02_Coyote in Provence Read online

  “Lou, come in and meet your new boss, Miss Rahimi, he said, motioning Lou in. “Miss Rahimi, meet your main bodyguard, Lou.

  She pulled Slade aside. “This guy sure doesn’t look like a bodyguard to me. Is he really a bodyguard?” she asked.

  “Yeah, in answer to your question, this man’s a killing machine. He spent ten years in Asia learning the art of killing and paralyzing people. I mean Lou could put a finger on your neck and exert pressure in jus’ the right place and you’d be lookin’ at stars layin’ on the floor. Trust me. You ain’t got no more worries. Lou’s here. By the way, the limo will be out in front at 8:00 tomorrow mornin’. Driver’s name’s Dave.”

  “Doll, gotta leave. See you tomorrow. Fill Lou in on the routine and show him where to sleep. Nite, kids.” He handed Darya his empty glass, opened the door and walked out.

  Darya simply stood by the front door for a moment, in a daze, not sure what to do next. She felt like she was losing any control she had over her life and now she was being asked to trust this stranger with her life. Her dazed condition was broken by Lou’s voice.

  “Miss Rahimi, if you’ll show me where my room is, I’ll put my suitcase in there and I’d like you to give me a tour of your condo. I’ll check the exterior. Then I need to know your daily routine. Things like where you go and what you do. Will that be all right with you?”

  “Yes, and I guess I should say ‘Welcome to your new home.’”

  CHAPTER 26

  Darya woke up feeling vaguely uncomfortable. Sitting up she remembered that Lou was in the room across the hall. She saw the small black button concealed on the side of the nightstand and it all came back to her. Lou had called a contractor who worked with Slade and insisted that he come and install the device at that late hour. It consisted of a thin wire which strategically followed the top of the molding to the bedroom door, down it, under the hall carpet, and into Lou’s room. It was invisible to the naked eye. While the contractor was there, Lou told him he needed to take care of some other things Lou felt were needed to improve security at the condo.

  The contractor installed sensor lights on her porches and in the living room. Dead bolts were installed on all three doors, front, back and garage. A peephole was installed in the front door. After a while, Darya went to bed, leaving Lou to oversee the contractor. She was so exhausted and confused, with time changes, she wasn’t even sure what day it was or when she’d last slept. The last thing she remembered was pulling the sheets down.

  She glanced at her clock and realized she had about an hour until the limo driver would arrive to pick her up. Two other guards were coming to the office today to meet her. She didn’t know what all this was going to cost, but figured the company could pick up the bill for protecting its president. With a strange man now living in the house and others to follow, she was very glad her bathroom was located within the bedroom suite. She wouldn’t have to walk down the hall half undressed. She sighed as she realized her days of drinking coffee and reading the Los Angeles Times at the kitchen counter in nothing more than a bra and panties was over. She’d always loved the tinted glass on her floor to ceiling windows. She could see out, but early morning beachgoers couldn’t see in. She decided that was probably good for security.

  Lou was standing at the front door promptly at eight and after he checked the locks, they walked to the waiting limousine. A man dressed in a black suit who she presumed was Dave was standing by the open back door.

  “Hi, I’m Darya Rahimi. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. This is all new to me so you’ll have to tell me what to do,” she said, shaking his hand and getting into the car.

  “If you let me know in advance where you want to go, I’ll check the best routes so we don’t waste time. I can stay wherever I take you until you’re ready to leave or you can tell me to come back at a certain time. It’s entirely up to you.”

  “Well, not having done this before, it’s going to take some getting used to. As for today, I think Slade told you I was going to my office. I’ll be there all day, so there’s no reason to stay. I’ll call you when I’m ready to leave. How long will it take you to get back to my office?”

  “Text me instead. I think it’s more secure. If you could give me around thirty minutes notice, that should be fine unless there’s some sort of an accident and traffic’s tied up. Our secure storage lot isn’t that far from your office and I’ll go back there when you don’t need me.”

  “That sounds fine. As I said, this is new to me, so if I can do something and make it easier for you, let me know.”

  Dave was an excellent driver and in just a short time the limousine pulled up in front of her office. He opened the door and she and Lou got out. She walked through the front door and greeted the receptionist.

  “Gina, I want you to meet Lou. He has free rein of the company from now on, so you don’t need to call me and tell me he’s here. Oh, and I’m expecting a man by the name of Slade Kelly this morning. Please send him up. I know him.”

  She walked across the reception area and went up the curved staircase carpeted in a soft mauve color. The white walls were decorated with rugs from the Middle East. She smiled at Lou, “Hope you don’t mind the climb, but with my schedule there’s no time for a health club, so this is my workout.”

  “Fine by me, Miss Rahimi.”

  “Lou, that sounds too formal. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together. Why don’t you call me something else?”

  “Okay. How about Miss R? I like that.”

  “I do too. And I must say your grammar is a whole lot better than your boss’s.”

  “Miss R, don’t ever underestimate Slade Kelly. His speech and the way he dresses are just part of his simple country boy cover up. Did you know he has a Master’s Degree in Criminology as well as a law degree?”

  Darya came to a dead stop, turned around on the stairs and looked at Lou with a wide-eyed expression on her face. “You’re kidding, right? He seems like such an uncouth boor.”

  “Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s a great believer in smoke and mirrors. You can learn a lot more when people think you’re not very smart. Words slip and people get sloppy. If someone thinks you’re smart, they’re going to be a lot more careful about what they say and do.”

  They climbed the rest of the stairs in silence. Darya was having a hard time adjusting to what Lou had just told her.

  “Good morning, Miss Rahimi. Welcome back. I hope your trip was successful,” her longtime administrative assistant Mahsa said.

  “Well, that’s a long story, too long for now. I’m glad to be back, Mahsa. I want you to meet Lou. He’s my bodyguard and will be…”

  She was interrupted by Mahsa, “Your what?” she practically screamed, her big brown eyes opening wide in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I wish I was. There are going to be some major changes in our day-to-day operations. Lou or one of his men will be with me at all times, plus I can’t drive my car anymore and I have to use a limousine service. Oh, and a man named Slade Kelly will be here in a little while. Let me know when he arrives. Call HR and find out who hires new employees. I want a report prepared, if there’s not one already, describing the exact procedure we follow when hiring new employees. Let me see it before Slade gets here.”

  “Miss R, while you’re getting that information, I’d like to look around this area, your office, and the restroom and just make sure everything is secure. Is that all right?” Lou asked.

  “Of course, Lou. If you need anything, just ask Mahsa.”

  She opened the door to her office and as always, it brought a smile to her face. Pillows in brightly colored Middle Eastern fabrics were placed on the backs of two cream colored couches. In between them was an intricate tiled table covered with beveled glass. Floor lamps with brightly colored shades repeated the colors of the pillows.

  Moth orchids in deep pinks, purples and cream were on the coffee table and the credenza set against t
he wall near the large conference table. The colors and fabrics definitely indicated this was a woman’s office.

  Darya sat down at her desk and within minutes was engrossed in her email. She spent the next hour responding to it, stopping only to look at the HR report Mahsa brought in. Just as she was finishing with her email, her intercom rang. “Miss Rihami, Slade Kelly is here. Shall I show him in?”

  “No, thanks. I’ll come out and get him.” She stood up, walked to the door and opened it. “Good morning Slade. Come in. How are you?”

  “Well, Doll, well,” he said, getting up from his chair. He ignored the shocked look on Mahsa’s face. She’d never heard anyone call Miss Rahimi, “Doll!”

  “Slade, I had HR prepare a report on our hiring protocol. Here it is. Mahsa will take you down there and introduce you to the two people who are responsible for hiring all of the employees at Darya Cosmetics. When you’re through, why don’t you come back up here and we can go over it?”

  “Sounds good. Lou behave himself last night?” he said with a lewd smile on his face.

  “Yes. He’s a very nice man. He called the contractor you work with and the two of them secured the condo last night. He’s in the process of assessing what I need in the reception area, my office, my private bathroom and my secretary’s office. It’s all coming together.”

  “Good. Good. Okay, Doll, got lots going on today. Let’s get this HR thing out of the way.”

  She pressed the intercom button. “Mahsa, Mr. Kelly’s ready to go down to HR.” She stood up and opened the door for him.

  “I’ll see you back here when you’re finished. If you need anything, please call Mahsa.”

  Lou walked out of the bathroom. “I’ve completed my inspection and I don’t see any problems. What I would like to do is the same thing I did last night at the condo. I want to have the contractor install a button you can use for me or my men as well as a dead bolt lock. If someone should get past the bodyguard and your administrative assistant, you can use the dead bolt to secure the room. It will give you time to call 911 and might just save your life. I’d prefer that the contractor makes changes only in your presence. Do you have any appointments this morning?”

  “No. Actually, I don’t have any appointments all day. I always try to keep the day after I return from a trip free because I know there are things that are going to need my immediate attention and I want to keep my concentration clear. Go ahead and get started. I hope you’re not offended if I ignore you.”

  At noon, there was a knock on her door. “Come in,” she said.

  Slade opened the door and said, “Doll, I don’t want you to ever say that again. No matter who is out here, even if he tells you he’s the fuckin’ President of the United States. From now on Mahsa’s to call you on the intercom and tell you who’s out here. If you don’t know who’s on the other side of the door, don’t open it and throw the dead bolt closed. Now, let’s get some lunch unless you got other plans. HR’s closed for an hour and I got time. Do you want to go out and get something?”

  “No. We have a lunchroom and kitchen on-site. We’re too small to have a cafeteria, but a catering company delivers sandwiches and some other things. There are a couple of food machines as well. Some people bring things from home, so we have a microwave and a refrigerator. We can get something down there.”

  “Don’t see no problem with that, do you Lou?”

  “No. If the caterers are bringing in sandwiches for the group, they can’t single out Miss R.”

  “Lou, we’ll bring you back sumpin’. Whadda ya want?”

  “Some kind of sandwich with meat and cheese, some chips, and a coke if they have one. If not, I’ll take some water.”

  “Okey dokey. C’mon Doll, I’m starving. Let’s get some eats and bring ‘em back here.”

  They spread the sandwiches, chips and fruit out on the conference table in Darya’s office. “Looks like the two meatheads who’ve been doin’ the hirin’ have done a piss poor job and I’m real leery ‘bout a coupla guys you got working in bookkeepin’.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Well, I called the references of the last ten employees the HR people had hired and none of ‘em had been called before. Makin’ me more nervous to find out two of the guys in the bookkeeping department are on a designated terrorist list. I got some friends in high places who gets me info like this when I call ‘em. So, Doll, we got some problems.“

  “Slade, I can’t believe what you’re telling me! What do you suggest?”

  ”You can’t fire the two who are on the terrorist list just because they’re on the list. ACLU be on you like flies on shit. You can fire the two yahoos who ain’t callin’ the references. Sooo, you gots a couple of choices. You can put these terrorists in jobs where they can’t pick their nose without someone seein’ ‘em or you can get one of our guys to act as an in-house spy. Your call. Lou, got any thoughts on this?”

  “This makes me really, really nervous, Slade, for a number of reasons. We can’t alert the rest of the employees and one of them could easily get past the receptionist and Mahsa and get in here. Hate to say it, but there’s some reason they’re at this plant and I’d be willing to bet it’s not for the love of cosmetics! I think you need to do both.”

  Lou continued, “I think the terrorists need to be put in a place where someone oversees everything they do. I’d put both of them in an office with one of our men. Miss R can just say she was making some changes and that she’d hired a CPA to oversee the bookkeepers. I’d also put another one of our men in the manufacturing area. All companies do that from time to time and it’s no big deal.”

  “Doll, whaddya think?” he said, stuffing chips in his mouth while he was still eating his sandwich. Darya felt sick.

  A master’s degree? A law degree? You’ve got to be kidding me!

  “At this point, I don’t know what to think. From what you’re telling me, I’m probably lucky to be alive and that the plant hasn’t had a bomb placed in it. Slade, I’ve trusted you this far. What do you think I should do?”

  “Don’t talk about it much, but my company’s a lot bigger than it looks. Yeah, I can get a guy in here that’ll look like he’s the cosmetic CPA king. Put those two wannabe terrorists in a room with him and that’s one down. Thinkin’ we need a mole in the plant. That place is big and is absolutely ripe for a bomb or sumpin’. Depends on how much they hate you. Want to tell me why? Smellin’ it’s more than cosmetics. You mentioned somethin’ bout a book and female genital mutilation last night.”

  She put down her sandwich, took a deep breath and told them about her strong feelings on female genital mutilation and her book. Last night she’d mentioned it to Slade, but today she went into detail. She told them how the book had been banned in all of the Muslim countries and that her face and the cover of the book had been on television sets throughout the Muslim world.

  “It was number one on The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Seller List for over a year,” Darya told them. “The Christian countries were outraged that the practice still existed and the Muslim countries were outraged that anyone would doubt the sanctity of their age-old rites. It caused quite an international stir.”

  Lou had never heard of the practice and was clearly shocked that it existed. Slade was not. “Doll, don’t tell many people this, but I gots some degrees. In one of my classes, actshully a class on feminism, had to write a paper on a ritual or practice still bein’ done, but bein’ challenged by modern women.

  “Never forget a woman in that class. We went for some java. She was Egyptian and tol me ‘bout the practice. Her mother wanted it done to my friend’s daughter. Left Cairo and hadn’t spoken to her mother since. Wrote on that subject. No wonder you’re being targeted.”

  “So, Slade, the swearing, the poor English and everything else is just a facade. You’re really quite a deep and intelligent man, aren’t you?”

  “Have my moments, Doll, have my moments. So, I gotta get a guy for the wh
ite collar side and one for the blue collar side. Right?”

  “Yes. Go ahead. What shall we do about the HR people?”

  “Fire ‘em. And it’s with cause. It’s real clear that they gotta call the refs for prospective new hires and they ain’t been doin’ it. That’s a no brainer. Have the head of HR fire ‘em today. Give ‘em two weeks’ pay and have ‘em clean their desk out at 4:00 and be gone at 5:00. I’ll supervise it. Don’t you worry. Slade’s on the case. Oh, Doll, one more thing.”

  “Good grief, isn’t all of this enough, Slade?”

  “Not if I’m gonna keep that pretty face and them gorgeous legs of yours in one piece. You need a personal chef. Someone to cook everything you eat. He or she can make a bunch of things to keep in your condo and here. What really bites my butt is thinkin’ of you eatin’ in them restaurants in Kabul. Jesus, Doll. You’ve been lucky.”

  “Slade, this is going to end up costing me a fortune. People better keep on buying cosmetics,” she said, laughing.

  “Okay, I’ll cut ya a little slack on the chef thing. By the way, went over to your condo this mornin’ to meet the cleaning lady. She’s okay.”

  “As they say in the country where I was born, ‘Praise Allah.’ At least there’s one thing that’s been good today.

  “Doll, I need to make a coupla calls, get my guys over here this afternoon. Don’t mind me.” He furiously punched numbers into his phone and after about twenty minutes said, “Okay, Doll, got two guys comin’ here at 4:30.” One for the plant and one for the office. Need to figure out how to get the two terrorists relocated into the same office with my guy. Need to see whatcha got open in the plant so my other guy can fill that position. See you later.”

  APRIL, 2007

  CHAPTER 27

  “Did you get a chance to catch up on your sleep?” Darya asked Pierre. It was the morning after they’d returned from Marseille when Darya had met Pierre’s parents.