Requiem for Betrayal by Ephraim

Author:Ephraim [Ephraim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781632996725
Published: 2023-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 40

RAMBOUILLET, APRIL 20, 1973

The tree line viewed from Antoine d’Arvor’s poolside terrace glowed green in the late afternoon rays of a beautiful spring sunset. There was nothing to suggest the arrival of a thunderstorm that was forecast for later in the evening. The birds and the bees doing their thing provided the comforting background soundtrack for a moment of perfect calm. Antoine was not calm. He fingered the crystal tumbler filled to the brim with pastis, water, and ice. Pastis was something he loved but drank only in the privacy of his personal quarters. It was, after all, a peasant’s drink, a southern peasant’s drink. His love of peasantry pursuits had troubled him in the past. Noblemen should love noble pursuits. Of course, if you went back far enough, most noblemen could be traced back to murderous warriors, connivers, brigands, and those rich enough to purchase a title. So maybe there was nothing to worry about. Just not a good idea to let others know.

D’Arvor had insisted that Pomero meet with him in Paris. He insisted because the operation was hitting some turbulence that had put Pomero’s beloved daughter in peril. What troubled him was that Pomero came prepared to spend a long time in France. It troubled him beaucoup. The old man never stayed away from his lair without a reason. Here he was in Fontainebleau with a full retinue of servants, accountants, and henchmen. He was here for the long haul. The question was why? What was he doing here? Security had been tightened, and Yolanda was safe. Anyway, if Yolanda was the main worry, Pomero would have simply pulled her out of the equation and sent her home. It couldn’t be linked to the ongoing arms deal, either. Neither he nor d’Arvor could be linked to that. All the equipment had been purchased through third parties. Although it was more expensive that way, it meant that the purchases couldn’t possibly be traced back to him. Yolanda had been extremely careful to hold the funds in offshore accounts with shell companies that she then converted to cash to pay off the third-party purchasers. The money trail from her father to the offshore shell companies was kept secret even from him. Only Yolanda had that information.

D’Arvor’s only link to the operation was that his transport company was handling the delivery of the arms. It was the third-party purchasers, however, who chartered the planes and handled the logistics. He was not personally involved. His offices around the world booked the transactions. Of course, he knew about each and every transaction and he monitored them all closely through his worldwide offices. For the moment, most of the equipment was stored in secure warehouses in Belgium and the North of France. The last delivery was the most difficult and most risky—the armored vehicles—but he had that under control.

D’Arvor was back to the question of why old man Pomero was in France. Neither he nor Pomero cared about the ultimate success of the operation.

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