Shaye Versus Xavier

By Georgina Zuvela

Both Rosalyn Shaye and Paul Xavier are drawn once again into a dangerous mission with their friends in Zagreb during the spring of 1984. This leads them to continue their search for the mysterious Madonnas Cross. Beginning with a flash back to the past when Natasha Sumora was born. Her bloodlines were kept a secret, only with dire consequences. Natasha is released from prison. Spies emerge in a network of secrecy and nowhere appears to be safe. A journey takes the characters to Siberia where they meet Professor Olga Sumora, who has made a scientific breakthrough.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Feb 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493131990

Georgina Zuvela

I was born in Surrey, England 1958 to a seamstress and an animation artist. I attended the Heath Clark Grammar School in Croydon. I left England to be married at seventeen. In Zagreb I worked as Secretary of the American School and also as a translator.     I immigrated to Australia in 1983. I worked as a computer operator until I became a mother of three. For fifteen years I was a Director of my husband’s business. I volunteered as a Catechist in the Diosese of Broken Bay during the 90’s. I love working in retail and creative writing has become a passion and fulfilment in my life.     My novels are fun to read, playing with common fears and phobias, crime and vigilantism. Power, religion and social acceptance are mixed with adventure and the notion of achievable immortality. The plot evolves and leads the reader to new revelations about the Madonna’s Cross. The series is filled with action, mystery and drama. There is some romance and also a healthy sense of humour.  

Book preview

Shaye versus Xavier

Georgina Zuvela

Copyright © 2014 by Georgina Zuvela.

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4931-3198-3

Ebook 978-1-4931-3199-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 12/16/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-800-455-039

www.Xlibris.com.au

520433

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1

Eyewash

Chapter 2

Lost

Chapter 3

Blood Trap

Chapter 4

Premonition

Chapter 5

Detour

Chapter 6

Strings

Chapter 7

Needles & Pins

Chapter 8

Reunion

Chapter 9

Hunch

Chapter 10

Flat Chat

Chapter 11

P.R.O.D.

Chapter 12

Attraction

Chapter 13

Godsend

Chapter 14

The Lance

Chapter 15

Assassin

Chapter 16

Viable

Chapter 17

Epiphany

Chapter 18

Paragon Cross

Chapter 19

Immortal One

Chapter 20

Night Owl

This book is dedicated to my brothers, Richard, Simon and Tonci, because you showed me that life itself is a passion.

Acknowledgements

Thank you, to my family for encouraging me with my writing. I appreciate your honest comments and loving patience. You have been a fountain of inspiration for me. I especially thank Goran, my husband, for listening to my ideas and believing in my ability to write.

I thank my parents for their enthusiasm.

To my friend Ružica, you have been fantastic moral support for me. Thank you for patiently enduring. You are a tower of inspired encouragement. I thank all my other friends for encouraging me by taking an interest in my writing.

I especially thank my technical team, Goran, Karl and Jason, to whom I am forever grateful for ensuring that my computer is continuously in working order.

Georgina Zuvela, Author.

Chapter 1

EYEWASH

The Kamikaze pilot had the battleship in full view ahead of him as he gripped the rudder and pulled it back firmly. The perspiration on his forehead dripped through his brow and stung his bloodshot eyes, while beads of blood trickled from his nostril with the taste of it on the back of his tongue. The altimeter dropped drastically and kept on falling.

Streams of burning red flares flew up towards the plane but the pilot dove straight into their guiding path, while reciting the prayer that was his final word. He saw the sailors running for their lives and he plunged his aircraft directly into the deck of the battleship.

The explosion could be seen from miles away on this beautiful day in mid August. The year being 1955, was ten years after the country had celebrated the end of World War II, and the Partisan’s Communist Party had taken over the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. For now it was the People’s Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which had become a sign of stability in Europe, and ironically, only the partisan leader, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, knew how to hold the six states together.

Captain Dalibor Kovachevich picked up the radio speaker and called headquarters to notify General Dragoyevich concerning the latest attack on the Denarius. The Yugoslav Air Force was soon to be flying over the Adriatic Sea, but it was too late to save the sailors that were hit by this rogue antihero while on duty that day. The damage was great. The aircraft had plummeted into the deck creating a huge explosion and a gaping hole in the bow. The pilot had buried himself at sea in an instant. The Denarius was now taking on water and the surviving crew would have to abandon ship or else they would get sucked down with it to the bottom of the sea.

Back at the Naval base General Dragoyevich was in shock. He ordered his subordinates to organise the helicopters to be sent to assist with the rescue. Then he turned his back on the chaos in the control room, trying to shut out the confusion within his headquarters, and then taking the red phone in hand, he dialled the emergency number of the Chief Commander of Military Operations in Yugoslavia. The General would also have to call the Central Committee of the Alliance of the Communist Party to which Marshal Tito was the President.

An urgent meeting was set to discuss this recent spate of terrorist attacks initiated by a bunch of fanatics, obviously some kind of Japanese copy cats. The riddle was most annoying to everyone concerned. General Dragoyevich kept suffering flashbacks of the war, while his officers prepared his helicopter that was to whisk him inland and across to the other side of the country. His destination was Belgrade, the capital city.

General Dragoyevich had been good friends with Marshal Tito for many years and he looked forward to his company. The man had always been a tower of inspiration for him. Tito was a generous soul who always welcomed his old school buddies, no matter what rank they held.

These latest attempts to destroy the peace and bedevil the Yugoslav Military were completely unwarranted, since Yugoslavia had become a country of peace and harmony for several years now, and no one had seen this crisis coming. These terrorist attacks were considered to have come from a nearby country, even though it was inconceivable and all too alarming that no one wanted to claim responsibility for them. Relations were stretched to the limit and so the Military would have to increase their vigilance over the sea, until they had traced the source of this escalating problem. The immediate concern being that everyone wanted to avoid an international catastrophe and start a new war, nevertheless the damage had been done. It would take a miracle to reverse this leap into the past that rudely reminded everyone that peace was not gratuitous.

There was a group of Naval officers that had just arrived back on board from taking a couple of weeks ashore on leave. Among them was a certain Captain Dalibor Kovachevich, being a widower with two young boys of his own. Captain Dalibor was an ambitious thirty-four year old officer. He had joined the Navy at the age of seventeen, just before the start of World War II. He had risen among the ranks and was a well respected and fearless survivor of the war.

Captain Dalibor recently had his sights set on an important career move. He was hoping to become the new Commodore of the line to replace Commodore Gavranovich, who was also seeking promotion.

Gavranovich was curiously perplexed about the origins of these freak kamikaze attacks, just as everyone else was at the time. He found himself to be no more the wiser after speaking to General Dragoyevich. His radio conference seemed to be a complete waste of time. There was never a logical reason for extortions inflicted by terrorists, a variety of which had been the plague of Europe and England during those times. Terrorism was a growing threat to stability and yet it seemed to strengthen society as a whole. It was like catching influenza. One never knew how or why they got it, only that it was a passing disruption to the usual order of things.

This time the unknown pilot had succeeded in causing major collateral damage, unlike the previous three attacks, which the Navy succeeded in warding off by sending up dozens of flares to confuse the pilot.

Not one of the rogue pilots had responded to any Naval warnings. Strangely enough, the last one had voluntarily ditched himself into the sea and was killed on impact anyway. This was most bewildering and caused Commodore Gavranovich many sleepless nights.

For everyone concerned the mystery of the kamikazes was definitely the most unsettling of all, if not the most enigmatic puzzle since the end of the war. Now it was Yugoslavia’s tedious task to track down the source of the problem. It was only a matter of time before they discovered the abominable vessel that was hidden in a cove off the coast of Albania.

General Dragoyevich ordered three well equipped battleships to make headway towards the perpetrators that were incognito on the borderline. Their mission was to apprehend and possibly eliminate any alien vessels contravening international law within the region.

Captain Dalibor Kovachevich did not seem overly concerned with all this commotion going on around him. Naturally he presumed it was all in a days work, however he was totally unaware that he was the main target for these insane attacks. His life aboard the battleship, the Dubrovnik, just carried on as usual even though his mind was more preoccupied with private thoughts. He was dreaming of a young woman he met on shore.

Recently he had taken a shine to this English girl at the Lora Naval Base near Split. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. They met each other at the officer’s dance where she appeared with her father, General Royston of the British Royal Airforce. The Roystons had been the guests of honour that night.

Sally Royston was high class trouble, being the General’s daughter. She had an air of finesse, which combined with a certain discreteness, lent her a mysterious magic that she used to lure Dalibor with. He wanted to know more about her and soon discovered that she would not give away any secrets. The long swirl of her dark shiny hair emphasised the curves of her slender body that allowed her to attract the man she had selected. She made her choice and Dalibor was ripe for the picking. He was a young officer and became infatuated with this seemingly intelligent woman. Lately he discovered that reading her love letters was a delightful distraction from the constant drudgery of Navy work. He wrote to her in his free time and it became a kind of habit that he fell into. Dalibor did not realise how invasive his private thoughts had become. One day, to his own amazement, he found himself daydreaming while on duty. Sally had got an hypnotic hold over him. The damage was done and now he could not rescue his heart that she played with like a toy on the end of a string.

Sally Royston had fallen head over hills in love with this Captain Dalibor, however she was compelled to keep certain information about herself a secret from him. It was no small detail to omit that she was already betrothed to another man. That man was Bernard Sumora, son of a wealthy Japanese tycoon by the name of Yutaro Sumora. Bernard’s father was also known as the old Samurai and was deeply feared by many. Yutaro owned an enormous reservoir of capital and used his wealth effectively to manipulate people in authority. He was the ultimate control freak and ran an underground empire with ruthless sagacity. He hired many agents to do his dirty work, and he called them his executives.

Sally’s father had blindly consented to her marriage to Bernard Sumora. He figured that he had already lost control over his daughter’s affairs. She was the girl who had run away from home to live in an ashram in India at the age of eighteen. She had a mind of her own.

Sally was now twenty-three years old and the General found it extremely difficult to keep track of her. She was free spirited and enjoyed travelling the globe more than anything, and in her letters to her parents she was always vague just to keep them happy.

Sally behaved like the warped end product of an expensive schooling. Although her upbringing had been fit for a princess it had regretfully made her far too big for her own boots.

Sally’s success in luring her chosen Captain of a battleship, made her very proud of herself. Dalibor had been an easy victim of loneliness and he was completely taken in by her charm. He allowed her to infiltrate to the depths of his own troubled soul. She was, of course, unaware how this was to be the biggest mistake of her life. She was to become a victim of her own schemes. This, not so unexpected love affair, was the beginning of a long and tragic saga. She was the product of her own original design, and her fate had unwittingly been set in motion.

Sally’s fiancé, Bernard Sumora, was just as naive to her scheming. He was especially clueless as far as women folk were concerned. He had no idea he was dealing with the mistress of deceit. Bernard’s own mother, Olga, was spending her life in Siberia and he never had the chance to get to know her when he was growing up. She was a strangely ambitious scientist, whose purpose in life kept her away from the razzamataz of the city. She dedicated her life to her work and rarely had contact with him.

There was a stark contrast between Sally’s background and Bernard’s upbringing, since he was never allowed to have any freedom. The old Samurai kept his son under his constant control. Bernard resented this and as he grew older he realised he was being used as his father’s puppet. He dreamt of breaking away from Yutaro, the Samurai, to create an empire of his very own. Bernard had hoped that by marrying Sally Royston, he would gain his ticket to autonomy and have the best excuse to start a new life away from his father. Little did he know that this woman was to be his ticket into exile.

*

When General Dragoyevich returned to Lora from Belgrade with strict orders to shoot down any aircraft that was not responding to radio warnings, the activity at the Naval base was practically on the verge of being turbulent. The Yugoslav Air Force had discovered one highly suspicious cargo-ship, anchored without permission, not far from Albania waters. Admiral Sentich commanded two of his Naval battleships to patrol that southern region near the border of Montenegro. His orders were to track down and eliminate the source of all terrorist attacks.

Commodore Gavin Gavranovich was also preparing to send out his reconnaissance team, however Admiral Sentich did not want to get involved with analysing the motives behind this recent spate of attacks. He was always correct. He believed it was better to nip the problem in the bud and ward off any further attempts at destabilising the region. There was only one solution open to them and that was to eliminate the problem immediately and with no further negotiations.

As the battleships cruised closer to the border of Albania they could see the monstrosity that resembled a vessel from the old war. Ahead of them they could also see two small aircraft being set into position on deck. They were getting ready to take off from the makeshift runway.

Officer Kopernik radio’d a message across to them, to request that they identify themselves, however there was no response and as they predicted, from this hostile and alien ship, it had no permission to be in these waters. The flag was unrecognisable. Not even the Admiral had seen anything like it and he knew at once that their lives were in extreme danger.

The admiral gave orders to immediately destroy the menace, however the Commodore hesitated for a moment and wanted to reconsider their options. There followed a deadly silence for one whole dreadful minute as if by instinct they knew what to expect. B O O M… ! An air born missile was hurled across the sky towards them and it nearly hit one of the battleships. W H O O S H… ! The missile landed in the sea right next to them and exploded on the seabed, rocking their confidence and creating an horrific tremor that spread out across the water. K A B O O S H… ! The surface exploded and fish were upturned by the thousands. They eerily bobbed about with their boggling, bloodshot eyes upon the unsettled sea.

Destroy them! Admiral Sentich commanded from the bridge. I don’t care who they are! Destroy that blasted ship!

Allow me to speak Admiral, interrupted Commodore Gavranovich with deep concern. We should at least find out what these people want, he suggested. There must be a misunderstanding or worse, there could be more of them out there, he made his point. We might inadvertently start a new war in this region! Can’t we wait until we know who and what we are dealing with here? Admiral Sentich, I implore you . . . !

You have your orders, Commodore, there will be no negotiations whatsoever! Admiral Sentich confirmed.

At least let me send in a team to find out who they are, Sir!

You are wasting my time, Commodore, get your reconnaissance team out of there immediately… ! commanded the Admiral.

The Commodore tried to stall for some time with perspiration running down his face. He took the radio speaker from Officer Kopernik’s hands and the Dubrovnik fired back two missiles across the sea.

B O O M… ! B O O M… ! Both of the missiles hit the alien ship dead in the centre, knocking out their controls. It was instantly blown sky high and the blast scattered in all directions. The vessel and everyone aboard it was sunk within a matter of minutes.

The sailors on the Yugoslav battleship cheered from the decks and danced about in jubilation. While they watched the explosions from across the sea, they thought of spending time with their families. Everyone could relax at last without the threat of looming kamikazes.

This incident was quickly forgotten around the country and there were no more attacks after that day. Gavranovich received his long awaited promotion and so did Captain Dalibor. He took his new position as Commodore of the Line and Admiral Sentich retired within the week, taking a handsome pension package along with him.

After a few weeks when all the hype had died down, Dalibor found that his new title did not sit well on his shoulders. To his personal dismay, he calculated the outcome of that unfortunate incident and realised that it would have ended up catastrophically, if he had been in command on the day. The thought worried him. The Admiral had not budged from his position, thereby avoiding more deaths. Dalibor had difficulties accepting the whole incident as a learning process. He could no longer trust his instincts, however he kept his doubts and his scepticism to himself.

Commodore Dalibor tried to forget the whole incident, however it was an experience that was to haunt him for years to come. He always kept his feelings well hidden, and began to drown them in rum every night. Of course his misgivings were totally irrational, and it seemed there were many things deeply troubling him during that period of his life, when it should have been all easy sailing. When he was off duty, he was most vulnerable. It seemed to him that his personal problems were mounting up on his back. Dalibor found it difficult to find someone to listen with understanding and was sinking into an abyss of depression.

He missed Sally Royston more than anyone. He kept her letters locked away in his cabin desk. He would read them over and over again, because he was yearning to find out why she had stopped writing to him after their wonderful three weeks in Venice. He couldn’t understand why she suddenly disappeared out of his life without an explanation and without a trace, after all, she had promised to marry him.

Chapter 2

LOST

Yutaro Sumora was always one step ahead of everyone. He had, unbeknown to Bernard, requested to see Sally Royston at his office in Japan, but he had invited her under false pretences. Sally had been evoked as his future daughter-in-law and she could not disappoint him. She sat impatiently outside his office in Yokohama, awaiting an audience with him. She thought it was strange that Bernard had not been there to meet her at the airport. Now, Sally was being kept waiting for some time, long enough to make her extremely nervous, and she was beginning to think there was an objectionable motive behind this strange and somewhat hostile reception.

Yutaro considered himself a warrior at heart. His believed his veins were filled with samurai blood. He took his time to read the latest business reports of his corporation and what concerned him most of all was the terrible loss he had incurred recently. His assets had diminished at an alarming rate and he was perplexed as how this could have happened.

Yutaro studied one particular report that morning and he was horrified to discover a cargo ship had been lost to the Adriatic Sea. Apparently it had been destroyed after it lost its bearings, along with six small aircraft. They were supposed to be on their way to the Middle East. The insurance was not going to cover his losses. He had lost a specialised workforce and was left with a huge hole in his budget.

Yutaro realised this was all due to mission Rag Doll, conjured up by his highest executive, simply to remove a certain Captain of the Navy in that region. The motive had been to prevent the man from being a threat to Yutaro’s dynasty. However it was plainly obvious this insane operation had failed and had, in fact, backfired on them. Yutaro was devastated.

He had been keeping Sally under close surveillance while Bernard was away in South Africa. He suspected that she was seeing this Captain of the Yugoslav Navy. His secret agents were skillful in gaining enough evidence to prove that Sally had enjoyed a romantic holiday with him in Venice and had plenty of photos to prove it. The implications were completely obvious to Yutaro.

He knew that Captain Kovachevich had proposed to Sally before they went their separate ways during the sunny month of May, and although she had accepted his offer of marriage, she had not been honest with Captain Dalibor, regarding her commitment to Bernard Sumora. It was obvious to Yutaro that Sally was only after Bernard’s money and in truth she was banking on being kept in luxuries and excessive comforts while she lived a life of secret love affairs in Europe.

Unfortunately, Sally had not bargained on Yutaro interfering in Bernard’s affairs. She had miscalculated the risks that were involved with having this particular affair, and she had made a terrible misjudgment.

There were certain incalculable risks to Yutaro Sumora’s own reputation that worried him to the point of distraction. His plan to assassinate Captain Dalibor had failed spectacularly. Mission Rag Doll was meant to be fairly straightforward, nevertheless it had been a rotten gamble. Yutaro now bitterly regretted trusting his life long friend and high executive. He realised that he should never have handed such a mission to the old war hero, since he had been hell bent on blowing up the battleship from the start. The man was a lunatic and Yutaro was extremely saddened.

The angry Samurai had another problem on his mind, which had to take precedence for the moment. Desperate for a grandson to continue the family dynasty, he needed to set things straight with Sally. Yutaro called his secretary on the intercom and requested she send the girl into his office immediately.

Sally stood in her Safari outfit and opened the heavy oak door. As she entered Yutaro’s office, she noticed the side lights and the splash of red paint on the walls. She sat, unsuspecting, on the ornate chair in the middle of the room. His judgment was about to be unleashed. On Yutaro’s desk lay the love letters written by Captain Dalibor and she recognised them instantly, although she did not bat an eyelid. She remained very calm.

Sally knew very little about Yutaro himself. His temper was well hidden for the time being. She knew even less about the power he held within his empire, a dangerous underground complex of smugglers. He had the ability to destroy her life at the nod of his head.

Yutaro flicked through the love letters and glared at her with his evil eyes and spoke in a tone that chilled the very blood in her veins… I wish I could say I was pleased to see you, my pretty sparrow, what do you have to say for yourself, woman of deceit?

Sally, becoming aware of the potential threat, spoke up in her defence. I am a free person… I do not have to explain my behaviour, or my life, to anyone, she reacted and defiantly crossed her arms. I would not expect a man of your calibre to understand the philosophy of a suffragette and I would certainly not ask a man of your high standing to lower himself to the level of a sparrow, either, she stated just to confuse him.

It is not my own character that is on the line, but yours, young lady.

I am innocent until proven guilty, and as yet I don’t recall being accused of anything that warrants any kind of explanation, she replied, flicking her hair over her shoulders.

The question, my pretty little sparrow, is whether you have been two-timing my son, Bernard, or not. Well then… is it true? Yutaro’s dagger eyes met hers and he watched her face turn pale.

Mr Sumora, how could you even doubt that Bernard would be against me having friends of my own, if that is what this is all about?

"My son should be enough for you!"

Wait a minute, before we go any further with this, I… I’m afraid I have to tell you of something that you might not like to hear, Sally began in her defence, as her vision blurred and her left eye formed an annoying twitch. You may not be aware, but your son is completely impotent, to be precise, he is unable to father children at all. I know this might come as a shock to you, but please don’t tell him that I mentioned his impediment. He doesn’t want you to know about this problem.

That’s an utter lie! Yutaro yelled at her and slammed his fist onto the desk. The love letter were scattered onto the floor.

I’m afraid not, Mr Sumora, but I do believe that children are important for the success of any marriage, I’m sure you would agree? Sally said in a calm voice. Bernard would be happy for me to bring a child into our marriage. You know that is true, don’t you Mr Sumora? Please, I beg you to keep this confidential… Bernard would be devastated if he ever found out that I have confided to you, she confessed.

A dove took off from the window ledge at that moment and she watched it fly away. She had given the performance of her life, however Yutaro was not buying her story by any means.

"Am I supposed to believe you, deceitful woman? You have the reputation for being a first class liar," he yelled at her.

What can I say? You have brought me here against my will… you have confronted me with these pathetic letters from some lonely captain… with whom, I might add, I agreed to spend time with only on a couple of occasions. Why are you doing this? I am only thinking of Bernard.

You spent the whole month of May with that man in Venice! What am I to think? Yutaro accused her, screwing up the stolen letters in his fists.

Think what you like! I am a pregnant woman now and I want your son to be recognised as the father of my child… and you had better not ruin it for your own son. This is our only chance to be happy, she retaliated. Her anger increased behind a placid facade, since she resented him being in possession of her most personal property.

I am beginning to get the picture, my pretty little sparrow, life is not as simple as you imagine… There are many things to be considered.

I am marrying Bernard, whether you like it or not, Mr Sumora, can’t you just be happy for us? Please be happy! This child will bear your name and I shall be faithful to Bernard, you’ll see I am telling the truth.

Sally sensed there had been a change in Yutaro’s character since the last time they had met, a year ago. Now he scared her half to death. The old Samurai was on the verge of having her executed along with his best friend, his high executive, however this worrying revelation regarding his son, instantly changed his mind. He realised that she was the only person who could have known about Bernard’s embarrassing predicament. Yutaro momentarily found himself in a very difficult position. He would have to compromise for the time being and could not see a way out of it.

There is no rush, little sparrow, I suppose we can wait and see what you produce in time. If you have a son, you shall profit, but if it is another little sparrow just like yourself, well then . . .

I won’t argue with you, Mr Sumora, I’m sure you will not be disappointed with the outcome. Now, please let me go! This is ridiculous. I’ve never been so humiliated in my entire life! Sally commented, sighing more with relief than lack of honour.

Yutaro gave in to her, which was rather out of character. He smiled at Sally and set her free by pressing a button on top of his desk. The door opened to his office and five huge wrestlers, wearing business suits entered and bowed low. One of them carried a red rug that was rolled up under his arm. He placed it in the middle of the parquet floor and unravelled it. Sally was told to leave the room. She noticed a strange aroma of ancient spice filled the air on her way out.

Sally went straight to her hotel across the road and locked herself in the room. Shivers crept over her body and she shuddered to think what Yutaro might be capable of doing to her, if she were to deliver a baby girl instead. A sinister revelation dawned on her suddenly and she felt trapped within her own body. She had the sudden urge to contact her father in England. This whole situation was becoming absurd. Sally needed help to get away from Japan before Yutaro changed his mind and ordered her assassination. She began to realise that he was far more powerful than she had first presumed. She could not dismiss the notion that he would have her killed in order to save his own reputation.

Sally also came to the realisation that Yutaro treated Bernard merely as his own property. Bernard had to perform according to his expectations. Sally’s plans for their future together were challenged and now she could no longer feel comfortable in Bernard’s company. More than anything, she wanted her letters from Dalibor back in her possession. She felt angry at being violated, but she dare not create further and unnecessary trouble for herself. She decided to just let it slide for the time being. She guessed that Yutaro would keep her letters and used them as a weapon against her when the time came.

Sally dialled her father’s telephone number in England and waited to be connected. "Please be