There was still no sign of him by late Sunday night, and he had never called the people where he was meant to spend the weekend, which was unlike him. That was all it said. Theo reported it to Mike when he called her after he got up at seven, which was lunchtime for her. As usual, she was eating a yogurt and an apple at her desk, with new merchandise samples to choose all around her in the room. Mike teased her that she kept her slim figure because she never had time to eat. She wondered what had happened to Pierre, and Mike was curious about it too.

“With someone like him, anything could happen. He could be in Russia by now—with two goons dragging him there—or dead, poisoned like he tried to do to you. It sounds like he has too many irons in the fire these days, with some very dicey people. And the people he’s making deals with don’t play games.”

“Maybe he’ll just turn up, and went to a party at the last minute in Dubai. Or someone sent a plane for him. I think he’s capable of that too. He goes where the money is. His friends probably don’t realize who he does business with.”

“You’re probably right. But he’s one guy I won’t worry about. He’s a social butterfly, and he’s dangerous and ruthless if he’s the one who poisoned you. That’s a very heavy-handed sales pitch.”

She didn’t disagree, and as the day went on, she forgot about him. That afternoon she called the realtor she wanted to use and listed the château, as she said she would. She had a pang when she did it, but she’d thought about it, and she knew it was the right thing for her. She was never going to use it again after what had happened there, and it made no sense to keep it.

The listing went up on the real estate agency’s website the next day, with a few photographs she provided them. The price was listed as “upon request,” which suggested it was very high. She was shocked when, two days later, there were four requests to see it. Things were moving faster than she’d expected, or maybe even wanted them to. She had put a huge price tag on it, but it was worth it. She had one price to sell it furnished, minus some of the art she wanted to sell separately or keep, and another price to sell it empty. Either way she was going to make a lot of money if the château sold.

The realtor had made appointments for all of the potential buyers to see it, and told Theo that there were two Americans, a Russian, and a Chinese man scheduled for visits by the end of the week. She wondered if the Russian was Pierre de Vaumont’s client, but she had no way to know.