Parisian Affair (44 page)

Todd studied her face, then smiled
indulgently. 'Allegra,' he said, 'listen to me for a minute. Think
about the conclusions we've both come to about this guy. He's been
buying back all these emeralds, and he tried to buy back the one
you've got. Right?'

She nodded.

'And somebody tried to take a shot at you at
that museum. Right?'

She nodded again. 'Probably,' she
allowed.

'There's no 'probably' about it,' Todd said,
disgust creeping into his voice. 'This guy's dangerous, and we both
know it.'

'But he's asked us both for dinner,' she
said.

He stared at her. 'You just want to see if
you can find out something, don't you?'

'Well ... I am curious,' she said. 'Aren't
you?'

Todd looked down at the floor, then back up
at her. 'Yes and no,' he finally said. 'I don't want to put you in
any danger.'

'Oh, come on, Todd,' she said. 'I'm a big
girl. Besides, didn't we just come from a little trip to the
country to see Princess Karima, who's definitely mixed up in this
emerald chase? Agreed?'

He nodded. 'But this guy. I don't know.
...'

'Look,' Allegra said, trying to reason with
him, 'whatever else you can say about him, I don't think he's
completely crazy. He's a major jeweler. Well-known and highly
respected. He'd never try anything in his own house. Plus, we're
not going to have the ring with us. It's safe. So what've we got to
worry about?'

'I think we've got a lot to worry about,'
Todd said, 'but since you're determined to try to get to the bottom
of this business, I think we're going to dinner at'—he took the
invitation from Allegra—'Mr. Ramtane Tadjer's.' He smiled at
her.

Allegra returned his smile. 'We've got time
to shower and change,' she said, looking at her wristwatch, 'and
maybe have a drink before his driver picks us up.'

'Why don't we have a drink first,' Todd said,
'then shower and dress? What do you think, huh?'

'I think you have some hanky-panky in mind,'
Allegra said.

Todd got up and walked around to the back of
her chair and put his hands on her shoulders. He began gently
massaging them. 'What gave you an idea like that?'

Hilton Whitehead hung up the telephone and
stood staring into space. He was worried for Allegra Sheridan and
Todd Hall, and knew he had to reach them immediately. He'd known
they might be playing with fire, but he'd never suspected anything
like this.

As he picked up the telephone in his
stateroom to call them, there was a knock at the door. 'Later,' he
called out. 'I'm busy now.'

'Hilton,' came Kitty's voice through the
door, 'it's me. Let me in.' After a moment, she added, 'What are
you doing in there?'

He walked to the door and opened it.
'Listen,' he said, 'I've got to make an important telephone call.
I'll be out in a minute.'

Kitty frowned. 'Why can't I sit in here with
you while you make it?' she asked. 'It's crazy out there'—she
pointed to the hallway—'with those caterers and decorators and all.
I'm just in the way.'

'Okay,' he said, 'but please sit quietly and
don't disturb me. This may be a matter of life and death.'

Kitty's eyebrows arched. 'Life and death?'
she repeated. 'What in the world are you mixed up in?'

'Nothing,' he said. 'Now just sit. Please.
And keep quiet.'

Kitty sashayed over to the couch and sat
down. Reaching for a magazine on the coffee table, she stared up at
him as he placed the telephone call. He was pacing the carpeted
floor of the owner's suite like a caged animal.

'Allegra,' she heard him say. 'Todd. Call me
the instant you get this message. I want you two on the plane
pronto, and I mean that. These names and telephone numbers you gave
me? All three of these guys are mixed up in terrorist
organizations. A couple of them with links to al-Qaeda. I want
you—'

Hilton looked at the telephone in his hand as
if it were a snake. 'Goddamn it!' he exclaimed. He started to throw
the phone down, then thought better of it.

Kitty jumped to her feet. 'What is it,
Hilton?' she demanded. 'What's going on?'

'No more message space,' he said.

'That's not what I mean, and you know it,'
she said.

He turned away from her and sat on the edge
of the bed. 'I've got a couple of people running an errand for me,
and they may be getting in over their heads.'

'What's this about terrorist organizations?'
she asked. 'And al-Qaeda? Huh?' When he didn't respond, Kitty
stamped her foot. 'Tell me, Hilton. This sounds extremely dangerous
to me. What the hell is going on?'

'Don't worry about it,' he said glumly. 'This
isn't dangerous for you or me. It's these two working in Europe I'm
worried about.'

'You're sure?' she said.

He nodded. 'One hundred percent.'

Kitty heaved a sigh of relief. 'I thought
maybe you were some kind of target,' she said. 'Those people are
crazy, you know? Just because you're an American and rich, I
thought maybe somebody might be after you.'

'Oh, for God's sake, Kitty,' he said
impatiently. 'That's crazy. I'm not a target. This has nothing to
do with me.'

Kitty sat down on the bed next to him. 'Thank
God,' she said, her fingertips brushing his chin. 'I wouldn't want
anything to happen to you. To us.'

He turned and looked at her. 'Yeah, well,
what about this couple? They could be in a lot of trouble.'

'As long as we're safe,' Kitty said.

'You really don't care about these people, do
you?' he said.

Kitty brushed his lips with a kiss. 'Of
course I do,' she said. 'If they're important to you, then they're
important to me.'

Hilton Whitehead once again found himself
wondering if what Kitty said had an ounce of truth in it. He
wondered if she really cared about anyone other than herself.

'Look,' he said, taking her hand and gently
squeezing it. 'I've got to make some more telephone calls. Business
calls. I won't be too long. Why don't you take a swim in the pool
or something?'

Kitty knew she'd better leave him alone now.
'Okay,' she said brightly. 'I just thought you might want some
company. Maybe I'll . . . I'll go watch a movie or something.'

'That's a good idea,' he said. 'There're a
bunch of new DVDs. I won't be too long.'

She got up and went to the door, then turned
and blew him a kiss. 'I'll see you in a bit,' she purred.

He nodded. When she was gone, he locked the
door again. He had to make sure that the plane was in France and
ready to go. He also needed to call the Ritz and leave a message at
the desk just in case Allegra neglected to check for messages on
the cell phone. He wondered why she hadn't picked up, and new
worries assaulted him. What if she'd accidentally left the phone
off? What if she and Todd had gone someplace and forgotten it? What
if—?

He had to stop this right now, he realized,
because he was starting to panic, and that wouldn't do them any
good whatsoever. He had to think. Yet what could he do to help them
from here, thousands of miles away?

Now he wished he had never seen that cursed
emerald.

In the backseat of the big Bentley, Allegra
and Todd held hands. The chauffeur, Marcel, had told them that the
drive to Monsieur Tadjer's was only a few minutes. Allegra wanted
to ask him if he'd known Gerard, the driver who'd been shot, but
she thought it best not to ask any questions. At least not yet. In
her left hand, she held a small black satin clutch bag with a snap
closure decorated with tiny rhinestones. She was glad she'd brought
it. The pistol she'd stolen from Paul fit perfectly inside.

'We are here,' Marcel said, pulling off the
street and onto a cobblestone drive. He braked, then picked up a
remote control device and pressed a button. Huge gates slowly swung
open, and Allegra and Todd leaned down for a better view of what
lay ahead.

'Whoa,' Todd exclaimed. 'Our host must sell a
lot of jewelry.'

'I'll say,' Allegra replied. 'And it looks
like he knows how to spend the money.'

The car pulled to a stop in the courtyard in
front of the enormous limestone
hotel particulier
. In the
courtyard's center was a circle planted with trimmed boxwood, in
the center of which was a neatly clipped boxwood standard of three
spheres, the largest on the ground, the smallest at the top.

Marcel opened Allegra's door for her, and she
stepped out. Todd slid across the seat and got out behind her. They
both looked up at the imposing three-story mansion.

'It's breathtaking,' Allegra said.

'It looks like late-sixteenth- or
early-seventeenth-century,' Todd responded.

The massive oak door at its entry opened, and
Ramtane Tadjer stepped outside. 'Welcome to my home,' he said,
smiling at them widely. He quickly shook Allegra's hand, then
heartily shook Todd's. 'Ramtane Tadjer, but please call me Ram. I'm
so glad you could make it. It's a pleasure to meet you.'

'Todd Hall, and it's a pleasure to meet you,
too,' Todd said. 'Allegra's told me about your fantastic jewelry
shop.'

Ram looked at her. 'How nice of you, Ms.
Sheridan,' he said.

'Please,' she said. 'Call me Allegra.'

'Allegra, then,' he said. 'And Todd?'

Todd nodded. 'Please.'

'Come with me,' Ram said, indicating the open
door.

Allegra looked around, and saw that Marcel
had disappeared as if the cobblestones had gobbled him up. Todd
took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze; then together
they entered the imposing mansion. Allegra almost gasped aloud.
'This is magnificent,' she said in a voice of awe.

'It's home,' Ram said in a humble voice.

An enormous chandelier with hundreds of rock
crystal swags, balls, and pendants hung from the ceiling. The walls
were hung with faded but still-colorful tapestries depicting
pastoral scenes, and against them were exquisitely carved chests
and consoles on which gilt candelabras and ormolu-mounted vases
were displayed.

'I thought we would have a drink in the
salon,' Ram said.

Marcel appeared and helped Allegra out of her
coat. Todd was wearing only his suit, but handed Marcel his gloves
and the scarf he'd wrapped around his neck.

'It's this way, upstairs,' Ram said, his hand
extended toward the stairway with its ornamental metal railing.

She and Todd crossed the diagonally laid
limestone floor to the staircase, with Ram at their side.

'Is this late-sixteenth- or
early-seventeenth-century?' Todd asked him as they mounted the
limestone, oak, and marble stairs.

'How observant you are,' Ram replied. 'It's
early-seventeenth- century.'

'Have you lived here long?' Allegra
asked.

'For several years,' he replied. 'I inherited
it from Jules Levant when he died.'

'He was a very generous man,' she said.

'Indeed,' Ram said, 'he was like a father to
me. He and his wife took me in when I was a boy.'

They reached the
premier etage
, and
Ram indicated an archway to their left. 'Here we are,' he said.

Crossing into the enormous room, Allegra and
Todd felt as if they had entered Ali Baba's cave. Two rock crystal
chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and the walls were of heavily
carved boiseries. The furnishings were all seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century French antiques, and paintings and drawings from
various periods decorated the walls. Small pools of light from
lamps on tables bathed the room in a romantic light.

Ram seated them on a sumptuous
suede-upholstered settee and sat across from them. Marcel appeared
as if by magic, carrying a silver tray with three tulip-shaped
glasses of champagne. He stopped at Allegra, then Todd, and finally
Ram, then disappeared as silently as he had entered.

'I hope you don't mind my being
presumptuous,' Ram said, 'but I thought champagne was called
for.'

'Not at all,' Allegra said.

'It's very generous of you,' Todd added.

Ram held his glass aloft slightly. 'To . . .
two young lovers,' he said.

Allegra felt herself blush, and Todd looked
at her and smiled. 'I'll second that,' he said.

They sipped the champagne, and Todd began a
conversation dominated by talk of the magnificent house. He asked
Ram many questions about its history and particular pieces of
furniture and paintings, and the more he learned, the more
impressed he became by the man's fine tastes and knowledge. It was
difficult for him to imagine that this man could be engaged in
anything shadowy.

After a half hour or so of drinking and
talking, Ram led them to an equally grand dining room, which was
softly lit by candles on the table. The walls were covered with
masterful murals set in heavily carved boiserie. They depicted hunt
scenes with expertly rendered horses, dogs, and huntsmen set in
lush forests and meadows. Marcel appeared again and began serving a
delicious meal of foie gras, grilled quail in a currant sauce with
wild rice and asparagus, and then a perfect and calorie-laden creme
brulee. The conversation was light, centering on the wonders of the
house and of French cuisine.

'I think this is the best creme brulee I've
ever eaten,' Allegra said when she was finished.

'And I'll second that,' Todd said with a
laugh.

'I'm glad you like it,' Ram said. 'I'll tell
the chef. So few people get it right, you know.' His gaze touched
Allegra and then Todd. 'I thought that we could have an
after-dinner drink at a little hideaway of mine,' he said. 'It's
just around the corner, and the place where I'm at my creative
best. I thought that perhaps we could discuss design possibilities
there. That's why I asked you to join me tonight, Allegra, and I'm
afraid we've neglected to talk about my ideas yet.'