BooksBarbecue
Back The Counterfeit Candidate Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Chapter Forty-Eight
  50. Chapter Forty-Nine
  51. Chapter Fifty
  52. Chapter Fifty-One
  53. Chapter Fifty-Two
  54. Chapter Fifty-Three
  55. Chapter Fifty-Four
  56. Chapter Fifty-Five
  57. Chapter Fifty-Six
  58. Epilogue
  59. Author’s Note
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the Author

“Remember, Richard, the gold and gemstones can be leveraged at any time, should you or the corporation need an injection of capital, but these artworks are never to be sold. They are your legacy and one day will hang in your home and the home of your son.”

Richard nodded and closed his eyes. He thought about the master plan for John’s future and couldn’t help but wonder if, one day, the Van Gogh would hang on a wall inside the Oval Office.

Chapter Forty-One

25 January 2012

Buenos Aires

Paz and Núñez met at a small bagel café in the centre of Recoleta for a breakfast update. Both men opted for the toasted smoked salmon and cream cheese poppy-seed special, along with black coffee and fresh orange juice. Paz picked up his white mug and took a large gulp.

“Alonso, tell me about the fire.”

“Boss, our contact set it off right outside Vargas’s office and, although the firefighters were on-site within a few minutes, they believe that anything that was near the heart of the fire must have been destroyed.”

“Alonso, be straight with me. Do we know for sure the stuff was actually there?”

Alonso desperately wanted to be the purveyor of good news but was cautious about lying to his boss. “We believe so, but can’t be totally sure. Our contact says Vargas spent the previous night alone in his office working through some of the items from García’s haul, but no one knows exactly what.”

“Fuck it, Alonso. We have to know for sure. Where are we with Vargas? He has to be taken out.”

“Our contact is still trying to get details of his home address. They have access to most police staff files, but not those at chief inspector level and above, so it’s proving difficult.”

“Failure is not an option, Alonso. Lean on this contact of yours and find a way to get the information.”

* * *

Hembury raided the fridge in Vargas’s kitchen and cooked himself some scrambled eggs and tomato along with a couple of slices of granary toast. It was almost eleven and his friend had been gone for nearly two hours. He was making good headway on his breakfast when Vargas called him on the mobile.

“Troy, sorting out a safe place for the case is taking a bit longer than I thought. I left my overnight bag on the bed. Would you grab it for me, please, and take a taxi to the airport. Meet me at the LATAM check-in desk in Terminal C.”

“Nic, where are you? What are you doing with the case?”

“Don’t worry. I’m putting it somewhere really safe.”

* * *