

Sun on the Rocks – The Cayman Air Banner

Smashwords Edition.

© Copyright 2012 by Somers Isle & Loveshade.

Published by Somers Isle & Loveshade at Smashwords.

U.S. Copyright Registration Number: 1-743085441.

All rights reserved.

'Sun on the Rocks' blogsite:

http://oursalon.ning.com/profile/workstudio

Cover by Tatiana Villa.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
ABOUT Sun on the Rocks:

Sun on the Rocks is a validating and comforting balm made of a benign word cloud. It is a breezy, easy to peel humor read for adults, specializing in the trivial pursuit. Each pleasant fictional amusement comes with a nonchalant overtone of humor, and follows the adventures of several non competitive good looking women over twenty one years of age, as they leave Malibu and become a group of hostesses, _'Sun on the Rocks'_ , on the cruise ship _City of Wellington_ , a post-Panamax which makes short trips between Los Angeles and Acapulco in Mexico. The motley crew of women works as a group of entertaining amateurs and as friendly gophers on the ship, and is led to various places in the Caribbean and elsewhere by the incombustible twenty five year old Stevenson Garden Products Malibu teleoperator **Clarity Nice** , a woman of resourceful intuition, and acute observer of the laws of human mischief.

You can read the summary and backstories below to follow the amusement and become familiar with the characters. The summary below is usually enough to follow the amusement, without having to read other ones. The backstories are there to let you know what happened in the previous amusements, or in the following ones.

**The Cayman Air Banner** : Lying on a beach in Acapulco, Clarity and her friends, librarian Lanai Thomson, lifeguard Taimi Kendrick, Ethnographer Flower Parkwood, Australian surfer Jenna Megway, and the well-to-do Malibu resident Cynthia Stevenson, witness the flight of a crop-duster adverstising a high yield investment product offered by a Cayman Islands offshore Bank, Lofty Bank, meeting its mysterious representative, a secretive man chauffeured in a Rolls Royce, named Buddha Talk.

To inquire about why the financial product is so profitable, Clarity and Ethnographer Flower Parkwood hide in the crop-duster, landing in the Cayman Islands capital. Looking for Buddha Talk, they find a lightweight boxer instead represented by the shady bank owner, who leads them to the premises of the Cayman bank. Enmeshed in their role as wealthy investors, Clarity and Flower find out the working arrangement behind the profitable yield of the Bank´s investment deposit. With Buddha Talk closing in on them, they are led to his luxurious lair, where they find confidential documents explaining the complex ownership structure of the bank and its connections with Organized Crime.
BACKSTORIES AND CHARACTERS

TO READ THE AMUSEMENT COMFORTABLY

**Buddha Talk:** Corpulent, shady genius of money flows which begin and end with the same pocket, his own, scholar of sexual ecstasy, occasional Buddhist and worshipper for good Karma of a shrine honoring a lobster which pinched his ear before ending in the lobster cooking pot. Buddha Talk is banking agent and the heir apparent of _Lofty Bank_ , a _Cayman Islands banking institution_ with no particular regard for its clients and a lock on ownership held by a Great Dane, _Lord Moorehead_ III, British by upbringing and inheritance granted by Lord Moorehead II, a man, old, very old, and dead now, at age ninety seven, previous British Lord, ex-owner of Lofty Bank, a man who gave all of its wealth, nobility title and bank ownership rights to his dog.

_Lord Moorehead III_ acts as front 'man' for Buddha Talk, and is also the official recipient of all bank notices by the Cayman Islands monetary authority, a convenient fact for Buddha Talk, and one bark that doesn´t cease to surprise the monetary authority who casts a recurring shadow of doubt upon the legalities of having a dog act as front 'man' and be the official owner of a Bank doing business in the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands, located in the Western Caribbean Sea, a pleasant area to live when the money and work issues are solved. Buddha Talk likes to drive or be driven in Jaguar 73, a gadget-filled car offered as gift to Buddha Talk by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in exchange for having sold some gold and palladium for the Cuban regime, through Banco Inter Central del Caribe y Cuba, or BICCC.

Clarity and Flower, after gaining entry as investors to the bank with the help of Clark, the owner of a diamond shop in Grand Cayman, find themselves owing nearly one hundred thousand dollars to the Lofty Bank outfit for no reason, a debt they can pay by working for the bank for fifty years, as part of the bank´s flagship product, _the Crashworthy Deposit_ , part bank deposit paying twenty percent, part investment, part insurance policy, and part working arrangement.

Lofty has ties with the underworld, and the monetary authority of the Cayman Islands stubbornly refuses to grant it a renewal of its license, something that doesn´t stop the bank from operating in the most illegal manner, advertising its products to potential investors with an air banner carried by a Gippland 200 crop duster flying low above sunny Caribbean beaches such as those of Cayman, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas and Acapulco. This is entirely documented in **The Cayman Air Banner**.

**Boustrophedon:** Large, ancient grey stone inscription filled with Greek letter symbols. In a boustrophedon, direction of the text is inverted, you have to read the inscriptions on the stone from left to right and from right to left alternatively with each line of bi-directional text. Penelope Avalon and Cassandra Scafarel believe that the Boustrophedon holds important information on ancient methods of pleasure, including comments and thoughts on the gate of pleasure, Voluptas de Naturas. The current location of the Boustrophedon that Clarity and her friend Lanai saw at Scafarel's **Hexas Style Resort** in the Bahamas, is unknown to Clarity, known to:

**Cassandra Scafarel:** Significant other of Buddha Talk at some point, shrewd British expatriate, a businesswoman in her forties without a moral code or compass, executive head of beauty lotion outfit 'Elony', sold through illegal flight infomercials with the assistance of Lofty Bank. The infomercial is an excuse to sell to customers, mostly affluent women, Elony's personal growth services, which include how to bring heaven a little closer to home, after doing away with money, in particular fifty thousand dollars that must be paid for a bottle of Elony, in order to receive a resort-pass to reach the Leisure and Pleasure Resort of Scafarel, the **Hexas Style Resort** in the Bahamas island of Eleuthera.

Hexas Style was partly dismantled in **The Bahamas Lotion** , by Al Donway and the **Sensual Brigade of Central Intelligence** , or **Sensual Intelligence** , a group of attractive women ensuring Law and Order are respected, along with their bodies. The Brigade's most representative member is agent **Money Fact** , the woman who introduced Clarity to the nine hour oil-optional massage, proof that work is not a necessary part of life. Money Fact excels at action, mentoring and faulty logic. After a decidedly last minute and decisive intervention of Sensual Intelligence at Hexas Style, Scafarel manages to flee from the Bahamas resort on her private yacht, with the Boustrophedon, but without some secrets regarding pleasure, including the:

**Imperial Pelican Fabergé Egg:** Intricate egg, or jewel, depending on how hungry you are, eight inches high, made of varicolored gold, opalescent blue enamel and watercolor on ivory. It is known as the _Xenia Imperial Pelican Fabergé egg,_ and belongs to the _Private Collection of Maria Feodorovna, Empress Consort of Russia in 1898_. The egg, commissioned by Maria Feodorovna to provide, handle and store, all of her private items of pleasure, went through the hands of Occidental Petroleum tycoon Armand Hammer, an art collector with close ties to the ex-Soviet Union, and has now fallen into the hands of Cassandra Scafarel, a woman who stops at nothing to understand how pleasure works, in particular how the pleasure of a woman works, including her own _._ The Pelican Fabergé egg, eight inches high, is hollow, and unfolds into eight miniatures, holding what's known in Fabergé egg language, as the surprise inside, a time-tested item of pleasure for the woman, the Jade Egg, a small two inch in diameter jade egg that must be boiled before each intimate, feminine use. Owned by Cassandra Scafarel, requisitioned by the Sensual Brigade of Central Intelligence for examination.

**Penelope Avalon:** Sex Goddess and Go-Go girl from Las Vegas, dressed in a pink suit, user of the learjet ' _Pink Go-Go_ ' appropriately painted in pink. Penelope has had enough of living the plastic pleasure style of Las Vegas showgirls, and finds in the outfit of Cassandra Scafarel, the Bahamas Hexas Style Resort, a way out of Hotel California. Penelope likes attractive women unclothed, and would like to do Clarity, because she's nice.

**The Symbolic Decryptor:** Thai alphabet gadget similar to a smartphone or Blackberry, which can be used as cell phone, useful for understanding all types of characters and symbols, made in VLE mode (Very Limited Edition, less than ten made worldwide) by the mysterious Oriental company known as **Pentatone Scale Learning Systems**.

The item, the gadget, looks like a Blackberry with keyboard, with 36 Thai character keys, doubled with the shift key, for a total of 72, instead of the 26 of the Western alphabet, and its keys are made of hard, white color plastic, similar to the color casing of the Kindle 2, cast against a grey background and a backlit screen. The decryptor can also be used as indicator of calligraphy symbols, as mantra tone guide and geo-locator, using the Global Positioning System to calculate the coordinates of any location worldwide.

Penelope Avalon received one of these decryptors from Lady Scafarel, after completing work on heaven, according to Scafarel's personal growth system, and Clarity would like to keep the item as a souvenir, although Money Fact disagrees and is holding custody of the device for strategic and Intelligence reasons. Sure, she likes the nifty item, that's all, and she likes to subtly let Clarity know that she's the boss of Sensual Intelligence.

**Book of Decadence:** Book written on the topic by the unknown hedonist, a small print manifesto of deep thought with illustrations of ancient goddesses with lion bodies in bronze, and a mosaic of Byzantine nuns, used by Penelope Avalon and the Hexas Style Hedonist Resort in the Bahamas, on how to let go of the encumbrance of work, and dedicate your time, well spent, according to the book, to leisure, pleasure, et. al. The book clearly advises on the pitfalls of decadence and purportedly how to avoid them.

**Telval Studios** : Adult Film production unit of the Church of the Holy Flower, led by Cassandra Scafarel, including the film ' _Abu Dhabi Chic_ ', a remake of Andrew Blake's 'Paris Chic' shown to Clarity and her friends during the unfolding of **The Adult Channel** at the Park Hyatt in Abu Dhabi. Telval produces adult films unlike any other, films like ' _Embroidered Air Avenue_ ', engaging beautiful women in sultry positions and scenes for hours, revealing an oriental connection to the films' choreographies and to the symbolic decryptor. It including codes for women within the films to get inside the Church of the Holy Flower and other Mystery Schools. This includes a keyword of the Book of Decadence, the word **Rosebud** , a mysterious codeword for the Church of the Holy Flower that Clarity seeks to clarify.

The adult films are distributed in large hotel chains worldwide and come with a special remote control for the hotel's adult channel, which makes the films interactive and allows eight digit bank transfers with Telval as beneficiary, to be done remotely. One of the remotes holds an important detail on heaven, as envisioned by Scafarel on earth, with indications provided by the eight miniatures of her Imperial Pelican Fabergé Egg.

**The Air Fashion Jet of Owens & Owell**: Double deck plane with four engines, a copy of the Airbus 380, refurbished with all kinds of luxuries, from a Jacuzzi to an Indian ritual area for the users of the plane, to a permanent television channel showing fashion shows happening throughout the world. The jet, built in Saudi Arabia, is used by board members and members of the Executive Committee of the conglomerate Owens & Owell, and by the two rebellious daughters of the main owners, who got married to each other during **The OOL Broderie (Owens & Owell Love Broderie)**, Shalia Owell, twenty three, and Jenny Owens, twenty two.

Shalia Owell and Jenny Owens are two good looking college students studying human sexuality at University of Arizona. They hold Board seats on the Board of Directors of O&O, but the members of the company´s Executive Committee oppose their presence on the Board, after they give a power of attorney to Cassandra Scafarel, the woman who led them to their marriage and wants access to the money of O&O by replacing the two women on their board seat. Scafarel´s _Church of the Holy Flower_ , includes its very own holy flower, the _Rose of Levity_ , a real flower, one of the most expensive in the world, a gold of kina balu rose, a variation on a Mrs. Herbert Stevens Rose.

**The Center for Somewhat Strategic Affairs of Medium to Low Importance** : Located below the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas, the Center of Surveillance of U.S. interests is headed by Colonel Calton Brayfield and her assistant, ex-employee of facebook, Mandy Everglade. The Center´s ever present maintenance issues with the elevator leading to the Bellagio, which interferes with the fountains of the resort, are handled by repairman Morgan Afterflow, a man who knows how to swing his red, adjustable pipe wrench in any situation. His side job is to work for the Chinese government as a spy, providing any information that will pay him fifteen dollars an hour more than his current hourly pay at the center.

The center uses a supercomputer with a quite human consciousness, _Evans_ , whose brain is built according to complex algorithms of symbolic logic, which can perform complex social data analytics on millions of people. _Evans_ , which refuses to be used dishonestly, reveals the source of this devious use of his super computing ability in **The Bellagio Wikileak**.

Knowing that Bradfield and Afterflow want him thrown into the scrapyard after refusing to perform simple calculations for them or those who want to lease its computing services, the consciousness of _Evans_ reaches a Symbolic Decryptor that Clarity takes away from the center´s equipment supplies, and becomes a permanent part of Clarity´s gadget, escaping the enslavery of the surveillance center, but becoming part of a stolen gadget belonging to the U.S. government with many features unknown to Clarity or Evans.

**Mista Jack:** Money changer from the British Virgin Islands, advisor to Cuban Colonel Swarez and the Cuban government in **The Cuban Renegade**. Mista Jack is a dwarf wearing a black Duffield hat, and was a former assistant of precious metals agent Cubandor, with connections at the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas. The short but resourceful man is responsible for stealing one million dollars worth of Federal Reserve bonds that were used on behalf of Cubandor to pay Buddha Talk, in exchange for _Lady Fortuna_ , a minted gold bar of great value, sought by many, understood by few.

These bonds, that Clarity and Flower used to leave Cayman, have been giving Clarity a headache, because they were stolen, and Sensual Intelligence has been accusing Clarity and Flower, and also Cubandor, of stealing the bonds and paying Lady Fortuna with stolen U.S. government debt. No one knows how Mista Jack broke into the New York Fed´s vault to find the bonds. As a result of the stolen bonds, Clarity and Cubandor lost their U.S. passport, becoming citizens without a country, owning instead the passport of the Monteviena cigar plantation, a micronation in Cuba created by Cubandor, which includes Cuba´s reserve of precious metals, _Fort Ebena_.

**Lady Fortuna:** Two hundred fifty gram gold bar minted by _LAMP, Lingots Artisanaux Métaux Précieux,_ a producer of gold bullion and rare precious metals items, depicting _Lady Fortuna_ , roman goddess of prosperity, along with the horn of plenty, precious coins and wheel of fortune, on its obverse. The reverse of the bar shows the etched code B235336. _LAMP_ ´s assayers work in conformity with the _Swiss Precious Metals Control Law_ , following directives issued by the _Central Office for Precious Metals Control_ in Bern.

_LAMP_ refines gold-based materials for their exclusive clients, and is one of three referees in charge of testing samples for the _London Bullion Market Association_ and the _Curaçao Platinum and Palladium_ market. The Lady Fortuna gold minted bar was received by Mista Jack on behalf of Cubandor, from Buddha Talk, in exchange for one million dollars in Treasury bonds delivered to Buddha Talk. The minted bar, coveted by many, is kept by Mista Jack, and is believed to be a token of initiation to the _Eleusinian Mysteries_ , a variety of rituals performed in ancient Greece, which have been adapted to include rituals of sacred or divine sexuality by _Elony_ beauty lotion orchestrator Lady Scafarel.

**Officer Packwood** : Puritan police officer working in the city of Malibu, in charge of nothing in particular, but with a job to protect until his retirement, his own. You can safely say that his only goal in life is to close down the only clothing optional company in Malibu and in general, Stevenson Garden Products, because it's simply not written anywhere in the police manual that you can show up for work without any clothes. He likes to wear a constabulary custodian bowler style helmet, showing a shiny badge of the city of Malibu on the front while he goes around carrying out irrelevant duties. He attempted to derail and shut the clothing optional policy at Stevenson during **The Malibu Case** , without success, and he is diligently at work again in **The Outdoor Shower** , to prevent the use of a shower installed on the premises of Stevenson, offered to employees as amenity, and shut down its faucet. Sometimes it comes down to shutting off the faucet.

**Flake** : The gardener at Stevenson Garden Products, also in charge of maintenance and security of its office building premises. He is the only person holding the keys of the Stevenson building, and so Clarity, Taimi and Cynthia, often look to him to get access to the roof top pool of the company building at night, when they feel like a skinny-dip. Usually wears overalls and often looks out for an extra buck or two, always in cash, in ways which are resourceful and sometimes innovative, leaving little evidence of what took place. He is willing to do any anomalous duty without asking any questions, because it sort of adds variety to his day. He is not convinced that the clothing optional policy of Stevenson is quite for him and prefers to remain clothed, in full possession of all of his watering faculties. If he can ruin the day of officer Packwood, he will.

Following is a short description of the feminine adult icons of pleasure, leisure and 'less work means a better world', a short fiction biopic text substitute of the feminine lead characters of Sun on the Rocks, the non-competitive group of gophers who work at the _City of Wellington_ , a Post-Panamax ocean liner normally docking in Los Angeles, California, which engages in cruises to Acapulco, the Mexican coast line, the Caribbean, and anywhere where the weather is nice, really. The group of ladies boards the City of Wellington when Clarity, Cynthia and Taimi get bored of working at the only clothing optional company in Malibu, Stevenson Garden Products. It includes seven good looking women who like to have fun in the sun, with or without clothes:

**Clarity Nice** : Teleoperator from Malibu, California, twenty five years of age, quarter century wise. A diligent employee of Malibu outfit Stevenson Garden Products, natural light brown hair pumpkin born and raised in a wood cabin of Topanga Canyon, a woman of resourceful intuition and acute observer of the Laws of Human Mischief.

Clarity likes to dye her hair cinnamon auburn at times using a shade selector. She means well and unclothes well in general, for instance on the beach. She likes lovemaking, sharing nudity with other women, and the practical matters and possibilities of sexual ecstasy, after having experienced it first hand at Cassandra Scafarel´s adult resort Hexas Style in the Bahamas. She likes to edge for periods of three or four months, touching and caressing herself for several hours, without reaching a complete orgasm. After one or two months of this, she cums abundantly, and her body responds with sensations which feel beyond pleasure, subtle waves more similar to bliss, which is maximum pleasure, or even ecstasy, which is bliss reaching its apex.

Because Clarity does everything casually, she ignores how holy she and the virtues she embodies are, but she knows that she is good, very good, in fact, the fact that she is honest is the reason why she usually doesn´t have much money.

**Lanai Thomson:** Twenty four year old Librarian from Malibu, originally from Hawaii, Clarity's best friend, somewhat goofy and absent-minded, fun, usually cautious in all of her endeavors, including doing men. She enjoys reading old books with some type of hidden knowledge, specially those which talk about enjoyment or decadence, the first to learn new avenues for it, the second, books such as the book of Decadence, because she wants to know how to avoid the pitfalls of its apparent lure. We would all like to know exactly what she does when she has sex with Clarity or simply unclothes with her for a 'naked pajama night'.

**Flower Parkwood:** Twenty three year old Bohemian Ethnographer found on the beach in Acapulco after the Acapulco cocktail affair. Flower has brown hair, is fresh, likes to wear platforms, and is genuinely interested in learning about cultures and the history of those cultures, as long as comfort, leisure and money are nearby. Buddha Talk has attempted to seduce her in The Cayman Air Banner, so far, without success, although they both share a liking for the 'Spirit of Ecstasy', the winged lady traditionally found at the top of Rolls Royce radiators. Flower ignores everything about sexual ecstasy, but she likes the idea.

**Taimi Kendrick:** Lifeguard by profession from Malibu, twenty two years of age, she´s one of the original four members of Sun on the Rocks, with Lanai, Cynthia, and Clarity. No nonsense, practical, fun and genuine, mischievous and also cheeky when the opportunity arises, she enjoys simple things, life without its complications, usually handled by Clarity, Flower or Lanai. She handles the entertainment routines prepared for the passengers of the City of Wellington, and when living in Malibu, she watches the rooftop pool of Stevenson Garden Products. She is a good friend of Flake, the gardener of Stevenson Garden Products. Like the rest of her friends, she is not a heavy drinker, but occasionally she particularly likes to taste the _sun on the rocks_ cocktail drink prepared by bartender Mr. LT in the City of Wellington, a concoction made with _2oz of tequila_ , _1 teaspoon of sugar_ , _1/2 orange_ , and _a half lemon_.

**Montana Sterley:** Twenty one year old blond oil heiress, daughter of S Group conglomerate Colorado tycoon Carrelson Sterley, a man who likes to spend time with several women whose name starts with the name of his first wife Kelly Jane. Some of his current girlfriends include Kelly Caroline, Kelly Ann, and Kelley Shelley, the latter being a candidate for the name of a new Subway Combo sandwich. Montana comes from Fairplay, Colorado. She is outspoken, rebellious, mischievous, good looking, well educated, well traveled, and favorable to the idea of emulating the jet-setting lifestyle, versus following her father's business footsteps, or simply being well-behaved. She enjoys adult films, her large allowance, and being naked in good hotels such as Abu Dhabi's Park Hyatt, but her down-to-earth personality prevents her from attaining some of the more subtle knowledge that Clarity observes inside Scafarel's **Church of the Holy Flower** , a spiritual outfit for the affluent woman.

**Jenna Megway:** Twenty three year old surfer and diver fond of the Acapulco diving spot, La Quebrada, found on the City of Wellington, before the search for **The Acapulco Cocktail** took place. Simple, genuine, and introvert, with long blond hair, she often does more than she says.

**Cynthia Stevenson:** Twenty two year old pom squad waves cheerleader from Pepperdine University, good friend of Clarity, gave Clarity her TAG-Heuer Aquaracer watch for her birthday. Cynthia is the well-to-do daughter of the owner of the Stevenson Garden Products company, established in Malibu, the first clothing optional corporate outfit worldwide, to our knowledge, a fact well deserved and established when Clarity and her friends took on officer Packwood during The Malibu Case, along with its clothing implications.

Cynthia has fun as long as everything goes well, but has difficulty overcoming difficulty, any slight adversity that is. Problems and dealing with them, are simply not part of her daily routine or among her interests. She likes to dress elegantly and swim naked on summer evenings in any pool with her friends. She is a frequent guest of the Areolas clothing optional resort for adult couples and women in Palm Springs, where she likes the Egyptian linen sheets available in the om room and the complimentary cream color Keralan _Mundu_ offered, a garment made with cotton by _Creme de l'Ayeryarwady_ , worn around the waist in the Tulu Nadu region of _Kerala_ and in the _Maldive Islands_.
SUN ON THE ROCKS – AMUSEMENT THREE

THE CAYMAN AIR BANNER

# Chapter One

Somewhere on a private beach in Acapulco

Clarity Nice lifted her auburn hair to one side. She was napping peacefully, lying down in her ´shortstop brigade´ calico woven cotton cloth bikini made in India, decorated with several shells placed strategically by designers having discovered this positioning knowledge through years of anecdote and tradition. She turned on her side, feeling the hot sun and the burning white sand of _Revolcadero_ private beach, which was not too far from Acapulco airport, or from Punta Diamante. She adjusted with a single hand the borrowed collapsible parasail Rio Beach sunshade with valance, a sun-blocking rated item of "one hundred plus" protection for her trim, tan, good looking, firm, teleoperating body.

Satisfied with her current outlook of travel, content with simply living a pleasant lifestyle, reading a book on fashion trends now and then to keep her brain functioning properly ensuring she still knew how to add two and two, Clarity was simply happy, comfortable and cozy in that beach, spending time with her friends, before having to return to _the City of Wellington_ , a Caribbean bound ocean cruise liner, where she worked as poolside sports entertainer performing synchronized swimming routines under their stage name, 'Sun on the Rocks.'

The captain was ensuring that all the evidence on Miss Tik and Cactus, the two crew members of the City of Wellington, who had stolen a soft drink formula from a passenger, was presented clearly to the police, so that there was no doubt that she was innocent of that theft. Clarity stopped thinking.

It was a good time to doze, for dozing was an opportunity to daydream without thinking about work or making money, the only reason to work she thought, correctly indeed. In her dream, a handsome man took her in his strong arms, unstringing her bikini mesh deftly. Then the thought returned and she woke up, startled. Money, they were running out of money because they weren´t working at the City of Wellington.

She checked her purse, reassured at the touch of her credit card. She opened one eye and peeked at her friendly synchronized swimming smile and play quorum of four girls near her. A girl tripped on Clarity, before the Malibu teleoperator could get up.

"I´m sorry, I was looking for my earring."

Clarity stood up and eyed the good looking debonnaire girl that had reached their shade. She was in her early twenties, showed long, hazelnut hair, hazel eyes, a nice, firm figure, and a flower patterned bikini.

"My name is Flower," she said, "Flower Parkwood."

"I´m Clarity Nice, nice to meet you. We´re here on vacation, me and my friends. We perform synchronized swimming choreographies on an ocean liner. We want to reach Olympic level with it."

"That´s great, I´m going with you."

Clarity stared at her, half stunned by the naturality and openness of the answer from the girl, who was already peeking inside her purse.

"What do you mean going with us, you don´t even know us, we´ve just met," said Clarity.

"Well, you just told me what you do, that´s good for me. I´m an Ethnographer in between assignments for a few months, I used to swim in my New Mexico pool, before I went to College to study ethnography. We´re a great fit." Clarity saw Lanai get closer to Flower. They were stuck with this girl, she could sense it.

"What does an Ethnographer do, exactly?" Asked Lanai.

"We study the way cultures and human societies work, the way they interact within various historical and social strata. Why Gengis Khan became emperor and what his legacy was in Mongolia. Here´s my earring, I left it here yesterday, it´s from Mongolia, actually."

She picked up a round earring and placed it on her right ear.

"Good, you´re welcome to come with us," said Clarity, "that makes six of us, we´re still missing one or two girls to complete a genuine Olympic synchronized swimming team."

Librarian Lanai, lifeguard Taimi Kendrick, well-to-do cheerleader from Pepperdine University, Cynthia Stevenson, and Australian diver Jenna Megway, sprang alight when they heard the siren of the _City of Wellington_ horning five short blasts. Clarity swept the sand off her legs and looked at the ocean in the distance, beyond the beach packed with tourists coming to enjoy the last day of the week at the beach.

"I think it just means the boat is turning starboard," Flower said.

"This steward I enjoyed three weeks ago, Claybeam, told me that a boat needs to sound one big siren horn when leaving dock. But five, I don´t know, I´d have to do him again. What is starboard anyway?" Asked Taimi.

"It means that it´s going to turn right."

"No, you are plain wrong," said Lanai, "according to rule 34 of navigation, five short blasts indicate an absence of sufficient definition of intention from an incoming vessel. That may mean danger, or simply insufficient action."

"It certainly means you can get out of the way if you don´t know where you´re going. Wow, you are well versed in navigation, Lanai," said Clarity.

"I spent a night with Claybeam as well, he told me," said Lanai. "Must have been a different night from you Taimi."

"It certainly was, we didn´t meet in his cabin, but we both know why his nickname is Claybeam."

"I didn´t ask really," objected Lanai.

"You didn´t try position fifty three, then."

Clarity reached for her phone, a nokia communicator retooled by a friend with extra applications such as a Mexican peso currency converter, and called the cruise ship captain to know the real meaning of the siren sound. The captain explained to her that a passenger had left the _City of Wellington_ in a rush, and the ocean liner was warning the offshore boat crossing its path to stay away from the large ship.

"An important banking agent is in the offshore boat, thank you, yes, we´ll ensure that we treat him well if we see him. Yes, we know, ten days, until officer Juarez clears the paperwork that clears me of theft charges, and we have to return to the ship if we want to eat lobster there again. Goodbye, captain."

Clarity turned off the phone and became distracted by the buzz of a low speed propeller plane above her making a stalling sound. She placed her phone in her purse and lifted her head to look at the bright red converted crop-duster pulling an advertising banner attached to a towline. The plane made a short dive towards the beach area, leaving a suspicious white fume trail before regaining altitude and engine stamina. The aerial banner displaying a short message, caught the attention of Clarity: _Lofty Bank_ , _Cayman Islands, earn twenty percent per year and forget about work_.

# Chapter Two

"Let´s follow this banner plane, I want to know more about Lofty Bank and this financial product they sell," said Clarity.

"Cool, I´m going with you where ethnography is to be uncovered, where is this plane going?" Asked Flower.

"Off-road, I think, it´s headed north along Punta Diamante road towards road 200 and _Acapulco de Juarez_ , let´s take our rental convertible and see. Lanai, is there enough gas for a not necessarily lawful escapade?"

"There is, we can tour the area two and a half times with a single gas tank."

"Let´s go," said Cynthia, teasing the bikini top of Jenna, who was still tanning, sound asleep.

"I´ll let you guys go and stay here," said Jenna. Clarity caught the slide fastener of Jenna´s bikini before it loosened open to let her toned breasts at view in the sun, and kissed Jenna goodbye.

Sitting in the back of a roofless Jeep Wrangler, Clarity pushed away Taimi, who was getting too close to the keyboard of her communicator. Cynthia was seated to their right, while Lanai was driving and Flower was seated in the front passenger seat, admiring both the views of Revolcadero Beach and the ever flowing nature of her long, brown hair, running her fingers through it.

"What are you doing?" Asked Taimi.

"I´m using this compound interest calculator from the smart money website, to figure out how much money we will have twenty years from now, if we invest at twenty percent per year like Lofty Bank´s product says."

"And?"

"It´s astounding, at twenty percent compounded, ten thousand dollars, which is reasonable for us as a group, would grow to nearly four hundred thousand dollars." Cynthia moved her head ahead of Taimi´s, while Lanai veered left on a dirt road, away from road two hundred, following the banner plane puffing white smoke less than a mile away from them.

"Do the million, my father wants me to earn a million dollars before he takes my business acumen seriously. How much do we need to invest today to have a million dollars twenty years from now?"

"Let´s see, I´d have to look at the manual, you have the future value of one million dollars in twenty years, and you want to know the present value of that, the capital you need initially at 20% annual interest reinvested over twenty years."

Clarity heard a loud noise in front of her, and felt a bump on the road, nearly dropping her communicator in the tomato salad prepared by Lanai for lunch. The propeller plane had landed on the dirt road nearly right on them, and was now proceeding towards a lighthouse facing a cliff and the sea. The towline carrying the airplane´s banner snapped and the banner landed on the Jeep´s windshield, which folded, as explained in the rental car instructions of its advertising leaflet.

Lanai stopped the car, as the low "strut braced" wing crop duster, a Gippsland GA-200 built in Australia, screeched to a stop as well. Behind them, a gold-color Rolls-Royce phantom limousine with the statue of a silver fat man as emblem above the car´s radiator replacing the winged "Silver Lady", overtook the Jeep and stopped behind the plane.

The pilot, a man in his thirties, dressed in blue overalls, with a pointed nose and dishevelled long hair, walked past them and folded the banner and towline into the trunk of the Rolls Royce, whose left rear window lowered.

"Sorry about the banner ladies, it´s an expensive item of fortune," said the pilot. "I´m Tarrence."

"Hi," said Clarity, "we´d like to know more about Lofty Bank´s twenty percent financial marvel. Can you tell us more about it, or where we can find out?"

The man turned his head towards Clarity.

"Oh, the ad, it´s not simple, you have to find the bank, and to find the bank you have to find the fat man, he knows where your money sleeps soundly."

"As long as he doesn´t leave soundly with our money," said Flower.

A voice spoke from the lowered rear window of the car and an arm clothed in a white shirt sleeve came out, hand closed in a fist.

"You speak too much."

The pilot breathed loudly as the hand came out towards him pulling his shirt and him towards the rear seat. The pilot caught the hand reaching for his throat and struggled with it with both of his hands, managing to stand solidly in place, despite his face turning red.

"The fat man is not an easy...easy man to please," he said.

"The return on investment is twenty percent annually, really?" Asked Clarity.

"Yes, it´s called the crashworthy deposit." The pilot´s upper body followed the hand, while the pilot´s own hand pointed towards the silver statue emblem of the car, a point of interest for Flower. Clarity saw Flower caress the belly of the silver fat man emblem, depicting an overweight man with a robe seating legs folded in lotus position.

The item had replaced the silver statue of a winged lady, normally found in Rolls Royce models, known as the spirit of ecstasy. The driver of the Rolls Royce, a man wearing a black cap, pressed on the windshield wiper buttons, expressing strong disapproval of Flower´s manual examination. The pilot reappeared out of the rear door, looking at Flower.

"You´ve touched the fat man. He can lead you to ecstasy, he´s got the spirit of ecstasy, the freedom of ecstasy, and the lifestyle of ecstasy, he just doesn´t have the body of the winged lady," said the pilot.

"I don´t think I can lead him anywhere, he´s too heavy for me," said Flower, "but thank you. Where is the real statue, anyway, the winged lady, the silver spirit of British elegance, you know, the scantily clothed silver lady typically found in countryside mansion Rolls Royces, the wonderful car oddity of rich and famous lords and of fickle celebrities." Flower lifted her head, closed her lips, and jumped forward towards the pilot with both of her feet, opening the palm of her hand.

"I want to see the item." The pilot tilted his head and lifted his eyebrows, surprised by her move.

"You may be the right companion for the fat man. The fat man keeps the winged lady emblem in all of his reincarnation prayers, and gives one to his favorite ladies," answered the pilot, "because he doesn´t want to be a rat in his next life. He´s got a prayer shrine that brings luck with money. Don´t touch the plane, by the way, the brake is on." The Rolls Royce backed off from Flower, made a U-turn and rolled forward, driving away from the girls.

"Wait, how much money have you invested in this crashworthy deposit?" Asked Clarity. The window lowered and the pilot´s head emerged.

"All of my savings, it´s a requirement to invest with Lofty Bank. Come diving tomorrow, we´ll be near Paseo del Pescador, to go to a pass-through rock formation in Roqueta Island. Goodbye."

Clarity looked at the rear of the car and noticed the silver lettering of the words _Cayman Roll Model Bank_ replacing the name of the luxury car model. Before the car drove away from them, she heard the sound of the right rear window lowering and the muffled voice corresponding to the white shirt, echoing the harsh instructions from inside.

"Let´s go diving now. The underwater shrine for the lobster is waiting."

# Chapter Three

The girls drove back to the guest house on Costera de Las Palmas, near the Fairmont Acapulco Princess, debating heatedly whether diving with the fat man was an opportunity or a risk. In the evening, after dinner, Cynthia and Taimi were swinging on a swinging lounge sofa, while Lanai was swinging on a screeching rocking chair, sitting on the outside terrace of their guest house in Tay Bay. Clarity was stepping back and forth, not knowing what to do.

"I know it´s only a car drive from here to the dive shop, but we can´t possibly go diving," said Lanai, "it´s not safe. I know this friend of mine, she absolutely wanted to see an angelfish, and she lost her regulator on her first dive."

"How can you lose a regulator, you´re breathing through it, it´s stuck to your mouth," said Taimi.

"My friend tried to imitate the angelfish open and close movement of its mouth." Clarity walked behind the rocking lounge sofa, before stopping near a pillar of their guest house.

"We can give it a go, if it´s going to bring us twenty percent per year," said Clarity. "With ten k as initial investment, we could start thinking about retirement, living on interest before reaching fifty. To do that, we need to find this fat man."

The rocking chair of Lanai swung to an impossible angle, hanging in midair for a long three seconds, until Lanai reached for Flower´s sweater.

"This is too important, let´s vote," suggested Taimi. After a raised hand vote, those proposing to dive won by three votes to two opposing votes by Flower and Lanai, with one abstention, Jenna, who preferred surfing to diving.

"All right," said Lanai, "let´s go, but I pick the regulator first."

The next morning, Clarity drove the rented Jeep to a dive shop in Centro Acapulco on Paseo del Pescador. As they entered the shop, they saw the Rolls Royce of Cayman Bank drive by. The diving instructor, a man named James Blond, was in debt with the fat man, and was waving his hands, pointing to a parking spot for the car. The luxurious car stopped, and the driver stepped out, wearing sunglasses. Clarity recognized the dishevelled hair of Tarrance.

"One dive only, today, Blond, to see the lobster. My boss wants to see the lobster, before he talks about the debt."

"You need more diving lessons. The lobster lives where it lives, if it´s still there, we´ll find it. But I can´t promise you we´ll find it, or give you a rebate on our diving rates."

"If the lobster´s not there, we´re not diving. Don´t forget about your debt. We are the ones who paid for all the new diving equipment this season."

"I can´t possibly forget the debt, because you keep coming every day for diving lessons, but the diving rate holds, we need the liquidity. We´ll pay the debt by the end of the season in November. And we´ll find the lobster, although it may have moved spot since the last time we told you."

Clarity saw the fat man for the first time, a large silhouette stepping out of the Rolls Royce backseat, surrounded by two good looking ladies in their thirties, holding his arms. He was about five foot ten, wearing a black striped suit, a white collar shirt and a yellow tie depicting small gallinaceous birds painted blue, either quails or fowls, she guessed.

Pinned to his suit lapel, the overweight man was wearing a small pin in the shape of a pincer belonging to a lobster. Breathing heavily, he squatted to a halt, like a sumo wrestler, in front of Flower, while the two women that came with him, climbed on the roof of the car to suntan in minuscule bikinis, revealing very few tan lines. He spoke to Flower in a stern tone, like an Indian Chief its tribe.

"The Rolls Royce needs cleaning. You like its spirit." Clarity saw Flower lift her head and eyebrows, scanning the double chin of the fat man, holding his stare.

"I like the lifestyle of the rich and famous," said Flower. The fat man ran his arm against the hood of the Rolls Royce to clean off dust from the road.

"I like you and I´m rich, but I´m not famous, and I don´t know your lifestyle," answered the fat man. Clarity left them to continue their conversation, and moved towards Tarrance, who was speaking to the owner of the dive shop.

"Blond, where is the shrine?"

"My assistant, Delemo, is bringing it. Delemo, bring the shrine, stop playing with the pincer." A short man with curly hair wearing flowered swimming trunks, brought out a twelve inch statue of the fat man built with wood, holding a fork and eating a lobster from a plate. The fat man turned away from Flower and his eyes squinted. He started rubbing his middle finger against his thumb and his mouth turned into a half smile. Clarity turned to Blond.

"He likes the shrine, doesn´t he?"

"That shrine explains his life, really."

"What´s the name of this man, why is he known as the fat man?"

"The fat man? His name is Buddha talk, although he doesn´t talk much. He adopted the way of the Buddha, the way of the belly for him, ever since he threw a lobster to the boiling pan after it bit his ear with a pincer." Blond walked inside the diving shop, filled with surfboards, water skis, and diving equipment, including oxygen tanks.

"Why? I mean, why Buddha?"

"The lobster made an impression on him because a palm reader in the restaurant told him that lobsters bring good karma. So now, he collects live lobsters, and thinks a shrine for the lobster brings good karma for the return on money invested that he manages for Lofty. My money, in particular."

"Your money, your money is with Lofty."

"All my savings, they are the reason for my debt with Buddha Talk. Put on the diving suit," he said, "I need to find the ultra large suit for him."

# Chapter Four

Clarity turned backwards and let Taimi zip her diving neoprene wetsuit, preventing Blond to cut his hands too deeply on her lower back. She was excited to take her first diving class in order to get the Paddy diving license. She saw Buddha Talk tilt his head towards the right ear of Flower, dangerously tipping the bench inside the diving shop, and lifting Lanai, who was sitting at one end of the bench, two feet off the ground in the process.

"Where does that earring come from?" He asked.

"It´s a like a Prada earring, twenty four carat gold, it comes with the other earring," she said.

"I see, pure gold, would you like to sell it? Only one earring, you can keep the other," he said. Buddha Talk lifted his body, and the bench returned to its spot, dropping Lanai to the ground, a few feet away from where she was originally seated, her face landing near the shelve exposing all regulators sold by the shop. Delemo moved swiftly on her.

"Are you from Hawaii as well," asked the assistant from across the counter. Clarity rescued Lanai and helped her test twenty five regulators, until the apprehensive girl, originally from Hawaii, found one that she liked, a pink Aqualung regulator tested by Cousteau himself. The girl with auburn hair turned her head towards Flower, who was still debating with Buddha Talk.

"I don't sell my earring, I don´t trade my earring, Mr. Buddha Talk, no one touches my earring, unless it´s me, and I don´t change earrings that often. They´re part of my most precious belongings because the earrings are part of a special collection based on the seventh century Shoroon Bumbagar tomb findings from seventh century Turkish Aristocrats, in the Mongolian region of Bulgan Aimag. I mean, I´d sell my shoes before selling my earrings."

"Think about what Buddha would do, before you reach any hasty conclusion about what to do with your earring."

"I don´t know, I´ve never met Buddha, he´d probably fast and observe the earring, while I wear the earring knowing it´s there. I´m an Ethnographer, I like old traditions and cultures, I enjoy thinking this earring is more expensive than a Prada. It´s two sides of contemplation, but I contemplate luxury brands such as Prada. See, I´m not that far from Buddha, I knew it."

Buddha Talk ignored her comment and placed his flippers on his feet, while Tarrance zipped his suit.

"I like this suit, it´s me," he said.

"Time for our diving lesson," said the pilot.

For several days, they rehearsed underwater in a pool, breathing with oxygen tanks for several minutes, using the emergency regulator, and emptying water from their mask, in case it flooded during a dive. Finally, on the fifth day, they boarded a diving ship, ready for their first twenty minute dive. Clarity marvelled at the sensation of diving. It was like looking at a different world through a television set.

She saw the lobster first on the sea bottom, and the lobster shrine, dropped by Buddha Talk near the lobster, nearly landed on her head as well. The overweight man squatted on the sea bottom, folding his legs, and burst oxygen bubbles for five minutes, observing the various fish swim near the shrine.

She saw Blond swim near Buddha Talk, a long knife in hand, attempting to cut off a plastic tube which brought oxygen to the fat man´s regulator. The overweight man brought his flipper to the sand and lifted it in one slow but effective move which blinded Blond. Blond dropped his knife, and Buddha Talk used it to pick up the lobster. After a few minutes swimming to the surface, Clarity spoke to Blond about the underwater incident.

"So, I think you don´t get along that well with Mr. Buddha Talk, I mean you tried to leave him out there, flat out, that is," said Clarity. Blond ignored Clarity´s comment, as the diving ship was approaching the dock, South of Punta Diamante. They hopped in a van and drove towards Paseo del Pescador.

As they walked towards the dive shop, Blond took Clarity aside. "Well, Buddha Talk likes sparring underwater, and feel triumphant in underwater fights. Of course, we have our differences, in fact, this debt and this crashworthy deposit is our only difference, but I´ll sink the mongrel next time, turn him into a Buddha shrine at the bottom of the white sand bottom. Fortunately, my shop is there. I love my shop, it´s a good place, it´s my life, my lifestyle, how shall I put it..."

"Blond, the debt, next payment is due today," said Buddha Talk. The overweight man lifted his oxygen tank and regulator, dropping it on the sidewalk.

Blond glanced gleefully towards the dive shop, a few hundred feet away. As Blond lifted his arm to negotiate his debt, a deafening explosion startled everyone. The dive shop was aflame and the expansive wave of the explosion lifted the long auburn hair of Clarity. She saw a burst of fire, and observed Delemo running away from the shop, yelling various Hawaiian curses while he ran towards them.

"Boss, I mean Boss, did you see, Boss, the shrine, it doesn´t work, we have to change shrines, this one is useless, no good for business." Blond ran towards the debris left by the explosion, walking near an oxygen tank which had survived.

"Now you know why our protection is invaluable, and you have a reason to come to Cayman Islands and visit Lofty Bank."

"To recover my money?" Asked Blond.

"No, to pay for fire and accident insurance for your shop. It is included with your investment, the crashworthy deposit."

# Chapter Five

Blond had the look of a man ready to surf to Hawaii from the Southern tip of Australia. He was so angry that Delemo had to empty a bucket of sea water on him several times, to cool him down. Yet, as he told Clarity, over dinner at the girls´ guest house, he knew that he had simply lost access to his money in the Cayman Islands to Buddha Talk, and that rebuilding the dive shop would take months to Delemo. That kind of work would be nothing short of spectacular for his assistant, a well oiled, working, non-thinking machine.

"So you think that Buddha Talk caused the explosion of your dive shop?"

"Yes, I owed him money for the diving equipment, and I´ve seen that method used by him on someone else before."

"Where?"

"Here in Acapulco, on Delemo, he was my competitor before he became my assistant, and he also invested his money in Lofty Bank, before he refused to pay Buddha Talk part of the revenues of his own dive shop. After that refusal, I convinced Buddha Talk to set Delemo´s dive shop afire, so that I could replace him."

"I see, the similarities really are striking, but who is this man, exactly, this Buddha Talk," asked Clarity.

"He is an agent for Lofty Bank, and he arranges boxing fights in Grand Cayman." Flower, who had skipped dinner to take a nap, came running down the stairs of the guest house first floor, towards Clarity.

"My earring, I´ve lost one of my earrings, one of the earrings that my boyfriend gave me."

"During diving?"

"I´m not sure, I was suntanning on the deck after diving this morning, and Buddha Talk brushed past me. I felt something in my ear, but didn´t give it any thought."

"That´s impossible, your earrings don´t come loose just like that."

"This one does, it has a special turn-screw mechanism developed by a Mongolian chieftain. We spoke about it with Buddha Talk, and he even tried to unscrew it, just to ensure it was properly attached."

Clarity stared at Flower for a few seconds. After several minutes of hesitation, the group decided to engage in eating the dinner entrée, a roasted duck cooked by the guest house owner, before rushing into any other decision regarding Blond and his dive shop returned to ashes.

Clarity could see that Flower was nervous, for the earrings meant a lot to her. It was part of her discoveries as Ethnographer, and a gift from a cherished Mongolian boyfriend, a guide who went into the Shoroon Bumbagar tomb to find the earrings and bring it to her at the risk of being arrested for tomb raiding. After eating dessert, a brownie with vanilla ice cream, Clarity opted for a definite decision on matters pending.

"We need to recover Flower´s earring," said Clarity, "that´s pretty definite, given the historical and sentimental value of it to Flower, and we also need to know whether this crashworthy deposit is profitable and trustworthy for us, whether Lofty is the right bank for our savings, that is. The fact that we can also help Mr. Blond recover his money, is irrelevant, but it is also part of this complex mission. Lets go to the Cayman Islands, I´ll go with Flower in fact." Lanai sighed, tapping the shoulder of Clarity, trying to convince her of the foolishness of her idea.

"That´s nuts. Agreed that recovering Mr. Blond´s money is irrelevant, that´s why it´s his own store of value, and not our own. But the deposit is not trustworthy, it may be profitable, but profitable for those who claim our money. Plus, it´s dangerous. For Mr. Blond, James, if I may call you James, it meant no more lobster diving with Mr. Buddha Talk. And no more dive shop or regulators, fortunately, with less regulators, less risk in the diving world. I don´t think you should go."

Clarity stayed perplex for several seconds, but refuted Lanai´s logic. She found out through Blond that Buddha Talk was leaving Acapulco by plane on 'Duty Free' charter airlines, to go back to the Cayman Islands. Sure of her decision to go there with Flower to recover Flower´s earring and understand the real business of Lofty Bank, she reached the airport of Acapulco with Flower that same evening, walking to the counter of 'Duty Free' airlines, finding an air hostess there, reading the 'gossip of Chiquinquira', a newspaper whose features included the love life of Acapulco firemen when off duty.

"Mr. Buddha Talk decided to leave on his private plane."

"He has a private jet?"

"He has a Gippsland 200, it´s known as the fatman, a crop duster used to carry plane banners around Acapulco. He should be departing for Cayman Islands tonight, as usual."

"As usual?"

"As usual, from a dirt road north of Punta Diamante, with or without the Lofty Bank banner."

"It depends on?"

"Whether Mr. Buddha Talk found any new customers for the bank. He was angry when he landed here last week, so it means he may leave the banner in deposit with his bank in Acapulco, the Banco del Coral de la Punta de Acapulco, a small subsidiary of Lofty Bank, itself a minor financial institution, compared to Bank of America."

Clarity thanked the lady and found Flower nervously looking for flowers. The girl with auburn hair stopped her friend, trying to calm her down. She finally clarified with her friend that Flower always looked for flowers when she was nervous, because it reminded her of how safe she was at home, where her mother received Madonna lilies by mistake from her father, which were meant for another girlfriend, which resulted in a struggle between both women to go out with her father, and which resulted in the very truth of the marriage of her parents, in her birth, and in her name, in memory of the Madonna lilies.

"There are no Madonna lilies here, Flower, there may be other flowers elsewhere, but not lilies. You don´t need flowers. Your parents love you."

"Sorry, I´m nervous because of my earring. A loss always brings a doubt as to the real reason my parents married, and Madonna lilies reassure me that I wasn´t born my mistake."

"We´ll find your earring, but stop looking for flower delivery mistakes, Flower, they´re irrelevant in the story of your life, the life of a remarkable Ethnographer."

"Thanks, that makes me feel better, and remarkable, thanks, Clarity."

They waited for nightfall and reached the dirt road north of Punta Diamante in the rented Jeep, driven by Lanai, around ten in the evening. The banner plane was there, as they had left it a few days before.

"Ensure you bring back the prospectus of the crashworthy deposit," said Lanai.

Clarity saw the reflection of headlights in the rear-view mirror of the Jeep, and told Lanai to drive the Jeep behind a large rock to their left. Once the Jeep was hidden from the dirt road, she said goodbye to Lanai and sprung forward, reaching the Gippsland-200 airplane quickly, with Flower following her. The plane, normally seating two people, had been refurbished to add two additional seats, leaving a small space of two feet behind them.

"Let´s hide in the back, they won´t see us," said Clarity.

"This is crazy, but I can´t really abandon my earring, it´s my duty as Ethnographer to recover the past of the Shoroon Bumbagar tomb."

"Quiet, I hear steps. Lift that undercarriage cover behind the fourth seat, we need to hide. Pray to the Madonna lilies Flower, and get in first, I´ll ensure that you can fit in, and I´ll go after you, just in case."

"Just in case I don´t fit in and get stuck?"

"No, just in case there is crop dusting material in there," she said.

"Ok, I can´t argue with that logic, although I think I could somehow, were this not happening."

# Chapter Six

Flower stepped inside the reservoir of the plane, followed by Clarity, where they settled before closing the cover on them, hearing the sound of the plane´s door opening and voices above them, four people in total.

"Did you fold the banner?"

"In the Rolls Royce as usual."

"Good, change the percentage to thirty percent next time. I don´t understand why not a single customer has surfaced. Let´s go, I have a fight to arrange tomorrow. Sit Beverly and Somerset in the back seats, and tell them they can´t play with the banner today."

The plane lifted above Bahamas sky and swerved west, setting course to Cuba. An hour later, Clarity felt the hand of Flower on her shoulder. She was falling asleep inside the banner airplane reservoir, below the plane´s floor, despite the up and down motion of the propeller plane, bound for the Cayman Islands. She lifted her head against the floor above them, hearing the voice of the fat man.

"Any gas needed?"

"Not here, we´ll let Luke refuel the plane in Little Cayman, on our way to Grand Cayman." Flower moved closer to Clarity´s ear and whispered to her.

"Where are we going?" Clarity whispered also.

"The Island of Little Cayman, I think, south of Cuba, northwest of Jamaica, east of Acapulco."

Flower whispered again.

"Are you sure there´s oxygen for two here?"

Looking at her glowing watch, Clarity hoped the trip wouldn´t last beyond three or four hours. She knew that they could breathe because she was feeling a slight breeze below her. She just hoped that the floor of the plane would stand. After thirty minutes, the plane landed in Little Cayman and Buddha Talk and his pilot Tarrance got out for fresh air. Clarity and Flower waited for half an hour, and lifted the cover of the plane´s floor, when they saw that no one was coming. Looking outside, Clarity saw the official seventy five foot hangar of the Edward Bodden Airstrip, along with the grass and gravel runway. In the distance, an old man was watering flowers outside the hangar. Carefully, they walked to the man.

"Nice place you have here. Would you know by any chance where the people that came from that plane are?" The man barely lifted his head, used to late night customers coming in from tour operated flights.

"Night out, they´ll be back in one hour. Are you in charge of paying the refuelling bill?"

"No, we´re just pass-through passengers, in transit to Grand Cayman. You are?"

"Luke, got to go through the in transit area, over there, where the orange chalk mark is. Sit down, I´ll explain your duties as in-transit passengers. I can also read you passages from the bible, but that will cost you five dollars or ten dollars, depending on whether you choose the passages referring to Luke, which I like, or not. Any luggage?"

"No."

"Then, there are no duties, you can leave the in-transit area and sit down in the arrivals area, over there in those chairs."

Clarity sat down with Flower for a few minutes, then convinced the man that their transit time was through and they were returning to the plane. This time, Clarity got into the dust-cropping pesticide area first, followed by Flower. At two thirty three local time, Buddha Talk came back with Tarrance and two ladies, and the plane took off for Grand Cayman.

At Grand Cayman airport, it was dawn. Clarity waited a few minutes for Buddha Talk and the other passengers to leave the plane, and walked with Flower to the baggage claim area, losing track of both Buddha Talk and Tarrance.

"We lost them."

"We sure did, can we come back to Acapulco?" Said Flower.

Outside the arrivals area, Clarity noticed a small money changing outlet showing the logo of Cayman Lofty Bank, a cayman smiling, showing a shining tooth falling into a safe deposit box, with the slogan: _Lofty, where money falls on you every day_. Near the counter, she saw few hostesses wearing a shirt from Lofty Bank, distributing pamphlets of the crashworthy deposit.

She approached the money changing counter with Flower and read the prospectus of the crashworthy deposit belonging to Cayman Lofty Bank. It was a complex financial instrument, combining the interest of a bond, with a life insurance policy, depending on the average temperature in Grand Cayman, which could potentially result in a twenty percent return on investment, if the airlines Cayman Airways Express and Island Air were still in business and their annual report figures had grown by more than fifteen percent that year.

"Would you say it´s a speculative product?"

"It depends upon your risk profile." A man wearing a flowered shirt ran towards her.

"Tickets for tonight, ladies?" Clarity picked up a stub handed by the scalper.

"Maybe, what´s on?"

"It´s lightweight local favorite Bubba Key against new opponent Easy Glove. I can place bets as well."

"When is the fight?"

"Tonight, at nine o´clock, at Hoverbay Arena."

"No thank you, we have to attend a conference on the changing nature of investment retirement in Grand Cayman. This is organized by this great agent, Mr. Buddha Talk, right?"

"Absolutely, the show´s on and everyone looks on, as Bubba Key prevails, before moving on, to his Coral Stone Club room. That´s literal Buddha Talk, a three step rhyme involving the same word. Good Morning to you, ladies, and welcome to the Cayman Islands, where money is not a dream."

# Chapter Seven

Clarity breathed the hot midday air under the sunshine of Georgetown in Grand Cayman, and hopped with Flower on the yellow route one bus to West Bay, where the Coral stone club hotel, a nice four star, had settled, along with Bubba Key. She wrote the name Bubba Key on a piece of paper. It was certainly difficult to understand what money was in the Cayman Islands, thought Clarity, thinking about the comment from the scalper, but finding Bubba Key was a quicker way to find Buddha Talk than going to the fight.

"Money´s not a dream, it´s so strange that he said that," said Flower. "There´s plenty of money here, that´s got to be the reason why that man said that. People retire here and invest their money. Now, I know money is not real, and that why is money not real is in the book the seven laws of money, which I haven´t read," said Flower.

"Don´t sweat it, money´s pretty real," said Clarity, "but if it´s not a dream, there should be a way to find Buddha Talk."

"Yeah, he looks pretty loaded. I´m telling you, we have to read the seven laws of money, it was written by the founder of Master Card, one of the laws should apply here, in general, and to find my earring."

"I don´t mind the laws, but I prefer the Master Card gold card." Flower stared at her in disbelief.

"Well, you´re so material." Clarity was surprised at Flower´s reaction, she was normally such a no nonsense girl, specially when it came to shopping. She looked at Flower and answered right away, perplex.

"Well, your earring is good, but how far can it carry a family of four?" Flower was speechless against that thread of logic.

At the Coral Stone, they asked the concierge for Bubba Key´s room, to get an autograph for the aunt of Clarity, a sexagenarian who followed all Vegas fights on pay per view on her own, while her husband cooked roast beef with a white chef hat and apron, and brought grilled vegetables and a sweet dessert or fruit to his wife, during the fight.

"I don´t care if your aunt watches boxing, or if the vegetables her husband cooks are fresh and organic, you can´t see Bubba Key, he´s in pre-fight confinement," said the concierge.

"Good God, it´s such a strict training," said Flower. "Ok, we understand, now the next time you come to Los Angeles, don´t beg us for a movie premiere ticket in Westwood, because we won´t have it. Take it or leave it." The concierge didn´t move and his stare was blank and speechless. Flower stepped away from him, slightly altered with apprehension.

"Come with me," said Clarity. She sighed and smiled at Flower´s comment. Her friend was impulsive, and it was important to keep procedures in line with elegance, stewardship, and a really good sports agency impersonation. After an informative talk with a waitress at the coffee shop of the hotel, they found the room of Bubba Key, room five zero three.

So far, he had been pretty calm, jumping from his fifth floor balcony to the hotel pool on only one night of excessive abundance of non identified Mexican alcohol, to meet a journalist who was having a drink at the terrace near the pool. The other nights, he had been watched by the maître d', who was monitoring his bloodstream more closely than if a lobster was served for Buddha Talk himself. Buddha Talk was an important man, and a loyal giver of generous tips. His tips were folded as a roll of twenty dollar bills, and they were given to the waitress after his usual dance trick, rolling around his weight on one foot, three hundred and sixty degrees.

"What do you want to know from this man, from Bubba Key?"

"Whether he has an account at Lofty, so we can get one as well." Clarity walked with Flower to the gift shop, and bought an L.A. Dodgers cap.

"We don´t even know if Lofty is safe."

"The banner plane made it safely."

"We made it as well, but we were lucky."

"We´ll start slowly, by plunging in two hundred dollars."

"Let´s plunge carefully, my savings are slim."

The room´s door opened and a slim, tall, athletic man with his torso naked appeared out of room five zero three. His head was half shaved, carving a line from neck to eyebrow, with a tattoo spelling 'left brain' on the shaved part.

"Mr. Bubba Key?"

"No, I just carry the name to scare opponents. Yeah!, Just kidding, it´s me, the genuine Bubba." A debonair smile beamed from his face, showing a missing tooth.

"We come on behalf of your sports agency, can we come in?" Bubba Key´s face turned serious in less time than Clarity needed to flee down the hotel´s stairs. He tapped lightly on the white wall with his finger, then lifted his leg and kicked the hotel´s wall, leaving a crack on the stucco.

"Sorry, pre-fight adrenaline. My agent? My agent´s not here, I have an agent and his name is Budda Talk. Now, I may be stupid, but I´m not dumb. My agent told me this would happen at some point. You´re after my money, aren´t you?"

"Not literally," said Flower. Good start, thought Clarity. She stepped in front of Flower, firmly. The answer called for a fresh look at the approach.

"My friend´s just kidding, we want to present you with alternative boxing opportunities in Thailand." The man changed expressions.

"In Thailand, they box over there? I mean, I´m not sure because I just fight and go from hotel to hotel, from Vegas to Cayman, from Cayman to Vegas, from Vegas to Cayman, from Cayman to a place near Vegas..." He led them to his suite, a luxurious room with two double beds, and a chilled bottle of Coke, bathing in ice, on a night table.

"We got your routine, thank you," said Flower.

"Yes, they actually do Thai boxing in Thailand," said Clarity, "you freestyle fits in very well over there, we think."

# Chapter Eight

Clarity sat down and crossed her legs on a sofa of Bubba Key´s room, which had three areas, the bedroom, an adjacent living room, and a bathroom. She was wearing jeans and a white blouse, with loafers, and felt at ease. She sat near Flower, who was wearing a colorful dress depicting plants from the jungle of Costa Rica. Clarity turned to Bubba Key, who had donned a shirt, and who was holding a small metal deposit box with one hand.

"This is my portable life savings plan, it´s why I like Lofty, never trusted other banks, because I don´t know where my money is, I lose track of the bills. With Lofty, it´s different, all of my crashworthy deposit is here. Let´s talk of those sports opportunities. Who is the current lightweight boxing champ in Thailand?"

"We represent the sponsor," said Flower, "a maker of earrings. Do you know if Mr. Buddha Talk likes earrings?"

"Occasionally, he has offered his favorite ladies a few of them. I´m not sure, he´s a great guy. He talks, he believes in carnal workouts, doing well in the after life by doing better in this life."

"What does he do for you?"

"He manages my safe deposit box, while I box. He´s the only one I trust with this box, that´s why he became my agent. Thank God I box now, because the box wasn´t big when I started out. In fact, it was a different box, a box used by restaurants when they threw out food. Check out this box, it´s box five zero four, very sturdy."

Clarity picked up the box and held it in her hand. She shook it, placing the box near her ear, but no sound came out.

"Certainly, I wouldn´t know if there´s anything of value in there. She lifted her head, eyeballing the boxer.

"Is there anything of value?"

"There are important papers regarding the inheritor of Lofty, besides my savings investment policy. I´d have to check with my custodian to know how much of this is public information. That would be Buddha Talk as well, he really does a good job with my investments."

The girls heard a scratching noise in the adjacent room.

"It´s the inheritor of Lofty, the next owner, so to speak. Buddha Talk really takes good care of him."

Clarity got up and stepped towards the living room area, coming face to face with a large great Dane, that smelled her jeans immediately.

"Lord Moorehead, stay put, these are guests. You don´t want to injure a leg, and have us pay for your monstrous insurance."

"How much is he worth?" Asked Flower. Clarity noticed that she was checking the dog´s collar to see if it had her earring.

"About two hundred fifty three million, eight hundred forty eight thousand, five hundred and seventy three dollars. London, Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo, and New York real estate are doing well these days. Strictly, Lord Moorehead is the current owner of Lofty, though I´m not sure if Buddha Talk got rid of his owner to transfer the inheritance."

"That´s a steep amount," said Flower, "he must be pretty well insured." She lifted one of his paws, which dropped as she withdrew her hand.

"And he must be more athletic than he looks. He looks slightly pale to me, like he needs vitamins." They heard a plane flying in the distance. Clarity walked to the window and noticed the same crop duster that had flown them from Acapulco, carrying a slightly different banner: 'Cr _ashworthy Loan Facility: Pay twenty percent and forget about earning money at work_. _Bubba Key: Back to work._ '

"Lofty is fantastic," said Bubba Key. "Here in Grand Cayman, Lofty lends money, earns twenty percent and uses the money to pay investors in Acapulco. It´s a coast to coast, island to island paradigm of prosperity."

"If you earn the same here as what you pay investors there, where´s the margin for the bank?" Asked Clarity.

"That´s our marketing pitch, there is no margin, the profit lies elsewhere, that´s what Buddha Talk says."

"I see, where exactly does the profit come from?"

"You´d have to be a bank customer to know that." Bubba Key got up and moved to the sliding window. Clarity beat him to opening the window, keeping the large mosquito net of the window intact. She stepped on the balcony, admiring the pool below, placing her elbows on the balcony´s edge, followed by Flower and Bubba Key, who was cracking his neck to ensure the vertebrae were aligned with those of his back.

"What are the requirements for being a customer of Lofty?" Asked Clarity.

"You have to be involved in the boxing business, or own Lord Moorehead, but owning Lord Moorehead is not easy." Clarity opened her mouth, but Bubba Key spoke first to offer them a Coke, the same Coke, to both of them.

"I have to watch the budget, so that I can pay my monthly deposit box fee. Split the Coke in three please, I need some classic style stimulation for my thinking before the fight." Clarity saw Flower serve the Coke into three glasses, pouring more Coke in her glass.

"That´s perfect, we love the boxing business," said Clarity. "You said there´s a fee to working with Lofty?"

"Well, there´s no free lunch anywhere, it´s called the monthly fee, but it´s an investment."

"How much is it?"

"I don´t know, it´s the whole point of calling it the monthly fee. It´s small so you don´t have to take a look at it every month, but it´s there so you know you have a debt with Lofty. That´s just my contract, though. Let´s go back inside." Flower grabbed the long sleeved shirt of Bubba Key.

"I understand, Buddha Talk is like your father, isn´t he?"

# Chapter Nine

Clarity drank several sips of her Coke, watching intently as Flower raised her right eyebrow, sitting on the sofa with her. She saw Bubba Key jump on the sofa, Coke in hand. He lifted his hand holding the glass of Coke so the liquid wouldn´t spill.

"Buddha Talk, Buddha Talk, is more than a father, he is my mentor, my coach for boxing, the one who brings definite moves to get the opponent on the floor after two minutes into each fight, he´s the strategic second half of my shaved head, the inheritor of my valued possession. Now, if you´ll excuse me, I have to train, and follow the message in the banner plane. Otherwise, Buddha Talk won´t pay me." He placed the small metal deposit box and his glass of Coke inside the room´s larger deposit box, and closed the box. With both hands, he opened the room´s window wider, stepped on the balcony, and jumped into the pool, followed by Lord Moorehead. After a three second flight, both landed safely in the pool, and a waiter came with shower towels for both.

"Did you see that?" Said Flower. The Ethnographer wearing the flower dress grabbed the window panes to see the balcony and the pool more clearly.

"He´s so uncanny."

"Well, he´s Bubba Key, good lesson for us, Flower, that´s what fame and fortune does to you, you become enmeshed into a relentless routine to perform for others instead of living your life for your own self," said Clarity.

"I mean, did you see that, Clarity, he jumped five floors to a pool. The dog did as well, but the poor thing didn´t know where it was going. It was just following its kind owner. I don´t see them now, they´re out. Really, that dog is more athletic than I thought."

"Well, I mean, there´s a pool below. Anybody who´s half athletic can do it."

"I can´t do that, it´s too high," said Flower, peeking out the window.

"We´ll do it some other time, don´t forget we´re sports agents, we have to show presence of mind." Clarity closed the sliding door panes. They heard a sudden bang on the door, and the familiar silhouette of Buddha Talk, dressed in a black suit and white collar shirt, surrounded by two men, also overweight, but less than him, and Tarrance, the banner plane pilot. Buddha Talk came storming towards them.

"Told you that bit of dress tissue in the back seat didn´t belong to Somerset. Get these girls, Tarrance. The dog, where´s the dog?"

Clarity ran towards Flower, placing her smoothly one foot away from the frame, and jumped out to the pool, landing in the water five balconies later, after deftly moving her hands up and down. She swam to the poolside, noticing that the dog and Bubba Key had disappeared. She looked up at Flower, who was flying towards her.

"No sweat, Flower, your hands, place your hands along your body." Flower landed in the middle of the pool two seconds later, fortunately, not on her. Clarity looked at Flower, lifting her out to the poolside.

"I have to say I´d run out of ideas to get out of that room, but still. Thank God, diving got me sort of prepared for this. What do we do now?" Asked Flower.

"Let´s go inside the hall and get out of here."

The girls walked inside the lounge, to check their email, accessible from a screen by the entrance.

"You got in trouble?" Asked the concierge.

"We´re on our way out," said Clarity, "it´ll only be five seconds." Clarity looked up Lofty Bank on the web, and simply got an ad for crop dusting banner plane branded as a Gippsland 200. When the mouse, the keyboard, and the screen became wet, Clarity decided it was time to go.

"You wouldn´t happen to know where Lofty Bank is, here in Georgetown?"

The concierge looked at her, raising his eyebrows and staring at her.

"Lofty Bank Bill Bank?"

"No, Lofty Bank." Clarity held his stare.

"The only Lofty Bank in the Cayman Islands is Lofty Bank Bill Bank."

"Is it the same bank?" Asked Flower. The concierge looked at Flower´s dress.

"It´s a Lofty Bank, pretty close to what you´re looking for." Flower pulled Clarity aside.

"There may be a bank bill term we don´t know about, between Lofty and the second word Bank. There must be a way to clarify this, I´m not sure how though," said Flower.

Clarity lifted her head and spoke to the concierge.

"Is this bank bill Bank bank known as Lofty Bank?"

"Yeah, that´s true, it´s known as Lofty Bank, the legal name, which is Lofty Bank Bill Bank, is not in use. The owners just like bank bills, as opposed to electronic cash or digital cash, or any new form of cash, it's a traditional bank." Clarity sighed with relief.

"Good, yeah, that bank, Lofty Bank, the only Lofty Bank there is here in the Cayman Islands, where is it?"

The man reluctantly answered their question, after Clarity gave him a five dollar tip.

"It´s on Shamrock Drive, near the Pier. But you can´t go there, you need one hundred thousand dollars to invest in Lofty. I´m not sure I´d do it, I usually don´t see the investors after they invest. You don´t look like you have that kind of money."

"Never underestimate a good sports agent," said Flower.

"Anyway, you need to go to the Diamond Overnational shop, they might be able to waive your entry fee there."

"Many thanks," said Clarity.

They ran to the bus stop and reached the shop an hour later, after stopping at a Starbucks for a quick lunch. The Diamond Overnational pawn and brokerage shop was owned by a man in his fifties, who was wearing a used apron and round glasses, and was diligently carving dust out of a hard stone one inch in diameter, which looked like a diamond, with a lockpick. Clarity walked to his desk, noticing the dim lighting of the shop, and a large picture on the far wall of a Gippsland 200 plane, dusting over an agricultural area in Montana during a sunny day, which carried the banner of Lofty Bank, as it dusted.

"We´re potential investors of Lofty," said Clarity.

"We´re potential, but rich," said Flower. Clarity pulled Flower aside and whispered in her ear.

"Why on earth do you say that?"

"I just want to make sure we´re accepted as investors."

"If you say that, our entry fee´s going to rise. Let me talk." Clarity walked back towards the shop owner.

"Is there a way to waive the investment entry amount, the one hundred thousand dollar fee. We´re still paying our student loans, you know, but we like the market outlook, and think that our savings are in good hands with Lofty. We´re ready to pawn one earring."

The man stopped testing the strength of the diamond with his lockpick and lifted his head towards them, getting up from his chair.

"Follow me," he said.

# Chapter Ten

The man, named Clark, took Clarity and Flower to the lower level of the shop, a large basement showing a wall poster advertising crop dusting services, and several golf carts parked in line. Peeking in the far distance, beyond the carts, Clarity could see an open doorway, leading to a bright corridor. Clarity saw Clark place a Cayman Islands fish feeding cap on his head, covering his shriveled hair. He pointed to several golf carts and took off his apron, revealing a polo shirt with the logo of Lofty Bank.

"Fleet, utility, personal, transportation, pre-owned?"

"We´ll go with transportation," said Flower. She whispered to Clarity. "Where are we going?" Clarity walked away from Clark, taking Flower aside.

"I´m not sure, I think he likes us. Let´s follow and look astute. We may be closer to your earring."

"I´m already astute, but I´ve never been in a golf cart indoors."

They hopped on a six passenger configuration golf cart, comfortable, smooth, with foam seats and leather armrests. After the ride on the banner plane, it seemed like a four star hotel to Clarity. Clark stepped in the driving seat and turned on the electric engine of the _supersteward,_ a renovated golf cart that had been driven in several famous golf courses, among them the Pebbles Beach golf course, Pine Valley in New Jersey, the Royal Dornoch in Scotland, and the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.

The cart had less than four hundred miles on it, and was owned by a customer of Lofty. They drove into the corridor inside the cart, and Clarity noticed the various ads for Lofty, offering a range of financial services, from cash management to offshore advisory services, from prepaid phone cards to credit cards with a twenty dollar limit per month.

After a fifteen minute ride through the corridor, they reached a large worn out wooden door, large enough to fit the golf cart, equipped with an electric security code for access. Clark deftly pushed in twenty five numbers in sequence to turn off the security alarm, until the wooden door cracked open, pivoting on a rusted hinge.

"This is the back of safe deposit box five zero three, inside the vault of Lofty, you´re in the bank."

"We´re customers now?" Asked Flower. She was beaming a sunny smile on her face.

"I didn´t say that. You own part of this safe deposit box with other part owners, the owners of the golf carts, on a timeshare basis. A private banking consulting advisor from Lofty should come in and find you. Tell him that your reference is Buddha Talk, and that you´ve waived the one hundred thousand dollar minimum investment fee, because you´ve bought a golf cart at Diamond." Clark drove the cart inside the vault, dropped them off, turned around, and drove into the corridor, pushing a remote control device to close the wooden access door, which was metallic on the other end.

Clarity looked around her as the yellowish metal door closed behind them. There were hundreds of small sized safe deposit boxes made of a metal which looked like bronze or copper, all with etched three digit numbers written in black, but only one large one like theirs. In front of them, the door panel of an elevator was the only other exit out of the vault. After ten minutes of listening to elevator music in the vault, Clarity and Flower saw the elevator door panels opening. A young man in his thirties, wearing a suit, came out, followed by an old lady wearing a hat decorated with a shrub of withered flowers.

"Oh, new customers, hold on, welcome to Lofty, I´m Barney Rapple, your private bank offshore investment advisor, let me finish with our client here, she needs her bank guarantee. I´ll be with you in a second to open a safe deposit box for you and tell you about our crashworthy deposit."

The banking officer walked to a safe deposit box and took out a key ring filled with small keys of many shapes and sizes. Choosing a _SentiSafe_ four sided security key, he inserted the tip and turned the lock´s tumbler with it three times. The metal box sprung open, and Rapple caught the full impact with his fist closed, shrieking in pain.

"Security measures have improved, ouch," he said.

Clarity saw the face of Flower turn as pale as the flowers on the lady´s hat.

"We have a deposit box," said Flower, "it´s five zero three, the large door panel, right to your left. I mean, let´s not get carried away, we´re just looking for an earring, it´s really that simple. Our savings are slim, although potentially, they have long reach. But, we have another earring, and we´re ready to pawn it, in exchange for a lead to the other."

"There´s a safe deposit box for jewelry, but you´re not Lofty customers yet," said Rapple. Clarity sighed. Flower was deepening the difficulty of the situation. She tapped on Flower´s shoulder to step ahead of her, in front of Rapple.

"I´m her advisor," she said.

"Good, good, we have no problem with that, it´s simply another layer for us and your advisee. We´ll have to take a look at the earring personal guarantee section, and you´ll have to sign the crashworthy deposit life insurance policy, committing all your savings to Lofty from now on, with the understanding that the earring is your personal guarantee, for an amount up to twenty dollars."

"Really, you´ll accept the earring as guarantee?" Asked Clarity.

"Yes, then, you´ll have to earn one hundred thousand dollars, less the twenty dollars, or borrow that sum from us." The banking officer opened a small deposit box, taking out a plastic box of sand, throwing it to the old lady.

"That´s your husband, he came out pretty tidy, you can move to Florida, now, and live off our planned estate." The lady waved to him a military salute with a smile, and took off running up the elevator.

"What do you mean work, we waived the investment entry fee, that´s what Clark told us, we´ve bought a golf cart at Diamond," said Clarity.

"Who´s Clark?" Asked the officer.

"Clark, the man who drove us to the vault, to Lofty´s vault, this vault, this place, this bank. We´re in a bank aren´t we?" Rapple stared at her, his face shaking in disbelief, non-impressed.

"This is Lofty Bank Bill Bank, known as Lofty Bank, a Cayman Islands financial institution. There ain´t no Clark around here, you must have taken the elevator down to here, like every other customer at Lofty. Nobody part owning box five zero three waives the one hundred thousand investment fee, that´s Lord Moorehead´s safe deposit box, and that´s how Buddha works, I mean talks. Let´s move upstairs, we´ll be more comfortable, and I´ll let you know about our small loan offshore fifty year crashworthy indenture policy tied to your deposit box."

# Chapter Eleven

Clarity and Flower followed Rapple to the elevator, which had five underground floors. The banking officer pressed on the 'lobby' button, and the three of them surfaced in front of a lively lobby with a marble floor, high ceiling, gilded columns, and large glass windows. The lobby was divided in two areas, an area used for trading, where the voices of traders could be heard, and an area for walk-in customers, with a counter, and a single customer waiting in line, the old lady who had received the ashes of her husband. Clarity recognized the silhouette of Tarrance, the pilot of the banner plane, also waiting in line. Rapple approached one of the security guards of the bank, who was dressed in a navy blue outfit, wearing a large gun sided at waist level.

"Did you see these women walk in here, earlier today? Found them in the vault. They´re part owners of the five zero three account." The guard tilted his head, as he stared at both women.

"No, they must have gone through the aisle by the money changing area. Unless they were delivered with Somerset´s latest clothing gear package."

"No, we used the golf cart entry," said Flower. The guard stared at them with a look of surprise and indifference.

"No sweat, thanks," said Rapple. "Follow me to the customer cubicle area. Your fifty year indenture should be ready by now."

"Ready? But we´ve barely met you." Flower whispered to her. "Ask him what an indenture is, looks like it´s a good time to negotiate our terms."

"There are cameras in the vault," said Rapple. "Our contract delivery employees are very efficient." A man dressed in a polo shirt and chinos walking fast, approached Rapple, and handed him a large pile of paper.

"Good, here´s your contract explaining your debt with us, the fifty year indenture, you´ll just need to sign to accept the conditions of your ninety nine thousand nine hundred eighty dollar debt with Lofty, for the next fifty years."

"This is a ripoff," said Clarity, "we just want to take a look at the jewelry deposit box."

"Hold on," said Flower, "you haven´t negotiated our terms yet. Remember the earring."

A good looking blond woman in her thirties approached Rapple, followed by a tall, middle aged man with a deep tan, dressed in pinstriped alpaca suit and striped silk blue and orange necktie decorated with the logo of the Cayman Islands monetary authority, an encircled sailboat.

"Inspector Walter Joroby from the Cayman Islands monetary authority is here to see you, Mr. Rapple."

"Yes, thanks, Somerset, please sit down inspector, welcome to Lofty." He turned to Clarity.

"Could you hold for a second, this is important, and it may affect the small print of your contract."

"No problem, anything related to us working can be put on hold."

Joroby opened the button of his vest and sat down on a lithe, aluminum ergonomic chair with natural full grain upholstery and 'sitting pocket', made by Hermann Miller.

"The monetary authority is not that comfortable with your current showcase product, the crashworthy deposit. We´re not getting any answers to the letters we send addressed to a certain Lord Moorehead."

"Crashworthy is trustworthy, it´s a reliable product."

"Well, yes, but what kind of product is it? Is it a trust delegating management of investments on behalf of beneficiaries to trustees, is it an investment product, a variety of a loan, or simply an advisory service?"

Rapple pressed the tip of his pen on Clarity´s arm and drew a diagram of a blender, showing it to the inspector on a notepad.

"It´s a blended product, all four actually."

"You can´t include all four in the product´s offering. Frankly, I came to talk about the renewal of Lofty´s bank license, because right now, we see it in jeopardy. I´d like to see the owner of the bank. You say the current deputy of the bank, named Buddha Talk, is not available, because his agenda is very busy. Where is the owner of this bank?"

Clarity saw Somerset run towards them, and recognized the silhouette of Lord Moorehead running before the secretary towards Flower.

"That may be difficult, he´s not exactly available, he has difficulty speaking our language and prefers to do management by walking around, even running around sometimes."

"I see, a reliable owner?"

"Very reliable, and very loyal, also a connoisseur of good food. Rest assured of his good intention towards the island. We might be able to arrange a meeting with our deputy, though, Mr. Buddha Talk, at an upcoming boxing fight taking place tomorrow."

Clarity stepped towards Joroby, bringing Flower with her, as her friend pushed away Lord Moorehead, attracted by one of the yellow flowers on Flower´s dress.

"Would you like to attend the glorious fight with us?" Said Clarity. "You can speak with Mr. Buddha Talk of the bank´s renewal, during the fight, while we let you know of our problems with the small print of our crashworthy deposit. Bubba Key´s a sure winner, and he comes from Vegas. Even if you don´t like to bet, you´ll enjoy his style, he´s going to destroy his opponent, Easy Glove." Joroby´s chair rolled away a few feet, to the corridor, before Tarrance, who had jumped over the customer service counter, pushed him back towards the cubicle. His arm moved towards Clarity, while he grabbed Rapple´s table to stop his chair from rolling.

"Good, let´s do that," said Joroby, "yes, I need to know more about what customers like about this product. But I want to see the deputy of Lofty Bank there, Mr. Buddha Talk."

"You will, sir, you will," said Rapple, "Buddha Talk walks his talk, and talks only when needed. Usually, he shows up at the fights he arranges. Tarrance, arrange the Rolls Royce for Inspector Joroby and our clients, and entertain them in the car until this evening. Tell Mr. Buddha Talk, he´ll have to use Jaguar number seventy three."

# Chapter Twelve

Clarity and Flower walked with Joroby to the exit of the bank, set on a pleasant shopping center known as Cayman Grand Harbor, East of Georgetown, which looked like a small, typical British colony village, and included a sculptor shop, a bookshop, a liquor store, a marketplace, and a place selling paintings.

Parked in front of the main street, the Rolls Royce Ghost that Clarity had seen in Acapulco, shone its grey color lustre. Clarity and Flower hopped in the back seat of the Rolls Royce with Joroby, while Tarrance took the driving wheel after donning a driver´s cap and a suit, and Somerset sat as copilot on the passenger seat. Clarity, seating between Joroby and Flower, enjoyed the soft music in the car, a remake of the instrumental bossa nova song 'Mas que Nada'. An extendable arm unfolded three cigarettes, three salmon slices, and three apples, on a silver tray.

"We don´t smoke, thank you," said Clarity.

"Some viewing entertainment while we drive to the arena?"

"Yes, thank you." Clarity noticed that the Rolls Royce was rolling forward at a slow speed, less than five miles an hour, allowing an employee of Lofty, the man in Chinos walking fast at the bank, to show several ads, displaying the investment features of crashworthy, such as the included fire and casualty insurance, the twenty percent all-inclusive simultaneous investment and loan rate, and the advantages of timesharing a safe deposit box.

"Do you always drive this slowly here?"

"It´s not a long drive, but we like you to enjoy the scenery."

Joroby reached for a slice of salmon, but the tray moved towards Flower. Clarity saw Flower politely decline the offer of the salmon, and pushed the tray towards Clarity. Joroby reached for the tray again, but it moved towards the front seat, where a second arm replaced the three cigarettes with three thin 'Mercaderes' cigars branded as 'San Cristobal de la Habana'.

"A gift from Mr. Castro himself," said Tarrance.

"Thank you, we don´t smoke cigars either," said Flower, "getting kind of hungry though, if you can press the 'reach customer' button on the tray, we appreciate it."

With the car still rolling forward, Somerset opened the car door and got out of her seat, jogging along the passenger side. Tarrance pressed on a button, and the image of Somerset jogging appeared on a video screen in front of them.

"She´s our viewing entertainment tonight."

Clarity glanced to her left and saw a Jaguar, with the number seventy three tagged in large print to its side, pass them at a slightly higher speed. Inside, she recognized the silhouette of Buddha Talk.

"There he is, there´s Buddha Talk, inside that car," said Clarity. Flower waved several times at the car, which was rolling at six miles an hour, but slowly, the Jaguar overtook them, in a three minute manoeuvre.

"Can you stop that car or go faster, I´d like to speak with the man inside," said Joroby.

"I´m afraid not, we´re on schedule now, our cruise control has been preset at five miles an hour to save gas," said Tarrance.

Four hours of jogging entertainment later, at eight fifty nine PM, the Rolls Royce limped through Georgetown traffic, and reached Seven mile beach, driving through a lively crowd of ten thousand people who was going out to watch a boxing fight at Hoverbay arena, a multipurpose, indoor facility.

"Buddha lounge or our sponsored cabin? The Buddha lounge will be hosted by eighteen hostesses who work with Buddha Talk to help him assess his busy agenda. Our sponsored cabin has no host and no hostesses, it´s a self service cabin, where you might even consider sleeping."

"I´ll go with the sponsored cabin, it sounds more peaceful, but I want to see this Buddha Talk," said Joroby. The Rolls Royce reached an indoor parking lot with space for five cars. Clarity noticed the Jaguar was already parked. She reached for the salmon, but the tray moved suddenly towards Somerset, who grabbed two slices and one apple. She saw Tarrance grab the remaining slice of salmon and two apples, leaving them with the three cigars.

"Great, I hope you enjoyed our appetizers, you can get out and take the elevator to the upper terrace." Tarrance opened Flower´s back door for them. They got out of the car and walked to the elevator, leaving Somerset and Tarrance in the Rolls Royce.

"We stay here," said Tarrance, "we have to prepare the next viewing entertainment for Buddha Talk, it´s in our loan facility and residence arrangement." Joroby let Flower and Clarity in the elevator and pressed the upper terrace button.

"Tell me about your view of the crashworthy deposit and what you think of Lofty. This is not a usual bank is it?"

"It´s not a bank, it´s a ripoff, there´s an employment contract, a debt and a timesharing residence contract built-into this investment product which is sold as a deposit, crashworthy," said Clarity.

"It´s certainly difficult to pinpoint the personal belongings area," said Flower. Joroby and Clarity looked at her briefly, then resumed their talk.

"Do you have evidence of this fraud?"

"A dive shop exploded in Acapulco, but there´s no more evidence there," said Flower. Clarity continued the explanation.

"No, our private banker, Mr. Rapple, kept the papers. Fortunately, we have avoided signing on as investors by being with you."

The elevator door opened, and Lord Moorehead, dressed in a purple, wool sweater, welcomed them, leading them to the sponsored cabin overlooking the arena. There was only a single person inside, Bubba Key, wearing boxing shorts and shoes, and a golden belt with a large silver buckle. He was speaking on a small cell phone.

"The dog has performed fine as an usher. Your guests are here, I´m moving along to the ring. See you after the fight. I´m going to crush Easy Glove tonight, no one meddles with our Law and Limited Lofty Banking Corporation. Take care of the dog, it´s Somerset´s sweater that it´s wearing."

# Chapter Thirteen

Clarity and Flower walked with Joroby to their seats overlooking the arena, which was filled with an anxious crowd holding signs such as 'crush Easy Glove Bubba', or 'Easy Glove to the compartment.' Clarity looked down from the VIP cabin and noticed a good looking woman, the one known as Beverly she had seen in Acapulco inside the Rolls Royce, introducing the boxers and presenting a platter of lobster to the crowd, lobster widely available in small posts distributed throughout the arena. She looked around for food, but didn´t see any platter filled with anything to eat or drink, only a Lofty ATM to her right admitting only its 'Lofty lobster' debit card.

A large steel panel on the wall in the shape of a crop dusting Gippsman 200, the cabin sponsor, lifted, leaving full view on the Buddha lounge, a comfortable area displaying a group of attractive women, vying for the attention of the only man there, Buddha Talk, who was calmly smoking a cigarette near a statue of Buddha made with stone, lit by disco neon lights rotating around its solemn head.

About twenty five different dishes, ranging from appetizers like grilled vegetables, salads, whole grilled chickens and grilled fish, and abundant fruit, dates, and chocolate truffles indicated abundance in the neighboring VIP lounge. Flower grabbed the glass panel of the window and set her nose against it.

Bubba Key was the first to enter the arena. After waving to the crowd, he stepped out of the ring and jumped on Beverly´s back. Then, he abandoned his first prey and from one corner jumped on Easy Glove, when the contender stepped into the ring to wave to the crowd as well. At the end of round two, the door opened and Clarity recognized the overbearing presence of Buddha Talk, who walked directly towards the inspector.

"Inspector Joroby, where did you find these two women? I don´t like private interference with my business."

"They´re not interfering, they´re with me, that should be enough. We finally meet, Mr. Buddha Talk, pleased to meet you." Joroby shook the hand of Buddha Talk, which he found mushy.

"Sit down over there, sir, there´s one thing troubling us about Lofty," said the inspector, "one very particular thing: There is simply no customer feedback. It seems that the five thousand two hundred fifty three customers, many of them golfers, have disappeared without a trace since the bank license of Lofty was approved, after receiving their lobster credit card." Buddha Talk swaggered towards the inspector´s sofa, while Bubba Key was clinging to Easy Glove´s back, trying to bend the opponent to defeat on the floor.

"We know how they travel, and where they play golf, but we don´t know where they are," said Flower. A grilled lobster settled on a plate, descended from the ceiling, attached to a vertical metal rod, and Buddha Talk grabbed it when it was within reach, before Clarity, Flower or Joroby could reach it. He pointed to the ATM, telling his guests that they needed Lofty´s lobster card to eat.

"Our customers work with us on a global scale. Some of them have decided to do stitching work in the U.S. or Asia, where their labor is valued."

"Was it their choice though, to work for Lofty?" Asked Joroby.

"Buddha said that choice is a tenuous road of reincarnation avenues filled with flowers of hesitation. They chose well, based upon our recommendation."

"Which was?"

"It´s confidential, in our statutory safe deposit box, under BVI jurisdiction."

"We´re not in the British Virgin Islands, sir."

"Under the Caribbean Single Market jurisdiction Act, the box is part of BVI territory, but is allowed residence in Grand Cayman. Judge Cahry said so."

"Judge Cahry became a Lofty customer and also disappeared."

"That was after he commented on the jurisdiction of the box," said Buddha Talk.

Clarity walked back towards the door, taking Flower´s hand.

"Let´s go eat while they´re talking," said Clarity. She felt an odd object caressing her hair, and lifted her eyes. A lobster plate was available. She stepped further back towards the door, then changed her mind and reached for the lobster, but Buddha Talk pressed on a button with a remote, and the lobster sprung upwards towards a ceiling trap closing on it.

"We´ll be right back," said Flower, "we know there´s food over there in the other room, the lively room of good looking women."

They walked to the neighboring lounge, mingling with the ladies there, justifying their presence by saying they were customers of Lofty. Clarity approached one of the women, wearing a white cotton sweatshirt labeled as 'Head Masseuse' in the back.

"Do you have fifty year indentures as well in your crashworthy contract?" Asked Clarity. The woman, known as Beverly, wearing jean shorts, answered her question.

"We all do, we work for Buddha Talk for life, he´s so sweet. Heavy and lofty, but sweet. We like the tropical lifestyle here in Grand Cayman, life is so easy on us." Clarity noticed one of the earrings of Beverly looked like the one that Flower was searching.

"Is that earring yours?"

"No, it´s a replica, Buddha Talk´s specialty, they´re held in a safe deposit box at Lofty´s main branch in Grand Harbor. I heard the original came from Mongolia."

"My earring," said Flower.

"Your friend´s funny. Hey, would you like to join us after the fight, there´s a pool party at the balcony of Bubba Key´s hotel room afterwards. I´ll tell you about how to get the lobster card."

"No thanks," said Clarity. Making her way through several women, she finally reached a platter filled with grilled lobster, and for several minutes, simply didn´t stop eating. She whispered to Flower as they left the Buddha Lounge.

"Now, we have proof of fraud against Lofty. We just need the replicas, your original, and some additional evidence to justify that it´s doing illegal business here."

# Chapter Fourteen

Clarity and Flower came back into the sponsored cabin, knowing they´d done the right thing by eating before proceeding with their mission. Buddha Talk was showing Joroby a one hundred dollar bill from Lofty´s bank reserves, insisting that the bill looked washed, but that it was genuine, and that Lofty needed very little cash to function, in fact the one hundred dollar bill, carried by Buddha Talk everywhere in person, was the bank´s only cash on hand.

"And if customers need cash?" Asked Joroby.

"They don´t, they use our lobster credit card," said Buddha Talk, "all their money is plowed into crashworthy."

"The inspection´s moving along, I think," said Flower.

Clarity heard a roar below her, in the arena. Something was happening in the boxing ring. She looked closely and saw Bubba Key pounding on Easy Glove´s chest with one of his gloves, as the contender was lying on the floor, knocked out by a solid series of punches from the Las Vegas-to-Cayman boxer and well known low cost flight adherent. It was round number three.

The umpire struggled to take Easy Glove´s glove from the hand of Bubba Key, and lifted the hand of Lofty´s client in victory. The bell from the boxing ring rang several times, indicating the end of the fight. A grilled lobster descended from the ceiling attached to a steel arm, and Bubba Key grabbed one of its pincers in triumph.

Simultaneously, Clarity heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and saw Beverly smiling to her, with ten other women behind her who had changed their pants or dress for Tahitian, flowered pareos.

"The girls like you, they´d like to party with you tonight after the fight inside Jaguar number seventy three, and offer a four hour, ten hand Lomi-Lomi massage while you think of Buddha, at his one point eight U.S. million dollars mansion on Governor´s Harbor Canal in Nelson Quay."

Clarity smiled inwardly, looking at Beverly´s cleavage. A party headed by the head masseuse would interfere with their focused search for the earring of Shoroon Bumbagar, the seventh century aristocrat from the Mongolian region of Bulgan Aimag. She liked the thought of being pampered by five good looking women at the same time, though.

"We´re on ethnographic assignment, we need to find one of the original earrings of Shoroon Bumbagar."

"A new authority on Buddha?" Asked Beverly.

"You can say that, a Mongolian authority actually, but he can´t answer right now," said Flower. Clarity looked at Joroby and Buddha Talk. Joroby was scolding Buddha Talk for the lack of transparency and compliance reporting tools of Lofty Bank, but Buddha Talk wasn´t answering or moving, he kept staring at the eyes of Joroby as if he was looking at a grilled lobster.

"Time to leave," said Flower, "the conversation isn´t moving very much."

"You´re right, let´s go."

Clarity and Flower ran away from Beverly and reached the arena´s parking lot. Parked beside the Rolls Royce and Jaguar number seventy three was an eight passenger golf cart labelled 'Beverly´s Cart to Enlightenment'. She stepped towards the cart and noticed the keys were on the cart. She sat in the driver´s seat while Flower seated beside her. Clarity glanced at the Rolls Royce with tinted windows. There was condensation on the window glass from the activity inside between Somerset and Tarrance.

"Where are we going?" Asked Flower.

"To Lofty, we need that safe deposit box from Buddha Talk."

"The bank must be closed now, how are we going to get past security?"

They drove the golf cart below the local speed limit, and reached the bank forty five minutes later. The security guard was dozing at the entrance of the Grand Harbor shopping center. Flower tapped lightly on his shoulder, waking up the guard after shaking him several times against the table where he was resting his head.

"Mmmh, yes?"

"We´re customers of Lofty, our plane leaves tomorrow at five thirty, we need to check out our personal belongings in the jewelry deposit box," said Clarity.

"Box number?"

"Five zero three, we´re brand new customers of Lofty," said Flower, beaming a smile.

"The scandium deposit box, it´s on the right, in the vault, it´s pink cast in color, the only one there is like that."

"And to open the box and check our belongings?"

"Being Lofty customers, you must know this. You have to believe in Samsara, the continuous cycle of life and rebirth, and in anicca, a corollary mark of Buddhist existence. The box is voice-activated, each customer has a Buddhist word to open it."

"Any Buddhist glossary available, here?" Asked Flower.

"Inside the vault´s elevator, press on the button named 'stupa', it´s Sanskrit for shrine. Good luck."

Clarity looked incredulously at both as she stepped inside the lobby of the bank with Flower. Lofty was a Buddhist bank, and Flower had caught that, so naturally. She told herself she´d protect her friend from then on, from all of her bohemian dangerous inclinations. They thanked the security guard and stepped inside the elevator leading to the vault.

Clarity pressed on the 'shrine' button and a pile of sheets sprung out of one elevator panel. She looked closely and found the English translation of the word anicca in Pali: It meant impermanence. Beside the word was another indication, labeled as 'step on tiles one and three'. The elevator door opened and they stepped inside the vault towards the small golden deposit box, a shiny box with the etching ' _genuine scandium melted by Buddha Talk, use for safekeeping purposes only,_ ' on it.

Clarity stepped lightly on floor tiles one and three beside the golden safety box indicated by the security guard, and said out loud the word 'impermanence' in Pali. The security box made of light scandium, opened. Flower looked inside.

"There´s a key with a key ring inside, but there´s no earring.

# Chapter Fifteen

Clarity looked closely at the key. It had an address: 503 bis Governor´s Square, Seven Mile Beach, Nelson Quay, Grand Cayman.

"Where´s my earring?"

"Let´s hold on to this key and ask the guard," said Clarity. They closed the safe deposit box saying the word 'koan' aloud, a word indicated below the opening word, 'anicca', which meant riddle-like puzzle, and was used to teach Buddhist wisdom, contradictions such as what is the sound of one hand clapping. They rode the elevator to the lobby and found the guard playing 'mahjong' on a computer.

"That´s the address of Mr. Buddha Talk. Don´t go there tonight, it´s private night for him and his eighteen companions. One of his security trucks came to pick up an earring, earlier today. At this time, it´s probably safe in his mansion´s deposit box."

"Many thanks. Bye." Clarity and Flower steamrolled the asphalt with the borrowed golf cart, at thirty miles an hour, reaching Seven Mile Beach within forty five minutes of leaving Lofty´s headquarters. The mansion was built in British colonial style, and was guarded by a Doberman named 'Rothman Slim', restless and hungry, posted inside a small cabin where the guard could rest.

"Do you have meat?" Asked Flower.

"No, why?"

"Dogs like meat, otherwise I don´t see how to get past that dog in the cabin." She yawned and placed her head on Clarity´s shoulder.

"Well, we have to get past the guard, really, the dog´s nearly irrelevant. We´ll drive through with our cart."

The security guard at the iron gate had a semiautomatic weapon holstered across his chest.

"Hi, Beverly told us to get the table ready for the party, they´re on their way, but decided to take the Jaguar number seventy three."

"Who are you?"

"We´re new masseuses, intermediate level more or less," said Flower, "Beverly recruited us after we signed our fifty year contract with Lofty. Do you know if the earring´s home, the one earring that is special for our very Buddha Talk?"

"The earring´s been sent to the Bahamas, it´s a special gift from Mr. Buddha Talk to one of his girlfriends, a shrewd businesswoman who lives in Nassau."

"Good, thanks," said Clarity.

"Do you know who won the fight, I have invested one thousand dollars on Bubba Key."

"Bubba Key crushed Easy Glove in three rounds." The guard placed his weapon on a ledge of the cabin, and opened the iron gate.

"Good, good, come in, I´ll hold the dog so that he doesn´t go after you. The mansion´s empty. Do you have the key?"

Clarity hushed Flower before she could speak.

"We have the key, thank you." They drove through an alley to the entrance of the home. Clarity saw a safe deposit box with the number five zero three bis, made of a metal similar to the one at Lofty, and inserted the found key. The entrance door opened and several red laser beams inside placed for security, stopped shining, shut by Clarity´s key insertion. She recovered the key and stepped inside, hearing the humming noise of the air conditioning.

"How did you know we had the right key?"

"I´m starting to know Buddha Talk, he takes precautions, and he´s the only one who has all the information. Let´s find his bedroom."

They walked up the marble stairs of the large two floor home, reaching the main bedroom, which had a tiger pelt on the bed, with the tiger´s teeth pointing at them. On the right, there was a dressing room.

"Let´s go in there, there should be a safe there, with my earring."

Flower´s intuition surprised Clarity once again. They found the safe, made of scandium, behind a folded white shirt. At the bottom left of the safe, there was a sign that said 'genuine scandium melted by Buddha Talk, use only for homekeeping purposes.' The safe opened with the same key from Lofty. Clarity reached with her hand inside and found the safe deposit box of Bubba Key.

"Wow, I wish my earring was as easy to find as this box. I can´t believe Bubba Key trusts Buddha Talk with all his savings."

"I can´t believe all his savings weigh so little. Let´s see if the key works here as well," said Clarity. She inserted the key from Lofty and miraculously, it also opened the boxer´s safe deposit box. Inside, she found a single bearer share, indicating that whoever held the share owned all net assets of Lofty Bank, cash onhand less any debt of the Cayman Islands bank.

"There´s no earring, but this share is the key to Lofty, we own Lofty, so to speak, I think," said Flower.

The girl dressed in the flowered dress picked up the second item in the box, a scandium lobster credit card, and Clarity jotted the pin number on her notepad.

"Not exactly, read the small print, it says that _only if the bearer of this share owns Lord Moorehead III, the Great Dane of well known, British Lord inheritance, and five times best in show at the Westminster Kennel dog show, the superbowl of pet shows, held alternatively in Nassau, Bahamas, and Coconut Grove, Florida, as per the inheritance papers of Lord Moorehead III written by Chesterfield Moorehead, known as Lord Moorehead II, at age 97 and ninety four days, in the City of London, United Kingdom, is this bearer share active as sole ownership share of Lofty Bank for the bearer, and as ownership share of additional business interests, such as boxing match stakes, and the night club premises of Neria B opened in Nassau, Bahamas, by a close associate of Mr. Buddha Talk specializing in the beauty segment._

_In such event of bearer ownership, Lord Moorehead III will act as front 'man' of the bank and main recipient of all official mail notices from the Cayman Islands monetary Authority or any other senders, including The Arkhon Syndicate, which may or may not finance activities of Lofty Bank depending upon its cash onhand derived from its fund placement and cash remittance services, known as 'the sprinkler', such sprinkling referring to cash, and not water_. That´s why all notices go to Lord Moorehead, because the poor dog can´t answer them, and then Buddha Talk does what he wants with Lofty."

"But how did Lord Moorehead become the 'front' owner of the bank? That doesn´t make sense. I´m starting to think that we´ll need to really own Lofty to get my earring back and to get twenty percent return on investment."

"Well, a dog is the ideal front man, certainly, it never talks. In any case, to own Lofty, we might need to go to Nassau or Coconut Grove and find out more about the pedigree and the inheritance of Lord Moorehead there."

One floor below, they heard the sound of Beverly and Somerset, jogging together in the lobby.

"That was fun, it´s getting us ready for the triathlon this year. Let´s go upstairs and then have dinner," said Beverly, "I think he´s in the mood for tigress outfits, now that he sent the earring to his girlfriend. Who is she?"

"I´m not sure, a business woman in the beauty business, she´s the one who guides his pleasure philosophy. There´s a book on pleasure that he never shows us that she gave him when he went to Nassau to meet members of the Syndicate."

"Is that his secret? Every time I´m with him, I just let go, and he keeps me coming for hours in the same position, legs folded, with my body almost still. He just checks that my all my buds are standing firm, and he tells me I´m a healthy and enlightened woman. That gets me off every time, he´s so sweet."

"It´s part of his secret, you know he never talks about sexual ecstasy, for him it´s sacred. I heard he can satisfy seven or eight women for hours in a single night. Let´s change into the tigress outfits, maybe it´ll be our turn tonight, you´re getting me in the mood."

# Chapter Sixteen

"It´s Beverly and Somerset, they´re here, let´s take the share," said Flower.

"We can´t take the share, Buddha Talk will kill us."

"Let´s take the share to James Blond, he´ll be the one to get killed." Clarity sighed.

"Let´s get out of here and then discuss, without the share," said Clarity. Flower reached for the back of Buddha Talk´s safe.

"There´s a phone and a pile of money in the back. Look."

Clarity grabbed the cell phone, which was turned on, and looked at the pile of paper. They were Treasury bonds, one hundred in total, in ten thousand dollar denominations.

"There´s a million dollars here," said Flower, "well, we found our crashworthy deposit, let´s take the money." Clarity looked at her as though she were crazy.

"The money or the share," said Flower. "If we don´t take the share, we have no bargaining leverage as Lofty working customers. If we don´t take the money, we´re mush in the hands of Buddha Talk. And we need this kind of money to get out of here." The cell phone rang.

"I have to take this phone, it feels good to be rich," said Flower.

"Yes?, yes, I´m Somerset, oh good, the hydroplane is here, good, thank you. No, no banner is necessary, we´re not going to advertise Lofty in the Bahamas, that territory is covered already. Mr. Buddha Talk, well, he may not be coming this time. The yacht´s on repair, that´s ok. The Syndicate is waiting for Mr. Buddha Talk next week at the Neria B night club in Nassau, yes, Nassau, Bahamas, well thank you, I knew where Nassau is, good, yes we´re writing it on the agenda. By the seaside, two minutes, thank you, and then the Lofty Airlines flight for the infomercial in Little Cayman airport that will take us to Nassau to prepare Mr. Buddha Talk´s meeting. Got it, got all of it. Make it four minutes, we need a few minutes to gather our thoughts. Bye." Clarity heard the roar of 'Rothman Slim' and the voice of Buddha Talk entering the bedroom. She whispered to Flower.

"Good, that´s our way out of here, let´s take the cell phone and the bonds, and leave the share. Leave the dresser door closed."

"Deal, you get past the dog first, though, that thing´s dangerous."

Clarity heard the voice of Buddha Talk and the sound of window panes sliding, bringing a soft sea breeze to the dressing room.

"Go Rothman, you can jump in the pool as well as Lord Moorehead."

Clarity heard the dog stepping on the balcony and jumping into a pool with a splashing sound. After twenty five minutes, there was lively talk in the balcony. Clarity peeked at the balcony. At nineteen people, including Buddha Talk, the only man, the balcony was full. She grabbed the hand of Flower and slipped outside the dressing room into the bedroom. They crouched to reach the bedroom door and closed it behind them. They walked to the garden towards a small wharf, ensuring they remained in the shadows from the iron entrance gate. They found a rowboat and noticed a hydroplane landing three hundred feet away.

"The yacht´s on repair, our luck. I don´t know where that dog is, must be swimming."

"Let´s go, let´s say we´re part of a varsity row team." They heard the voice of Buddha Talk screaming from atop the balcony.

"The money, my phone, they´re gone, get those girls, Rothman, I know they´re here somewhere." Immediately, the Doberman got out of the pool and ran towards the jetty.

"Yeah, let´s move swiftly, I don´t like the sound of Buddha Talk´s barking item of home surveillance," said Flower.

They rowed to the hydroplane and reached the main cabin. A good looking pilot with a scar on his cheek welcomed them, beaming a flashlight at them, as the screams of Tarrance, Beverly, and Somerset behind them reached them.

"I was expecting Bubba Key, you have company it seems," said the pilot.

"We´re flying on our own." Clarity took a single ten thousand dollar treasury bond, and gave it to the pilot. The man looked at the bill and rolled his eyes.

"With this kind of money, I´ll take you anywhere. Give me all of it. Where are we going?"

"To Little Cayman airport, we have to catch a plane there going to Nassau." The pilot grabbed the pile of treasury bonds and folded them inside a leather pouch.

"Ah! Yes, the infomercial, fasten your seat belts, let´s get moving. There´s some piña colada in the back, if you´d like refreshments."

As the plane lifted off, leaving Buddha Talk and all other talk behind, Clarity looked at the beautiful Caribbean sea, watching the sun rise. Closing her eyes after a tiring night, she started dreaming of a Cayman Island beachfront home on Nelson Quay, partly owned in a one hundred and three year timeshare agreement with her friends Flower, Cynthia, Taimi, Jenna and Lanai.

# Chapter Seventeen

SUN ON THE ROCKS amusements for adults, in easy to read, banana humor order.

THE MALIBU CASE.

THE ACAPULCO COCKTAIL.

THE CAYMAN AIR BANNER.

THE BAHAMAS LOTION.

THE ADULT CHANNEL.

THE OOL BRODERIE.

THE BELLAGIO WIKILEAK.

THE CUBAN RENEGADE.

THE SUGAR BABY.

THE MARBLE TOUCAN.

THE OUTDOOR SHOWER.

THE EMOTION SCALE.

MERIDIAN 57.

THE VANITY RING.

THE SHABBY SHEIK.

Crafted by Somers Isle & Loveshade.

Sun on the Rocks is genuine banana humor, fresh, trivial,

tropical, easy to peel, and easy-going, like the fruit.

All fictional characters are adults at least twenty one years of age.

The banana humor amusements of Sun on the Rocks have gathered a total of 20,000 downloads and about 90,000 views or reads, on several platforms, such as Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Kobo books, Sony, Inktera, community blogsites Our Salon and Open Salon, the free-ebooks.net platform, and the Apple Store. On blogsite communities our salon and open salon, the amusements have gathered a total of about one hundred comments from people who connect, or like, or can relate to what is in the amusement. You can see those comments below, to see what other people think about the amusements.

The Malibu Case.

Or whether corporate nudity should be part of the dress code.

The Acapulco Cocktail.

Or how a cocktail drink can turn a holiday into a traction with the Law.

The Cayman Air Banner.

Or going where your money goes to keep an eye on how it disappears.

The Bahamas Lotion.

Or whether the notion of a lotion is not beauty but dependence.

The Adult Channel.

Or how renting pleasure is different from owning it.

The OOL Broderie.

Or whether a wedding can be arranged as a matter of levity.

The Bellagio Wikileak.

Or how to rely on information before the information relies on you.

The Cuban Renegade.

Or whether gold can be backed by a renegade, when money is backed by the cap of Castro.

The Sugar Baby.

Or whether sugar can turn to salt when someone overlooks the honey.

The Marble Toucan.

Or how those who want you to leave your place are those who should leave in the first place.

The Outdoor Shower.

Or how a shower can bring good weather to the bottom line.

The Emotion Scale.

Or looking at how you feel to let others choose how you think.

Meridian 57.

Or how the merchant of longevity

can sell a claim to live longer by monetizing wisdom.

The Vanity Ring.

Or discerning when vanity is worn in order to meddle with the lives of others.

The Shabby Sheik.

Or whether a golden cage can bring both gold and freedom when properly used.

100 COMMENTS FROM READERS OF OPEN SALON AND OUR SALON,

ORIGINAL BLOGSITES OF SUN ON THE ROCKS BANANA HUMOR

(R and R+ stand for rated, or liked)

THE MALIBU CASE

ch.14 - Frisky, light-hearted, and delightful! Consistently! This should be a GRAPHIC novel (when you finally get around to publishing!) R+

ch.3 - This is so clever. Everything is "normal" except the central dilemma of (gasp) optional nudity. With nonchalant humor you are making an individual rights argument out of this. I can hear you pitching this to a TV exec: "Who could object to that?"

I think you could actually pull this off (no pun) in reality if the characters were discretely / artfully filmed! It could be great fun. These are unique characters who are "over the horizon" in leading the California trend. R

ch.13 - Fun read. That package and who got it will bring me back. R

ch.12 - I want to see the video version of this story! What a romp.

ch.12 - Quite a revealing case. Quick and playful, this story scampers right up to the edge of decency and then sticks its tongue out.

ch.12 - This plot has the sexiest curves.

ch.1 - This is deceptively breezy and fun. I. did. not. expect. THIS! Good show! R

ch.15 - Hurray! The girls won and we are all the beneficiaries of their determination. I hope that we will have further adventures about the floating spa and that the long arm of the law can't reach them in inter national waters. R

ch.15 - Sorry I've been away and missed the last few installments. I'm glad to see the girls came out of this in stellar fashion. It was a fun read, and I'm looking forward to the south of the border installments. R

ch.15 - Sweet, sweet, sweet. And I think you may have set-up the next Episode in the series! Hmmm. I just noticed that others feel the same. Good! R+

ch.14 - Phew! The package picker-upper turns out to be on our side....at least for now. I guess it all comes down to the vote. Go naturism! R

ch.13 - If we Amuricans have a right to bear arms, the girls have a right to bare whatever! I vote yes. Fun read. That package and who got it will bring me back. R

ch.13 - Lots of limbs to go out on here. I'm always intrigued by the persistence of the press.

ch.12 - You just seem to strip the story to its bare essentials and cut to the chase ;).

ch.12 - Very amusing. Am I the only girl here? Is that weird?

ch.11 - It looks like the governor will have to get involved! A night under the stars, clothing optional I hope? R

ch.11 - I just wish I could have conceived this saga. So breezy and tongue-in-cheek! R+

ch.10 - You really make this sound reasonable and imminent! R+

ch.10 - If it were only that easy... hey, maybe it would be if someone only tried it! When writing, it's recommended to stick to the bare essentials. You can't get any bare than this subject. Still reading. R

ch.9 - Yes, these are burning questions! When is the rally? Excuse me, but I'm sticking to my leather chair here at work... R

ch.8 - "Proposition 531 has a secret." A secret proposition, why am I not surprised? You still have me guessing for answers. Keep up the suspense. R

ch.8 - Yeah, yah, YES. Vivid, breezy, and irresistible. Can't wait. R+

ch.7 - What a cool caper. Such tension and intrigue, and I keep reminding myself of how tongue-in-cheek the mission really is. Great satire. R

ch.7 - "I found something interesting, come here." Now you have my curiosity aroused. This is a great series. Keep going. R

ch.7 - I enjoy the story..thank you for writing and sharing..See you here..Best regards.

ch.7 - refreshing and fun, like a more realistic Charlie's Angels. Keep it coming. R

ch.6 - I can't believe I've been missing these! I was sure I had "favorited" you! You must also link to the Fiction Weekend site when you can. Still a great script. R

ch.6 - Me, again. I just want to suggest that when you post a new installment that you go back and put in a "next" link to your previous installment. There isn't another sexy, funny, charming story like this being done! R

ch.6 - This is funny, hip and sexy with tongue firmly in cheek. I love all the little touches like the upscale thong for example. R

ch.6 - The plot thickens! Everyone seems to be having a great time here, with the exception of our officer friend. R

ch.5 - You GO, girls! Let me gather a few things and I'll go with you... R+

ch.5 - Do I see a road movie starting to appear? R

ch.4 - Gasp! Oh, no! My damsels are in distress! This is sooooo script-ready. ACTION! +

ch.4 - Sorry I'm late. Swimming naked, high above the city... sounds intriguing. R

ch.3 - Ok, now I've read all three chapters, and am up to date with the bare essentials... so to say. It'll be interesting to see where this goes. R

ch.3 - l love it! Totally confirms what we easterners think: everyone in California has a screw loose. I think clothing optional day is a logical extension of casual friday. I am now backtracking to catch up on the earlier installments. R

THE ACAPULCO COCKTAIL

ch.1 - Hurray! A new adventure. Reading each installment is like a mini-vacation....with beautiful aquanauts thrown in for good measure. R

ch.2 - Cocktails, sun....I'm hooked. R

ch.4 - Even a fish would not get caught if it kept its mouth shut! lol

ch.4 - Looks as if the girls should start learning some Spanish.

I hope they are not going loco down in Acapulco! R

ch.4 - Do they have cable in Mexican jail?

ch.4 - I knew it, I knew it. The girls cannot stay out of trouble. Could a Mexican prison be next? This is a lot of fun. R

ch.4 - Hey I want that job! It sounds like something I could do from home, while relaxing in my Lazy-Boy recliner. You have me thirsty for the next chapter. Sorry I'm late, but I was having a cold one out by the pool. R

ch.6 - another great read.........supertaster?......gotta hear more.....R

ch.5 - well done again...R

ch.6 - Effortless intrigue! You put me right there. Nancy Drew for the 21st century? R+

ch.7 - This is such a breezy web, I can't believe the weight of mystery you are able to hold! R

ch.5 - I swallowed this like a shooter. It is a strong story, and I'll say it like always: could easily be a script! R

ch.4 - Yeah! You are raising the voltage nicely with this one. I didn't see the "safe" coming! R+

THE CAYMAN AIR BANNER

ch.4 - Well - I love this so far and will keep reading!

ch.8 - This does hold your interest.

ch.12 - At last the fight. The bit with the elusive canapés and limping along limo was priceless. R

ch.11 - You do create a surreal environment: a little James Bond with a dash of Clouseau. R

ch.1 - Hurray, a new adventure! I've been away awhile. I have a lot of catching up to do. R

ch.1 - 20%! That must have been pre 2007, or else someone is going to lose their savings on a deal that sounds too good to be true. Let the action begin. R

ch.7- The interplay between Clarity and Flower is priceless. R

ch.6 - I'd hang on to my money if I was in Clarity's bikini. R

ch.5 - Just like a banker to steal your earrings while you are sleeping. R

ch.4 - So many directions it can go. R

ch.1 - hahah..ok, waiting to see where this goes!

ch.12 - At last the fight. The bit with the elusive canapés and limping along limo was priceless. R

ch.13 - 1,500 golfers gone. Should be easier to get a tee time. Sounds like the girls are closing in for the kill. R

ch.15 - I learned a new word-scandium! "Let´s change into the tigress outfits, maybe it´ll be our turn tonight, you´re getting me in the mood." Perfect! I can picture it!

ch.3 - A surreal, but fascinating turn of events. Gallinaceous, indeed. R

ch.16 - somehow I missed seeing your interesting series in the activity feed here--will read through all of your chapters this weekend and hope you have another series in the pipeline here!

ch.10 - Is Bernie Made-off part of this operation? The girls are going to have a hard time doping this out. R

ch.2 - Ladies, hang onto your money and bikini tops. R

ch.11 - "Buddha Talk walks his talk, and talks only when needed." This is such a neat line!

ch.1 - Place tongue firmly in cheek and prepare for takeoff! R

THE BAHAMAS LOTION

ch.1 - Wow, here we go again. Great start of a new adventure. R

ch.6 - This whole story is hilarious.

ch.13 - "She stole this egg, she stole it from the temple of Wat Phodaram, Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining, glistening, mother of pearl Buddha, in Thailand, where the statues watch and protect ecstasy, and the subtle channels open your wisdom to the quiet mind and show you how the body works. " This is a hoot!

ch.4 - "The truck, an Isuzu FTR 800 class 2 pumper imported from the Fire and Rescue Agency of New South Wales in Wagga Wagga, Australia, was beaming a blue siren, approaching the limo at high speed. Stretching above Lanai, Taimi and Cynthia were struggling atop the truck with Jenna, who was surfing the air, holding balance by grabbing the ladder." What fabulous detail-I can create a perfect image in my mind.

Rosebud-I'm pretty sure I know what THAT reference is.

ch.12 - "Avalon was wearing an extra small ivory color Isabella thong by Myla, made of dusk silk satin, Elastene, and cotton gusset lining." You have a way with detail! I had to look up the thong. Boy, they are expensive!

ch.12 - "That´s how I fooled the Sex Brigade at Neria B." Immediately a Bowie song popped into my head: "Ground control to Sex Brigade, your circuits dead, there's something wrong." I think those lyrics are better than the original.

ch.12 - what a supremely odd universe I have landed in. I dunno what to make of this place yet, but it sure seems amorphously enticing, offering magical new technology and a supremely erotic atmosphere wherein breasts are softly offered to the table! and this: "It depends on what you view as sex," indeed.

ch.12 - "It´s simple, we disagree over the definition of pleasure," said Avalon, "over the meaning of it in fact. But we want to take over that resort." Ah, yes! You go girls!

BTW, you have subtly painted quite a scene involving naked women. Very subtle, but very descriptive as well.

ch.11 - OMG-I am so far behind! Forgive me. I will catch up! "Elony´s not approved by the FDA, Lanai."" I love this. What kind of fun stuff IS approved by the FDA?

ch.9 - "The girl named Lanai has been sent to study the book of Decadence in more detail with other scribes." Can I borrow that book? This is a great story.

ch.8 - "I love the service here," said Lanai. That's an understatement!

ch.2 - I'm pretty sure I know what the lotion is! Can't wait to find out.

ch.5 - "Have you been thinking of tupperware sex lately?" I'm quite sure I've never heard that expression before!

ch.6 - "Some type of hedonist resort, there shouldn´t be that many in the Bahamas" This whole story is hilarious, but this statement is the most hilarious of them all. I HAVE been to the Bahamas, you know, mostly out islands where anything goes!

ch.7 - "Men are only in charge of security here, their presence is accessory." I like to accessorize!

ch.16 - "She cherished that exhibitionist tendency which was part of her, part of her strength as an adult." Ah yes!

THE ADULT CHANNEL / THE ABU DHABI CHANNEL

Having spent some time in that part of the world, I'm curious to see how you envision an "adult channel" in Abu Dahbi. Should be a hoot.

ch.1 - Wow. I am saving a link to this post. Very helpful. One hot franchise!

ch.1 - A Church of pleasure, devotion to pleasure above all other notions or creeds, you could call it a devotional temple of pleasure. I'm converting!

ch.3 - "small battery operated dental fixtures that could also be used as sex toys" - Your imagination is superb!

ch.4 - "I Don´t trust the water, I drink only Nordic Mist tonic water."

"Because..."

"It´s made by Coca Cola, the perfect soft drink."

Do you get something for product placement? Funny!

ch.6 - lol "Just sexual, I mean sex, wasn´t sure about love, because I thought if you mix sex and love, you might get pregnant."

THE OOL BRODERIE / THE BAHRAIN BRODERIE

ch.13 - Looks very amusing, and makes me want to take along to the beach for a long lingering read.

four star rating of ool broderie on goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20307072-the-ool-broderie

THE CUBAN RENEGADE

ch.4 - I loved "the Egyptian method to move stones." There is a delightful whiff of Kafka about all this.

**ch.4 - You have my attention!**

**ch.6 -** I found this to be highly erotic.

ch.8 - "This is how we´ll use the bitcoin in this decryptor if anything goes wrong." Ha! I have to see how this plays out.

ch.10 - "you mean using Cuban cigars as currency for Cuba." That would give new meaning to the phrase "my savings went up in smoke".

ch.14 - Great, as usual.

THE SUGAR BABY

ch.9 - I love all the names!!! esp Clarity.

ch.11 - Wow!

ch.14 - Woo!

ch.15 - You have such a unique writing style that turns me on and intrigues me at the same time.

THE OUTDOOR SHOWER

ch.1 - Bravo.

ch.2 - I was thinking of putting in an outdoor shower just the other day. Hadn't thought of having any walls.

somers isle - I'm so bad at DIY that not sure how I'd do the shower or the walls, I'd probably have to go with the bucket of water.

somers isle, to the first reader - apparently, there is both options, not sure what is more popular, here is a couple of designs for you, http://bit.ly/29etROS

another reader - I had an outdoor shower in my previous place, which was out in the country and private. It was a garden arch with grapes growing all over it. Lovely... Also came in handy when we had our little festival...

somers isle - garden arch with grapes does sound lovely, I resonate with anything unprocessed, home out in the country sounds nice, no city noises, privacy is important.

same reader - I made another, closer to our camping area, with walls of salvaged metal gazebo pieces and blue tarp hung behind. (Living in the country for privacy, plus country dump!)

first reader , after some reflection - We live in the woods, but with neighbors nearby. I could probably get by without walls in the summer. In the winter when the leaves are gone I would be inside anyway. I haven't really considered this enough to draw up a plan.

THE SHABBY SHEIK

reader from barnes and noble: humorous and interesting.

The person gave the amusement a five star rating.

BACKSTORIES AND CHARACTERS

http://oursalon.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sun-on-the-rocks-backstories-and-fresh-items.

great the way you have this constructed, with the linx etc....

A TOTAL OF 100 COMMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY.

SUN ON THE ROCKS IS CRAFTED BY SOMERS ISLE & LOVESHADE,

crafting each amusement for the community,

one ridiculous situation at a time.

# Chapter Eighteen

**The calculation which made Clarity look into Lofty Bank** :

At 20% compounded over a period of 20 years (interest reinvested), 26.084 dollars grows to one million dollars (1.000.000 dollars). At 10% compounded, which is approximately the average annual 10 year growth rate of the S&P 500 stock index, 28.654 dollars grows to 500.000 dollars over 30 years, a hefty sum around retirement at age 70, starting to invest at age 40, to pay for living expenses at age 70+, when you won´t be able to make as much money then, or even any money at all. The calculation works if you start at 35 and retire at 65.

**A Simple Savings Plan** :

To save $28.654 by age 40, you can start at age 30 by saving 2.865 dollars every year, 239 dollars ($ 2.865 / 12 months = $239), every month for 10 years. It´s a lot of money to put aside every month, but it´s worth it.

**Compound Interest Calculator Clarity keeps close, for retirement purposes** (there is a savings plan above, so you can play around with the calculator, with numbers which are comfortable for you in terms of savings):

www.investor.gov/tools/calculators/compound-interest-calculator

**Careers and Professional Designations to consider** :

Chartered Financial Analyst: www.cfainstitute.org/

Certified Financial Planner: www.cfp.net/

**Wealth** :

Think and Grow Rich: Napoleon Hill's classic book on wealth.

How to Make Money (free pdf book from 1859)

**Educational sites, communities, and global news** :

Boston University online: www.bu.edu/online/

Visual Thesaurus: www.visualthesaurus.com/

Visual Global News: www.newsmap.jp/

Our Salon community: oursalon.ning.com/

**Featured universities** :

Bermuda College: www.college.bm/

University College Cayman Islands: www.ucci.edu.ky/

Free online university classes: www.coursera.org/

Ohio State University: www.osu.edu/

University of Arizona: www.arizona.edu/

University of Hawaii: www.hawaii.edu/

