Ch 21, Pinnacle

"A woman by the name of Viola Richardson owns the property in Fianarantsoa, but she herself resides in Bath, in the UK." Kelly Anne's voice over the conference console came in steady. "Louise and I, we went through the documents piece by piece to get the full picture."

"I'm positive she is Lancaster's mother and partner in the business of extorting developers". Louise Dumas had arrived in Langebaan, and it was obvious that she and Kelly Anne, both legal brains, had clicked right away. "She has degrees in Business and in Chemical engineering. She is a high roller…way higher than her son, who dropped out of college to open a luxurious car dealership with his trust money and when he blew the trust away, he ended up crawling back to mommy."

"So, it sounds like she is more 'the brain' of the operation than him!" Marcel said thoughtfully.

"Oui, mon cheri. I believe he was muscle and operations…maybe some strategy here and there!" Louise confirmed. "From all the company documentation we reviewed, it was her who approved most target companies, plots of land, developers, etc."

"We suspect she had the final word, but we don't know for sure!", Kelly Anne chimed in. "Because we came across some pictures from a country club in the English countryside. The woman is in a wheelchair…she has some sort of disability…Of course it doesn't mean she can't be the one pulling the strings, but she is in and out of medical care..."

"So, what is status quo on the Interpol operation?" Marcel turned to Chicho who had kept silent.

"Avi told me they had passed the intel on to Interpol. As of yesterday morning, Interpol had frozen Lancaster's accounts, so now we must file paperwork to seek compensation. Right, Dupont?" And Chicho looked at the lawyer who had waited the whole story out in Phuket and was still shaken by the attempt on his life.

Dupont outlined for everyone how the Thai government had been impressed by the assistance provided to their cargo ship attacked by pirates and therefore had committed to issuing a building permit once a cleanup plan had been presented. James only shrugged as everyone in the room looked at him when the assistance to the cargo ship came up.

"It seems like Lancaster wasn't a very loved boss", Chicho went on: "…because the moment his headquarters in London were raided, an employee, a possible whistleblower had come forward…Anat told me the man described how a subsidiary company of Lancaster had been enlisted to dredge up toxic waste. Operatives using unmarked vehicles would transport it to a competitor's facility, where it would be dumped as if the competitor were guilty of the pollution!"

"The so called LIIP or…Land Investment Improvement Plan… or simply land laundering!" James noted.

"Even Castel Fioto had heard of such a scheme!" Teresa added.

"So, basically Lancaster's employee disclosed that the competitors get sued and fined, often go out of business!" Chicho said.

"Wow!' Marcel couldn't hide his disgust.

Chicho nodded and went on: "The dirtiest part though is …that Lancaster's subsidiary employed chemists to analyze each competitor's operation and determine the exact pollutants generated in their legit operation…That's what they did in the lab in Tel Aviv facility…So, when the polluted land would get tested, pollutants released in the manufacturing process of the competitors' would be found there. And the competitor in question would look guilty… basically an operation to give credence to the guilt!"

"The price of the land drops drastically as a result", Louise Dumas added over the speaker console: "As the company is trying to liquidate assets fast ...as it needs cash to pay fines…or is going bankrupt!"

"Yeah exactly…then Lancaster buys it using another subsidiary of his for a symbolic amount and through a third subsidiary sells it to …ahh…gullible yahoos like us!" Chicho concluded and looked at Marcel.

"So, someone must be sourcing these gullible buyers!" James said. "How did you meet this Lancaster fellow?"

"In New York a few years back… when we were opening the Lounge Hotel", Marcel said. "He seemed legit, introduced us to many people in the business…but now I realize he was 'sourcing' buyers!"

"I still can't get what Lancaster thought would happen when folks find out they can't develop the land they bought?" Pote's voice boomed over the console. He had kept quiet until then.

"I believe he thought they would write the investment to a loss or clean it up…but I guess he never planned on one buyer acquiring four polluted properties and deciding to seek him out!" Dupont responded.

Then he cleared his throat and added: "In light of the current developments, I made contact with the bank in Zurich. They may jump on board again if we get a new venture cap to support us."

At that everyone looked at Teresa and she almost smiled before saying: "Let's wait for Interpol to go public…as per Samara it is expected in the next few days. Then I'll talk to Herr Egger in Zurich myself!"

Pote had dealt with Lancaster the only way Pote knew how: with abundant lack of grace.

Teresa still felt shivers when she recalled the hatred and the anger in his voice. Was it done? Was this tumultuous chapter behind them? Would her family agree to her investing in Marcel's business now? Especially if he was going to work for Castel Fioto? She had told James and he hadn't been thrilled.

At this moment he came out of the walk-in closet, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, looking ready for a night on the town.

"Ready?" He smiled at her, and she nodded, smiling back.

They were downtown bound, with no itinerary or a specific destination. A free night ramble. Thirty minutes later they were in a gondola car on a ferris wheel strung with lights. Rising slowly above the spectacle of the pier, Teresa watched the elegant skyline of the city as James held her hand tight.

They had dinner in the city at a very nice restaurant and spent the entire time talking like they hadn't talked in a while: about the people from the past, who had resurfaced and their impact on the present; about Chicho getting romantically involved with a Mossad agent and Marcel starting to work for the CIA under the cover of working for a drug cartel. Then they talked about ideas: how would they clean up the land, would the Swiss bank come back on board, would the two current owners still care about their development once their lives would set in these other directions.

Their table was beside a huge window and the candle light reflected in the glass in between the city lights burning beyond. By the time dusk fell they had killed a bottle of merlot, then another, until Teresa felt the pleasant buzz in her head and all the wine and food pairing details, she had learned on that night out with Kelly Anne in the Swiss Alps came back. She decided to share with James her recollections about the Riesling, the Pino Grigio, and the Chardonnay going well with light foods, while the Merlot, the Shiraz and the Malbec being a much better partner to cheeses and red meats. And as she kept chatting lightly and looking at his handsome face by the candlelight, she didn't notice how the time had slipped by and she realized she felt relaxed and happy, like she hadn't been in a while.

"And the Pino Noir is the lightest red, which I didn't quite fancy…despite Kelly Anne saying that she had submitted hers this year for the grand award…and that she was expecting to get it …the award I mean…that's for the whole southern production range of South Africa! Can you imagine?" Teresa smiled at James who was nodding while observing the waiter serving some desserts two tables over.

"I know what you're thinking!" Teresa laughed. "This cake over there…will go down smoothly with a Sauvignon Blanc!"

James looked at her and tried to hide a smile.

'What?" she said fast. "What did I say?"

He chuckled. "It's not what you said…It's your lovely little accent saying 'Sauvignon Blanc'…that I love so much! It's adorable!" he just shook his head and bit his lip: "Just say it again…would you?"

Teresa playfully squinted at him and repeated 'Sauvignon Blanc' while he waived at the waiter to order the desert that he had seen.

A boy selling flowers passed by their table and before Teresa had finished her dessert and before she knew it, James had given him a bill and had his arm extended at her with a red rose. She felt a warm fuzzy feeling wash over her.

"We are an old married couple and …I feel like you are….", she was trying to make her tipsy brain work faster when he said: "Romancing you?"

"Exactly!" She smiled genuinely: "Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. Is there something …that you're not telling me…or something that you might want from me afterwards?"

He looked pretentiously over his nose and said: "I'm fine!"

"So, this is not …because you had a scary experience in Goa….", she had not forgotten his despondent voicemail.

"I don't know", he shrugged. "I lost my wits as I thought Tony could've been …hurt….and a lot of images flashed before my eyes then…So, I got this nervous ache in the stomach and it keeps coming back….and I think about my family all the time…and about you every second…I think about all the choices we have made that have led us to this moment….I think how life is just so …fragile!", and he pulled out his pack of smokes as a sign that he needed to get out and take a few puffs.

Teresa looked at him over the rim of her wine glass, their eyes connecting, the candle light quivering between them. He leaned forward, pushing the plates to the side so that he could hold her hands in his across the table: "Even if there are a million versions of you and I out there…living a similar life or a different one… there's none better than us right here and now…where our choices have led us! It's more than anything in the world."

There was a long pause while she searched his eyes, maybe to confirm that he was serious, maybe to figure out where the depth of his thoughts was coming from.

"Let's get out of here!" she said and stood up, while he took out cash and left it on the table.

Their hotel room had an open concept, and the one glass wall overlooked the pool area and the sea. James opened the window wide, and the familiar sound of breaking waves hit them both.

Teresa's arms slid under his as her head rested on his back. They both could feel the light breeze coming from the water. Then she said: "I don't like this T-shirt, James! You mind taking it off?"

He did and as he turned towards her, his mouth found hers while he walked her back into the room gently, pulling the door shut and then pushing her onto the bed.

He was on top of her, his hands running up her thighs, driving the silk dress over her hips, pulling the bikini out of his way. Then he stopped to stare down into her eyes, smoky and glistening in the light stealing through the window. Eyes he could fall into and keep falling.

Sometime later, sweaty and shaky, they lay intertwined and gazing out at the shimmering lights reflecting on the pool below. The air creeping through the slightly open balcony door was the softest and saltiest of the season. It trickled across their sweat glazed bodies as they both gave in to sleep.