Anne was engaged in an animated conversation (in French no less) with some of the other party guests. At one point, she turned around and found Drea was not there. "It appears my friend isn't here." she commented. "She doesn't speak French, so she's probably bored stiff."
"No" Hieata said, "Drea was not with you when you came."
"Is there something wrong?" a woman asked.
"Perhaps." Anne said by way of reply. "Drea isn't one to wander off on her own."
"I'll help you find her." Hieata offered.
The two women walked among the guests and discreetly asked if they had seen Anne's companion. Many politely said they would like to help, but did not see or had not met Drea. Finally, a couple said they had seen a young blonde woman walk down a path. "Where does it lead?" Anne asked.
"Toward a stream." Hieata replied. "Do you think Drea went off on her own?"
"If she did, it was unwittingly. Like I said before, Drea isn't one to go off on her own." I'm the one who goes off without telling somebody. She thought rather than said that part. "Similar thing happened on a case we had about six months ago in Mexico. She must have thought I was still behind her."
Drea heard footsteps approaching and tried to call out, but of course, could produce nothing beyond a muffled grunt. Finally she stopped and listened. To her immense relief, she heard Anne's voice calling her name. In moments, Anne was at her friend's side and going to work on the ropes. Hieata went to work on the gag. Drea gulped air and murmured. "Why did you go wandering off like that?" Anne asked.
"I saw somebody lurking around." Drea answered. "I thought you were still with me."
"You two were together when I asked came to ask Anne to meet some of my friends." Hieata said. "You both must have thought the other was behind you."
"Yeah, next time I ask somebody to follow me, I'll check to make sure she's with me."
As they made their way back to the party, Drea commented on a sore back. Hieata had a friend at the party who knew a little about massages and was able to give Drea a rub down. By this time, the party was starting to wind down and with a big day planned for tomorrow, the sleuths decided to turn in.
Drea and Anne rose with the sun the next morning. Each one took a quick shower, then donned a bikini and a pair of shorts. A knock came at the door and Hieata asked "Are you awake?"
"Wide." Anne replied.
Hieata entered the room, then had a look of disappointment come over her face. She wore a bikini with several brightly colored flowers fighting for prominence on the limited amount of cloth. Behind her was a servant girl carrying some large pieces of cloth.
"Ah." Drea said. "Sarongs."
"Not sarongs." Hieata said. "Pareaus."
The pareaus were not the skimpy, gauzy ones the Americans had seen in department stores or catalogues, but rather substantial garments. They weighed the practicality of pockets against offending their hostess. Finally, Anne said "Okay, we'll give it a go."
Hieata took a pareau with white orchids on a purple background and showed the proper technique for putting one on. "You place one corner over you right shoulder from behind like so, then wrap it under your left arm and around your body until you are finished, then tie the corner over your shoulder. Now, you two try it."
The two detectives slid off their shorts and each took a pareau. Anne shoes one that was red with white flowers while Drea went with one in a yellowish orange with a multi- colored mass of flowers. The garments were surprisingly easy to put on and were comfortable.
"Very good." Hieata said. "You got it right the first time. Many people end up tripping over their pareau when it comes loose."
"Anne and I are familiar with knots." Drea said.
After breakfast, the trio went to look over the pearling operation. All Drea and Anne would need of their personal diving gear were fins and knives. They would go snorkeling nude under the right conditions, but not without knives. Hieata would provide all the air tanks, and on this particular dive, conventional scuba gear with masks and regulators placed in the mouth would have to give way to breathing gear that allowed for communication.
Their first stop was a building near a sheltered cove. On arrival, Hieata led her companions into a building and trough one of two heavy doors and into what appeared to be a locker room. Two other women were already there. They wore black two-piece swimsuits that were more substantial than bikinis. The upper part, Hieata noted wryly, was optional. Hieata introduced them, then continued with the tour "Here's where the day starts." Hieata said. "The divers' locker room. The men's room is next to us."
"I thought only women dove for pearls." Drea said.
"That is in Japan. The waters there are much colder and women have a larger percentage of body fat than men do, so we're better insulated."
"Did you recruit Japanese divers?" Drea asked as an oblique reference to one of the two divers who had just left.
"Oh no. There is substantial Chinese population here. We will hire anybody willing to work for us and able to meet the physical demands for this job."
Hieata instructed her companions to leave their bags in the locker room, as no bags or pocketed garments were allowed beyond the locker room. A quick check look of the next room showed it to be a shower, then through another door to a third room, which was the equipment room. It had a door presumable leading to the other locker room and a chicken wire cage. Inside, sat a young Tahitian woman wearing a white blouse and black miniskirt, neither of which had a pocket. Also inside were a safe and a cabinet. On instruction from Hieata, the woman removed a bag from the cabinet, the former then took the bag and showed her companions nacre beads, the tiny bits of mother of pearl that would act as a base for the cultured pearls. The bead would be placed inside the oyster and would be harvested anywhere from ten months to three years later.
An outer door opened and a tanned blonde wearing a skirt and blouse identical to the other woman's entered and said, in French that the gear Hieata requested was already in a boat.
"Merci beaucoup, Gabrielle" Hieata said, then led her companions out to the dock.
In fact, there were three docks. Two for boats, and one for divers entering the pearl beds adjacent to the area. Hieata explained that these beds were at a stage between planting and harvest, but the two divers they had met would check for any signs of tampering with the oysters overnight. On the voyage to the beds they would be inspecting, Hieata explained some of the nuances of pearling but stated there were some things that were easier to show than to tell.
On arrival at a sheltered bay, Hieata eased up and gently maneuvered toward a buoy. Other boats were tied to similar buoys in the bay. The trio secured the boat to the buoy, then shed their pareaus. They donned their diving gear. Drea and Anne were unfamiliar with the speaker helmets and needed extra pointers from Hieata. After a quick test of the radios, the women entered the water.
The bay was shallow, about thirty feet. Below the buoy, four small cages containing oysters were anchored to the bottom. "Here's the start of a cultured pearl." Hieata said as she extracted a bead from the pouch. She selected one of the bivalves and inserted the bead. "Either one of you want to try one?"
"Sure." Drea said.
"Likewise." Anne said.
"Here. Drea, you go first."
Hieata opened an oyster and instructed Drea to insert the bead, which the detective did. Another oyster was selected and Anne followed Hieata's lead to insert the nacre. Hieata did the remainder on her own. "You're more sure of getting pearls this way than the natural process." Anne remarked.
"That's right." Hieata said. "But we harvest some of the natural ones, too."
Hieata finished her task of planting the nacre beads into the oysters, and the group returned to the surface. During the time they dried off and took the boat back to their starting place, Hieat explained more of the process including moving of the day's harvest for sorting and eventually shipping out to local artisans or to jewelers in the France or the States. By the time of their return, Drea and Anne had received a short course in nature of pearls and their related products.
They returned the boat and made their way back to the building. Hieata froze in the doorway and gasped in surprise. Anne rushed next to her and looked inside. Gabrielle, the girl from the cage and two divers sat on floor, all tied at the wrists and ankles and gagged with assorted types of cloth. Without hesitation, Anne knelt beside Gabrielle, the nearest captive, and pulled down the gag. As she undid the rope, she asked Gabrielle, in French, what had happened. The captive gasped and replied "C' etait les Bandits Bikini"
Anne hesitated for a moment and Drea asked. "Did she say what I think she said?"
"Yes." Anne said. "Bikini Bandits."