Friday, noon
Saleem was traveling on a false passport, under the name Rolph Heyer. It was easier to fool the border guards than customs agents in the airports, which was the purpose of driving across the border.
The border crossing was backed up, cars slowing to nearly a standstill. He lowered his window and breathed in the chill air. He felt good. He was close now. So close.
When asked for his papers, he handed them over with a smile. Image was everything. He was relaxed and capable. Nothing to fear. His face was not known to be a part of any criminal enterprise. Rolph Heyer was a businessman, a careful, cunning businessman, and entirely legitimate.
A few moments later, the car thoroughly looked over, his passport swiped through the reader, he was given the go-ahead to move forward.
The rest of the journey was uneventful, and four hours later, as he pulled off the highway into the streets of Geneva, his mobile rang. Colette. At last.
“Tell me you have good news.”
“Yes, sir, I do. I have received the call. The package has been secured.”
He relaxed. “Excellent, Colette. Merci.”
“Do not thank me yet. We lost Rathbone.”
“Was he taken or killed?”
“He is dead, sir. I was told there was no way to recover the body, but there is also no way to discover his identity, since he was never in the system, either in Europe or in the U.S. He is not a liability.”
Lanighan sighed. Rathbone was one of his favorite henchmen, lethal as a rattlesnake and twice as fast, but smart, never even arrested. He’d been with Saleem for many years, always willing to do anything he asked.
“This is a terrible loss. But it is the price we must pay. Many men’s lives have been sacrificed in the pursuit of the Koh-i-Noor. He will be remembered as a hero.” The eulogy finished, he said sharply, “Now, where is the package secured?”
“In the warehouse, in Gagny.”
He hung up the phone, quite satisfied.
There was too much at stake to take the risk of allowing Kitsune to double-cross him. Too much money, too many variables. She’d been sloppy, letting the FBI close in on her as she was leaving America. Showing off, no doubt, proving the Fox was smarter than the world’s best law enforcement.
He was a patient man. Yes, he was. The power he would wield was worth waiting for. But he would have to be very careful and not take any chances, because now he had another variable in the mix.
Lanighan had a room booked at the Beau-Rivage, at the edge of Lake Geneva across from the Jet d’Eau fountain, as their plans dictated. He checked in, took his bag to his elegant suite, and went out on the balcony, watching the huge plume of water rising nearly five hundred feet in the air.
His meeting with Kitsune was in two hours. She was sure to be nearing Geneva at this point, and he would soon hold the Jewel of the Lion itself in his hands. He shivered with excitement, with the promise of what was to come.
He closed the doors to the balcony and ordered raclette and champagne to be delivered, then took a scalding hot shower. He dressed carefully, then went out onto the balcony to enjoy a cocktail while he waited.
Mont Blanc glistened in the distance, and Saleem had a rare moment of peace. He was alone, he was about to fulfill his lifelong dream, and he had insurance to assure the smooth transition of the Koh-i-Noor diamond into his possession, for a much smaller price than he’d bargained.
Of course, at his death, his father was comforted by the knowledge his son would carry on the search, as he’d done for his father, and his father before him, and he’d suggested Saleem use the Fox, and yet, he wondered again, as he had many times over the past two years, why hadn’t his father told him the Fox was a beautiful, soulless woman?