The Malhoa Connection

by Estelle Ryan

  I already had it on my device, yet my tablet’s notification pinged along with everyone else’s.

  Armando’s eyes widened in surprise. “Thanks. I think.”

  “You’re part of the team now, bucko.”

  “Part of the team for now,” Manny said before tapping his smartphone’s screen.

  “Wow.” Pink looked up from his phone. “Her IQ is registered at a hundred and fifty-three.”

  Armando whistled through his teeth. “Above average.”

  “Pah. Doesn’t mean she’s smart.” Francine flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Committing all these crimes and thinking she would get away with it? Not smart.”

  “What crimes?” Daniel asked.

  “There are five active court cases against her at the moment,” Francine said. “Money laundering, harmful management, influence peddling, forgery of documents and economic crimes.”

  “What’s harmful management?” Vinnie asked.

  “A boss who’s a bully?” Francine shrugged. “These sound non-specific. Like the prosecutors are trying to throw as much stuff at her as possible.” She raised an eyebrow. “It’s the kind of thing people do to get rid of competition or opposition. Her uncle being president and all.”

  “Dammit.” Manny rubbed his hand over his face. “This just got more complicated.”

  “How so?” Armando asked.

  Manny looked at him as if he was slow in comprehension. “This is now more than just an international crime being investigated. We’ve got a president of a developing nation, international companies and a multimillion-dollar oil company.”

  “Ooh.” Francine’s voice was low, her look apprehensive as she looked at Manny. She tilted her tablet for him to see.

  “Bloody hellfire.” Manny fell back onto the sofa and sighed heavily. Then he lifted his phone, got up and walked to the bedroom he shared with Francine.

  “What was that all about?” Vinnie asked.

  Francine’s eyes followed Manny until he closed the bedroom door. “Portugal has a ten-percent share in NzingaOil and the French minister of education a three-percent share.”

  “A political minefield.” Daniel nodded towards the bedroom door. “Glad I’m not him.”

  “Why not?” Armando leaned forward and whispered loudly, “Is he speaking to the president?” When no one answered him, he leaned back in his chair. “Understood.”

  Francine turned her tablet for me to look at the screen. “What do you think?”

  I was looking at a still from the drone video next to a photo of Celma Rebelo. The still was the moment the assistant’s hat was pushed back. It was the most we’d been able to see of her face.

  “The jaw, nose and lips look the same to me,” Inge said.

  “I agree.” Colin tilted his head. “Hm-mm. I think Jake’s source is Celma Rebelo.”

  “So now?” Vinnie raised both hands as if imploring us. “Now can I say that Wraith is the Collector is Jake’s assistant is Celma Rebelo?”

  “Genevieve?” Daniel raised one eyebrow, waiting for my answer.

  I shook my head. “I feel confident saying that Celma Rebelo is Wraith. Francine identified her. But given President Katombi’s indisputable connections to the companies involved in the Collector’s crimes, I can’t confirm the rest.”

  I had more to say, especially about the question of President Katombi, but I was distracted by Inge’s expression as she looked at the photos on Francine’s tablet. I studied her for a few seconds, then pointed at her face. “How do you know Celma and what do you know about her?”

  “What the fuck?” Vinnie jumped up and turned towards the closed bedroom door. “Old man! Get over here!”

  Manny opened the door and glared at Vinnie as he walked towards us. “What?”

  Vinnie pointed at Inge, who had lost all colour in her face.

  Manny stopped in front of Inge. “Speak.”

  She swallowed. “I know where that woman is staying.”

  The room exploded in reactions. Armando sat with his mouth slightly agape, staring at Inge as if he’d never seen her before.

  Despite Manny and Vinnie’s rude responses and accusations, Inge showed no signs of contrition. She looked at me. “As much as I liked Jake and felt sorry for him, I never trusted him. I was stupid to trust the intel he brought to us. That’s my bad. But my distrust paid off.

  “He met his source often. I followed him quite a few times. I told you I blend in well. He never made me, but she’s good.” She glanced at Francine’s tablet. “I followed her home one day and she almost made me. I managed to follow her all the way to her house though.” She looked at Armando’s shocked expression and laughed. “It helps when everyone underestimates you.”

  “Who are you?” Armando’s pupils were dilated and his blinking increased. He was attracted to Inge.

  She smiled and winked at him.

  “Address.”

  Her smile dropped when she noticed Manny’s expression. She nodded and gave him the address. “It’s a good thirty minutes from here. That area is one gorgeous house after the other.”

  Armando looked out of the window, then at Colin. “It’s dark out. Now seems like a good time to go have a look around.”

  Inge pointed her index finger at Manny. “And don’t even think of asking me”—she nodded at Armando—“asking us to stay behind. We’re good at getting in and out undetected. This is our playground.”

  Manny’s lips pulled into a thin line, his face turning an angry red. As he inhaled to speak, Pink stood up. “I’ll stay here with Francine and Genevieve. We have a lot of data to work through.” He patted the holstered weapon on his hip. “We’ll be safe here.”

  “Thierry and Bianca will stay outside.” Vinnie also got up. “Come on, old man. You can come along for the ride and keep all us criminals in line.”

  “Bloody hell.” Manny rubbed his hand hard over his face. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

  “Aw, we’re just keeping you young and spry.” Vinnie chuckled when Armando looked confused.

  “He’s not that old.” Armando frowned at Manny. “Right?”

  “Bugger off, criminal.” Manny pointed at the door. “Start moving.”

  I didn’t realise I was gripping Colin’s hand tightly. Not until he tugged. I dropped his hand. I hated that I was causing the slight wince of discomfort on his face. “Sorry.”

  “It’s nothing, love.” His expression softened even more and he took both my hands in his. “We’re only going to do recon, Jenny. We’ll be safe.”

  I wanted to believe him. I really did. “Celma is smart.”

  “Not smarter than all of us together.” He kissed my knuckles. “And she doesn’t have you on her team.”

  “Frey!” Manny was standing by the open door. “Let him go, Doc. I’ll keep his sorry arse out of trouble. This time.”

  “In your dreams, Millard.” Colin kissed me on my cheek and straightened. “I’ll be home soon, okay?”

  I gave a single, jerky nod. I didn’t like this. Not at all. But Pink was right. We had a lot of data to study. I needed to scan through all the documents Bree had sent. I also wanted to learn as much as I could about Celma. And President Katombi. How was he involved? Was he the Collector? Or was it Celma? And where did the three women fit in?

  I pushed Mozart’s violin sonata to play in my mind as the others left and Francine and Pink took their seats at the dining room table.

  Chapter NINETEEN

  “OKAY, THIS SHOULD DO it.” Francine leaned back. She’d commandeered one of Pink’s laptops and his larger tablet. The devices were arranged in the centre of the dining room table next to her laptop and tablet. I was sitting at the end of the table, Francine and Pink either side of me. Francine was scrolling on her smaller tablet and Pink was working on his laptop. My focus was solely on the screens.

  Each screen showed the view from a body camera. Vinnie, Manny and Daniel each had their body cameras on. Colin had changed his bodycam f
or what Francine called ‘spy glasses’. The camera installed in the frame of the eyeglasses was only obvious once one had been made aware of it.

  Manny and the others had just turned off the main road leading to the western suburbs. Colin, Vinnie and Armando were in our rented SUV. Daniel and Manny were with Inge in her small sedan. Manny was complaining about the cramped interior.

  Across from me, Pink moved his chair back and glanced at the four screens. Then he turned his attention back to his other laptop, typing and scrolling, his face a study of his thoughts about whatever he was reading. Shock, interest, disgust and more shock flitted over his face.

  My eyes were drawn back to the video feed. Inge was leading them into another street, laughing at Manny now complaining about the many draughts in her car. He was in the backseat, Daniel in the passenger seat.

  I couldn’t see much from Manny’s body camera. Daniel’s was fixed on his collar and gave us an adequate view of the street they’d entered. The streetlights illuminated the area in soft pools of yellow light. All the houses in this street were surrounded by high walls. The select few that didn’t have solid gates gave us a glimpse of dark, sprawling lawns and landscaped borders leading the driveways to large garages.

  Inge had been correct. This was an affluent area with beautiful houses that could easily be defined as mansions.

  They slowed down and Inge exhaled. “Well, aren’t we just lucky.”

  “I’d say.” The smile in Daniel’s voice was clear. “Looks like there’s a party.”

  I counted eleven high-end cars parked in the street. A couple got out of a low red sports car. The woman was wearing a cocktail dress unsuited for the spring temperature, an embroidered shawl her only protection against the chill in the air. The man taking her hand was wearing a tailored suit, but no tie and the top button of his white shirt was undone. A large diamond sparkled on her ring finger and an expensive-looking watch peeked out from under his jacket sleeve.

  “Park here.” Daniel picked up his phone.

  Three seconds later, Vinnie’s phone rang. “Whaddap?”

  “Tell Colin to park in front of us. Inge’s car will stand out too much next to these beauties.”

  “You’re on speakerphone,” Colin said. “I’m passing you now.”

  Colin parked behind the red sports car and Inge pulled in behind him. They got out and without discussion moved down two houses where one of the streetlights wasn’t working. The footage dimmed as they moved deeper into the shadows of the high wall surrounding this property.

  “Did you notice all the security?” Armando asked Colin.

  “A few houses even have guardhouses.” Colin pointed at a house across from the party house. “That one definitely has guards stationed there. The other two I saw looked empty.”

  I blinked at the excitement clearly visible on Colin’s, Armando’s and Vinnie’s faces. Inge hid hers behind her usual mask of sweet ignorance. She was almost successful.

  “I saw two houses with wire fencing on top of their walls.” Vinnie shook his head. “A bit of overkill, dontcha think?”

  “Depends.” Armando lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, then looked at Manny. “What’s the plan, boss?”

  Manny uttered a sound of disgust, then scowled when Vinnie chuckled. He glared at Armando. “We did what we came for. To have a look at the house.” He turned his attention to Colin. “Will you be able to get close without being seen?”

  “Don’t insult me, Millard.”

  “Can’t you do a flyover with your drone thingie?” Inge asked.

  “No.” Daniel shook his head. “Francine said Celma might be sloppy when it came to covering her hacker footprints, but she was vigilant about her own security. There’s a chance she might have a setup that will register a drone hovering above her property. Pink and Francine want to calibrate their drone first before using it here.”

  “Hmm.” Inge blinked a few times, then stood back and looked Colin up and down. “Want to go for a walk, lover?”

  “A romantic stroll?” Colin’s smile was filled with humour. “A wonderful idea.”

  “Frey.” Manny’s tone was low in warning.

  “Of all of us, Inge and I will be the least suspicious if we walk in this street.” Colin waved his hand at the other men. “You look like cops and robbers.” He took Inge’s hand. “We look like an elegant couple, out for an evening stroll.”

  “Bloody hell.” Manny nodded. “Make it count.”

  Colin huffed and pulled on Inge’s hand. “Let’s go before we’re even more insulted.”

  She laughed and followed him out into the street. The others got back in the cars and I wondered what the sense was of all of them being there if only Colin and Inge were going to take the risk of going near Celma’s house.

  Daniel’s and Vinnie’s cameras showed Colin and Inge walking down the street. Their body language was in sync. To the untrained eye, they exhibited all the cues of a loving couple. Inge leaned her head against Colin’s shoulder for a moment before smiling up at him and walking further.

  “Ooh, look at this Lamborghini.” Inge leaned around Colin to look at the black car parked between a Porsche and a low-slung Mercedes. “I would never, ever drive such a monster, but wow. Just wow.”

  “Didn’t quite make you for a car enthusiast,” Colin said.

  “Neither did Jake.” Her tone turned sombre. “Once he recovered from his shock, he loved that he could talk to me about his favourite topic.” She cleared her throat. “Celma’s house is two houses from the party house.”

  Colin smiled down at her in another show of faux affection. “We’ll stop at the gate and then again at the end of the property.”

  She giggled and slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Good plan.”

  “They’re really good at this.” Pink’s eyes were wide as he stared at the screens.

  “We so need popcorn right now.” Francine looked at me and back just as Colin and Inge stopped in front of a decorative wrought-iron gate.

  Inge turned towards him and put her arms around his neck. “How real should we make this?”

  “Real enough.” Colin lowered his head until he was speaking next to her ear, still loud enough for the mic to catch it. “But Armando might be pissed.”

  “What?” She leaned back to look at him, then moved closer, kissing his cheek. “That’s absurd. What about Genevieve?”

  “She knows there’s no one else for me.” He moved a bit to the side to allow Inge to have a better view of the gate. “She’s my world.”

  “Aww, be still, my heart.” Francine pressed her open palm against her chest and looked at me.

  I didn’t take my eyes off the screens. An all-encompassing emotion I associated exclusively with Colin warmed my mind. Irrationally, it felt as if my heart expanded and my insides melted. I bit down on my bottom lip and stared at the footage with nonsensical tears threatening.

  Inge stood on her toes and made it look like she kissed Colin’s ear, her eyes never leaving the house. “You two are so lucky. Every single person on the planet wants what you have. Okay, I’ve seen everything there is to see here.”

  Colin hugged her close once more, then stood back and took her hand again.

  She winked at the camera on Colin’s glasses. “You’ve got a keeper here, Genevieve.”

  They continued their stroll down the length of the property. At the end of the beige wall was a small gate. Colin stopped and took Inge in his arms again. This time he turned to face the house. “She has cameras all over the place. Even facing the street.” He lowered his head as if he was looking into Inge’s eyes, but kept his gaze on the house. “I also see a lot of motion-triggered floodlights.”

  He lifted his face a bit more, the view on Francine’s laptop showing a large two-storey house. A significant portion of the top floor was a balcony that ran the length of this side of the house and wrapped around the other side, possibly with a beautiful view down this hill. White walls, tall windows and
terracotta tiles gave the house an unmistakable Mediterranean appearance. A lush garden led to a medium-sized swimming pool, illuminated by soft lights inside the pool. This was a beautiful property.

  “The cameras and floodlights are easy enough to bypass.” Inge cupped Colin’s cheek, her other hand resting on his shoulder.

  Colin leaned in. “Francine, tell Millard to meet us at the end of this street. We’re done here.”

  Francine picked up her phone. “Good plan. If they walk back now, it might look suspicious.”

  She started tapping out a message and I watched as Colin and Inge slowly walked on, stopping once more for a faux embrace. Two houses down, another streetlight was out. That house not only had a high wall surrounding the property, it also had overgrown bushes that were incongruent with the neighbouring manicured sidewalks.

  The moment they were next to the bushes, a dark figure stepped out from behind the foliage. I gasped. The black clothing and hoodie covering his face didn’t hide his identity. Paulo.

  Colin’s reaction was immediate. He pushed Inge away from him, walked up to Paulo and punched him hard in the face. Paulo had not expected it and took a few side steps to regain his balance.

  Both my hands flew up to grab my hair. This was one of the handful of times I’d seen Colin violent. He was one of the most self-controlled people I knew.

  Paulo took his time to straighten and held both hands out, palms up. “I had to do it. Jake was selling all of us out. He was in bed with the Collector.”

  “You knew about that all this time?” Colin’s voice sounded raw. I gripped my hair to prevent my head from shaking uncontrollably from side to side. But I couldn’t stop a low keen from escaping my tense vocal cords.

  Inge was standing next to the dark bushes, barely visible. I saw her from Daniel’s bodycam as they drove closer, Manny swearing in the backseat. Inge had both her arms wrapped around her torso, only relaxing marginally when she noticed her car and the SUV stopping next to them.

  “I knew for a while that Jake was banging his source. And that his source is not the Collector’s assistant.” Paulo lowered his hands, his contrite expression false. He nodded towards Celma’s house. “I also know a few things that can help you.”