C'est la Vie (Raja Williams Series) (24 page)

“Yes. I’m—”

“Listen. I found our man. It’s Henri Duchamp, the accountant. He is the Scorpion. He may be there now. Vinny, I want you to get out of there.”

Vinny stiffened momentarily when she heard Henri’s name, and then she made an effort to relax. When she turned to look for Henri, her head exploded in pain when Henri’s pistol slammed into the side of her jaw. She dropped like a sack of potatoes, and everything went black. Henri calmly picked up the phone that had fallen to the ground. He could hear Raja shouting. Smiling, the Scorpion shut off the phone.

When Vinny came to she was tied to a small theater chair. Both her arms and feet were bound tightly, and tape covered her lips. She could taste blood in her mouth and feel the spot where her teeth had cut into her cheek. She was now on the third floor balcony of the club. Henri was nowhere in sight. She struggled but could only loosen the rope on her ankle a few inches. The rope on her wrists wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t enough to get free.

“I apologize for leaving you alone,
ma chère
. I had business to attend to,” said Henri. “Your friends will be here soon and I wanted to be ready for their arrival. I placed high-explosive charges at each of the critical supports for this entire building. All connected to this.” He showed her a small silver box with a dial, several buttons and a glowing green light. He turned the dial and pushed one of the buttons. The light turned to red. “
There. I’
ve set the timer for three minutes.”

Vinny’s eyes got wide.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t started the countdown yet. We will wait for Monsieur Williams and Inspector Gilliard to arrive. The three of you have caused me a great deal of trouble and although I myself abhor excessive violence, I must indulge just this once. The Semtex explosive I have placed will bring this entire building down. It is an impressively destructive material, and I used twice as much as required just for good measure. You will all die. It will be quick if not painless.” He pursed his lips feigning remorse. Running the barrel of his gun down Vinny’s cheek, he said, “It is a shame to waste such a beautiful woman.
C’est la vie
.” Then he smiled. “Of course, I will have time to escape out the back.”

Sounds and muffled voices echoed distantly from below.

“Ah, there they are, right on schedule. You know, I have never liked the acoustics in this cabaret.” Henri peeked over the railing, making sure not to be seen.

Vinny strained at her bonds, but they gave no further.

Henri set the silver control box carefully on the ground. He pressed another button. The red light began to flash. The countdown had begun.

Vinny’s mind raced. She was on the third floor. Even if Raja could get up there, it would be too late. She had to warn Raja. With the tape over her mouth she could moan, but even if they heard that from below, it would just bring everyone up to where she was, and to their deaths. Vinny looked at the box and Henri standing over it. Once Henri left, she could not free herself fast enough to disarm the box. Even if she did free herself, it was likely that there was a relay on the bomb that could not be disarmed from here anyway.

That left only one option.

Henri nodded to himself, satisfied the countdown timer was working. “Time to say
adieu
,” he whispered, and turned toward Vinny.

Vinny had slipped out of her shoes and stood up, still strapped to the chair. She ran straight at Henri, leaned forward and slammed her shoulder into him. The gun popped out of his hand, landing on the carpet a few feet away. The two of them teetered a moment at the railing, and then Henri regained his balance. He grabbed Vinny by the shoulders, the friendly accountant’s face now twisted with vicious hatred. He threw Vinny back, slamming her into the wall. He spun around, scanning the carpet until he spotted the gun. He ran over, bending down to pick it up. When he turned back, Vinny, still tied to the chair, was barreling toward him again. This time she rammed her head directly under his chin. The two hit the railing and flipped over into empty space.

Raja and Gilliard had walked around the stage and into the back when they heard the loud crash. Running out, Raja saw Vinny lying up on the stage in a chaos of rope and wood. She wasn’t moving.

Raja vaulted onto the stage and raced over to the tangle of arms and legs. There were too many limbs for one person. He looked closely and saw Henri lay underneath Vinny, his head jutting out at an extreme angle that told Raja his neck was broken. The sight of blood trickling from the corner of Vinny’s mouth made Raja’s chest tighten and he stopped breathing. His head thumped painfully. His eyes so blurred with tears that he didn’t notice when Vinny’s eyelids began to flutter.

Vinny moaned urgently.

The sight of her moving released the death grip that had clamped on Raja’s chest. He breathed, wiped his eyes and knelt beside her. Gently, he began to slowly peel the tape from her mouth.

Vinny’s eyes bugged out, and she jerked her head to pull the tape off her mouth fast. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious. “Get out!” she shouted.

“I was just trying to help,” said Raja, apologetically.

“No, get out. There is a bomb. You have to get out of here. NOW!”

Raja knew better than to argue with Vinny. He scooped her up off the floor of the stage and ran toward the front entrance, yelling for everyone to get out. Gilliard heard the warning and shouted to the rest of his officers, who ran outside.

The sound of the explosion was muffled underground, but rocked the sidewalk nonetheless. Moments later the walls of the club began to slide downward and the entire structure collapsed into itself. Dust and debris plumed upward and outward from the area. At a safe distance away on the far side of the street Raja gently placed Vinny on the ground, and after protecting her face with his jacket, covered his eyes and mouth with his shirt tail. Once the debris settled and the air
began to clear, the cabaret was gone, buried under a pile of rubble.
 

Chapter Thirty-six: Margaret and Phillip

Although the Brownings were enjoying each other’s company more than they had since the early days of marriage, they were both determined to take Raja Williams and Didier Perrin to dinner. The problem was that Didier was in the arrest phase of his whole operation, an operation that had begun when one of the never seen Interpol techies who listen to countless hours of chatter had come across a cryptic message. A short message had been left on a French ministry official’s voice mail that originated from a source that was being tapped by the terrorist watch division. What seemed a random series of numbers would have gone unnoticed in the sea of information had it not been for the savant ability the information analyst had with numbers. The sequence started with what turned out to be a Swiss bank account number, and ended with a series of numbers that on a keypad spelled out the word scorpion. The number in the middle was assumed to be an amount of money. Interpol had sent Didier on assignment in France to investigate.

The Brownings persisted and managed to wrangle Raja, Vinny and Didier together at a restaurant near the Louvre.

“So, we finally meet,” said Didier. “Raja Williams and his partner, the renowned Livinia Moore.”

“Renowned?” said Vinny. She had gone to great lengths to remove her name from any place it appeared in government files.

“There is still something to be said for paper files, Miss Moore. Your exploits with a computer are known at Interpol.”

“Call me Vinny,” she said.

“
Bonjour
, Vinny,” said Didier. “I am honored.”

The Brownings arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later. Margaret was excited to see Didier again. Although she had explained the circumstances of her captivity to Phillip, he was still reluctant to see the Interpol agent as the hero she painted him to be. However, Margaret was excited, and these days that was good enough for him.

“Hello, again,” said Margaret. She was in good spirits and looked years younger than she had the last time Raja saw her. “I’m so glad you could make it. Remember, dinner is on us,” she said.

Once the group had settled in at their table and ordered, Margaret said, “Now, Mr. Williams, I suppose you must have some questions about my adventure with Didier. Unless you have already heard all the details.” Her choice of words and enthusiasm made it clear that any trauma she had experienced was now a forgotten memory.

“I have not,” said Raja. He knew Margaret wanted to tell the story and he had unanswered questions.

“Well, you see it all started when I
—
I suppose you already know how it started. Let me see. After I witnessed the horrible murder, a police van came out of nowhere and picked me up. Then a frightening man in a mask killed them and took me captive. However, as Didier explained, it was the policemen who intended me harm, not the masked man, who by the way was Didier.”
 

“I am curious,” said Raja. “How was it that the police van was there so conveniently that day?”

“The police on Bruno’s payroll were there to make sure there would be no surprises from legitimate police,” said Didier. “Realizing what had happened they intercepted Margaret, fully intending to kill her once they took her to a remote location.”

“Which is the reason I am so grateful to Didier for saving my life. Although, at the time he did a professional job of frightening me.”

“Second question, Didier. How did you happen to be there that day at that time?”

“What was unknown to all but one trusted contact at Interpol was that Claude Reneau was working as an informant for me. In fact, he left me a message that he had a lead on the identity of the Scorpion that unfortunately I never heard until later. When I got near the shop I spotted the police van and stayed back. I recognized the policemen as three men we had already determined were on Bruno’s payroll. I arrived almost simultaneously with Margaret, and saw the whole thing unfold. Knowing the crooked cops would surely kill her, I did the only thing I could.”

“And thank God he did,” said Margaret. “Didier had run into such a rat’s nest of corruption reaching into so many places, he couldn’t trust anyone to keep me alive. Bruno’s men, the police, and who knows who else was trying to find and kill me. At the time I didn’t appreciate his treatment, but in retrospect Didier kept me alive.”

“Once Bruno was dead, I thought you would be safe with Raja,” said Didier. “I also thought I knew who all the dirty cops were, but Baston and Revel had somehow stayed under the radar despite being two of the worst. I almost got you both killed. Thank goodness Inspector Gilliard was paying attention.”

“Yes, I suppose I should be thanking him,” said Raja. “Although, it seems obvious that he did not like having me around.”

“True. He was one of the few men who had been completely vetted by Captain Aimee Milan of the Gendarmerie.”

“So that’s why he was interviewed so often,” said Vinny. “He wasn’t suspected as a crooked cop.”

“No. He was helping me. He saw Raja as a loose cannon who would interfere. I saw things differently, and used Raja to help forward my investigation. I had a man following you, did you know that?”

“Nope,” said Raja.

“I’m not surprised. He’s one of the best. He was driving a little blue Peugeot. Gilliard is right about one thing. You are a loose cannon. But without you and Vinny we never would have found the Scorpion.”

“Hey, what about me,” said Margaret. “You’d never have known without me.”

Didier said, “Margaret, I will be eternally grateful to you.”

“Yes, and you must come visit us in England, isn’t that right, Phillip?”

“Yes, of course. You are all welcome any time.”

Chapter Thirty-seven: Pierre and Yvette

Raja and Vinny met Inspector Gilliard and Yvette at a restaurant on the Quai de la Tournelle, along the bank of the Seine River. It was an exclusive restaurant, but Gilliard knew the manager. They had a window table with a spectacular view of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Vinny was decked out in a beautiful blue dress that Raja bought her to make up for the outfit she was forced to wear at the cabaret. They all sat down.

“
Where is Didier Perrin? I was hoping he would make it as well,” said Raja.

“He’s wrapping up all the arrests from the investigation he has been running,” said Gilliard. “Right now he is working with Captain Aimee Milan from the Gendarmerie. I believe you know her, Raja.”

“Do I? That is one tough lady. An intelligent and honest policeman, though.”

“There are a rare few of those around Paris.” Gilliard was making reference to the fact that Raja had suspected Gilliard of being crooked. He let Raja off the hook, asking, “What shall we drink?”

“I like my women sweet, but my wine dry,” said Raja.

“How about a nice Cabernet Sauvignon?”

“That would be awesome,” said Raja. The girls agreed.

Once they had their wine, Gilliard opened the discussion. “I know you two have questions, and I promised you some answers, so perhaps now would be the time.”

“Now that I met Didier and understand why you were preventing me from finding Mrs. Browning, a lot has been cleared up. Obviously your connection to the cabaret centered on Yvette. But the secret bank account in Luxembourg?”

“My wife has been
—”
 

“Ex-wife,” said Yvette.

“Excuse me,
ma pêche
. My ex-wife has been
out of love with me for many years. I think she only stayed because being an inspector’s wife has given her a certain social prestige that she craves. Other than that, we are but two ships passing in the night. I do miss my son Lucien.”

“That is sad,” said Vinny.

“
C’est la vie
. But do not shed a tear for me,
ma chère
. We live, we love. Just not each other. But I have found a love to share.” Gilliard smiled broadly, a rare and uncharacteristic look for him.

“Yvette,” said Vinny.

“Yes. We met three years back during the citywide crackdowns on prostitution. Although you might think it an unlikely pairing, we are, how do you say, peas in a pod.”