She waited in her hotel suite for the messenger, and when he arrived, Tracy telephoned Cesar Porretta.
“The messenger is here now,” Tracy said. “I’m sending him over to pick up the painting. See that he—”
“What? What are you talking about?” Porretta screamed. “Your messenger picked up the painting half an hour ago.”
31
Paris
WEDNESDAY, JULY 9—NOON
In a private office off the Rue Matignon, Gunther Hartog said, “I understand how you feel about what happened in Madrid, Tracy, but Jeff Stevens got there first.”
“No,” Tracy corrected him bitterly. “I got there first. He got there last.”
“But Jeff delivered it. The Puerto is already on its way to my client.”
After all her planning and scheming, Jeff Stevens had outwitted her. He had sat back and let her do the work and take all the risks, and at the last moment he had calmly walked off with the prize. How he must have been laughing at her all the time! You’re a very special lady, Tracy. She could not bear the waves of humiliation that washed over her when she thought of the night of the flamenco dancing. My God, what a fool I almost made of myself.
“I never thought I could kill anyone,” Tracy told Gunther, “but I could happily slaughter Jeff Stevens.”
Gunther said mildly, “Oh, dear. Not in this room, I hope. He’s on his way here.”
“He’s what?” Tracy jumped to her feet.
“I told you I have a proposition for you. It will require a partner. In my opinion, he is the only one who—”
“I’d rather starve first!” Tracy snapped. “Jeff Stevens is the most contemptible—”
“Ah, did I hear my name mentioned?” He stood in the doorway, beaming. “Tracy, darling, you look even more stunning than usual. Gunther, my friend, how are you?”
The two men shook hands. Tracy stood there, filled with a cold fury.
Jeff looked at her and sighed. “You’re probably upset with me.”
“Upset! I—” She could not find the words.
“Tracy, if I may say so, I thought your plan was brilliant. I mean it. Really brilliant. You made only one little mistake. Never trust a Swiss with a missing index finger.”
She took deep breaths, trying to control herself. She turned to Gunther. “I’ll talk to you later, Gunther.”
“Tracy—”
“No. Whatever it is, I want no part of it. Not if he’s involved.”
Gunther said, “Would you at least listen to it?”
“There’s no point. I—”
“In three days De Beers is shipping a four-million-dollar packet of diamonds from Paris to Amsterdam on an Air France cargo plane. I have a client who’s eager to acquire those stones.”
“Why don’t you hijack them on the way to the airport? Your friend here is an expert on hijacking.” She could not keep the bitterness from her voice.
By God, she’s magnificent when she’s angry, Jeff thought.
Gunther said, “The diamonds are too well guarded. We’re going to hijack the diamonds during the flight.”
Tracy looked at him in surprise. “During the flight? In a cargo plane?”
“We need someone small enough to hide inside one of the containers. When the plane is in the air, all that person has to do is step out of the crate, open the De Beers container, remove the package of diamonds, replace the package with a duplicate, which will have been prepared, and get back in the other crate.”
“And I’m small enough to fit in a crate.”
Gunther said, “It’s much more than that, Tracy. We need someone who’s bright and has nerve.”
Tracy stood there, thinking. “I like the plan, Gunther. What I don’t like is the idea of working with him. This person is a crook.”
Jeff grinned. “Aren’t we all, dear heart? Gunther is offering us a million dollars if we can pull this off.”
Tracy stared at Gunther. “A million dollars?”
He nodded. “Half a million for each of you.”
“The reason it can work,” Jeff explained, “is that I have a contact at the loading dock at the airport. He’ll help us set it up. He can be trusted.”
“Unlike you,” Tracy retorted. “Good-bye, Gunther.”
She sailed out of the room.