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INSOMVITA. Psychological thriller with elements of a crime story. Oleksandr Dan
Читать онлайн.Название INSOMVITA. Psychological thriller with elements of a crime story
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9785005379559
Автор произведения Oleksandr Dan
Жанр Приключения: прочее
Издательство Издательские решения
«Please tell His Highness that I will be there at nine.»
«No, no, Mr. Blanche. His Highness kindly offers his limo and security men. He is already waiting for you at the hotel. If you don’t mind, we can leave now.»
«Ok, let me collect my things here and I’ll be ready in ten minutes.»
«Very well, Mr. Blanche. I’ll be waiting at the hotel for you. John and Jake are at your disposal.» Mehmet pointed at the two bodyguards in black suits, who gave short, almost imperceptible, nods to Robert. «They will accompany you.»
Mehmet politely said goodbye and left the bank. The two strong bodyguards with unmoving faces, equal in height and build, looked like twins. They never let Robert out of their sight.
On the way to the hotel, Robert tried reaching Chloe a couple of more times, but was unsuccessful.
Mehmet was waiting for him at the hotel’s reception desk. He nodded at Robert and said to follow him.
The sheikh’s suite was huge with several spacious rooms in the elegant Edwardian style with a view of the Thames. In the distance, on the south bank, Robert could see the flickering lights of the 135-meter London Eye, one of the London’s main attractions.
The sheikh came up to Robert, greeted him and asked him to sit at a small table.
«People, Mr. Blanche, always desire to see more than they can,» he began in Arabic, pointing at the Ferris wheel. «But what they want most is to enjoy what they see. Isn’t that so? What do you think?»
«That is human nature, and there is nothing you can do about it. The desire to enjoy is the driver of progress, to some extent.»
«Robert… May I call you that? I call all my friends by their given name.»
«Of course, I’m humbled that you are calling me your friend.»
«You speak Arabic well. Not many Europeans speak Arabic as fluently as you do. These days, everybody wishes to speak only English.» The sheikh paused and then asked, «Would you like tea or coffee?»
«Thank you. Well, we are in England, so tea, only tea.» Robert smiled.
The sheikh poured tea into two porcelain cups and handed one to Robert.
«Did you know, Robert, that nearly three hundred million people speak Arabic,» the sheikh continued proudly. «That’s the size of the population of the United States. By the way, Arabic is one of the oldest languages in the world. And it is the language of the Holy Quran. Did you study it somewhere?»
«No, Your Highness. I had a very good teacher. We studied different languages every night, including Arabic. Ever since I was a child.»
«Well, let’s switch to English. After all, as you rightly said, we are in England and we are drinking English tea. So, it would be unfair not to use this opportunity and practice a bit, maybe improve my English,» offered the sheikh and continued in English. «What about African languages? Your teacher must have been a polyglot.»
«Bambara, that’s different,» Robert answered. «There is a story there, which, by the way, is related to the diamonds from Guinea and Sierra Leone.»
«Well, I hope you will share this exciting story with me one day, but now I would like to ask you, Robert: when did you suspect or guess that they were scammers? My aide, the former chief of security, is a very experienced and cautious man, yet he was caught with his pants down, as they say.» He stressed «former’.
«It wasn’t just a guess. I don’t know much about gemology, but I do have pretty extensive experience in law and I do not rely on chance. The first time I had a suspicion was when Mr. Zimme suddenly had a heart attack. We had dinner at a restaurant the night before and he looked very healthy. Then, when we were in the conference room, I got a call from my law firm’s security service, which said that the heart attack was caused by some strong toxin. Comparing these facts, I realized that the gemologist was the weakest link. And the fact that he was introduced to us as a Guinean and my modest knowledge of Bambara – those are pure coincidences.» Robert smiled and placed his cup on the table.
«I do not believe in coincidences; everything happens at the will of Allah. The bad and the good. You saved me a lot of money, Robert, and you helped preserved my authority. That is more important than the money. So, how can I thank you?»
«You’ve already done that, Your Highness. You have generously paid for the work of my firm as agreed, even though the deal was a bust.»
«No, Robert. I’d like to thank you personally. It is the right thing to do. Thanks to your perceptiveness, you have replaced the whole security department for me.»
The sheikh opened his checkbook, which was lying on a table nearby, wrote down a sum, tore out the check and handed to Robert.
«Please accept this gift from me as a sign of my gratitude.»
«Your Highness, there is no need,» Robert began, but the sheikh interrupted him.
«Any work must be properly rewarded. This is just a number on a nice piece of paper, but what I value most are human relationships.» The sheikh looked at Robert as he began to fondle a string of prayer beads and continued. «Robert, can I count on you should I require your legal services again?»
«Of course. It would be an honor to be useful to you.»
«Well, my dear friend. You know what they say in the East – a good meeting is a short meeting,» summed up the sheikh, making it clear that the audience was over. «It was very nice getting to know you better. I hope this is not our last meeting.»
Robert unfolded the check only when he was in the car returning to his hotel. He saw «Five million dollars» written in a neat, calligraphic handwriting. And there was a long signature in Arabic ligature – the first and last name of the sheikh without abbreviations.
Back at the hotel, Robert relaxed a bit. He poured a glass of whiskey, opened the curtains and fell deep in thought while watching the night city. Not everything was clear in this case and he could not figure out who was behind it all.
His phone started ringing.
«Blanche.»
«Robert, good evening,» said Roland, the firm’s director. His voice was very agitated. «I’ve been informed about everything. Are you alright?»
«Yes, boss, everything is fine. I’ll be in Prague tomorrow morning.»
«Well, I am expecting you in the office tomorrow at 11:30 am. We’ll talk then. Now, just rest. Jovan will pick you up at the airport tomorrow.» Roland rang off.
The flight was early, but Chloe still was not picking up her phone. He glanced at his watch and called once again, but all he got was the answering machine – again.
The watch showed 1:30 am.
The flight from London is at 7:15 am, Robert thought. The flight is three hours. Then a couple more hours and I’m home, and then we’ll see. It is a good thing Jovan is picking me up.
Robert trusted Jovan completely and unconditionally.
They had been friends since childhood. Both had applied to Charles University and planned on becoming lawyers. But Jovan failed his entrance exams, which did not stop him from applying to the Police Academy of the Czech Republic right away. After graduating magna cum laude, he became the youngest police detective in Prague.
Jovan served on the police force for nearly 15 years and rose from inspector in the serious