The Quick Brown Fox

by Stan Mason

  The entrepreneur opened the top drawer of his desk to produce two bundles of banknotes with blue bands fixed around them. ‘Here you are,’ he said softly. ‘Two grand. Get to it and let me know how you’re progressing in one month’s time from today. Is that clear.’

  ‘I see that you trust me,’ stated the jeweller with a smile on his face as he took the money,

  ‘You bet your life on it!’ returned Mr. G. menacingly which made the other man realise the danger if he tried to double-cross the entrepreneur. These people played in the big game... they played it for keeps. There was never any question that someone would double-cross them and get away with it.

  He left the office and Jake stared at his superior with a strange expression on his face.

  ‘Do you think you’ll really do well out of this and come away with a clean sheet?’ he asked.

  Mr. G. puffed on his cigar and watched the smoke circle to the ceiling. ‘Why not? Four Faberge eggs in one year to private collectors. If Taffler’s as good as he thinks he is, no one’s going to question any purchase of that kind. They’ll all believe they own the real things. I have every confidence in the man.’

  ‘Well I’ll leave you,’ the ex-convict told him. ‘It’s Wednesday. You’ll have your assignation with Rose.’

  ‘How did you know about that?’ There was an element of anger in Mr. G’s voice.

  ‘Nothing gets past me,’ declared his subordinate, biting his tongue for having mentioned it.

  ‘Well she’s viewing houses this evening. She wants to get away from the place where she lived with her idiotic husband. Anyway it’s none of your business. Get out of here!

  Jake left with a smile on his face. He had bearded the lion in its den and that was good enough for him. His henchman was waiting for him in the reception area below and there were a number of people he had to visit who owed money to the loan sharks.

  Mr. G. puffed on his cigar and took a sip of whisky from the glass. He had weighed up the situation and was satisfied that he could be on a winner. The question was how much would he charge his clients for each copy of a Faberge Egg. A quarter of a million pounds... half a million... it might even bigger at the end of the day.

  He produced a black diary from his middle drawer and stared at the telephone numbers listed there, choosing one of them. Then he lifted the telephone receiver and dialled a number.

  ‘Sir Alec, please,’ he asked the butler who answered his call. He waited for a few moments until the man answered. ‘Sir Alec,’ he continued. ‘We are Shaply and Crown, dealers in exquisite jewellery for royalty. Most of our items are bought by people in Suadi Arabia. To cut to the chase, we wll shortly be in possession of an original Faberge Egg. Would you be interested in purchasing it?’

  ‘I’d certainly consider it if the price was right,’ came the answer.

  The one-armed entrepreneur smiled to himself with satisfaction. He knew he was on to a good thing. He was going to make a great deal of money out of this idea and he had Rose Harris to thank for it.’

  Chapter Eighteen

  The spirit of the Cosmic Joker raised its ugly head once more a few day’s later. In its most converse fashion, it created a situation that in normal circumstances would be totally unreasonable and completely unpredictable. The activity that took place was so absurd that no one could have ever conspired to establish of it, either in fact or in fiction, because it was totally beyond all logic and reason.

  Don and Anya had arranged to eat that evening at a high-classed restaurant and they sat facing each other at a table for two, eyeing each other as two lovers in complete silence before the waiter arrived with the menus. At that particularly moment, nothing was untoward and they soon started to talk amiably, passing the time with commonplace chatter as they listened to soft music playing in the background.

  ‘This is a really nice place,’ uttered Anya, looking around at some of the ornate décor which adorned the interior of the restaurant.

  ‘I’ve never been here before,’ responded Don casually. ‘In fact, owing to my previous situation, I’ve never been anywhere before.’

  There was a long pause as she decided to venture into new ground. ‘Knowing your disposition, what was your feeling with regard to women?’ she asked inquisitively trying to reach inside the head of the man.

  ‘Women!’ he guffawed pitifully. ‘Well, as you know, no woman would look at me twice. I was so fat and ugly they didn’t want to know me. But I did have a crush on one of them although she never knew about it. She was a girl in my class at school by the name of Zelda.’

  ‘How strong was this crush?’ she asked with a slight smile touching her lips. ‘I mean was she pretty?’

  ‘Well not particularly as a schoolgirl of course but I couldn’t seem to get her out of my mind. She blossomed later on of course and she turned out to be quite beautiful. She married at an early age and had a daughter but the marriage went sour and she divorced her husband. I arranged to meet her once. It was so embarrassing. I dressed up as Father Christmas because I was so ugly I couldn’t face her head on. It was a terrible moment in my life... one that still haunts me. I met her recently at that school reunion. Somehow, I’ve managed to get over her although she was my first love. My first unrequited love.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘Well I don’t know how many unrequited loves lie ahead of me,’ he retorted with a grin on his face, although he still felt ashamed at having performed as Father Christmas when he had arranged to meet Zelda.

  She took his hand over the table and stared directly into his eyes. ‘Do you think of her when you look at me?’ she enquired, hoping that his reply would be negative.

  Of course not,’ he confirmed strongly. ‘She’s out of my mind forever. I never think about her at all. What about you?’

  ‘No,’ she told him frankly. ‘I was too wrapped up with trying to find a job. In any case, I lived with my parent and they were very strict. I think any boyfriend would have had to be exceptional to even take me out on a date.’

  ‘What a pair we were,’ stated Don with the element of a smile touching his lips. ‘Neither of us really enjoying the sweet smell of youth.’

  ‘I didn’t say there was no enjoyment. I kept on studying in the hope of being employed as a scientist which eventually worked. I used to go out at weekends with my parents to the countryside or the beach.’

  He was about to continue the conversation when he saw a woman looking at him through the front window of the restaurant. He stared back wondering why she was paying him so much attention and, to his horror, she entered and walked up to him at his table.

  ‘Don!’ she gasped. ‘My wonderful old lover Don! Fancy bumping into to you again after all this time. I can hardly belief it!’’

  He stared at her in confusion for he had never laid eyes on the woman before. He stared at her closely noting that she was well-dressed in a lovely black frock with a low cut front, acutely showing the top part of her bosom, while her shoulders were covered by a short black jacket, and she looked exceedingly smart wearing high-heeled shoes. Her figures was slim, she quite attractive and, much to his dismay, she seemed to know him very well.

  ‘At last I’ve caught up with you. How are you, you old devil?’ she asked audaciously with a broad grin on her face. He simply stared at her not knowing what to say. ‘You remember me. You couldn’t forget me! Eloisette McCorquodale. It’s quite a mouthful, isn’t it?’

  ‘I’m afraid you’re mistaken madam,’ exclaimed the scientist as he began to blush with the embarrassment. ‘You’ve got the wrong person.’

  ‘Nonsense, Don!’ she continued unabated, taking a chair from the next table and sitting down next to him. ‘You used to call me El. You can’t have forgotten!’’

  ‘No... you’ve made a mistake,’ he bleated feeling his temper rising. The woman was
suddenly becoming a pest and ruining his whole evening with Anya. ‘I’m not the person you’re looking for. Will you kindly leave us alone?’

  The woman turned to Anya shaking her head slowly. ‘Don’t worry dear,’ she said easily. ‘I won’t interfere with your plans. You can sleep with him tonight. He’s a real Casanova, I can tell you.’

  ‘I’ve never seen you before,’ insisted Don angrily.

  ‘ Where did you meet him?’ asked Anya suddenly becoming suspicious that Don might have been playing a double game

  ‘We met at Jordan’s party and afterward went up to the bedroom. Boy can he make love! I tell you you’re in for a terrific night dear.’

  ‘I don’t know anyone called Jordan,’ uttered the scientist knowing his comment to be true.

  ‘You’re joshing me,’ countered the woman with a smile on her face. ‘Of course you remember Jordan. No one could forget him You used to go out to the night clubs together. Mind you, just after the party, he was arrested for dealing in drugs and went to prison.’

  Silence reigned few moments and Don wished that the woman would leave the restaurant after admitting that she had made a mistake but it didn’t happen that way.

  ‘Let me see your hands,’ she said, grasping them so that she could examine the carefully. ‘Yes,’ she remarked ‘They’re the smooth hands that ran over my naked thighs to excite me so much.’

  ‘Don’t be disgusting’ he chided irately.

  ‘I love you when you talk dirty!’ she responded.

  ‘I wasn’t talking dirty!’ he told her resentfully.

  ‘Why don’t we make it a threesome tonight? It would be such fun!’

  Go away!’ shouted Don so loudly that the other diners in the restaurant turned to look in his direction.

  ‘That night we spent together was so fantastic,’ continued the woman ignoring his command. ‘I’ve been searching for you everywhere over the last two years. At last I’ve found you.’ She turned her attention to Anya for a moment. ‘I tell you what, dearie. Lend him to me for tonight I’ll pay for your taxi home.’

  ‘You’re outrageous!’ castigated the scientist angrily. ‘Absolutely outrageous!’

  ‘Look at those beautiful lips,’ she went on regardless. ‘Give me a kiss, Don, she won’t mind. Just tell her you don’t mean it.’

  He reached into his pocket and produced his wallet. Opening it, he took out a photograph and laid it on the table.

  ‘See that,’ he told her. ‘It was me up to six months ago.’

  She picked it up and stared at it before placing it back on the table again. ‘Who is that guy? He’s as ugly as sin.’

  ‘As I said. That was me.’

  ‘I don’t buy it Don. You’re trying to fool me. It’s someone else.’

  ‘No... I’m telling you... it was me.’

  She looked at him closely ignoring all that he was saying to her. ‘Do you ever think about that night. It was super. You carried me over the threshold of the room onto the bed. We undressed so slowly and then we made violent passionate love. That feeling stayed in my mind. I’ve always thought of you as my Casanova. You’re such a great lover.’ She turned her attention again to Anya. ‘It’s something you’ll find out tonight dear and you’ll be sent to Paradise. No one can beat his foreplay. I know. I experience it. He’s a master!’

  ‘Will you keep your voice down please,’ insisted the scientist.

  ‘He’s a wag, isn’t he!’ guffawed Eloise to Anya. ‘He’s not really that sensitive, you know.’

  ‘When did you say all this happened?’ enquired Anya trying to get to the truth.

  ‘About two years ago, but it was so sensual, so terrific, it still remains in my mind.’

  ‘Two years ago,’ repeated Anya thoughtfully. ‘I think you should listen to him, He’s telling you the truth. You’ve got the wrong man.’

  ‘And how would you know that?’

  ‘Because I knew what he looked like a few months ago. I work with him so I should know.’

  The woman took another look at Don’s face. ‘No... I never forget a face. And I can prove it.’

  Don looked at her strangely. ‘How can you do that?’

  ‘By the eagle tattooed on your chest.’

  ‘I don’t have an eagle tattooed on my chest,’ he said rejecting her claim.

  ‘ A large one in blue. I couldn’t forget that. Come on, show me.’

  ‘I’ll do no such thing,’ he reacted.

  At that point, even Anya was confused as to why he should refuse to show his chest. After all, whether he was guilty or innocent, it would be proved instantly. ‘I don’t think you have a choice Don. Show her your chest.’

  He hesitated for a short while and then reluctantly opened his shirt to show them his chest. Both women stared hard at it but there was no figure of an eagle there.

  ‘You’ve had it removed!’ declared Eloisette sharply.

  ‘I’ve done no such thing,’ remonstrated the scientist. ‘It was never there. I told you. You’ve made a mistake. I’m not the man you’re looking for!.

  ‘What about the birthmark on your thigh,’ she went on. ‘The one shaped like a lion. You couldn’t have removed that. Let me have a look!’

  ‘Don’t even go there, madam!’ chided Don extremely sharply. There was no way that he was going to do what she asked. Not in a million years and Anya would not expect him to do so.

  This had the desired effect as Eloisette sat back for a moment to reflect the situation. ‘Well if you’re not him, you look so much like him.’

  ‘There’s nothing I can say or do about that,’ retorted Don, believing that he was winning the argument. ‘Now will you go away and leave us alone please. We’re trying to have a pleasant evening together.’

  The woman stood up and replaced the chair at the next table. ‘I’m not convinced, you know. Two people can’t look exactly the same unless they Siamese twins.’

  ‘Go away!’ he persisted, waving his hand to induce her to leave.

  She shook her head slowly still believing that he was the man with whom she had slept with two years earlier. However, having been rejected, there was no point in arguing her case so she turned and left. A few moments later Don breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in his seat. He had been extremely embarrassed by the woman especially as he was trying to impress Anya, and he wondered what his dining companion thought about the unwarranted onslaught, Anya was also relieved afterwards. It had all happened so quickly that she didn’t know what to .believe. After all, the woman had called the man Don which was his name. She was certain that she recognised him without any hesitation and that they had enjoyed a one-night stand together. An eagle on his chest? Well that was proof that she had the wrong man. Don’s chest was hairy but white without any suggestion of a tattoo. In any case, he had looked so different six month earlier let alone two years ago.

  ‘You thought she was telling the truth at first, didn’t you?’ he challenged after they were alone.

  ‘I didn’t know what to think,’ she confided. ‘It all happened so quickly but I’m glad it’s been cleared up. What’s it like to be called a Casanova?’

  ‘Don’t you star!!’ he chided gently.

  ‘She said you used to call her El.’

  ‘Now you’re teasing me!’ he accused smoothly. ‘It couldn’t have possibly have been me and you know it. In any case, she’s not my type,’

  ‘All cats are grey in the dark,’ she said jokingly.

  ‘Very funny!’ he commented brusquely. It was then that he looked up to see the woman staring directly at him from outside the window of the restaurant. It was quite clear that she was still convinced that he was the man who had seduced her at Jordan’s party and she was unwilling to believe the proof that he wasn’t the man for whom she was search
ing.

  After a short while she vanished and Don sat back exhaling deeply. He had wanted to play the field with women but having one of them demanding to restore a seductive relationship was no longer on his agenda. It was Anya with whom he wanted to be. His feelings for her had started to go so deeply inside him that he had eyes for no other woman. Strangely enough, the wheel had turned. He was now in a position to play the field if he wanted to in his present handsome form. His main concern, however, was the fear of losing the woman from Samarkand. He had now become besotted by her and his main hope was that she felt the same way about him.

  ‘She’s clearly got the hots for you,’ continued Anya, teasing him further.’Well the feeling’s not reciprocated,’ he returned bluntly.

  ‘I bet you wish you had a reputation like your counterpart.’

  ‘I don’t need a reputation. Not when I have you.’

  ‘Are you trying to mix business with pleasure. I mean we are colleagues at work.’

  ‘Shut up!’ he said softly, taking her hands across the table. Then he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.

  At that moment the waiter appear holding the menus and he coughed lightly to attract their attention. They both looked up and burst into laughter. The evening was going to turn out even better than he thought despite the intervention of Eloisette McCorquodale. Indeed the name was a real mouthful. No wonder the Don who had seduced her so wonderfully simply called her El.

  ***

  After David Coleman had told his contacts that the hydrogenetics test had failed, he believed that it was the end of the project and that it had been laid to rest. Little did he know what was in store for him because the end result was going to be anything but pleasant for him in any sense of the word. People who had become investors in the scheme were hardly pleased to learn, after such a short period of time, that their money had been lost, and even worse was the fact that the fortune which had gleamed in their eyes on in the near future had disappeared over the horizon for ever. The pyramid of any confidence operation normally ran from the top downwards. However on this occasion, demands were made from investors who felt that they had been defrauded at the bottom end of the scheme. Consequently when the news became common knowledge that the scheme was defunct, a number of investors got together to form a group in an attempt to get their money back. It wasn’t long before they discovered that the person who had created the pyramid was David Coleman and that he was responsible initially for running the scheme It was not surprising therefore that they descended on Roy Coleman’s house in droves in a very short period of time demanding to see the man who had defrauded them of their savings. David’s father tried to stop them from storming the place. About a hundred of them stood in the driveway making great noises of protest, refusing to allow anyone in or out of the property until their demands were satisfied. As they made the raged angrily with the bit between their teeth, they began to interfere with the cars in the driveway despite the fact that they claimed that the protest was a peaceful one. In fact it looked as though it could turn out to be quite the opposite. After they had remonstrated for a short while at the front of the house Roy Coleman held up his hands to maintain silence, insisting that they appoint a leader with whom his son could negotiate. Within a short while, two men came forward to present themselves and the three of the went into the house where David Coleman was laying on the settee reading a book on literature as though nothing was happening outside.