Follow Your Star (21 page)

There was a pause before Vanessa said, ‘You coping? We’ll have a long talk tomorrow.’

‘Yes,’ Nanette answered. ‘I’m coping and there’s a lot to talk about when you get here.’

The harbour was busy as Nanette and Jean-Claude made their way to the yacht. As they walked, they saw
Mediterranean Wanderer
negotiating its way to a quayside berth, scores of cruise passengers lining her decks for their first look at Monaco.

Several police cars were parked along the embankment road effectively blocking a lane of traffic. Aloud blaring of car horns from exasperated drivers forced into gridlock
competed with the noisy siren from the liner as it warned smaller craft to get out of its way.

Nanette nudged Jean-Claude. ‘Isn’t that Boris sitting at that café? Oh, and there’s Mathieu.’

Jean-Claude followed her gaze. ‘Wasn’t
Mediterranean Wanderer
on Zac’s list? Maybe Boris is waiting to meet someone. As long as Mathieu isn’t doing his dirty work for him.’ Jean-Claude gave an anxious look in his son’s direction.

‘Shall we wait and see?’

Jean-Claude shook his head. ‘No. I have to do as Mathieu says and trust him. Let’s look at the safe.’

Phil, the skipper, was alone on board and eager to offer his condolences to Nanette.

‘It’s hard to believe. Such a tragedy. Away from the race track too,’ he said. ‘Have you heard anything about what happens next?’

‘The funeral is tomorrow – very low-key. We’re planning a memorial service in October,’ Nanette answered, unwilling to tell Phil yet that she was the new owner. He’d find out soon enough.

‘Remember those things I had to put in Zac’s private safe? I need to see if they are still there. We won’t be five minutes,’ Nanette said, taking Jean-Claude’s hand, compelling him to follow her into the master cabin, where she closed the door.

‘The time for secrets is over.’

Kneeling in front of the cupboard in the bathroom she took out the towels and the shelf. Carefully she punched the number into the combination lock and pulled the door open. The package and the gun were still there.

Amuttered ‘Blast’ escaped from Jean-Claude. ‘
Désolé
. I was hoping that Zac had already moved the stuff by now. OK, the
gun isn’t too big a problem – we can simply hand it in to the authorities. It’s not illegal to own a gun. The package though does give us a problem. We certainly can’t leave it here.’

‘I’ll put it in my bag, shall I?’ Nanette asked. ‘Take it back to the villa and talk to Mathieu. He may be able to suggest something.’

‘
D’accord
,’ Jean-Claude said, picking up the gun and making sure the safety catch was on before he slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket.

Phil was waiting for them in the stern. ‘Safe empty then?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ Nanette said. He wasn’t to know that it was empty because the main contents were now nestling in her bag.

Passengers from the cruise liner were thronging the pavements as Nanette and Jean-Claude stepped ashore. Traffic along the harbour road was still at a virtual standstill and a large crowd were watching the
gendarmes
frog-march somebody off the
Mediterranean Wanderer
.

Passing the pavement café where they’d seen Boris earlier, Nanette glanced around in time to see him disappearing into the crowd, with a thoughtful Mathieu watching him go.

Mathieu raised a languid hand in greeting as he saw them and walked towards them.

‘Cruz has been arrested. I expect things to start happening now,’ he said. ‘You’re looking very serious, Nanette. Has something happened?’

‘We need you to come up to the villa,’ Jean-Claude answered before Nanette could. ‘We have something to discuss with you urgently.’

Zac’s funeral service was as private as Nanette had hoped it
would be. Altogether there were just nine people in the congregation to hear the vicar’s eulogy of Zac’s life and the brave actions that had taken it away from him.

The Oliviers had travelled down and were seated with the woman whose baby and life Zac had saved. Phil was there and Monsieur Mille slipped into a seat at the back. Mathieu and Vanessa sat behind Nanette and Jean-Claude.

Listening to the words of praise for a man who had been a part of her life for several years and who would continue to be a never forgotten presence by virtue of his legacy to her, Nanette found herself fighting back the tears. Silently Jean-Claude handed her a handkerchief.

After the short service Jean-Claude invited everybody back to the villa. The Oliviers, Monsieur Mille and the rescued woman all declined, citing various reasons but Phil accepted.

‘So, if the rumours are to be believed,’ he said, awkwardly, as Nanette offered him a drink, ‘you’re my new boss. Are you going to keep
Pole Position
?’

‘Phil, I’m sorry, but it’s too soon to know. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do about a lot of things,
Pole Position
included. As soon as I do, I promise I’ll keep you informed. In the meantime, you’re still her skipper.’

Across the room she could see Mathieu in earnest conversation with Jean-Claude and Vanessa, but it wasn’t until after Phil had left and the four of them were alone that Nanette heard what they were talking about.

‘Boris has had his bail revoked,’ Jean-Claude told her.

‘Once the police got Cruz into custody yesterday he sang like a bird,’ Mathieu explained. ‘Apparently he was more than just a courier. He was able to supply missing contact names, routes and some other information the police needed.
They didn’t wait for Boris to do his daily sign-in – they rearrested him last night and got a judge to revoke his bail.’

‘Did Cruz implicate Zac in any way?’ Nanette asked quietly.

Mathieu shook his head. ‘No.’

Nanette breathed a sigh of relief before asking, ‘What did you do with the shampoo?’

‘Told the police where it had come from and handed it over. Don’t worry,’ he continued, seeing her anxious look. ‘It won’t be used as evidence. And, seeing there are enough people willing to testify against Boris, now he’s in custody and can’t threaten them anymore, I’ve “lost” my dossier on Zac’s activities. I can’t see the police bothering with a dead hero. I shall have to give evidence against Boris, of course.’

‘Does he know yet that you were double-crossing him?’ Jean-Claude asked.

‘No. The police are keeping that little bit of information for the trial. I’m just glad it’s all over and I can get back to a normal life,’ he said, looking at his father. ‘I really hated deceiving you.’

‘Now I know the truth I have to say I’m proud of you,’ Jean-Claude said. ‘You did the right thing.’

There was a short pause before Jean-Claude spoke again.

‘Does getting back to a normal life mean getting more involved in my business as well as your own? I was hoping that we could combine them both, with me taking a sabbatical for a few months.’

‘Shall we have a business meeting tomorrow morning and start to sort things out?’ Mathieu said.

Jean-Claude hesitated. ‘I was going to suggest I took Nanette down to Zac’s apartment but when we get back
would be fine.’

‘JC, don’t worry about that,’ Nanette said. ‘I’ll drive myself down. Leave you free to discuss business with Mathieu. Vanessa will come with me, won’t you?’ Nanette turned to her friend.

‘Of course.’

‘Are you sure?’ Jean-Claude asked.

‘Definitely. My convertible has been sitting in your garage far too long. It’s time I got mobile again.’

Nanette parked in one of the underground car-parks near the circus tent in Fontvielle.

‘Do you mind walking to the apartment from here?’ she asked Vanessa. ‘You can tell me how the plans for the cooperative are coming on as we go.’

She winced as a particularly noisy helicopter came in over the Mediterranean to land at the shoreline heliport, just yards away from where they were standing.

‘I’m still looking for sponsors for the first year. Flying down here for Zac’s funeral was the main reason I’m here but it isn’t the only reason. I need to talk to you about Fruits of the Forest.’

Nanette looked at Vanessa and waited.

‘I know you said you didn’t want to be involved because you were going to be spending more and more time down here and I planned to run Fruits from the UK. Well, I’ve changed my mind. Ralph and I are going to relocate here. He can work from anywhere, the twins like their school and seeing more of Mathieu – and, of course, the co-operative will benefit from the tax breaks Monaco can give. So, will you change your mind?’

‘Oh Vanessa,’ Nanette said. ‘I’m sorry the answer is still no, but I do know someone who needs a job and who would be perfect. Evie. Her boss got caught up in all this smuggling business and she lost her job recently.’

‘This Boris Takyanov certainly spread his business tentacles widely, didn’t he?’ Vanessa said. ‘Unbelievable that so deep in the jungle, we should cross the same criminal organization that Mathieu was investigating. Apart from Ralph’s accident, the only time I was truly scared, was when the villagers accused us of putting the evil eye on them because of Maksim Takyanov’s failure to honour their deal.’

‘I find the fact that Zac got taken in unbelievable,’ Nanette said. ‘And trying to involve me in
Vacances au Soleil
to give it respectability was despicable.’ She shook her head. ‘I just took it as the final proof that he didn’t give a hoot about me but then, this happens,’ and she looked up reflectively at the apartment building where they were now standing.

The concierge welcomed them politely, pointed out which lift they needed to take for Apartment 210 on the twelfth floor and returned to tending the vast pots of lilies that graced the foyer.

Stepping out of the lift and inserting the key in the apartment door, Nanette shivered.

Vanessa glancing at her asked, ‘You OK?’

‘I’m fine. Probably reaction to the last few days. This whole Zac thing still feels unreal.’

‘We don’t have to do this today, do we?’ Vanessa asked. ‘You don’t have to rush into sorting things out.’

‘No, but I need to make a start,’ Nanette said, before resolutely turning the key.

‘This is surreal,’ she murmured, looking around the
sparsely furnished sitting-room. It was full of things she recognized from Zac’s old apartment – things they had chosen together.

The two white leather settees facing each other across the glass topped coffee table, the music centre, the Persian rug, the grand piano from Zac’s grandmother. All brought back poignant memories of her time with him.

She brushed away a tear before walking across and picking up a silver-framed photo standing on the piano. It was one of Zac standing in the cockpit of
Pole Position
looking relaxed and happy.

‘I’ve never thanked you properly for having the twins for me and coming back to Monaco,’ Vanessa said unexpectedly. ‘I know it was a difficult decision for you to return.’

‘I’m glad I came. Getting my memory back, clearing things up between Zac and me – imagine how I would have felt if Zac had died and we’d never talked about the accident.’

Nanette took one last look at the photo and gently replaced it on the piano before turning to face Vanessa.

‘You did me a favour in more ways than one by going up the Amazon for five months.’ Nanette smiled at her friend as she moved towards the master bedroom door. ‘It’s thanks to you I’ve now got Jean-Claude in my life.’

‘The rain forest was such a great experience. I can’t tell you how much it changed the way I look at things,’ Vanessa said quietly.

Nanette barely heard her friend as she looked at Zac’s bedside table. Yet another silver-framed photo – and this time Nanette couldn’t stop the tears from coursing down her cheeks as she looked at it.

Taken the night they got engaged at a party in the
Automobile Club in Monaco, she and Zac were standing with their arms entwined in the traditional manner, toasting each other with champagne, her engagement ring sparkling in the camera flash.

‘Do you think Zac’s got any tea? I think we could both do with a cup,’ Vanessa said. ‘Come on, let’s inspect the kitchen.’ Gently she led Nanette out of the bedroom.

By the time Vanessa had found and made a pot of tea, Nanette had stopped crying.

‘I’m sorry. I thought I was all cried out over Zac Ewart but apparently not.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Such a waste but life moves on. At least his reputation as a brilliant racing driver will remain intact. He’ll never have to face the criminal charges that Boris and the others will.’ She took a sip of tea.

‘This is a great apartment,’ Vanessa said looking around. ‘Are you going to keep it and live here?’

‘I’ll probably sell it. Can’t see myself living here somehow. If I keep it, I’ll rent it out. Oh!’ Nanette said, looking at Vanessa. ‘In the meantime – why don’t you and Ralph make it your base when you move down here?’

After Vanessa had gone back to the UK and he’d had his business meeting with Mathieu, Jean-Claude insisted they enjoyed the few remaining days of Nanette’s official holiday doing things together.

On the last day they drove up into the back country and had lunch in a village square sitting beneath the shade of an ancient plane tree.

As the waiter placed their tomato and mozzarella salad in front of them, Jean-Claude glanced across at her.

‘I’m so happy you’ve decided not to rush back to the UK
with Vanessa. I love having you around.’

Nanette smiled at him as he picked up her hand and squeezed it.

‘Have you thought about what you are going to do with your legacy yet?’

‘I’ve done nothing but think about it,’ Nanette answered. ‘There is one idea floating around in my brain I want to talk to you about.’

‘Do you still want to give it all away?’

Nanette shook her head. ‘No, that was a silly idea. I’ll keep it, but I do want to do something useful with it if I can.’ She poured herself a glass of water from the carafe the waiter had placed on the table before continuing, ‘I was wondering about
Pole Position
. We could have some fun with her, or I could sell her and invest the money. What do you think?’