“Hello, Nicki.” Even his voice lacked strength.
“Hello, Paul. I didn’t realize you were having such a tough time recovering from the surgery.”
“Complications.” His smile was wan. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to talk to you about your partners in the Costalegre resort and some rumors I’ve heard.”
His eyelids fluttered closed. “Business, Nicki? I’m on no shape to discuss that.”
“Just a few questions,” she persisted. “Please.”
His eyes opened. “Who is this man with you?”
“This is my friend, Adam Molloy. He’s…helping me.”
Again the eyes closed. “I haven’t paid much attention to what’s going on there,” he protested. “I fear you’ve made your long journey for nothing.”
“Paul.” She let out a slow breath. “I was almost killed.”
His face took on a pinched look and he reached out a hand that trembled. “I am so sorry you were in danger, but I say again. I have been way out of the loop.”
“So far out you can’t give me an idea of why someone would come onto the property with a loaded weapon?”
Henderson gave a little shake of his head. “I don’t make my guests go through a magnetron at the front gate!”
Surprised she could get that much vehemence from a man who was supposedly recuperating far too slowly from a surgical procedure, Nicki nodded. “Or do you keep a supply of weapons and ammo on site for those guests who request such…amenities?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he spat.
Not too ill, are you? “How well did you check out your manager before you hired him?”
Henderson arched a brow. “Rigorously. Nothing wrong with Abbas. Can’t chance it with our clientele there. You know how high profile they are.”
Nicki felt Adam tense beside her and reached for his hand, squeezing it hard to signal him not to say anything. This was turning out to be a dead end and they needed to get out of there.
“Paul, I could really use some input from you here. I know what a tight rein you keep on things.” She huffed a breath of impatience. “If you could just point me toward someone who could give me the answers I need. Maybe one of your partners? I told you. There are some rumors circulating about them.”
She really wanted to see if she could pry loose a connection to Calderon but she also wanted to get out of there in one piece.
“I think that’s enough.” The leader of Henderson’s guard stepped forward. “It’s time for Mr. Henderson’s medication and his nap.”
“But…”
“Let’s go.” Adam’s voice behind her was low and quiet.
She took one last look at the man in the hospital bed and allowed his men to lead her and Adam away. Neither of them said a word until they were in the boat. Then Adam turned to Nicki and said, “You know that was a total load of crap.”
“Damn right, that asshole. He knows perfectly well what’s happening, but with that Praetorian Guard around him and his illness as an excuse we could have saved our energy.”
“Let’s call Maddie and see if she’s been able to get us in to see LeClerq.”
“Crashing a meeting of the heads of major financial institutions is no small feat. Can she handle it?”
Nicki laughed. “If anyone can, it’s Maddie.”
“That’s good, because now it’s even more important.”
“As soon as we reach the marina I’ll call the hangar and have the pilot get the plane ready. If Maddie’s made contact, we’ll go directly to Washington, D.C.”
They were in the air before Maddie got back to them with confirmation of their appointment with LeClerq.
“Dan and I will meet you there,” she told Nicki. “You’ll need me in person to open doors for you. Besides, I’m the one with the invitation to the private reception.”
“Can you also conjure up some clothes for us?” Nicki joked.
“I’m making reservations at the Willard for you. Just tell the concierge to send up a personal shopper and she’ll fetch whatever you and Adam need. Isn’t that what you always do?”
Nicki laughed. “You got it.”
She hung up and explained to Adam what was happening.
“All right. But if we run into trouble, I have a few hole cards I can play.”
Chapter Eight
It turned out Adam’s hole card needed to be an ace. Maddie called shortly after they checked in to the Willard to say that LeClerq refused to talk to them. If they came to the reception to corner him, he’d simply leave. They could save themselves the time. He had nothing to say to them.
But Adam’s hole card was indeed an ace.
“He owes me big-time,” he told Nicki. “You know, the money laundering thing. If not for me he’d have ended up in prison.” “Well, then. Time to let him pay up,” Nicki said as she opened the door to permit the bellboy to deliver their clothes in various boxes from local shops. “Got to try these on,” she said as she tore into the packages. “Mad to be into clean clothes!” She tried on the black dress and heels, then settled on a pink tee-shirt, slim jeans and pink Keds.
As Adam sifted through the concierge’s selections for himself, he tried to get LeClerq on his secure line.
It took patience and maneuvering to get through to LeClerq, but finally he came on the phone. Adam told him what he needed and why LeClerq was going to help him by giving any information he could get.
“He promises to call me back on his private cell,” Adam told her as he donned his khakis, red polo and loafers. Within two minutes, Adam was picking up a ring from his cell. The conversation he and LeClerq had was brief, with Adam mostly listening.
“He wasn’t happy to give me the information,” he told Nicki, shutting closed his phone. “Client confidentiality and all that. But I got it out of him that Henderson has a separate, personal account in his bank. And, he says it’s growing at a faster than normal rate. Too fast for the funds to come, he thinks, from legitimate enterprises. LeClerq has known about the growth for about six months. Red-flagged by one of the account managers who thought it was definitely an indication of some kind of illegal activity and who brought it to LeClerq’s attention.”
“Did he say where he thought the money came from?” Nicki asked.
Adam nodded. “First he warned me that it’s his ass and mine if anyone finds out he told me. But if it is illegal and I can keep his bank out of it, he’ll owe me again.”
“Tell me the name of the company.” Nicki gestured impatiently.
“It appears Henderson has a large number of shares in a pharmaceutical company. A third of Henderson’s deposits come from that.”
“And it is…”
“Interlock Pharmcorp.”
He studied Nicki, waiting, and in seconds she understood.
“Drug distribution. And the cartel.”
Adam nodded. “Got it in one.”
“But we need to know exactly how they’re distributing it, and…”
He held up a hand. “The other two-thirds of Henderson’s windfall, however, is coming from a corporation Henri wasn’t familiar with, so he checked it out.”
“And?”
“All the directors are fictitious. It’s nothing but a blind shell.”
Nicki’s eyes widened in amazement. “And LeClerq’s just been sitting on this information?”
“Look at it from his point of view. He can’t exactly rat out his clients.”
“We need to go back to the Caribbean. Confront Henderson again. Now that we know what we’re looking for, I think we can be more aggressive with him.”
“Let me make another phone call first.”
Adam called Mossad headquarters on his encrypted cell phone and talked for a long time in Hebrew. Nicki watched the lines in his face deepen as he listened. When he hung up, his expression was grim.
“Okay. At least we have more news.”
“Tell me.”
“There have been reports n
ow of deaths similar to Emily’s in Paris, Berlin and Madrid. Recently in Tel Aviv, too. The better parts of town.”
“Same MO of the victims?” Nicki asked, “Housewives? Office workers? High end furnishing store clerks?”
“Yes. But according to my boss, the bulk of activity is still here in the Washington metro area. Georgetown. Bethesda. Alexandria. More deaths. More hospitalizations.” He shook his head.
“Did he say they have any clues how the victims acquire it?”
“We think now they buy it in high end boutiques and shops that sell things like candles and oils for aromatherapy. And the company that’s selling it?”
“Let me guess. The shell corporation where Henderson’s getting so much money.”
“Yes. Our men had to call in a lot of markers to find that out.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Meanwhile, they’ll hack into LeClerq’s computers and monitor what’s going on with Henderson and his accounts. Mossad can get into anything. They’ll also try to see if Pharmcorp has a hand getting the drug into this country. These people can’t take the usual smugglers’ route or they’d never have such open distribution.” He made a rude noise. “Selling it like some good luck charm right out in the open. What balls.”
“Do you know the names of any of these places? Maybe we can go talk to the owners, find out how they order it. If it’s through this corporation where Henderson’s getting so much money, we’ll have something to hit him with details.”
“Headquarters will send me a list of shops to my smartphone. As soon as we get it we should hit the bricks. Find one close. Talk to the owners.”
“We’re swimming in dangerous waters here, Adam,” Nicki warned.
“I’ve been here plenty of times before. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m good,” she reassured him. “I don’t run this company on my good looks, you know.”
He grinned. “At one time, I might have thought so, but now?”
Tension racked his features as he pulled her into his arms for a hard kiss, his tongue plunging into her mouth. He held her head tightly as he devoured her, then pulled back, leaving her breathless. His SMARTPHONE chirped.
“Okay.” He read the list and when he glanced up, his eyes landed on Nicki and his heart wrenched with fear for her safety. “Let’s go.”
He had a queasy feeling, a sensation that came on him when he knew he was missing something. When they’d checked in, he had walked the room, scanning for bugs in the phone, the TV, the lamps. He found nothing. Nicki had doubled down on his search, and found nothing.
But dealing with someone like Henderson and illegal trafficking made him wary. And he was alone on this job with her. Headquarters had asked if he needed backup and he had requested it, but it could take ten to twenty-four hours before the alternate would be in place. They’d call with the signal when that happened. Until then, it was up to him to have all his antennae up. Nicki, too. As if she didn’t already, he thought to himself as he grabbed her hand and headed for the elevator, the lobby and the front doors.
As if they were reading each other’s minds, they strolled up E Street as if they were tourists. They cut in front of the Treasury and over to the 1600 North Portico of the White House. Sightseers wandered about, gaping at the green expanse of the White House lawn and the alabaster home. No cars had been allowed here in front for more than fifteen years, so pedestrians—including anyone who might be trailing Adam and Nicki—could be easier to spot. But Adam saw no one unusual.
Nicki didn’t either and told him so with a glimmer in her eye. “I can’t believe how many tourists are out here!”
“Let’s get a bite to eat, shall we?” he offered as they made their way toward Seventeenth Street past the Executive Office Building and a line of taxis waiting for foot-weary travelers to hire a cab. He stuck his arm in the air and one zoomed to their side.
Adam said “Georgetown” to the young black driver who cracked his gum loudly and spoke with a South African accent. “You can drop us at the corner of M and Wisconsin,” he told the kid as he glanced at Nicki and showed her the list of four addresses on his SMARTPHONE of where they were headed.
“Didn’t want him to know where we were going, right?” she commented as they trekked north on the thoroughfare filled with ritzy old neighborhood shops.
“Not a chance.”
As they stopped to admire the fresh oysters and crabs in the window of a seafood restaurant, they glanced up and down the avenue. “No one’s interested in where we’re headed.”
“We’ll continue to check,” he said under his breath. “Come on. Our first one is across the street.”
The minute they opened the heavy glass doors to the place called Sweet Scents, the overpowering aroma of scented candles and oils hit Adam. “How does anyone even know what to order in a place like this?” Adam muttered. “You’d need to have the lining of your nose replaced after being in here.”
“Ssh.” Nicki began to lift a few of the expensive soaps and candles to catch the fragrances.
The shop was filled with customers, a fact that appealed to Adam who did not want to call attention to themselves if they asked for packets of Pleasant Dreams. But moving quickly through the stock and reading labels, Nicki found them. “These,” she told the sales girl who looked like a college student on her part-time job, “are absolutely wonderful. You have only four packets left though. Do you have more in the back?”
The girl shook her head. “No, ma’am. We’re all out of that. It’s a big seller.”
I bet. Adam leaned over to Nicki and said, “Honey, if you really like it, perhaps we can order a big supply from the manufacturer.” He looked at the clerk. “Is that possible?”
“Oh, yes, sweetie,” Nicki said to Adam. “Great idea!” And of the clerk, she asked, “Do you have the name of the manufacturer?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Would you please look?”
“Um. Well. I’m not even sure where to look for that.”
Swell. Adam lifted his face toward the glass window where he could see a back office computer and file cabinets. “You must have records of purchasing orders.”
“The owner does all that.”
Nicki stepped toward the girl. “Could you call the owner?” She smiled. “We’d be happy to wait.”
Within minutes the girl was back to say she’d gotten voice mail. “I can leave her a note.”
“I’ll call her,” Nicki said. “When will she be in again?”
“Tuesday.”
The next shop, two blocks north, had a proprietor who was not much more help. The only information they could get from this woman was that she’d received a promotional email, ordered the packets through the mail, was pleased with their sales success, and paid online via PayPal.
As soon as the woman gave him the name of the company, Adam emailed his headquarters and asked them to trace its provenance.
“But it could take them a few hours,” he told Nicki as he took her arm. “Let’s head south and look at this last one.”
“My guess is the money goes directly into Henderson’s Swiss account, and Calderon gets paid out of there by wire transfer,” Nicki suggested as they crossed M Street heading toward the Potomac.
“I’d say you’re right,” Adam agreed. “We’ll have to see which way the money flows, from Henderson to Calderon or vice versa.”
Once more they stood before a shop window. This one fronted a small antique store.
Playing his part, Adam smiled at Nicki and pointed to a decrepit Louis XIII Rococo chair. “Imagine. Something we’ve always wanted.”
She raised a brow. “Like me,” she affirmed and led him inside.
The place was decorated in early federal style, with fraying blue wallpaper, pale peach Aubusson rugs worth a small fortune and stocked in antiques only the ancien régime of France and the well-heeled patricians and doyennes of Washington savored. That the place also smelled of mold made Adam win
ce. But the next aroma that hit his nostrils was much more appealing.
He inhaled a huge draught of it and wondered if this might be the drug they tracked.
He inhaled again and immediately felt better. Happier. Relaxed. Hell. No wonder this stuff is a hit.
Just then, Nicki bent down and ooed and ahhed over a porcelain bowl.
“Good afternoon,” an older gentleman ambled up to them, steepling his fingers together. Impeccably dressed in dark gray suit with blue foulard tie and matching hanky in his breast pocket, he had the demeanor of an aging connoisseur and roué. Adam bristled at the very idea this man might be peddling bad joss to anyone. “Do you like Spode?” the clerk asked Nicole. “This is from our wider collection of eighteenth century pieces.”
“I adore it,” she enthused softly just like an avid collector might. “I find this an exceptional piece. You have other pieces?”
Adam smiled, but was careful to make the expression appear more like the tolerant husband who allows his wife her amusing eccentricities.
Mr. Foulard gave Adam a kindly nod of understanding. “We do. More than ten from one customer. On consignment, you see.”
“Is there a set price or may we negotiate?”
“Of course we may discuss the asking price. Follow me, would you please?”
Adam ground his teeth together. Forbearance. He smiled thinly at the man and followed Nicki toward the back room. Minutes later, Nicki demurred and proclaimed herself uninterested in the set of four teacups and saucers, circa 1810. But she did sigh, rather convincingly Adam thought, and then raised her nose in the air. “I must say, what is that wonderful fragrance?”
Oh, brother. Adam had to keep from laughing out loud.
By the time they stepped outside into the sunshine, Adam noted they not only had the name of the distributor and an address in Chesapeake, Virginia but they also had a noticeable tail.
Grabbing Nicki’s hand, Adam drew her close, kissed her cheek like a lover and said in a low voice, “Walk casually, talk to me. Pretend you’re hungry and point out the restaurant at the end of the block.”
She grew instantly aware of his intent. “Where?”
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