Read Online Dragon's Triangle (The Shipwreck Adventures Book 2) by Christine Kling - Free Book Online
Authors: Christine Kling
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So that’s called a Tibetan prayer gau. See this little end to the tube here? It slides off and inside are some small scrolls inscribed by monks. They’re prayers, so that’s why they call it a prayer gau. People are supposed to wear these on a chain around the neck to keep the prayers close to the heart.”
“What was a Japanese officer doing with a Tibetan artifact?”
Peewee chuckled. “Listen, sweetheart, the Japs looted every place they went. I saw things you would not believe when I was with the guerrillas.”
“Like what?”
“Let me put it this way. You know how people dream of finding a pirate treasure chest full of gold and jewels? What I saw wasn’t just a chest. It was truck convoys and every truck full of crates.”
“Crates of stuff like this?” She held up the gau.
“That’s right. Anyway, Ozzie’s boy Richie was maybe six years old at the time. Ozzie carried a picture of him he showed to everyone he met. I always meant to go back, find Richie, and tell him his dad was thinking of him right at the end. But the army makes you sign these papers promising never to tell about the secret stuff we did. And you know what they say,
Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.
Always thought I had time. Never thought I’d outlive the boy.” The old man reached up and dabbed at a moist eye.
“Do you know how my grandfather died?”
He coughed, then glanced behind her, apparently at a new customer who had just entered the stall. He sat up straighter. “Listen, you’ve heard enough of my stories today.” He reached for her hand, placed the silk-wrapped prayer gau in her palm, and then folded her fingers over it, making her hand into a fist. “Ozzie thought there was something special written inside this, and I think you’re a smart enough cookie to figure it out.”
Riley was surprised at how heavy the small gold object was.
“This is the closest I can come to fulfilling that promise I made,” he said quietly.
“Irv, do you know what happened to him or the submarine?”
He wasn’t looking at her. His lips were working his dentures furiously as he watched something over her shoulder and behind her. “Both are listed as missing,” he said quietly.
“What was the name of the sub?”
“The USS
Bonefish
,” he whispered.
Aboard the USS Bonefish
Sea of Japan
June 18, 1945
Ozzie stared at the man for several seconds.
Holy shit
, he thought,
that’s where I’ve seen that flower before.
Then he drew a pencil line in his notebook under the name Lieutenant Colonel Miyata and beneath it wrote “Prince Kaya Masako.”
“So the other men drowned rather than get into a boat with you?”
“That was their duty.”
Ozzie shook his head. “So what should I call you?” He knew a little about diplomacy from the years working for his father at the bank back home in Newport, Rhode Island. The rich were America’s royalty.
“Colonel Miyata is fine.” The man lifted his mug and took a small sip. His lips compressed as he swallowed, then the corners of his mouth turned up in a small smile. “We are not encouraged to reveal our identity to the enemy.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because I think you and I might be able to reach an agreement. You look like a man who has seen much and now is interested in a better life than this.” The prince waved a hand through the air to indicate the submarine.
Ozzie leaned back and stretched his arm out along the back of the chair next to him. He looked from the prince to the boy and back to the prince again. “Are you saying you think I can be bought?”
“Lieutenant, every man has his price. It is no insult to say I will find yours. Japan has been building her empire for more than fifty years. From Korea to China to the countries of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and yes, the Philippines. We have dealt with many enemies.”
Ozzie noted that this guy’s grasp of English was improving the more he talked. He’d started out
“What was a Japanese officer doing with a Tibetan artifact?”
Peewee chuckled. “Listen, sweetheart, the Japs looted every place they went. I saw things you would not believe when I was with the guerrillas.”
“Like what?”
“Let me put it this way. You know how people dream of finding a pirate treasure chest full of gold and jewels? What I saw wasn’t just a chest. It was truck convoys and every truck full of crates.”
“Crates of stuff like this?” She held up the gau.
“That’s right. Anyway, Ozzie’s boy Richie was maybe six years old at the time. Ozzie carried a picture of him he showed to everyone he met. I always meant to go back, find Richie, and tell him his dad was thinking of him right at the end. But the army makes you sign these papers promising never to tell about the secret stuff we did. And you know what they say,
Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you.
Always thought I had time. Never thought I’d outlive the boy.” The old man reached up and dabbed at a moist eye.
“Do you know how my grandfather died?”
He coughed, then glanced behind her, apparently at a new customer who had just entered the stall. He sat up straighter. “Listen, you’ve heard enough of my stories today.” He reached for her hand, placed the silk-wrapped prayer gau in her palm, and then folded her fingers over it, making her hand into a fist. “Ozzie thought there was something special written inside this, and I think you’re a smart enough cookie to figure it out.”
Riley was surprised at how heavy the small gold object was.
“This is the closest I can come to fulfilling that promise I made,” he said quietly.
“Irv, do you know what happened to him or the submarine?”
He wasn’t looking at her. His lips were working his dentures furiously as he watched something over her shoulder and behind her. “Both are listed as missing,” he said quietly.
“What was the name of the sub?”
“The USS
Bonefish
,” he whispered.
Aboard the USS Bonefish
Sea of Japan
June 18, 1945
Ozzie stared at the man for several seconds.
Holy shit
, he thought,
that’s where I’ve seen that flower before.
Then he drew a pencil line in his notebook under the name Lieutenant Colonel Miyata and beneath it wrote “Prince Kaya Masako.”
“So the other men drowned rather than get into a boat with you?”
“That was their duty.”
Ozzie shook his head. “So what should I call you?” He knew a little about diplomacy from the years working for his father at the bank back home in Newport, Rhode Island. The rich were America’s royalty.
“Colonel Miyata is fine.” The man lifted his mug and took a small sip. His lips compressed as he swallowed, then the corners of his mouth turned up in a small smile. “We are not encouraged to reveal our identity to the enemy.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because I think you and I might be able to reach an agreement. You look like a man who has seen much and now is interested in a better life than this.” The prince waved a hand through the air to indicate the submarine.
Ozzie leaned back and stretched his arm out along the back of the chair next to him. He looked from the prince to the boy and back to the prince again. “Are you saying you think I can be bought?”
“Lieutenant, every man has his price. It is no insult to say I will find yours. Japan has been building her empire for more than fifty years. From Korea to China to the countries of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and yes, the Philippines. We have dealt with many enemies.”
Ozzie noted that this guy’s grasp of English was improving the more he talked. He’d started out
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