taped my mouth.”
“Who did what?”
“The Asian man had the duct tape. The other man—the one with the gun—held me down.” Her face scrunched as if she were trying to remember every detail. “They left and came back a minute later dragging Chet. He was still unconscious, and I...” This part was obviously difficult for her. “I couldn’t even be sure he was alive.”
Vanessa took a deep breath, composed herself and continued. “They duct taped him, too, then the man with the gun rolled Chet over with his foot. He wasn’t...he wasn’t very gentle about it.”
Mei-li waited, but nothing more was offered, so she asked, “You’re on the floor, bound, but you can see the men. And you can hear them. Who was in charge?”
“The man with the gun seemed to be...he was giving the orders.”
“Did either of them speak a name when they addressed each other? Either when you were in the living room or when you were in the bedroom?” Vanessa’s eyelids flew open, but Mei-li quickly stopped her. “No, don’t open your eyes. Listen to the questions and answer as best you can, but keep your eyes closed so you can visualize what happened.” When Vanessa’s eyes were closed again, Mei-li asked, “Did either of them say a name?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Did they chloroform the girls in their beds...or did they pick them up first and then chloroform them?”
“Chloroform first.”
“Who picked up which girl?”
Again Vanessa’s eyelids twitched. “The Asian man picked up Linden. The other man picked up Laurel.”
Mei-li waited for several heartbeats, then asked softly, “Why didn’t they chloroform you?”
Vanessa’s eyes flew open, and she had that startled “deer in the headlights” look on her face, Dirk noticed, as if she hadn’t expected the question and was caught unaware. Mei-li waited a moment, but when no answer was forthcoming, she said, “Or knock you out the same way they knocked out Chet. It doesn’t make sense they’d leave you conscious, does it?”
“I...I have no idea why,” Vanessa stammered. Then she shrugged her shoulders and her voice firmed. “It might not make sense, but that’s what happened.”
Mei-li smiled, and if Dirk hadn’t been watching her so closely he would have been disarmed by that smile, the same way Vanessa was. “You never get all the answers,” Mei-li told Vanessa with a confiding air. “But it’s one of those questions I had to ask.”
She turned her attention to Dirk and started to speak when a tremendous gust of wind buffeted the hotel. As solid as the building was, it swayed, and everyone froze. The room had been darkening steadily as the sky did, but no one had really focused on it until now. Everyone turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room just as the sky opened up as if a faucet had been turned on full force, and torrential rain slashed against the windows.
Dirk cursed under his breath. He’d momentarily forgotten the typhoon, and now he said, “Those windows make this entire suite vulnerable...and dangerous.” He glanced at Patrick, regret coloring his words. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking of this when I said you’d be safer here than trying to get back to the island.”
Patrick shook his head. “I’m glad I stayed. Glad I was able to help with...” His hand motion encompassed Mei-li and the others, and Dirk understood what he was trying to say.
The phone in the suite rang suddenly, and everyone froze again. For a heart-stopping second Dirk was sure it was the kidnappers again, and he snatched up the phone. “Yes?”
“Mr. DeWinter?” said a voice with a decided British accent—not the voice of the kidnapper who’d called Dirk on his cell phone. “This is the hotel concierge.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but the Hong Kong Observatory has just issued a T9 warning, indicating increasing gale-force winds. While there is no indication Hong Kong will sustain a direct hit from Typhoon De-De—that would be a T10—we’re asking all our guests to move down to either the lobby or the first floor temporarily...just until the worst of the typhoon has passed. We understand this constitutes a hardship for our guests, but we hope the complimentary meals and drinks we will be providing in any of our fine restaurants will mitigate the difficulty.”
“I understand.”
“We also recommend bringing any medications or other necessities with you, as well as a change of clothes, blankets, pillows—everything you might need in the short term. While we don’t want to anticipate the worst, we want our guests to be prepared, just in case. Should the power go out, it would be a tad difficult to reach your floor without an elevator.”
Twenty-six flights of stairs—yeah, not an easy hike, Dirk thought with a stab of mordant humor, the kind that sometimes hit in tense situations. The British sure have a knack for understatement. To the concierge he said, “Thank you, we’ll be down shortly.”
“Thank you, Mr. DeWinter. Do you and your family need any assistance? We understand this can be a trying situation for families with small children.”
The reminder that his daughters weren’t with him caused Dirk’s heart to clutch momentarily. He cleared his throat. “No, we don’t need assistance, but thanks anyway.”
“Please don’t hesitate to ask any of our staff should you need anything. Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience.”
Dirk hung up the phone and told everyone, “The typhoon has been upgraded from a T8 to a T9, and the hotel wants us all downstairs before the winds get any worse.” He moved purposely toward the windows, saying as he did so, “Those shades come down. They won’t protect us if the windows shatter and there’s flying glass, but it could minimize any damage if the windows break while we’re gone.” He started rolling the shades down, and Patrick began to help him, but Dirk said, “I’ve got this. Get the ones in the other rooms, will you?”
Patrick left and Dirk turned to Vanessa. “Better pack at least one change of clothes for yourself. You don’t want to have to trek up all those stairs if the elevators aren’t working. And grab the blanket and pillows from your bed—we’ll need them.” She left quietly, and Dirk said to Chet, “Your hotel’s a few blocks away, isn’t it?”
Chet nodded. “Just up Nathan Road.” His mouth twisted in a grimace. “But I don’t think I want to try to get there tonight,” he said, indicating the rain they could hear thrumming against the windows. “Not even in a cab.”
“I wasn’t suggesting it. I’ve got clothes to spare. Might not be a perfect fit, but in a situation like this I don’t think that matters.” Dirk turned his attention to Mei-li. “Sorry, my mind’s not working properly. Vanessa should be able to lend you a change of clothes. Let me go ask her—”
Mei-li shook her head and indicated the large purse she’d set down beside the sofa. “I came prepared,” she told him in her calm voice. “When Patrick called, I threw a few things
