. Yes, that
confirmed it. There was a dog
nearby,
and John
had been
petting
the creature. How could that
be? Jim’s friend had no dog, and as far as she was concerned, he
didn’t need one. There was just no room for another creature around
either of her two men.

John noticed that she wasn’t her usual
friendly self and placed her back on the ground. He unleashed her
so that she could
explore,
but she took only a
few steps. Her suspicious nature told her that something was amiss,
and whatever it was wouldn’t be to her liking. She gave him a sulky
glare and then trotted around sniffing at the nearby flowers and
plants.

John and Jim were ignoring her completely.
They
immersed
themselves in boring
conversation about the island. As they grew closer and closer to
the entrance, the scent became stronger. Yes, indeed! There was
another dog on the premises.

Suddenly, a sound! The creature was racing
across the soft green grass straight toward her. She was furious
and stiffened noticeably without turning to look at the insolent
little intruder. She could see from the corner of her eye that the
creature was, heaven forbid, a black and white shih tzu. The final
insult! Not only was a dog on the property, the little monster was
of her kind.
It was
an act of treason!

John smiled proudly at the two. “Mitch, this
is Akiro. He lives here with
me,
and I’m quite
sure that you’ll become fast friends. In fact, I have some rather
romantic ideas for you both, but that can wait until later.”

Mitch was horrified. How could she be
expected to be friendly with the little pest? Akiro had started
dancing around the men energetically in a pathetic attempt to get
some attention. Mitch just watched his antics with contempt.
Unfortunately for him, he got a little too close for
comfort,
and Mitch let out a deep growl to assert her
authority. He stopped the infernal dancing and looked up at his
master for guidance, and more likely, protection.

Mitch gave him her most authoritarian
look,
and he flopped down on the grass and
curled up in a position of absolute submission. She was pleased
that he, at least, had a little sense. A plan began to form in her
clever little mind.

John looked down at his cowering friend and
couldn’t believe his eyes. How could this be? He’d selected Akiro
so carefully. He was a fearless little fellow and had seemed to own
the whole island. Now, with one glaring look
from
Mitch, he was totally submissive and wouldn’t even
look her in the eye.

Mitch walked slowly around Akiro, staring
intently at him. She stopped directly in front of him and gave him
a look that said, “Don’t even think of crossing me. I can make your
miserable little life very uncomfortable. I am the boss and don’t
forget it for a single second.”

The creature, this Akiro, had now
acknowledged that she held the alpha position in the household.
Excellent. Perhaps there was hope after all. Maybe, she could use
that power to her advantage.

She gave him a last scornful look and marched
over to Jim with a look that said, “Pick me up, now!”

John threw up his hands and muttered
something about “the
best-laid
plans of mice
and men.” Then, he added, “The
best-laid
plans
should include dogs instead of mice.”

Mitch looked adoringly up at
Jim,
and he laughed aloud. He could read her canny little
mind and knew what she was
up to in this little
canine drama.

“I named my new little friend
Akiro
after the Japanese amateur astronomer who first
sighted the interstellar transporter. Akiro was extremely
intelligent, well-
educated,
and respected by
professional astronomers. I just thought that it would be a fitting
name
for
the newest member of my
household.”

“Good choice,” Jim replied. “He certainly
seems to be quite a little explorer. Somehow, I never believed that
it was a coincidence that those two obscure astronomers could make
such an extraordinary discovery while NASA detected nothing. Just
didn’t make sense to me.”

John laughed, “Quite an astute observation,
my lad. I do think that little plan was one of my more brilliant
schemes. I spent a huge amount of time and energy finding the right
two people to make the discovery of the space ship. Also, setting
up the timing for the discovery was an extraordinary task as well.
Maxx outdid himself with that one. It was not easy for something
that big and bright to not be seen by many.

“Then, in the middle of the whole thing, I
had to recruit you. Maxx had
researched
a lot
of people before he found you, and frankly I think that he made the
perfect choice. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about
bringing you on board. I had to plan and execute each step
perfectly,
or you’d never have bought the
story.”

“John, Mitch was the key to the whole thing
as far as I was concerned. She’s an excellent judge of
character,
and she liked you immediately. I’ve never seen
her take up with another person so quickly before. In fact, she was
the cause of several of my more interesting romantic breakups. I
knew that if she trusted you, then I could trust you. It was as
simple as that.”

By now, they were standing in the pathway
between the villa and the guest house. John pointed it out and
explained that Mitch and he would be staying there.

Mister T took Jim’s travel bag and loped down
the pathway to the guest house with the bag balanced on his
humanoid fingertips. It spun around in the air just like a Harlem
Globetrotter would spin a basketball.

“Let’s go up to the house for a drink before
lunch. I’ve got a surprise for you. You’ve always thought of me as
a cranky old
curmudgeon,
but I’ve met a lovely
lady who’s changed me into a relatively nice person. No comments
about that, please. Her name is
Julia,
and
she’s anxious to meet you.”

As they walked up to the villa, Jim studied
it closely and was surprised to note that the structure wasn’t more
elevated. The little island was obviously just a few feet above sea
level,
and a major hurricane would have swept
right over it leaving nothing behind but a naked sand
bar
if that.

He had seen many coastal homes in hurricane
areas and they had all been built
using pilings or
stilts
to withstand storm
surges,
but
this villa was different. It stood as if daring a storm to try and
wash it away. The entire property bespoke of quiet wealth and
sophistication.

A tall woman, casually but elegantly dressed,
glided out to meet them with her hand extended toward Jim. Her
voice was soft and cultured.

“Jim, at last we meet. I’m Julia. Please come
into the bar area and have a seat. John tells me that you have a
preference for dry martinis and that just happens to be my
specialty. However, at this early hour, I for one would prefer a
Bloody Mary. How about you?”

Jim
smiled
and replied,
“Same here, Julia. I would love a Bloody Mary.”

She led them to the bar where they all sat
down in comfortable lounge chairs.

Julia said, “I will make you a martini this
evening, but Mister T is the Bloody Mary expert around here.”

Mister T returned from the
guest house and made three of his signature Bloody
Marys.

After serving them, he sat down
at the grand piano and began to play softly.

Then he spoke.
“I heard
Julia playing the piano yesterday and became quite fascinated with
the instrument. On Mylea, there was little interest in the
arts. But,
I find music to be most
interesting. To me, it’s all based on mathematics. Last evening, I
asked Maxxine to
equip me
with skills to play
the
device,
and
she
very
graciously obliged. Just relax and I’ll provide you with some
lovely background music. I can play any music that you might enjoy.
Today, I’ll just entertain you with what
some would
call
‘piano bar
music.’
”

John was speechless. How could Mister T have
known how he loved piano music and that he had even considered
ordering a musical robot? Now, there would be no need for that.

They sipped their
drinks,
and the three of them were soon conversing like old
friends. John told the story of how he had met Julia with only a
few minor embellishments. He went on to describe her career as a
marine archeologist that had taken her to exotic locations all over
the world. He practically glowed with
pride,
and it was quite obvious to Jim that he cared for her a lot.

Jim was delighted to find his friend in such
a happy state. He knew that John’s life had always been
interesting,
and to say he
was well
traveled would be a gross understatement
. But, somehow
happiness had always eluded him until now. He seemed like a new
man
—
energetic, smiling, and happy to be alive.
Jim could not help but wonder if the right woman could do the same
thing for him.

All during their conversation, Jim had been
studying Julia intently. “Julia, there’s something very familiar
about you. I could almost swear that we’ve met before. Maybe in
Washington?”

“Don’t think so. Washington, DC, has never
been a social hotspot for me. Can’t remember the last time that I
visited there. I’ve always been busy working and doing research so
I can’t imagine that I’ve met you before.”

John interrupted. “Forget it. We all favor
someone else. Just look at Mister T and me! Ha ha. I’m just happy
to have the two most important people in my life together with me
today. Jim, I’ve come to think of you as the son that I never had.
Julia, you’ve become the center of my existence. I toast you both.
Long life and happiness!”

By now, Mitch had become quite bored with the
conversation and decided to explore the villa. She padded quietly
from room to room and eventually wound up in the master bedroom,
where, horrors, she spied a doggie bed in the corner. It was
beautifully made and probably expensive, but it wasn’t hers. It
must belong to that Akiro creature. She walked over to it, extended
her sharp little claws, and scratched at the soft covering
tentatively. Then, she hopped onto the bed and rolled
over
several times to ensure that her scent would be more
than apparent to the little ingrate.