you might say. I have been fascinated by the concept ever since I was a child, and I first heard the legend of the statue over thirty years ago. When the statue came on the market, I had to have it. I had to find out if the legend was true.’
‘And what did you find?’
‘Nothing.’ He shook his head. ‘I had the stone analysed. It was unusual, apparently a meteorite, but it did not possess any special properties. At least, not that I could find.’
Again, Nina refused to take the bait. ‘So you bought it and kept it . . . until it was stolen.’
A grunt of annoyance. ‘Yes. I had a second property at the time where I kept my collection of antiquities. It was robbed, very professionally – but the robbers took only the statue and left other items of far greater value. I believe you also encountered these thieves.’
‘Yes, I did,’ she said, recalling a mad chase through San Francisco to recover a stolen Atlantean artefact. ‘They were employed by Pramesh and Vanita Khoil.’
Takashi nodded. ‘I was told they used their Internet technology to intercept people’s private communications. I imagine that is how they learned about my statue. But that raises a question.’
‘Why they wanted it in the first place?’
‘Yes. For them to have gone to such lengths to steal it, the statue must be of greater importance than it appears to be.’
Nina had another question. ‘Why didn’t you report it stolen? When it was recovered from the Khoils, you could have got it back from Interpol. Rather than buying it on the black market.’
‘You do not approve, Dr Wilde?’
‘No. It just encourages the illegal trading of antiquities – if thieves know they can get a high price for what they’ve stolen, they’ll keep on doing it.’
‘On this occasion, I had no choice. There were other interested parties, and I could not let the statue – the statues, all three – fall into their possession.’
‘Which other interested parties?’
‘That is no longer important. What matters is that I now have them.’ Takashi stood. ‘In answer to your question,’ he told her as he slowly walked round the table, ‘I did not report the theft of my statue because even though I have rightful ownership, there are those who want it taken from me and returned to China. For the sake of diplomacy – and their own political ambitions. If the statue had been brought to me through Interpol, they would have interfered, or even attempted to seize it.’ He gestured to Kojima, who went to another set of doors and opened them. Takashi started for the exit. ‘Please come with me, Dr Wilde. I am sure you are keen to see the statues for yourself.’
Unable to deny that, she followed him. Near the door, set against the outer wall, was a wood and glass booth that she had assumed was some sort of display cabinet. Closer up, she saw that it contained an orange sphere around five feet tall. Takashi noticed her curiosity. ‘My escape pod.’
Nina couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Your what?’
‘In case of a major earthquake.’ Seeing her still incredulous expression, he went on: ‘You do not have escape systems in American skyscrapers?’
‘No – or if we do at the UN, nobody’s ever let me in on the secret.’
Now it was his turn to look disbelieving. ‘I hope it is never needed,’ he said as they left the office.
To Nina’s surprise, the next room contained a beautiful rock garden, shrubs and miniature trees carefully arranged amongst large rounded stones, all surrounded by gravel precisely raked into wave-like patterns. She wanted to stop for a moment to admire it, but before she could even offer any praise Takashi had moved on to the next set of doors. They went down another hallway, passing more rooms of the penthouse. Outside, a tall white mast rose from a tier a few storeys below: the tower of one of the wind turbines she had seen from the limo. Light from the setting sun flickered off the rapidly turning blades above. ‘That’s something else I’ve never seen on an American skyscraper,’ said Nina, looking up at the structure.
‘They generate up to ten per cent of the building’s energy needs,’ said Takashi with pride. ‘I would like more, but I must battle with the city planners over such things.’ He stopped, turning to face her. ‘This is why I am so interested in the earth’s natural energy. Renewable sources like wind and wave