Germaine spoke with Monsieur Govet for some time with Steven Bloom lagging a step behind catching the entire conversation. She fell back into the part of Dominique Seignet with relative ease and coaxed bits and pieces of seemingly trivial information out of the man easily. As the conversation ended, she passed along her contact information and agreed to speak with him again in the next few days about investing in his company.
Germaine watched Govet walk away and turned towards her "date" for the evening. With a flirtatious smile, she grabbed Steven's arm and led him in the opposite direction. "Now where were we?"
With Hoyt's directions, they found their way to one of the private rooms made available to guests of the party. They knew Govet was staying at the chateau overnight instead of going back into the city and Hoyt had managed to narrow the possibilities down to two rooms. With luck, Govet would make some calls Hoyt could trace and get a lead to his partners. As they stood near the door to the first room they needed to get into, voices came from the far end of the hall. Germaine quickly backed up against the door, pulled Steven close and placed his hands firmly on her hips while she tried the door handle. "It's locked," she whispered into his ear.
"Mmm-hmmm. You expected it to be open?" he asked quietly as a couple walked past them.
"I was hoping to avoid any breaking and entering this time out," she answered as he crouched down near the lock his one hand slowly moving down her leg as his other reached inside a jacket pocket.
"You didn't happen to bring a lock pick?" Steven asked as he began working on the lock. He knew if she had one it was probably with her gun, concealed in the holster around her thigh and he was more than willing to retrieve it.
"I had a difficult time finding a place for a gun and your bugs tonight, so no I don't have one," she replied and then felt the door move behind her as he turned the handle. "You were hoping I had one, weren't you, so you could get it while you were down there?"
"Doing my best to keep your reputation intact, Dominique," Steven said innocently as they walked through the door.
Once inside, Germaine fished listening devices out of the top of her dress as Steven looked on. His eyes were filled with more than a little interest and he did nothing to disguise it. She found the look on Steven's face now and Leo's earlier to be a wonderful ego boost. As she spied herself in the mirror that hung on the far wall, she had to admit she looked good. Her body with its small waist and fuller hips and breasts was better suited to an era of corsets than today's fashions but the red dress she had found fit like a second skin and showcased her hourglass figure.
"I'm not responsible for what happens if you keep looking at me like that," Germaine said now speaking in French as she handed him one of the bugs. "I don't think your wife would approve." They had always conversed in French while they were together and she was curious to see if he was still fluent.
"I sign the divorce papers when I get back," he said off-handedly, continuing in French, as he placed the tiny microphone in a plant. "You?"
"If you're asking if I'm married, I'm not," she replied as she placed hers in the phone. Then they cautiously walked into another room after Steven picked the lock. "You set the standard too high for any other man." Hoyt was certainly getting an earful, she thought.
"Not married and I'm guessing not doing this if people haven't seen you in years," he said. "What have you been up to?"
"A little of this; a little of that. I've become quite good at art restoration," she answered. "Very low stress level and I even get to travel from time to time. It's perfect."
"And you're here because?" he inquired. While she had always had a passion for art, her main focus had been tech and although he didn't ask, Steven wondered about the change.
"If you got killed because your cover didn't hold, how could I live with myself?" she replied without thinking.
"You still care?" Steven asked somewhat rhetorically, not entirely expecting an answer from her. Germaine tended to be very guarded and shared her feelings with only a select few. He was almost certain the years apart had removed him from her chosen confidants.
"I never stopped, ma cher," Germaine answered honestly, and then spoke to Hoyt before Steven could say anything further. "Hoyt, everything's set. Activate them whenever you wish."
They returned downstairs and found Leo. The three went outside to talk after disengaging Leo from the woman he had been hanging on. "Microphones are planted and active," Steven told Leo. "Govet is expecting a phone call from Mademoiselle Seignet in the next day or so. He finds her very interesting and will tell her whatever she wants to hear, I think."
"He just likes the dress. It's such a big hit I may keep it," Germaine said looking at the two men standing with her. "Enjoy the rest of your evening, mes amis; I have somewhere I have to be. Leo, you know how to find me." She walked down to where her black Mercedes and driver were waiting and added, "Hoyt, it's been great fun."
Steve looked at Leo who just shrugged and smiled. He wasn't about to try and stop her from leaving. Germaine did what she had to do and now she was going; that was the deal she had with them. Leo Nash was interested, though, to see how this all played out. He could tell Steven Bloom knew something was off with her. She was almost in her car when Steve caught up with her. "Where are you going?" he asked. "We're in the middle of something."
"I have to go, Steven, and you're in the middle of something. This is your operation. If you need something before I speak with Govet, Leo knows how to find me," she responded as she stood at the open car door. Part of her wanted to stay longer with him but Germaine knew if she remained, there was a very good chance she would say things she might later regret. She reached up and fit her hand to the side of his face; his beard was slightly rough against her hand. Her eyes were filled with longing and tenderness as she told him, "It was so very good seeing you again, mon amour. I've missed you so much."
"Well?" Leo asked when Steven returned. Although he couldn't hear what was said, he had seen the exchange between the two and was curious.
"She said you know how to find her if we need anything else. What the hell is going on, Nash?" Steven demanded. "Why are you the go-to on this one?"
"Listen, Steve, I didn't make the rules. She did. If you have a problem with them, talk to Germaine," Leo answered.
"Something's not right," Steven said later as he sat in a bar having a drink with Nash and Hoyt.
"You're talking about Germaine? She doesn't want to be bothered," Leo Nash answered. "What of it? There could be lots of reasons why she left. Maybe her husband doesn't know what she's doing; maybe she's working on another assignment; hell, maybe she turns into a pumpkin when the clock strikes one."
"There is no husband, she would have told me if she was working on something else and it's not like Germaine to run out mid-way," Steven said to Leo. "She's hiding something … and so are you. You've kept in touch with her?"
"We've talked," Leo answered noncommittally.
"Often?" Steven questioned.
"She's helped me out a couple of times when I needed it. When I'm in town and in between assignments we have dinner, maybe a glass of wine or two. What's with all the questions, Stevie?" Leo said beginning to lose his patience.
"No reason," Bloom answered.
Leo sat there staring at Steven, "You're jealous."
"I am not," Steven replied.
"You are. You're jealous … because I go out with Germaine from time to time. Oh, and I have her cell number, we can't forget that," Leo added.
"You said it was dinner," Steven stated.
"And you said you weren't jealous," Leo countered.
"I'm not," Steven said finishing his drink and getting up to leave.
"You're protesting a little too much," Leo told him. "If it bothers you so much, call Shaw in the morning. Ask him what's going on with her," Leo replied as Bloom walked off. He knew Shaw would shut down his inquiry immediately.