Dino by Jaime Lewis
Chapter FIFTEEN
Demitri listened as his friend and client of many years, Niran Chaiwong, rattled off the specifics he was looking for in his next custom order. Niran, a former judge for the Thailand judiciary courts, was in the market for a new toy since his previous one didn’t cut it and was disposed of. Demitri didn’t ask how. The less he knew, the better off he was. Once the merchandise left his possession and he was paid, he didn’t care.
“Do you think you can locate what I’m seeking, my friend?” Niran asked him with a heavy Thai accent.
Demitri looked over the notes he had been taking—college age—young twenties, introvert, natural blonde hair, bold green eyes, athletic build, preferably European, and ability to speak Thai. His friend was asking for a lot, but Demitri had never let him down before, and he wouldn’t be starting now.
“It may take a little longer to locate an exact match, but I think we can accommodate you.”
“Excellent. I will wire half of the funds into the usual account.”
“Actually, I’ll send you instructions for a new account.”
As soon as it was apparent that the flash drive was missing, Demitri closed out the old account and opened a new one with another bank in the United Kingdom under a shell corporation name.
“Do I detect trouble?”
Demitri had to be cautious in answering Narin’s question because he didn’t want to sound any alarms, that would get back to his many clients. A great number of his clients included high-profile individuals—business executives, politicians, and other government officials.
“No trouble. I tend to move accounts every so often—for precautionary reasons.”
“I see. Well then. Send me the account information I’ll get the funds wired, and then wait to hear from you.”
“Nice talking to you, Niran.”
“You as well, my friend.”
Demitri disconnected and set the phone on the desk. The leather from his chair creaked as he leaned back. As soon as he was questioned by the police the day of the show in Rome, he fled to his secluded villa on the Island of Crete. The waterfront property was the only residence that he had deeded in a company name not affiliated with him. That way, it wouldn’t be traced back to him. He feared more backlash could evolve from the incident, and he wanted to stay hidden for the time being.
He’d been able to keep himself busy with all of his business dealings. But at night, as he laid in his bed, his thoughts always wandered to the woman who got away.
People were starting to question the whereabouts of the Black Swan. Calls were going unreturned from her agent, and nobody knew where to go for answers. Her contract with Claude had ended a few days after the event in Rome, so even he was no help. In Claude’s mind, Anna Humphreys was a name of the past; he had already moved on to his next upcoming star.
There was a knock on his door.
“Come in.”
Carmine walked in with another guy who worked for Demitri.
“Any news?” Demitri asked.
Carmine shook his head. “No. Both the room and the tunnel were swept. The drive wasn’t there.”
Demitri tapped his finger against the desk. “I’ve double-checked the activity, and nobody has tried to access the file.”
Demitri had embedded a code in the flash drive that, after three failed login attempts to the file, the program would self-destruct and delete every file saved on the drive. It was an added insurance policy in case it ever fell into the wrong hands.
“It's quite possible that the drive is in the trash by now. You said you placed it in the inside pocket. Remember she was shot? Therefore, I’m sure wherever she ended up, she probably threw the jacket away. I highly doubt that she searched it.”
“What about Anna?”
“Nothing. It’s confounding. Nobody has seen or heard a peep from her or her agent. It's like they both just fell off the face of the earth.”
“Somebody out there knows something.”
“You aren’t going to stop looking, are you?” Carmine said, giving Demitri an amused half-smirk.
Demitri turned toward the large window to the left of his desk. He had a picture-perfect view of the Sea of Crete and its strikingly clear, turquoise water. He hadn’t told Carmine yet, but he had already decided that he would not be returning to the United States. He was working on plans to move all of his operations to Europe. He had many homes throughout Europe and even Asia, but his favorite, and the one he would soon call home, was the Villa he was currently staying in. It had a private beach and many amenities that one could wish for. All that it was missing was his swan.
Demitri faced Carmine. “I’ll never stop searching until she’s found. Trust me. She’s out there.”
