Parisian Affair (23 page)

'This is so beautiful,' Allegra said,
momentarily distracted from her worry.

'It is well done, isn't it?' Ram replied.
'Let's have a seat and order, shall we?' He indicated a Louis XIII
chair with needlepoint flame stitch upholstery.

'Thank you,' Allegra said as she sat down.
She felt like a queen taking a seat on her throne in this palatial
atmosphere.

Ram had no sooner sat down opposite her than
a waiter arrived. 'Monsieur Tadjer,' he said. 'Lovely to see
you.'

'Hello, Maurice,' Ram replied. He looked at
Allegra. 'What would you like? Tea or something a littler stronger
perhaps?'

When she didn't reply at once, Ram touched
her arm. 'I'm sorry. I was ... I was in another world,' she said.
The ring still preyed on her mind, despite the elegant
surroundings.

'Tea or something stronger?' Ram repeated
indulgently.

'Oh, I think . . . something a little
stronger sounds very good,' Allegra said.

Ram smiled. 'My thoughts exactly,' he
said.

'A vodka martini,' Allegra said. 'With a
twist.'

'And I'll have a Scotch neat,' Ram said.

The waiter nodded. '
Merci
,' he
said.

'I have to make a quick telephone call,' Ram
said. 'Do you mind?'

'Of course not,' Allegra said.

He got to his feet. 'I'll only be a moment,'
he said.

Allegra watched as he walked to one end of
the long room and went through a door.
What a wonderfully
generous man he has been
, she thought.
So handsome, so
suave, so sexy, and yet he seems so gentle and kind.
She was
certain that had he not come to her aid, she would still be at
Dufour, battling it out with their experts and making emergency
telephone calls to Hilton Whitehead in New York.

That was when it suddenly occurred to her
that she hadn't yet called him to let him know that she had placed
the winning bid on the ring. She would also have to tell him that
she hadn't been able to put it in the bank vault. Allegra dreaded
to think of what his response would be to that piece of news, but
he would surely come up with some solution to the problem.

The waiter arrived with the drinks on a
silver tray. He placed Allegra's martini in front of her on the
small marquetry table that sat between her chair and Ram's, then
placed Ram's Scotch across the table from hers.

'
Merc
i, monsieur,' Allegra said.

'You're welcome,' the waiter replied with a
smile. He disappeared on silent feet.

Ram came through the door at the end of the
room and strode quickly toward her. She noticed that he was tucking
a cell phone into the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket.

'Sorry,' he said, quickly taking his seat
opposite her. 'I don't like business interfering with pleasure, but
sometimes it's a necessity.'

'That's all right,' Allegra said. 'If you'll
excuse me a minute, I have to use the powder room. Which way is
it?'

'See the door at the end of room?' He
indicated the door he had just come through.

'Yes,' she said.

'Go through that door, and just to your left
is a powder room.'

'Thanks,' Allegra said. She quickly rose to
her feet. 'I'll be right back.'

He nodded. He watched her walk the length of
the room and admired her beautiful, long legs. The way she walked
had just the hint of a swing in her hips. So sexy. So confident.
Such a pity she had the ring. Such a waste. Too bad he couldn't
have a little fun before it was all over.

He took a sip of his Scotch and felt it burn
a fiery path down his throat and into his stomach. He glanced at
his watch and sighed impatiently.
I wish she'd hurry up, he
thought. I want to get this over with
.

Allegra took the cell phone out of her
shoulder bag and dialed the number for Hilton Whitehead in New
York. Sylvie picked up on the second ring.

'Hilton Whitehead's,' she said with her
slight accent.

'Sylvie, it's Allegra.'

'Ahhh!' Sylvie exclaimed. 'Tell me the good
news.'

'I've got it,' Allegra said.

'
Magnifique!
' Sylvie said. 'I'll let
Mr. Whitehead know right away.'

'But there's a hitch,' Allegra said, getting
to the point.

'What is that?' Sylvie asked.

'I didn't get to the bank in time to put the
ring in the safety-deposit box.'

'You what!' Sylvie exclaimed.

'You heard me,' Allegra said. 'The bank was
closed by the time I got there. Please tell Hilton what's happened
and ask him what he thinks I should do. It's very . . . frightening
to be carrying around a sixty-five- million-dollar ring.'

'Of course,' Sylvie replied. 'He's not here
now, but as soon as he comes in I'll tell him.' There was silence
for a moment, then, 'So you have the ring with you?'

'Yes,' Allegra said. 'In my shoulder bag. And
I don't know what to do with it.'

Sylvie could hardly believe her ears—or the
golden opportunity that had just been dropped in her lap.

'Are you at the apartment?' she asked.

'No,' Allegra replied, 'but I'm on my way
there.' She didn't think it was necessary to tell Sylvie about the
mix-up at the auction house and Ramtane Tadjer's help. At least not
yet.

'Good,' Sylvie said. 'If I were you, I'd go
tuck the ring away in the apartment right now. After all, who would
think to look there?'

'Anybody who knows that I'm there and that I
have the ring,' Allegra said.

'Which is no one but me,' Sylvie said. 'So
there's no problem.'

Allegra knew this wasn't true but agreed.
'Yes,' she said. 'I guess it's the best thing to do now.'

'In the meantime, I'll try to locate Hilton
and give him the news.'

'Okay. I'll call you when I get back to the
apartment. I'd better go.'

'An excellent idea,' Sylvie said. 'Hide it in
the apartment right away, and I won't have to worry about it.'

'I'm worried, too,' Allegra said. 'I hope you
can get hold of him soon.'

'I'll start trying him the instant we hang
up,' Sylvie said, only her plans didn't include Hilton. Sylvie
needed to get hold of Paul to tell him about the great opportunity
that had come up.

'Good,' Allegra said. 'Till later, then.'

'Ciao.'

Allegra pressed the END button, shut off the
power, then flipped the tiny cell phone closed and put it back in
her shoulder bag. She'd thought that talking to Sylvie would help
allay her fears, but suddenly she felt more worried than ever.
Hilton Whitehead wasn't in, and it might be a while before she
heard from him. She took a deep breath and pulled the powder room
door open, heading back to the lounge.

As she approached the lounge, she saw Ram in
the distance.
He brought me here, but is it really safe?
And is he really harmless?
She realized that she knew almost
nothing about him, a very frightening prospect. Nevertheless, she
forced a smile to her lips. 'Hi,' she said, rejoining Ram. 'Sorry
to be so long.'

'That's quite all right,' he said. He lifted
his Scotch in a toast, and Allegra followed suit, picking up her
martini and raising it into the air.

'To your success at the auction today,' he
said.

'Thank you,' she said. She didn't want to say
anything else, as she didn't want to encourage discussion about the
auction. She took a sip of her martini and set it down. 'So this
magnificent house is devoted to the hunt? It is a fascinating
building,' she said in an attempt to change the course of the
conversation.

'I'll show you the rest,' he said. 'Why don't
we go now? We can come back to our drinks. How's that?'

Allegra took another sip of her martini,
stalling for time. The club was immense, and there was almost no
one about. She wondered if she was just being paranoid because of
the ring and reminded herself that he had behaved like a perfect
gentleman since the moment she met him.

'Okay,' she finally said, taking another
quick sip and setting the glass back down.

They got to their feet. 'We have to go around
this way,' Ram said, taking her arm and leading her down the room
toward the midsection of the building. 'We'll begin at the
beginning,' he said.

They eventually arrived at a small stairwell,
and he stopped. 'Just beyond here you can see the little entry room
and bookshop,' he said.

Allegra followed his gaze and was surprised
to see that it was so small with just a cashier reading quietly.
'They don't sell souvenirs, do they?' she said. 'Like in so many
American museums.'

'Only the books,' he said. 'Now we go
upstairs.'

Looking up, Allegra saw that no one was in
the ancient stairwell. This place was so quiet and empty. She felt
a shiver go down her spine, but Ram immediately distracted her by
pointing out the stairwell's decoration.

'See the beautifully painted tiles?' he
said.

Allegra nodded and hesitantly began up the
stairs with him. 'There are so many,' she said, 'and the paintings
are wonderful. I love the dogs.'

'They were nearly all painted by Desportes or
Oudry,' he said. 'Two of the greatest animal painters.'

At the top of the stairs, he led her into a
room full of antique weapons and their accessories. Rifles,
crossbows, arrows, pistols, muskets, powder horns, the majority of
them made from highly polished wood or steel and elaborately
decorated with silver, gold, and bronze, filled glass cases and
lined the walls. Allegra couldn't help wondering if should she be
getting a message. But her fears were soon diminished by the
artistry employed by the weaponry makers.

The decorations on many of these instruments
of death had been done by master craftsmen. They were both
frightening and beautiful, she thought, and despite their artistry,
they still made her feel uneasy. 'Some of these are like pieces of
fine jewelry,' she told Ram. 'In fact, there are very few jewelers
today who can do this kind of elaborate metalwork.'

'I thought you would enjoy them,' he
said.

In a hallway, she stopped to look at a pair
of paintings. 'They're by Rubens and Brueghel,' she said with
surprise. 'Working together.'

'Yes,' he said. 'Have you noticed anything .
. . funny about them?'

Allegra turned back to them, then smiled.
'Oh, I see,' she said. 'There's a dog in each one licking its
privates.'

Ram smiled. 'Exactly,' he said. 'Most
visitors never see them, and I think it's a pity.'

She had to admit they were amusing but
wondered why he felt compelled to point this feature out. Had it to
do with a naughty sexual subtext?

Before she could give this any thought, he
led her on to the next rooms. 'Oh, my God,' Allegra exclaimed,
coming to a standstill. 'This is almost too much.' She shifted her
gaze from the room to Ram before she looked ahead once again.

Confronting her was an enormous white bear,
poised for eternity on its hind legs, a ferocious expression on its
face. It merely served as an introduction to the contents of the
room. Taxidermic animals of all kinds were grouped about the room
in various configurations. Wild boars, leopards, cheetahs, lions,
tigers, deer, foxes, creatures she'd never even heard of. Allegra
felt another chill run down her spine. She began to worry anew for
her safety and that of the ring.

She finally turned to Ram. 'They're
beautiful,' she said, 'but this almost makes me sick. To think that
these were all living creatures that've been shot just to satisfy
some man's ego. Just for a kick.'

'I know what you mean,' Ram said, 'but many
of these animals were killed before the animal rights activists we
have today began raising people's consciousness about needlessly
slaughtering animals.' He paused thoughtfully, then added, 'And
before we became aware of disappearing species.'

She noticed a plaque that thanked an Arab
prince for his many contributions to the collection. 'I. .. suppose
it's a good thing that the museum exists,' she said, 'so that
there's a public place where people can see what they probably
never would otherwise.'

'You look a little pale,' Ram said, taking
her arm. His face was etched with worry. 'Why don't you stand at
one of the windows and take a little fresh air? There's one over
there that's open a crack.' He gestured toward it with a hand.

Allegra shook her head. 'No, really,' she
said. 'I'm fine.'

Ram tugged gently on her arm nonetheless,
drawing her toward the window. 'Maybe you should get some air
anyway,' he said, cajoling her.

Allegra hesitantly let him lead her to the
window and took a deep breath of air, closing her eyes as she did
so. Suddenly she heard the crash of broken glass, followed by a
dull thud. Her eyes jerked open instantly. Pieces of shattered
glass hit her right shoulder, and she let out a cry. 'What
the—?'

She was immediately distracted by a woman's
distant scream, which sounded as if it came from somewhere in the
museum. She caught a glimpse of a uniformed guard dashing down a
stairwell from another room.

'Down!' Ram shouted, pulling her toward him,
where he was crouched against the wall.
That fucking Ali,
he
thought
. I should never have relied on him to do something as
simple as this.

Allegra clutched her purse tightly as she
almost fell on top of him, but caught herself against his shoulder,
then crouched beside him. The unmistakable sound of running feet
pounding the cobbles of the courtyard below and the urgent shouts
were amplified by the enclosure created by the walls and gates and
carried up to the room.

'What—what's happening?' she asked Ram,
looking at him in near panic.

'I don't know,' he said, a worried expression
on his face. 'Some lunatic on the loose, I guess.'