Fool Me Once (15 page)

“What
else does he deal in?”

“I
saw a shipment of Semtex in transit. Can you imagine, he actually stored it
overnight down at the docks!” She shook her head. “That’s how confident he is.
And I overheard him speaking with someone about AK-47s. You know what those
are, don’t you?”

Olivia
shuddered. “Only too well. Once you hear the sound of a Kalashnikov, you never
forget.”

The
two women fell silent, and Olivia pulled the soup bowl toward her. Eliska did
likewise, and they ate in silence for a few moments, barely tasting the savory
concoction.

“Promise
me one thing.” Olivia laid her hand on her friend’s. “If you’re ever in
trouble, or need anything, get in touch with me. Will you promise me that?”

Eliska
fought back tears. “Of course I will. But that won’t be necessary. Don’t worry
about us.” She brushed at her tears. “But this isn’t a time for sadness. I want
to hear all about that gorgeous man you’re with. How long have you been
engaged, and where did you meet him?”

Olivia
fingered the ring, collecting her thoughts. “I never thought I’d hear myself
say this, but he’s everything I ever wanted.” Her tone was wistful. “Don’t get
me wrong, he can be infuriating at times, but where it counts, he’s a real
man.” She raised her eyes. “But the truth is, we’re not really engaged.”

“Okay,
now I’m really confused.” Eliska leaned forward intently. “Listen to me, Livvy.
I saw you together for only a few moments, but the way he looked at you, it’s
obvious he’s crazy about you.”

Olivia
shook her head. “It may have appeared that way, but he’s a good actor. Too
good, sometimes. When he…” She blushed. “Well never mind, but honestly, it’s
all for show.”

“But
why?” Eliska’s sharp eyes missed nothing. “There’s something you’re not telling
me.”

Olivia
disliked lying to her friend, but she had already decided on an abbreviated
version of the truth. Besides, Eliska had enough to concern her right now.

“His
first love is his ranch in the States, but he likes to play high stakes poker.
He asked me to pose as his fiancée because I know quite a few of the key people
in the clubs and casinos. Basically, I’m along to help him get into the high
stakes games that take place behind the scenes, as it were.”

“And
that’s all there is to it?” Eliska’s voice was disbelieving. “I don’t think so.
The way he looked at you gave me goose bumps.” She shivered dramatically.

Olivia
chuckled. “Well, he did say he’d like to see me again after this trip is over.
He wants me to go to Montana and see where he lives.”

“I
knew it!” Eliska looked at her watch and groaned. “I hate to cut this short,
but we’re due to leave in less than three hours. I should get home to mother
soon.” She rose. “There’s just one last thing I’d like to do. Let’s have a
quick walk down by the water. I have no idea when I’ll see it again.”

The
two women emerged from the side street into the glare of the sun. Every square
foot of land in and around the small port had been claimed by the wealthy.
Private homes and condos clung to every square foot of land surrounding the
bay, and yachts of every description vied for mooring space; an extravagant
display that was almost blinding in its opulence.

“Father’s
warehouse is back that way, about three miles.” Eliska pointed to the east and
her eyes darkened. “When I think about the people who are hurt or killed as a
result of what he does, my own problems seem insignificant by comparison. But
I’m determined to find a peaceful place for mother and I to live. Maybe even
some happiness.” She slipped her arm through Olivia’s. “Remember those days when
all it took to make us happy was a sundae?” Tears bloomed in her eyes. “Call me
an optimist, but I’m determined to find some of that happiness for us.”

“You’ll
do it, Eliska.” Emotion turned Olivia’s voice hoarse. “I know you will.”

“
Senora
Olivia.” Small fingers tugged at Olivia’s free hand. “
Buenos tardes
.”

“Rosalina!”
Olivia turned to Eliska. “I’ll be right with you. I just want to say hello to
my friend.” She knelt down to greet the young girl.

“Don’t
encourage her, Olivia. She probably wants money.”

“No
she doesn’t. She made this necklace I’m wearing, and she only wants to say
hello.” She shook hands solemnly with the child, who grinned delightedly and
then ran off, sandals flapping on the pavement.

“I’d
forgotten how good you are with young people. And I apologize for snapping.”
Her eyes followed the girl. “She thinks you’re married. What’s that about?”

Olivia
blushed. “She saw Josh and I together last night.”

“You
see? Even a child can see that you two belong together. We don’t have a lot of
street kids, but most of them live down here, near the port. I suppose they
don’t do any harm, but I can tell you one thing about them. They know
everything that’s going on. They always seem to be watching.”

Olivia
fingered the necklace. The stones had absorbed the heat from her body, and were
warm to the touch. “I bought this last night. She was so sweet I couldn’t
resist.” She hugged her friend. “Just like you. Come on, drive me back before I
start crying.”

Olivia
sat in the car for a few extra moments when Eliska pulled up by the pier. Now
that Eliska was disappearing from her life, she couldn’t think of anything to
say. She climbed slowly out of the car and looked at her friend as though
memorizing her face. “Have a safe trip,” she said. “Wherever you’re going.”

Eliska
nodded silently, her eyes bright. Then she put the car in gear and pulled out
into the traffic.

Olivia
watched her friend drive off and then she turned toward the pier, her mind
already active. She had a lot to tell Josh.

* * *

Eliska
glanced at the clock on the dashboard as she pulled up in front of the villa.
Both she and her mother had their suitcases ready to go. In spite of the fact
that they planned to purchase new wardrobes at their destination they had
packed carefully. It was important that her father think they were going to
Paris. It was unlikely that he would check on them for at least two weeks.

“Where
have you been?” Her Father’s voice rang out like a whiplash as she entered the
foyer. He strode toward her, brilliant light from the early afternoon sun at
his back. She shielded her eyes against the glare and prepared to stand up to
him.

“I’ve
been out to lunch with my friend.”

He
moved closer, eyes cold and hard. Eliska lifted her chin. It wouldn’t do to let
him see her fear. Not now, when escape was so close. “Why do you care, anyway?”

His
fingers closed around her wrist, and he pulled her toward his office. She had
no choice but to follow.

“Sit
down,” he commanded, propelling her toward a leather chair in front of his
desk. French doors opened onto a rose garden. She almost gagged at the sweet
perfume of the flowers.

“What
did you talk about?” he demanded.

Eliska
was taken aback. He’d never shown any interest in her friends before.

“Nothing,”
she replied, thinking back to the lunch. “Girl stuff, mostly. We had a lot to
catch up on.”

“Why
do you think she suddenly showed up?” His voice was mildly curious, but Eliska
knew better. Her father never engaged in small talk. He paced in front of the
windows, his hands clenched behind his back. “I’ll tell you why I’m inquiring,”
he said mildly. “In my business it’s dangerous to trust anyone. And whether you
like it or not, it’s because of my business that you’ve been able to live in
luxury for most of your life. It’s paying for you to go to Paris.”

“But
Father…” she glanced at her watch and stood up. “Why do you want to talk about
Olivia at a time like this? Mother and I are due to leave in a little over an
hour.” Her mind raced. Their escape was planned down to the last detail. They
simply had to be on that airplane this afternoon in order to make their
connections. “I understand your concerns with trust, but what does that have to
do with Olivia?”

He
prodded her in the shoulder with his finger, and she fell back into the chair.
“You and your precious English friend,” he said. “She’s all you talked about
when you came back from school in Switzerland. Well let me tell you, your
friend is engaged to an arms dealer.” He tapped his chest. “And he wants to
make a deal with me. So I want to hear every word she said about him, or you
can forget about Paris.” He resumed pacing. “I have all the time in the world.
So tell me. When did she meet him? How long have they been together? What’s his
background? When are they getting married?”

Eliska
fought back the panic that rose up and almost choked her. “For heaven’s sake,
Father, she didn’t say anything about him being an arms dealer. As a matter of
fact, they aren’t even engaged. She barely knows him.”

Blazek’s
head snapped around. “Explain.”

“He
hired her. Can you believe it? He actually hired her to get him into the
private poker games. She’s a journalist now, and she did a story on casinos and
she knows a lot of key people.” She was babbling and she knew it, but she
couldn’t stop. “And she’s crazy about him. She thinks he’s not interested in
her that way but I could tell. I mean, I saw the way he looked at her.”

Blazek
cut her off with a swift, downward stroke of his hand. “Stop this childish
chatter.” He took a deep breath. “Now think carefully. Was there anything else,
other than getting into poker games?”

Eliska
searched her memory. “No. That was it.”

He
waved a hand dismissively. “Get out of here. You’ll miss your flight.”

Eliska
tried not to show her relief as she hurriedly left the room.

Blazek
had the telephone to his ear before she closed the door. “My office,” he
barked. “Now.”

* * *

“That
was a bit of luck.” Dirk toyed with his empty coffee cup. He and Josh had been
sitting at the outdoor café for almost an hour. “Damned decent of him to give
you a tour. Studying the place from satellite photographs is one thing, but
seeing it firsthand, now that’s different.” The two men were hunched over a
sheet of paper. Josh had sketched the rough map to accompany his verbal report.

“I
was stunned when he took me inside the warehouse.” He tapped a rectangle he’d
drawn near the perimeter of the property. “It’s as if he were showing off,
flexing his muscles. There were cartons piled to the rafters in there. And
several stacks of pallets that appeared to be ready for shipping.” He
unconsciously massaged the back of his neck. “He’s a cool customer, I’ll give
him that. Driving around in a yellow Hummer. But I’m counting on his greed
being greater than his caution. There’s no doubt that he’s been checking me out
since our first contact last night. Even so, he still asked quite a few
questions.”

“Such
as?”

“Such
as the obvious one. Why I wanted to buy arms. He made a point of telling me
that I don’t fit the profile of his usual customers.”

Dirk
shrugged. “He’s right about that. So what did you say?”

“Fortunately
I’d anticipated that question. I told him that everyone has a right to protect
themselves and that I simply supply the means.”

“You
cold bastard.” Dirk grinned.

“Thank
you. The main thing is, I think he bought it. Now all we have to do is bring
him down.”

“I’ve
been on to Colin.” Dirk fingered his watch as though looking into the future.
“We’re good to go for five o’clock tomorrow morning. You’re sure that the
warehouse is far enough away?”

“No
problem there. There’s a difference in elevation of about thirty meters,
roughly a hundred feet between the residence and the warehouse.” Josh tapped
the sketch with his pen. “The warehouse is tucked back against a massive rock
outcropping that shields it from the house, plus it’s about two kilometers
away. It’s a big estate.”

“Good.
I don’t give a rat’s ass about his property, as you Americans would say, but I
do care about his family, and the household staff. I’ll get back to Colin right
away when I go back to my hotel.” He paused. “How’s Olivia?”

“She’s
having lunch with Blazek’s daughter. That worked out exactly as we planned.”

Dirk
sensed the unspoken regret in Josh’s voice. “It was the only way.” He picked up
the map and started to methodically rip it up.

Josh
stood up wearily. “I know.” In a rare moment of candor he spoke his thoughts.
“When it starts to bother me, I think of Zach and all the others who’ve lost
their lives because of scum like Blazek. Put into that context, Olivia’s
feelings have to come second.” He patted the cell phone in his pocket. “I feel
better having this. Talk to you later.”

Chapter Eight

Olivia
organized her thoughts as she waited for the motor launch. First on her agenda
was the need to bring Josh up to date. Then she would start making notes. She
tossed around several ideas for the opening paragraph of the article. It
wouldn’t be difficult to ‘hook’ the reader. But she would need to walk a fine
line. The piece had to be believable without revealing the organization behind
the mission. She made a mental note to ask Josh if she could interview the head
of IATO.