THE TAINTED TRUST (Volume 2 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 93

         Kerri found Visconti seated at the ornate French provincial desk in the living room of their suite. His right hand rested on top of the telephone, his head slumped. He turned to face her. "I have to leave immediately," he said.

Kerri threw her cotton bag onto the couch and hurried to his side. "Why?" she asked, pretending to console him by rubbing his shoulders.

Visconti leaned forward and covered his face with his hands. "I have to drive to Geneva and identify myself in person. It's the only way I can clear up this whole mess."

"Want me to go with you?"

"I'd enjoy the company, but I think you should stay here and try to find out who broke into this place."

Kerri surveyed the mess she had made, then turned to hug Visconti. "How long will you be gone?"

"No longer than twenty-four hours." He stood and took her in his arms. "While I'm gone, I want you to buy yourself the most expensive evening dress you can find. When I get back, I'm going to take you to dinner, and then to the European Casino. I think it's time I showed off Monte Carlo's newest and most beautiful resident."

Visconti left almost an hour later, a black leather over-night bag slung over his shoulder.

Kerri returned to the balcony and waited until she saw him leave the hotel and step into a taxi. She raced to the telephone and placed a collect call to her father on Azimuth Island. Her hands trembled as she dialed.

Mike was awakened at four A.M., Toronto time, by the relentless jangle of the rural telephone near his bed.

"I have a collect call for Mike King from Kerri Pyper in Monaco. Will you accept the charges?" the operator asked.

"Yes," Mike said, jerking himself upward in his four poster bed.

"Dad, I'm sorry to call at this time. It's the first chance I've had."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...How are you?"

"Still free and running from the law. I've got all the comforts of home here, but no people. I'm starting to talk to myself. I'm getting more fresh air and exercise than I've had in years. I must have canoed at least a hundred miles since I've been here, I'm sick of reading the same old magazines for the zillionth time, and I'm lonely as hell.

"How's Phillip?"

Mike closed his eyes. "...He's disappeared. No one's seen him since late last week. The police found his van on Friday. It was abandoned on the side of a dirt road... It doesn't look good, Kerri."

Kerri was saddened and angered by the news. "It was Louis. I'm going to get him, dad. I don't care how long it takes, or what I have to do, I'm going to do it."

"He's a dangerous man, Kerri. I think you should come home before you get hurt,or worse."

"No way. I don't care how dangerous he is. It's our last chance to stop that bastard, and I'm not going to give it up."

"If anything happened to you, I ..."

"Please don't say it, Dad. Just understand that I can't quit now."

"Then be careful. Don't let your emotions take control. Think through every move you make. If you reach a point where you think the risk is too great, run. At least you'll still be alive."

"I stole Louis's briefcase."

Thrilled to have heard the first shred of good news in a very long time, Mike's heart rate quickened. "Good girl! What was in it?"

"I don't know yet. It was locked and I'm not sure how to open it. I put it in a safety deposit box in a bank not far from here."

"Does he know it's gone?"

"Yes. I trashed the suite to make it look like a robbery."

"I'd love to have seen his face. Does he believe it was a robbery?"

"I think so. He was really upset. He said he had his life support system in it. Now he's trying to put it all back together. He had to go to all the way to Geneva, just to identify himself. He said he'll be back in twenty-four hours, so I have time to open his briefcase."

"Good. Tell me about the briefcase. Are there three dials under the handle?"

"Yes. I think they're brass."

"Then here's what I want you to do. Buy an electric drill and a quarter inch bit. Ask for one with a cobalt tip. It'll cut through metal like a knife through butter. Make sure you pay cash. Stand the briefcase upright on a hard floor and drill straight down through the dials. If that doesn't work, turn the briefcase over and drill through the hinges. When you get the briefcase open, write down a description of everything you find inside, then put everything back in the safety deposit box, including the drill, the bit, the wrappings, and the briefcase. Call me and let me know what you found."

"I will. I love you, dad."

"Love you too."