‘And how can I help you?’ I asked.
‘He went away on a “business trip” last night.’ The pink talon air quotes said it all. ‘Only I had a lovely chat with the receptionist at LuxSky Charters – she’s a big fan of mine – and she said that the jet did not in fact go to Geneva, but rather to the Seychelles. Now I maybe wrong, but I don’t think you’ll find many high-end luxury auctions on a tropical island.’
‘And you obviously think he has a travel companion?’
She nodded.
‘Any idea who she might be?’
Sharaz sat back on the chaise and also crossed her legs, the shiny leather of her pants giving a slight squeak. ‘All I can say is it better not be hisPA, or his Pilates instructor. I’d rather not have to face the humiliation of that cliché. I hope it’s a little more original than that. I would hate our marriage to end so banally.’
I smiled at her and wrote in my notepad:Definitely the youngPA.
‘So what do you need from me?’ I asked.
‘I need proof, irrefutable. Photo evidence, video evidence, fingerprints,DNA, whatever.’
‘That I can do,’ I replied, adrenaline starting to flood my bloodstream. I loved this feeling.
‘I’ll fly you to the Seychelles. Obviously first class.’
‘Obviously,’ I said, as if this was completely normal. ‘Do you know where he’s staying?’
‘Well, the lovely lady at LuxSky also let slip that the chauffeur had taken him to Ile du Nord Villas. Apparently the Swedish royal family vacation there.’
I tried not to smile. You could tell how wealthy a person was by the way they turned nouns into verbs. Next she would be telling me how they wintered in Gstaad and summered in Saint-Tropez.
‘I wasn’t even aware Sweden had a royal family,’ I said, scribbling down the name of the resort. She looked at me oddly for a moment and then scanned my legs and landed on my shoes again.
‘No, I suppose you wouldn’t be,’ she said. ‘So, are you available to do this? You’ll need to leave very soon.’
I closed my notepad and looked up at her. ‘I am. I just came off a job last night.’
She sighed, and for a second her very well-constructed mask slipped and I was able to glimpse the emotion that was hiding behindthe nails and the hair and the white leather. She was in genuine pain. And this pissed me off. I was going to get Victor, come hell or high water.
‘I was hoping you’d say that. You came highly recommended by a friend at the polo club.’
I nodded. I knew exactly who she was talking about. TheCEOhusband who had a penchant for wearing a collar and being led around on his hands and knees like a dog. Honestly, I’d seen it all. There was a certain hedge fund manager who liked to be vacuum-sealed in cellophane and then beaten with a large baguette. Freshly baked, of course.
‘And to think, he always said he was allergic to dogs,’ she said with a sly smile and a little wink.
There was just no accounting for what the rich were into.
Sharaz leaned forward and slid something across the table. ‘Your ticket to the Seychelles, leaving tomorrow. I hope that’s okay?’
My heart started racing. Excitement. Adrenaline. This,thiswas what I lived for. The hunt. The chase. I could feel the anticipation bubbling up inside me as I took the ticket and slipped it into my bag.
‘I’m going to get him, Ms Venter! Don’t worry about it.’
CHAPTER 4
‘You didn’t get her autograph?’ Philly was wide-eyed and gaping at me, repeating herself over and over again, the only difference between the lines was her vocal emphasis.
‘Youdidn’tget her autograph?’
‘You didn’t getherautograph?’
‘It was a business meeting, it would have been very inappropriate to ask for her autograph.’ I tried to reason with her by giving a sensible, logical response, hoping this would penetrate the haze of celebrity-induced hysteria.
