Jigsaw Lovers (15 page)

‘You were quite insistent, I noticed, that it should only take three months, plus or minus a week either side, I think you said. Is there a reason for this time-scale?’ asked Ackermann.

‘Yes, there is,’ answered Hamilton as he took a sip of his port.

When he didn’t continue Ackermann cast a glance at James, and then asked again.

‘
May we know why it should be three months? It might help in our preparations.’

Hamilton twiddled his glass, holding it at a slight angle, looking through it, as he contemplated his reply. ‘In my experience three months is the time it takes to fall in love with someone. I’ve also observed it in others.’

‘But why do you think that’s the case?’ James was curious.

‘It
’s the optimum length of time. Before three months is up it’s unlikely that a sufficient attachment will have developed. Should the relationship end during this time, there is a certain amount of sadness, but one very quickly overcomes it, and life goes on as usual.’

‘I understand what you mean. I’ve never seen it that clearly before, but now I think about it, you’re probably right,’ commented Ackermann, his thoughts turning momentarily to his first wife, who had died in a car accident shortly after they were married.

‘After the three month mark, an element of familiarity begins to enter the relationship. There are then too many opportunities to find things that are irritating in the other person. Certain habits, which were initially viewed as quaint and endearing, may become annoying. The magic of a new romance begins to dull. Although the relationship may develop and grow, it will never achieve the same power and intensity of the initial three months,’ continued Hamilton.

‘That’s also a valid observation,’ mused Ackermann.

‘If the relationship is terminated at the three month mark then the maximum hurt will be inflicted. And that, after all is the initial result I wish to create.’

‘Quite so,’ nodded Ackermann.

After a moment James resumed. ‘Phase two will be putting all the material together, editing it and dispatching it.

‘Phase three will entail responding to the reactions the earlier stages have caused, and ultimately bringing the project to a close. That could take between three and six months, depending on how susceptible or resourceful the man is.’

‘I’d like to be closely involved at all times, if that’s possible,’ Hamilton stated.

‘Of course. That’s not a problem. In fact we’d welcome it, wouldn’t we James?’

‘Oh yes. This is a most unusual assignment that you’ve given us here, Ian, and I’m intrigued to see how it progresses. From what you’ve told us so far, I think having you actively involved would be a great benefit. It’s as though you’ve devised the ultimate variation on the game of cat and mouse. The main difference being, this mouse has no idea there’s an enormous cat, just around the corner, waiting to pounce.’

‘Nicely put, James.’ said Ackermann. ‘Talking of games, I recall you play chess, Ian. Perhaps we could find time for a game during our association.’

‘I’d like that,’ answered Hamilton.

After Hamilton had left to return to the Ritz, Ackermann and James went over the day’s proceedings.

‘What a project. What a privilege to be able to work on such a scheme, and with such a person,’ Ackermann began.

‘It is a very clever scheme. What I particularly like is that the basic concept is so simple and has been around for hundreds of years. It’s a tried and tested formula. Forbidden sex and blackmail,’ stated James.

‘But he’s added a subtle refinement to that tried and tested theme, which will magnify the effect tenfold. The man’s a genius.’ Seldom had James seen Ackermann so openly admiring of another.

‘Organise a meeting for eight o’clock tomorrow morning, here, with the heads of surveillance, and overseas operations. They’ll be briefed fully, but the rest need only be told as much as is necessary for them to carry out what’s required of them.’

‘Shall I have De Kock from our Johannesburg office attend?’ asked James.

‘Not tomorrow morning’s meeting, but he will need to be briefed on certain aspects. He’ll have to make various arrangements. Tell him to get over here as quickly as possible, preferably by tomorrow afternoon.’

‘Is there anything else?’

‘I want our best operatives on this. There can be no mistakes.’

‘There’s only one person I know who’ll stand a chance of pulling this off,’ James began.

‘You mean your girlfriend,’ chuckled Ackermann.

‘I mean Diana Johnston. Admittedly I’m very fond of her, but that’s as far as it goes. We just have a very good working relationship that’s all.’ James constantly had to defend his position with Diana in front of Ackermann.

‘Couldn’t agree more. I was going to suggest the same. She hasn’t done much for a while. About time she started earning that enormous retainer you convinced me to pay her each month.’

‘We’ve never had cause to be disappointed in her performance yet,’ James rose to the bait.

‘That’s true. She was a remarkable find. Beautiful, intelligent, and totally without so-called conventional morals. A perfect employee for our organisation.’

‘If that’s all, I’ll go and make arrangements for tomorrow.’ James rose to leave.

‘Just one other thing.’ he began. ‘Hamilton. Is there a woman in his life at present? There wasn’t much mention in his file. I know you put it together very quickly.’

‘From what I can ascertain there’s been no serious attachment for over five years now. Not since his girlfriend died. It seems she meant a lot to him, and he hasn’t found anyone else that can measure up to her.’

‘Interesting. So he knows first-hand the pain that lost love can cause, and he’s decided to use it as his weapon of choice in his planned revenge.’

‘The only other woman that’s been in his life for a while is his maid or housekeeper as she is now.’

‘Really?’

‘She’s been with him since he was a student. When he finished his two years national service in the army he found her and re-employed her. He had to let her go during the worst parts of his impoverishment, but when he made his money from the rights to the computer game he designed, he sought her out again. She now runs his domestic arrangements. She’s got two children and he’s financed their education. He also bought her a house for her family, although she lives-in full-time to look after him.’

‘So there is a slightly more humane side to Mr Hamilton. I wouldn’t have thought it, looking at what he’s just engaged us to do.’

‘She’s obviously never done anything to get on his bad side,’ offered James.

It was two years since Diana Johnston had moved into the apartment owned by James’s company. During that time James had required her to work on a dozen occasions. These assignments had each lasted a couple of weeks. A chance meeting or introduction was arranged with the person she was to become involved with, and the situation was allowed to develop naturally from there.

Invariably accommodation was provided for her by James, and should anyone ask she maintained the fiction about being a freelance social-pages writer, which explained her presence in the exclusive locations in which she operated.

Some of the gentlemen she was asked to entertain and become acquainted with, she had recognised from the newspapers and television; others she had only heard about. What they all had in common, was that they were extremely wealthy and powerful men. They were also, although she could only assume this, the victims of other more wealthy and more powerful men who were using her talents to entrap them for their own ends. Although she didn’t know for certain and had no intention of asking, she was sure all of these people were going to pay dearly for the time they spent in her company.

She was based in England but had worked in many other countries and had travelled widely.

Before each assignment she was given an in-depth briefing as to what was required of her. What subjects of conversation she should bring up and one or two specific questions that she had to ask at some stage of the encounter. How she went about achieving these ends was entirely up to her. She discovered that she was possessed of a natural ability to act,
which took in even the most sceptical of observers.

She suspected, although she didn’t know for sure, that the rooms where she stayed were host to hidden cameras and microphones to record whatever went on between her and the people she was with. No doubt the material so gathered would be put to good or bad use, depending on the person’s viewpoint.

This didn’t worry her in the slightest. In fact she viewed it as something of a challenge to give a good performance so that all parties went away satisfied. James was certainly very pleased, if the size of the bonuses were anything to go by, and she had acquired a number of expensive gifts and memorable experiences in the course of her work from the gentlemen concerned.

To date that was a very true and accurate description of the men she had dealt with. They had all been gentlemen and had treated her with respect and dignity.

James had called that morning to say that he had another assignment and that he would be coming over in the afternoon to tell her about it.

‘We would like you to go to South Africa for three months. Cape Town. A company with whom we have a reciprocal arrangement could do with your help.’ Ackermann International had offices in Cape Town and they would be monitoring the project from there, but she wouldn’t know that.

‘This is a slightly different assignment from what you’ve done before, both in the duration and the type of person you are to become involved with. He’s an assistant bank manager at one of the main high street banks. He’s not wealthy, not powerful, just ordinary, and from what I’ve read on him, he’s somewhat boring and small-minded.’

James extracted a document from his briefcase. In the past month John Smith had been under constant surveillance. His every move had been documented. He was a creature of habit, had little personal initiative and led a pedestrian, mundane life. However, at some stage, he must have done something to attract the kind of attention that was now being focused on him by James’s organisation.

‘We want you to establish a relationship with him, during the course of which you are to make him fall in love with you.’

She picked up the photographs James had laid before her and flicked through them. They showed a rather unassuming, nondescript little man. She considered them for a few moments before commenting, ‘That could be quite difficult. There’s a big difference between getting someone into bed and getting them to fall in love. Supposing he doesn’t want to fall for me, then what?’ she asked.

‘It would be a very strange man that wouldn’t succumb to your charms,’ he said with feeling. ‘How you achieve that is up to you. You, however, must be careful not to become attached to him in any way. Appear devoted on the outside, but remain detached on the inside. Do you think you can manage that?’

‘Of course. it’s not much different from the way I treat you,’ she grinned. ‘But don’t worry, dearest, I really do like you. Well, a little bit.’

James smiled. He was pleased with the way their relationship had developed over the last couple of years. He was glad they had managed, particularly in the early days, to resist the temptation that each presented to the other, and had settled for an almost brother-sister style of friendship and business association, with an underlying element of flirtatiousness.

She was to be provided with a flat in Cape Town to stay and entertain in, and with a lump sum to establish the initial contact with Mr Smith.

‘You will tell him that an aunt has recently died and left you a flat and a sum of money that you would like advice about investing. Tell him you intend spending several months in town and, as time goes on and your relationship develops, indicate that you would like to stay longer and maybe even permanently if he is interested.’

James sat back and looked at her carefully as he continued.

‘The main object of this project is to have Mr Smith totally involved with you emotionally, so that there is nothing he won’t do for you, no matter how wrong he might think it to be. Once you have achieved this you will return to England, and he will never see or hear from you again. Do you think you’ll be able to cope with that?’

‘Don’t worry James, I won’t become involved. I never have done yet. Besides I’ve too much to lose, and I enjoy working for your organisation.’

There was an element of cold-hearted ruthlessness in this beautiful woman and James found himself wondering, if he were in Smith’s position, how he would react if this woman came into his life, completely captivated h
im and then disappeared forever, without trace. There was a certain amount of cruelty in this project.

‘I’ll meet you in Cape Town and spend a couple of days orientating you, and briefing you in more detail about Smith. I’ll be there for most of the three months but I’ll also introduce you to a contact should you need to get in touch with us when I’m not there.’

She didn’t register any emotion or disquiet at what she was being asked to do. It was just another job, slightly different from the previous ones admittedly, but the end result was the same. Mr Smith would end up suffering, but no doubt he had done something to deserve whatever fate was ultimately in store for him at the hands of James’s client.