(With a merci beaucoup to Gillian B on all matters French)
As Drea, Anne, and Hieata cut free the captives, the two sleuths explained to their hostess a case from six months earlier in which they encountered the Bikini Bandits. Anne explained how the she knew the name of the obscure group of thieves that had once operated out of the Miami area. According to Hieata, the robberies started about three months earlier. Jewelers, a bank and some of the homes of the more well-to-do French had been hit, even a couple on a cruise ship in the harbor. The only link to any of the crimes was four masked women wearing bikini tops and shorts. One of the local newspapers soon dubbed the quartet Les Bandits Bikini.
"So they managed to get away from you in Mexico." Hieata said.
"Unfortunately, yes." Drea said.
Drea and Anne waited for the police to arrive rather than subject the four women to two interrogations. While Gabrielle described the incident in French, Anne whispered an English translation to Drea. There were four women; one was definitely Polynesian, the other three Caucasian all of whom were tall, two even taller than Drea and Anne, whom she indicated with a gesture. There were no scars, tattoos or body piercings. They also wore sunglasses and caps, not unlike the American baseball caps, but without any insignia. One of the women gave orders to the others in what Gabrielle supposed to be English, while a French speaker assured Gabrielle no harm would come to her or her companion. She and the other guard were in the room when the bandits arrived. The two divers came in after the safe was cleared out. Their days' harvest was taken from them before they too were tied and gagged.
"Monsieur l'inspecteur." Anne said.
"Oui mademoiselle?" he asked.
Anne hesitated a bit. She suspected an inside job, but knew it probably would not translate literally into French. Finally she asked if it were possible that the perpetrators had knowledge of the pearling operation.
"That is possible," he conceded, in English. "But it does not explain the others."
He closed his notebook, then left, presumably to file his report. Gabrielle was on the telephone and speaking to Monsieur Le Clerc. She handed the receiver to Hieata, who briefly spoke with him.
"Papa says to meet at his office later today," she said.
"Right away?" Drea asked.
"Oh, no, later this afternoon."
The three went back into the locker room where Hieata warmed up to the sight of a young Tahitian woman about her own age, "Ah Vitea, I want you to meet two of my friends from my time in Hawaii, Drea and Anne."
"Pleased to meet you." Vitea said. She had the same glossy dark hair as her friend, but was a few inches shorter and had a bit more rounded face. Still, her features were smooth and unblemished and she had a pleasant smile. "Why are the police here?" she asked as she undressed.
Hieata recounted what had happened, and Vitea expressed shock in a manner Anne thought as being a bit over dramatic. "I still have things I need to do." Vitea said as she slid on the lower half of the swimsuit. "We may meet again."
"I hope so." Drea said as Vitea donned a pareau.
Hieata drove her two new friends to a favorite open-air café. Anne bought a newspaper. "What does that headline say?" Drea asked.
"Maison Debernard dévalisée!"
"In English, please."
"I think Anne is having some fun at your expense." Hieata said. "It means, 'Debernard home robbed.' at least as you would understand the term. I'm not aware of the English term to go through a house and search for something to steal. To rob a house, in French, would mean to actually take the house itself."
Drea nodded then said "I believe the word you're looking for is 'ransack'."
Anne translated the opening paragraph. "Masked thieves invaded the home of administrator Henri Debernard and stole jewelry belonging to his wife Françoise, who was left bound and gagged, as were two servants."
"What are they like?" Drea asked.
"Monsieur Debernard is a decent fellow, and their daughters are friends of mine, but Madame Debernard is what you would call a snob."
"Let me guess, she won't deal with Tahitians socially." Anne said.
"Yes."
"It says here that he was on an inspection tour of other islands in French Polynesia, and their two daughters were out of the house."
"Both are correct. I fact, here come their daughters now."
"You mean the two refugees from a chewing gum commercial?" Drea asked.
Anne turned and saw the two girls approaching. She judged them to but about eighteen they and had paraeus wrapped around their waists in a pattern identical to their bikini tops. They were mirror images, with one sister with a part in her light brown hair on the right hand side, and the other on the left, the knots in the pareaus were on the same side as the parts in the hair and toward each other. Even the bags slung over their shoulders reflected this, with swim fins sticking up in the front part of the bags.
"Ah, Madeleine, Monique." Hieata said. "I want you to meet Drea Rodgers and Anne Thorne."
Madeleine had the part and knot on the left, Monique on the right. They both enjoyed snorkeling and scuba so much, they delayed their entry to the Sorbonne by a year so they could get in as much as possible.
"I read what happened to your mother." Hieata said, indicating the paper. They spoke in English so Drea would not be left out.
"It was such a shock to see maman and the maids tied up like that." Monique.
"Yes." said Madeleine.
"She insisted notre père not return until his job was finished."
"Enough of this, will Drea and Anne be staying for a while?"
"We plan to." Drea said.
"Well I hope we can all go diving together sometime." Monique said.
"I hope so to." Anne said.
The twins left and Hieata excused herself to answer nature's call. Anne took advantage of this to speak in confidence to Drea. "They're an interesting pair, to say the least."
"What do you mean?" Drea asked.
"They have an interesting relationship with their parents. They called their mother 'mamon', an affectionate term, roughly the same as 'Mama', but 'père' is the formal term for father."
"Well, the Debernards' domestic situation isn't our concern. Drea stated firmly. "It's Glenda Chafee and her friends."
"Do you think she might be here?" Anne asked. "She could have sent her minions here, after all, the two she had with her in Mexico aren't necessarily the only ones she has."
"We'll have to see if she's on the island, or at the very least in French Polynesia."
Hieata soon joined them. They went on to Le Clerc's office, where they discovered the police wanted to interrogate all the women who worked for Le Clerc who were not at work at the time of the robbery. The Associates then wanted to get to another subject. "Would you know of a Glenda Chafee?" Anne asked.
"Yes, she was here about three months ago." Le Clerc replied.
"We think she may have a connection to the Bikini Bandits."
At that, Hieata and Le Clerc laughed out loud. "Please forgive us, we met Mademoiselle Chafee and I found her to be quite charming."
"Not only that, she dresses like a what you might call a repressed librarian." Hieata added.
"That's all a disguise, trust us." Anne said.
"She used it in Mexico to take me prisoner." Drea said.
Anne then recounted how she had followed two of Glenda's henchwomen into a trap, and then how Glenda used what Anne called "the demure librarian act" to trap Drea. Through a daring plan, the two were able to escape, but they were now more wary of the older woman.
"Is there any chance she might have returned?" Anne asked.
"I could check with customs." Le Clerc said.
"That might not produce anything." Drea said. "She could have slipped in undetected."
"Perhaps Pierre Le Beau could help." Hieata suggested. "He's what you might call a shady character, but if anybody on this island would know how to smuggle people, he would."
"We would have to make arrangements for you to meet him." Le Clerc said. "I will see to that."
After the trio exchanged pareaus for cocktail dresses, they sat down for a dinner of local fish, with rice and steamed vegetables with white wine and topped with Chilean strawberries for dessert.
"I spoke with Monsieur Le Beau." Le Clerc said. "He is a bit apprehensive about meeting with two detectives, so you will have to consent to blindfolds."
Drea and Anne hesitated for a moment before Anne said. "If that's what it takes."
"Is some coming here to pick us up? Drea asked.
"No." Le Clerc replied. "Hieata will drive you to one of his more legitimate enterprises, a club that caters to the tourist trade."
Once the meal was finished, Heiata drove the group to the club, where they were soon taken to the manager's office."
"Your friend will stay here, merely as precaution." The manager explained. "This way please."
Drea and Anne were led out a back door and soon had thick cloths secured over
their eyes. They stopped for a while as if awaiting transport. Instead of an
engine, they heard footsteps, right before their arms were grabbed and their
wrists tied. They began to protest loudly and were gagged for their efforts.
We've walked into another trap. Anne thought as she heard a
vehicle pull up.