Suspects(42)

“I really need to get to the office,” she complained, sounding anxious. “And I miss you,” she said in a small voice.

“I miss you too. I wish I were there to protect you myself.” He had thought a lot about it, and he wanted to review all her security measures and tighten them when he came back. It would be a big project, but it was necessary, particularly if the kidnappers had surfaced and were restless. “I want you to be very, very careful. The DGSE is going to give you some extra coverage for a while.” She yawned as the medicine started to take effect, and he smiled when he remembered how she had looked sleeping next to him. He couldn’t wait until he’d see her again. But she had to get well. And de Vaumont had to be stopped.





Chapter 10


A senior agent of the DGSE called Pierre de Vaumont on Monday, explained that there had been an unfortunate incident at the Chateau Pasquier on Saturday, and said they wanted to discuss it with him and have him examined to make sure it hadn’t affected him too. He assured them that he was fine, but they were adamant and refused to be put off.

Guy Thomas was in the interview with him. Pierre was very smooth on the surface, but Guy thought he looked nervous.

They explained that Theo Morgan Pasquier had been poisoned with a Russian nerve agent, as had her bodyguard, and they wanted to be assured that there were no traces in Pierre’s bloodstream. They insisted on taking blood to be examined, and at the end of the interview, Guy asked him casually if he would mind bringing them the gloves he had worn to the chateau to be tested. He suggested delivering them in a plastic bag, and Pierre had a quick answer. He explained that he had gone to several chateaux over the weekend for his client, and had lost the gloves. He had already called around, as he liked the gloves, and no one had found them or turned them in.

“That is unfortunate, isn’t it?” Guy said, looking him in the eye.

“It is,” Pierre said innocently, “and I just got them at Hermès.”

His bloodwork showed no trace of the nerve agent, not surprisingly since he clearly knew how to apply it. It had been put on the doorknob in a liquid form, which had neither color, nor odor. And the gloves that might have shown traces of it had vanished. Guy surmised that he had arrived the day before the appointed hour so he had time to apply it. Theo would be exposed as soon as she touched the doorknob. Lucky for him, she had been half an hour late so he had even more time. He was wily.



* * *



—

Guy, Mike, and Robert had the promised conference call on Tuesday. It was entirely about how to protect Theo if the kidnappers came back to Paris and tried to kidnap her this time, or if another group came along with the same idea. Guy vowed to put more of his agents on the detail following her, until some new evidence appeared suggesting that she was no longer in danger. None of them felt that was likely to happen. She was undeniably a highly desirable target. Mike trusted both men, but was uneasy about what might happen, especially given the rumors Robert had heard, and the recent poisoning.

By Wednesday, Theo felt well again, and was due to go home on Friday. So was Daniel. They had both been extremely lucky, given the possibilities from the substance used to poison them, or if a worse one had been used instead. It seemed likely that it had been applied in order to give her a dread of the chateau so she would sell. It was not supposed to disable or kill her, or the chateau would have been tied up in her estate.



* * *



—

On Thursday morning, Mike landed at CDG, dropped his small bag off at Theo’s apartment with one of the bodyguards, and was at the hospital at nine a.m. Her face lit up the moment she saw him. He spent the day with her and on Friday, she had to wait until noon to be discharged, after her last blood tests were in, and then she could go home. Mike waited with her and dozed in the chair in her room. He was relieved to see her looking well. They had said that she might feel dizzy occasionally, or have headaches, for another week or two, but it would dissipate after that. It made Mike angry just thinking about it. This wasn’t his case, and he was there unofficially. All he had to contribute was his own expertise and his deep feelings for Theo, but both Guy and Robert were grateful for his input. Having a high-ranking, highly experienced CIA senior agent was an asset to any investigation, although he had far less knowledge of the Russians and their practices than either Guy or Robert and their respective agencies. Mike’s expertise was with the drug lords in South America.

He had his own problems with the cartels in Central and South America, whose men regularly tried to enter U.S. territory to do business. He was currently working on a big case, which he couldn’t discuss with Theo, but he had with Robert. They each had their own criminal element to deal with, and their own challenges.

He woke up after a half-hour nap on Theo’s bed while they waited for her test results, on Friday morning. He couldn’t wait to get home and be alone with her. He didn’t like the reason he had come, but he was happy to see her.

They talked about de Vaumont and the poisoning. She said she had decided to sell the chateau.

“I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is. It broke my heart to see it again, but I could never stay there now. I just couldn’t do it. And it was always Matthieu’s, not mine or ours. It was such a loaded subject for him, and so meaningful. I never really felt at home there. I think it’s best to sell it. I’m going to list it with a realtor.” She looked sad as she said it, but it sounded right to him too, given what had happened there.