Mrs DeSoto did not show irritation, she was far too well controlled for that. But Terry realised that he had only seconds to make his case.
"Madame, I appreciate your willingness to see me again. I have to confess that I was not entirely honest with you last time. May I now put all the cards on the table?"
She nodded wordlessly. He began:
"This concerns my wife, who was nearly killed by a gang operating inside one of the biggest groups in the defence industry. Based on her information the gang was rolled up, at least so the authorities believed, but Elizabeth thought differently. And then someone tried to assassinate her. We followed up on the traces we have and ended up at McCalls. She was acting as secretary to Mr Best, the consultant you may remember attended a board meeting a few weeks ago?"
She breathed deeply and sat back. "Yes, I do remember her. Her eyes gave her away, she noticed far too much. Go on."
Terry set out the facts, sparing no details. "Elizabeth believes your nephew is involved at some level. It is all going to come to a head in a few days, when we try to get Jessica out of there. There may also be drug money involved, we don't know what the drug people are doing about it."
Mrs DeSoto held up a hand and turned to her phone. "Cancel the next three appointments. Yes, I will make it up to them. Send in sherry and snacks. And no further disturbances."
She turned to Terry, made small talk until the door closed behind Timothy, then looked him in the eye. "I have known for some time Clifford is involved in some dirty business. Because of some past indiscretion his access to capital was cut off, but he has been investing in a few companies I am not happy with, using funds I do not know where from. My auditors have data. I can make it all available to the drug police, but I would need a promise not to blow the family name up in public.
"All my resources are yours in this. You confirm what I had long suspected. The Board Meeting at McCall was different from the usual. They often have a girl in at the post-meeting lunch, some Directors stay on afterwards for what you can well imagine. A few other boards have a similar problem. Which is why I am working to extricate us from what Clifford got us involved in."
Terry nodded. "I will give you Samantha's contacts at Drug Enforcement. She can make promises and get their data analysts to work with your auditors. As a businessman, may I suggest you sit tight? There are going to be waves, you might benefit from the ability to ride out the storm. Then I would appreciate your data on the other companies. We have a relational database going, nothing official, but super secure, and it would be good to see how your data can link into what we already have. All I can say is that the recovery of companies after the storm may be good for you, and you will be good for recovering companies."
Her smile was one of rare beauty as she saw Terry out.
***
Sammy followed Tammy like a little shadow. "Aunty Tammy, what are you doing?"
The girl smiled. "I'm thinking like a thief, sweetie.
"I'm not Sweetie, she's napping with Mommy. What are you doing?"
"Arranging flower pots on the window sills, love. Thieves hate them, see? If you try to get in you knock them over and make a noise. Then the dogs come running, and barking. Thieves hate little dogs in a house."
"Oh, I thought you got them for us because they are cute. I love my Cuddles, he slept on my bed last night, you know? Mommy's not too happy."
Tammy laughed. "I'm glad you find him cute, but he is also a guard dog, see? He will protect you with his life, you must feed him and care for him. And for the other two as well, Sweetie and Danny are still too little to take the responsibility."
Sammy frowned. "I am keeping their bowls full and the water bowl filled. What else must I do?"
"Well, play with them, train them, make sure they don't eat too much. Your daddy will show you how to get them to do tricks."
"Mommy says she wants to sleep now because she wants to tire him out tonight. Do you think that's a good thing? I mean, he's going to be tired already because he is working hard."
Tammy laughed. "I'm sure she would know what sort of tired he needs. Can you hold this for me?"
Sammy held on to the line, then watched Tammy climb through the window. A little while later she asked: "What were you doing out there? I've never seen someone do that. Can I try?"
Tammy grinned at the little girl. "I'll teach you, ok? See, if a thief like me wanted to climb up here to get into the window he will get a bad surprise, because I put this line just where he would want to put a hand, and then the plants will come tumbling down. Now for the attic windows."
Terry was tired but on a high. He briefed Elizabeth and Tammy over a late snack: "You won't believe how all is coming together. Tomorrow night the show is on. Samantha confided that there is a drug war about to erupt again between Pablo, the old established gang lord, and Sergei, a newcomer trying to muscle in. There is talk that Sergei has a major shipment coming in day after tomorrow. Now, both of them were invited to tomorrow night's party at the mansion. If we play our cards right the gang fight will cover all our traces. We might just get lucky. And your feeling about Mrs DeSoto was spot on, love. She has thrown her weight in all the way. She even made a company jet available."
"What for?"
He laughed. "Wait and see. The plan is fantastic. Stan and Jenny quoted Wellington to us: A plan should be like a harness made of rope and twine. If something breaks you knot it and go on. There are only a few small pieces to finalise, then we see how it plays out. What is interesting is that the database showed a number of transactions through the same estate agency that handled the sale of that factory where the silver woman was seen. And that is the same agency that handled the purchase of the house where Jessica was being held. On top of it all young Clifford has some money tied up there too. Classical drug money laundering pattern. There will be questions to answer."
Elizabeth held a hand over her glass when Terry tried to refill it. "We have unfinished business, love. You can tell me more tomorrow. Now I need some time with you."
***
Bright lights flared in the driveway. The limousine swung to a stop before the doorway in impeccable style. Charles stepped out, carefully surveyed the scene, then opened the door. Ramon exited, dressed in a brilliant outfit that tested every limit of good taste. He conferred for a moment with Charles, then tugged on a leash. Maria da Silva stepped out, practically naked, wearing a face mask that hid and hinted. The collar around her neck glinted with rhinestones. She obediently placed her hands behind her back and Charles strapped a wide velcro restraint round her wrists, touched it to make sure the contents were secure, then stepped back, again surveying the surroundings.
The door opened and a tall man called out to Tommy: "You can't park there."
Ramon gave him an imperious glance and walked past, but Charles spoke in a commanding voice. "My principal leaves from here to the airport, his car stays here. No questions. You can check with your boss. Now stand aside."
The man looked surprised, then hastened inside. "Metal scanner there, all weapons to be left at the desk there."
Ramon surrendered a vicious dagger, Charles deposited a bulky pistol, then gestured at his other hand: "Prosthetic arm. You can check, the metal will trigger your scanner. Want me to take it off?"
He fumbled at straps, but Mearsden waved him through. The scanner objected to Maria, and while Ramon pointedly tapped a foot Charles pointed out the studs and buckle on the collar, the clasp on the leash, the metal coronet holding her mask, the chain around her waist. "You want to strip her? What weapons do you think she carries, man? A Tommy gun?"
Mearsden blanched in the face of command and waved them through. A hubbub and a flood of warmth and smells greeted them inside the reception room. Donald confronted them, holding a leash around the neck of a totally naked redhead who stood on the table, going through a series of poses. "Come, get a ticket, the winner gets her for the weekend. Come along!"
Ramon waved him away and said: "Not today, thank you, I leave for Bogota at midnight. Maybe next time, ok? And that sort of skin does not like the heat back home. Sorry. Where's Pablo? He said to greet him."
Maria glanced at the crowd, noting those present, seeking for patterns of interaction. She noted a number of captains of industry, a few people in the drug business, a number of others she did not really recognise. The hidden cameras would have a field day. Ramon was in animated conversation with a pudgy man she knew was boss of an established drug ring, but also noted another man, a squat, fish-pale man looking on. Ramon turned to him at the prompt of Pablo. "Ah, Sergei, I have heard much but so far have only been fortunate to meet with your underlings. When are you coming for a visit? Pablo was there last year. You should come and look at supplies. We don't interfere between our customers, you know that. All are equally welcome."
She noticed the interplay between the three men, the tension and the sweat on Sergei's face. Then Ramon called out: "Hey, look there! That I like, we don't have services like that at home."
In an open space between the onlookers Sunitra, dressed in a skin-tight black bodysuit, was demonstrating massage techniques on a naked Linda while Bill, dressed only in white satin slacks, explained the techniques, the pressure points and the meridians involved. She was demonstrating the build-up to an orgasm when Ramon thrust his way forward. "My girl needs that. She must have an orgasm before we leave. A memory to carry home."
