Cuban Sun (7 page)

Sofia took a breath and approached. She seated herself on the buttery soft white leather club chair next to Seydou before introducing herself. He nodded and she held out her hand.

“Mr. Seydou, I’m Sofia Koury.”

He did not take her hand but said in a Caribe accent, “Yes Miss Koury, my associate called to say you would be arriving.”

“I would like to engage your appraisal services for two pre-war Mercedes that have come up for sale. I need the usual workup but these are somewhat rare models and anyone who has been trusted with the Caracciola 500k can definitely handle this job.”

His expression showed no surprise at the mention of the car. Whether he was an especially controlled person or his associate had mentioned it, Sofia did not know.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

‘So, that’s how it’s going to be’
thought Sofia. She leaned in exposing a bit of décolletage. “I quite understand. You discretion does you credit.”

“I’ll have to check your reference.” Sofia understood that to mean he would be checking with the owner of the Caracciola to make sure that they and Sofia indeed had a connection.

That was exactly what Sofia wanted. She thought she could see the number if he dialed a phone. She could then get Helena and Joe to trace the number. If they owned handguns and used GPS diamonds, she was fairly certain they could handle a cell trace.

“Of course, it’s very late”, he continued. “I have an appointment on location with the owner tomorrow. I will check then.”

Damn
. Sofia thought fast. And then inspiration hit her. She gave him her most charming smile and handed Seydou a personal business card listing her name and number.

“Certainly. In the meantime, here is my number.” Then Sofia took off one of the pink diamond studs and slipped it into the pocket of his Armani jacket and said, “And here is the first part of you retainer.”

He looked dubious. “And why would I accept this? How do I know it’s even real?” Sofia affected a look of mild disdain.

“You know who I am, and I’m sure a man with your experience knew it was real even before I came over. That’s the reason we’re having this conversation, isn’t it?”

His face relaxed slightly but he didn’t respond.

Sofia rose. “I look forward to hearing from you Mr. Seydou.”

“We shall see.”

Sofia returned to Quint who quirked an eyebrow and handed Sofia a flute of champagne. She was so anxious that she really just wanted to finish it in one gulp but knew Seydou was still watching her. She forced herself to sip and appear to be enjoying herself. Sophia shrugged slightly. “I don’t know. He took the bait, but didn’t give me any information.”

“Why did you give him the earring?”

“He said that he was going to the owner’s house in the morning.”

Quint’s face cleared with the realization. “Ah…you planted the GPS on him. But, he won’t be wearing the jacket tomorrow. He’ll probably leave it at the garage.”

She shook her head. “He seems like the tense type. Eager to know who I am and how I know about the Caracciola. I’ll bet he goes to the owner’s house tonight.” As if on cue, Seydou walked past them and out the door, handing his ticket to the valet.

“Well done Sofia. I can call Joe and Helena to start tracking. They’ll be wondering why only one of the earrings is moving.” He looked at Sofia with admiration and, she thought, maybe something else?

After Quint returned from his call with Joe, Sofia said, “We should get going then.” Sofia did not want to leave the sumptuous surroundings of the club; she was full of energy from her success and felt like celebrating. She knew the task was not yet complete. They had to track Seydou to the collector’s house.

“I don’t see why. I’m sure Joe and Helena can handle it until we get back. They
are
professionals you know.” And with an air of Fred Astaire escorting Ginger Rogers, he took Sofia’s hand and guided her onto the dance floor.

SEVEN

Sofia woke much later than usual the next day. She cracked a dry and swollen eye to see the clock read 11:00.
No wonder I’m starving
, she thought. Though she was tired enough to have slept for another couple of hours, the loud gurgles and growls from her stomach would have made it impossible. She rose slowly and dressed in a yellow and navy striped maillot. She found a ruby colored cover-up in the wardrobe and hesitating only for a moment, put it on and left the room. Last night Helena encouraged her to rest.

“Sleep in tomorrow morning and then go swimming, dear. You had a lot going on tonight.” Well, Sofia abided by the first recommendation and intended to follow through on the second after breakfast. Upon entering the gleaming kitchen, she found that she was alone on the
Mariana,
as expected. Joe mentioned that he, Quint and Helena would be gone most of the day in order to ‘persuade the owner’ into selling the Caracciola to Joe and Helena and arrange for its transport. After Sofia and Quint boarded the
Mariana
around 4:00 am, they had paused only long enough to congratulate Sofia and allow Quint time to change his clothes.

Though still a bit weary from the previous evening, an echo of the night’s energy returned as she remembered. She found a platter of fresh fruit and fluffy cranberry muffins on the counter. She sent a silent but fervent thank you to Helena who must have instructed the housekeeper to lay them out. Her empty stomach echoed the thanks. After filling a small bowl with mango and adding a muffin on top she seated herself at the dining table. As she sat and sipped her tea, Sofia saw her name on a creamy ecru envelope on the table with her name. Setting the ceramic mug down, she opened the flap. She found the lining was decorated with tiny green flowers.
It’s from Helena
, Sofia thought. She pulled out the thick stationary and smiled at seeing the header revealed the same tiny green rosettes. As she read, a faint buzzing began to fill her head and grew more intense with each word. She pushed the uneaten fruit aside, causing her fork to clatter the floor. Her heart skipped a beat and she read the note again.

Dear Sofia,

You have certainly impressed Joe and me with your character, tenacity and intelligence. We would love for you to join us aboard the
Mariana
as a Research Associate for this project over the next six weeks. I’m sure you will have many questions about the position and we will be happy to discuss our offer when we return later this afternoon. In the meantime, I have indicated the salary and brief set of terms on the back of this letter. I sincerely hope you will join us.

-Helena

With one quick motion, Sofia flipped the paper over, like ripping off a Band-Aid. She almost didn’t want to know what the offer was. She had a feeling this was going to make it difficult for her to refuse and start her internship at the non-profit organization. She looked, and then stood up so fast the chair fell backwards. The rate was twice what the non-profit would have given her as a full-time associate, let alone as an intern. Her heart leapt and she was instantly ashamed. Isn’t this what she had worked against? Getting roped in by money? Still, the events of last night lingered. She felt as though she had done something real, something important, and something adventurous. Besides, Sofia couldn’t deny it was a generous offer. Coming back to herself, she righted the chair and headed to the aft deck. She hoped a long swim would clear the buzzing from her head so she could think.

An hour later, Sofia sank into one of the coral striped lounge chairs. She left much of the doubt and anxiety in the choppy waters of the bay but still did not reach a decision about the job. If she took the offer it essentially meant redirecting her entire career. She also knew that living where one worked could be difficult, however brief the time. Living onsite as a counselor with Outward Bound taught her that setting boundaries was necessary. It was very easy to be on call all the time or ‘be available’ at any hour. It appeared that boundaries were few and permeable with these projects given the evidence from the previous night.
Could I handle thirty hour days like yesterday? Could I handle living with my supervisors?
She thought. Then the biggest question entered Sofia’s mind,
Will I give up my path to non-profit?

Sofia spent the afternoon alternating between snacking on tropical fruit, swimming in the turquoise waters and napping in the plush lounge chairs under her floppy sunhat, trusting that a conversation with Joe, Helena and Quint would tip her decision. At four in the afternoon, Sofia woke with a start. The noise that woke her came again. It was the sound of a door opening beneath her
. It must be the engine room door or the galley door judging by the location
. She smiled.
They must be back
. She found an odd feeling of excitement course through her at the thought of their return. Sofia couldn’t imagine how tired they must be. She gathered her towel and plate and rose to go down and greet them. Questions could wait until later. Sofia descended the narrow stairs to the deck. She saw the riveted engine room door slightly ajar. Wanting to avoid a repeat of her previous encounter with Joe she called out as she approached.

“Joe! You’re back. I can’t wait to hear-“. Her last words were cut off by the door slamming into her face, knocking her to the ground, unconscious. She opened her eyes moments later to blinding pain in her head and blood pouring from her nose. She tried to roll onto her side only to find herself pinned to the deck by strong hands. Blinking, Sofia looked up to find a swarthy face and scraggly black beard inches from her face.

“Let me go! Get the hell off me!” Sofia began to struggle in earnest. The man bared his teeth in a humorless smile revealing yellowed teeth that smelled of stale tobacco. The reek, along with the pain from her nose and head nearly made Sofia vomit. She tried to buck and roll again but the hands tightened their grip. She felt the shards of the broken plate cutting into the back of her head and neck with the pressure he exerted. His rancid breath assaulted Sofia’s face in bursts from his laughter. He leaned so close to Sofia that his spidery moustache brushed her cheek as he spoke.

“Tell your boss that he doesn’t like waiting.”

“What? I don’t know who you’re-”. The man shook her hard enough to make her teeth clack together. Sofia squeezed her eyes shut hoping to block out what was happening.

The attacker slapped her. “He does not like to wait.”

A hand snaked out to maul her right breast and a slimy tongue reached out and licked her from chin to ear. Then the hands were gone. She was able to open her eyes just enough to see green fatigues retreating then jumping onto a small speedboat. As soon as she heard the boat disappeared around the hull of the
Mariana
, Sofia rolled to the rail and was thoroughly sick.

When she felt she could rise without retching again, Sofia staggered to her feet holding the towel to her nose to staunch the stream of blood. She started towards her cabin intending to immediately call Quint.

Passing the still open engine room door, a bank of blinking screens caught her attention. Intrigued, she entered the tiny darkened room. The slice of light from the doorway illuminated the screens. Across the room, four laptops ran some kind of software and speakers sat in the middle of the row of keyboards. She did not find an engine or any mechanical equipment for a yacht. Confused, Sofia dropped the towel and turned the volume knob. Rapid-fire Spanish met her ears. She turned to the screens and found the speech rhythms matched the crisp video feed of two men speaking in front of a door to a rundown cinderblock building. They wore the same drab green uniform of her attacker.
It must be some sort of surveillance room
thought Sofia.

A number of questions invaded her mind.
What does all this have to do with the car? Why are lawyers surveying other people?
She knew from Quint’s Ethics courses that this was definitely illegal for all but duly authorized government agents. Lawyers in private practice were not included in that category. Who were these people? Sofia exhaled strongly and winced. As she stalked out of the room she thought,
I don’t know what’s going on here, but I think I know my answer to their offer
.

In the bathroom of her cabin, Sofia welcomed the sting of cold water on her nose and face. She peered into the bathroom mirror, examining the bridge of her nose. Swollen and beginning to bruise, it was painful but it was not the white hot pain of a fracture. The still straight bridge confirmed that it was not broken. She sighed in relief. Sofia scrubbed her face somewhat more vigorously that she should have with her injuries trying to rid herself of the assault. She counted herself lucky that the man had not gone further than he did.

While rinsing the lavender suds, Sofia briefly considered packing and leaving for Charleston immediately. She marched to the wardrobe, opened the doors and stood staring for a moment. Reaching for her suitcase, Sofia saw the persimmon dress she had worn the previous evening and thought of Helena and their conversation. She thought of the woman’s kindness and understanding. Then, Sofia grabbed her sandals instead of the suitcase. Sitting on the bench to put them on she thought,
I could go back to Charleston, but I at least owe it to Helena to let her know and I owe it to Quint to be honest about why I’m leaving, even if he is a liar,
she added with venom. The image of her attacker flashed in her mind and she shuddered.
I have to tell them about the intruder. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened and I could have warned them. But
, she promised herself
, I’ll leave tomorrow on the first flight
.

Sofia tried all three cell numbers but only reached voicemail. She didn’t know how she would find them, but she also didn’t want to wait on something this important.
And
, she thought,
truth be told, I can’t stand to be on this boat by myself right now
. Sofia finished buckling her ankle strap and began to stride to the door. “Damn!” she called and stumbled. The strap on her left sandal snapped sending the buckle sailing and landing with a clink on the bed side table. As she reached for it, her eyes lit on the remaining pink diamond earring she had taken off before sleeping last night. Sofia jumped up, quickly snatched up another pair of shoes and dashed to the surveillance room. She knew how to find them. Sofia scanned the screens and found one that showed three blinking dots on a map of Miami. She clicked each one in turn and saw the following letters:
A.Q., H.C, J.C.
That’s them,
she thought. She used the browser to find the location address but didn’t bother with the name. Sofia dashed to the harbor master’s stand where a line of taxis could always be found. She slammed the door of one of these upon entering and thrust a slip of paper and a wad of money towards the driver.