BBC Musketeers / Coast of dreams

Won battles

After the talk with Nicollier, Anne wanted to talk to Feron as well. She had discussed it with Constance and her friend was in favor of the idea. However, Constance had insisted on accompanying Anne. They wanted to go to Feron before speaking with Louis. Luckily, they didn't have to make the trip to his villa, since he came to them.

Anne and Constance were sitting outside on the terrace of the Crystal Bar.

"Anne, I'm glad to meet you, I have some documents that require your signature. Official documents for the business here at the coast." Feron handed her a file, but the few documents it contained hardly justified the long trip.

"I, or rather we, wanted to speak with you anyway," Anne said, taking the file, but putting it down beside her, concentrating more on the coming discussion.

"Oh, what about?" Curious, Feron pulled over a chair and joined Anne and Constance at their table.

"Well, Nicollier is the owner of the casino," Anne started.

"Yes, I know. The man certainly knows his way around money," Feron said, laughing.

Constance almost choked on her drink. "A little too well, don't you think?" Feron gave her a confused look.

"We found out that Nicollier uses his casino for money laundering," Anne blurted out the truth.

Feron clapped his hand over his mouth in feigned, and overdone, surprise. Constance rolled her eyes at the spectacle.

"For God's sake, how did you find that out? We have to notify the police immediately, and terminate our business association with him. What would that mean for us?"

"I already settled it with him. We won't involve the police, but we will terminate any business with him. He will retreat accordingly," Anne explained.

"If I had known, I would never have introduced him to Louis. I had no idea about all of this," Feron continued to protest his innocence. Anne and Constance didn't really believe him, but they had only their gut feeling telling them that Feron knew more than he said.

"Good, that's settled then." Anne and Constance had finished their drinks and got up to leave. "I think we'll stay in contact. Have a nice evening." The two women left the bar, while Feron stayed where he was, the documents on the table still untouched. Face unscrutable, he was staring off into the distance. No one would be able to guess the thoughts running through his mind.

Anne and Constance went to the elevators. "I don't really believe him," Constance said. Anne nodded. "We should keep an eye on him. We'd best ask Aramis and D'Artagnan again, if and what they intend to do concerning Feron's house," she said.

"Very good."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After their meeting with Feron, Constance went up to her room. Anne wanted to go to Louis and found him in his suite.

"Anne, how are you? You were gone so quickly. I was still at the poker table."

"Yes, I'm sorry. We've been sitting in the sun so long, that I had a slight migraine," Anne lied. Louis understood and did not inquire further. He offered her a chair and Anne came right to the point.

"Unfortunately, we need to take Nicollier out of the equation. He informed me, that he is going to retire. Family matters, he wants to concentrate on his own business. An extension of it to match up with our plans would be too much work, he said." Anne deliberately lied. She had agreed with the bodyguards and Constance to keep Louis in the dark about the real reasons for the time being. Who knew, how big this would turn out to be in the end.