42 Boulevard d’Italie

42 Boulevard d'Italie

Christopher waited until he had reached the Avenue de Grande Bretagne before breaking into a run. He headed east, past slumbering

apartment houses, then scaled a flight of steps that delivered him to the boulevard d'Italie. At half past one in the morning,

it was deserted save for a single pedestrian, a fit-looking specimen with gray-blond hair, marching in a westerly direction

at a determined clip. Christopher bade the man a pleasant evening in French as they passed one another on the darkened pavement.

Then he stopped in his tracks and in English called out, "Excuse me, but by any chance are you Trevor Robinson?"

Robinson walked a few more paces before stopping and turning around. A retired intelligence officer who knew all the tricks,

he regarded Christopher with suspicion.

"I am, actually," he said at last. "And who might you be?"

"Peter Marlowe's the name. We met about a hundred years ago in the bar of the Connaught. Or perhaps it was the Dorchester.

I was with a client at the time, and he was good enough to introduce us." Christopher thrust out a hand and smiled. "What

a pleasant surprise. Fancy meeting you here, of all places."

***

Approximately three hundred meters separated the offices of Harris Weber & Company from the spot where the firm's director

of security stood chatting with a man who claimed to be a business consultant called Peter Marlowe. A pedestrian moving at

a normal pace could be expected to cover the distance in three and a half minutes, less if he was in a rush. Which meant that

Gabriel, in his makeshift op center aboard Mistral , had little margin for error.

He checked the shot from the surveillance camera and saw Ingrid hunched over her laptop. "Time remaining?"

"Five minutes," she answered.

"There's no way Christopher can keep him occupied for that long."

"I'm sure he'll think of something. He strikes me as the resourceful type."

A moment passed.

"Time remaining?" inquired Gabriel.

"Four minutes and seven seconds. But who's counting?"

"I am."

"Rest assured," said Ingrid, "so am I."

***

He claimed that he was an independent wealth manager who had come to Monaco to meet with a client, a fabulously rich British

expat who dwelled in the Odeon Tower, the principality's tallest building. Professional discretion did not allow him to identify

the client, and Trevor Robinson, who was clearly anxious to be on his way, did not pursue the matter.

"Forgive me," said Christopher, hoping to prolong the encounter a moment or two longer, "but I can't seem to recall the name

of your firm."

"Harris Weber & Company."

"Yes, of course. Offshore financial services, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not."

"Have a card, by any chance?"

Robinson reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and handed one over. Christopher scrutinized it at considerable length

by the yellow light of a streetlamp.

"I have a client who requires a firm with your particular expertise."

"We'd be happy to be of assistance, if we can."

"I'd love to discuss it further. Is there any chance you're free for a drink tomorrow?"

"I'm not, actually."

"Next time I'm in town?"

"By all means." Robinson turned to leave, then hesitated. "Tell me something, Mr. Marlowe. What was the name of your client

who introduced us?"

"I believe it was George Anderson."

"I'm afraid I've never heard of him."

"Could've been Martin Elliott," suggested Christopher.

"Doesn't ring a bell," said Robinson, and set off down the boulevard. Christopher waited until he had disappeared from view,

then descended the steps to the Avenue de Grande Bretagne. He was relieved to find Ingrid and René Monjean waiting for him

in the Place du Casino.

"I hope it was worth it," he said.

"It was," replied Ingrid.

"All of it?"

She smiled. "Every last byte."

They headed down the Avenue de Monte-Carlo to the port and boarded Mistral . René quickly untied the lines and clambered up the ladder to the flybridge. Ingrid and Christopher went into the galley

and found Gabriel staring at his laptop.

"Where's Trevor?" asked Christopher.

"A few minutes ago he made a call from the landline phone in his office. I wasn't able to monitor his end of the conversation

because for some reason he switched off his mobile."

"And now?"

"He's standing in front of the safe."

"Doing what?"

"Filling an attaché case with cash." Gabriel looked up at Ingrid. "Do you have something for me?"

Smiling, she surrendered the external hard drive. Gabriel connected the device to his laptop and a single folder appeared

on his screen. Inside the folder were thousands more, each bearing the name of a client. Moguls and monarchs, kleptocrats

and criminals. The richest of the rich, the worst of the worst.

"Oh dear," said Gabriel. "This is going to be ugly."