company and of the Trust., I don't have to prove anything, to anyone,
she said flatly.
This time you do. You have appointed me No court of law would uphold
that agreement. Perhaps not, Chantelle, but do you want to drag all
this through the courts - at a time like this, I'm not afraid, Duncan.
She stood up quickly, light on her feet as a dancer. the lovely legs in
loose black silk trousers, soft flat shoes making her seem still
smaller, a slim gold chain emphasizing the narrowness of the tiny waist.
You know I'm afraid of nothing. She stood over him, and pointed the
accuser's finger. The nails tipped in scarlet, the colour of fresh
arterial blood. You should be the one to fear. And precisely what is
it you are accusing me of? And she told him, reeling off swiftly the
lists of guarantees made by the Trust, the transfer of shares and the
issues of new shares and guarantees within the Christy Marine group of
subsidiaries, she listed the known layering of underwriting cover on
Golden Dawn that Nicholas had unearthed.
,When my auditors have finished, Duncan darling, not only will the
courts return control of Christy Marine to me, but they will probably
sentence you to five years at hard labour. They take this sort of thing
rather seriously, you know. He smiled. He actually smiled! She felt
her fury seething to the surface and the set of her eyes altered, colour
tinted the smooth pale olive of her cheeks.
You dare to grin at me/ she hissed. I will break you for that.
'No/ he shook his head. No, you won't. Are you denying -'she snapped,
but he cut her off with a raised hand, and a shake of that handsome
arrogant head.
I am denying nothing, my love. On the contrary, I am going to admit it
- and more, much more. He flicked the cigarette away, and it hissed
sharply in the lapping blue wavelets of the yacht basin. While she
stared at him, struck speechless, he let the silence play out like a
skilled actor as he selected and lit another cigarette from the gold
case.
For some weeks now I have been fully aware that somebody was prying very
deeply into my affairs and those of the company. He blew a long blue
feather of cigarette smoke, and cocked one eyebrow at her, a cynical
mocking gesture which increased her fury, but left her feeling suddenly
afraid and uncertain. It didn't take long to establish that the trace
was coming from a little man in Monte Carlo who makes a living at
financial and industrial espionage.
Lazarus is good, excellent, the very best. I have used him myself, in
fact it was I who introduced him to Nicholas Berg. He chuckled then,
shaking his head indulgently.
The silly things we do sometimes. The connection was immediate.
Berg and Lazarus. I have run my own check on that even what they have
come up with and estimate Lazarus could not have uncovered more than
twenty-five percent of the answers. He leaned forward and suddenly his
voice snapped with a new authority. You see, Chantelle dear, I am
probably one of the best in the world myself.
They could never have traced it all. You are not denying then - She
