Next thing Adrian decided to explore was the library. The ceiling was as high as the hall and the walls were full of books all the way to the top. Three ladders rested against the books, there in order to reach the book up high. On one of the ladders stood the Japanese woman, Akiko Akiyama. She must have heard Adrian walk in because she set the book she held back in the shelf and turned around.
“Hello,” she said with a short nod.
“Uh, hi,” Adrian said and returned the nod. “So, what books are you browsing?” He felt odd asking such a candid question given their current situation.
“I was looking for books by John Dickson Carr,” Akiko answered. “I love his stories.”
“Oh, so you like mystery novels?” Adrian asked. He walked to a different section of the shelf that contained books on cosmology and started browsing. “Then I’m sure you like Agatha Christie too?”
“I like some of her works but I prefer John Dickson Carr over her. What kind of books do you prefer, Mr McSkay?”
“Please, call me Adrian. Well, I read all kinds of books,” Adrian answered. “As long as the story is interesting, I don’t really care what genre I’m reading.”
“You must read a lot. I wish I was like you. My English would get a lot better,” she said.
At that moment, Antoine Gustavo walked into the library. “You’re English is rather good, if you ask me,” he said. “Sorry, I had no intention of interrupting you two nor did I mean to eavesdrop.”
“Oh it’s okay,” Adrian said. “We were only talking about books.”
“Well, I’m glad that’s the case. Also, you look better now than you did before.”
So, Antoine had noticed that Adrian no longer seemed nervous.
“Well, as Hunter said, panicking won’t do much. So, I walked into my room, lay down on the bed and counted to ten while taking a deep breath for each count,” Adrian lied.
“You know, my wife use to do that whenever a fight broke out between us. She would lock herself inside her room and I could hear her through the door counting to ten. Five minutes later, she would come out, head straight for the kitchen and make herself a cup of tea.”
“The only thing I can say to that is you are a very lucky man to have such a woman,” Adrian said.
“I wish my boyfriend was like that,” Akiko, who had been listening, said from atop the ladder. “Whenever we have fight, he would leave the house and not come back for a week. Even if it was him who was wrong. It makes me very angry. But I love him very much and he is a very caring person at other times.”
“What about you old chap?” Antoine asked Adrian.
“Ah, I’ve been single for the last seven years so I can’t really say. Although, the last person I was with was pretty alright by temperamental standards.”
“Could you hold the ladder steady for me Mr … erm … Adrian?” Akiko asked. “It is moving too much.”
“Oh sure.” Adrian walked over to the ladder and held it firmly. He couldn’t help but glance up as Akiko was descending and, in doing so, noticed that the base of her shoes were muddy. Adrian frowned and then smiled. So, he was right about Akiko lying earlier. She wasn’t kidnapped from inside the airport; she was somewhere outside. Preferably like the field Adrian had been in before waking up in the mansion …
There was something odd, Adrian realized suddenly. There was something very odd about everyone trapped with him in the mansion.
“Excuse me Adrian.”
Akiko was only two steps above the one Adrian was holding. Adrian apologized and moved out of the way so Akiko could descend the final steps. She thanked him and gave a short bow before walking out of the library. He watched as she turned left and disappeared.
“Do you fancy her?” Antoine’s words snapped him out of his reverie.
“Sorry?”
“Well, the way you were staring at her as she left makes me think you like her,” Antoine said with a smile.
Adrian shook his head. “Oh, that’s not the case.”
Antoine walked over to him and gave him a pat on the back. “Come one chap, no need to hide it. She is a beautiful woman after all. If she were a little taller, I too would be staring at her!”
“I thought you said you were married,” Adrian said.
“I am. But a man can’t help staring at a beautiful woman now can he?” he replied with a wink.
I most certainly can, Adrian thought. If his girlfriend from his high school were here, she would probably go off on Antoine for saying that. She was very good when it came to arguments; her job as a lawyer suited her very well.
“See you later then,” Antoine said. “I’ll go take a look at the kitchen. I saw you go in there earlier with the Australian and two ladies.”
“Oh, yes. It’s quite cozy in there. The dining table is huge too.”
“Really? Our host seems to have spared no expense,” Antoine reminds as he walked away. “Which reminds me, you should go visit the pool room; there’s a pool table and a swimming pool in there!”
So that’s what ‘pool’ stands for, Adrian thought. His eyes inadvertently drifted to Atnoine’s shoes as he was walking away. The soles were muddy just like the Japanese woman’s shoes.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
