Gauguin Connection, The (18 page)

“Go back to the…” He grunted in frustration. “Oh, just let me do it.”

I watched bemused and a bit annoyed as he moved into my personal space and started tapping away on the two computers. I leaned away to give him more space, or rather to give myself more space.

“There!” Colin stared wide-eyed at my work laptop screen. “I knew it.”

I realised how disagreeable it was to be left out of someone’s line of thought. “Colin, please tell me.”

“I’m willing to bet my freedom that these bastards are using charity organisations to wash their dirty money.” Anger put a strain on his voice. How come a thief was getting angry at someone laundering money? My attention was brought back to the screens with him tapping lightly on one. “In these promotional brochures they state that three percent of the money changing hands will be donated to the Foundation for Development of Sustainable Education. What does this mean?”

“What does what mean?”

“Development of Sustainable Education? It seems like one of those silly names chosen to cover a multitude of sins.” He shook his head and changed the screen to show another brochure. On this one, he had to zoom in on the bottom left-hand corner to read the fine print. “The same here, although they don’t state the percentage.”

“How on earth did you notice that small writing?” I was in awe.

“I have a very practiced eye, Jenny.” His smile was pure evil. “It’s useful in my job.”

For the first time in my life I actually snorted. His job? The man did not have a job. Or did he? My thoughts were leading me to niggling suspicions about Colin and his so-called life of crime. The more time I was spending with him, the more convinced I became that he was not the criminal he had led me to believe.

“Jenny, come back to earth.” Colin touched my wrist lightly to get my attention. “What are you thinking?”

“That you…” I stopped myself just in time. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” He drew out the word with wariness in his voice and around his eyes. “Shall we see how many more charity connections we can find?”

I readily agreed and we divided the search areas. For the next half an hour we worked in silence, he on my work computer and I on the EDA computer. My eyes were growing wider in astonishment.

“What have you got so far?” he asked.

“I went through all the marketing for these cruises that I could find. At some point each one of the ten cruise ships advertised their three-percent donation to this Foundation. What did you find?”

“I did an internet search on the Foundation. It has quite an extensive website with loads of programmes listed.”

“Where are they based?”

“Patience, Jenny.” He smiled. “The charity was founded in Hungary nineteen years ago. At first it was purely a charity focussing on helping the disadvantaged by distributing food and other aid.”

“That was just after communism ended.”

“Yup. When Hungary joined the European Union in 2004, the Foundation immediately applied for EU funding and has expanded its work into the southern parts of Russia. There seem to be quite a few cross-border programmes with Russia as one of the partners.”

“See? Russia is not all bad.”

“We’ll just have to agree to disagree on this point. More about this foundation.” He pointed at the computer screen. At least this time he didn’t touch it. I was going to have to clean all my computer monitors tonight. Colin liked to touch everything. “Since it is such an old charity organisation, they have a number of high-profile individuals involved. You can look through all their programmes later, but the handful I’ve checked seems to be huge and complex. I’ve noticed that there are quite a few individuals donating large sums to this foundation too.”

“We need to check into all the Foundation’s finances. I’ll get Phillip to ask Manny to do that.”

Colin was looking at the gallery of photos from the Foundation’s website. There were photos of gala evenings with beautiful people in beautiful clothes, photos of keys to small houses being given to families, streets being renovated and more along that line. Most photos had descriptions of the events being shown, complete with the names of everyone in the pictures. My attention was caught by one of the photos. The muscles in my back tensed.

“Wait, go back.”

“Which one?”

“The previous gala photo.”

Colin clicked back two photos and looked at me. “Something I should zoom in on?”

“I’m looking at the names of the guests photographed.”

The script wasn’t big enough to read from where we were sitting. Colin moved in closer and started reading out loud. “Selina Kowalska, supermodel; Leon Hofmann, Deputy Chief of Staff, Eurocorps; Sarah Crichton, Head of the EDA; Tomasz Kubanov, philanthropist; Manfred Millard, Deputy Chief Executive for Strategy, EDA; Janus Kutor, actor.”

I gasped at the mention of Leon and Manny’s names being read out loud.

“Jenny, they’re all here. Manny, the head of the EDA, and this person from Eurocorps. There are simply too many people involved in this thing for it to be a coincidence.”

“I don’t believe in coincidences,” I said absently. My brain was on overdrive. “Leon Hofmann is Manny’s Eurocorps connection.”

“I beg your pardon?” Colin started to rise from his chair, but sat back down.

I repeated myself, much slower this time.

“Yet you don’t think Manny is involved?”

Even though I knew the answer, I still took time to think about it for the umpteenth time. “I’m as sure of him as I am of you.”

My answer brought an annoyed frown to Colin’s brow. “What does that mean?”

“I read you, Colin. Both you and Vinnie. If I were not convinced that you two intended no harm, I would never have allowed either of you in my life.” The rustle of newspaper being moved pulled my eyes to the living area. Vinnie was watching me with stunning intensity. “The same goes for Manny. I don’t know this Leon person, but I’m convinced that Manny is a good man. I might not like him, but I know that his interest in this case is pure.”

A look passed between the two men and I was convinced that it had something to do with Manny and Colin. I really wanted to find out what past those two shared. For now, my concern was this photo on my computer screen. “I’m meeting with Manny tomorrow and will ask him about this.”

“Forgive me if I don’t trust him at all.” Vinnie sounded put out.

“Why don’t you trust him, Vinnie?”

“Here it says that it was the annual Foundation ball two years ago. Give me a moment,” Colin interrupted. He gave Vinnie a warning glance, who responded by picking up the newspaper, pretending interest. Colin turned his attention back to the computer and opened another window to start a Google search. I decided to let the topic drop. For now. Vinnie, Colin and Manny’s past could wait.

“From what I can see here, this gala is quite the event every year. It’s reported in most of the important newspapers. All the major players in the EU community are invited. It used to be held in Budapest until seven years ago. Since then it’s been moved here.”

“Where here?” I moved closer to look at the screen.

“Here, as in Strasbourg. The last seven years the annual gala event has taken place in La Maison Russie. The address is in a very old, very rich area. Oh, my.” He looked surprised. “Not only do they usually have some popular musician entertain the guests, but they also have auctions. Art auctions.”

“No shit.” The newspaper lay forgotten on Vinnie’s lap. “Doesn’t La Maison Russie mean the Russian House?”

“Yup. Interesting, isn’t it?” Colin answered.

“Go back to the photo.” Something was bothering me. Colin changed screens and waited for further instructions. My mind was racing, trying to get to whatever was nudging my memory. “Read the names again. Only the ones that are not EU-related.”

“Selina Kowalska, supermodel; Tomasz Kubanov, philanthropist; Janus Kutor, actor.” Colin zoomed in on the photo. The supermodel was stunning in her beauty, and the actor was a good-looking middle-aged man. Kubanov’s face was mostly hidden by the supermodel’s hairdo.

“I don’t see anything strange.” My frustrated sigh was drowned by a hard, insistent knock at my front door. The instant change in both men was disconcerting. Vinnie’s face changed to a hardness that in all honesty scared me a little. I was glad he was on my side. Colin’s whole body became quiet, reminding me of a large cat watching its prey.

“Expecting someone, Jenny?” Even his voice was quiet.

“No.” I glanced at my watch. It was just past eleven. We had been working most of the afternoon and night.

“Take her into the back, dude. I’ll get the door.” Vinnie was already walking to the front door.

I was about to offer to see if I knew the visitor, but Colin touched my elbow, lifting me out of my chair. His touch was light, but firm. The fact that I didn’t mind being touched by him consumed my thoughts so much that I was surprised to find myself in my bedroom with Colin, who closed and locked the door.

Loud voices reached us through the bedroom door. I groaned out loud when I recognized the visitor’s voice and reached for the first lock. This was not going to be fun.

The sight that greeted me in the front of my apartment would have been comical, had it not been Phillip and Vinnie facing each other off. Literally. Vinnie’s body served as a human wall, preventing Phillip from entering my apartment. I had to stand to the side to see my boss and was surprised to witness a different side of the normally controlled corporate leader.

Phillip had pulled himself up to his full height, which meant that his nose reached Vinnie’s throat. My giant bodyguard had lowered his head and was standing nose to nose with my boss and friend who I had trusted more and for longer than anyone else.

“Let me in.”

“Nah, old-timer. You can just turn around and go back to listening to opera and smoking your pipe.”

Phillip’s eyes widened. Even I was taken aback that Vinnie would know about Phillip’s private habits. Had he spied on my boss?

“Where is she?” Phillip didn’t take his eyes off Vinnie.

“She’s where she is.” There was ice in Vinnie’s voice.

“I’m here, Phillip.” I stepped forward and glared at Vinnie. “Let him in.”

Vinnie didn’t move. He looked at Phillip for another threatening five seconds before he turned his eyes to me. “Are you sure about this, Jen-girl? He doesn’t seem very friendly.”

“He’s only responding to your animosity. This is my home and you will not treat my friends like this.” Looking up at Vinnie at this close proximity emphasised his head-and-a-half advantage over me. I lowered my voice and ordered Vinnie with as much authority as I could muster, “Let him in and be nice.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Vinnie stepped aside with a textbook insincere smile aimed at Phillip. “Please come in.”

Phillip did not look intimidated in the least. As a matter of fact, he looked taller than usual and much more forceful. This case was bringing out different sides to all of us. He ignored Vinnie as if he was the help and walked straight to me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” He glanced back where Vinnie was closing the door.

I was tempted to roll my eyes. “I’m fine, Phillip. Vinnie is my bodyguard.”

“
This
is your bodyguard?” Phillip’s voice raised.

This time I did roll my eyes. “Vinnie, meet Phillip. Phillip, Vinnie.”

The two men glared at each other. It was a fascinating study in male behaviour. Here were two alpha male personalities weighing the other’s threat to the territory. Were they primates in the jungle, they might have started beating their chests. Apparently Vinnie decided that Phillip had passed some kind of test, moved closer and held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

“I don’t know about that.” Even though Phillip took Vinnie’s hand in a quick shake, his rudeness took me aback. His corporate behaviour had always been smooth. Now he seemed much more on edge. “Are you a criminal?”

Vinnie’s entire expression froze. His neck muscles stiffened, his eyes were fixed on Phillip and his jaw muscles tightened. He addressed me without taking his eyes off my boss. “Are your friends always this rude, Jen-girl?”

“Enough. Both of you. If you can’t be civil to each other, you can both leave.” Really. I had had enough of this posturing and male intimidation. I turned away from the two men and started walking to my bedroom. Then I realised that Colin was most likely still in there, no doubt avoiding making his identity known to Phillip. The spare bedroom was invaded by Vinnie and my study had also been taken over by my two criminal protectors. Nowhere in my apartment was safe for me to go.

My indecision on where to go slowed my steps until I came to a standstill next to the dining room table. When Phillip spoke, his voice was a few feet behind me. “Genevieve, can we please talk?”

I turned around. Vinnie was still standing at the door, looking ready to physically remove Phillip from my apartment. The latter took a step closer, the forcefulness on his face replaced by concern. All this male silliness was because of concern. The behaviour of this gender was at times utterly ridiculous. I sighed.

“Let’s sit in the living area. Vinnie, would you give us some privacy, please?”

“I’ll make tea.” Vinnie walked past us to the kitchen and I knew that he was going to listen in on this conversation. There wasn’t going to be any privacy. I ushered Phillip towards the front door and into the living space to the right. As I settled into the sofa Vinnie had earlier occupied, Phillip tensed. He was looking around my apartment.

“You didn’t tell me that they brought so much destruction.”

I looked at the scratched furniture, my books that still needed to be properly arranged and the empty spaces where ornaments used to be. They were now somewhere in a garbage container. “My apartment was pretty well destroyed by the time they left. Vinnie and Colin cleaned up.”

Phillip threw a doubting look towards the kitchen. “He cleans?”

“Surprisingly well.”

He moved quietly to the sofa and sat down next to me, leaving enough space for my comfort. “Genevieve, this is turning out all wrong. I’m really worried.”

“We’ve been over this.” And I was bored having the same conversations all the time. “Can’t we just avoid this conversation and work on what is really important?”

“No.” His tone held a finality that made me sigh. We were going to have this conversation. Vinnie chose that moment to bring a tray with tea and cookies. He placed it on the coffee table and gave me a searching look.

“Thanks, Vinnie.” I made sure that my smile reached my eyes. He was annoying me, but his concern was sincere. “I’m okay for now.”

“You’ll shout if you need me.”

“It won’t be necessary.” The orbicularis oculi muscles around Vinnie’s eyes contracted to harden the expression in his eyes. I sighed for the eighth time. There was only one way to get rid of him. “Fine, I’ll shout if I need you.”

He gave Phillip a last unfriendly look and walked to the back of my apartment, towards my bedroom. I didn’t even want to think about him and Colin together in my sanctuary. Instead I got up and, after choosing my favourite Ella Fitzgerald CD, placed it in the player and turned the music louder than I usually would.

“I thought you trusted him,” Phillip said when I sat down.

“You mean the loud music?” When he nodded, I smiled. I poured us each a cup of tea and handed Phillip his before I took mine and settled into a more comfortable position. “I trust them both, but that doesn’t give them the right to listen in on my conversations.”

“What do you mean them?”

Oh, damn. I didn’t even try to lie. “Colin is in my bedroom.”

“They’re both here?” Phillip’s voice rose above the music and he inhaled deeply when I frowned at him. “I want to meet him.”

“I don’t think he wants to meet you. If he did, he would’ve been out here with Vinnie.”

“Genevieve, there are some things you don’t know.”

“There are a lot of things I don’t know.” For instance, how to build a computer virus. I also didn’t know all the species of animals on this planet of ours. Nor did I know who the most influential people in the fashion industry were. Until recently I hadn’t known about Kwaito, a music genre specific to South Africa.

“That’s not what I mean.” His sharp answer brought me back to the present conversation. “There are some things you don’t know about Colin.”

“I should think so. I’ve only known him for a short time.” The exasperated look in Phillip’s eyes gave me pause. I took a moment to absorb what he had said. “Do you mean that he might be pretending to be something he’s not?”

Phillip glanced towards my bedroom door and dropped his voice a few decibels. “I have discovered some things about him.”

I stopped him with my hand in the air. “I know that Colin has had a life of crime, Phillip. There is much about his… um… work that I find disconcerting, but he is a man I trust. He’s proven himself to me.”

“He is keeping things from you. He is—”

“No. I’m not going to argue any further with you about his involvement. Or Vinnie’s for that matter. They are helping me and I trust them. Let me rather tell you what we’ve discovered.”

After a few moments of Phillip searching my face for something, he conceded. “What have you found?”

I told him about the cruise ships, each belonging to a company, and the odd ownership thereof. All the while he listened intently, sipping his tea. Mine was getting cold. I also told him of the auctions on these ships and the legal gray area auctions at sea enjoyed, but it was the EU charity that really caught his attention.

“I’ve never heard of the Foundation for Development of Sustainable Education.”

“Well, it’s been around for almost twenty years.”

“And you say that the Foundation is connected to ten cruise ships.”

“That we have found so far.”

“I wonder if Manny knows about this.”

“He most definitely knows about the Foundation. He’s on a photo on their website. He attended a gala function and is on the photo with his friend, Leon Hofmann, the head of the EDA and also Tomasz Kubanov.”

“The Russian philanthropist?”

“You know him?” I asked.

“I only know of him. He’s Russia’s Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie,
Bono.”

“I don’t know who they are.”

“Of course you don’t.” Phillip smiled and was silent for a long time. “We’ll ask Manny about this tomorrow when we meet. I sent him your report and we can discuss it tomorrow, together with all this new information.”

I placed my untouched cup of tea on the coffee table and turned to Phillip. “Why did you come tonight?”

My question must have interrupted his thoughts, because he looked confused for a second. “Oh. Oh, yes! How could I have forgotten?”

“Forgotten what?”

He dug into the inner breast pocket of his suit jacket. “This.” He handed me a photo. “Danielle’s roommate, Anna… Anna…”

“Anna Paschal?” In my mind’s eye I could see the exam-stressed student in her messy apartment, worried about her roommate.

“Yes, her. Well, she came into the office this afternoon and brought this photo. She said that she had forgotten that Danielle had given it to her. It’s a photo of her and her boyfriend on the cruise where they met.”

I looked at the photo and saw a happy and very much alive Danielle smiling up at a good-looking man. He was tall, in his early thirties, with Mediterranean features. His facial expression immediately caught my eye. He was looking down at Danielle, his
orbicularis oculi
muscles tightened, exhibiting intent. What his intention was would be pure speculation, but sexual it was not. None of his other non-verbal cues communicated sexual interest. The rest of his body confirmed the intent showed by his constricted pupils.

His right hand on his hip, left arm draped over Danielle, and feet firmly planted were signs of a strong, territorial display. Nothing in his body displayed comfort or infatuation, whereas Danielle was clearly smitten. She was leaning into him, her arms thrown around his torso and her neck totally exposed while looking up at him. Where everything in her expression was soft, he was as hard as marble. Righteous indignation rose in me for the abuse of such innocent trust.

“What do you see?” Phillip’s voice reached me through the fog of the thousand words this picture was telling me.

“A girl who trusted a calculating, hard man. Do we know who he is?”

“Not yet. I scanned and emailed the photo to Manny. Hopefully one of their databases will identify this man.”

“If he’s the one who caused her death, I hope he spends the rest of his life in prison.” I looked up from the photo and stifled a yawn. This caused worry lines to crease Phillip’s brow and he stood up.

“You’re tired. Really, Genevieve, you need to take better care of yourself.” After a few more warnings from him to eat enough, rest and not go into the office too early, Phillip left. I made sure all the locks on the front door were in place and then turned the music down.

“You can come out.”

Immediately Colin and Vinnie exited my bedroom and made their way to the kitchen where I was putting the cups and saucers in the dishwasher.

“Loud music? Really, Jenny.” Colin sounded annoyed. I stood up from the dishwasher and was surprised to see real anger pulling at his facial muscles. He was standing in front of me, hands on his hips with his thumbs facing back, a clear communication that he was not pleased. “You told me that you trusted me.”

“I do.”

He moved closer, more confrontational, glaring down at me. “Then why the music?”

I sighed. “Colin, you don’t intimidate me with your dominant display of vexation.”

“My
domi—” His indignant response was interrupted by Vinnie’s laughter.

“Oh, that’s rich. Dude, she nailed you.” Vinnie was shaking with mirth. The corners of my mouth lifted in response. Not that I found anything funny. It was simply a pleasure to not be totally immersed by seriousness.

Colin didn’t seem to appreciate this moment as much. His brow was lowered and deep lines formed a frown of displeasure. Should I apologise?