by Drew Lindsay
‘Why would she be Tongan?’ asked Ben.
‘This Hunter clan seem to have a thing with Tongans.’
‘She’s Aboriginal.’
Rodney put his head in both hands. ‘What is it with you and Aboriginals?’
‘She is part Aboriginal and a very sought after model.’
‘What is she doing hanging around with Sophia Hunter?’
‘They are both in the clothing game,’ said Ben.
Rodney looked up. ‘Just let me know what the hell is going on.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ said Ben, walking towards the kitchen.
Rose walked him to the front door as was her custom. She remained silent until she opened the door. ‘He’s worried,’ she said.
‘I know,’ said Ben.
‘What happens in a foreign country is sometimes completely out of our hands.’
‘I’ll be careful,’ said Ben.
She stood on her toes and kissed him on the chin. ‘You get bad feelings about things, don’t you?’
Ben nodded.
‘I have bad feelings about this job. I had a dream last night and it was very upsetting.’
Ben put his arms around Rose. ‘Did I survive?’
Rose shook her head in the negative. She held him tight.
‘It was only a dream,’ said Ben, pushing her back gently with strong, muscular arms. ‘I’ll survive this. It’s just another job.’
‘Perhaps you should visit Akira Misaki before you get too involved?’
‘I think the less people who know about this assignment, the better,’ said Ben. He stepped onto the driveway.
‘Akira is a wise man,’ said Rose.
‘I’ll think about it,’ said Ben. ‘The flight to Tonga is the day after tomorrow.’
‘Getting killed over a damn necklace is just not worth it,’ said Rose.
‘It’s a very special necklace.’
‘It’s only a piece of ancient jewellery,’ said Rose. ‘Everything turns to dust one day.’
Ben climbed behind the wheel of his Aston Martin, started the engine and slowly drove away.
“****”
CHAPTER TWELVE
‘I hate all this cloak and dagger stuff,’ said Isaac Ford, glancing out of the window of his recently rented apartment in Potts Point.
Nancy Fiumara sat back on the lounge and smiled. ‘You’re over-reacting Isaac. No one will find you here if you covered your tracks carefully.’
‘I don’t put anything past Natalie Goodsong and her hired help.’
‘Perhaps you should call her and explain that you are doing your very best to recover the necklace and the diamond? The silence you have created may enrage her further.’
‘I found out who she hired,’ said Ford, walking back to the lounge chair and sitting down. ‘Claudia Abrams.’
Nancy stared at him for a moment and then looked away. ‘I know of her. I even considered hiring her once for a particularly nasty job but she seems to have a mind of her own and that can be dangerous.’
‘She was trained in Israel by her father. What she doesn’t know about infiltration, assassination and martial art fighting isn’t worth knowing.’
‘She hasn’t found you,’ said Nancy. ‘Everyone has their limitations. Perhaps even more reason to contact Natalie and try to work some kind of truce. It seems we have a rather violent man personally guarding Sophia Hunter just now. Harold Pickering didn’t stand a chance against him and Harold is no soft touch.’
‘I do hope your newly appointed person is more resourceful,’ said Ford, locking his fingers tightly together. ‘I’m afraid this is all becoming a bit too much for me.’
‘My new man is very resourceful,’ said Nancy. ‘He won’t just rush in with a gun and start shooting.’
‘Thank God for that,’ said Isaac Ford. ‘A standover man with a gentle streak.’
‘He hasn’t got a gentle bone in his entire body,’ said Nancy. ‘He just won’t rush in. He’s expensive.’
‘If he can get back the necklace and save my arse, it will be worth every penny,’ said Ford.
‘Claudia Abrams is very good at what she does and totally without emotion,’ said Nancy. ‘You need to stay indoors.’
‘Perhaps if I contact Natalie she will tell this Abrams woman to cut me some slack,’ said Ford.
‘Perhaps,’ said Nancy, getting to her feet. ‘Both sides need to focus on getting hold of that necklace, not cutting each other to shreds.’
‘I totally agree,’ said Ford.
‘Then talk to Natalie.’
‘Yes,’ said Ford, unlocking his fingers. ‘Good advice I think.’
Ben watched her from the darkness of a tall clump of palm trees high on the residential estate. Sophia Hunter’s home was on the lower part of the hill with the main access road between where Ben was hidden and the gardens leading down to the Hunter home. She was a tall girl with an amazing figure and short black hair styled into a bob around her face. She was delivering pamphlets into letterboxes. Twilight had gone and street lights lit up her beautiful face from time to time. What gave her away was that she had delivered pamphlets twice to the same homes in the street in the vicinity of Sophia Hunter’s home.
Ben had his mobile phone switched to silent mode. Sophia had attempted to phone him twice while he sat in the darkness wondering why Ben’s Aston Martin was parked in her driveway, but he was nowhere to be found. One upstairs light was on in Sophia’s home and all the curtains were drawn. His absence was obviously concerning Sophia. He had warned her that this type of situation may happen and to remain inside and stay calm until he made personal contact with her.
The woman with the short black hair crossed the road and walked slowly past the outcrop of palms where Ben was hidden. She hesitated for a moment and was about to walk on when Ben moved to the edge of the garden and into the light. The woman turned swiftly.
‘You can run if you like,’ said Ben. ‘I know what you look like and I’ll have you identified by morning.’
‘You would never catch me,’ she said in a low soft voice.
‘I know,’ said Ben, ‘but then again, what I lack in speed, I make up in perseverance.’
‘You’ve been watching me?’
‘Do you want something from Sophia Hunter?’
The woman remained silent.
‘Do you want to talk to her?’ asked Ben.
‘So you’re the one who did the Leb.’
‘Easy,’ said Ben.
‘Not easy. I know your face.’
‘I get caught up with the media from time to time.’
‘Hood is your name.’
‘What’s your name?’
‘It doesn’t matter. I think we’re all looking for the same thing. I didn’t quite expect to be standing here talking to Sophia’s bodyguard.’
‘I don’t think she knows where it is,’ said Ben. He walked slowly down to the bush rock embankment near the footpath and sat down. Claudia Abrams didn’t move but her body inside was coiled like a well oiled spring. ‘We’ve been invited to meet with the king of Tonga day after tomorrow. Sophia’s husband was trying to do a deal with the king.’
‘You astound me Mr. Hood.’
‘Ben.’
‘What is it with you?’
‘This thing is complicated enough without all this bullshit. Your client, whoever he is, won’t get the necklace back. It belongs to the king of Tonga and the diamond belongs to the Queen of England. The cops from everywhere are watching like hawks. The thieves have lost no-matter who they hire. Do yourself a favour and bail out of this one.’
‘I’ve never been placed in this kind of situation before,’ said Claudia. ‘Obviously I’m not just going to walk away.’
Ben dropped silently onto the pathway. Claudia didn’t move. ‘Come in and meet the lady then,’ said Ben as he walked to the Hunter driveway.
‘It’s a trap,’ said Claudia.
‘You think I’ve trapped you? I could have taken you do
wn long ago.’
Claudia looked confused. She glanced into Ben’s blue eyes for a moment and then vanished silently into the darkness.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ Ann Flynn was quite tiny against Ben. She stood barely 5 feet 7 inches tall in her bare feet and she was standing in bare feet as she opened the door. Long black hair wisped across her face as the ocean breeze blew past them.
‘Watching the place,’ said Ben as he brushed past her and walked into the marble tiled foyer. ‘That’s what I do.’
Ann closed the door rather forcefully. ‘We’re frightened.’
‘A girl was watching the place,’ said Ben. ‘I had a word with her.’
‘A word? What’s the point of that?’
Ben climbed the stairs with Ann close behind him. ‘I don’t think you’re taking this situation very seriously!’
Ben stopped and turned. Ann kept walking and bumped into him. She moved back one step. ‘I’ve already put my life on the line for you and Sophia,’ he said. ‘You both either work with me or I’m out of here.’
She looked up at him. ‘She wants to talk to you.’
‘What about?’
‘The necklace and our trip to Tonga. She doesn’t want to go.’
Ben turned and climbed to the top of the stairs. Ann rushed past and turned to face him. ‘She didn’t want any of this to happen. Her bloody dead husband caused all this.’
‘They both have business dealings in Tonga,’ said Ben.
‘Had,’ said Ann. ‘There are no more business dealings with Tonga.’
‘Perhaps one last business deal,’ said Ben.
Ann remained silent as Ben walked past her into the lounge room.
Sophia was dressed in a white, body hugging summer gown which flowed over her hips to the floor. Outside she would have been quite cold. Inside was air conditioned all year round to the perfect tropical temperature. She was standing at the panoramic window watching the boats and myriad twinkling lights. ‘I heard some of that,’ she said.
Ben sat on a plush single lounge chair. ‘We had a person watching your house.’
‘Did you knock him out?’
‘Her.’
Sophia turned to face him. She looked amazing. Her body was perfectly sculptured and Ben tried not to stare. He looked away. ‘A woman?’
‘I sense a very nasty person if you got on the wrong side of her,’ said Ben.
‘Did you knock her out?’
‘No. We had a chat. I invited her in actually but she ran away.’
Sophia moved slowly to a chair opposite Ben and sat down. ‘You invited her into my home?’
‘She probably wanted to question you.’
Sophia looked at Ben for a long moment. ‘Are you completely crazy?’
‘I’ve been told so from time to time.’
‘You are supposed to protect me from these fruit cakes!’
‘She’s gone. You’re protected.’
Ann sat down on a lounge chair beside Ben. ‘It’s all about the necklace,’ she said, glancing at Sophia.
‘I know that,’ said Sophia, almost snapping the words out. ‘I know what it’s all about.’
‘People in royalty want it back,’ said Ben. “The king of Tonga knows about the ancient diamond and he wants to re-establish amazingly good relationships with the English Royal Family.’
‘Don’t we all?’ said Ann. She glanced at Ben and grinned. ‘Just a joke.’
‘So let’s cut to the chase,’ said Ben.
‘I hate that expression,’ said Sophia, holding her shoulders back in an act of defiance. The result was outstanding and Ben forced himself to look at a large carving of a Balinese man with a large penis sitting in a corner to his right.
‘Do you have any idea whatsoever where the necklace has been hidden?’ asked Ben.
Sophia remained silent.
‘Tell him,’ said Ann.
Sophia folded her arms across her breasts. ‘I have a few clues but they are confusing.’
‘Do you want the necklace for yourself?’ asked Ben.
‘It’s ugly.’
‘It’s priceless,’ said Ben. ‘People will kill for it.’
‘Get me a drink Ann.’
‘You have to say please.’
‘Whatever! Just get me a drink.’
Ann rose and walked to the drink cabinet.
‘Please,’ said Sophia.’
‘Ben?’
‘Scotch with diet coke and no ice please.’
‘That bitch Loa Tei probably knows where he hid the damn thing,’ said Sophia.
‘She’s made no attempt to contact the king of Tonga,’ said Ben.
‘Tits and arse with no brains. She wouldn’t know how to handle something like this.’
‘Perhaps she doesn’t know where the necklace is,’ said Ben.
‘They screwed each other almost right under my nose!’
‘So?’
‘He could have had me for God’s sake!’ Sophia was back on her feet. She paced to the window and turned to face Ben. ‘He took her over me!’
‘Perhaps you were being aggressive? You do have this certain way…’
‘I wasn’t happy, that’s for sure.’
‘Why?’ asked Ben.
‘You haven’t met her, have you?’
‘No,’ said Ben.
Sophia walked back to the lounge chair and sat down. ‘She distracted him.’
‘Perhaps it wasn’t her that caused the distraction,’ said Ben.
‘You could have fooled me.’
‘What did you both pack for the last trip to Tonga?’
Ann handed a large glass of white liquid and ice to Sophia and a glass of scotch and diet coke to Ben. She walked back to the drink cabinet. Sophia took a long gulp at her drink and held the glass in both hands in her lap. ‘I packed a huge bag which annoyed the crap out of him. I take four of everything, even if I don’t wear them.’
‘What did he pack?’
‘A tiny bag. He wears the same clothes over and over. It drives me crazy.’
‘What else did he pack?’ asked Ben.
‘His diving mask and a powerful LED underwater torch. He never wears a hired mask.’
‘What was the purpose of the trip?’ asked Ben.
Sophia gulped another mouthful of what seemed to be a fairly powerful drink. ‘He said he wanted a special time with me. You could have knocked me down with a feather.’
‘Where do you normally stay when you both visit Tonga?’
‘Some dumb hotel in the capital city. I hated it but I soon arranged my own entertainment.’
‘And the last trip?’ asked Ben.
‘Fa Fa Island Resort.’ Sophia sat back in the lounge. ‘A magic coral island off the coast of the main island of Tonga. It blew me away actually, until the Tongan bimbo showed up.’
‘Loa Tei?’
She glanced at Ben. ‘She turns heads that woman.’
‘I can imagine,’ said Ben. ‘I’ve seen a photograph of her.’
‘The bikini shot no doubt. It’s all over the damn internet. She can frump up with the best of them when she’s back in her parent’s home.’
‘Where is that?’
‘Just out of Nuku’Alofa somewhere,’ said Sophia. ‘Damn shack in the middle of a paddock from what Joe told me. Funny what they say when they’ve had too much to drink.’
‘Why would he have gone to her parent’s home?’
‘He said he dropped her there after one of their meetings,’ said Sophia. ‘Yeah meetings my arse.’
Ben sipped his drink. Ann sat in a lounge chair opposite him. ‘I’ve never met a king before,’ she said.
‘Neither have I,’ said Ben.
‘The Tongan kings have had their problems,’ said Sophia. ‘Previous kings didn’t like democracy all that much and subsequent rioting because of that situation in 2006 caused the capital city to be basically burnt to the ground.’
‘My research concerning the present king
of Tonga doesn’t present me with the picture of a man who opposes democracy,’ said Ben.
Sophia sipped the remainder of her drink. ‘People with political power don’t usually want to part with it willingly. I don’t trust people with political power.’
‘So you lean more towards communism?’ asked Ben.
Sophia rose and walked to the drink cabinet. She poured more vodka over ice and returned to her seat. ‘Communism is the biggest joke ever propagated upon the world,’ she said.
‘The king of Tonga wants the necklace,’ said Ben, ignoring her remark. ‘Your now deceased husband had it last. You’re the next cab off the rank. You and I have got a long night ahead so you better sip that fire water rather than gulping.’
‘What have you got in mind for us Ben?’
‘I want a list of every possible hiding place starting from here and then pinpointing every possible hiding place in Tonga.’
‘Well it’s not in Joe’s office because the cops tore it to bits. It’s not in this house because they went over it with every kind of device known to man. They even dismantled some of my larger sex toys.’
‘Sex toys,’ said Ben.
‘You know. You’ve been around.’
Ben nodded and attempted to drag his mind back onto its previous track. ‘Why did your husband take a mask and underwater diving torch to Tonga on your last visit?’
‘I’ve already told you! He never wore a mask that someone else had worn.’
‘Did he go diving while you were on Fa Fa Island?’ asked Ben.
Sophia was silent for a moment. ‘No.’
‘Did he use his underwater torch while you were on Fa Fa Island?’
‘No. He had a much lower powered LED torch for walking down to the restaurant at night.’
‘So he took two torches with him to Tonga.’
‘He was a fanatic with those damn things.’
‘So am I,’ said Ben.
Sophia glanced at him and sipped her drink. ‘Bloody hell. Is there anything remotely normal about you?’
‘Anything normal about me might just get you killed lady,’ said Ben.
Ann raised her glass. ‘I’ll drink to that.’
Sophia looked at Ann. ‘To him not being normal, or me not getting killed?’