The bulb at the top of the steps didn't work. She pushed open a heavy door and stepped outside onto the tile deck. The force of the wind coming off the harbor was stronger than she expected, and she had to lean into it as she took a few cautious steps. A faint blue light came from inside the observatory tower, barely illuminating some lawn chairs along the low parapet wall.
Bao Dai Villa Roofop
Gosh, Jenny. Why the devil did you get yourself into a spooky situation like this? Alone in the darkness with a strange man atop a haunted place like Bao Dai's Villa, of all things! You might as well have picked a cemetery! Why didn't you check his ID card more closely before coming up here?
A bit of history: Bao Dai's Villas are a complex of five buildings dating to the 1920s. Located on a tall bluff, they look over Nha Trang's picturesque harbor and beaches. Bao Dai chose his vacation spots well; Nha Trang is called Vietnam's Riviera for good reason. Bao Dai abdicated in 1945. It seems he had been little more than a puppet for the French and later the Japanese occupiers. Tourists can request to rent the King and Queen Suite, little changed since the last of the Nguyen dynasty departed for a relaxed life in Paris.
