“Why would you come here? You had your own private botanic gardens right next door!” Colin said.

“Sometimes my dad and I would go on walks here, just for a change, and I only wanted to go to the lake with the two islands in the middle. I called it my ‘secret island.’ Wait a minute, let’s check the instructions again,” Nick said, unfolding the map that had been placed inside the envelope. Colin held his iPhone up to provide some lighting, while Nick peered at the map intently.

“Okay, the animal topiaries are over on the right, so I think we’re supposed to cut through this grove of trees right here.”

“There isn’t any path,” Colin said.

“I know, but the arrow points down this way.”

Lit only by the light of their phones, they ventured into the thick of the forest, Colin feeling a little creeped out. “It’s pitch-black in here. Why do I feel like I’m suddenly in The Blair Witch Project?”

“Maybe we’ll run in to a pontianak,”*2 Nick joked.

“Don’t joke—a lot of people say that parts of the Botanic Gardens are haunted, you know. I mean, the Japanese tortured and killed people all over the island.”

“Good thing we’re not Japanese,” Nick said.

Soon the trees gave way to a trail, and after following it for a few minutes, they came upon a small concrete hut under an enormous casuarina tree.

“I think this is it. It’s some sort of pump room,” Nick said, trying to peer in through the darkened windows.

Suddenly a dark figure darted out from behind the tree.

“Pontianak!” Colin yelled, dropping his iPhone in panic.

“Sorry, it’s just me,” a female voice said.

Nick flashed his iPhone in the direction of the figure and suddenly before them, illuminated in the white blue light, appeared Astrid in an audaciously large Vetements hoodie with super-long sleeves and tight camouflage pants.

“Jesus, Astrid! I almost shit myself!” Colin exclaimed.

“Sorry! I was scared for a moment when you first walked up, and then I realized it was you guys,” Astrid said.

Nick smiled in relief. “I’m assuming you got the same note I did about seeing Ah Ma?”

“Yes! It was all rather mysterious. I was at my parents’ watching Cassian swim in the pool. I must have dozed off in my deck chair for a moment, because when I got up, there was a tray of iced tea and pandan cake by my side, and the envelope was under the cake. Cassian swears he didn’t see who put it there.”

“How curious. Are you okay?” Nick asked.

“I’m fine. It didn’t really spook me.” Just as Astrid said this, a light came on inside the pump room and the three of them jumped a little in shock. The steel door could be heard being unlocked from the inside, and as it opened with a loud rusty creak, a turbaned silhouette could be seen peeking out.

“Vikram!” Nick said excitedly.

“Come quickly,” Vikram instructed, ushering them all in.

“What is this place?” Astrid asked.

“This is the pump room that controls the intake for the two ponds,” Vikram said as he led them toward the back of the space, which was cramped with machinery. Behind a large round pipe going into the ground, a barely discernable panel opened to reveal a dark gaping void. “This is where we’re going. Each of you take turns—there are ladder rungs against the inner wall of this pipe.”

“Is this what I think it is?” Nick said in astonishment.

Vikram smiled. “Come on, Nicky, you go first.”

Nick hauled himself into the small crawl space and climbed down what seemed like a dozen or so rungs. After landing on solid ground, he helped Astrid find her footing as she descended the steps. When the four of them finally made it down, they found themselves in a small steel-walled vestibule. An old sign nailed against one wall read in English, Chinese, and Malay:

DANGER! NO OUTLET!

CHAMBER WILL FLOOD DURING VALVE RELEASE!

Vikram pushed against one of the wall panels, and it opened to reveal a well-lit tunnel. Nick, Astrid, and Colin entered with mouths agape, stunned by the existence of such a space.

“No. Fucking. Way!” Colin exclaimed.

“This tunnel leads to Tyersall Park, doesn’t it?” Nick asked excitedly.

“It goes right under Adam Road and puts us within the grounds of the house. Let’s go, we don’t have much time,” Vikram said.

As they made their way through the tunnel, Nick looked around in wonderment. There were spots of mold along some of the concrete walls and the ground was caked in a layer of dirt, but overall the tunnel was remarkably well preserved. “When I was a little kid, my father used to tell me stories about how there were secret passages in Tyersall Park, and I just thought he was pulling my leg. I begged him to show me one, but he never would.”

“Did you always know this was here?” Astrid asked.

“Not until yesterday,” Vikram said. “Ah Ling told me about it. Apparently this tunnel was used during the war by your great-grandfather Shang Loong Ma. That’s how he got in and out of the property and was never once caught by the Japanese.”

“I’ve heard there are tunnels similar to this. There’s supposedly one that leads from Uncle Kuan Yew’s house on Oxley Road to the Istana,” Astrid commented. “I just never imagined Tyersall Park would have one too.”

“Incredible! I can’t believe this whole elaborate plan—just to see your grandmother!” Colin remarked to Nick.

“Yes, apologies for all the cloak-and-dagger. Ah Ling and I needed to devise a way to get messages to the both of you without incriminating ourselves. Tyersall Park has been on complete lockdown for the past few days, as you are well aware,” Vikram said with a grin.

“I’m so grateful, Vikram.” Nick smiled back at him.

They arrived at the end of the tunnel and faced another set of rungs. Nick went first, and when he was out of the shaft, he looked down at Astrid as she climbed up. “You’ll never believe where we are!”

Astrid climbed out of the shaft and found herself standing in the middle of hanging orchid plants. They were in their grandmother’s orchid conservatory, and the large round stone table carved with griffins at its base in the middle of the conservatory rolled to the side to reveal the entrance into the tunnel.

“I’ve spent countless hours sitting at this table, having afternoon tea with Ah Ma!” Astrid exclaimed.

Standing on lookout at the door of the conservatory was Ah Ling. “Come, come, let’s get in before it gets light and people start waking up.”

When they were all safely ensconced inside Ah Ling’s room in the servants’ quarters, she wasted no time in explaining her plan. “Colin, you should stay here in my room, out of sight. I will take Astrid and Nicky up to Su Yi’s bedroom. I know a special route that will let us enter from the balcony outside her dressing room, and Astrid, you should go in alone first and be with her when she awakes. She will usually wake up after you draw the curtains open. She’ll be pleased to see you, and then you can tell her that Nicky is outside waiting to see her. This way she won’t get a shock if she wakes up and sees Nicky standing right there.”