Page 64 of French Escapade

Élodie

As soon as we deem it possible to do so without rousing the captain’s suspicion, we leave the café and head toward the Place des Lices.

Ted’s phone rings. He speaks briefly and hangs up. “That was Andrea. He has the information we need. We’re meeting him at the car.”

We walk to an empty street where his employee is waiting for us. “Come on in, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Where’s the driver you were going to meet?” Ken asks when we’re all buckled in.

“He gave me the intel I needed and left. He didn’t want to be seen with us. You know, Saint-Tropez is a village, and there’s no keeping a secret. If people think he’s indiscreet, his business is dead.”

Andrea starts the car. Ken is tense.

“So I showed him a picture of your guy, and yes, this is the man he drove this morning. He wasn’t sure about the girl, but she was out of it. He understood that it was in his best interest not to look at her too closely.”

“Arkady must have drugged her again,” Ken mumbles.

I take his hand and squeeze it gently.

“Short version—Arkady asked to be driven to an old shepherd's shack on the road between Grimaud and Collobrières. If he wants peace and quiet, that’s perfect.”

“How far is that?” Jimmy asks.

I’m the one to answer. “About thirty kilometers from Saint-Tropez, but if I remember correctly, it’s a very narrow and winding road, right?”

“Yes.” Andrea smiles. “Lucky for you, I know it like the back of my hand.”

“So what do we do? Should we go there right away?” Jimmy asks.

“No!” Ted objects. “First, we go to our local headquarters. We’re not going to show up in this car and practically naked. You have to remember that Arkady could be waiting for us. I would be very surprised if we were to find him unarmed taking a nap in the garden. First, I’ll send a couple of guys on recon so they can see what we’ll be up against.”

A few minutes later, we reach a modern building in front of which a few cars are parked. They are twins of the one Ted had in Cannes. The entrance of the building is very bright. Inside, there are a couple of couches that look very inviting.

Jimmy whistles appreciatively. Ted explains, “You can’t catch flies with vinegar. If you want the members of elite society to entrust you with the surveillance of their luxury homes, you can’t set up your offices in a dark warehouse in an industrial complex.”

I now understand why he chose to set up shop in Monaco and Saint-Tropez. When I first met him, I thought Ken and Jimmy’s friend was just a guy doing some temp security work to make ends meet. I was way off the mark. He’s not only a good operative, he’s also a real businessman.

“Wait 'til you see the rest of the place,” Ted says with a big smile. “You’re going to be surprised.”

He motions for us to follow him down a hallway until we reach a closed door. He puts his face in front of a small box—an optical scanner! I’ve never seen one in person, only in the movies.

The door unlocks, and we enter a windowless room in which there are a few dozen screens. A young man with glasses is watching them attentively. He turns to look at us and then gets back to work.

“Hey, boss, I didn’t know you were coming up for a visit.”

“Neither did I, Nathan. That’s the cool thing about our job. Surprises. You’re going to get a visual from team two in a few minutes. Let me know when you receive it.”

The young man nods, his gaze riveted on the videos. Most of them show gardens of plush villas or the surroundings of warehouses. Regular video surveillance work.

Ted leads us to a table with a big screen, on which a map is posted. Andrea explains, “Thebergerieis here.”

He presses on the screen, and a satellite view appears. So far, nothing extraordinary. Anyone with an internet connection can do that. At least, we can in the police.

“As you can see, the next house is far enough away. No chance of anyone calling the cops because they’ve spotted suspicious activities.”

“We have eyes, boss,” Nathan calls from the other side of the room.

Ted presses the screen again, and a much better sky view replaces the one we had before. It’s as if the camera was moving.

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