The only place left to explore was the pool room. For a ‘Mansion’ it certainly wasn’t as huge as one would expect. There were five rooms in the first floor with the kitchen divided into two (one for cooking and one for dining) and perhaps the pool too (Richard had mentioned it contained a swimming pool and a pool table) and there were twelve room upstairs, six on either side of the building with attached bathrooms.
As Adrian made his way to the pool, he happened to glance inside the library. The trio he had come downstairs with were now in there. Raven was busy browsing the books while Hunter was busy chatting with Tharonby. Adrian had only four more people to properly talk with. There was Kel Brady, Shanice Miller, Hwang Nam and Raj Tripathee. He wondered how many of them he would run into in the pool room.
Upon entering the said room, Adrian immediately found himself facing a large swimming pool. There were six stalls to the left for changing clothes and taking a shower. To the right was a door which was wide open. Inside, Adrian could see Raj talking with Shanice near a green pool table. Hwang Nam was apparently in the same room as she appeared from behind the door. To Adrian’s amusement, she was holding a swimming costume in her hands.
“Where’d you find that?” Adrian asked, pointing at the costume.
“Inside that room,” Hwang pointed to the room with the pool tables. “There are twelve lockers inside, each with our names on it. Fancy a swim?” she asked with a flirtatious smile.
“Oh, no thanks. I’m alright,” Adrian answered. Judging by her youthful face and her body’s size, she couldn’t have been more than five year older than him. He’d put her at around thirty seven years old. In any case, she wasn’t his type and he wasn’t that keen on swimming at the moment anyways.
She must’ve understood what Adrian was thinking for she said, “I was only kidding. Swimming at a time like this is the last thing on my mind.”
He watched the Chinese-Irish woman walked into one of the stall and lock the door. “Just thought I’d try it on,” she said from inside. “So, you’re from here yeah?” she continued.
“Born and raised,” Adrian answered. He walked over to a bench next to a wall and sat down. The sudden feeling of relief in his legs made him realize how tired he was from walking around the mansion. Aftereffect of the drug, no doubt.
“You said you were an assistant professor. So, what degree do you hold?”
“I finished my Master’s degree in theoretical physics from Cornell University in the US. I was about to return for PhD when I found the job here and decided to stay.” This part was completely true. “What about you?”
“Well, you know, I do odd jobs here and there. I finished my Bachelor’s degree in literature from London but couldn’t land a job as a writer as I’d wanted. So, I’ve been stuck doing this and that to support myself. It’s not too bad though, you get to meet a lot of different people … Oh, and this costume fits me perfectly. Our kidnapper certainly seems to have done their research.”
He waited patiently as Hwang changed back into her regular clothes. The sound of chatter between the Indian and the Canadian in the other room continued.
“By the way,” Hwang said from inside the stall, “Raj Tripathee was telling me your face looked familiar.”
Adrian frowned. “Does it?” he asked. The Indi
“Yes, he said he remembered seeing you on the newspaper once,” she answered.
Adrian’s heart skipped a beat. The only time his face would appear on a newspaper would be when he usually solved a high profile crime. If that was so, there was a chance that his identity as the detective might be revealed.
“Oh, that must be when I managed to get a paper published in the Science Journal,” he lied. “I usually appear in the university magazine which is popular around my home. Sometimes, I manage to get into the national papers.”
At that moment, Raj Tripathee, having finished his conversations with Shanice Miller, walked into the room with Adrian. He must’ve have overheard their conversation as he said, “I too have managed to get into the national papers. As for you, I remember seeing you in the papers half a year ago.”
Half a year ago, he had solved a murder that had taken place in a locked apartment; the news had gone viral in his country. So, the Indian had been here at that time then.
“So, what were you talking with … er… Shanice Miller in there?” Adrian asked.
“You know, basic information. Similar to what you were talking about with Mrs Nam here. By the way, what exactly did you get featured for in the newspaper anyway?”
Adrian was taken aback by the question. He hadn’t expected the Indian to press further on the matter. Or was he the kidnapper and testing Adrian?
“I published a report on Hawking Radiation.” Again, this wasn’t a total lie. Adrian had published the report; only, it had been half a decade earlier. “Have you heard of it?”
“Since you are a physicist, I have a guess it has something to do with that guy in the wheelchair?”
“Stephen Hawking? Yes. He theorized that–”
“I’m afraid I won’t understand. Physics never came easy to me. All that stuff flies right over my head.” He motioned with his hand above his head. “So, a physicist …” he trailed off.
Adrian noticed that while he had been talking to Raj, Hwang Nam had left the room. Glancing inside the room with the pool tables, he saw her conversing with Shanice Miller.
“Hey, I’m going to the kitchen. You want to come along?” Raj asked.
“No thanks, I’ve already been there. I’ll go talk with those ladies over there.”
Adrian got up from the bench and started walking towards the other room. As he walked away, he could not help but feel Raj’s intense gaze upon his back.
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