A familiar face

…

Ensconced in the hotel foyer before the appointed time, as someone other than David Cheney, or David Bentley for that matter, he observes the arrival, at the appointed time, of Susan and her entourage, and a man he recognises from a previous party.

She has the three maids with her, but they are not maids.  Or if they are, they like to dress up like security guards, right down to the black suits and almost hidden earpieces.

Time to have some fun.

And try to work out who it might be that wanted to tell him about Susan’s travels and activities.  The man she’s with is not staying in the same room, but that didn’t mean anything, but she’d never given him any reason to believe she would have an affair.

And the guy didn’t look to him to be affair material.

Of course, he had to factor in the ordeal she had been through might have changed her somewhat, but leopards don’t change their spots that quickly.

Still…

Davis is surprised, on one hand, that Boris is in Monaco.

On the other, after a humorous afternoon, he accidentally runs into Susan who is no doubt at the casino to see another but has to settle for an errant husband.

At least David gets to spend the night with her, and as a bonus gets to discover who her new head of security is.  And, he doesn’t like him at all.

…

Words written today, 1,888, for a total of 29,657

Three stations

…

After seeing a film called Gorky Park with a Russian detective named Arcady, I read a few more in the series that feature him, and one of those had a reference to three stations.

These three stations are the Leningrad station, the Kazansky station, and the Yaroslavl station.

The latter was the one that interested me the most.

The story has Susan having a Russian father, a KGB agent who had an affair with her mother, and a man who had roots in the imperial past, from a rich family pre-1917 revolution, who lost everything after the revolution.

I needed a place for the ruined palace, and that was Yaroslavl.  It is tucked away off the main road on the banks of the Volga River, and according to legend, was once visited several times by the Tzar himself.

Legend also has it it was given to the family by Catherine the Great for services rendered.

Anyway, David gets himself to Moscow, does his version of the Cook’s tour, thanks to an obliging taxi driver, and then to the station to catch the train.  Why not drive?  Well, that’s an interesting question.

But ensconced in his hotel making plans for the next day to visit the ruins, an unexpected visitor lands on his doorstep.

…

Words written today, 1,907, for a total of 31,564

There are high rollers, and then others

…

I’ve been to the Monaco main casino, a rather interesting piece of architecture, and of all things in the bathrooms, gold taps.

And it was fascinating to watch the patrons, people who had single articles of clothing or jewellery that was worth more than my house, if fact probably more than I would earn in twenty years of my working life.

Let alone the value of the chips they had in front of them on the tables.

There was a sort of elegance and unreal atmosphere about it all like I was in a place where I shouldn’t; the proverbial ‘on the outside looking in’.

Not for David.

He belongs here, among these people, where he could, if he wanted to, pull a wad of money out of a coat pocket and make a splash.

But that’s not why he’s here.  He’s filling in time until the date and time of the message, tomorrow.

Only there’s no one there that he recognises, just a particular high roller who stands out from the others, and a girl at the bar, looking like she needed to be rescued.

Perhaps the night will not be a dead loss.

…

Words written today, 1,801, for a total of 27,769

A familiar face

…

Ensconced in the hotel foyer before the appointed time, as someone other than David Cheney, or David Bentley for that matter, he observes the arrival, at the appointed time, of Susan and her entourage, and a man he recognises from a previous party.

She has the three maids with her, but they are not maids.  Or if they are, they like to dress up like security guards, right down to the black suits and almost hidden earpieces.

Time to have some fun.

And try to work out who it might be that wanted to tell him about Susan’s travels and activities.  The man she’s with is not staying in the same room, but that didn’t mean anything, but she’d never given him any reason to believe she would have an affair.

And the guy didn’t look to him to be affair material.

Of course, he had to factor in the ordeal she had been through might have changed her somewhat, but leopards don’t change their spots that quickly.

Still…

Davis is surprised, on one hand, that Boris is in Monaco.

On the other, after a humorous afternoon, he accidentally runs into Susan who is no doubt at the casino to see another but has to settle for an errant husband.

At least David gets to spend the night with her, and as a bonus gets to discover who her new head of security is.  And, he doesn’t like him at all.

…

Words written today, 1,888, for a total of 29,657

Not so ‘humble’

…

While David may have considered Boris the so-called humble policeman at the time, Boris, being the suspicious person he was, knew he was dealing with a foreign agent.

And he knew in time that letting him go provided two benefits, time to investigate who he really was, and how knowing him could be beneficial.  Pity then when after a few meetings in various cities in Europe, news came of David’s untimely death.

Thus, to get a call from a man who was supposed to be dead was intriguing, to say the least, and from one who was now married to a person of interest, the new Lady Featherington.

And to be asked about three Russian ‘maids’ piqued his interest.

Of course, the same could not be said for Prendergast who learns of this dubious Russian connection from his God-daughter Susan, complaining about David threatening her staff.

It’s the last thing on David’s mind as he heads off to Monaco, propelled by an anonymous text message with a place a date and a time.  Normally he wouldn’t care, but it appeared someone was trying to tell him something.

About Susan?

He would soon find out.

Booked into a hotel near the famous casino, and at a loose end, he goes to mingle with the rich and famous.  But not as himself, but his version of going ‘undercover’.

…

Words written today, 1,778, for a total of 25,968.

There are high rollers, and then others

…

I’ve been to the Monaco main casino, a rather interesting piece of architecture, and of all things in the bathrooms, gold taps.

And it was fascinating to watch the patrons, people who had single articles of clothing or jewellery that was worth more than my house, if fact probably more than I would earn in twenty years of my working life.

Let alone the value of the chips they had in front of them on the tables.

There was a sort of elegance and unreal atmosphere about it all like I was in a place where I shouldn’t; the proverbial ‘on the outside looking in’.

Not for David.

He belongs here, among these people, where he could, if he wanted to, pull a wad of money out of a coat pocket and make a splash.

But that’s not why he’s here.  He’s filling in time until the date and time of the message, tomorrow.

Only there’s no one there that he recognises, just a particular high roller who stands out from the others, and a girl at the bar, looking like she needed to be rescued.

Perhaps the night will not be a dead loss.

…

Words written today, 1,801, for a total of 27,769

Are you David, or are you, well, David?

…

Spies never really use their real names.  David was no exception, not that he was a spy anymore, but slipping back into that life again, if only for a few days, he travelled under the name of David Bentley.

He learned the hard way a long time ago to keep his first name, because sometimes, with another, you might not respond to it, and give the game away.

He also had a lot of expert help in transforming into someone else, and the man who landed in the Riviera looked nothing like David Cheney.

And it was oddly satisfying to have something to do.

…

But first things first, we have an interesting character to introduce, a man who is as enigmatic as David himself.

And one who knows David by various names, and whom David came across in Moscow in the middle of a mission that went sideways.

Boris, last name unpronounceable, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or perhaps, in the end, the right place, depending on your point of view.

David ended up saving his life, and in the process of becoming friends, of a sort, when asked, Boris decided to tell him he was a humble policeman.

Of course, he is anything but a ‘humble’ policeman, and in making a new friend, considered one day that friendship might be mutually beneficial.

…

Words written today, 2,231 for a total of 24,190.

Not so ‘humble’

…

While David may have considered Boris the so-called humble policeman at the time, Boris, being the suspicious person he was, knew he was dealing with a foreign agent.

And he knew in time that letting him go provided two benefits, time to investigate who he really was, and how knowing him could be beneficial.  Pity then when after a few meetings in various cities in Europe, news came of David’s untimely death.

Thus, to get a call from a man who was supposed to be dead was intriguing, to say the least, and from one who was now married to a person of interest, the new Lady Featherington.

And to be asked about three Russian ‘maids’ piqued his interest.

Of course, the same could not be said for Prendergast who learns of this dubious Russian connection from his God-daughter Susan, complaining about David threatening her staff.

It’s the last thing on David’s mind as he heads off to Monaco, propelled by an anonymous text message with a place a date and a time.  Normally he wouldn’t care, but it appeared someone was trying to tell him something.

About Susan?

He would soon find out.

Booked into a hotel near the famous casino, and at a loose end, he goes to mingle with the rich and famous.  But not as himself, but his version of going ‘undercover’.

…

Words written today, 1,778, for a total of 25,968.

While the cats away

…

While David promises to be good, and not give the staff at the castle a hard time, Susan whiles away the time overseas tending to business.

Or is she?

A familiar sound from a familiar place tells David his wife is not where he says she is.

But, that’s a problem for another day.  He has a mission to plan and execute, and it’s going to involve the unwitting assistance of a most unlikely accomplice.

First, there’s a rather uncooperative and snotty cook to take care of.

And like all sorties, no amount of planning can cover every eventuality, but quick thinking saves the day, leaving him with more questions than answers.

And the household wondering if he was having an affair.  A talk the following morning with Susan, who seems to have a version of events, finds that, no, he can’t take his shadow back home when he leaves the castle.

Whether or not she is checking up on him, she arrived at the castle in person and makes an attempt to let him know she has not forgotten him.

Pity then she is gone the next morning before he wakes up.

Finally tired of meddling in castle affairs, it takes a very odd message from an anonymous source to get him on his way to Monaco to see what it all means.

…

Words written today, 2,171, for a total of 21,959

Are you David, or are you, well, David?

…

Spies never really use their real names.  David was no exception, not that he was a spy anymore, but slipping back into that life again, if only for a few days, he travelled under the name of David Bentley.

He learned the hard way a long time ago to keep his first name, because sometimes, with another, you might not respond to it, and give the game away.

He also had a lot of expert help in transforming into someone else, and the man who landed in the Riviera looked nothing like David Cheney.

And it was oddly satisfying to have something to do.

…

But first things first, we have an interesting character to introduce, a man who is as enigmatic as David himself.

And one who knows David by various names, and whom David came across in Moscow in the middle of a mission that went sideways.

Boris, last name unpronounceable, was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or perhaps, in the end, the right place, depending on your point of view.

David ended up saving his life, and in the process of becoming friends, of a sort, when asked, Boris decided to tell him he was a humble policeman.

Of course, he is anything but a ‘humble’ policeman, and in making a new friend, considered one day that friendship might be mutually beneficial.

…

Words written today, 2,231 for a total of 24,190.