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completely up to him and Ally now.
Mr. Pollingsworth-Biddle approached Wilson, shook his hand, and leaned over
and said something in his ear. The two men laughed. Probably a dirty joke,
Chance thought, kind of hoping Pollingsworth-Biddle was their man. He drifted
away, too, and Wilson's smile grew more strained as other guests, most of them
unfamiliar to
Chance, surrounded him. When a crewman gave him a message some time later, he
slipped away with obvious relief.
This must be it, Chance thought. Keeping his face lowered and avoiding people
as much as possible, he followed Wilson below the main deck. However, forced
to maintain a discreet distance, he quickly lost track of the man
in the yacht's dark interior.
"This is no yacht," he muttered, looking at a dozen closed doors that lined
the narrow passageway. "It's the bloody
QElir
Taking his chances, he eased open the first door on his left. Wilson was
inside the small cabin, his back to the door. He was on the telephone,
thanking someone for calling. He hung up a moment later and checked his watch.
Chance closed the door and wondered where he should hide.
"Helmut! Helmut!" he heard Celine calling, then he heard her
footsteps descending toward him. "
Tu es Id-bas
?"
"
Oui, cherief"
Helmut called wearily.
Chance whirled and slipped into the cabin directly across from
Wilson's. The
moment he closed the door behind him, his gaze locked with that of
Ambrose
Kettering.
Kettering backed up, so obviously trying to hide something behind him that
he immediately drew attention to it. Chance's gaze went refiexively on an open
briefcase containing a couple of hefty, plastic-wrapped bundles that, under
the circumstances, could only be one thing.
"Oh, no." He felt utterly dejected.
Kettering blinked. "You're not the sheik." He frowned and peered more closely.
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"Chance?"
"Hi," Chance said weakly. He just had to use his head. Faced with
this development, Ally would think of something. She was right; he should
probably go to the movies more often, "I, uh& "
"Well, well! Pleasure to see you," Kettering boomed, closing the briefcase
with a clumsy attempt as casualness. "Nice costume, kid, but I'm still leaning
toward black leather."
"What's going on in here?" Wilson pushed the door open with such force
that
Chance, who was standing with his back to it, was flung straight into
Kettering. By the time the two men had righted themselves, Wilson was pointing
his gun right at
Chance's belly.
"Helmut!" Ambrose clucked. "Is that really necessary? I can vouch for "
"It's really necessary," Wilson answered. "He knows everything."
"Oh, I wouldn't say everything
," Chance disclaimed.
"But far too much," Wilson said.
That took some of the hot air out of Kettering. "Dammit, Helmut, I've
already spent money on this kid!"
"We've all had to cut our losses from time to time."
Kettering sighed and, to Chance's dismay, nodded. "Sorry, kid. Your act's
not half-bad."
"Gee, thanks." He glared at Kettering while the man carefully took
away the dagger that hung at his belt. "I really didn't want Wilson's contact
to be you, but you know something? I've just realized that I'll be far better
off with a different producer, anyhow."
"How optimistic you are," Wilson sneered.
"What are we gonna do with him?" Kettering asked Wilson.
"Our first concern is to find his partners."
"I'm alone," Chance said.
"Wrong again, Mr. Weal. I just received a phone call from Sheik Nesib el
Dheilan, explaining that you and your friends have caused him to miss the
party."
"How'd he get loose?" Chance asked. "And don't tell me that a maid found him
when it was time to clean his room. I won't believe you."
Wilson's face contorted. "It's hard to get good help these days,"
he said defensively. "The sheik, who is known as a fearsome warrior in his
own land, tore apart the bathroom door with his bare hands."
"Damn."
"And my wife has just informed me that one of your wives seems to be ill
but won't accept any help. Miss Cannon, I presume. But who's with her?"
Deciding it was time to change the subject, Chance said, "Where are
the diamonds, Wilson?"
"None of your business."
"What diamonds?" Kettering sounded confused.
"The one's he's going to try to pay you with," Chance said.
"Diamonds?" Kettering frowned. "No, no. I get paid in cash, kid."
"Not this time, Ambrose," Chance warned. "Just ask him."
"Well, Helmut?"
Wilson shifted uncomfortably. "I had intended to break the news more
gracefully than this, Ambrose, but& I'm having a little cash flow problem, so
I thought you might accept Celine's necklace as payment."
"No way. Do I look like a jeweler?"
"It's worth far more than the sum we agreed upon," Wilson insisted.
"We're all having cash flow problems," Kettering said without sympathy.
"So don't piss me off, Helmut."
"Cash flow problems?" Chance said incredulously. "Is that what got you into
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this, Ambrose? You thought dealing in drugs was a reasonable solution to your
cash flow problems? You thought this
" he gestured to the briefcase " was a good way to recover from all the
flops you produced, all those gambling debts you've been accruing, all
the alimony and child support you're supposed to pay?"
"Can it, kid."
Chance shook his head in disgust. "Look at you jerks. Why don't you just sell
off your assets?"
"I don't even own my assets anymore," Wilson snapped. "Now, Ambrose, just take
a look." He pulled a velvet bundle out of the pocket of his
blazer and unwrapped the necklace. It glittered brilliantly in the
dim light, but Kettering was unmoved.
"I get cash or it's no deal. You think I get this stuff from Boy
Scouts?" he snarled.
Chance interrupted them again, helping to escalate the argument. He was
waiting
for an opening, a chance to act. The most important thing now was to keep
them away from Ally until help arrived.
Where was Dureau?
Having decided she couldn't bear to simply wait around any longer,
Ally took
Harvey by the hand and started looking for Chance. Her nerves were so raw that
she nearly screamed when Roland Houston walked straight into her. He
mumbled an apology and pressed a hand to his mouth, looking rather seasick.
"Okay, Mr. Weal is missing," Harvey said firmly when they failed to find him.
"Something's wrong," Ally was certain of it. Her belly clenched with fear.
They had to find him. Deciding it was worth the risk, Ally started questioning
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