by L. B. Simon
"What about Papa’s office, the cabinet that is always under lock. What is he hiding in there?" Mélisande asked, her expression thoughtful.
"I’m not sure… But now that you mention it, my curiosity is peaked!" Samuel grimaced. "I wish I could break that lock somehow…"
"There are better ways to get into locked places than breaking locks!" Savy smirked. "Ever picked a lock?"
Chapter 35
"Hey, just because I’m Roma doesn’t mean I am a career criminal!" Samuel retorted in an offended tone.
"I was just asking! No need to bite my head off," Savy hissed. "In this case, the picks are out of question, but I do have a gadget for you. It’s not fool proof and doesn’t always work, but it’s worth the try. I’ll be back in a minute."
When she returned, Savannah pulled out a small device from her back pocket. She flipped a metal rod out from its side and held it up.
"This goes all the way into the lock," she instructed. "You see these ridges? These are pins. Push this button and the pins will play around until the correct combination is found and the lock is opened. To lock it close, you press this button. Now, where are the keys for the stairs you mentioned earlier?"
"I like this!" Samuel couldn’t mask his admiration. Then as Savy cleared her throat, he pulled out his key ring. "Here; I got both sets." Samuel glanced at Mélisande. "I removed yours before Fifi got her hands on it." He held up the two mortice keys between his fingers.
"Can I borrow one?" Savy pulled out a small box from her other pocket. "And can you wait twenty minutes?"
"Sure, I guess. But not longer, as I have to be back at the house soon."
"Perfect," she said as she opened the box, pushed the key into the soft material that lined the inside, then shut the lid for a few seconds. Once she freed the key, she handed it back to Samuel. "You need to hide the originals. I shall be back soon!"
"I ordered breakfast!" Vlad exclaimed jovially as Sasha wheeled in a cart and Savy left the room. "Let’s eat!"
Everyone sat eating croissants and drinking hot chocolate or coffee, making small talk. Savy came back a short while later, the box fastened with elastic bands in her hand, and took a seat at the table. Samuel wondered what she was up to. Her phone beeped ten minutes later.
"Ah!" Savy began undoing the ties on the box, opening it and pulling out a key, identical to the one he gave her, except for the part, where she had altered the bit. "This you can add to your key ring. They will have a hard time opening the lock with this." She smiled angelically. "And here is a camera." She handed him a small rectangle, barely larger than a matchbox, that appeared to be a key fob at a first glance. "Open this part, and use the green button to take the photo; just in case you find something worth sharing in the locked cabinet. Do not remove anything, understood? And wear gloves!"
"Thank you!" Samuel nodded, reattaching the new key and pocketing the camera. "I shall go then. Thank you for breakfast and for keeping my niece safe. I truly apologize for my behavior earlier."
"It’s forgotten." Aidan waved it off.
"I will walk you to the door." Mélisande stood up passing her arm through her uncle’s and they walked slowly to the entrance. "Please be careful!"
"You too! There is a warrant out for your arrest; be on guard!"
"I know," Mélisande nodded.
"Can you trust these people? Maybe they are behind all this, and this is just an elaborate scam to rip you off…"
"I doubt it." Mélisande stopped by the door and leaned against the wall.
"Yeah, that would be too crazy; you are right. Take care!" He hugged and kissed her.
Mélisande released his hand reluctantly, not wanting him to leave her. Once the door closed behind Samuel, she faced the living room and watched the group gathered at the table. The realization that she had no other choice but to trust them, made her heart ache.
Half-heartedly Mélisande went back to her seat. Now, even more so, that she had seen Samuel, she felt out of place in the group. She forced herself to smile and eat, hoping that some updates would be shared. She did not have to wait long. Aidan filled the crew in on what Samuel had said.
"Isa, what do you have?" Aidan asked.
"I researched Adeline and Karine’s deaths last night, and it is pretty much what Samuel told you. Karine was prescribed sleeping pills due to stress induced insomnia, but there were no signs of depression… Still, they had written it off as suicide, while Adeline’s death was ruled an accident. Nothing was found to prove otherwise, but it was investigated initially as murder. There is nothing else available; the deaths occurred too long ago."
"Vlad, what is up with the media?" Aidan nodded gratefully to Isa.
"The warrant for Mélisande’s arrest has been leaked. It is front page news this morning."
"Anything of value to us floating out there?" Aidan tightened his jaw in frustration.
"Not really. Lots of gossip and speculation. But there is talk of the bank and earrings too. As the press put it: it’s someone ‘close to the family’ that is keeping them in the loop."
"Perfect!" Aidan’s tone was heavy with sarcasm. "What are the odds that whoever is feeding the media info, lives right under Mélisande’s roof?"
"I reached out to my contacts, but there is no word yet on the streets about the jewelry."
"Thanks, Vlad! Someone give me good news! Phil?"
"Sorry mate, no luck on my side. I can’t find any loopholes, Mélisande is going to lose her home and wealth." Philip rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding Mélisande’s gaze.
"I got something!" Savy called, brightening with victory. "I tracked the accounts to which the money goes to. It’s in Mélisande and François’s names; Mélisande Belmont and F.C. Renaud."
Aidan glared at his sister.
"What? I never said that I had good news! Just that I got something," Savy shrugged.
"F.C. Renaud?" Mélisande’s body tensed.
"Yep, that’s your fiancé, right?" Savy watched the heiress as if the case had been catapulted forward.
"No, it is Frederik Charles Renaud… as in my father." Everyone stared at Mélisande, jaws dropping.
"Holy cow, did you just stopped calling him papa?" Savy remarked.
"Shush!" Aidan reprimanded his sister. "Your father’s last name is the same as your fiancé’s?" Aidan turned stunned eyes on the heiress.
"Yes; that is how our fathers became friends when they met in school; they pretended to be lost brothers."
"I see," Aidan glanced back at Savannah. "And where is that account?"
"Sunny Caribbean! The Cayman Islands."
"All right, what else do you have on that account, and how much money is there?"
"It was opened twelve years ago, and it has eight million euros on it." Savy continued and all the blood seemed to drain from Mélisande’s face. "There are different amounts going in, but they are consistent. Sometimes lump sums are deposited, really large ones." Savy stretched out the word large.
"Can you put an alert on this account. I am especially interested in any withdrawals."
"Sure thing, Ace!" Savy nodded. "But I can tell you right now that in the past decade absolutely no withdrawals were made, only deposits."
"Okay, see if you can track where the money is from. The fact that the account is in Belmont’s name doesn’t necessarily mean that he is behind this. Someone else could be using his name to get access to the money." Aidan added for Mélisande’s benefit. "Anything else?"
"Well, you are eager to get this done," Savy noted, but Aidan speared her with a look. "Okay, Ace! I was bored, so I decided to hack James Ward’s database. The dude is anal about keeping pristine paperwork, online of all places. It was a challenge, but his security is no match for me. After poking around, I found an unpatched web server and managed to get in. And you will never guess whom I found on his client list." Savy paused for a heartbeat. "Céline Blanche!"
"Céline has a vault?" Mélisande’s eyebrows shot up.
; "No, she has a safe; a Larson 3000!"
Philip let out a low whistle.
"Isn’t this the safe that offers a wide range of custom features?" Vlad looked at Aidan who confirmed with a nod. "Why would a little heiress want one of those?" Vlad frowned.
"And the best part is, she got it two weeks before work began on your vault!" Savy glanced at Mélisande, triumph in her eyes. "Do you get it? Céline is in on it!"
Mélisande was thoughtful for a long moment.
"Tell me; if that Cayman Islands account is in my name; can I empty it?" She stared at Aidan.
The room burst out in laughter.
"I do not want the money; you can keep it all! I just want… I do not want whoever is behind all this to have any of it!"
"Oh, my God! Ace, we got to keep her! We got a bloodthirsty Lioness in our midst! I almost, almost, feel bad for the sons of bitches who were dumb enough to cross our Lioness!" Vlad wiped tears off his face.
"All right! All right! Order in the room!" Aidan too had trouble stopping himself from laughing. "I think it is a very good idea, actually. Teach them a lesson! I like that."
"Then I want to hire you." Mélisande gazed at Aidan, storms raging in her eyes. "I want you to help me get even with whoever is behind this."
"Mélisande…" Aidan’s voice softened.
"I will have money, we will get it from that damned account, and like I said, I want none of it. It will be your payment for services rendered." There was a shadow of despair in her gaze. "Please…"
"Let’s talk about this later, shall we? My crew and I are definitely at your service, but the payment, we will come to an agreement once we get to that point." Aidan smiled reassuringly. "I think we are starting, to get somewhere here. Good work! I am very proud of all of you. This evening we will start mapping out surveillance. Vlad, can you recommend anyone for the job?"
"Sure thing. I have a few trusted men on standby, and of course, my Nikita will be helping you too!"
"Thank you! I will head in, see what is new at the station. Maybe Lachance had luck with the bank or Fifi," Aidan rose. "I will see you all later."
Chapter 36
"There you are!" Sasha smiled cheerfully, as she let herself in. "I got some more clothes for you. I came up last night but there was a weird vibe and you were in your room, so I thought better of it. Are you all right?" She sat down across from the heiress and studied her.
"I think today I am." Mélisande inhaled deeply. "I am on my own, but I am strong! Thank you for all you have done for me."
"Oh, stop it!" Sasha blinked tears away. "We are friends! You need someone; Mama and I are here for you! So is Isa! Savannah likes you too, though she is as cuddly as a cactus, sometimes. She tries to protect Ace. He got himself in a really bad situation a few years back, almost ended up behind bars because of a client. Savy is just scared of losing him."
Mélisande nodded, wondering what had happened to Aidan, but didn’t feel that it was her place to pry.
"If you are brave enough to get into that cart, you can go work in Mama’s kitchen. Being cooped up in here the whole day is no good!"
"Commandant Lachance forbade me to leave this room. There is a warrant for my arrest." Mélisande averted her gaze, disappointment filling her heart.
"I don’t know about any warrants for my cousin Anya!" Sasha got up and held out her hand. "You will be safe, I promise you. Here, let’s start with this bag. You can check the rest later. Everything is washed, and ready to wear." The bags were inside the hollow service cart. "Try these on!" Sasha picked a black pant and white blouse. "It is similar to our uniform. Mama will give you one if you want to go down regularly. And put on the hazel contact lenses; they should look nice on you."
Mélisande went into the washroom and put on the clothes. Sasha had a real talent for finding the perfect fit. The blouse and pants were comfortable and flattering. She slipped in the contact lenses and liked the look.
She brushed her hair out and applied some make-up as Sasha had shown her the day before. She loosened her shoulders as she had learned in acting class, fixed her mouth into an unnaturally wide grin, and stepped out of the bathroom.
"Good! Very good!" Sasha surveyed her critically. "You are a fast learner. Let’s see if you pick up Russian just as easily!" Sasha began talking in French with a heavy Russian accent and interjecting Russian words here and there. "You see, it is this easy! Let’s get you into the cart and let Isa know where you are, then we are good to start you on your first day of work. Horosho? Good? Yes?" Sasha scrunched her face as they left the room. "Have you ever worked?"
"No, this will be another first for me." Mélisande chewed her lip.
"Then this is going to be fun! Oh! I almost forgot! Wait here!" Sasha hurried back to Mélisande’s room, grabbed a small shopping bag, extracted a pair of black rimmed glasses, and threw the rest on the bed, before heading back to the living room. "These are for you!"
Mélisande slipped the glasses on and Sasha helped her into the tight space, before wheeling the cart into the hall and knocking on the door across.
"We are heading downstairs to the kitchen."
"We?" Isa lifted the flap and peeked at Mélisande. "Hey! You sure it’s wise, amiga? Ace will have my head for this if anything goes wrong!"
"He doesn’t need to know everything, and it is Mama’s orders. If I don’t comply she will have both of our heads…"
"You got a point there." Isa made a face, then covered Mélisande up. "Keep her safe! And hurry down!"
Mélisande was wheeled into a small space at the back of the kitchen. She was glad that the trip was short, and her joints protested as she freed herself from the confining space.
Veritas got down to work immediately, teaching Mélisande the art of chopping vegetables and preparing items that were needed by the cooking team. Few people came to this area, and they were always rushing in and out, paying no heed to the new girl.
Tension soon left Mélisande. She tried hard to copy the mother and daughter who indulged in heavy accents and other than cutting herself once at the beginning, the day went by smoothly.
Sasha wheeled her up at 6 p.m., to find a furious Savannah pacing the living room.
"Where in God’s name have you been? Are you like totally insane? You were told not to leave!" Genuine fear touched Savy’s face.
"I told Isa, that Mélisande was in the kitchen with us," Sasha said with irritation.
"What if someone saw her? Called the police? There is a warrant for her arrest!"
"Look at her Savy. No one would think of calling the police on her. Besides she was hidden in the back kitchen!" Sasha touched Savy’s hand reassuringly.
"Ace is going to kill me!"
"No, he won’t. Don’t tell him. Veritas will talk to him herself. This doesn’t have to be your problem. Show her, Mélisande, what you learned today."
Mélisande proceeded to talk with an accent and showed her new movements and posture.
"It’s good!" Savy admitted, begrudgingly.
"I will be okay, Savannah!" Mélisande reassured the younger woman. "I need this. I will need to be outside in the world eventually, I need to practice."
Savannah nodded, then abruptly changed the topic.
"I checked the account, the one in the Caribbean; the money has been coming from your account primarily. In case you wanted to know… I have some more info, but I will wait for Ace to get back. It’s just small stuff." Then the girl lowered her lashes. "I am sorry about how I treated you so far. I don’t hate you, you know…" Savy moved away suddenly uncomfortable.
"Thank you, Savannah. And I appreciate all your help!"
"All right, I will leave you two. I have a husband who is waiting for me." Sasha wiggled her fingers as she left.
"Hey!" Isa came out of Aidan’s room. "How was your day?"
"Prekrasno!" Mélisande said wonderful in an almost perfect Russian.
"Oooooh!" Isa beamed. "You go, girl! A Russian princess!" Isa hugged her, ju
st as Aidan walked in.
He raised an eyebrow seeing the silent, suddenly tense women staring back at him.
Chapter 37
"What is going on?" Aidan narrowed his eyes.
"The money in the Caribbean is from Mélisande’s account as well as a mysterious one that I am tracking now!" Savy chirped.
"I’ll pretend I did not notice you avoiding my question and leading me to think that there is something else going on."
"The oldest Renaud filed for bankruptcy five years ago; he had accumulated huge debt and bailed out on repaying it." Savy continued, becoming more animated with each word.
"No, not weird at all…" Aidan walked into the room and dropped onto the couch. "Okay, I will play along; how much debt are we talking about?"
"Six million. From all kinds of investment scams, primarily from Ponzi schemes, as far as I can tell." Savy sat down next to him, while Mélisande slipped into her room.
"Interesting. It is possible that the two men prey on the rich."
"And Céline is the next target," Savy remarked.
"Yes… I talked to Lachance; the bank manager claims that it was her boyfriend who came to pick her up, seen on the footage and is willing to take a lie detector test, but won’t give his name. And Fifi is mute, even lawyered up, seeing how she was a good Samaritan and now she is being treated as a suspect."
"The manager might be telling the truth, the guy is probably sleeping with her, seeing how she is willing to jeopardize her career for him." Isa tapped her nails against the arm of her chair.
"Yes, that was my hunch too." Aidan agreed. "So, so far, this is another dead end." Aidan glanced around. "Where is Mélisande?"
"In her room." Isa pointed to the door. "You should go talk to her. It’s not good to leave things like this between you two," she added, glaring at Savannah who was about to interject.
"I guess you are right." He went to the door and knocked. Having not heard an answer he opened the door carefully. "Mélisande?" He peered in.
