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.
"Well, really. We invite him, let him in on everything, make plans together, and then this? What kind of partner is that? What kind of businessman? I don't get it. Do the others know already? Feron? The other partners?" Furious, Louis poured himself a glass of wine.
"Feron already knows, and I will of course notify the other partners immediately."
"Oh Anne, what would I do without you? We have to...."
Milady's arrival interrupted Louis. "Darling, the water in the cove was so clear! A pity you weren't there. Oh, Anne, sorry, I didn't see you there."
Louis greeted his beloved with a kiss. The sight of Milady in a bikini had already driven the talk with Anne from his mind. "Mon Amour, Nicollier has left our partnership, just like that. Didn't want to take on any more work, can you believe it?"
Anne didn't like it that Louis told Milady such important information, but she couldn't very well say anything.
"Oh, really? Sorry about that, darling. Really mysterious, to just walk out like that," Milady remarked, more to herself than to the others in the room.
Louis nodded and took another sip of this wine. "Anne, we should talk about how to proceed from here." He said, turning back to his cousin. Milady saw an opportunity. "You do that, darling, and I'll take a quick shower to wash off the salt," she said, giving him another kiss, before she disappeared into the bathroom.
Once safely behind the closed door, she ignored the shower, turned on the faucet of the washbasin and sat down on the toilet. She had unobtrusively taken a burner phone out of her bag earlier and dialed a number now. "Nicollier is out of the race. I think the four bodyguards have something to do with that. Louis knows next to nothing." Without another word, she ended the call.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Porthos left the hotel with Elodie and Treville. They went directly to the hospital, where mother and child could get checked out. Elodie assured them, that everything was alright, but Porthos and Treville insisted. At the hospital, Porthos accompanied Elodie into the treatment room, and considerately waited outside the door until the check-up was over. Treville went back to the hotel.
After the examination, Elodie and the baby were admitted to the maternity ward. Porthos went with them to keep Elodie company for a little longer. They talked a lot and every now and then glanced over at the cute little baby. "Have you decided on a name yet?" Porthos asked.
"No, my husband wanted to choose a name, and then, after his death, I just couldn't think of one."
"Well, there's still time for that."
Elodie nodded, deep in thought.
"How are you going to cope? Do you have someone to help you?" he asked.
"Yes, I have two girlfriends, we share a flat together, they will help me. We'll manage somehow," Elodie said, sounding very sure. Porthos looked at her admiringly. She was a very strong, determined woman and he liked that in her. "I would...." He started, but didn't know how to go on. He wanted to help her, but he was who he was and he couldn't change that.
"I understand," Elodie said, putting her free hand on his arm, while holding her peacefully sleeping baby daughter with the other.
"I'm a soldier and that's never going to change. Even if I'm no longer on the front line in my current job, I still feel like a soldier."
Elodie understood him. "Of course," she said, and they smiled at each other.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
After her talk with Louis, Anne went to Constance. Her friend was on the balcony, looking down on the hustle and bustle on the street. "Hey, you. How did it go with Louis?" Constance asked.
"He took it pretty well and did not ask any more questions. Milady came in, but she retreated quickly. Looks like we won this battle," Anne reported. Constance raised her eyebrows at the word "battle", but didn't say anything.
"So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Anne asked.
"Well, it's barely midday, we could go sightseeing in Monte Carlo. So far we haven't seen very much of it, Constance suggested.
"Good idea," Anne said. "Shall we meet downstairs?"
Constance nodded. "Yes, I'll inform Athos, I'm sure we need our personal protection." They both had to laugh, they were slowly getting used to not being able to go out alone.
Fifteen minutes later, the two ladies met with Marc, Henry, Aramis and D'Artagnan in the lobby. Anne was wearing a close fitting maxi-skirt with a long slit on the right side. The top was a black neckholder. A wide dark brown belt masked the transition from top to skirt. This time, Anne had chosen flat black sandals and gold jewelry. A large pair of sunglasses and a brown and black straw bag completed her outfit.
Constance had decided on a powder blue short dress with a row of buttons down the front of the top. It was sleeveless and held together at the waist with a blue cloth belt. She wore brown Roman-style sandals, brown bracelets and a large brown and beige bag.
First they went into the city center, called Monaco-Ville. They had taken two cars, with D'Artagnan, Aramis and the ladies in the first, and Henry and Marc as backup in the second.
"It's one of the oldest parts of the city," Constance read from a guide book. Anne listened attentively. "It's home to the Prince's Palace and a museum. Oh look, the oceanographic museum! We have to go there!" Constance showed Anne a few pictures. Aramis had heard them and entered the museum into the GPS system, and a few minutes later they stopped in front of the entrance and left the cars.
"Oh look, that's wonderful," Constance said, reading the info text at the entrance, describing what the museum had to offer. D'Artagnan was enraptured by his girlfriend and would have agreed to anything. Aramis wasn't too keen on a visit, and Anne, too, would have preferred enjoying the beautiful weather, but she new how much Constance loved marine animals. Henry seemed to be delighted as well and offered to go with them, so they left Marc to guard the cars and went inside.
The museum was enormous. There were three large areas. First, they went to a gigantic whale skeleton, where an impressive light and sound show was taking place. Large cushions were scattered around, so they sat on the ground and listened to the sound of whales and to a voice narrating some facts about the animals. From there, they went on to the Shark Lagoon.
The shark tank had a few leopard sharks. Constance was the first to discover them and went over so quickly, that D'Artagnan had trouble keeping up with her.
"Look, people are putting their hands in the water," Constance said, interestedly watching as a shark swam up to the hands dangling in the water and the visitors could touch the animal's skin.
"Yes, but don't you go putting your hand...." Before D'Artagnan could finish his sentence, Constance's hands were already in the water. D'Artagnan rolled his eyes and watched the situation skeptically. He stood as close as possible beside her, so that he could pull her hands out of the water if necessary. Constance didn't care, she was as ecstatic as a kid in a candy shop to be touching a leopard shark.
Anne stood close to the tank as well, but to Aramis' relief she didn't put her hands into the water.
"Beautiful animals, aren't they?" Henry asked Constance, who nodded delightedly.
"Henry, weren't you supposed to keep an eye on the back area?" D'Artagnan reproached him and Henry moved back, a sad expression in his eyes.
Once they had managed to lure Constance away from the shark tank, they went on to the "Tropical Oceans" area, which had a large tank with a coral reef. The most colorful fish were swimming around inside. Once again, Aramis and D'Artagnan stood beside Anne and Constance. All four of them were raptly staring into the blue deep, again and again astonished at the ever-changing array of species passing by the plexiglass panes.
Lastly, they went to the third area, showcasing the Mediterranean Sea, which also held more than a hundred species to observe.
With a lot of new impressions, they went back to the cars, where they found a bored Marc. Aramis and D'Artagnan were angry to see, that he was just sitting in one of the cars, playing a game on his cell phone. That was certainly not what they had had in mind, when they had given him the task of guarding the cars. As a new recruit, you had to do the boring tasks as well, they had all been through that.
Anne and Constance managed to save Marc from a dressing-down with their request to visit the Prince's Palace next. Once there, Aramis and D'Artagnan went to get the tickets, while Henry and Marc were waiting with the ladies. That gave Anne and Constance a chance to admire their men, who were once again looking very handsome, Aramis in beige Bermuda shorts and a black v-neck t-shirt, simple sand colored sneakers and a black cap, and D'Artagnan in dark Bermuda shorts, a light blue shirt, blue sneakers and a jeans cap.
Unfortunately, the men returned quickly and the ladies had to stop their discreet drooling. They could only visit the state rooms, that would have to be enough. They went through the Hercule Gallery with its paintings of the 16th and 17th century into the courtyard, which had a staircase similar to the one at Fontainebleau. "Makes you feel right at home," Aramis joked, making Anne laugh.
This time Marc came with them and Henry remained behind with the cars. Marc wasn't really interested in the visit, but that only meant that he could concentrate better on the surroundings.
After the gallery, they went into the chapel and lighted candles for the deceased and observed a few moments of silence, lost in their own thoughts and prayers. Anne thought most of all about Louis, while Constance thanked the Lord, that D'Artagnan had recovered so well.
Their next stop was the Mirror Gallery. "Monaco has apparently copied from everywhere. First Fontainebleau, now Versailles." D'Artagnan wasn't really interested in the palace, but Constance just pulled him along, so he just had to bear it. The next rooms weren't any more interesting, at least for D'Artagnan and Aramis – the Red Room, which, as the name suggested, had been furnished entirely in red; the York Room, with its marble mosaic table still used for the signing of official documents, and the Blue Room which held portraits of past Grimaldis.
Some they recognized immediately, with others it was more difficult. At the end, they went to the Throne Room. Anne wanted to sit on the throne, but unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to, even after Aramis had argued with the security man in the room. No one was allowed to sit on that throne.
A little disappointed, but glad that they had visited the palace, the small group went back to the cars. Anne and Constance expected them to go back to the hotel, but D'Artagnan and Aramis had a little surprise for them. The ladies didn't notice that the cars took a different route and only realized that the palace had not been the last stop of their sightseeing tour, when the cars stopped in a parking lot.
Aramis and D'Artagnan tried to come up with an excuse for both Marc and Henry to stay behind with the cars. "This time you'll both stay with the cars. This is a very public place and we need both cars to be ready at a moment's notice. Understood?"
Marc and Henry didn't quite believe Aramis, but they knew better than to argue, and the little group left.
"Where are we?" Anne asked.
"In the Japanese Garden. I thought a little walk would be nice," Aramis explained, taking her hand.
D'Artagnan got the hint and pulled Constance in a different direction, so the two couples could be on their own.
Aramis and Anne crossed a little red bridge and took a seat on a bench under a large canopy, where they could snuggle together and enjoy the beautiful nature around them. They were so engrossed in each other that they – or rather Aramis – didn't keep an eye on their surroundings as usual.
Anne sat with her head resting against Aramis' shoulder and her legs in his lap. Aramis had his arm around her shoulders, gently stroking up and down her back. He was so focused on the woman in his arm, that he didn't notice a man nearby taking photos of the cozy little scene. Due to the high-power telephoto lens the man was able to take clear and detailed pictures.
D'Artagnan and Constance, on the other hand, didn't have a watcher, and talked a lot, about what happened during the Marmion incident and about D'Artagnan's past. Constance had a barrage of questions, what he did, who he had worked with and where he had been stationed. Some things D'Artagnan couldn't answer. At first, Constance thought that he didn't want to answer and lowered her eyes to the ground in sadness.
"Hey, I would tell you if I could, but it's a matter of secrecy, telling you would put you in danger and that's the last thing I want," D'Artagnan said, gently pushing her head up with a finger under her chin, and gave her a heartfelt kiss. Constance smiled, gently pushing him away a little. "D'Artagnan, we're in a public place here."
"So, let them see how happy I am."
Constance grinned, deliriously happy, but then pulled him down the path with her. They had agreed to meet back up with Aramis and Anne, after all, and by now dusk had fallen.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Porthos had left the hospital after making sure that Elodie and the baby would get the best possible care. Now he was meeting in the bar with Athos, who had already had dinner and now indulged in a glass of whiskey. Porthos came over to him, sat down and put a bug on the table between them. "Where was it?" Athos asked, picking up the electronic device.
"In one of the rooms. Treville found others as well."
Athos nodded.
"We could check the serial numbers," Porthos suggested and Athos nodded again. "And that took you so long? You left early this morning. "
Porthos grinned. "Eloise gave birth to her baby, and I had to help her. And afterwards I took the both of them to the hospital." Athos nodded. That was Porthos to a T, always helping everyone. It was simply his nature and Athos appreciated that in his friend. He got to his feet.
"What, you don't want to have a drink with me? I only just sat down."
Athos shook his head. "I'll take this straight to Nathan."
Porthos grinned. When would that man ever relax? "Okay, then you can let him in on the whole thing at the same time."
Athos looked at him questioningly.
"He's going to find out anyway." Athos rolled his eyes, but eventually nodded.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Nervously, Nicollier stood in front of Guise's door. The housekeeper opened and bade him enter. Without a word, she pointed at the door to the office and left again. Nicollier slowly approached the door. He was not an easily frightened man, but Guise commanded an awful lot of respect. And Nicollier did respect him. He knocked on the door and waited. From inside an annoyed "come in" could be heard. Nicollier took a deep breath and entered Guise's office.
"Nicollier, is it important? I have a phone conference with Spain in a few minutes," Guise asked,not even looking up from his computer.
"Yes, I wanted to inform you, that I regretfully have to withdraw," Nicollier explained, nervously shifting from one foot to the other.
"What do you mean?"
"It has been suggested to me to withdraw from the business venture with Louis and I have agreed."
"Who 'suggested' it, and most of all, why did you agree without consulting me first?" Annoyed and angry, Guise rose from his chair and looked Nicollier straight in the eyes.
"I....I have no idea how they managed to find out, but they had evidence, so I had no choice. They would have ruined me."
Guise, usually known for his calm and reasonable manner, grew impatient. "Let me ask you one last time: who and what evidence?"
"Anne, Louis' cousin, and her assistant. They had proof that the casino is involved in laundering counterfeit money."
Guise remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, he slammed his hand flat on the table. Nicollier flinched. Guise sat back down and took a pen. "How?" he asked.
Nicollier recovered quickly from his shock. "I don't know. They must have broken into the casino. They had photos."
Guise nodded. "Leave. You're useless to us now. The door's behind you," he dismissed Nicollier ungraciously and started typing on his computer again. Nicollier remained where he was for a few more seconds. He had hoped that Guise was joking. However, the man was not known to make jokes, so Nicollier slowly turned around and left the room. Once the door had closed, someone stepped out of the darkened half of the room and approached Guise's desk.
"So Nicollier is out of the running," the man, who turned out to be Guise's son, Michele, said.
"He was always a weak link. Now that link is no longer a problem." Michele nodded, his father was right about that.
"I would like to find out how two nondescript women with a few math skills could find out about the money laundering. So quickly, I mean," Michele suggested.
Guise gave him a searching look. "You have to be careful. Nothing must point back at us. We must not attract their attention," he warned his son. Michele understood. "I will be careful, trust me."
Guise nodded and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Michele was glad to be given such an important task, and was already planning his next steps.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Louis was pacing in his room. He was still in shock from Nicollier's decision and also deeply disappointed. Milady sat on the bed, listlessly flipping through a fashion magazine.
Louis reached for the telephone. "Treville? We will leave tomorrow. We will depart from this scandalous city. I want to go to Grasse. Make it happen."
Before Treville could ask or say anything, Louis hung up again.
"Louis? We're going to Grasse? But what about the Grand Prix of Monaco on the weekend? I don't want to leave," Milady whined. Louis disregarded her words with a wave of his hand. "No, we will not stay here. I want to leave, now, and you will come with me. End of discussion." Louis said, stubbornly. He went over to the bar and poured himself a drink.
Milady watched him with a worried look. He was slipping away from her and she had to do something against it. When they left here, she wouldn't be able to investigate Nicollier any longer and find out why he had so suddenly withdrawn from their business venture. She sighed deeply. This job was turning out harder than she had thought.