Ben raised a hand as he closed his eyes. “Okay, I think I’ve had about as much as I can take of this discussion. I appreciate your discretion in not advertising the existence of the sculpture. Please do your best to keep it out of the public eye. Thank you for your time.”
“Thank you, Ben,” Henry said, and Richard grabbed his hand to shake it gratefully.
Ben gave them a weak smile and then headed outside.
The drive back to the other B&B was quick, and they went inside to get warm. Fisher and Killjoy remained outside to do a sweep of the property.
Once inside, coats and boots were removed, and they joined the others in the living room, where they were relaxing and talking.
“How did it go, Ben?” Gabriella asked.
“Richard thought I was there to beat him up,” Ben said and shook his head. “I got that straightened out. They know they’re not to sell any more art of me to the public.”
He looked at Alexis. “They will call you regarding an opportunity you should… take advantage of.” He shuddered and looked at Gabriella. “That’s all I’m going to say on that!” She gave him a sympathetic smile.
Alexis and Béatrice perked up.
Changing the subject, Ben’s stomach grumbled.
He felt someone hug him from behind, and he looked down at unfamiliar arms in surprise.
Alexis, Béatrice, and Gabriella burst into giggles as Marie released Ben and rushed back to the kitchen, giggles trailing her as well.
“Was that my favorite French chef?” Ben asked with a smile.
“Yes, but you cannot have her!” Béatrice chided him. Ben pouted, drawing smiles from them again.
Alexis stood. “That also means lunch is ready.”
Ben moved closer to her. “Will Stephanie be joining us?”
Alexis turned and hugged Ben tight. Then she looked up at him. “Yes! She promised to join us for every meal and to join us for our exercise in the morning. Thank you, Ben, for bringing her back.”
He shook his head with a guilty frown. “It was my pig-headedness that made it go on this long. I was so hurt I couldn’t see past that. Miscommunications between everyone. I never hated Stephanie. I love her.”
Alexis and Béatrice made sweet noises and hugged Ben and Gabriella got in on the hug as well.
“I’m really hungry,” Ben said from within the hug.
He saw Zama and Moon were watching him with smiles on their faces, as were the others.
“Let’s go to the dining room,” Alexis said to everyone as she released Ben. She led the way and pointed Ben to a chair in the middle of the long table.
Everyone settled in while Alexis kept the chair to Ben’s left open for her sister. Gabriella sat on his other side.
The missing woman made an appearance in the doorway, appearing hesitant. “There she is. Come take your seat, Stephanie, next to Ben,” Alexis said.
With a shaky smile, the woman walked unerringly to the open chair, which Ben assumed was her usual spot.
She settled in and squeaked slightly as Ben leaned over to kiss her cheek. Her hair was much softer and smelled sweet.
“Much better,” Ben whispered into her ear, and her smile strengthened.
Marie brought out a large tureen of soup which smelled delicious. There was a basket of small baguettes on the table.
The group settled into the business of enjoying lunch and conversation centered around running a B&B and the quieter months.
“We have a few families joining us next week. They’ll all be staying in the rooms upstairs as we don’t use the cottages during the winter,” Béatrice explained.
Alexis looked at her cousin. “Gabriella wouldn’t give me any details on who would be joining us tonight, just that there would be ten people.” She looked at Ben. “I never thought you’d be one of them.”
He nodded as he enjoyed the soup.
Stim and Dunno thanked their hosts and left to take their turns outside.
Shortly Fisher and Killjoy entered the room with reddened cheeks. They took seats and began their meal.
As the meal wound down, Alexis had a question for Ben. “How many rooms will you require?” she asked.
Ben looked at Fisher.
“We won’t need rooms as we’ll stay on the main level and will be patrolling the property,’ the CO explained.
“Are we in danger?” Béatrice asked.
Fisher shook his head. “No. I’ve been keeping in touch with the General, and he informs me they’ve picked up no indication of another hit team assigned to take out Ben. The spooks now report that Zhdankov may be in serious trouble for his last all-out effort. He may have overstepped his authority. It sounds unlikely he’ll get any further resources assigned to him for a while.”
“Then why are patrols necessary?” Béatrice insisted.
Fisher smiled. “While we don’t expect an attack, we remain prepared for one. The security level will not be reduced until Ben is returned to his home. We promised the General.”
Alexis looked at Gabriella. “So, how many?”
“One for me,” she said. “One for Liliya, Evelyn, Zama, and Moon.” She smiled at Ben. “Of course, one for Ben as well.”
The ladies giggled, and Stephanie’s face became quite pink as she grinned.
Ben wanted to change the subject, so he remembered something he wanted to ask Alexis. “Stephanie tells me you had a guest who hit it off with her. She was very personable, and they spoke frequently and even went into her studio.”
Alexis smiled as she recalled the brief time when Stephanie appeared to be recovering. “Yes, she was a lovely woman. From England, I believe. She said she was doing a bit of a pilgrimage around the world. She’d just come from Australia, where she’d worked for a time to pay for her travels.
“Robin!” Béatrice said as she recalled the woman’s name.
Then Alexis caught the worried expression on Ben’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“What did she look like?” Ben asked.
“She was very tall and beautiful, with long red hair-Ben, what is it?” Béatrice exclaimed as she saw his expression drop.
“I think this woman has been collecting information on me. I met her recently on a flight aboard Dennis’ largest jet, and she was very easy to talk to. She also may have stolen one of Stephanie’s pieces of me.”
“What does that mean?” Fisher asked with a frown.
“A model of his penis,” Stephanie said, and there was a burst of laughter which was quickly stifled as Ben scowled.
Gabriella was one of the few who hadn’t laughed. “Sorry, Ben. You’re right. It’s not funny. It’s a terrible invasion. What do you want to do?”
He gave her a grateful smile and then shook his head. He looked at Alexis. “You said she told you she was working in Australia?”
“That’s what she said. I got the impression something bad happened as she wasn’t too keen on talking about it,” she replied.
Ben felt some unease moving through his chest. “I think I’d better give a business partner of mine a call. She might have visited him as well. If you’ll excuse me?” He got nods. “Thank you for the delicious meal!”
He rose from the table and walked into the lounge, where he walked over to the window overlooking the chateau’s front lawn, facing the valley below. Everything was peaceful and serene, covered in a pristine blanket of snow, including that damn brass statue that started so much grief.
He sighed and pulled out his cell.
“Excuse me, Ben?”
He turned to see Fisher standing behind him.
“Use this burner to make the call, please.”
Ben’s eyebrows rose. “Ah, sorry. Good idea. Thanks.” With a nod, Fisher left him alone to make the call.
He opened his contact list to get Don Blake’s phone number and dialed it on the burner. He wasn’t worried about the time difference between Saint-Pierre-d’Albigny and Melbourne as Don hardly slept. As it rang, he worked out it was probably close to ten PM there.
“Hello?”
“Don, it’s Ben Shepherd.”
“Ben! How’s my favorite silent business partner?” the man gushed with a smile in his voice.
“I’m doing okay. Listen, I just called as I’ve discovered some unsettling news. Have you met a woman named Robin?”
“Fuck. What did she tell you?” Don said, the happiness immediately snuffed from his voice.
Ben paused. “She didn’t tell me anything. When I met her, she was a flight attendant. She was close by when I shared personal details of my life with another friend. I also found out she befriended a very close friend of mine who divulged very personal details of our time together. I learned she’d just come from Australia, where she worked for a short time. I wondered if she’d spoken with you.”
“Wha-This was all about you?” Don snapped incredulously.
“Don, you’d have to tell me what happened before I can answer that. Firstly, what did she look like? Let’s make sure we’re talking about the same woman,” Ben said sternly.
“Tall. Beautiful. Red hair that fell down her back. God, she was lovely.” Don’s anger was fading into a melancholy, and Ben had a bad feeling about that.
“British?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Don sighed. “Ben, I fucked up. Really fucked up. Against my better judgment and my lovely Rita’s instructions, I hired the beauty as my personal assistant. It was November of last year. I was interviewing candidates, and she waltzed in with excellent qualifications for the job and those legs.”
Ben didn’t want to hear Don’s confession as he knew the man’s history and could guess, but he remained silent as the man got it off his chest. Don likely didn’t have anyone else to speak to about it.
“Robin really was a brilliant assistant. So incredibly organized and friendly with all the staff. Everyone liked her. She even struck it off with the Wild Dogs and went out drinking with them. At the Christmas party, I had a little too much to drink, and we were talking… mostly about you. It was just the two of us in my office. I don’t recall who made the first move, but Rita showed up unexpectedly and caught us. She left me and filed for divorce the next day. I had to let Robin go.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your marriage. You two seemed like a great couple,” Ben said in sympathy.
“Did you say Robin was only working here to get information on you? This was your fault?” Don’s anger was resurfacing.