by Susan Lewis
Two days later Ramon Kominski flew into LAX via Houston, carrying a false passport and driver’s licence. Ellis was waiting in the arrivals lounge, as instructed by Max. As the two men met they shook hands warmly, then started out to the parking lot.
‘How long are you staying?’ Ellis asked.
Ramon’s slightly crooked teeth flashed in a grin. ‘That depends,’ he answered in his heavily accented English.
‘You know Max has been arrested?’
Ramon halted his step; the pupils of his dark-green eyes were boring into Ellis.
‘For insider trading,’ Ellis explained, then frowned, as Ramon visibly relaxed.
‘That’s Maurice’s concern,’ Ramon said. ‘My concern is only to discover who is doing these things to Max and Galina.’
And then? Ellis was tempted to ask. But he didn’t. It was none of his business and he would be better off not knowing anyway. Ramon Kominski was older now, had settled into a nice comfortable life, way up in the hills of the beautiful Pyrenean province of Avlana. But it wasn’t so many years ago that he had led a ruthless and determined band of Separatists in their fight for an independent state. Killing was almost second nature to Kominski, the first and only surviving grandson of an impoverished Russian Jew and his beloved Basque wife. Terrorism was as much a part of Ramon’s life as the Dow Jones was of Ellis’s. It had come to him with his mother’s milk. And there was nothing that Ramon Kominski wouldn’t do for Max Romanov, the first and only grandson of the wealthy Russian Jew who had helped so many to escape the raging brutality of communism – Ramon’s grandfather included.
When they got to the house Ula was waiting for them with the news that Max’s bail hearing had been set for an hour hence. It was the first time Ula had met Ramon and she felt herself shiver at the danger and excitement he exuded. He was about the same height as Ellis, but much fitter and more solid and whilst not exactly better looking he had an air about him that was so commanding that even the clocks seemed to pause. And that voice . . .
‘I’m sorry,’ she drooled, ‘what did you say?’
Ramon’s green eyes were dancing. ‘I asked if I might clean up after my travel, then maybe I take a look at the wedding list,’ he said.
‘Here, take it with you,’ Ula said, thrusting it into his chest as though she’d be equally happy to come with it.
Chuckling as he walked out of the room and Ellis grabbed Ula back, Ramon followed Leo to the guest wing. As they went, Ramon quickly scanned the list, making a mental note of the names he didn’t know. It was on the second run-through that he fixed on a name near the top of the page, a name he was sure he knew, but for the moment was struggling to place. Then, suddenly remembering, the corners of his eyes creased with surprise and by the time he reached his room he was smiling quite openly.
Waiting only until Leo had left, he threw the list on the bed, stripped off his clothes, then went to stand at the open french windows where he gazed down on the breath-taking view of the ocean. So the girl from Marrakesh was going to be at the wedding, was she?
Laughing aloud, Ramon turned back into the room and, hands behind his head, sprang full length on to the bed. This was going to make life even more interesting than he’d anticipated – providing, of course, Max managed to get himself out of jail.
Chapter 17
‘RHIANNON! RHIANNON!’
Rhiannon scanned the airport crowd half smiling and half frowning as she tried to locate the voice.
‘Over here!’ Galina called.
Rhiannon saw her, leaping up and down at the back of the crowd trying to get a glimpse through. Laughing, Rhiannon swerved her luggage cart around the slow-movers in front, then blithely let it go to catch Galina in a noisy and fervent embrace.
‘I don’t believe it!’ Galina shrieked excitedly, totally oblivious to the attention she was attracting. ‘You look fantastic.’ She was holding Rhiannon at arm’s length and gazing delightedly into her face. ‘Oh God, you’re so gorgeous,’ she cried, pulling Rhiannon back into her arms. ‘I’ve missed you so much. I can hardly believe you’re here.’
‘I’ve missed you too,’ Rhiannon told her, surprised to discover it was true. ‘And just look at you. You always were lovely, but you’ve grown so lovely now I feel positively dazzled.’
Galina’s vivid blue eyes were alive with laughter as, throwing her a quick glance, she whisked the luggage cart out of the way, steered it towards the exit and out on to the walkway that ran along the front of the terminal building. ‘Tell me everything,’ she demanded, lowering her sun-glasses from the top of her head to shield her eyes from the sun. ‘I want to know everything you’ve been doing since the last time we saw each other. Start with the flight. How was it? Are you exhausted? Do you want to sleep?’ She laughed and letting her head fall back gave a groan of pure joy. ‘God, you don’t know how glad I am to see you,’ she said. ‘I was so afraid you wouldn’t come. But then I knew you wouldn’t let me down. Everything’s ready for you. Everyone’s dying to meet you. Have you ever been to LA before? You’re going to love it. It’s a crazy place, full of whackos and weirdos, but I’ve got to tell you, babe, if you’re looking for a man to get you over that jerk you told me about, well, I’m going to make it priority number one to find you one. It won’t be easy because there are a lot of gays in this town, but we’ll get past them and who knows, you might fall madly, wildly, incurably in love and stay. Wouldn’t that be great? You and me together again, just like old times. God, I’m so excited. I’m so glad I was here to come pick you up myself. Ula was going to come. She’s Max’s assistant and you’re going to just love her. Everyone does. She’s so disrespectful, but somehow she manages to get away with it. She lives with Ellis. Ellis is Max’s accountant. And then there’s Maurice, Max’s lawyer. Maurice is married to Deon who’s a bit of a fluff, but she’s OK. Now let me see, who else is there? Oh my God, yes! The kids! Marina and Aleks. They’re absolutely adorable and you’re going to fall in love with them on sight. Just like they’re going to fall in love with you. I’ve told everyone all about you . . .’
‘Galina, take a breath,’ Rhiannon protested.
Galina laughed. ‘Sorry,’ she said, pulling the cart to a halt at the kerb. ‘I can’t help it. I’m so excited to see you. Now you just hang on here while I run across to the parking lot and get the car. I’ll bring it round and that way we won’t have to wait for an elevator to come free,’ and treating Rhiannon to another quick squeeze, she ran over the crosswalk towards the multi-level parking lot opposite.
Watching her go, Rhiannon smiled and felt her heart warming with affection. Five years was a long time and it seemed incredible now to think that for at least three of those years she’d have cheerfully wrung Galina’s neck for the heartache she had caused her. More incredible still was how faded her memory of Phillip had become, when he had once been the very centre of her world, the man she had totally believed it would be impossible to live without. She wondered if one day she would think that way about Oliver . . .
Moving restlessly, she glanced down at her watch. It was a few minutes after four LA time, making it just past midnight in London. She wondered what Lizzy was doing now and felt a sudden pang of homesickness. Considering she’d only just landed, to be feeling that way now was untimely to say the least, but there it was, spreading a melancholy cloud over her heart, as though to remind her that the next two weeks, enjoyable as they might be, were going to change nothing. All that she had left behind would still be there when she got back, unsorted, unchanged and seemingly irresolvable. Closing her eyes, she let her head fall forward for a moment and suddenly too tired to stop it, she felt the fear starting to swamp her.
Looking up as someone tooted loudly on a car horn, she felt a smile pull itself from her sadness – a sleek white Mercedes with Galina behind the wheel was gliding towards her. God, it was good to be away from England; to get out of the clouds and the rain to somewhere where the sun was shining so brightly and people were so friend
ly and helpful and Galina was so ridiculously happy to see her.
‘By the way, the answer is yes, I have been to LA before,’ Rhiannon said, feeling her spirits revive as Galina helped load her luggage into the trunk of the car. ‘But only for three days. So, tell me I’m going to love it.’
Galina grinned and slammed the trunk closed. ‘You’re going to love it,’ she said obediently. Then laughing, she walked round to the driver’s side and got in. ‘Seriously, you are going to love it,’ she said. ‘It’s a great place to visit, especially when you know people, but you do reach a point when you have to get out. Max has always based himself here, but he’s away on business half the time – well, we both are now, since I’ve been doing this Conspiracy thing. Have you seen any of it, by the way? Has it reached England? It should have by now.’
‘Are you kidding?’ Rhiannon laughed. ‘Every time I open a magazine or turn on the TV you’re right there staring back at me.’
Evidently delighted, Galina swung the car out into the traffic and headed off towards Lincoln. Then, after several quick glances at Rhiannon, as though reassuring herself that she really was there, she said, ‘I can’t believe five years have gone by since we last saw each other.’
‘Incredible, isn’t it?’ Rhiannon replied.
Galina smiled. ‘Looking at you now it feels like five days,’ she said. ‘How on earth did we come to let so much time go by when we were always so close?’
Rhiannon’s eyebrows arched. ‘You don’t think it might have had something to do with the little matter of you running off with Phillip, do you?’ she suggested.
‘Oh my God!’ Galina cried, clasping a hand to her mouth. ‘I’d forgotten about that.’
‘Like hell you had!’ Rhiannon laughed, bunching up her hair to allow the cooling breeze of the air-con to blow around her neck.
Galina laughed too. ‘OK. I hadn’t. But I was hoping you might have.’
Rhiannon’s eyes went to the roof in disbelief. ‘You haven’t changed a bit,’ she smiled, turning to gaze out at the passing hotels and car rental lots that lined the route out of the airport.
‘Nor have you,’ Galina responded, clearly taking the remark as a compliment, which, Rhiannon conceded, it probably was.
‘So,’ Galina continued, pulling out to overtake a white limousine, ‘tell me everything about this jerk you got yourself involved with. Did you say you married him?’
‘Yes, I did. But I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘Why ever not?’ Galina cried.
‘Because it still hurts,’ Rhiannon said frankly.
‘Then all the more reason to talk about it,’ Galina protested. ‘After all, we’re friends, aren’t we? And who can you talk to if you can’t talk to your friends?’
‘All right, I’ll tell you about it,’ Rhiannon promised, ‘but just not right now, OK?’
‘OK, we’ll save it till we get back to the apartment,’ Galina said. Then shooting Rhiannon a mischievous look she started to laugh. ‘Are you sure you want to stay in the apartment?’ she said. ‘You’re more than welcome at the house, you know. There’s acres of room and everyone’s just dying to meet you.’
‘So you said,’ Rhiannon reminded her. ‘But I wouldn’t mind just relaxing on my own for a while. You know, getting my bearings and taking some time to try and get a better perspective on the unholy mess I’ve left behind. I lost my job a few weeks ago.’
‘Oh no,’ Galina groaned, ‘you really have been going through it. What was the job? You were still at the BBC when I left.’
Rhiannon explained about Check It Out, aware of the slight dizzying effect Galina was having on her.
When she’d finished she turned to look at Galina and her eyes widened in surprise as Galina said, ‘Don’t give yourself too hard a time over the fear. It’s absolutely natural, believe me. Those are two really big set-backs you’ve suffered, losing your husband, then your job, and getting past it is going to take a lot of time and a lot of courage. And though it probably doesn’t feel much like it right now, you can take it from me, you’ve got both.’
Rhiannon continued to look at her.
Smiling, Galina reached out and squeezed her hand. Then the mischief crept back into her eyes and giving her a playful punch she said, ‘Come on, you’re here to have a good time and forget all that shit. And to be my maid of honour, of course.’ She paused for a moment as her head went thoughtfully to one side. ‘You know, I reckon I might be able to wangle a couple of days free this week. If I can, what do you say we spend them together? Just us two. We can shop and lunch and go to the gym and do all those things Hollywood people do, like get breast implants and hair extensions and lyposuction and tattoos and . . . Oh my God, that reminds me, I have to go get my nails fixed before Max gets back. Did you know he’d been arrested, by the way?’
Rhiannon took a breath, then let it go in a laugh. ‘Yes, I read it in the papers just before I left,’ she said, realizing that she should have known better than to worry about bringing the subject up when Galina’s own special line of directness gave a new meaning to tact. ‘In fact, it put me in two minds about coming,’ she added.
‘Oh, don’t worry, he’s not guilty,’ Galina assured her.
‘It wasn’t that that bothered me,’ Rhiannon said, smiling at such guileless loyalty and wishing Lizzy could have been there to enjoy it too. ‘It was the fact that there might have been a hold-up with the wedding. So, when is he getting back?’
‘Later tonight. He’ll be in a foul mood, I know it already. He hates being in jail.’
Unable to stop herself Rhiannon gave a splutter of laughter.
Galina looked at her and winked. ‘Still, at least this time he was only there for a few hours,’ she said. ‘Last time he was there for weeks.’
‘You mean when his wife was killed?’ Rhiannon said.
‘Yeah,’ Galina responded in a deep conspiratorial voice. ‘That’s right. God, it was awful. We’re not allowed to talk about it now. Or at least we’re not supposed to. But we do, of course. I mean, how can you not?’
Rhiannon was unsure how to answer that, so she tried another question. ‘Did he kill her?’ she said, blinking at her own temerity.
‘Mmm,’ Galina nodded, glancing in her rear-view mirror as she turned left on to Fiji and headed into Marina del Rey. ‘Yeah, he killed her. I thought everyone knew that.’
Rhiannon sat for a moment, slightly stunned and not at all sure where to go next. ‘Then how did he get away with it?’ she asked finally.
Galina’s face broke into a grin. ‘Even if I knew, I wouldn’t be able to tell you,’ she said. ‘But I don’t know. Actually, there was a time when people thought it was me who killed her. Did you know that?’ Her expression had changed to one of piqued indignance. ‘In fact,’ she went on, ‘I reckon some people still do think that. But I didn’t. I was in hospital right here in LA when she died and the last I heard they still hadn’t made a bullet that can be fired from Los Angeles and find its target in New York. At least, not one that fits a .38.’
Rhiannon laughed, but again she was at a loss. It was almost as though they were discussing some schoolgirl prank that Galina had got mixed up in rather than the murder of her fiancé’s first wife. ‘If you know Max did it,’ she said, ‘then how come you’re marrying him? I mean, doesn’t it bother you?’
Galina shrugged. ‘Not really. Max is killing people all the time. I mean, not actually killing them himself, you understand, the way he did Carolyn. Usually he gets other people to do it. You know, gangsters and druggies and hit men and the like.’
Rhiannon could only stare at her until finally Galina winked and Rhiannon’s lips pursed as she realized she’d been had. ‘OK,’ she said, looking out at the forest of yacht masts and American flags that were visible beyond the restaurants and apartment blocks of the marina. ‘So was it an accident; or wasn’t it?’ she asked.
‘Well, I’ve got to say it was, haven’t I?’ Galina said. ‘I mean, the c
harges were dropped and he’s about to become my husband, so it would hardly do for me to go round telling people he’s a murderer, now would it?’
‘But do you know?’ Rhiannon persisted. ‘Did he ever talk to you about it?’
‘Of course he did.’
‘So? What did he say?’
‘That it was an accident.’
‘How?’
‘She was trying to shoot him, he grabbed the gun, they struggled and the gun went off. You know the scenario, you’ve seen it a hundred times in the movies.’
‘Do you believe him?’
‘Absolutely and completely.’ Galina’s eyes were dancing as she pulled the car to a stop outside a six-storey apartment block with white wrought-iron balconies and turquoise and white striped awnings.
Remembering the pleasure Galina took in her own perversity, Rhiannon decided to side-track for a while. ‘Why were you in hospital?’ she asked.
‘I got mugged,’ Galina answered getting out of the car. ‘Pretty badly, actually,’ she said across the roof. ‘It took ages for the bruises to go, almost as long as the cuts. I had twenty-three stitches all told. In my back, my arms, my legs, there are a couple of scars here on my neck look. Well, you can’t really see them now, but they were there. It was really bad. The doctor said I was lucky to be alive.’
‘Did they ever catch who did it?’ Rhiannon asked, meeting her at the back of the car.
‘Not as far as I know. They never do. Lucky he didn’t touch my face, eh? I wouldn’t be doing what I am now if he had, that’s for sure.’
‘What did he take?’ Rhiannon said as they began unloading the luggage.
‘Nothing. I didn’t have anything on me.’