Parisian Affair Page 28

  'Wait,' she said. 'They'll be coming out for dinner in a little while.'

  'We could be there for hours,' he replied in a whine.

  'No, Paul,' she said patiently. 'Mark my word. They'll be going out to dinner soon. They're Americans.'

  The traffic wasn't too heavy, and they reached the rue de Castiglione quickly. Sylvie turned right and headed straight for the place Vendome, which was a short distance north.

  'We won't be able to park,' Paul said.

  'You'd be surprised,' Sylvie said. 'With this car and my flirting with a gendarme? We could probably idle near the Ritz for a long time.'

  'I don't think so,' Paul replied.

  Sylvie drove into the immense place Vendome and around the huge bronze-wrapped column, commemorating the Battle of Austerlitz, at its center. Napoleon's statue, so often removed and replaced, looked down from its top as she slowly pulled down the block from number fifteen, the elegant entrance to the Ritz hotel. Pulling over, she shifted into neutral but didn't turn off the engine.

  'Now we watch,' she said to Paul, 'and if you see them first, let me know.'

  'What I see,' Paul said, 'is a gendarme already coming this way.'

  'Not bad looking, either,' Sylvie said, unbuttoning her blouse down toward the waist. She wasn't wearing a bra, and when she pulled her blouse apart, little was left to the imagination regarding her breasts. 'Just keep your mouth shut.'

  She lit a cigarette and rolled the window down, waiting for him. 'Hello,' she said with a big smile as he approached. He was frowning until he glimpsed her almost completely exposed bosom.

  'Mademoiselle,' he said, leaning in close to her, 'you are not permitted to park here.'

  'We're waiting for my poor grandpapa,' she replied, 'and we'll only be here a couple of minutes, I promise. He's up from the country and staying at the Ritz. He can't walk more than a few feet, so I'm trying to stay out of the way until my maman brings him down to the car.'

  'Just a couple of minutes, you say?' the gendarme replied, his eyes reluctant to stray from her breasts.

  Sylvie nodded. 'I promise,' she cooed. 'Then we'll be out of the way.'

  'Make sure you are,' the gendarme said. He tapped the car with a gloved hand, then went on down the block.

  'You're shameless,' Paul said, trying to suppress a laugh.

  'Don't take your eyes off the hotel entrance,' Sylvie said, opening her shoulder bag. 'I'm going to give us a quick little snort.'

  'But the gen—!' Paul began.

  'Ha,' she said, unzipping the compartment in her bag where she kept the tiny Altoids tin. 'He'd probably take some if I offered it to him. That and a few minutes in the backseat.'

  'You're crazy,' Paul said.

  'No,' she retorted, 'I'm practical.'

  'Are you ready?' Todd called to her in the bathroom.

  'One second,' Allegra answered. She checked her makeup in the mirror one last time, then dabbed perfume behind her ears, letting her finger trail down to the neckline of the simple black sweater she'd put on. That and her miniskirt would have to do again tonight. She had packed for only a couple of days, but she was pleased that the few things she had brought were elegant, appropriate, and even sexy. She flipped off the light and left the bathroom, returning to the bedroom, where Todd waited.

  'I'm glad we decided to go casual tonight,' Todd said. 'I really didn't want to put that suit back on.'

  'Well, you look great,' she said, kissing his cheek, 'and I think casual is all I could handle.'

  'Do you want to try the general one more time before we leave?' he asked.

  They'd tried his number in Miami several times after showering, but so far there had been no answer. Surprisingly, there hadn't been an answering machine, either.

  'I left word with the operator to stop trying him until we get back to the hotel,' she said. 'The concierge will let her know when we're back. Besides, I'm fairly certain that we're going to hear the same thing from him that we've heard from the others. Let's go find a place to eat. I'm starving.'

  They left the suite and took the elevator to the ground floor, then walked out onto the place Vendome. There were almost no pedestrians about and very little traffic. The evening was chilly, and there was a brisk breeze.

  'This neighborhood is so ... ritzy,' Allegra said with a laugh. 'And a tad cold, if you know what I mean. I hope we can find something that's not quite so fancy close by.'

  'I'm sure we will,' Todd said. 'Why don't we walk until we see something that looks good?'

  Todd took her hand in his, and they started walking in a northerly direction. Dusk had already descended, but the huge square was well lit.

  'Wait,' Allegra said, noticing the statue of Napoleon. 'Let's go over to the column. I want to see it up close.'

  'Fine,' Todd said.

  They changed direction and started walking east, to the enormous column. Just before they reached it, Allegra heard the roar of a motor and turned to look in its direction.

  'What the hell?' she asked, stopping, squinting against the glaring lights.

  Todd turned to look, but like Allegra he could see nothing but blinding headlights aimed directly at them. 'Ally!' he yelled. 'Ally, get out of the way!'

  Allegra heard him, but she was frozen to the spot. The car was almost upon them, and the area surrounding the column was directly in front of them. Todd jerked her hand in his, causing her to lose her balance.

  She felt her high heels slide, then her feet slip out from under her. She could see the grillwork of the roaring car and could swear that she felt the heat of its engine.

  But it was the pain in her legs that made her cry out. 'No!' she yelled as her legs scraped against the rough stone.

  Suddenly she was lifted into the air, and before she knew what was happening, she felt the breath being knocked out of her as she landed with a thud against stone.

  'Fuck!' she heard Todd groan. She didn't move for a moment, trying to get her bearings. When she did, she realized that she was on top of him and that they were inside the fence that surrounded the column.

  'Are you okay?' he asked, trying to sit up.

  'I—I think so,' she said, scooting off of him. 'Are you?'

  'Yes,' he said. 'Shit. We're both going to be sore tomorrow.' He was sitting up now, and Allegra was sitting next to him.

  'What the hell was that all about?' she asked, looking at him.

  'I'll give you one guess,' he said, shaking his head as if to clear it of cobwebs.

  'I think you saved my life,' Allegra said.

  He carefully got to his feet, then reached a hand down to her. 'Or you saved mine,' he said. 'You saw the damn thing coming at us first.'

  Allegra took his hand and gingerly rose to her feet. 'Oh, God,' she said. 'We really could've been killed, Todd, and it's all my fault for getting us involved in this.'

  He hugged her to him. 'I didn't have to get involved in this,' he said. He looked down at her. 'Are you sure you're okay? Your legs?'

  Allegra peered down. 'Torn panty hose,' she said. 'Maybe some scrapes. It's nothing.' She looked back up at him. 'Are you okay? You took the brunt of the fall with me on top of you.'

  He shrugged. 'I'm all right,' he said. 'Did you get a look at the car?'

  'I could hardly see a thing,' she said. 'You?'

  He shook his head. 'No. Just the lights.'

  'I saw the grille,' Allegra said, 'and it looked . . . well, it looked old- fashioned. But I don't know what it was.'

  Todd looked around them, his gaze sweeping the grand square. Nobody had stopped to stare at them as he would have expected. 'I wonder if anybody saw what happened.'

  'Who knows?' Allegra said. 'Besides, I don't think we want to involve the police.'

  'You're sure about that?' he asked. 'Somebody just tried to run us down.'

  'I know, but please, let's just go and eat,' she said.

  He hugged her again. 'Do you want to go back to the hotel and order room service instead?'

  'M
aybe that's a good idea,' she said, nodding.

  Todd helped her over the fence, and they started to walk back across the square to the hotel. In the near distance, they heard the familiar roar of a car again.

  'I don't fucking believe this!' Todd said, as Allegra scrambled back over the fence toward the safety of the column.

  'Look!' she cried. 'That's it! The car.'

  The car barreled toward them, but swerved at the last second, the driver obviously thinking twice before crashing into the bronze-sheathed column. 'They're nuts!' Todd exclaimed. 'Fucking nuts.'

  The car roared on toward the rue de la Paix. As they watched, it seemed to suddenly stop. Then they heard a huge explosion. Metal and glass were propelled skyward, and another explosion followed the first. A fireball rent the evening darkness, and their faces were lit up by it. Suddenly the square came to life. People started running toward the scene of the accident from every direction. They heard screams and shouts, and in a few moments the unmistakable sound of emergency vehicles, the police and ambulances both.

  Allegra squeezed Todd's hand, and he put an arm around her, hugging her to him. 'I don't want to do this,' he said, 'but I think I ought to go take a look. Why don't you wait here a minute.'

  'No!' Allegra exclaimed. 'I'm going with you. I'm not staying here.'

  Once again he helped her over the fence, and they hurried north toward the rue de la Paix. As they neared the scene of the accident, they could see that it wasn't the car that had tried to run them down that had caught fire, but the car that it had broadsided. The police had started to direct traffic away from the area and shouted at pedestrians to stay back. The scene was still chaotic, however, and they got close enough to brave the intense heat and smoke thrown off by the fire.

  The Mercedes-Benz's convertible top reared up into the air almost perpendicular to the car, and the driver was clearly visible in the hellish light cast by the fire. Allegra gasped, and threw her hand to her mouth. 'Oh, God, help us,' she whispered. She turned her head and buried it in Todd's shoulder.

  'Sylvie,' Todd said simply.

  Reflected in the fire's orange light and the whirling red and blue of the police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances, which were already arriving, her face was unmistakable. The driver's-side door was thrown wide open, and her left arm dangled out of the car. The steering column had been driven up into her chest, pinning her back against the seat, and her head was thrown back at an odd angle, her bloody neck and breasts partially exposed. There was no sign of life, and Todd had no doubts that she was dead. Her chest had been crushed and her neck most likely broken.

  Todd, an arm still around Allegra, guided her toward the other side of the car to get a better view of the passenger. Even with the car's top thrown open, it was difficult to see from this angle, though it was apparent that the passenger had gone through the windshield.

  'Oh, Jesus,' he exclaimed when they had rounded the rear of the car and walked toward the front. He immediately turned around, propelling Allegra along with him, hoping that she hadn't seen what he had. The upper half of Paul's body was splayed across the car's once magnificent hood, and his head was almost entirely severed from his torso. Fiery light reflected off his open eyes.

  Allegra was silent, but her body began to involuntarily shake. Her stomach lurched, and for a minute she thought she was going to throw up. But she fought it down and clung to Todd. He quickly walked her away from the scene, an arm protectively around her shoulders.

  CHAPTER 20

  They went straight up to the suite, through the sitting room, and into the bedroom. Todd guided her to the bed, where he sat her down.

  'I'm just going to get us a drink,' he said.

  Allegra nodded and tried to smile up at him.

  He went to the minibar, where he got two bottles of Scotch and ice cubes, then retrieved glasses and poured them both drinks. He handed her one, and Allegra gladly took it.

  'Thanks,' she said.

  He sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulder again. 'You going to be okay?' he asked. 'I could always get the hotel doctor to give you something.'

  Allegra shook her head. 'No, I'll be fine,' she said. She took a sip of the drink and felt its fiery trajectory down her throat and into her stomach. 'I think this will do the trick.'

  Todd sipped his drink and stroked her back with his hand. They talked about the awful accident for a while, wondering how Sylvie could end up with a creep like Paul.

  Finally, Todd said, 'You know you aren't responsible in any way for this.'

  'I know—' she began, but the telephone rang.

  'I bet that's the call you had in to the general,' Todd said. 'You want me to take it?'

  'No,' she said. 'I'll do it.' She picked up the receiver. 'Hello?'

  'Mademoiselle Sheridan,' the operator said, 'I have your party on the line.'

  'Thank you,' Allegra replied. She heard a click. 'Hello,' she said again.

  'Yes?' The voice was a woman's with a pronounced Spanish accent.

  'I'd like to speak to Ramondo Gonzalez-Viega,' Allegra said.

  'Who is this?'

  'My name is Allegra Sheridan,' she said, then repeated the same story she and Todd had told the others.

  'I am Dorisita Luisa Gonzalez-Viega,' the woman said in a pompous voice. 'The general, I am his wife. He is in the hospital.'

  'Oh, I'm so sorry,' Allegra said, surprised to hear that a woman who was once in such a high position in her former country spoke broken English. She'd met so many South Americans in New York who were fluent in English. 'I'm calling at a bad time. I hoped that the general could help me.'

  'The general, he is dying,' the woman said. 'The cancer, you know.'

  'That's horrible,' Allegra replied. 'I'm so sorry,' she repeated.

  Suddenly, the woman began weeping, then progressed to sobbing. Allegra continued to hold the receiver to her ear, wondering what she should say. Finally, she ventured, 'Senora Gonzalez-Viega, I wish there was something I could say to help you.'

  'Ahi, no,' the woman managed through her sobs, 'there is nothing nobody can do. Momento.'

  Allegra heard her move the telephone, then blow her nose away from it.

  'Senora Sheridan,' she said after she'd finished, 'I can probably tell you what it is you want to know.'

  'I don't want to bother you,' Allegra said, and she meant it. If this poor woman couldn't deal with her questions now, she would call another time or forget it altogether. She was fairly certain that Ramtane Tadjer had the emeralds anyway.

  'No bother,' Senora Gonzalez-Viega said. 'If my husband was here, it would be a bother. He don't like to be reminded of the emerald bracelet. He's a man, you know? So proud. And he love to see me wear the bracelet. In front of his friends. He always point it out.'

  'I can understand that,' Allegra said. 'It's a magnificent bracelet.'

  'St, si, si,' Senora Gonzalez-Viega replied. 'Big, big emeralds. You never saw so big emeralds, senora.' Her voice was full of pride and enthusiasm, as Allegra was sure her husband's would have been.

  'Yes,' Allegra said. 'Huge emeralds. And matched.'

  'Si,' Senora Gonzalez-Viega replied. 'Important, this matching, they say. My husband get the bracelet in Paris. At Jules Levant, the fancy jeweler, you know? I wear night and day. Then the revolution, it come. We come to Miami to our condo here on Brickell Avenue.'

  'You were very lucky to escape,' Allegra said, feeling like a hypocrite. She remembered that General Gonzalez-Viega had been one of those responsible for the 'disappearings'—the rounding up, killing, and burying of protesters in unmarked graves—in his native country.

  'Si,' Senora Gonzalez-Viega replied. 'Very lucky. They kill many peoples, but we get to Miami. The general, he put money in bank here. The Espiritos Santos Bank, you know? On Brickell Avenue. Very safe. But not enough. We think we go back soon. That my husband, he will be savior of country. But that doesn't happen. So here we are in condo and the money, it's running out.'
/>   'I am sorry for you,' Allegra repeated, knowing there was nothing else she could say under the circumstances if she wanted to find out what happened to the emeralds.

  'Si, is terrible life now,' the senora said. 'So, we sell the bracelet at Sotheby's. My husband, he say the jeweler in Paris bought it.'

  'At least you had something to sell,' Allegra said, thinking that her words of comfort sounded awfully lame to her own ears.

  'I survive a lot of things,' the woman said, 'and I survive this, too.'

  'I'm sure you will,' Allegra said, hoping to draw the conversation to a close. 'And I'm so grateful to you for taking the time to talk to me.'

  'De nada,' she replied. 'I wish you good luck, senora. Better luck than I have.'

  'Gracias,' Allegra replied.

  The woman hung up the telephone, and Allegra heaved a sigh of relief, then turned to Todd.

  'So now we've established that Ramtane Tadjer has all of the emeralds except the one in the safe here,' Todd said.

  Allegra didn't say anything, just sat in thoughtful silence for a while.

  'There's something we've neglected,' she said finally.

  'What's that?'

  'Dufour giving me the wrong emerald,' Allegra said. 'Princess Karima had the last one, and something tells me that the 'mix-up,' as it was called, wasn't a mix-up at all. Someone was in cahoots with the princess. I would love to see her reaction when I tell her that Dufour tried to give me the wrong ring.'

  'How the hell are you going to do that?' Todd asked.

  'Pay an unannounced visit,' Allegra said.

  'We'd never get in to see her.'

  'I bet I would if I showed up on her doorstep and told her I was the woman who bought the ring.' She turned to Todd and smiled. She decided it wouldn't be smart to tell him that Solomon Weiss had said the princess was lethal.

  'You are one clever lady,' he said, returning her smile. 'I think you're right.' He paused in thought. 'But do you know where she is?'

  'The newspapers said that she was leaving Paris after the auction for her old millhouse in the country. The forest of Fontainebleau. Said she would be living there full-time after selling her mansion.'