Jigsaw Lovers (18 page)

‘Sounds fun. Maybe later,’ she shot back at him, seating herself on a stool at the bar.

‘Diana?’

‘J&B with ice and water, please.’

‘I’ll have the same, please.’

Diana watched as the barman poured the drinks with flippant flamboyance.

‘They’re quite egotistical and self-assured,’ she observed.

‘That’s because they think they’re the best,’ answered John. ‘Mind you they are pretty good. No one has to wait for service. Cheers.’

‘This is a beautiful development,’ commented Diana. ‘I’ve been here a couple of times. That shopping mall is fantastic. It reminds me of the old Victorian railway stations in London; all those iron-work struts and trusses. The difference is that here they’re gleaming and pristine, rather than dark and filthy.’

‘And they’re building a whole new complex next to this one, virtually doubling it in size,’ said John. ‘It really is very successful.’

The ice was melting in her glass as she placed it on
the bar. In an instant the ever-efficient barman had whisked it away.

‘I haven’t finished,’ she snapped.

‘Yes you have,’ he replied somewhat arrogantly. ‘There’s only water left.’

‘I am aware of that,’ she said tapping the bar with her index finger, ‘I happen to like the taste of melted water – now if you’ll be so kind.’ He replaced the glass. ‘And while you’re here I will have another.’

He looked suitably sheepish as he poured another, and had the good grace to apologise.

After this drink they went through to their table by a window
that looked across the harbour to the mountain.

‘How long have you been working at the Bank, John?’ she asked as they waited for their first course to arrive.

‘Just over twenty years now. I started as a junior teller when I left school.’

‘And you’ve worked your way up to manager.’

‘Assistant manager,’ he said modestly.

‘To me you’re a manager,’ she stressed the first syllable. He wasn’t quite sure he had heard correctly. ‘You’ve certainly managed to do everything I required.’

‘Oh it wasn’t too difficult,’ he smiled.

A tug glided past in the harbour below. People walked along the walkways, and by the water’s edge. A band was playing in the arena and a juggler attracted a crowd of bemused onlookers. The Mountain looked magnificent.

Their calamari starters arrived. Diana found them particularly delicious. She had never had anything as tender as these in England, and the ice-cold chardonnay was an ideal compliment to their subtle flavour.

‘It must be very nice to live in such a beautiful city as Cape Town. I envy you.’

‘Well you don’t really appreciate it after a while. It all becomes so day-to-day. It’s only when you meet a visitor that you see it through their eyes and remember how it was when you first came here. Like how big the mountain is. The sights, the tablecloth and the south-easter winds.’

‘Yes it does get rather windy,’ she agreed remembering the almost comical, if it hadn’t been so embarrassing, scene when her skirt blew right over her head, on the Foreshore a few days ago.

‘A bus got blown over not so long ago,’ he informed her knowledgeably.

Their main courses arrived. Chicken breasts for Diana and steak for John, both served in the Cajun style. These also were cooked to perfection in a tangy, spicy sauce.

Smith was unused to drinking such copious amounts of alcohol as he had had this evening and he was beginning to feel a little light-headed. This emboldened his spirit and before he knew it he was asking her about her personal life.

‘Forgive me asking, but I can’t understand why such a beautiful woman as yourself hasn’t got a hundred men after her.’

‘That’s the trouble. Every man I meet just wants to jump into bed with me,’ she said candidly, looking him in the eyes. ‘That’s why I’m having such a good time with you. You’re not like the others. You treat me more like a person than a sex object.’

He felt flattered. ‘Maybe it’s because I’m a little older than the other men you know.’

‘That’s probably it. I must admit I prefer older men,’ she agreed. ‘Shall we go back to my place for coffee.’

‘That would be very nice.’ He waved for the bill. As she reached for her wallet in her handbag, he stopped her. ‘Please, let me get this.’

‘That’s very kind John. You’re such a gentleman.’

He laughed, ‘I just have to make a phone call. Let my wife know I’ll be a little late.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry. I completely forgot I was keeping you from her. If you’d like to leave I can get a taxi from here. No problem.’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it. It’s not often I get a chance to entertain such a pleasant client.’

He stepped outside and called Catherine.

‘I’m afraid the meeting went on a bit longer than we thought. There’s some chap from the Reserve Bank whose offered to take us out for dinner.’ He was amazed at how easily the lie tripped off his tongue. ‘You don’t mind? I don’t know how long I’ll be, so don’t wait up.’ That was much easier than he thought it was going to be.

As they walked out of the restaurant Diana took his arm, pulling him closer to him.

‘That was a lovely dinner. Thank you.’ She leant up and kissed him on the check, the shock of which nearly caused him to trip down the stairs.

‘This is as they leave the restaurant. She takes his arm and gives him a little kiss. They go back to her flat and he accepts her invitation to go up for coffee and a nightcap.’ James was talking Ian Hamilton through a sequence of photographs that were spread out in front of them on the table of Hamilton’s study. They showed Diana leaving her apartment with Smith, having dinner in the Waterfront, and then returning to the flat.

‘Your surveillance team is very good,’ commented Hamilton.

‘They’re professionals. They know what they’re doing, and we see that they have the best equipment to do it with,’ agreed James.

They had spent the afternoon watching a video of the drinks party that Diana had hosted. Hidden cameras in all the rooms in the flat had recorded the entire event on video, and this had been edited down to show those scenes in which John Smith was involved.

It was obvious that Smith had difficulty keeping his eyes off Diana. She in turn was attentive to him and came across as being interested in everything he was saying.

James picked up a second DVD and walked over to the player.

‘And this is what happened when they got inside the flat.’

The disk began to play. It showed them coming through the front door, and Diana telling Smith to go through and make himself comfortable, whilst she went into the kitchen to make coffee.

Next she was seen carrying a tray on which was a jug of coffee, milk, sugar, two cups, two glasses and a bottle of champagne.

‘I know I’ve probably drunk far too much already tonight, but I suddenly thought it would be nice to have a glass of champagne. Can I tempt you as well, John?’ she asked, looking him in the eye, as she put the tray down on the table in front of them.

‘Yes, you can,’ he said with barely concealed innuendo.

She handed him the bottle. ‘Won’t you open that for me, please, while I pour the coffee?’

‘Certainly.’ He unwrapped the foil, loosened the wire and managed to spill very little as the cork flew off with a resounding pop. He filled the two glasses.

She kicked her shoes off and perched herself on the edge of the sofa, turned slightly towards him, her legs together and tucked underneath her.

They talked about nothing in particular for a while, and then Diana stood up to refill John’s glass. As she did so, she lurched and the champagne poured into Smith’s lap, wetting the front of his trousers.

‘I’m sorry. Don’t move, I’ll fetch a cloth.’ She went to the kitchen and came back with a tea-towel.

She knelt down in front of him and gently began to dab the moist area between his legs.

‘I think you’d better take your trousers off, they’re far too wet to dry on you.’ Swiftly she unbuckled his belt, unzipped him, and undid the top button.

‘Lift up,’ she ordered, and as he did so she proceeded to pull his trousers and underpants down.

Smith had been completely unprepared for this action. It had all happened so quickly. One moment he had been sitting normally, and the next his trousers were around his ankles, and this beautiful woman was kneeling down in front of him, looking at his rapidly erecting penis. His face registered a combination of surprise, fear and pleasure. He seemed uncertain as to how he should react, but before he could do anything Diana spoke.

‘Now this gives me an idea.’ She reached over for her glass, took a mouthful, and gently holding John’s erect member between her finger tips, proceeded to dribble the cold liquid over it. She felt him swell and harden. Taking another mouthful she took him into her mouth, and proceeded to swill the cold bubbles around the end of his penis with the tip of her tongue. The effect on Smith was electrifying. His whole body jerked. He reached out and grabbed her hair with his hands, pulling her down onto him even more.

She sucked him gently for a while, then raised her head, looking up at him. When she spoke her voice was a hoarse whisper.

‘Come, let’s go into the bedroom.’ She stood up, held his hands and led him hobbling, with his trousers around his ankles, into the bedroom.

‘She’s brilliant,’ commented Hamilton. ‘The way she orchestrated that situation was worthy of an award. Smith didn’t stand a chance. No man would, come to think of it. Tell me about her.’ James paused the disk.

‘She’s not what she seems.’

‘I can believe that. She doesn’t look like one’s p
erceived view of a woman of ill-repute.’

‘That’s because she isn’t.’ Hamilton noticed James bristle, momentarily. So he had a soft spot for this woman, did he. That might be useful to know.

‘She started working for us about two years ago. We found her almost by chance. At that stage I suppose you could say she was a prostitute of sorts. She was living in a run-down part of London and making money from sex.

‘When we looked into her background we were amazed to find that she came from a relatively well-off family, had benefited from a good education and had a degree. It seems that she had no real desire to work in the conventional sense of the word. She’d spent quite a lot of time sleeping her way around Europe, and her stunning beauty, intelligence and linguistic abilities, ensured that she slept in style and comfort. Then for some reason we can’t determine she decided to sell herself cheap. Maybe it was curiosity. It certainly wasn’t out of desperation or as a last resort, like so many woman do.’

‘That’s quite intriguing, very curious,’ commented Hamilton.

‘I’ve tried to get to know her in the last couple of years, and done my own in-depth investigation into her. I think because she’s so intelligent she gets bored very easily, and is constantly looking for something adventurous to do. She seems to have no moral qualms with what she does, which is why she works so well with our organisation.’

‘I can understand how she fits in. You must have been very pleased when you found her.’

‘Oh, most definitely. She doesn’t actually know who she works for. I’m the only person she’s ever met from Ackermann’s. She doesn’t ask unnecessary questions and so far the results she’s achieved have always been far beyond our expectations.’

‘From what little I’ve just seen of her, I can understand what you mean,’ said Hamilton.

‘We just give her an outline of what we want to happen, when and to whom, and she devises the plan from there independently. Naturally, she has the benefit of whatever resources she requires.’

‘Does she know about the hidden cameras?’ asked Hamilton.

‘She’s never once asked on all the projects she been involved in. We assume she must have guessed that there is some form of surveillance.’

‘If that is the case, doesn’t it suggest to you that’s she something of an exhibitionist, that she likes to perform for an audience?’

‘Very much so. I think she gets a thrill out of it. She likes the risk. There was an incident when she was young with her neighbour, which might throw some light on it. I’ll leave you the file to read tonight. You might find it amusing bedtime reading.’ James reached into his briefcase and extracted a blue coloured dossier, which he handed to Hamilton.

‘Thank you. Now let’s see what happens when they get into the bedroom.’

James pressed play.

Diana kissed good-bye to her virginity on her fifteenth birthday.

Hamilton was reading the file that James had left him earlier. It was, as James had promised, highly entertaining.

She had attended one of those private schools for young ladies whose attitudes to sex were still entrenched in the nineteenth century. Door handles were the pull down lever type, no round knobs to tempt the young things, and strictly no long-handled hairbrushes. As a consequence, all the girls were interested in finding out what it was that was so good about sex, that their mentors took such great pains to shield them from it.