I make my way over to Charlie who’s now exiting the room all by her lonesome.
“My name is Darrel Vlovsky,” I say, falling into step with her. “I’m going to help you win this case.”
She stops in her tracks. “I’m sorry?”
I repeat my statement.
She eyes me up and down. “Why?”
“Walk with me,” I say, pointing behind us. “We’re blocking the doorway.”
As we head down the corridor, I give her my most reassuring smile. “I believe we can expose Lefevre for the fraud he is and clear your name.”
“How?” she asks. “And, once again, why? Why would you help me?”
“Because I hate it when bad people get away with bad deeds.”
She tilts her head to one side and shoots me a look that says “Yeah, right.” We head across the lobby to the exit.
“Monsieur Vlovsky,” she says, “I commend you on the purity of your heart, but I’m too old to believe in selfless motives.”
“My motives aren’t selfless.”
“I’m listening.”
We reach the exit. I hold the door for Charlie, which also gives me a chance to look back without being obvious.
“If you win this case with my help,” I say, “then I’ll ask you to sell me an antique key that I believe you own.”
She scrutinizes my face. “I don’t own any antique keys. I’m a book restorer, Monsieur Vlovsky, which is not the same as an antiques dealer.”
Did I really think it was going to be that easy?
“All right,” I say. “Do you know of such a key? Do you know someone who owns one? Have you read about it in one of the books you restored?”
She shakes her head.
Either she’s lying, or she simply doesn’t know yet what she knows. The whereabouts of the key may, for example, be described in a book that’s sitting in her private collection unread.
We reach the bottom of the stairs leading down from the courthouse.
Charlie gives me a tight smile. “I must go. Nice talking to you, Monsieur Vlovsky.”
“My offer stands, Madame Gotteland,” I say, handing her my business card. “I’ll be in touch.”
She squints. “But I just told you I have no idea where your key could be. Why would you still help me? “
“Because I always finish what I start. Good day, Madame.”
With that boastful rejoinder, I turn around and head to the parking lot. On my way, I use the reflections in the windows on the ground floor to check if I’m being tailed. As I pick my way to my car, I use side mirrors for the same purpose. And, after I buckle my seat belt, I scan for Bluetooth devices again. None of the names I memorized in the courtroom show up.
Looks like I’m in the clear.
I peel out, wondering if Adam’s new, bolder strategy will succeed at fooling our nemesis, Kurt Ozzi, and his men better than the previous approach.
This time around, not only has MESS sent several decoys on suspicious-sounding trips around Europe, but they’ve also spread a false rumor in the royals’ inner circle. According to that rumor, Princess Eugénie is the new key seeker. She is currently in Florence, where she’s visiting all sorts of museums, private collections, and friends’ homes. She’ll even meet up with Prince Leonardo of Bourbon, a disgraced friend of the royal family whom they currently suspect of working for his uncle Kurt. The idea is to maintain a degree of uncertainty in our enemies’ minds.
Hopefully, all this effort will keep Kurt and his sidekicks busy chasing shadows while I hunt for the key.
