Page 23 of Wild Temple
I knew the answer, but I asked anyway, "Why do you want to get to Pura Jiva?”
She frowned and gave me a sheepish look. "You’re gonna think this is silly?” After a pause, she said, "My mother is dying. The doctors have done everything they can. They gave her six weeks, tops. She's 57 years old. 57! How messed up is that?”
"You think the Mata Vaya can save her life.”
Brooke gave me a look. "You think I'm stupid, right?"
I raised my hands innocently. "I think you're someone who cares about your mother. I think you're someone who is willing to do anything just to have one more day with her.”
Brooke frowned. "I should be back home, at her side, making the most of every moment.”
"Don’t beat yourself up about this. It's not your fault.”
"I should never have told those guys about the map. We should have just gone on our own.”
"If you don't know how to survive in the jungle, you won't last a day.” My curiosity had been piqued. “What map?”
Brooke gave me a cautious look. "I guess it doesn't matter now. If you were going to screw me over, you would have done it by now." She paused. "Hell, you’re the only person on this island I trust.”
Brooke climbed off the bed and moved across the room to her backpack. She dug into it and pulled out a small leather-bound diary that was worn and weathered. This wasn’t the kind of thing that you picked up online or in a drugstore. This was old. The yellow, tattered pages said so in no uncertain terms.
Brooke walked across the room and handed it to me with care. I took the diary, unclasped it, and flipped it open.
"That belonged to my grandfather. He lived to be 112 years old, while everyone else in his family died in their 60s. To say he had unnatural longevity would be an understatement.”
The pages were handwritten in cursive. Black ballpoint pen marked the pages. It was part of a series. The cover page read:If found, return to Tom Dalton.
An address listed below was long since defunct.
I had no doubt there were other diaries just like this one, chronicling the early years of her grandfather's life. This edition picked up in 1943.
"My grandfather was OSS during the war," Brooke said.
It was a precursor to the CIA. Brooke was about to tell me a tale of high adventure.
The diary would back up everything she said.
13
"During the war, the Japanese hid caches of weapons, gold, and other loot all throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia,” Brooke said. "My grandfather's mission was to infiltrate the island, find hidden weapons caches, and destroy them. He worked in a super secret four-man unit. The Imperial Navy had a strong presence in the area at the time. Through a network of informants and resistance fighters, my grandfather's unit was able to destroy several targets in Tanjung Sur. At one point in time, they ambushed a Japanese platoon. My father recovered a map from a soldier that led to Pura Jiva. My grandfather and his team found the lost temple. All of them drank from the sacred fountain. All of them—every single one—lived an unnaturally long life. You can't tell me that's a coincidence. There's something to it.” Brooke’s eyes filled again. "I thought if I could bottle that water and bring it back to my mother, then maybe she’d have a fighting chance.”
"It doesn't sound silly at all," I said. "It sounds like you love your mother.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks again. "I do. So much.”
Brooke wiped the tears away and tried to regain her composure. She took a deep breath and summoned her strength. “I need to call Hannah’s mom. She’s gonna freak.”
Brooke found her phone and made the dreaded call.
As anticipated, Hannah’s mother flipped out. Her shrieking voice crackled through the speaker in Brooke's phone. Brooke answered all her questions and tried to ease her nerves. "I'm with a cop from the United States. He's trying to help find Hannah.”
"What good is an American cop going to do there?”
"Well, the local authorities aren’t doing anything."
"This was a ridiculous idea!” Hannah’s mother snapped. “I told you girls you shouldn't have gone alone.”
The attack was not what Brooke needed at the moment. Her eyes filled, and she burst into tears again. "I know. This is all my fault. I'm sorry, Margaret. I'm doing everything I can.”
