Shimmers of Pearl (The Pearl Trilogy, Part 3) (10 page)

Daisy whispers, “He’s invited us to stay with him at his house. A three month trial period, he suggested.”

My mouth hangs open. “I can’t believe I’m hearing this. A surfer with
plans
?”

“Well, he said it. It was his idea. Maybe not every surfer is as flaky as your dad when it comes to relationships.”

“And you’re
considering
it? Seriously? What about your practice? What about your job?”

“I’m self-employed, I can go anywhere. I could start up something there. I may earn less out there but the cost of living will be so much less than New York City. I mean, Amy and I wouldn’t move in with him straight away. I think that would be foolish. We could get something small nearby. See how it goes first. It would be an adventure – a life change. I’d keep my autonomy. Then, if it didn’t work out with Zac it wouldn’t be the end of the world and if it did, well…hello? Book Two of my life.”

“What about Johnny?”

She lowers her voice to an almost inaudible whisper, “Johnny can fuck right off.”

“Really?”

“The only reason he wanted us back is because Lady-love Phoenix has gone back to her husband. He had the perfect life with me and Amy and he blew it. We can’t be left-overs. Anyway, don’t worry, I won’t do anything rash. But I am weighing things up.” She clears her throat. “And what about you, Pearl? D’you think you’ll have the willpower to stay away from Alexandre when he’s still expressing undying love for you?”

“This time I have to, Daisy. I have no choice. I can’t be left-overs, either.”

“I just don’t get it.
Why
is he still seeing Laura?”

“He says he needs one more thing from her and then he’ll never see her again.”

“Is that code for one last goodbye, d’you think? One last shag?”

“That’s what I fear but he’s been taking his time about it – this Laura thing has been dragging on for weeks.”

“It must have been painful for you not spending Christmas with him.”

“I had an amazing Christmas here with you and Amy and Ant.”

“Yes, but still. Have you spoken to Sophie, by the way?”

“Yes, she called the other day. So strange. She asked me what was going on with Alexandre. She asked
me
.”

“But surely she must
know
if it’s to do with their mother - this big ‘emergency’ Alexandre was talking about.”

“Exactly, that’s what I’d presumed. But no. She’s as much in the dark as I am. That’s why I’m beginning to think this mother emergency thing is a fig leaf of an excuse to keep seeing Laura.”

“But what you told me – the stuff Sally the dog walker said. It sounds as if he’s miserable without you. None of this makes sense.”

“Maybe he’s miserable because he can’t make a final choice and it’s ripping him apart. I’m so glad you’re here to protect me, Daisy, or I know what he’d do. He’d be at my door wooing me with kisses and flexing his huge great Weapon of Mass Destruction until I succumbed. He knows how weak I am, how I can’t resist him.

“You’re really hooked on him, aren’t you?”

“I’m head over heels in love with him. I have never, ever felt like this about anybody.”

“Are you going to let him know you’re pregnant?”

“No. I want to know it’s
me
he’s choosing if he finally makes his mind up. If he knows there’s a child involved he might come back to me just for that reason. It has to be me, and only me he wants.”

“Did you tell Sophie about the baby?”

“No. I can’t trust her not to tell him. You know how close they are.”

“I wish I had a crystal ball, Pearl. I wish I could offer great advice but I’ve screwed up with you on more than one occasion. I was just as suspicious as you were about Sophie and if I’d kept my bloody mouth shut maybe you and Alexandre would be married by now.”

“And what? Be divorced ten minutes later because of Laura? Having a ring on my finger probably wouldn’t have changed a thing. Maybe he’s like all those ex French presidents and aristocratic types who have a wife and also a mistress at the same time – maybe that’s what rich French men do.”

Daisy frowns. “He didn’t strike me as that sort. I still can’t believe he’s with her. I mean, he swears to you that he hasn’t touched her – why would he say that if it weren’t true?”

“Because, as you know more than anyone, men can be very convincing. Listen, some women fall in love with serial killers and have no idea. I have obviously fallen for a pathological liar who can’t keep it in his pants.”

A
lexandre felt as if he had been sliced in two. This whole situation was a fucking nightmare. He had never imagined that Laura could do this to him - have this hold on him just as everything seemed so perfect with Pearl. Crap timing - that was for sure.

He sat in his parked car, watching as snowflakes drifted across the windscreen… waiting, his heart pounding fast…with rage. He hadn’t done anything like this for a long while; hadn’t got into any fights for years because he knew what he was capable of. Anger and excess energy had been building up steadily over the past few weeks and this fuck was going to get it – he deserved it. He’d show that fuck, once and for all, that you just can’t go through life treating people like garbage, especially women. Jim was his name. Probably thought that, because he made a killing on Wall St, he was above it all. He needed to be taught a lesson.

Alexandre’s eyes were fixed on the man’s front door. It was still decorated with a crown of holly, the imposing white brick house boasting expensive Christmas lights; tasteful, not overly done. Must have cost a mint, this place; Mystic, Connecticut was not cheap. He imagined the man’s wife and 2.2 children, perfect and with no clue to the monster that lived within their loved one. Alexandre wouldn’t damage him, no. He wouldn’t do that to a man with kids but he’d scare the living shit out of him. Make him pay. In more ways than one.

He smiled to himself as it struck him that he’d never let onto Pearl that he was a black-belt master in Taekwondo. He hated people who boasted about their prowess at martial arts or sports. But after his father, he swore nobody would ever have the power to hurt him again physically. He remembered his teacher, Sophie’s first serious boyfriend. He started to train her, and then Alexandre took an interest. The man was a real grand master, a genius; had been trained in Korea as a child. Alexandre remembered the mantra he had been taught, ‘I shall be a champion of freedom and justice’ and ‘I shall build a more peaceful world.’ Justice – that’s what he would set right tonight. And as for a more peaceful world, Alexandre would ensure that this fuck, Jim, made his contribution to help abused girls in need.

Alexandre noticed the front door open. Fuck, there he was, that little shit. Just seeing his enemy made the thigh muscles in Alexandre’s leg twitch. Those legs that had been trained to kick like a weapon; break a concrete block in two – even if he hardly trained anymore, it was second nature, his leg could fly up and smash any opponent in the head, knocking even the strongest man to the ground without even trying too hard. He’d have to control himself, though – he could kill, just with his thumb on someone’s pressure point. Peace before combat at all times – except now, this bastard had it coming to him for nearly twenty years.

Alexandre briskly eyed his opponent’s cocky way of walking and could see straight away that he was brawny – yes, he had a footballer’s shape, but an ex-footballer who’d had too many lunches on his big fat banker’s budget. Good, just as he’d been told – the man was going out alone. His family would still be inside watching TV. His contact had told him as much, that Jim liked to go out to a particular bar down by the Seafront on Saturday nights, usually coming home about ten thirty.

Alexandre watched as Jim got into his SUV and snailed out of the driveway. He waited a beat and when the vehicle was far enough ahead of him, he started his car and drove cautiously behind. He thought about people feeling repentant - how it was only possible to forgive someone when they were truly sorry for what they’d done. That’s why his father had ended up dead – because he could never admit culpability, could never say he was sorry. That’s all it would have taken, that one word beginning with S to save his life – but the shit couldn’t even say it.

So he’d ended up electrocuted in his bath, the electric appliance zapping him until his body’s spasms jittered like a live wire. Finally, like a huge wet fish he lay silent, his reign of terror over for good.

Jim parked his car near the bar. Alexandre did the same and swiftly got out, calmly walking over. Luckily, nobody was around; a couple had just gone inside the bar. Alexandre stepped up beside his target, grabbed the man by the shoulders and stuck the pistol into his back.

The man tried to spin on his heel but he was locked in a vice. “What the fuck?”

Alexandre murmured quietly, “I’ve got a gun pointed right into your spine. If you don’t do as I say, I’ll pull the trigger and if you don’t die you’ll be paralyzed for life.”

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Your shadow. Now get back into your car – we’re going for a little drive. Don’t fuck with me, this gun has a silencer. I’ll pull the trigger, walk you over to the water and throw you in. Nobody knows I’m here, nobody has seen me. Nobody will hear a thing. You’ll be fish food.”

The man flinched and swallowed hard. Alexandre could smell his fear, the man was a coward. Bullies are always cowards.

“Get in the car, Jim.”

“How d’you know my name? You’re accent…are you like…one of those Romanians, the guys from the mafia? Look, I already said I didn’t want to do that deal—”

“Shut the fuck up, Jim, just get back into your vehicle. If you do as I say, I won’t kill you. If you fuck with me, I will. You’re driving by the way.”

“You must have me mistaken for someone else.”

Alexandre pushed the gun in his back a little harder. “I don’t think so. It’s payback time, buddy.”

The man let himself be bundled into the driver’s seat and panted with fear. He had tears in his eyes and sweat dripping from his brow. Alexandre carefully got into the back seat, keeping the gun pointed at his spine – maintaining the pressure close so there was no doubt he meant business.

“You know, this country’s gun control laws really need to be revised. Where I come from, you have to be part of a sporting club or a hunting club to get a gun license. They don’t let any Tom, Dick or Harry go around with arsenals of lethal weapons.”

The man stuttered, “Where are you from?”

Alexandre replied quietly, “That would be telling. Now start the car and drive.”

“Where are we going?”

Alexandre’s gloved hand pushed the weapon harder into the man’s back making a dent in his cashmere overcoat. “Somewhere nice and quiet. Don’t try anything smart, remember. This baby is still nuzzled right on your spinal cord.

Jim squeaked, “I swear I won’t try a thing.”

“So you live here just on weekends?”

“Weekends, holidays. I work in Manhattan.”

“Yes, I know. You do well?”

“I’m proud of my capabilities, yes.”

“Capabilities…hum, that could be disputed. How much money do you earn a month, Jim?” Alexandre already knew the answer to his question.

The man’s breath hitched. “It depends. You know, on bonuses and stuff, but I make a good fifty grand a month.”

“That’s a lot of money.”

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s how much I make every thirty minutes, more or less.”

The man sniggered uneasily as if he thought Alexandre was joking. He wasn’t.

Alexandre went on in a low voice, “I don’t like people telling others how much money they earn; I think it’s tacky. But I thought you might be interested so you understand who you’re dealing with. So you understand that, not only could I have you killed at any moment, but right now, I have an alibi. I have three people who can testify I am
not
here now… with you. That is, should you get any smart ideas. Should you want to call the cops at a later date or tattle-tell on me. You see, I am way, way richer than you are. And you know what money buys, don’t you, Jim?”

Jim nodded.

“It buys power,” Alexandre whispered.

“What do you want from me?” the guy asked edgily.

“I want you to make a donation. Not much at all. I’m going to be really fair. All I ask is that you donate two month’s salary.”

Jim squealed, “I can’t give you a hundred thousand dollars just like that! I don’t even know who you are!”

Alexandre replied calmly “Oh, I think you can, Jim. Here’s the thing. I’ll make you a deal. You give me the names and phone numbers of all your rapist friends who were there that night – when was it, yes, about eighteen years ago. All those assholes who violated a beautiful young woman called Jane Doe, and I will give you a ten percent discount.”

“You’re nuts. Completely nuts.”

Alexandre poked the gun into the man’s back even harder. “You’re absolutely right. I’m so nuts, I’m capable of killing you.”

“I can’t even remember who was there.”

“So you admit what you did?”

Jim wailed, “She wanted it, man. We were all drunk. She was asking for it. I can’t even remember that far back.”

“So all these years have gone by and you’ve never felt a drop of shame or remorse?”

“What would you have done? A naked chick with her legs splayed open…ouch, that hurts!”

Alexandre released the pressure of his middle knuckle just under the man’s ear lobe and spat “Okay, your choice. A hundred and fifty thousand, then. Or you die here tonight.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll give you names and take the ninety grand discount option. How do I know you won’t kill me anyway?”

“Because I’m a man of my word. And right now that’s all you’ve got. I want the payment wired tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s Sunday,” Jim squeaked, his voice like a terrified boy.

“I’ll give you until Wednesday. If it doesn’t arrive I will hunt you down, Jim, do you understand? You can hire bodyguards but I am a very patient man. I will wait quietly. Silently. You will never know when I might strike. It could be years from now, it could be days. Do you want to live that way? Constantly in fear?”