by L. B. Simon
"Where were you?" Sveta bellowed, her face flushing red, as her icy gaze fell on Mélisande. "This isn’t swan lake, for you to glide around on tippy toes! You take too long to move around the room! And prefer chatting with the other staff instead of doing what you are paid for!" The Russian woman shouted. "I need reliable people who can carry a tray around the whole night without getting sore arms and who are fast! Get out of here! The agency that sent you, will be hearing about this!"
Mélisande dropped her eyes.
"Now; out!"
Grabbing her bag, Mélisande disappeared down the dark back halls. She forced an expression of distress onto her features, but internally she was laughing. Svetlana Naumova was a formidable actress.
Mélisande headed down the dark halls to the office and scratched softly on the door, Aidan opened it and she slipped in. He handed her an earpiece and Savannah’s voice sounded in her ear, giving the all clear. Aidan pushed the painting open, and there stood the safe.
He laid his bag with his tools on the floor next to him and cracked his fingers. He removed his earpiece, picked up a stethoscope, and keeping it on the safe’s front, began spinning the dial right, three times. Then, he changed direction, closed his eyes, and listened intently for the faint clicking sound that would let him know that he found the correct number.
Mélisande pulled on her gloves and went to the door, waiting for Philip to join them. There was a crackling sound in her ear.
"Incoming!" Savannah informed her. "One, two, go."
Mélisande opened the door and Philip rolled in a cart stacked with wine crates. Silently they removed the top ones and Philip lifted the covers from several on the bottom. They glanced at Aidan, who was still concentrating on his work, then faced the opposite wall as not to distract him.
What seemed to be an eternity passed before Aidan spoke.
"Ladies and gentlemen; the moment of truth!" Aidan pushed the handle down.
The safe opened wide, revealing several shelves heavy with gold bricks. With efficient and minimal movements, they began passing down the line, brick after brick; Philip placing each one into the crates. Once the task was done, they all stared at the empty chamber; there was no sign of the sapphires. Céline did not wear them, Mélisande clearly remembered diamonds draped across the woman’s collarbone.
"Where the bloody hell is it?" Philip hissed, his words barely audible.
"Security," Savy said.
Mélisande raised her hand and they all froze.
"Five… four… three… turn… All clear!" Savannah counted down the man’s progress past each camera as he moved towards the office, before heading back.
Mélisande gave a thumbs-up. Aidan pulled out a flashlight from his bag and ran the beam over the top shelf that stood empty even before they relieved the large space of its burdens. This particular shelf differed from the rest by its thickness, and something reflecting on each side of the front of the rectangle.
"I think I got this!" Aidan winked, pulling out a box of corn starch and a spray from his bag. "Stand back!"
He poured a bit of powder into his palm and blew the dust onto the side of the shelf. Clear fingerprints appeared on the surface. A light layer of spray fixed the starch into place and Aidan grinned at Mélisande.
"Would you do us the honor, Mademoiselle?" He stepped back and Mélisande pressed her gloved thumbs over the marks.
Nothing happened for several heartbeats, making them wonder if Aidan had been wrong, but then there was a soft whirl and whoosh.
"I’ll be damned!" Philip looked stunned as lights lit up the ceiling of the space in a soft blue hue.
The glittering deep violet-blue sapphires nested in a bed of icy diamonds, wrapping its white gold chain around a display stand, rose proudly from within.
"Is it just me or this is creepy?" Mélisande whispered.
"Take it or leave it?" Aidan scrutinized her. "Last chance!"
"She loves this piece so much, let this be her demise!" Mélisande tightened her jaw, as her eyes flashed with thunderous anger.
Aidan nodded but felt a tightening in his heart. The piece was beautiful, and being the thief that he was, he regretted having to leave it behind.
"Phil, you have any loose wine corks?" Aidan asked as Philip grabbed a few from an empty crate.
"It’s your lucky day, mate!"
Aidan slipped a few, just under the stand, to make sure the jewels would not be able to slide back into their hide. Mélisande and Philip closed the lid over the gold and replaced all the boxes on top. Aidan cleaned up his equipment, handed the bag to Philip who placed it into another empty crate.
Aidan went to the window and pulled open the curtains. He checked that there was an alarm sensor and a red light blinked, signaling that it was armed. He slid the lock open but left it otherwise undisturbed.
"Pigeon ready for take off," Mélisande whispered to Savannah.
"Checking."
Mélisande grabbed a large bronze Gucci bag that Philip had hidden in a crate and handed her earpiece to Aidan who had returned his own into his ear. He held up three fingers and counted down, then gave a thumbs-up.
Mélisande rushed out into the hall and towards the party. She was just about to join the main corridor when she heard a footstep behind her.
"Arrêtez!" Came the order.
She halted, turned her head, and saw a burly security guard.
"What are you doing here?" He spoke gruffly, his eyes narrowed.
"Smoke break." She held up a pack of Marlboros.
"This area is off limits to guests and staff. You ought to know that." The man was a few steps behind her.
"Yes, just my boss is very fussy and yells at me if she catches me smoking, so I went to the back patio to have a puff." She smiled meekly. "Please don’t tell her!"
"Let me see your bag!" The man reached for it.
"What? Why?" Mélisande stepped back, tightening her grip on the Gucci.
"Excuse me!" Came a panicked voice from ahead of them. "Excuse me! Please, I need help!" Sandra, face ashen, stood bent over clutching her stomach. "I think I’m having the baby!"
The guard gulped audibly, blood draining from his face.
"Find my husband, please. François Renaud; I need him…" She let out a shriek. "Immediately!"
"Yes! Right away!" The man took off at a surprising speed.
Mélisande hurried to Sandra, grasping the woman’s hand.
"Are you all right?" She stared into the pregnant woman’s eyes searching for clues as to how to help.
"Of course!" Sandra wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Of course, dearest! I am all right, and so are you, thank God!" She let go, blinking tears away. "Go, get out of here, before he comes back."
Mélisande stared in stunned silence at the other woman.
"Go!" Sandra urged. "Take good care! And be safe!"
Mélisande nodded and began walking; her heart heavy, feeling guiltier than ever to leave the woman whom she suspected to be truly in pain, all alone. Life never gave them a chance to be friends, but there was a connection between the two. Sandra recognizing her when no one else had, was just another proof of that.
"You too! Thank you," Mélisande called out as she hurried away, her heart racing.
She slipped into an empty room, pulled off her blazer, shoved it back into the bag, put on a sequence long top and swapped her wig for a long blond one. She heard running in the hall, probably François and the guard. Once the commotion was over, she headed out to the foyer and the front door where Nikita was waiting for her in a cab.
Meanwhile, Philip left the room too. Having heard the noise in the hall, he headed to the back patio from where he could access the van. As he was about to reach the sliding doors, another security guard stopped him.
"What’s in there? And why are you coming through this way?"
"Empty wine bottles." Philip lifted a few lids. "Got to get them out of the house, so we don’t have so many to clear after the party. I t
ried the other hall, but there is something going on…"
"The woman having the baby, she still in the corridor?" The man spoke into the mic that was hidden in his sleeve, then nodded. "All right. Go on." The man, satisfied, retraced his steps towards the main area of the house.
Philip pushed his load up the ramp and into the loading space of the vehicle. He started the engine just as police lights flashed at the front of the building.
Isa rushed out of the house and jumped into the passenger seat. He drove off the property using the delivery path and pulled over into the dark driveway of a neighbor across the street. Silently holding hands, they waited for Aidan.
Chapter 60
Lachance walked into the house, five men in uniform at his side. He went straight into the crowded room where everyone was slowly preparing to move to the dining area. He searched for Belmont and Céline and saw them at the far end.
The guests noticing the police parted like the Red Sea for Moses and fell silent. He felt a deep satisfaction when the hosts finally noticed his presence and were none too pleased with it, especially Belmont.
"What is the meaning of this?" Céline demanded, looking down her long nose at the detective.
"We got an anonymous tip that you have two men in your house who are wanted by the police and Interpol," Lachance noted Belmont’s dilating pupils and Céline tensing ever so slightly. "I would like your permission to look around."
"This is ridiculous!" Céline’s features twisted into an angry grimace. "This is my party and my guests are all distinguished members of society!"
As soon as she uttered the words, the shrill blare of an alarm disrupted the thick silence of the room.
"Huh? I think you have a break-in! What luck that we are here!" He sneered and nodded to two officers. "You two, check the area to see if this tip pans out. Would you like to join me?" He asked Céline, Belmont, and Renaud. "And while we are at it, Kárpáti, you come too!" Lachance raised his voice so the man who was trying to disappear behind Renaud could hear him clearly.
Kárpáti stepped forward, his ears flushing a violent crimson.
"Lachance!" He greeted the detective, his shoulders and face rigid.
"What a lovely surprise to see you here. Let’s go and investigate!"
"I… I was invited as thanks for the investigation at the Belmont residence…" Kárpáti caught up with the detective.
"Of course, you were!" Lachance smirked, without slowing his pace as they made their way down the corridors, following the wail of the siren. "Please stay with them, out here," he instructed his men, and the detective entered the office, immediately noting the open safe and billowing curtain.
"Wow! This is interesting! Kárpáti, care to join me?" Lachance called out.
"Yes?" The man entered and glanced into the safe. "What in the world?!" His jaw slackened, nearly detaching from its joints.
"You recognize this piece too, I take it?" Lachance said studying the insurance investigator. "Ah! Kárpáti, what a pickle you got yourself into. I have no choice but to launch a formal complaint against you and start an inquiry, my friend. You are at a party with family members of a client whose case you had just closed. That is unethical, to say the least, and makes me wonder if you were in on this whole farce."
"What farce?" Kárpáti looked confused.
"The fraud, of course!"
"What are you talking about? I did not issue the payment!" Kárpáti protested.
"Ah! But it was not an insurance fraud, you see, that we were dealing with, but rather an elaborate scam to get the Belmont inheritance."
"I had nothing to do with it!" Kárpáti whitened.
"Yet here you are in the same house as the jewelry you were supposedly trying to recover. Isn’t that interesting! I guess Mademoiselle Blanche had you by the balls." Lachance gave him the same glare he reserved for criminals.
"Commandant!" One of the men who was left in the party room rushed in. "The two German thieves are passed out in the room as per the tip. I believe their drinks were spiked, as we are simply unable to wake them."
"Well isn’t that something! Arrest them all, Kárpáti included." Lachance ordered. "And see if you can find out who tampered with the Germans’ drinks, though at this point, I am glad that they were unable to escape."
Kárpáti faced the safe and stared at the sapphires on their stand, still lit up from underneath.
"I had nothing to do with this," he repeated in a shaky voice.
"Still, I recommend that you call a lawyer..." Lachance removed Kárpáti’s cell phones, as the man was restrained, and informed of his rights.
Belmont and Céline began shouting as they too were handcuffed.
"Oh, bring them in, please!" Lachance waved to the officer in the hall. "Is there anything missing?" The detective raised his eyebrows as the two gaped dumbfoundedly at the nearly empty safe.
Chapter 61
The crew was gathered in the living room; an excited buzz humming through everyone. It was three in the morning and now that the gold was stashed away safely they were ready to strike the final blow.
Savannah sat at the computer and Mélisande was on the phone with the bank in the Cayman Islands. Belmont had not bothered removing her name from the account, and no one there knew that she was supposed to be deceased.
"Yes, Miss, sorry about di wait." A woman from the twenty-four-hour customer service department came back on the line. "Can I please confirm yu information. What is di name on di account?"
"Mélisande Belmont and Charles Frederick Renaud."
"Tank yu, Miss. And di dates of birth, please."
"November 12th, 1989, and December 9th, 1965."
"Tank yu Miss. And di maiden name of yu mother, please."
Mélisande hesitated a beat.
"Olivier." She watched the worried faces of her friends, holding her breath.
"Tank yu, Miss. How may I help yu today?"
A smile spread across everyone’s faces. Isa and Savy exchanged silent low-fives.
"I would like to transfer all the money to a different account."
"Of course, Miss. May I ask di reason why?"
"We just put an offer on a yacht and a beach villa. We need the money to finalize the purchases."
"Tank you, Miss. May I inquire if yu are absolutely sure? It is a large amount."
"Yes, I am."
"Give me just one minute, please. I have to have my supervisor talk to yu in order to approve the transaction. While on hold, could yu please get the transfer information ready."
Within minutes Belmont was left without a penny. The funds were transferred to a U.S. bank, before moving from one account to another, traveling the world to finally stop in Switzerland.
"Who is Olivier?" Savy’s brow furrowed. "And how did you know to say that instead of Belmont?"
"Nadine Olivier was my paternal grandmother. I figured seeing how Belmont setup the account, he would use her name."
"Brilliant!" Isa nodded approvingly.
"Savy, I need to know whether any of this money is from the scams." Mélisande became suddenly serious.
"I don’t think so…" Savannah sat back, her expression thoughtful. "Definitely none of this money is from Renaud’s six million. The online statements go back that far. I think Belmont had your name on the account so it would be linked directly to the Paris bank, prior to you coming of age; so, it would be easier and less suspicious to move your money. According to the documents Samuel found, they have several accounts with stashed money, and none of those have the men’s names on them."
"Now what? What are you going to do with ten million euros?" Philip smiled kindly.
"If the money is all mine, then we split it, of course!" Mélisande blinked in surprise, wondering why this question arose at all. "We worked as a team; we share as a team."
"But honey," Isa squeezed her hand, "we are getting paid for the job, and most of us have other income on the side and savings. You on the other hand just lost everyth
ing, and I do mean everything; your home, family, friends, status, wealth, even your identity. You need this money more than we do."
"Split it. I can earn a living just like any of you. We do this right or you guys keep it all."
"Well, there is no need," Vlad began, but Mélisande pierced him with a glare.
"What would my mother do?" She demanded.
The man lifted his hands, in defeat.
"Okay, but Samuel gets his share too," Aidan conceded. "And you get a bonus for all the shit you had been through! Go ahead, Savy, you know what I have in mind."
Savy nodded and set up new accounts for Mélisande and Samuel.
Satisfied Mélisande went to her room. She took a shower scrubbing off makeup, sweat and the last remnants of her former life.
She came out of the washroom dressed in her robe and found Aidan sitting on the edge of her bed, his back to her, two glasses of champagne in his hands. In the living room, beyond, silence had fallen.
Chapter 62
"A celebratory drink?" Aidan asked, holding up the drinks without turning around.
Mélisande got dressed and climbed on the bed behind him.
"I would love to see Belmont’s face when he realizes his precious savings are gone!" Aidan sipped his bubbly.
"I still would like to do one more thing," she whispered, taking the flute over his shoulder. "This doesn’t feel like it’s over; not yet."
"What did you have in mind?"
"I want him to wonder if I’m still alive." Mélisande’s eyes blurred slightly as if she was lost in a deep thought. "Tonight, after Sandra recognized me, I think I got distracted and I ended up standing right next to him. He didn’t even look at me. It was as if I was nothing! I want him to spend the next years doubting if I am truly dead! He sacrificed me for his greed! Regardless whether I am his flesh and blood or not; he was the only father I ever knew. He should not have done what he had!"