Fortunes Obsession (14 page)

     He stepped off the escalator into the lingerie department and looked around.  Dara was nowhere to be found.  Just as he was about to panic he spotted her on the far end of the department.  She was no longer in her sickly disguise.  She wore a white turtle neck sweater and tight jeans tucked into boots of rich brown leather.  On top of her head was an olive colored beret which topped her long, glistening blonde hair.  He thought that if he hadn't already known her, that he would fall in love with her all over again.  His heart was pounding and he yearned to take her in his arms.  Several minutes passed until he caught her eye.  They moved toward each other, not quite looking at each other.  At the precise moment that she passed him, Dara dropped the keys and accelerated the pace of her step.  Peter stooped and in slow motion, picked up the keys and turned around.

It was not necessary to put on the sham of chasing after her.  The department was reasonably empty.  He put the keys in his

coat pocket and walked through the department for a few minutes until he was sure she was gone.

        *******************************************   

     Lance Corning sat at his desk pondering the situation.

He knew that he and Peter were spending all too much time on this and neglecting their work.  On the other hand, he loved Peter like a son and wanted to help all he could.  He too was disappointed in the results of the FBI's visit but fully understood Millard's reasoning and his continuing interest in the case.  The thing that bothered him about Trans Orient Silks Inc., was that if it was a legitimate company and a front for monkey business, it was exposing itself through taxes, employer identification number, workman's compensation and other such items.  He had a sudden thought.  Suppose Trans- Orient was not a company at all?  Anyone could write Incorporated next to their name on a door.  As far as he knew, there was one employee.

What if he paid his secretary in cash?  What about Fahd himself?

Was this his real identity?  Thinking back on Fahd's office, he realized that something was missing, that most businesses would have.  There was no checkbook in the office.  To have a checking account, a corporation had to have a corporate resolution with a seal properly notarized.  First he had to find out if it was a real corporation and then he had to do some research on Fahd himself.  He picked up the phone and dialed the number of his son, Bruce, who was a successful downtown attorney.             

     After going through the switchboard and a secretary. Lance spoke to his son.

     " Bruce, I need some information and I need it fast."

     " Dad, if I can possibly get it for you, I will, but I’m up to my ears in cases.  My kids haven't seen me in days.  What can I do for you?"

     Corning hoped Bruce wouldn't ask why he wanted the information.  He didn't want to let too many people in on what was happening.  Aside from that, he knew what Bruce would say. He would tell him to keep his nose out of it.  He would tell him it wasn't his business.

     " If I give you the name of an alleged corporation, can you tell me whether it is incorporated in any state in the union?"

     Bruce let out a sigh of annoyance.  " Yeah, I guess I could put someone on it.  Give me the name and I'll get back to you tomorrow."

     Lance gave him the name Trans - Orient Silks, Inc. and gave him Ibrahim Fahd's name as president of the corporation.  This was the title he had used on the correspondence that was found in his office.

     Lance could almost hear Bruce's head shaking over the phone.

     " Dad, you're a pain in the ass....I love you."

     After the disconnect, Lance thought further.  What else could he do to gather evidence?  He decided to go to Fahd's office and pose as a buyer of silks and see what developed.

     When he got to Fahd's office, he noticed there was a light

   on behind the glass.  He opened the door and saw a pleasant looking lady in her sixties sitting behind the desk.  The computer was on and she was scanning something on the screen in front of her.

     Corning smiled his most charming smile.  "Good morning, I'm interested in buying a large amount of silk and I noticed your name on the directory."

     The woman seemed genuinely interested and responded pleasantly.  " Wonderful, you've come to the right place. Let me get you our catalogue and price list."

     She opened the door to what Corning knew was Fahd's office and returned with a large swatch book and a small looseleaf.

     " Why don't you sit down there and look this over.  I'm sure you'll find out that we have the finest merchandise.  By the way, whom do you represent?"

     Corning thought fast. " Oh, I don't represent anyone. I'm a traveling salesman and I go all over the country selling to dry goods stores and I thought I'd like to add silk to my line, what with silk blouses and shirts coming into such popularity."

     The lady seemed to buy his story and smiled benignly as he looked through the book.  He wrote things down on a small pad he took from his pocket as if he were filling out an inventory.

     " How soon could I expect delivery of this material if I placed an order."

     The woman looked puzzled. " Gee, I really don't know. Why don't you stop in late this afternoon, when Mr. Fahd comes in.

That's my boss."

     Corning certainly didn't want to confront Fahd.  This woman might buy his phony story, but Fahd would see through him like a pane of glass.

     Corning looked disappointed. " Gee, I'm sorry, but I'm going out of town in about an hour.  I'll get back to you in a few days."

     The woman seemed anxious to get an order for her employer.

     " Why don't you leave me your business card, Mr......What is your name, I don't think you gave it to me."

     " I'm er....Mr. Corman...uh...Lawrence Corman."  He made a pretense of looking through his wallet.

     " I'm afraid I'm fresh out of business cards.  I'll get one to you soon."

     The woman was persistent. " Well, how about a phone number where I can reach you."

     Corning thought fast.  " I'm a one man operation and I don't have an office.  I work out of my house.  The problem is, I'll be on the road for two weeks and I don't know exactly where I'll be at any time."

     She wouldn't let it go. " Just give me your home number, I'm sure you have an answering machine."

     Corning thought of the message on his answering machine tape.  It didn't mention his name, only the phone number. He thought it would be reasonably safe to leave the number and if Fahd called him back, maybe he could meet with him and find  

out something that would help in bringing the bastard down.He knew though, that Fahd would probably not call if he thought his story was legitimate. He didn’t know really know what he wanted.

He wrote the number on a piece of paper and handed it to the woman.  After a pleasant goodbye, he departed and returned to his office to wait for Peter.  He didn't expect to hear from Bruce for at least a day, so that part of his probe was still open.

        *************************************

      Peter walked out of Bloomingdale's and decided to make a dry run to Dara's parking garage before returning to his office.  He wanted to make sure that nothing went wrong this coming Sunday.  When he reached the garage, he was relieved to see that it was a self park garage, solely for the tenants of the building.  There was a sleepy attendant whose job it seemed, was merely to watch the garage.  In fact, when Peter arrived, the attendant actually was sleeping at his desk.  Peter walked up several ramps until he found the space that Dara had described to him.  The Porsche 928 was jet black with black leather upholstery.  It had standard shift and a sun roof and gleamed except for a thin layer of dust from days of inactivity.  He inserted the key and opened the car door.  When he turned the key, the engine turned over instantly with a powerful sound resembling a loud purr.  He was looking forward to getting behind the wheel and opening it up.  He felt momentarily guilty for getting excited about the car when so many other things were at stake.  He locked the door and walked down the ramp and left.

           *************************************

     Ibrahim Fahd was sitting across the table from his good friend, Abdul Khan, a Pakistani diplomat, serving with the U.N.

Fahd and Khan became acquainted when they met in his apartment building and had been fast friends ever since.  Khan thought that Fahd was really a silk merchant and saw no reason at any time to question it.  Aside from genuinely being a friend, Khan was very useful in giving him intelligence from the United Nations.  Khan, being a Moslem, was friendly with men from other Moslem countries and could tell Fahd which had hostile attitudes.  When they did, Fahd made sure that, in turn, he became friendly with them.  In fact, it was through an acquaintance of Khan, that he had made the connection that led to Bey and his cohorts.

     The two friends passed the time of day pleasantly and both enjoyed the conversation.  Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Fahd saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  She was obviously Indian or Pakistani, and had long black, glistening hair that framed a face with high cheek bones, an aquiline nose and dark brown piercing eyes.  She wore a tight yellow dress, which contrasted with her very dark skin. She sat down on a stool at the bar and ordered a drink.  Fahd's eyes were fixed on her.

     Khan laughed.  " I see you're looking at Sarita.  She's quite the attraction here.  If you look around, you'll see every male eye in the room looking at her.  She's a high level secretary in the Indian delegation."

     " I must meet her. Do you know her?"

     Khan smiled, " You know I know everyone. Why ask such a question?"

     Fahd could feel himself sweating and his breath was short.

He tried to think of the first time he had seen Dara but the memory was blurred.  He felt as if he were in a dream when Khan walked over to the bar.  He could see Khan talking to the girl and her glance toward him and her smile.....or was it a laugh.

When he saw the girl walk over with Khan, he felt his legs grow weak and a slight spell of nausea, as he stood to greet her.

     " Sarita Bonda, meet Ibrahim Fahd," Khan lightly touched the shoulder of each as he introduced them.

     Fahd got his wits together and turned on his charm. " Please join us for lunch, Miss Bonda.  I hope you didn't have other plans."

     She smiled, and her teeth were white and perfect.  Her accent was decidedly of British origin.  " Well, I was meeting my girl friend for lunch.  If you don't mind feeding two of us, I accept."

     Khan showed mock surprise.  " Oh, my, what will my wife say, if she happens upon us.  She will most certainly kill me."

     Fahd laughed, " Abdul, you're wife doesn't even know where this place is.  You're lucky if she can find the corner grocery."

     The three laughed together and segued into small talk.  Fahd found out that she ran the entire pool of secretaries for the Indian delegation, was not married, was educated in England and

lived alone in an apartment close to the United nations.

     Her friend showed up.  The friend happened to be a Pakistani who worked in Khan's delegation, whom Sarita had met when they were both students in London.  As they ate their lunch, the conversation shifted into pairs.  Khan occupying his female acquaintance conveniently, knowing that his friend Fahd needed private conversation with Sarita.

     Two large glasses of wine had made Sarita very loose and very friendly and Fahd could feel a certain chemistry that gave him confidence to make his move.

     He raised his wine glass as if in a toast.  " My lovely Sarita,  I hope there is no man in your life, for if there is, I shall die of jealousy."

     When she smiled, he felt the weakness in his knees return.

     " No, there is no man in my life at this time.  Is there something you had in mind?"

     " Oh yes, my lovely.  To start with, dinner tonight at La Cote Basque.  After that, I may not be able to live without you.  Please give me your address and phone number."

     She gave him the address and phone number willingly and gave him the definite impression that this was the start of something very good between them.

     When the three others had left, Fahd went to the phone and called his favorite florist and ordered four dozen roses in assorted colors to be delivered to Sarita's apartment.

        ******************************************

     When Peter arrived at the office, the first thing he did was to call Dara. " Oh baby, it hurt me so much to just let you walk by like that. I couldn't bear it.  I wanted to put my arms around you and hug you."

     She sounded relieved to hear his voice. " Oh...I know, I felt the same way.  Did you get the keys?"

     " I did better than that.  I made a dry run to your garage. I even started the car to make sure it was in running order."

     She felt a lot better, knowing that Peter was as intelligent and resourceful as he was.  She felt safe, knowing that he would be almost at her side on Sunday.