Follow Your Star (8 page)

‘Oh, but this time they reckon they’ve had a tip-off and they’re searching them all from top to bottom. They seem pretty certain of finding something.’ Evie said. ‘Look my friend is telling Zac the news now.’

Nanette looked across in time to catch the concerned look Zac exchanged with Boris and Mathieu. Mathieu moved away from the others and began to push his way towards the stern.

Nanette felt a sudden knot of apprehension tighten in her stomach and she moved closer to Jean-Claude. Gently she felt for his hand and held it tightly as they watched Mathieu run down the gangplank before being swallowed up by the crowds still thronging the harbour side, and disappearing from view.

Standing on the deck in silence watching Mathieu running away into the night, Nanette felt Jean-Claude’s tension as he held her hand.

Nanette glanced around. The party seemed to have come to a premature end with the news of the police raid on the Formula 1 transporters. The deck was still vibrating from the disco music playing in the main cabin but people were leaving, including Boris and his entourage.

‘Shall we go?’ Nanette asked Jean-Claude quietly.

He nodded in answer and they turned to make their way back to the gangplank.

Nanette, hoping that they would be able to leave unnoticed, was disconcerted to see Zac standing in the stern saying goodnight to people.

‘Nanette, Jean-Claude, I’m sorry you’re leaving. Can’t you both stay longer? I haven’t even had a chance to dance with you yet, Nanette. Another glass of champagne perhaps?’

Nanette glanced at him sharply. The last thing she wanted was to dance with Zac.

‘
Non
,’ Jean-Claude said brusquely. ‘I need to find Mathieu.
Perhaps you can tell me where he’s gone?’ And Jean-Claude glared at Zac.

‘How would I know?’ Zac said.

‘Because I believe you’ve involved my son in one of your suspect business enterprises,’ Jean-Claude said angrily.

Zac looked at him steadily. ‘Mathieu is a businessman – he makes his own decisions as to the deals he gets involved in. No-one twists his arm.’

‘So, is he is mixed up with you and the Russian in something then?’ Jean-Claude demanded.

Zac sighed.

‘Jean-Claude, if Mathieu has chosen not to confide in you about his business, I can’t help you. Now, are you sure I can’t persuade you to stay?’ and he looked at Nanette hopefully.

She shook her head and moved away to retrieve her
high-heeled
sandals from the jumble of footwear in the basket placed at the head of the gangplank.

Slipping them on, she saw Jean-Claude move closer to Zac and place a hand on his shoulder before leaning towards him and saying something that was clearly intended for his ears alone.

Zac’s face darkened and he vehemently shrugged Jean-Claude’s hand off his shoulder before turning away and making for the bar in the main cabin.

Both Nanette and Jean-Claude were silent as they made their way along the embankment to the apartment, each lost in their own thoughts. Jean-Claude took her arm as they prepared to cross the road.

‘Let’s have a coffee before I see you home,’ he said.

The pavement café at the bottom of Rue Princess Caroline was noisy with late night revellers as Nanette and Jean-Claude
sat at a small table and ordered their
café noisettes
.

‘Try not to worry too much about Mathieu,’ Nanette said gently. ‘Didn’t he tell you that things would be clearer to everyone in a couple of months?’

Jean-Claude nodded.

‘Well then, try and trust him for a bit longer. Difficult I know.’

As Nanette looked at him sympathetically, he reached out and squeezed her hand. ‘I know you’re right.’ He shook his head as he looked at her. ‘I just wish I didn’t have this fear in the pit of my stomach.’

Mathieu wasn’t home when Nanette took the twins to school the next morning.

Strolling back Nanette wondered where Mathieu was. When her mobile rang she answered it quickly, half expecting it to be him, but it was Jean-Claude.

‘Have you seen Mathieu?’

‘No. And according to Florence his bed hadn’t been slept in,’ Nanette said. ‘Have you heard anything more about the raid?’

‘Apparently the police did find something, but nobody knows what exactly – although rumour has it as a case full of money.’

‘Did they arrest anyone?’

‘A couple of the truck drivers have been spoken to but the motor-homes and transporters were all allowed to park up without any problems. The Formula 1 circus keeps to a very tight schedule as you know, and nothing must interfere with race week. The police are still up on site searching some of them.’

There was a short pause before Jean-Claude continued, ‘Will you let me know when Mathieu returns?’

‘Yes, of course.’

Replacing the phone in her bag, Nanette wandered slowly along a side street filled with various stalls selling Formula 1 racing paraphernalia and fast food.

Even at this early hour there were fans strolling around, mixing with the locals trying to go about their normal lives despite the inconvenience of barriers and streets filled with seating stands. Tomorrow, a practice day, the road around town and along the harbour would be closed to traffic as the drivers began to get to grips with driving around the narrow winding street circuit at over a hundred miles an hour.

Although it was several years since Nanette had been in Monaco for the Grand Prix, it was still all so familiar. Walking past the souvenir stands and the touts already up and about trying to sell tickets for lunch on practice day at restaurants with views of the circuit, she even recognized one or two people and smiled briefly in their direction.

Ferrari red was the dominant colour of the bunting hanging from balconies and the smell of crêpes cooking on a mobile catering stall on the corner competing with the usual breakfast smell of fresh croissants from the
boulangerie
, was hard to resist.

Nanette pushed open the glass door of the foyer to the apartment building and pressed the lift button. The two concierges behind the reception desk stopped in mid conversation as she entered, but not before Nanette heard the words ‘Monsieur Mathieu’.

As she walked into the sitting-room, Florence appeared and pointed to Mathieu’s bedroom. ‘Mathieu has returned.
He is sleeping and asked not to be disturbed,’ she said quietly.

Quickly, Nanette rang Jean-Claude to tell him the news.

‘I’ll be there in five minutes,’ he said.

It was lunchtime before Mathieu appeared in the
sitting-room
and both Jean-Claude and Nanette stared at him.

Jean-Claude immediately started to fire questions at him about the raid.

‘So, they found a suitcase of money? It’s not a crime to keep your money in cash,’ Mathieu said, going to the fridge and pouring a glass of milk.

‘Depends on where the money came from – and where it’s going,’ Jean-Claude replied.

‘One of the mechanics apparently had a lucky bet on the Spanish Grand Prix. He simply hadn’t had time to bank his winnings.’

‘OK,’ Jean-Claude said. ‘We’ll accept that story. Now, tell us why you ran from Zac’s party when you heard about the police raid.’

His face was impassive as he watched Mathieu, waiting for his reply.

‘Coincidence. I was about to leave anyway. I’d arranged to meet someone at the Automobile Club and I was late.’

Mathieu simply shrugged as Jean-Claude stared disbelievingly at him. ‘Interrogation finished? I need a shower and then I promised Pierre I’d meet him from school, take him down to the pits and Zac would introduce him to a couple of the drivers.’

‘
Non
. It is not finished,’ Jean-Claude shouted at his son. ‘Not until you tell me the truth about what is going on.’

Mathieu shook his head as he looked at his father. ‘I can’t tell you anything. But if it’s the family reputation you’re
worried about, don’t.’

‘It’s you, I’m worried about, not the family name,’ Jean-Claude said angrily. ‘Scandals can be lived through, but the repercussions are never nice.’

‘Oh believe me,’ Mathieu said grimly, ‘the repercussions in this case will hit a lot of people in Monaco.’ And with that cryptic remark, he disappeared back into his room to get ready to go out.

Jean-Claude looked at Nanette, worry lines etched on his face.

‘At least he’s finally admitted to being involved in something,’ he sighed. ‘Did you believe him – about the money and the Automobile Club?’

‘He could have had an appointment I suppose but.…’ Nanette shook her head. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I’ve got an appointment of my own tomorrow,’ Jean-Claude said quietly, glancing at Mathieu’s closed bedroom door. ‘I’m meeting a private detective to have Mathieu followed for a couple of weeks. I need to know what is going on.’

‘Oh JC – be careful. If Mathieu discovers what you are up to he’ll be furious.’

‘I’ll have to risk it. I’m not convinced he’s not in real trouble. I just want some reassurance that he’s not getting out of his depth with the wrong crowd. I also want to be prepared in case of.…’ Jean-Claude left the sentence unfinished, as he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in despair.

Life in the jungle settled into a pattern for Vanessa as she and Ralph became absorbed into the routine of village life. Ralph, busy helping and recording the building of a small dam on a
river near the village, disappeared early every morning with the men, leaving Vanessa to spend her days with Angela and the other women.

Evenings were spent in the large communal hut where, as honoured guests, they were fêted with the best the villagers could provide and entertained with traditional songs and music.

In their hammocks at night in the small hut allocated to them, Ralph told Vanessa about his worries for the village.

‘They seem to think this dam we’re building to help with the gold panning is going to be their path to untold riches. And now some sleaze from Rio has appeared on the scene telling them his boss will help to fund enlarging the mine and sell the gold on for them – all for a big fat rake off, of course.’ He shook his head. ‘They know the mercury he’s going to provide for separating the gold is poisonous and so bad for the forest, but they hear of other villages prospering and they want to do the same. The fact that they’ll probably end up polluting their water supply, poisoning the fish and eroding the forest even more doesn’t seem to be an issue with them.’

‘Can’t you persuade them to stick to just panning for gold without the mercury?’ Vanessa asked.

‘I’ve tried. But they’re desperate and see this as the only way to survive. I wish I could think of some other way they could make the money to buy the essentials like stock and seeds so they can carry on farming in the traditional way.’

‘Eco-tourism like the village we stayed in?’ Vanessa asked.

‘The villagers aren’t keen on the idea of lots of strangers. Besides they’re so poor they don’t have the money to even improve their own basic living conditions. And being so deep in the jungle here, it wouldn’t be easy to organize. I know, I
had a few problems getting us here. Most of those eco-camps are within two or three hours of the Amazon.’

He sighed. ‘The trouble is we’re here for such a short time there’s not a lot we can do. The dam should be finished tomorrow, maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to the head shaman.’

He leant across and gave Vanessa a kiss.

‘Nearly forget to tell you: Luigi, the guide, has offered to take us to see the young dolphins. It’s a three-hour trek to get to where they’re being born but should be well worth it.’ And Ralph smiled happily at his wife.

The next morning Ralph left as usual and Vanessa joined Angela and the other women for the daily chores. Today, in addition to the normal cooking and husbandry of the small animals that roamed around the village, they were planning to plant seedlings.

As ever, the humidity in the jungle was high and Vanessa struggled to keep pace with Angela and the others as they went to collect the seedlings from the large government controlled farm where they’d been grown.

It proved to be a long hard day as they planted the small trees on cleared forestland previously grazed by cattle.

From time to time thunderstorms rolled across the sky and torrential rain forced them to stop work and seek shelter. During one of these breaks Vanessa noticed that a couple of the women were muttering unhappily together.

‘They have nothing,’ Angela explained. ‘Life is getting harder and all they hear is how we must take care of the forest. Who is going to take care of us? We have to survive too.’ She shook her head. ‘We have a school now but what work is there going to be for the children?’

‘Will a bigger gold mine help?’ Vanessa asked. ‘Ralph says
it’s not the answer, but what do you think?’

Angela bit her bottom lip before replying, ‘If it was a legal gold mine it would help more. But the wrong people will benefit from it.’

Vanessa gazed at her horrified. Did Ralph know he was building a dam to help an illegal gold mine operate?

Before she could ask any more the rain stopped and the women began to move back out on to the wetland.

‘If we are to survive living off the land we need more help,’ Angela added quietly, as she handed Vanessa a trowel and another box of seedlings.

Thoughtfully Vanessa began the rhythmic business of planting the tiny trees – dig hole, drop seedling in, cover and press, on to the next – while trying to work out how Ralph would respond to the news about the mine.

It was late afternoon when Vanessa removed her hat and pushed her damp hair back from her face. Her clothes were wet and sticking to her body and she remembered longingly the delights of a cool shower. At least it would soon be time to return to the village and help prepare the evening meal in the shade of the trees surrounding the encampment.

As the women were gathering their things together, one of the young native boys returning from the day’s work on the dam, ran up to Angela and said something to her urgently. Vanessa felt a tremor of fear pass through her body as Angela glanced across at her, a look of concern on her face, before walking towards her.

‘What’s happened? Has Ralph had an accident?’ Fear made her voice sound shrill even to her own ears.

‘Ralph has been taken ill,’ Angela said quietly. ‘The men are bringing him back to the village.’

‘I must go to him,’ Vanessa said, panic-stricken, and went to run towards the huddle of men approaching the village.

Angela placed a restraining hand on her.

‘Wait here,’ she said gently. ‘Let the men deal with it.’

Vanessa’s heart was in her mouth as she watched the group approaching. She forced herself to stay still as two of the village men carried an unconscious Ralph on a makeshift stretcher into the compound before carefully placing him in the medicine man’s hut.