The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle

Author:Peter Mayle [Mayle, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780307962874
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2014-05-12T12:00:00+00:00

Francis Reboul was regaining his spirits after the worry and irritation caused by Vronsky’s behavior. A couple of days had passed without incident, and without any sign of his being followed. Life seemed to have returned to normal, with Elena and Sam’s hunt for an apartment a pleasant distraction.

The blessed relief came to an end over drinks that evening, when Sam broke the news that he had heard back from his spy on Wall Street. “Gail just called,” he said. “I don’t know how she did it, but she managed to cut through all the offshore crap and fake trusts, and now we know who owns Escargot Investments.” He took a deep breath. “I’m afraid, as we suspected, that it’s Vronsky. Which means, I guess, that it was probably him who had you followed.”

Sam saw Reboul’s face tighten, the lines on either side of his mouth becoming deeper and more prominent, his face a mask of anger. Pulling himself together with a visible effort, he said, “I’d like to go through everything that’s happened, right from the beginning.” He looked at his watch, and swore. “I have an appointment this evening. Sam, could we talk first thing tomorrow?”

The morning saw Reboul still tense, a tension mixed with anger that only grew as he and Sam went over the events of the past few days, from the strafing by helicopter to Vronsky’s performance at the charity dinner, his appearance the following day in Reboul’s driveway, and his likely involvement in having Reboul’s car followed. Sam made an effort to put the situation into perspective.

“Look, he’s at best a goddam nuisance and at worst a dangerous weirdo, but he hasn’t broken any laws. All the police can do is keep an eye on him from a distance.”

Reboul paced up and down, fists clenched. “I’ve had enough,” he said. “I want to have it out with him, tell him to his face that if he doesn’t leave me alone there will be consequences.”

Sam shook his head. “Sorry, Francis, but that’s a lousy idea. All you’ll do is make him more determined. I’ve met guys like him before, and they don’t give up easily. Also, don’t forget that at least three people who got in his way died in pretty suspicious circumstances.” Sam went over to Reboul and put an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “Believe me, this isn’t the time to jump in and hope for the best. You know,” Sam went on, “at the moment, Vronsky knows more about you than you know about him. It might be useful, for instance, if we knew how long he plans to stay in Marseille. Judging by his record, he’s probably less of a problem when he’s close than when he’s away. What do you think?”

“Sure. The more you know about your enemy the better. But we can hardly call him up and ask him.”

“Well,” said Sam, “I know someone who can. Our favorite journalist.”

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