As soon as the large yacht left port Guy reboarded the motorboat that had collected him the night before. He did not need to tell the local Greek steering it to head straight for Skorpios while remaining a suitable distance behind Ari’s boat and its evil cargo.
By late morning Ari and Nikos had come to the conclusion that there was no one they dared trust with their new information.
Nikos, ever the problem solver, said, “I will deal with it. My son and I will bring the American machinery up here, bit by bit.”
“But it will take you days and where will we put it?”
“What about a fire?” suggested Nikos.
“Just our luck, the whole island will come and put it out.” Ari gave a cryptic smile. “Let’s wait until everyone leaves, then we can load it all onto a boat and bury it out at sea.”
“But shouldn’t we make sure that no one finds it for now?” asked Nikos.
“Good point. I’ll tell Jackie that her studio is out of bounds because it is full of furniture from the house and the cottages. I’ll say it is in the way of all these extra guests. Meanwhile you fill it up so it’s actually impossible to even open the door. Then put a lock and padlock on it.”
“What do you think she will say when you tell her this?” said his friend quietly.
“What do I care? You were right about her all along, Niko. What sort of wife would do this? She set me up.”
Wearily he returned to the house to prepare for dinner.
As Nikos went about organizing the studio to be filled with recliners, small tables, plant containers, and other objects, he couldn’t help but be curious about any visitor who might still try and enter this edifice through the secret sea entrance.
He felt sure that Ari had found her scent down there. Who was to say that it was just her head on that pillow? If he could find out that Jackie had a lover, that would be the end of her.
Jackie was unhappy. Guy had gone. By this evening there would be a surfeit of guests, including various strangers that Ari, suddenly moody and bad-tempered, was aggressive about the arrangements and their stay.
“They are important, after the weekend we are signing a big, big deal. Money doesn’t grow on trees. The boss, Harnier, Pierre, he is very sympathique. In Paris we had a couple of dinners together, just
the two of us. He’s been fun to have in Athens and seems like a nice guy. The wife looks okay too.”
“Well, the other wife looks like a hooker,” spat Jackie.
“We can’t all be born in a bourgeois bed, my dear. Give her a chance, she might be charming. Anyway, you won’t have to worry about her; the star of the show is Rose. We shall fete her and make her love my island.”
Jackie noted the “my.” When he had gone she lay on the bed for a moment. She knew that a lace call had come but she wanted to wait until Ari was well out of earshot before she telephoned the States. Over the last few days, since Guy’s arrival, she had lived on virtually no sleep. She closed her eyes for a second. By the time she got through to Harry he had been sitting by the phone for some nail-biting two hours.
Although he had intended not to worry her, his nerves had been rattled by the wait. Swiftly he explained the secret identity of four, possibly more, of her guests.
“Don’t mention this to your husband. We have no way of knowing whether he knows the truth about them or not. He is in love with their deal, which they may be making as Russians.
“I don’t think they will do anyone any harm, they are KGB but they aren’t violent goons. But don’t go back to the mooring under any circumstances and don’t get into a situation where you are alone with any of them, even the women. Stick close to someone you trust all the time. The same goes for the children.”
“The children!” Jackie suddenly sounded panicky.
“I am getting the Secret Service guys over to you as soon as possible. They should arrive sometime over the weekend. It’s a little earlier than scheduled for the children’s return home. Oh, and by the way, Guy didn’t fly home. He is probably back, somewhere on the island now. He’s known Vladimir for years, so he will be in heavy disguise, but he is going to be watching out for you. We are probably all worrying about nothing. The Russians will be gone on Monday. They may just be curious to see Ari’s showplace and to meet you. Remember, we once did very well out of that. One more
thing. From now on, if you get a message from me, please call right away?”
“And I moved here to feel safe,” she muttered as she replaced the receiver.
Vladimir wasted no time. As soon as Ari’s welcome was over and his host had retired to the Pink House he plunged into the sea.
“If they are trying to track down a submarine, they must have their equipment in the water or by the water’s edge,” he told Mikhail. “You take a look around the place on land. I will tell Sonja to say that we are having a siesta in case the old man comes looking for me. Regina should use her charms any way she can to extract information from the staff. See if she can find our beekeeper. We have three hours before cocktails; let’s confer half an hour before then.”
It was Regina who discovered the secret passage. Pretending to be casually mooching around the place in a demure white cotton dress that managed to show off all her curves, she sneaked into the kitchen for some fruit. A young boy welcomed her in and she feigned complete disinterest when she overheard staff complaining about being suddenly ordered to dump furniture that was in no one’s way into the studio in the hot summer sun of the afternoon.
She made the studio her next port of call and insinuated her lithe body into a small gap while the staff took a break. As she crouched behind the furniture and listened, she could hear the man overseeing the proceedings sounding angry and irritated that it was taking so long. If it was not important why did he feel he had to stand there? Through a chink she saw him with a large lock and padlock in his hands. What was it about this place that made securing it so important? Why, in such a magnificent setting with many million-dollar paintings, sculptures, and ceramics on display, was there such heavy security for a place that contained no items of worth?
When he was sure that the door could barely be wedged open, she heard him putting the key in the lock and attaching the padlock. When she was satisfied that he was gone, she crawled out from un
der an occasional table and gingerly began trying to explore. Balancing precariously on the varied objects that had been hastily stuffed inside, she searched for over an hour before she found the hidden trapdoor. She was inside the staircase in minutes.
After examining everything, Regina took the only way out—she swam. The guests who had begun to assemble for predinner drinks thought Skorpios even more exotic as they spotted her racing across the lawn. Her dress had become transparent when wet.
Nikos was interested for different reasons.
Paranoid, Nikos decided to send his son to watch and see if anyone else came out or went into the tiny mooring. The lad was thrilled when his father gave him some binoculars and told him he could take one of the island’s two small motorboats and keep watch from offshore until Nikos came to get him.
While drying herself and easing into her cocktail gown, Regina told Mikhail everything she had seen. “Very good work. This evening you will have to pretend you are what they call a wild child, a hippie. Say something like, the sea spoke to you and you had to go in. Tell them that you were swimming somewhere else though. I will go and tell Vladimir. Be outside in ten minutes.”
Friday night on Skorpios never lasted too late. Many of the guests, especially those who had come a long way, retired quite soon after dinner.
The next morning Nikos wondered how he was going to tell his boss that both of the businessmen had taken a late-night dip in the vicinity of the hidden harbor. His son did not think they swam inside it, but since he had been told to keep away from the shore he could not be sure.
Nikos thought it best to keep this information to himself for the moment. Maybe it was coincidence. If the visitors were not who they said they were, Nikos knew Ari would be doubly heartbroken since his boss was still thinking this great deal would be going through next week.
He would keep an eye on them.
Vladimir was exultant. He had been right all along. He called his
KGB superior, who had flown to Athens as soon as their invitation to Skorpios was secured. The men spoke carefully, mentioning no names in case they were being listened to. The man rang back. He had disappointing news.
“I apologize. It has been decided not to tell the world about this. We have no idea what this machinery does or how long it has been there. It could make both the senior partner and their hosts appear far too clever.”
Vladimir knew better than to complain. So the Americans and the Greek Colonels would not be associated with the technology.
“It has been decided that you should destroy it. Any way you can. But you must be very careful. No one must be physically harmed. Especially not the main person, however bitter you feel about her. The orders are clear. If it was ever found out that
we
had caused an accident in her vicinity, well, the international repercussions aren’t worth thinking about. Unfortunately, our superiors do not think that we have had sufficient time in the area to cover our tracks. They are moaning as always that producing the contracts and the papers for the back story, to convince the old man that you are who you say you are, has taken enormous effort.
“Nonetheless, they believe that it is imperative that the message to our rivals be clear. We must make it difficult for them to use her in the future,” he ordered.
It was agreed that as long as there was no loss of life, the secret harbor and its contents should be wrecked. Once again, Vladimir thought that Jackie led a charmed life. The Kremlin was far too soft.
It would not require much gelignite to blow the machinery and the secret harbor apart. Vladimir had been given details about the two Communist sympathizers working on the island. Two hours later they had been located. The Russian thanked them for all their support in the past and asked for their assistance.
By lunchtime they had enough explosive stockpiled in their cottages. Vladimir put another call in asking if these two could be trusted to destroy the American equipment and the hidden mooring after they left.
“Too risky. While you have the opportunity you must do it,” said his superior. “Our experts have some suggestions. The ideal way is to tell Ari that today is your birthday. If Mama Rose does not feel upstaged, perhaps they will ignite fireworks. If you can’t get them to do so, blow the place up at three tomorrow morning.”
Jackie had tried to tell the children that they should stay close but they were so excited to see their grandmother they couldn’t help running to and from her room.
Once again she warned the nanny to keep an eye on them and gave her orders that on no account should she leave them at any time, not even with their relatives. Jackie was nervous. She kept as far from the Russians as she could, using the excuse that both Rose and Janet needed her special attention.
She also altered the evening’s arrangements. Usually she tried to be inclusive, using one big table to mix up old and young, rich and spectacularly rich. For the first time she split the huge table into two and all four Russians were put well away from her and her family.
When she showed Ari the new plan she could not resist trying to find out what he knew about their business guests. Still furious about that morning’s discovery, he was anxious she should not spoil his big deal.
“Don’t neglect these people. I don’t know the wives but I like the men a lot,” he replied.
Wary of being too aggressive and bearing in mind Harry’s dictum, she said, “I couldn’t put my finger on it but I think there is something fake about them.”
“Of course,” he said and roared with laughter. “For such a manipulator, Jackie, you are so naive.”
So he knew.
“Sure they are,” he continued, “so many Germans pretend they are Swiss nowadays, I wouldn’t be at all surprised. But they are not charlatans, I’ve been in business long enough to have had them thoroughly checked out. They’ve also probably been to all the best par
ties from St. Moritz to St. Tropez so I want you to concentrate on giving them a good time.”
Jackie pulled out a new Givenchy dress, deep pink silk zibeline. As she slid into the new shoes especially dyed to match, she thought them impractical. Ari’s response had enhanced Harry’s warning and to night she might need to move fast. She hunted for a pair of silver pumps that were more comfortable. As she trawled through her evening shoe cupboard she thought achingly of Guy. She was missing him so much already. Where was he?
She must talk to Caroline on her own, make sure she stayed with the nanny and kept her eye out for John. Thank heaven the Secret Service men would be here either later to night or tomorrow. She talked to her daughter while her hair was being done. Jackie was used to her difficult mane; it always needed straightening and could look unflattering unless it was teased and backcombed. Because she was hot and nervous to night it took an age to get right.
When she emerged cocktails were being served but she thought it advisable to check the tables for herself. She was worried when she saw that one, her family’s table, was half in shadow. As she called for more candles and lanterns, she noticed that the guest of honor had moved the placements.
About to return them, Jackie heard the Kennedy matriarch right behind her. “Please don’t move those back, dear. Let me sit between Caroline and John?”
Jackie could do nothing but agree. As she checked the rest of the seating plan she saw that the two Swiss men, originally at the other table, were now placed next to her children. Pierre next to John, the other one next to Caroline.
Rose implored, “Those men are charming and they’re from Switzerland. They can tell Caroline and John all about it. Now, Jackie, you and I have always agreed, that’s how children learn, in real life as well as the classroom.”