Read The Seven Turns of the Snail's Shell: A Novel Online
Authors: Mj Roë
“What happened to Ferdinand?”
Elise answered Anna’s question. “Ferdinand was a hero,” she said simply. “He died saving many lives, including that of my
Lobo
.”
Diamanté continued, “After Ferdinand was killed, I didn’t see André again for a long time, but I knew what he was up to. You see, after the war ended, I was recruited by Interpol to keep an eye on him.”
Anna gasped. “You mean spy?”
He nodded. “During the years following the war, there were many assassinations in Europe—collaborators, in particular, and political figures who had carried out Nazi orders. The violence was incredible. In Corsica, there was an upsurge in vendetta-style feuds. And André was in the middle of it all, but we could never pin anything directly on him. Until recently…”
Diamanté stopped speaking and slowed the car. They had reached the point along the route where C-C had driven off the cliff.
A great sob rose in Anna’s chest. She willed it away and closed her eyes. The area, once so breathtakingly beautiful, was now too achingly painful to look at.
When they had passed the site, Diamanté went on, “In February of this year, I knew for certain that André was a terrorist and an assassin. I was working with the British on another secret project when Interpol alerted me that the prefect and
de facto
governor of Corsica had been shot dead on the streets of Ajaccio. I had last seen André in December when he passed through here at the same time Charlie arrived. I learned he went to Ajaccio after that and was involved with a terrorist group, the very one suspected of killing the prefect. No one took responsibility, but I knew it was André who had done it. Interpol has had him on its ‘Red Notice’ wanted list for months. He as much as admitted to the deed last night, boasted about it even.”
Diamanté was driving very fast now.
Elise cried out, “Please,
Lobo
. These are dangerous curves.”
“
Pardon, ma chère
. Corsican drivers,” he reminded her as he slowed the car a bit, “tend to treat all roads as if they were a Le Mans qualifying event.”
A sudden thought occurred to Anna. She asked, “Do you think your half brother was involved somehow in the Princess Diana accident?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “André appeared in Rouen within hours of the accident in Paris. It did seem suspicious to me at the time. When we arrived in Le Havre, the Brits recognized him. The only way for me to keep my cover was to flee with him.”
“That’s when I saw you.”
“And I you. André got away from me, but I knew he would surface, and he did, once Charlie was back. I did my best to protect Charlie—but in the end, he screwed up.”
“Do you think he really fell asleep at the wheel?”
“André was tailing him, but he said last night that he didn’t force him off the road. His exact words were: ‘It wasn’t the seventh turn.’”
“What was the seventh turn, then?”
Diamanté considered his answer for a moment. “André had likely contracted for an assassination job in August, but the target had switched places at the last moment. Somehow, I don’t know from what source, he learned I was the one who had been contacted. He knew to head to Rouen because I would most certainly involve
Les Amis
. Jacques said André just appeared out of the blue that morning in the wine cellar of the café. It was perfect, you see, from André’s standpoint. I was in the way. André had his opportunity to do what he had always intended to do—get rid of me, and get even with Elise for rejecting him. The game was over, and I was to be the surprise, the dead surprise.”
Diamanté pulled up to the arrivals gate at Nice Airport. He helped Anna out of the car and pressed his son’s Algerian War journal into her hands.
“Your father would want you to have this,” he said. “When we see you again, Anna, I will tell you some stories about him. You must come visit us. Corsica is a most beautiful island, amazingly varied and constantly surprising.”
“I promise to do that. Take care of yourselves,” Anna said tearfully as she embraced her grandfather. They held each other tightly for a long while. In time, Anna stepped away and walked to the terminal. Before entering, she looked back. Diamanté held a handkerchief to his eyes. Elise waved. Anna turned and entered the building.
M
onique was waiting for Anna when she walked through the airy, open doors of the terminal. The two women embraced. “I’m so glad you were able to meet me here, Monique,” Anna said, her eyes still moist. Then, with a halfhearted smile, she handed her friend the wrapped pitcher and said, “This is for you…from a potter with an attitude in Castagniers.”
Monique looked worried for her friend. “I think you should have come to Grasse for at least a couple of days. It would have been good for you after all you’ve been through.”
“Oh,” Anna sighed, “I’ll see the
bastide
some other trip. I just want to get home.”
“I couldn’t believe that C-C died like that. I’m so sorry,
chérie
. How horrible it must have been for you.”
Anna’s eyes watered. “He’s gone, Monique. I’ll never forget him. He’ll always have a place in my heart.” With the heel of her hand, she quickly wiped a tear from spilling down her cheek.
They took a seat in the waiting area.
“What would you have decided had C-C lived? Would you have stayed in France?”
“That’s a difficult question. I was definitely having my doubts about the future, and I was claustrophobic in that little village, pretty as it is, even though I had only been there a few days. I don’t know whether I could have stayed permanently. And I’m certain he would never have left France to live with me in Los Angeles.” She paused as loudspeakers announced the departure of an Air Inter flight.
“A man who loves a woman would go anywhere she wanted, it seems to me,
chérie
. If he loved you…”
“Diamanté and Elise believe that he loved me,” Anna said, thinking about the huge personal dilemma leaving Castagniers would have caused C-C. “I don’t know…will never know for certain what C-C had in mind on the day he died. In reality, he might never have been able to fit into my world, and there was a strong possibility that I could never have fit into his. Maybe that’s the conclusion he had come to.”
“And so…what were you, are you, going to do about Mark?”
Anna frowned. “Mark has been pretty clear about his intentions.”
“He somehow got Georges’ cell phone number and left an urgent message wanting to know how to reach you.”
“He did?”
“Georges didn’t return the call, not knowing what to tell him. So we decided to wait until I talked to you.”
“I’ll call him.”
Before she boarded her flight, Anna called Mark’s office, knowing that it was too early for him or Jacks to be there.
“Hi, Mark,” she hesitated. “Anna. I’m arriving early afternoon at Tom Bradley: Air France Flight 62 from Paris. I know it’s a few days earlier than I originally anticipated. Don’t worry about picking me up. I’ll catch a shuttle. See you soon. Bye.” She paused and then finally hung up. What she wanted to say to him she couldn’t put in a voice message.
T
he gleaming, white Air France 747 made its approach into Los Angeles International Airport. Anna, gazing through the small window, caught a glimpse of the white block letters of the famed Hollywood sign streaming past the window. She was almost home. It had been only a week since she had arrived in Castagniers. Only a week since her reunion with C-C. Five days since Diamanté’s wedding. Three days since C-C’s death. A fresh wave of sorrow washed over her. It seemed a lifetime had passed in those few days.
As the plane touched down and taxied to the gate, the passengers were given the usual instructions in French and English about passing through U.S. Customs. Anna gathered her things, exited the plane, and followed the swarm of new arrivals through the long corridor that led to the baggage claim. She had been through customs many times. The agents routinely waved her through. This time, it was no different. She slowly pushed her baggage cart up the ramp to the passenger welcoming area where a small crowd watched eagerly for familiar faces among the arriving passengers. She stopped, glanced halfheartedly through the throng. No Mark.
“Oh, well,” she mumbled aloud as she focused her eyes on the soiled carpeting at her feet. “He’s probably not certain how I’d treat him either. Can’t blame him.” Turning on her cell phone, she pushed her way through the mass of bodies to the main lobby, noticing as she did the newspapers in the vending machines. Diana’s picture was on the front page of all of them. The headlines were mostly a version of the same wording: “A Year Later, Mystery Still Surrounds the Tragic Death of Princess Diana.” She bought one copy of each, placed them in the outer pocket of her carry-on, and headed for the doors. A warm breeze brushed her cheeks as she stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the terminal. Just then, her cell phone rang. The display showed Mark’s number.
“Hi,” she said quietly.
“Turn around,” he said.
“What?”
“I said turn around.”
A few yards behind her, parked next to the curb, was Mark’s BMW. The top was down, and her dog was standing in the backseat, wagging his tail. Mark had made the effort to pick her up after all.
Anna forced a smile and walked toward the car. Mark popped the trunk and got out to help her lift her suitcase into it.
“Thanks for picking me up, Mark.” Anna slid into the passenger seat and tousled Paris’ ears. The dog licked her face in delight.
Mark closed his door and leaned over to briefly kiss her on the cheek. He was dressed in his jogging clothes, his hair was more unruly than usual, and his face was unshaven.
“Are you not feeling well? You look pale,” she said.
“I’m okay,” he harrumphed, glancing over at her. “You don’t look so hot yourself. Must have been some vacation you had.” He wasn’t smiling.
Anna took a deep breath. She knew she looked haggard, having caught a glimpse of herself in the plane’s restroom mirror. She had black circles under her eyes, and her hair badly needed washing. “I’ve been through quite an ordeal, Mark. It’s…it’s, well, I’ll…” Her voice trailed off.
He frowned at her. “I was trying to reach you.”
“Monique told me you called them. What was so all-fired urgent, anyway?” She hadn’t meant to sound so curt.
Mark bit his lip and then finally said, “I got some intelligence on Diamanté. I was hoping to warn you about something I found out.”
“Why were you checking up on Diamanté, anyway?” she snapped.
“Oh, Christ, Anna. Don’t get touchy about it. I just had a tracer run. I hadn’t figured on anything to be concerned about, but there was something in the information that troubled me.”
“And that was?”
“He’s got a brother, a half brother that is, who’s wanted by Interpol. That’s pretty serious stuff. I mean, really serious, Anna. He’s a suspected terrorist. I couldn’t find out what exact crime he was wanted for, though, because I didn’t have his name. It’s apparently a different last name from Diamanté’s.”
“Yes, and I know some of the story about that terrible man. I wasn’t being touchy, Mark. It’s just that…” She shuddered, remembering the night that André Narbon had shown up in Castagniers to kill Diamanté. “I’ll tell you about it one day.”
“Well, at least you’re home safe.” He stared in front of him for a moment. “There’s, ah…something else has happened that I need to tell you about.” He sounded mysterious.
“What do you mean?”
He turned to her and pulled off his dark glasses. “You’re probably not going to believe this, but…”
Just then an airport security guard yelled at them to move away from the curb. Mark nodded, replaced his glasses, and put the car in gear. Anna’s hair blew wildly in the wind as he accelerated the BMW into the fast lane of the I-405. After a few minutes, they sped across three lanes of traffic and exited the freeway at Rosecrans. In the back, the dog lost his balance and fell off the seat as the BMW came to a screeching halt in the parking lot of an In-N-Out Burger. Diners at the outdoor tables of the fast-food restaurant stared at them.
Anna was alarmed. She had never seen Mark so agitated. “What is it, Mark? What’s going on?” she shouted. “This just isn’t like you.”
He turned off the ignition, pulled off his dark glasses, and heaved a big sigh. “Okay, dammit. Here goes. This guy showed up at your condo yesterday asking about you. He made our neighbor Tillie nervous because he wouldn’t give his name, so she called me. It was early evening, just around sunset, so I made an excuse to leave the office for a little jog on the beach before dark. When I got to the condo complex, Tillie pointed him out to me. Never seen the guy before. Handsome dude. He was just hanging around on the beach-front, looking like he was casing the joint or something. Dammit, I didn’t know what to think, so I just walked over to him and asked him what the hell he was up to.”
Anna felt sudden panic. Could someone somehow know what C-C had told her? Was Diamanté right after all that she could be in danger? “What did he say to you?”