Chapter 32

Helen was packing when Sandy let himself in shortly after noon on Monday. Not yet dressed, she was putting the clothes she planned to take into her carry-on. Her vest was at the end of the bed with her traveling clothes.

"Hi, Sandy, what's up?"

"Well, I wanted to see you off, but there's something else."

"Oh?"

"You didn't exactly level with me Saturday — about meeting Astrid."

"What's the problem?"

"Nothing at all, Helen. But you'll love this. When we closed for lunch today... no, let me go back. You know there's a big empty room above the office?"

"I think you showed me that once. The first day."

"Well, early on, Astrid asked if she and Jean could use it to practice in."

"Practice?"

"They practice martial arts." He sat on the end of the bed. "I used to do judo myself, so I said it was fine. I bought a couple of mats and, at lunchtime, they go up there and throw each other all over the place. It's pretty brutal, what they do, I think. You can feel the building vibrate when someone gets thrown. After that, I think, they shower and have lunch, then they usually make love."

"Sounds like a good way to spend the lunch hour." Helen put her toiletries in the case and closed it, then pulled on panties and raised her skirt up over her hips. "But, what about today?"

"Astrid came into the office wearing her gi, her practice clothes. She has a black belt, second order."

Helen grinned at him. "She is quite trim, I noticed. Muscular."

Sandy chuckled. "Well, I can tell you that, in a martial arts uniform, she is — um — imposing."

"But not threatening, I hope." She fastened her Kevlar vest up the front.

"Not at all. Sunny and beautiful. Anyway, she told me she'd hacked the security system, turned off the camera in the medical room, got into my server and located the 'videos' you saw."

Helen choked back a laugh. "And?"

Sandy looked as though he could hardly contain himself. "She wanted to know if it was all right if she made DVDs of the videos."

"And you said?"

"I said, 'My dear, you can have anything you want.'"

"Smart." She had her blouse on, stepped into flat shoes.

"Don't I know it. But, we did talk a little about her computer skills. She told me how she'd gotten into the system and a whole lot more. I'm going to work with her on some things she mentioned. I think she knows more about that system than I do."

"I'd put money on it."

.oOo.

"M. duVin?"

Sandy turned at the man's voice; he'd long since learned to respond to the French pronunciation of his name. "Denis?" It was the man he and Helen had met at the beach. "Sorry, I don't think I've heard your surname. How are you?" He extended his hand. "And your wife?"

"Sylvestre. Thank you, we are both well. I believe you are the proprietor of the storage rental place on the avenue de Bagnas?"

"Yes. Have you been there?"

"Denise was there recently, and I went by today. We have taken a small storage unit. I wasn't aware that you were involved, but I asked the young lady and she told me your name."

"Well, I hope she took good care of you."

"Yes, indeed. I was impressed. She is most attractive and very efficient.

"But I wanted to ask you a question or two. When Denise engaged a storage unit, all you asked for was her name and address."

"Well, and also a credit card number. There's some other information, as well."

"Yes, but we could be anyone."

"You mean you could be a criminal."

"Yes, that's possible. Or a terrorist."

"Unfortunately, there is no easily available way to identify either. We could ask for a passport or the Euro ID, but that doesn't get us anywhere. Surely you know that."

The two men walked through the Heliopolis gate along the road toward Sandy's store.

"And I could put anything I want into the unit I rented."

"Right. Although you do agree when you sign the contract that you will not put anything illegal in the unit."

"Not worth the paper it's written on."