"Alchemy of Love" by Belle Book Part Two 3:32 AM, Kyoto, Japan Zack saw the C-5 corridor open, and to his suprise, Chase and Jaci emerged from inside it! "Chase! Jaci! What are you two do- ing here?" he asked. "Are YOU two the backup the Chief said he was going to get?" asked Globie. "We sure are," said Chase. "When the Chief told us what Carmen stole, we had to come," Jaci added. "Why?" asked Ivy. "Do you know any- thing about why Carmen would steal a copy of The Tale of Genji?" "Not at the moment, but we are cur- ious as to why she'd steal it again," said Chase. "Again?" asked Globie. "When Chase and I worked together that one year, we chased Carmen around the world," said Jaci. "I believe I mentioned that fact when we chased Carmen in the Prado Museum as she was stealing that Goya painting, Zack, I- vy." "Yes, I remember," said Zack. "And this manuscript was one of the things she stole?" "Yes," said Chase. "She stole three other priceless works of art. We managed to regain what she stole, but she got away, as usual. But why would she steal this manu- script again? She doesn't steal the same thing twice." "Not as a rule," Ivy agreed. "She has done so a couple of times." That's when the director came back with a guard. Chase (who also spoke Japanese) ap- proached the two, introduced himself and Jaci, and then asked in Japanese, "Did you find anything?" "I found this in the bushes," said the guard, holding up a tape recorder and a tape inside it. He gave it to Chase and then left. Chase turned on the recorder (it had batteries in it, of course), and they all listened as some soprano began sing- ing in German. Zack heard Chase singing along in his tenor voice, "Mild und leise /wie er lächelt, /wie das Auge /hold er öffnet --- / seht ihr's Freunde?" Then his eyes widened as he cried, "I don't believe it!" "What?" asked Globie. Jaci seemed to be thoughtful. She asked, "Chase, doesn't that sound familiar?" "It IS familiar," said Chase. "I think you'll remember it if I use an Eng- lish translation -- 'Mildly and gently,/ how he smiles, /how the eye /he opens sweetly /Do you see it, friends?'" Jaci gasped. "The opening of I- solde's famous Liebestod aria from 'Tris- tan und Isolde'!" "Doesn't the word liebestod mean 'love-death'?" asked Zack. "It does," said the Chief. "It applies to cases like that of Tristan and Isolde, and Romeo and Juliet, where the lovers are united only in death." "Tristan and Isolde are a famous pair of lovers in Arthurian mythology, isn't that right?" asked Ivy. "Well, the Tristan legend was at- tached to the Arthurian legend in later times," said the Chief. "Apparently, the original versions bore similarities to other Celtic tales, including one about Diarmid and Grainne. During the 12th century, Morholt was introduced as an enemy to King Mark of Cornwall, with the resulting debt that Mark owes Tristan; and of course, the love po- tion was also added." "In the standard tale, Tristan is an orphan who's cared for by a faith- ful retainer," said Chase. "Since he is King Mark's nephew, and because he has had a good training, he gains a place in Mark's court. He then battles Mor- holt and kills him, but is wounded in return with a poisoned sword, and ul- timately is cured, either by Isolde or by her mother, whichever one is the skilled healer." "Later, a swallow accidentally bears Mark a hair which is of a color unusual enough that he decides he'll marry only the girl who has hair just that color," said Jaci. "Medieval ver- sions have her hair be golden blonde, but one version I read has her hair be an unusual color of red. In any case, Tristan has to look for the girl and finds her when he has to save Ireland from a dragon. It is Isolde, general- ly called Isolde the Fair. But in Tho- mas of Britain's version, there is no mention of the hair from the swallow. Instead, Mark's courtiers suggest he marry Isolde." "On the way to Cornwall, Isolde and Tristan drink the love potion by accident, and fall in love," the Chief continues. Jaci then raises her hand and says, "That's in most versions, but I did read one version written by Rose- mary Sutcliffe, which is very much a Celtic tale. There's no love potion in that tale, and Isolde confesses her love, then forces Tristan to ad- mit that he loves her. In that ver- sion, her hair is red, being almost purple in the shade, and a fiery red in the sun." "Ah, that's the version where Mark decides to marry only the girl whose hair is of an unusual red color," said Zack. "Go on, Chief." "They are found out and Tristan has to leave Cornwall and go to Brit- tany," says the Chief. "There he meets another Isolde -- Isolde of the White Hands, whom he marries though he doesn't love her." "Later on, Tristan is severely wounded, and sends for Isolde the Fair to cure him," Chase continues. "Isolde of the White Hands lies out of jealousy and tells him the sail is black, mean- ing Isolde the Fair isn't coming, when it's white, meaning she's coming. As a result Tristan dies and then Isolde dies after him. But Isolde of the White Hands doesn't exist in Wagner's version." "Yes," said Jaci. "In the opera, Tristan has just died, and Isolde looks upon him in a trance. She hallucinates that he's coming alive as she hears a lovely melody. The hallucinations be- come stronger until she eventually falls dead next to Tristan. That's what the Liebestod is all about." "You say Tristan and Isolde the Fair both drink from the love potion by accident?" asked Globie. "Yes," said Chase. "In medieval versions, the potion is for Isolde the Fair and King Mark, but Isolde's maid, Brangaine, somehow fails to keep it safe, and Tristan and Isolde drink it by acci- dent. However, in the opera, Isolde is suffering from unexpressed love for Tris- tan and decides to take her and Tristan's life by poison. To save her mistress, the maid substitues the love potion for the deadly poison." "In this case, the potion may simply be the catalyst for the pent-up love of both of them to emerge," said Jaci. "They both think it's a deadly poison, and since they both think they are dying, they feel free to confess their love for each other." "And Carmen stole the handwrit- ten libretto of 'Tristan und Isolde' af- ter stealing the manuscript copy of The Tale of Genji!" cried Chase. "She must be after the libretto again!" "But why?" asked Globie. "Good question," said Zack. "But I suggest we look for the handwritten co- py of 'Tristan und Isolde' before we try to figure out why Carmen's after it. Ja- ci, Chase, Carmen seems to be stealing items you two later recovered. Do you know where the handwritten copy of the libretto would be?" "Well, the last time Carmen com- mitted the theft, she stole it from the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Bayreuth," said Jaci. "She stole it the first day, as a matter of fact, because all the hand- written librettos by Wagner were at the hotel in honor of the Richard Wagner Fes- tival. Chase, what day is the Festival?" "It begins --" Chase stops for a minute, then says, in almost a whisper, "July 25. Tonight." "We've got to get there right a- way!" cried Ivy. "I agree," said the Chief. "To- night's production is playing right now. I just checked. It's 'Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg', translated as 'The Mas- ter Singer of Nurnberg'." "Then let's go!" cried Zack. "Player, C-5 us to Bayreuth, Germany. Carmen's trail just heated up." The C-5 opened up and all five disappeared inside as the Chief said, "You're on your way from the former cap- ital of Japan, Kyoto, to Bayreuth, in the heart of Bavaria, Germany." (Author's notes: I took information from an outline of the Tristan and I- solde legend that was featured in an Arthurian course I took while I was a full-time college student, and from an opera book. And yes, Rosemary Sutcliffe did write a book about Tristan and I- solde [or Iseult, as she is also some- times called]. I did read the book.) ************************************************************************** 7:37 PM, Hotel Bayerischer Hof, Bayreuth, Germany Carmen Sandiego looked at the glass canisters covering the handwrit- ten copies of Wagner's librettos. She found him quite fascinating. While his favorite composers of the past were Carl Maria von Weber, Mozart, Chris- topher Gluck, and Beethoven, he develop- ed ideas that defied the conventions of his day by creating the leitmotif, using continuous musical flow, and adding dra- matic poetry to create his music-dramas, which dealt primarily with Middle Ages stories such as "Tristan und Isolde", or ancient mythology, such as "The Ring of the Nibelung". And while he was a great compo- ser, he was also an arrogant profligate, anarchist, racist, megalomaniac, adul- terer, and most regrettably, an anti-Sem- ite. That may explain why Hitler consider- ed Wagner his artist-hero. (Author's notes: I got this info from a website called "Richard Wagner: Mas- ter of the Music Drama".) But enough. It was time to pro- ceed with the theft of the libretto of "Tristan und Isolde". So, Carmen took out a glass-cut- ter, cut a small hole in the glass, and opened the lock from the inside. Once she did so, it was easy to take the libretto out. That's when she heard the C-5 corridor open. Turning, she saw Chase, Jaci, Zack, Ivy, and Globie emerge. "You don't usually steal master- pieces twice," said Chase. "Maybe not," said Carmen. "But I'm not interested in the masterpieces this time. I'm more interested in a work in progress." Ivy then said, angrily, "If you think you can tempt any of us to leave Acme and join VILE like you did Lee Jor- dan, you have another thought coming." "You obviously know that I told Lee that I was interested in a work in progress in the Pablo Picasso Museum," said Carmen. "But I'm not interested in THAT work in progress." Jaci asked, "What work in pro- gress do you mean, then?" Carmen smiled then. "I think you know what I mean. Don't you?" she asked. However, from the puzzled look on Jaci's face, and on Chase's face, it was pretty clear that neither one had any idea what she was up to. "Never mind," Carmen said in- stead. "You'll find out soon enough." With that, she ran toward the entryway of the hotel. ************************************************************************* As Carmen ran toward the entry- way of the hotel, five henchmen raced forward. Chase said, "I think three of us had better go ahead, while the oth- er two remain behind. That means Glo- bie, Ivy, you two come with me. Jaci, Zack, you two remain behind us." With that, Chase, Ivy, and Glo- bie ran toward three of the henchmen. Chase then leapt into the air and used a flying karate kick on the henchman who faced him, knocking the henchman out. Chase somersaulted, landing light- ly on the ground. He quickly glanced around him, seeing that Globie and Ivy had taken down the two henchmen they faced, be- fore turning to see if Jaci and Zack were okay. He saw Jaci throwing the fourth henchman down with judo. The guy was clearly out, much to Chase's relief. Chase then turned to Zack -- in time to see the fifth henchman say, "Come here, you!" Then, Zack said, "Whoo-hoo-hoo- hoo! Nyuck-nyuck-nyuck! Hey, Moe! A leaky faucet!" He also waved his hand in front of the henchman's face, and as he said, "Hey, Moe! A leaky faucet!", Zack pointed above the henchman's head. That's when Chase noticed Jaci bent over in an attempt to suppress her laughter. He remembered then that Zack was doing an impersonation of the Three Stooges. The henchman, who was doing a ve- ry credible impersonation of a completely confused guy, looked up, asking, "What?" As he did so, Zack crawled under his legs. The henchman then said, "Hey! Why, you!" Zack said, "Nyah-nyah!" as Globie took down the fifth henchman, and as Ivy grabbed Zack, saying, "Come on!" Chase led the chase toward the entrance. As he did so, he heard Ivy say behind him, "Did you HAVE to do it, Zack?" "What did he do?" Chase heard Globie ask. "Don't ask?" said Ivy. Outside, they saw Carmen on the hotel steps -- then heard the sound of her hovercraft! "Here's something for you," Car- men said, then took out two envelopes and threw them toward the detectives! Chase leapt for one, while Jaci leapt for another, and Globie and Ivy went after Carmen. Chase grabbed the envelope and looked up in time to see Carmen leap up and grab a hangar which lifted her up into the hovercraft! The hovercraft flew away then, leaving two of the detectives complete- ly frustrated, and the other three just shaking their heads. "She got away!" yelled Globie. "Well, at least we got a clue," said Chase. "Two," said Jaci. "This one's for me." "And this one's for me," said Chase, opening it. Inside, there were four lines, which he read out loud: "'If I do profane with my unwor- thiest hand/ This holy shrine, the gen- tle sin is this:/ My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand/ To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.'" Jaci opened her envelope, and read the following four lines: "'Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,/ Which mannerly devotion shows in this;/ For saints have hands that pil- grims' hands do touch,/ And palm to palm is holy palmer's kiss.' I recog- nize this quote! It's part of the son- net that Romeo and Juliet say when they first converse at the Capulet's party in Act 1." Ivy asked, "Could she be after Juliet's Tower? She stole it once be- fore." "No, she didn't steal that i- tem the time Jaci and I chased her," said Chase. "She stole a Shakespeare item once before, but it wasn't that one." "And so far, she's focusing on objects she stole -- and Chase and Ja- ci later retrieved," said Zack. "So, what did she steal before?" "She stole a very old copy of the First Folio," said Jaci. "In fact, she stole the original copy of the First Folio." "Where is it currently being held?" asked Zack. The Chief said, "It's at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Cal- ifornia." "Where it was the last time she stole it," said Chase. "Player, C-5 us to the Huntington Library in San Marino." The C-5 corridor opened up and all five detectives disappeared inside it. ************************************************************************* 10:45 PDT, Huntington Library, San Marino Chase, Jaci, Ivy, Zack, and Glo- bie dropped out of the C-5 -- in time to see Carmen Sandiego running away with a book in her hand! A guard was crying, "Stop her! Carmen Sandiego's getting away with the First Folio!" Jaci whirled around -- in time to see a guard tied to a column! There was a handkerchief on the floor beside him, as if he'd been gagged while Carmen stole the First Folio, and then ungagged before she ran off. She then heard Chase yell, "Af- ter her!" The detectives then all be- gan chasing Carmen. However, Carmen got outside the Huntington Library into a red motorcycle. As she did so, she dropped a piece of paper. When the detectives raced toward the motorcycle, Carmen started it, then took off! Before they could go after her, the motorcycle spread wings and flew into the sky! "She gets away every time!" Glo- bie said, clenching his fist in frustra- tion. "I know the feeling," said Ivy. "But she always leaves us a clue. And maybe this one is the one which'll lead us to the final work of art she plans to steal." Jaci picked up the piece of pa- per, then her eyes widened. "Look at this, guys!" she said. "It's an invita- tion to a Costume Ball in Salem, Massa- chusetts! We're strongly encouraged to attend as couples, so that means we'd better get a sixth person to join us. Carmen also gave us directions." Zack frowned. "I hope this is not another one of Carmen's tricks. I remember the last time she invited us to a party like that," he said. "That time, it was a Halloween Party, which turned out to be a trick played by her in revenge for an earlier trick we play- ed on her." "Well, we can figure out whether Carmen's playing a practical joke on us or not," said Chase, shaking himself as if he'd been lost in thought earlier. "What we need to do is figure out who we should go with, and then get some costumes." He looked at his fellow detec- tives, then said, "I think I'd better go with Jaci -- of all the detectives I know well, I know her the best." Jaci took Chase's hand, clear- ly indicating her willingness to go with him, then she said, "Since that seems to be settled, who's going to go with Ivy?" Zack said, "Let's contact the Chief and find out which female detec- tives are available." The Chief appeared, and when he learned what was going on, he acti- vated CrimeNet. He then said, "Well, it looks like Jasmine's available, but Tatiana is busy on another case inside Russia." Globie said, "Contact Jasmine. I'll go with her." Ivy said, "And I'm stuck with Zack. Just my luck." The C-5 opened then -- deposit- ing Jasmine. "Jasmine!" cried Ivy. "We're glad to see you." "And I'm glad to see you and Zack," said Jasmine. "Nice to see you again, Globie, Chase, Jaci." "Likewise," said Chase. "Car- men's up to her old tricks. She stole three items and then invited us all to a Costume Ball just outside of Salem, Massachusetts, with directions to the place. We were encouraged to go as cou- ples, so you're going with Globie." "All right," said Jasmine, nod- ding. "So, what's our next step?" "We C-5 to Salem, then find the nearest store that sells costumes," said Jaci. "And then, we go to the party." _____________________________________________________________________________ To be continued