“Bien sûr.”
“We should get started as quickly as possible, or we might lose the boat.”
“I can have the money for you in five days.”
“Wonderful!” Zuckerman exclaimed. “That will give me time to make all the preparations. Ah, this was a fortuitous meeting for both of us, was it not?”
“Oui. Sans doute.”
“To our adventure.” The professor raised his glass.
Tracy raised hers and toasted, “May it prove to be as profitable as I feel it will be.”
They clinked glasses. Tracy looked across the room and froze. At a table in the far corner was Jeff Stevens, watching her with an amused smile on his face. With him was an attractive woman ablaze with jewels.
Jeff nodded to Tracy, and she smiled, remembering how she had last seen him outside the De Matigny estate, with that silly dog beside him. That was one for me, Tracy thought happily.
“So, if you will excuse me,” Zuckerman was saying, “I have much to do. I will be in touch with you.” Tracy graciously extended her hand, and he kissed it and departed.
“I see your friend has deserted you, and I can’t imagine why. You look absolutely terrific as a blonde.”
Tracy glanced up. Jeff was standing beside her table. He sat down in the chair Adolf Zuckerman had occupied a few minutes earlier.
“Congratulations,” Jeff said. “The De Matigny caper was ingenious. Very neat.”
“Coming from you, that’s high praise, Jeff.”
“You’re costing me a lot of money, Tracy.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
He toyed with the glass in front of him. “What did Professor Zuckerman want?”
“Oh, you know him?”
“You might say that.”
“He…er…just wanted to have a drink.”
“And tell you all about his sunken treasure?”
Tracy was suddenly wary. “How do you know about that?”
Jeff looked at her in surprise. “Don’t tell me you fell for it? It’s the oldest con game in the world.”
“Not this time.”
“You mean you believed him?”
Tracy said stiffly, “I’m not at liberty to discuss it, but the professor happens to have some inside information.”
Jeff shook his head in disbelief. “Tracy, he’s trying to take you. How much did he ask you to invest in his sunken treasure?”
“Never mind,” Tracy said primly. “It’s my money and my business.”
Jeff shrugged. “Right. Just don’t say old Jeff didn’t try to warn you.”
“It couldn’t be that you’re interested in that gold for yourself, could it?”
He threw up his hands in mock despair. “Why are you always so suspicious of me?”
“It’s simple,” Tracy replied. “I don’t trust you. Who was the woman you were with?” She instantly wished she could have withdrawn the question.
“Suzanne? A friend.”
“Rich, of course.”
Jeff gave her a lazy smile. “As a matter of fact, I think she does have a bit of money. If you’d like to join us for luncheon tomorrow, the chef on her two-hundred-fifty-foot yacht in the harbor makes a—”
“Thank you. I wouldn’t dream of interfering with your lunch. What are you selling her?”
“That’s personal.”
“I’m sure it is.” It came out harsher than she had intended.
Tracy studied him over the rim of her glass. He really was too damned attractive. He had clean, regular features, beautiful gray eyes with long lashes, and the heart of a snake. A very intelligent snake.
“Have you ever thought of going into a legitimate business?” Tracy asked. “You’d probably be very successful.”
Jeff looked shocked. “What? And give up all this? You must be joking!”
“Have you always been a con artist?”
“Con artist? I’m an entrepreneur,” he said reprovingly.
“How did you become a—an—entrepreneur?”
“I ran away from home when I was fourteen and joined a carnival.”
“At fourteen?” It was the first glimpse Tracy had had into what lay beneath the sophisticated, charming veneer.
“It was good for me—I learned to cope. When that wonderful war in Vietnam came along, I joined up as a Green Beret and got an advanced education. I think the main thing I learned was that that war was the biggest con of all. Compared to that, you and I are amateurs.” He changed the subject abruptly. “Do you like pelota?”