The Real Mamoru:

By sundown, the �king� and �duke�s� great scheme fell to pieces. I didn�t even do anything to here. Well, I did something. Once Sappoto-san went to sleep, I made the family a little note. I had to make sure no one was around and watching me. My only hope was that the father could read Japanese.

Dear Sir and Ma�am,

I am so sorry to tell this, but this man and his friend are not who they seem. That man is not your son; he�s a con man. Please be careful.

I folded it up and slid it in the main desk of the old man�s study. I hoped that he would find it soon. I turned when I heard a knock on the door. The old man�s wife stood in the doorway, staring at me.

�What�s going on here?� she asked. I stood up straight.

�I�m sorry,� I said. �I got lost.� She the look on her face told me that she didn�t believe me. The old lady frowned at me.

�You saw it, didn�t you?� she asked. I looked at her, blankly.

�Saw what?� I asked.

�The will!� the wife hissed. �You saw it, didn�t you?� I shook my head at her.

�No?� I asked. The older woman narrowed her eyes at me.

�You�re lying,� she whispered. �I knew you all were a bunch of frauds. You just want our money. Well, you won�t get a single cent. Nothing! Now you get the hell out of here!� I shook my head at her again.

�Really, I haven�t,� I insisted. �I just came here to warn you.�

�Warn us?� she asked. I lowered my hands.

�Well, you�re part right,� I admitted. �That man is not Mamoru.�

�I knew it,� the old lady murmured.

�He and his friend are con men trying to take the money,� I explained.

�And what about you?� the old lady asked. I threw up my hands at her.

�My friend and I got roped in on this when we first landed in Thailand,� I said. The mother still looked like she didn�t believe me.

�How can I be sure that you�re not in on it?� she asked.

�Believe what you want, lady,� I said. �I�m going to stop those con men from ripping your family off.� At that moment, there came a knock on the door. Anuwat-san looked up.

�Coming!� she said. I watched as she hurried over to the front door. Curious, I followed behind. The old lady opened the door and peeked out.

�Who are you?� she asked. I peeked over her shoulder to see a young man looking in. His dark hair covered his forehead. I had a feeling that this was the real Mamoru. The young man looked the old woman in the eye.

�Is my father here?� he asked.

�That depends,� the old lady said. �Who are you?�

�I�m Mamoru,� the young man said. The old lady gasped at his words.

�But that�s not possible,� she said. �My husband�s son is already here.�

�I�m his son!� he said. Watching this gave me an idea. I walked over to step-mother and son.

�Excuse me,� I cut in. Both of them looked up at me.

�What?� the old lady asked. I pressed my hands together.

�I just might have a way to fix this,� I said. They both looked at me in a strange way.

�How?� Mamoru asked. I smirked at him.

�Dinner will be served soon,� I said. �And I get the feeling that we will have a party in honor of your coming home.� The old lady narrowed her sharp eyes at me.

�Now see here!� she barked. I put up my hand at her.

�Now, now,� I said. �It wasn�t exactly my idea. No, no. I had a little help from your daughters on this one.� Anuwat-san blinked at me.

�My daughters?� she asked. �What exactly are you all plotting?� I gave her a little smile mischief.

�You�ll have to see by sundown,� was all I would say. I turned to go down the hall to pack up my things to go. I found Sappoto-san waiting in the entrance, frowning at me. I gave her a peculiar look.

�What?� I asked.

�Don�t do anything bad,� she pleaded. I smiled at her.

�I won�t, I promise,� I said. Her eyes pleaded at me otherwise. I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder.

�Look,� I insisted. �I won�t do anything too bad. The king and duke will deserve whatever they get in consequence, nothing more. I promise.� Sappoto-san stared at me with those big eyes of hers.

�You mean it?� she asked.

�Yes!� I insisted. �Have a little faith in me, will you?� Sappoto-san pressed her lips together in response. Why must she be so innocent at a time like this? Suddenly, the sound of a man talking in one of the closed rooms caught my ear. I paused for a better listen.

�Miho-chan?� Sappoto-san whispered. I put up my hand to silence her. I followed the talking to the �king� and �duke�s� room. Sappoto-san and I leaned into the door for a listen.

�How long are we going to stay here?� the �duke� complained.

�Just a little bit longer,� the �king� replied. �We just need to be there for the reading of the will. Once we get the money, we�ll be on our way.� The �duke� groaned.

�The daughters are on to us,� he said.

�It doesn�t matter,� the �king� said. �The old man has accepted us with open arms. As long as we have his trust, everything will be smooth sailing up until pay day.�

�But what about the two girls with us?� the �duke� asked.

�Does it matter?� he asked. �They�ll be out of our hands once this job is over.� I smirked at his words. Sorry buddy, we won�t let you leave so easily without a free show for the neighborhood to see. I turned to Sappoto-san and nudged her on the arm. I motioned my head for her to follow me back to our room. I counted down to the �king� and �duke�s� ruin just hours from now as we crawled down the hall.