Final Target(53)

He listened for a moment and then hung up. “I think we’ve got Guilliame. He’ll take the statue out of the display case to a room in the back on the pretext of having it cleaned. He says there will have to be guards at the door or it will look suspicious. He knows a couple who will look the other way for a price.”

“And the price?”

“Total? It’s gone up. Two million. Pretty high for four hours with a bloody statue. I can bargain.”

“No time.”

“You have the money?”

“I have something to barter with.”

“ Worth two million?”

“I think Guilliame will agree. Karlstadt did.”

“You’re going to use the merchandise you promised Karlstadt?” He gave a low whistle. “That could be dangerous.”

“I’ll worry about that later.”

“You may have to worry about it sooner.”

“Screw him. It could have been Karlstadt who killed Jan.”

“But you’re not sure.”

“No, I’m not sure of anything right now.” He met Galen’s gaze and repeated, “Screw him.”

“Far be it from me to interfere with a man bent on revenge. I’ve found reason usually goes out the window.” He turned away. “We should be in Paris by midnight.”

“Hire more men,” Deschamps said as soon as Provlif picked up the phone. “And don’t talk to me about money. I have all the money you could possibly want. Now find Cassie Andreas.”

“She may not be here to find.”

“What?”

“My CIA contact says there are rumors she’s been taken by your old friend Travis.” He launched into the explanation.

Deschamps was silent for a moment after Provlif finished. “Highly unlikely.”

“The President flew back to Washington from Japan claiming he was ill. Andreas is healthy as a horse.”

The more Deschamps thought about it, the more he was inclined to believe the rumor. Travis had never mentioned the child in his conversations with van der Beck, but Andreas could have trusted him enough to ask him to help his daughter. And Travis was sharp enough to have been able to pull off the escape. Excitement began to surge through him. Everything was coming full circle back to him. Travis, and now perhaps the child.

“Deschamps?”

“It could be true.”

“Why would he take the kid?”

For the same reason Edward had wanted her? It was possible. Maybe Travis’s interference at Vasaro had been merely a setup for a move of his own.

“I want Travis’s phone number.”

“I’ve been trying to get it.”

“Try harder. You know damn well the CIA knows it if Travis was at this place in Virginia.”

“I told you they weren’t able to trace his calls.”

“I don’t want to trace them. But I may want to talk to him.”

“I’ll work on it.”

“Do it. Then get on a plane and come back here. I may need you.” He hung up and sat back in his chair. He wanted that phone number. He felt a strange need to be in contact with Travis. It had never happened before with any of his other targets, but Travis was different. Travis had humiliated him, and taking the money from him wasn’t enough. And this new information showed Travis as still another danger. He was not only a threat, he was competition. Yes, he wanted to savor this kill, toy with Travis, show him he would always be one step ahead.

What would that next step be? If Travis was as hot as Provlif thought, he should be hiding out. But Edward had killed his friend and Travis was sentimental enough to want revenge. To do that he would have to identify and then locate Edward. The only lead Travis had was Henri Claron’s death, and it was likely he would pursue it.

So, Lyon?

Perhaps.

Or perhaps not.

Travis had been robbed of the money he’d been expecting, and keeping Cassie Andreas hidden could be an expensive proposition. He might decide it was necessary to go forward toward his prime objective.

Edward would definitely have to go over everything he’d learned about Travis and then just follow his instincts. . . .

Paris

The modest apartment was on the outskirts of Paris near a small, very green park. It was also four blocks from the Museum d’Andreas.

“Nice.” Galen put the suitcases down and glanced around the living room. “Old-fashioned, but very comfortable. Maybe a little too much blue. Blue may be a primary color, but I’ve always found it depressing.”

“It’s okay. We won’t be here long enough to be depressed.” Travis carried Cassie into the bedroom and put her down before turning to Jessica. “She hasn’t had a nightmare since we left Juniper. That’s good, right?”