The Third Woman. Mark Burnell
been.
Peltor ate a piece of bread roll smeared with butter and marmalade. Petra waited for the predictable reaction: the grimace. He picked up the small marmalade jar.
‘Look at this, will you? Look at the colour. Way too light. Like dirty water. Too much sugar, not enough orange. And no bitterness. Marmalade doesn’t work unless there’s a trace of bitterness.’
When he wasn’t killing people Peltor liked to make marmalade. The first time she’d discovered this she’d laughed out loud. Later, when she thought about it, it simply reinforced a truth: you can never really know someone.
‘You still getting the same kick out of it?’ she asked.
When they’d last met, Peltor had explained what drove him on: the quest for perfect performance. It all comes down to the shot, Petra. Last contract I took was nine months from start to finish. All of it distilled into half a second.
There was no longer any trace of that enthusiasm. ‘To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll take another contract.’
‘That surprises me.’
‘I’m kinda drifting into something new right now.’ He tugged the lapel of his jacket. ‘Something … corporate.’
‘That surprises me more.’
‘It shouldn’t. You know the way the math works. I’ve had my time at the plate, Petra. And if you don’t mind me saying so, so have you.’
‘If you don’t mind me saying so, I’d guess you’re a decade older than me.’
It was more like fifteen years, but technically Petra was older than Stephanie.
‘It’s not about age. It’s about time served.’
She reduced her indifference to a shrug. ‘I’m touched by your concern.’
‘Don’t outstay your welcome, Petra. Most of the assholes out there – I couldn’t give a rat’s ass if they get wasted. But I like you. You got class. Don’t be the champ who doesn’t know when to quit.’
‘When it’s time, I’ll know.’
‘Bullshit. The people who say that never know. Know why? Because the second before they realize it, they find their brains in their lap.’
‘I’ll try to remember that.’
‘Just do it. Retire. Or shift sideways like I have.’
‘What is this venture, then?’
‘Consultancy I’d guess you call it. First-class travel, expense accounts, places like this. I swear, there are corporate clients out there – the biggest names – ready to pay a fortune for what we have up here.’
Petra watched him drum a finger against the side of his head and said, ‘Not quite the double-tap I’ve come to associate with you.’
‘Funny girl. Seriously, though, you can name your price. They pay off-shore, share options, anything you want.’
‘Now I’ve heard it all.’
‘You’re not too young to think about it, Petra.’
‘It’s not that.’
‘No?’
‘No.’
‘So what is it?’
‘You know perfectly well. It’s obviously already happened to you. But it hasn’t happened to me. Not yet.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘The moment.’
Peltor’s evangelism sobered into silence and she knew she was right.
She said, ‘The moment you know. But before that moment … well, you don’t just retire from this life, John. You know that as well as I do. It retires you. Sometimes after just one job.’
Beyond the recognition, she thought she detected a hint of regret in his voice when, eventually, he said, ‘Damned if you’re not right, Petra. Damned if you’re not right.’
Stephanie was still thinking about Peltor’s e-mail and the meeting that had prompted it back in September when her taxi pulled up beside the church of Notre Dame du Sablon. When Albert Eichner had told her that he was coming to Brussels to take her to lunch, she’d been faintly amused by his choice of restaurant. The exterior of L’Écailler du Palais Royal was the essence of discretion; premises that were easy to miss, the name lightly engraved on a small stone tablet beside the door, net curtains to prevent inquisitive glances from the street. As the chairman of Guderian Maier Bank in Zurich, these were qualities that Eichner appreciated more than most.
He was at a table towards the rear of the restaurant, a solid man with a physique that had defeated his tailor. When she’d first met him his thick head of hair had been gun-metal grey. Now it was almost as white as his crisp cotton shirt. Each cuff was secured by a thick oval of gold. On his left wrist was an understated IWC watch with a leather strap.
Stephanie was wearing the only smart outfit she now possessed, a black Joseph suit with a plain, cream silk blouse. Chic and conservative, just the way she suspected she existed in Eichner’s imagination. As she approached the table he rose from his chair.
‘Stephanie, as beautiful as ever.’
Eichner was one of the few men Stephanie had entrusted with her original given name. As for the surname with which he was familiar – Schneider – that had been her mother’s.
A waiter in a blue tunic poured her a glass of champagne.
She said, ‘How long are you in Brussels, Albert?’
‘A friend of mine lent me his Bombardier. I flew here from Zurich this morning. I have to get back for a family engagement this evening.’
‘I’m flattered.’
‘Don’t be. You’ve earned it.’ He raised his glass. ‘To you, Stephanie. With our sincerest gratitude.’
It was three months since Otto Heilmann’s death. She smiled but said nothing. Eichner was right to be grateful. In the past, she’d saved him from personal disgrace and in return he’d consented to become her banker. This time, however, the entire institution had been under threat. In the first week of September, Eichner had implored her to come to Zurich. An emergency, he’d said. An emergency that threatened Guderian Maier. He’d let her fill in the blank spaces.
An emergency that threatens your arrangement with us.
Otto Heilmann. One of the very few to have become rich during the era of the GDR. Heilmann had links with Guderian Maier going back to the Seventies. When Stephanie had asked what kind of links, Eichner had reddened.
‘In those days, my uncle ran this bank. In the same way that he did when he first ran it back in the Forties.’ He’d paused to let her dwell on this, the gravity in his voice suggesting the subtext. ‘We do things differently these days. Heilmann doesn’t understand that. He’s of the opinion that a bank like ours will accept anyone’s money providing there is enough of it.’
‘I assume you’ve explained that this isn’t the case.’
‘As politely and as firmly as possible.’
‘But he’s not dissuaded?’
‘Unfortunately, no.’
‘Distressing.’
‘We can’t possibly be associated with an arms-dealer.’ When Stephanie had raised an eyebrow at him, Eichner had qualified himself. ‘Not like Heilmann. It’s simply out of the question. You know the kind of clients we have. The very idea of it is just too … appalling.’
‘I’d have thought your stand might have worked in your favour.’
‘On