The Ugly Duckling (42 page)

“You’ll excuse me?” Gardeaux asked when he was handed the portable phone. “Anyone who would call at this time of night may be in need of help.”

“Or another drink.” The Prime Minister laughed. “Tell him to come to the party. You have the finest wine in France.”

Gardeaux smiled as he moved to a quieter area. He could have ignored the call from Tanek, but he wouldn’t deny himself the pleasure. “What is it, Tanek?” he asked. “Getting panicky? There’s no use begging. You know there’s no antidote.”

“I just wanted to tell you that the Charlemagne sword is a fake.”

Anger flared through Gardeaux. “You’d say that even if it were authentic.”

“It was crafted by Hernando Armandariz in Toledo. You can check on it.”

Gardeaux drew a steadying breath. “It doesn’t matter about the sword. I still won. You’re a dead man. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my guests.”

“I won’t keep you much longer. I just wanted to tell you to expect a report from Our Lady of Mercy by courier tomorrow.” He paused. “And to tell you to go look in the mirror.”

He hung up.

Gardeaux frowned as he stared at the phone. Tanek was entirely too cryptic. Of course he wasn’t going to go look in the mirror. Was he supposed to see himself as some kind of monster because of what he’d done? He was the one who had triumphed. No reason why he—

In the bathroom mirror his reflection was everything
it should be. The picture of a successful, powerful man, a conqueror. He started to turn away and then wheeled back.

The light had fallen on the cut in his lip that Nicholas had made when he had lunged up and struck him.

Encircling the cut were the tiny beginnings of a blister.

Gardeaux screamed.

“C
oloño?
” Nell shook her head in bewilderment as she helped Nicholas into the car outside the hospital. “Gardeaux has
coloño
? That’s crazy. I don’t understand.”

“It worked?” Jamie looked back at them from the driver’s seat. A delighted smile lit his face. “You brought the bastard down?”

“I’d lay odds on it.” Nicholas leaned back in the seat. “We’ll check tomorrow, but I’d wager he’s on his way to the nearest hospital right now.”

“How?” Nell asked.

Nicholas took out his handkerchief and carefully removed the signet ring on his middle finger. “A modern version of the Renaissance poison ring. I thought it fitting since Gardeaux is so intrigued with the period.” He laid the ring in the handkerchief and tied the four corners before placing it in the car ashtray. “On impact the initial in the center compresses and allows the poison to flow out.”

Nell shivered as she realized Nicholas had been wearing that ring the whole time he had been struggling with Gardeaux’s men.

“I was careful.” Nicholas’s gaze was on her face, reading her thoughts.

“You were lucky,” she said. “But where did you get the
coloño
?”

“The same place Gardeaux got his. Medellin. From Paloma and Juarez.”

Paloma and Juarez. Sandequez’s partners in the drug cartel. “They gave you poison to kill their own man?”

“Not at once. I spent two weeks in Medellin waiting on the hot seat for their decision. It could have gone either way. Up to the last minute tonight.” He wearily leaned his head back against the seat. “Everything had unraveled and I had to get an edge. I thought Sandequez’s death might be the key. So I went to Paris and put pressure on Pardeau. He’d recorded the reward money that had changed hands from the Colombian Drug Enforcement Forces to Gardeaux. I told him that I was on my way to Medellin and he either had to worry about Gardeaux or the entire Colombian drug cartel. He let me have the books.”

“And you took them to Paloma and Juarez to prove Gardeaux had murdered Sandequez.”

“They didn’t like it. Unity is everything to them. It’s the way they survive. If Gardeaux killed Sandequez, who was to say he wouldn’t nibble at the power structure by killing another one of them? On the other hand, it’s bad policy to admit disruption in the ranks, and Gardeaux had been valuable to them. It might have been worth the danger he represented to keep him on.”

“But they decided not to do it?”

“I told them that I’d take care of the matter for them. If an outsider killed Gardeaux, it would solve their first problem. After two weeks they told me that they’d decided to go along with me. Gardeaux had requested a new batch of
coloño
and they would make sure the serum was switched and a harmless liquid substituted. They gave me the poison ring and their best wishes and sent me on my way.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” Nell asked bitterly.

“Because it could have been a lie. There was a possibility that they had sent me to Bellevigne to die, that they didn’t switch the serum to give me a chance. That
there was no
coloño
in the ring. Or that there was poison in the ring but also on Pietro’s sword. That might get rid of both of us. There were too many variables.”

“Why did I plant the gun if you had the ring?”

“Insurance. I knew his men wouldn’t let me near Gardeaux. That’s why I wanted you to douse the lights. I thought I’d make the move then.”

But she hadn’t given him that chance. “I didn’t make it there in time.”

“I still had the gun you planted. I used it as a threat to get him close enough.” He shook his head. “I almost didn’t make it.”

“But you did,” Jamie said. “What next? Will Gardeaux be after you?”

“Within twenty-four hours he’ll cease to care about anyone but himself.”

“Where do we go? The cottage?”

“No,” Nell said quickly. “Not the cottage. I want to go back to Paris.”

Nicholas nodded. “It’s just as well, Jamie. I want you to get Pardeau away from Paris for a day or two until we’re sure about Gardeaux. I promised to protect him.”

“Yes, by all means, let’s protect all the beasts and idiots in our midst,” Nell said.

Jamie gave her a cautious glance and started the car.

“I’m in deep trouble?” Nicholas asked in a low tone.

Nell didn’t answer.

He closed his eyes. “Then I suppose I’d better rest and gather my strength. Wake me when we get to Paris.”

N
ell slammed the door of her apartment behind them. “Go to bed. I’ll go to the pharmacy and have your prescription filled.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“It’s necessary. Or don’t you think I’m capable of doing that either?”

Nicholas sighed. “Here we go.”

“You should have let me help you.”

“I did let you help.”

“You could have told me about the
coloño
. You could have brought me into it.”

“Yes, I could have done that.”

“But you let me run around the edges while you—” She stopped and said wearily, “Maybe you were right. I couldn’t even do that right. I almost got you killed.”

“You did what you could.”

“It wasn’t enough. I should have moved on Kabler more quickly. I should have been there to douse the lights.” Tears were flowing down her cheeks again. “I failed you, dammit.”

“You’ve never failed me. So you’re not super-woman. Things happen,” he said roughly. He moved across the room and grasped her shoulders. “And the reason I didn’t set up a way for you to help me with the
coloño
was that I didn’t want you around the stuff. I saw what it did to Terence. I couldn’t stand the thought of you even being near it.”

“You’d rather take a chance yourself. How do you think I felt when you told me the wound was—”

“How did you feel, Nell?”

“You know how I felt.”

“I want you to tell me. For once, tell me, Nell.”

“I felt guilty and scared and—”

“You didn’t want to lose me.”

“All right, I didn’t want to lose you.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m used to you, because you—”

“Why?”

“Because I love you, dammit.” She buried her head in his chest. “And it hurts. I never wanted this to happen. It shouldn’t have happened. I fought it so hard. You’re the last person— You with your damned gates. You’ll die, like Jill died. I can’t stand the thought of it happening again.”

“We all die. I can’t promise to live forever.” His arms tightened around her. “But I can promise to love you as long as I live.”

“That’s not good enough. I won’t
have
it. Do you hear?” She pushed him away. “Oh, go to bed. I don’t want to look at you anymore. I’ll go get your prescription.” She snatched her purse up from the table and headed for the door. “And it doesn’t mean anything. I won’t let— I’ll get over it.”

“Don’t count on it.” He smiled. “I think the best thing we can do is accept it and roll with the punches.”

She slammed the door behind her and stopped outside to mop her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. Accept it? She couldn’t accept it. She had been torn apart when she had seen Nicholas hurt, when she had thought he might die. All the pain that had almost destroyed her when she had learned of Jill’s death had rushed back, almost overwhelming her. She couldn’t go through that again.

She could never accept it.

January 2
Paris

“Gardeaux checked into the hospital yesterday morning,” Jamie said as he came into the apartment waving a newspaper. “He’s suffering from an undisclosed ailment and his condition is considered critical.” He grinned. “So sad after the success of his most memorable Renaissance Fest.”

“And what about Kabler?”

He shrugged. “No word on him. My bet is that he’s on his way back to Washington, trying to figure out how to cover his ass.”

“He must know what happened to Gardeaux. Can he hurt you?” Nell asked Nicholas.

“He’d be a fool to try now that I have Pardeau’s books. He figures prominently in them.”

“Another insurance policy?”

“Combined with Simpson’s books, a platinum-plated one.”

“And Kabler will just continue with the DEA?”

“He’s shrewd. I doubt if they’ll even know he turned dirty. He may end up by retiring with a gold watch.”

Nell shook her head.

“We can’t have everything,” Nicholas said quietly. “I can’t bring him down. We need his silence.”

“But we may have Maritz,” Jamie said. “I’ve heard through the grapevine that he may be in the South of France. Someone saw him in Monte Carlo.”

Nell turned to face him. “When?”

“A few days ago. I’m checking on it.”

“You’ll let me know?”

Nicholas’s gaze narrowed on her face. “You’re not very excited.”

“I’m fresh out of excitement,” she said dryly. “I’ve had too much in the last few days.” She got up and went to the closet. “Which reminds me, I have to return Dumoit’s gown. Celine has left three messages on the answering machine. She’s about to call out the gendarmes.” She took out the bedraggled and bloodstained gown and made a face. “She may do it anyway when she sees how I’ve ruined it.” She draped the gown over her arm, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“H
e’s not in Monte Carlo. He’s here,” Tania said flatly when Nell reached her by phone from a booth near her apartment. “We’re not far from Monte Carlo. Joel and I went there for the day.”

“And he followed you.”

“Everywhere. He’s getting anxious … and careless. I saw him yesterday.”

“Where?”

“On the waterfront. Just for a second, a reflection in a shop window.”

“You heard about Gardeaux?”

“Yes. Is he really ill? It wasn’t what I expected.”

“It wasn’t what I expected either. A surprise from Nicholas.” Nell paused. “Soon?”

“Very soon. I want to be sure he’s ready to pounce. I’ll call you. Stay close to the apartment.”

“Y
ou weren’t long,” Nicholas said when she walked in the door.

“No.” Long enough to call Tania. Long enough to rent a car and park it near the apartment. Soon. It would be soon.

“Was she roaring?” Nicholas asked. “Who? Oh, Madame Dumoit?”

“Who else?”

The question was casual, but she cursed herself for not being more alert. Nicholas didn’t miss anything. “She was furious.” Nell smiled. “She says she’ll ruin me. I’ll never model again.”

“Pity. I guess you’ll have to take up sheep raising.”

Nell’s smile faded.

“It’s all right. Don’t get jumpy,” he said quietly. “I’m letting it lie for the time being.” He stood up. “Why don’t I take you out to lunch? We’ve never eaten a meal in a public place before. It will be an experience.”

Stay close
.

She shook her head. “I’m tired. I’d rather eat in. There’s a store down the street. Will you go and pick something up?”

He raised his brows. “Whatever you like.”

Soon
.

M
aritz had been in their suite.

Tania looked down at the jewelry box. She’d put it on the dresser. Now it sat on the counter in the bathroom.

The white Armani suit she’d worn in the picture that appeared in the newspaper had been taken out of the closet and draped across a chair.

He had been here and he wanted her to know it.

He was ready.

January 4
7:10
A.M
.

When the phone rang, Nell was out of bed in seconds, running into the sitting room.

“Today,” Tania said. “I’m leaving for the cottage at six this evening. I should be there by eight. Don’t be late.”

“I won’t be late.” She had been late at Bellevigne and had almost lost Nicholas. Nothing would stop her this time. “But after you draw him into the open, he’s mine.”

“We’ll see.”

“No. You’ve no right. He’s mine. You’ve done your part. You’re out of it.”

“I don’t like—”

“He killed my daughter.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. “All right, I’m out of it.” Tania hung up.

Nell went back to bed and slipped beneath the covers.

“Who was it?” Nicholas asked.

She didn’t answer. She had lied to him before. She didn’t want to do it again.

“Wrong number?”

She nodded and cuddled close. He didn’t think it was a wrong number, but he was giving her an out. He suspected something, but he would never force it out of her. That wasn’t his style. He would watch and wait.