The Property of a Lady - Elizabeth Adler [159]
He called the CIA again. “Cornish,” he said, “do we know what the Russians have been doing with those Indian mines all these years? I mean, were they working them?”
“I guess so,” Cornish replied, “but we were never given the go-ahead on the Ivanoff thing, so we’ve never really explored all the angles.”
“Start exploring,” Cal retorted as clues clicked into place in his mind. “We know the mines are valuable because of the tungsten, and that tungsten is vital to steel production. And who is the world’s largest producer of steel and armaments?”
“Jesus, Cal, you don’t think …?”
“Arnhaldt is in Düsseldorf,” Cal said, “and so is—was—Markheim.”
“I’ll get right on to it,” Cornish said. “Be back to you later today.”
Cal grinned as he put down the phone. He just might have cracked the mystery of the third player in the Ivanoff game. He’d bet his last dollar Arnhaldt had bought the emerald. What would Genie Reese think about that? He would give her a call later, maybe ask her to dinner. Sure, she had upset the hell out of him with her recklessness, but there was just something about her. Perhaps it was that her determination matched his own; she was a trier, he would certainly give her ? for effort. He pictured her sitting opposite him on the banquette at the Hotel Beau Rivage, remembering the way her blue eyes had widened when he told her about the billions and the way she pushed her hand through her long blond hair when she was nervous, and he remembered the mouth that was too vulnerable for the role she was playing. Yes, he liked Genie Reese, he really liked her.
It was five-thirty in the afternoon when Cornish called him back. He said the facts about Arnhaldt operating the mines had been confirmed and he was following it up. Also intelligence from Düsseldorf said that Markheim had accepted a large bribe from someone, probably KGB agents, to divulge the name of his client, and there was no doubt that the Russians now knew about Arnhaldt. Cal nodded; it was as he expected. He told Cornish to let him know if they were able to come up with anything else, and then he glanced at his watch. Genie hadn’t called him so he would call her.
“Hi,” she said. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful. They smell like a summer garden.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, relieved to hear her voice. “Is my apology accepted?”
“Oh, sure. There’s really nothing to apologize for.”
“Yes there is, but nothing we can talk about over the phone.” She didn’t reply and he said quickly, “Are you all right?”
“Why shouldn’t I be?” Her voice was cautious.
“Well, you skipped out on me again in Düsseldorf. I’m just glad to hear you’re back safely, what with events there.”
“Events? Oh, yes.” She hesitated and then said quickly, “Cal, I’m really glad you called. Can you see me tonight?”
He smiled. “You beat me to it. I was going to ask you to have dinner.”
“Dinner? Well, maybe….”
He thought it wasn’t the most enthusiastic acceptance he’d ever heard but he really wanted to see her. “Shall we say eight o’clock then? The bar at the Four Seasons? We’ll take it from there.”
“I’ll be there. Cal? Watch the six o’clock news tonight, will you? I think maybe we will have something else to talk about.”
He put down the phone with a frown, wondering what she had meant. He sure hoped she wasn’t going to make another dumb move like she had with Solovsky. He hadn’t expected her to go that far. But Genie was a high flyer, aiming for the top. And because of him she was playing a dangerous game to get there.
He glanced at his watch. It was a quarter to six. There wasn’t time to get to the television station and find out exactly what she was up to before she went on the air. Goddamn, why did she always act without asking him first? Who knew