The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark

CHAPTER 2

Nadia told Bobby to get some sleep. He’d just been released from jail that morning. She’d informed his teachers at Fordham Prep that he would return to school next week. She wanted him to rest and recuperate first. They’d agreed it was a prudent idea, noting it was mid-April, and there was plenty of time for him to catch up before June.

She lay awake in bed until 5:00 a.m. Questions swirled in her head. She needed a shower, a cup of coffee, and a discussion with Johnny Tanner. Johnny was her attorney and best friend. He knew the truth about Bobby’s true identity, that he was Nadia’s cousin from Ukraine and his real name was Adam Tesla. Johnny had helped them escape the clutches of Russian mobsters when Bobby had first arrived, and defended him successfully against the recent murder charge.

Nadia left a message at 6:00 a.m. Johnny returned her call half an hour later.

“What’s this about life and death?” he said. His voice sounded distant, as though he was on a car speaker.

“Are we alone? Is there anyone else in the car with you?”

“We’re alone. And you’re officially scaring me.”

Nadia described the e-mail, its source, and its contents. Johnny usually played it cool, but he couldn’t conceal the note of excitement in his voice.

“Do you believe it’s genuine?” he said. “That there really is a second locket?”

“There are three possibilities. First, it’s a hoax, there is no second locket, and the goal is to steal Bobby’s locket.”

“Toward what end? If there’s no second locket, no completion of the formula, who would care about it?”

“Someone who knows the rest of the formula, thinks he knows how to get it, or believes the entire formula is on Bobby’s locket. Second possibility, it’s real but the sender’s intentions are not noble.”

“Meaning the goal is to steal Bobby’s locket and have them both.”

“Correct. Third possibility is the preferred outcome. There is a second locket and it’s in the possession of a good boy.”

“You’re sure it’s a boy and not an adult?”

“It’s a small hand.”

“Could be a woman,” Johnny said. “Or a small man.”

“Fair point. Duly noted.”

“What do you make of the response to Bobby’s e-mail?”

“This started a year ago when a stranger who said he knew my father whispered ‘Fate of the free world’ in my ear, suggesting it depended on me. Whoever sent the e-mail knows the potential importance of the formula in question. Odds are high he knows it’s a countermeasure to radiation.”

“Any idea why this is coming from Japan?”

“No. Bobby says he doesn’t know any Japanese people. I believe him.”

“It’s eerie. Because of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. I mean, it makes you wonder if there’s a Japanese scientist with the other half of the formula, or something like that.”

“I agree,” Nadia said. “It’s remarkable to get these e-mails from the only other place to experience a level seven nuclear disaster. But we have to stick to the facts and not let our imaginations run away from us. The invitation made reference to a friend. So we know there are at least two people involved. Possibly a boy and an adult. Possibly two adults.”

‘What about the timing of all this? Right when Bobby gets out of jail? Is that a bit of a coincidence?”

“Three e-mails were sent over two weeks. The last one five days ago, when things didn’t look good for Bobby at all. Anyone who knew the particulars of the case at that point would have thought there was little chance Bobby would be released soon.”

“Meaning whoever sent the e-mail didn’t know what was happening in Bobby’s life. Didn’t know he was in jail.”

“Agreed. If you have a second locket, and you know the kid that has the first one is in jail on murder charges, you don’t send a message that assumes he’s going to be there to read it. You worry about how to get him a message in jail.”

“And the sender knows you exist. He used your name. If he thought Bobby was in jail, he would have found some way to get you the message instead of him.”

“Especially given the stakes.”

“The alleged stakes.”

Nadia chuckled. “Right. The alleged stakes. Thank you, counselor.”

“Sorry. Occupational habit. So what’s your next move?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t see Bobby going to Japan after everything he’s been through in the last three weeks. Not on skimpy evidence. Not when this whole thing could turn out to be a hoax. And he needs to get back to school. He needs to return to normal life.”

“I hear you. And you can’t go either.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You can’t leave him alone. He was on meds in jail for the claustrophobia. He got beaten up. He had a rough ride. You say he needs to return to normal life? You need to be there.”

Nadia wanted to argue but saw his point. The sound of traffic subsided as though Johnny had pulled into a garage.

“There’s too much unknown for either of you to go,” Johnny said.

“What do you suggest? We try to change the agenda and get them here? I doubt that’s going to work—”

“I’m going,” Johnny said.

“Oh, right. Sorry. You must have court. Will you have any time later this morning?”

“No. You don’t understand. I’m going to Tokyo. Instead of you.”

It was preposterous, but the offer soothed Nadia’s soul. “Johnny, you’re the nicest guy ever to pass the bar and the best friend a person could have, but there’s no way you’re going in my place.”

“The only other person who could do this is your brother. But he just spent a week in Eastern Europe with you and he has a business to take care of. I’m your man.”

Nadia already felt indebted to Johnny for all he’d done for Bobby and her. So much so she could never repay him. This would only increase her debt. “Johnny, this is way beyond the call of friendship.”

“You mean as opposed to getting kidnapped and interrogated by Victor Bodnar, and listening to him murder two men while I sat chained to a chair in a meat locker?”

Victor Bodnar was one of the mobsters who had chased Nadia from New York to Eastern Europe and back in pursuit of the formula. After they returned to New York, he’d kidnapped Johnny to coerce information about Nadia and the locket. Johnny had stood up to him, and had seen to it that she’d never hear from the old man again.

“I see your point,” Nadia said. “But that’s all the more reason I can’t let you do it.”

“I was an exchange student in Tokyo during college for a year. Granted, it was a long time ago and I’ve forgotten all of the language I knew. But I still know how to say hello, bow properly, and act less like a gaijin.”

“Gaijin?”

“A foreigner. An outsider who doesn’t belong.”

“What about your court cases? You’re probably juggling several.”

“Two. I’m wrapping up an immigration case this afternoon. And I can ask another associate to cover for me on the burglary. I’ve covered for her multiple times. She owes me.”

Nadia protested. The more she did so, the more Johnny insisted he was going.

“Even if your associate covers for you,” Nadia said, “what explanation will you give your boss for leaving in the middle of the week?”

“I’ll tell him it’s a family matter.”

“Aw, Johnny. You’re so sweet. But seriously. You can’t lie to your boss.”

“Maybe it’s not a lie. I don’t have any family. Which makes you guys the closest thing I got. Maybe that’s saying too much. But that’s what it is.”

Johnny was counselor, confidante, and friend, but she had no romantic feelings for him. None whatsoever. He wore a ponytail, drove a muscle car, and loved the spotlight. Nadia preferred understated men. And yet his words struck deep in her heart and left a mark.

“You’re too much, Johnny Tanner.”

“Good. It’s settled. Forward me the e-mails. Should we send a new e-mail and be up front that you’re sending a delegate?”

Nadia pondered the question. “Yes. We should be honest.”

“Good. The fewer lies, the better.”

“My motto exactly.”

“I’ll get a phone that works in Japan. You should give them my number and get one from them. And try to get a description of this friend I’m supposed to meet with.”

“They’ll probably ask for the same.”

“A six-foot-two, two-hundred-ten-pound gaijin with a ponytail is probably going to stand out in Tokyo.”

“Nice image. Thanks for that. I’ll arrange for the hotel and plane ticket, pay for your expenses.”

“Including the hostess at the Turkish bathhouse?”

“How quickly they fall off their pedestals.”

“It was inevitable.” A car door slammed shut. “The guy on the pedestal has nowhere to go but down.”