The Mistress(55)

“Are you kidding? A hundred million in insurance? He should be our prime suspect.”

“He doesn’t need it. He’s worth way more than that in his father’s art, and he’s got plenty in the bank. We checked. He just looks homeless. He looks like he hasn’t combed his hair all week, but he’s not our guy.”

“You just think he’s cute,” Steve teased her.

“True.” She grinned at her partner. “If he’d comb his hair and put decent clothes on, he’d be hot. I wonder what he’s like when he’s not running around like a lunatic after a robbery. Don’t you want to go see that boat? We could go talk to Stanislas for the hell of it. You never know what will turn up.” She smiled mischievously, and her partner laughed and shook his head at the idea.

“We need clearance, and the chief inspector would go out there himself. He wouldn’t send us.”

“Maybe he would. We can ask. Who knows? Maybe Luca is right. He thinks Stanislas could have had something to do with it. I’m sure he’s no saint. Guys who’ve made that kind of money never are.”

“I think Luca’s nuts. Stanislas could buy the whole collection if he wants.”

“Not if they won’t sell it to him. Did you see all those ‘Not for Sale’ signs? They’re not selling any of it. Who knows? It could have pissed him off, just like Luca says. Some of those Russian guys are tough customers and have nasty friends.”

“Not Stanislas. Shit, he’s probably the richest guy in the world.”

“Then I’d like to meet him. Maybe he’s hot,” she said, teasing her partner again. “Don’t you like boats?”

“No, I get seasick.”

“You won’t on his. It’s bigger than a hotel. Let’s go for it.” Steve Tavernier rolled his eyes, but he was used to her. They had worked together for three years, and Athena Marceau followed every lead and ran them all to ground. She was tireless and clever, and often right. They had an amazing track record, which was why they had been assigned to the case. They were less seasoned, and zealous, Athena’s style was that nothing was too small to pursue, and her arrest record was astounding. Steve liked working with her. She made him look good when she broke a case, and he would do damn near anything for her. As far as he was concerned, her instincts were infallible. She didn’t have any about this case yet, but she was willing to check anything out. And a tour of Stanislas’s boat sounded good to her, for a kick if nothing else. She asked their chief inspector for permission that afternoon, not to search the boat, but just to visit Vladimir, and he shrugged and told her she was crazy, but he agreed to let them do it, although he said he would have liked to see the boat himself, but didn’t have time. He was following the serious leads, while they were planning to visit yachts.

“Just don’t ruffle him, or accuse him of anything. I don’t want a complaint on my desk tomorrow,” their chief inspector warned.

“No, sir,” she promised, which her partner knew was worth nothing. Athena always did what she wanted, and then played innocent with their superiors, and got away with it a lot of the time. She decided not to make an appointment and just show up. She managed to get hold of a police boat with a young officer to drive it, and two hours later they were on the way to Princess Marina, sitting at anchor off the H?tel du Cap.

“What if they don’t even let us on the boat?” Steve asked nervously. Athena wasn’t concerned at all. She was looking forward to it.

“No problem—then we shoot them,” she teased him. “Watch, he’s going to charm us to death. He’ll see us,” she said confidently. “He’ll want to make a good impression on us, to prove he’s above it all.”

They pulled up at the loading dock at the back of the boat. She flashed her badge at the sailors, and a broad smile, and got out of the police boat in bare feet, with her high heels in her hand, and a flash of great legs as she hiked her skirt up to hop aboard. She explained that they were there to see Mr. Stanislas, and needed his help with an investigation of an art theft. She was sure he could guess which one, since it was all over the news by then. Steve let her do the talking as he always did. She looked like a sexy young girl and anything but a policewoman, as the sailors grinned at her, and one of them went to call upstairs while she and Steve waited and chatted with them.

A moment later, the deckhand was back, and said he would take them upstairs. She gave Steve a knowing look, and followed the crew member into an elevator that took them up five floors to the outside bar, where Vladimir was having a glass of champagne with Natasha. Steve and Athena wandered onto the deck, and Athena held out a hand, and thanked him profusely for seeing them. Vladimir gave Natasha a nod, and she stood up. Her face was expressionless, as Steve looked her over admiringly in her skin-tight pink bodysuit that showed every inch of her body, and her breasts. Athena saw her but concentrated on Vladimir, as a stewardess offered them champagne. Natasha quietly went down the stairs to a lower deck, which Athena found interesting and Steve disappointing as she disappeared from sight. Athena checked her watch before she took the champagne.

“When we leave here, we’ll be off duty, so yes, thank you.” She smiled at the stewardess and then at Vladimir, and Steve accepted a glass too. Athena then proceeded to charm him, and had Vladimir laughing on a variety of subjects and then dragged herself back to the art theft, as though it bored her to do it, but she had to at least pretend to do her job. She made it clear that they had only come for the thrill of meeting him and seeing the boat, and he was pleased. But he was nobody’s fool either, and they were both playing a game, and they were good at it.