I scan the area until I spot Javier sitting at a table on the other side of the pool. He stands, and turns to face us, but pretends he doesn't see us. I pick up my phone and type: Copy that.
He glances at his phone, tucks his hands into his pockets, and turns to stroll leisurely back into the resort lobby.
"Copy that?" Jake lifts his eyebrows.
"This is a secret mission, and you should take it seriously."
"So I take that to mean no kissing." Jake rises, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
I roll my eyes at him but smile self-consciously. "I just hope we don't come all this way to find nothing." I leave some cash on the table.
I'm about to take off, but Jake pulls back on my arm. "No offense, but you need to chill out. You don't look like you're on vacation, but rather like you're engaging in some secret mission. Perhaps you should treat this more like one of those dreams in your Dreamscape."
"Right." I roll my shoulders. "That's a good point. Sounds like something Sun would tell me."
Thinking about her sends a pang through me. I know it's best Tony and Sun aren't here, but that doesn't make me stop missing them. Jake grabs my hand and squeezes it. I freeze for a moment, still unsure where things lie between us.
"Don't worry," he says, sensing my hesitation. "I won't bite. Besides, we're supposed to be a married couple on our honeymoon. Remember? We've got to play the part."
I shuffle alongside him, my mind whirling, trying to process everything. Beside me, Jake saunters along, but once we enter the cool lobby and head down the corridor, his body stiffens. The lilting Filipino music fills the hallway, but instead of soothing me, it only makes me tense.
At the office door, we find Javier. He's inserting a key into the lock. The entire wall of the office is glass. So much for hiding.
"Took you two long enough," he mutters, never once looking up. That's Javier. Focused and yet able to perceive everything around him.
"We didn't want to look too obvious." I slide in beside him, glancing around.
"Where did you get the key from?" Jake asks.
"I may have stolen it," Javier says. "You two stay out here while I go in and make sure we are at the right place. Knock on the glass twice if someone comes down the hall."
"Got it," I say as he slips inside and darts over to the desk. I lean against the wall, rubbing my arms, hating how exposed I feel. "I never saw myself creeping around hallways and snooping in offices."
"Maybe we'll figure this all out tonight and get a lead." Jake shifts before me and I can read the lack of confidence in his expression. My heart sinks.
Footsteps pound the wooden floor around the corner. "Someone is coming," Jake whispers.
Instantly he leans into me and holding my shoulders against the wall, kisses me. Hard. Somehow I manage to stretch my arm out and knock on the glass. It's like fireworks are exploding inside me. Seriously, this boy can kiss. My body eases into his when someone clears their throat behind us.
Jake releases me and I gasp for air. My face is flushed and for some reason, it's hard to breathe. The man before us frowns and shakes his head. His name tag reads Glen, Resort Manager.
"This section is for the resort staff only," Glen explains to us. "If you would please head back to the guest area."
"Our apologies," Jake says. "We are here for our honeymoon and got a little lost as you can see."
"Yes, well." The man clears his throat, obviously flustered at Jake's words while I try to smooth down my shirt and hair. "Congratulations to you both. If you'll excuse me then."
I hold my breath until he steps inside a room that reads 'Maintenance.'
"What was that?" I round on Jake.
"What?"
"That kiss? I thought we agreed to be serious."
"You never nixed the no kissing rule, so I figured..."
"Is he gone?" Javier pops his head out of the door. At our nods, he says, "Come on. I found something."
The two of us duck into the dark room and trail after Javier to the back desk where the glow from a computer screen illuminates the corner of the room.
"I did a search for names under contacts," Javier says. "You were right, Jake. Technically this resort is owned by Paradise Entertainment, and Zhang Lau is their chairwoman. But according to the records, she frequents this resort more than any others. Ironically it's the only one that's not a casino."
"Did you find an address where we might find Lau?" I ask.
"I hadn't gotten that far," Javier says. "I was kind of hoping Jake here could help us out with that."
"Let me take a look." Jake slides into the chair and starts tapping away at the keyboard.
He pulls up a stream of deleted emails between the head manager and Lau. As he scrolls down the list, one of the emails catches my attention.
"Open that one," I say, pointing.
Jake clicks on the email labeled "Therapy Conference." Right away a name catches my eye. "That's Dr. Reasner from California. He's a competitor of my dad's. Was ticked off when Dad sent in the patent for the Dreamscape."
"So what is he doing over here in Asia?" Jake says.
"What if he's the one behind all of this?" Javier asks. "He could've hired someone to kidnap your father so your dad would hand over the coding for the Dreamscape."
"Dr. Reasner?" I scratch my head. "He's a weasel, that's for sure. I could see him hiring someone to kidnap people or steal millions of dollars. That said, the guy can barely button his jacket."
A noise in the hall catches our attention. Jake turns off the monitor on the computer while I hold my breath. The three of us duck behind the desk and wait in silence. Nothing happens. Finally, I dare to peek over the edge of the desk.
"No one is there," I whisper.
Jake leans back in the chair and turns the monitor back on. The glow casts his face with a ghostly blue.
"Regardless," Javier says. "We should keep him on our suspect list."
"One thing we can do," Jake says. "Find out where these suspects are located. Their contact information is here in this one email. If that phone number comes from a phone that they carry around with them, we can trace them by their IP addresses."
"You can do that?" I ask.
"Yep." He types IPFingerprints.com into the computer and then copies Dr. Reasner's phone number into the search button. "It would be easier if I had my computer which was stolen, but I can get a general idea from this. And if you give me a few minutes, I'll log into my cloud account. I've got better software there."
I hunker down in the darkness beside Jake, gazing back and forth from his face bathed in blue to the computer screen. Sitting here, I feel helpless, so I pull my phone out and click on my flashlight. File cabinets line the back wall like watchmen. Perhaps the hotel kept some of the files from the Therapy Conference.
I open drawer after drawer, trying to make sense of the system that it's in place. My only consolation is that everything is written in English. Finally, I make a discovery that sends my heart beating. It's labeled Conferences. Inside, I flip through the faded manila folders until I come across one labeled: "Therapy Conference: Where the Mind Meets Matters."
The attendance lists ten scientists and psychologists in the field of mind therapy. I only recognize Dr. Reasner's and Dr. Woo's names. I have two of Dr. Woo's books at home. He's got some good theories on brain development that have always fascinated me. I sit cross-legged on the floor, trying to figure out why these people would be here at this particular resort.
"There has to be a connection between this conference," I mutter, "and Dad's disappearance. That just seems like too big of a coincidence, don't you think?"
"Makes sense," Javier says.
"Okay," Jake finally says, leaning back in the chair. "So if they're carrying the phone that is listed on this email, Dr. Reasner is in Hong Kong right now, your Dr. Woo is in Beijing, and our Mr. Bosu is still in Dhaka, Bangladesh."
I sit up. "Bosu is on that email?"
"Naw," Jake says. "I just got his phone number while he was hanging out at our sleepover. Thought it was better to check just in case."
"So that leaves us Hong Kong and Beijing." Javier rubs his face in frustration. "Nothing like two cities being incredibly far from each other."
"What about Ms. Lau, the owner of this resort?" I say. "Have we found anything on her yet?"
"That's what I'm looking up now."
A shadow blocks off the hall light, causing me to freeze. It's a figure strolling by the front of the glass walls. Yikes. I bet it's the resort manager, Glen. He pauses at the door, squinting as if trying to see into the room.
"Duck!" I whisper-yell. "The manager is right outside of the door!"
Jake pushes the monitor's off button, throwing us back into darkness, and we sink behind the desk as the door handle giggles. The whites of Javier's eyes break through the darkness. He waves us to follow him. Crawling across the linoleum floor, we squeeze into the small space between the wall and the last file cabinet. My heart pounds. If Glen inspects this side of the room with a flashlight or decides to flick on the lights, we are doomed.
Especially if he makes a phone call to the owner.
The door cracks open and I hold my breath as the manager steps into the room. I peer around the side of the cabinet. His eyes pan across the desk where we were working only seconds ago. I cross my fingers that he'll see nothing is there and leave, but instead, he darts into the room and pokes his head under the desk. The file folder I had been reviewing lies inches from his foot.
Don't see the folder! I mentally scream.
My heart stops when he reaches down and picks it up, opening the flap and scanning through the contents. I wait for him to turn the computer on or even to look just to the right a few inches and see the three of us huddled against the wall.
I clutch Jake's hand.
And hold my breath.
But then he tosses the folder back onto the desk, rubs his forehead like he's got a headache, and then moves back to the door. After a quick turn of the lock from the inside, he clicks the door shut.
I lean back against the wall, letting out a long breath. "That was close."
"What haven't we done that hasn't been close?" Jake mutters. "But I've got some good news. We got ourselves an address for Paradise Entertainment. I think it's their main headquarters, which means there's a good chance Lau will be there, too."
I gasp. "You did?"
"Yep." He lifts up his phone where he's taken a screenshot of the address. "Macau, China. It's on the mainland, close to Hong Kong. Not far from where your dear Dr. Reasner is hanging out."