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DOROTHY WAS SECRETLY delighted DG had been spirited away by Jack and Keith because his absence provided her with some much-needed alone time. She assigned Charlie and Simone the tasking of restoring the dining room to its former glory then retired to the kitchen to pack the dishwasher. Glenda had surpassed herself with the evening meal she had laid on in honour of their esteemed guest, and was now relaxing in bed with a book and a well-deserved glass of wine.
Simone carried the brandy decanter into the kitchen and set it down on the worktop below the big screen.
‘Charlie and I were thinking of popping up to see Marco and the guys for ten minutes, just to give you and Dorian a little couple time,’ she remarked in a nonchalant way.
‘That’s nice,’ Dorothy replied absentmindedly, as she wiped away a stubborn stain from the sink. ‘Check up on Diane and Rosa while you’re there, and make sure those boys are taking care of them. I don’t want Diane upset by any of that raucous carry-on. I don’t understand why the gay community have to be so wild. They’re far worse than hetros any day of the week.’
‘We’re appalling,’ Simone edged towards the door, delighted to have escaped so easily. ‘See you in a while, Dottie. Don’t let DG ride you on the island.’ Then she was gone.
Dorothy perused the island and spent a few seconds imagining what it would be like to engage in some good old-fashioned passionate lovemaking on its granite surface.
‘This is the closest you’re likely to get to finding out,’ she muttered to herself, as she applied a liberal amount of specialised cleaning fluid to the item in question, and set about scrubbing the top until it shone.
Ten minutes later, she had the kitchen sparkling and was applying her favourite hand cream when Dorian came wandering in. He was wearing one of his Armani button-downs and flat fronted trousers, and was as usual the epitome of fifty-plus billionaire style.
He looked stunned and weaved slightly as he approached the island and gingerly placed his rear end upon the nearest stool. Dorothy regarded him through her recently uplifted eyelashes and resisted the urge to laugh. Instead she set down one of her best brandy balloons in front of the guest and poured a generous helping into it. She wasn’t in the mood for brandy herself, but felt it would be polite to join him. Dorian made no comment and seemed oblivious to the fact that during his absence, the dinner party had mysteriously migrated to the kitchen and Simone and Charlie had absented themselves.
‘Thanks for the drink,’ he said hoarsely, after he had downed half the glass. ‘And the delicious meal,’ he added almost as an afterthought. ‘Glenda is a treasure. She could take on any one of my chefs any day of the week and not disgrace herself.’
Dorothy tucked this compliment away to be retold to the housekeeper during a quiet moment, and assumed a benign and supportive expression. Is it possible for a civilian to win an Academy Award? Cause if it is, I totally deserve one.
‘Do you want to talk about it?’ she enquired sympathetically.
‘I cannot believe the dirt your boys have dug up on Dieter Stinnes,’ he regarded her helplessly. ‘I thought the nerdy guy was just going to do a big of digging on his computer, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. They appear to have launched some sort of full-scale offensive against Stinnes. And what’s more, Dorothy, I only mentioned the guy’s name to them eight days ago. The last security firm I contracted came back to me with zilch six weeks after the fact. Frankly, I’m gobsmacked.’
‘It started off with Roy digging up anything he could find on Herr Stinnes,’ Dorothy willed herself not to giggle. ‘After a day or two, he had only unearthed very basic information and started to get a weird feeling about the guy. He discussed the situation with Clive, who has the reputation of being something of a bloodhound. Clive agreed the lovely Dieter was definitely hiding something, but had no clue what that something might be. Jack, Keith, Marco and James were invited to a brainstorming session and so began Operation Kraut.’
‘Don’t stop,’ Dorian urged, staring at her wide-eyed. What happened then?’
‘Jack argued that Herr Stinnes couldn’t possibly be who he claimed to be, although Roy wasn’t convinced. He pointed out that your last security contractors got hold of the guy’s fingerprints and checked him out thoroughly. It was Marco who suggested the only sure-fire way of determining the man’s true identity was to get hold of his DNA.
‘As you can imagine, that idea well and truly put the cat amongst the pigeons. It’s one thing to get hold of a glass with a thumbprint on it, yet quite another to relieve a man of his hair or fingernails, especially when security around him is so tight. At this juncture, James had the bright idea of contacting his sister, the Lady Beatrix Kirwan-Taylor.’
‘It’s like a soap opera,’ Dorian moaned and polished off the remainder of his brandy. ‘Keep going, Dorothy, for feck sake.’
She topped up his glass and continued. ‘Trixie began to network and discovered Dieter was staying at the home of a world-famous musician in the South of France. Even though it would normally be impossible for an ordinary mortal to gain access to such a well-guarded establishment, the Lady Trixie is welcomed everywhere. She got herself and her pal, Bonnie, invited, and they lost no time in flying out there.
‘Trixie’s arrival caused something of a stir because it’s not every girl who can pilot a helicopter. She was counting on attracting Dieter’s attention, which is precisely what happened. As it turned out, Bonnie was the one who stepped up and actually did the dirty deed with Herr Stinnes. She’s a girl from one of those top-drawer families who haven’t a brass farthing to rub together, hence she had no problem with the notion of getting closer to Dieter, despite the fact he’s not exactly love’s young dream. She sounds like a very practical girl, although I can’t help feeling a little sorry for her.
‘Anyhoo! Once Bonnie and Dieter started getting better acquainted, it was only a matter of time before a few strands of hair were removed from a hairbrush. I believe Bonnie is quite the fan of CSI shows, and even took it upon herself to provide a suitable saliva swab. I dread to think how she managed it, although she sounds most resourceful. Trixie delivered the samples to us here, where Roy already had a lab on standby. The results took less than fourteen hours.’
‘Girls,’ Dorian moaned again and drank some more. ‘Girls succeeded where a whole team of security professionals failed.’
‘Girls and the combined brainpower of my men,’ Dorothy reminded him with a hint of smugness. ‘Once the DNA results came through, Roy reached out to one of his contacts who has access to some very heavy hitting databases. It took less than fifteen hours to determine that Dieter Stinnes was born Alexander Mucha, and was a well-known Ukrainian mobster in his youth. Twenty-two years ago, when things got too hot for him in his own country, he upped sticks and moved to Germany with a big chunk of his ill-gotten gains. He managed to appropriate the Stinnes identify for himself almost immediately, although by then his original DNA had already found its way onto a database. Jack says the real Dieter is long dead, although I don’t suppose anybody will ever be able to prove that.’
‘I never expected this,’ Dorian shook his head. ‘He’s one of the most respected businessmen in Europe. He even wined and dined Frankie Prince after her husband passed, and there was talk of them tying the knot. With all the speculation about her in the media today, I bet he’s relieved she turned him down. I knew there were skeletons to be found because there are always one or two buried bodies to uncover. I never expected the skeleton in the closet to literally be the body of the real Dieter Stinnes.’
‘Have you any idea how you’re going to use this new information?’ Dorothy eyed him thoughtfully. ‘Presumably you’re not going to rat the guy out?’
Dorian rubbed his hand through his carefully groomed hair, messing it up without even realising. ‘I need to think long and hard about this,’ he sounded harassed. ‘Stinnes has his finger in pies all over Europe. The global financial system is not unlike a game of Jenga. If I remove the wrong block, however carefully, I run the risk of bringing us all crashing down. We’ve already endured one global meltdown in the past five years, and I won’t risk another one just as confidence is beginning to grow again. Stinnes and I might have to come to some sort of arrangement. If he agrees to keep his nose out of my affairs, I see no reason to out him to the world.’
‘You might want to speak to Roy and Keith about creating an insurance policy,’ Dorothy remarked conversationally. ‘In case Herr Mucha gets the idea he can solve all his problems with one bullet to Dorian Ganley’s head.’
He regarded her solemnly. ‘I’m not surprised to hear you say something like that after everything that’s happened recently,’ he said gently. ‘That said, you make a valid point. I should take sensible precautions before I confront the guy. Maybe even increase my security for a while.’
‘I’m sensing a power play,’ Dorothy chuckled, and poured yet more brandy for her guest. ‘Would you like to see a photo of Trixie? She’s a stunner.’
He was quick to agree, so she turned on the big screen and located the folder of recent photographs. The one she chose had been tracked down by Marco in Tatler magazine, and showed the Lady Beatrix at the Hunt Ball adorned in a magnificent Vera Wang gown, with a fantastic diamond necklace clasped around her neck. When Dorothy admired it, Trixie freely admitted the item had been loaned to her by the jewellers in question.
‘Mother of God,’ Dorian almost choked on his drink. ‘What an exquisite girl. No wonder that German bastard took a shine to her.’
‘She’s a wonderful girl,’ Dorothy agreed warmly and, under cover of her glass, watched the way his eyes rested covetously on Trixie’s face and form. She allowed him twenty seconds to fully absorb the beauty on display before she slid the knife between his ribs.
‘She’s taken a bit of a shine to my Josh,’ she announced breezily. ‘I’m hoping something might develop between them. She seems to be attracted to the sort of energy that only really young men possess.’
Dorothy was rewarded for her efforts by the look of chagrin that flashed across her boyfriend’s face. He withdrew his gaze from the screen and cleared his throat.
‘I hope for your sake that Josh has the sense to do something about the situation, if the girl likes him,’ he said gruffly. ‘He could use the distraction, and young men don’t always know what’s good for them. By the way, I hope the young lady isn’t out of pocket after her little adventure.’
‘Now you mention it, she had to give her favourite Jade Jagger earrings to Bonnie as payment for services rendered,’ Dorothy smiled sweetly, and pressed a few more buttons on the remote control. ‘I happen to know she’d love a Boodles necklace similar to this one.’
Dorian found himself staring at a filigree gold necklace with a giant ruby as its centrepiece.
‘I’ve never met Bonnie,’ Dorothy continued, ‘hence I’m not sure of her taste. I expect she’s the sort of girl who wouldn’t be offended by a token of appreciation. You wouldn’t have to go into details. Don’t forgot how practical she is.’
Before the final word left her mouth, Dorian had whipped out his phone and she watched his fingers flying across the keypad. ‘It’ll be sorted by Monday,’ he said in an undertone. ‘Thank God for women and their jewellery.’
Yet again, Dorothy raised her glass to hide her expression. This dufus is really starting to piss me off, although I have to stick with him for now at least. I can’t be seen to be single. At least not yet.
He looked up from his phone and caught a glimpse of something dark lurking in her eyes. ‘What’s the matter?’ he demanded. ‘Has something upset you?’
‘I was thinking about Josh,’ she lied smoothly. ‘He smiled at me earlier, and it was the first time I’ve seen him looking normal for a week. I’m hoping it’s a sign he’s starting to come to terms with things, but it’s early days and I daren’t get my hopes up.’
‘My poor girl,’ Dorian positively oozed sympathy as he slid off the stool and approached her. ‘You’ve been to hell and back this week. I hope you get some peace now, and have time to focus on what’s important.’
To her surprise, he drew her into his arms and pulled her against him. In her three-inch heels, she was able to comfortably reach his shoulder. A part of Dorothy wanted to push him away, but the side of her that had been functioning without genuine affection for months succumbed to the temptation of the embrace, and rested her forehead against his button-down. Dorian kissed the top of her head and tightened his grip. Neither party noticed Jack strolling into the kitchen, or the way he stopped abruptly in his tracks and began to back away on the double with horror filled eyes.
Charlie and Simone were making their way down the stairs when he erupted from the kitchen and bolted across the hall towards the basement stairs. ‘What the fuck was that all about?’ Charlie sounded shocked.
‘Dottie’s in there with DG,’ Simone replied gravely. ‘I don’t think it’s right for her to be juggling the pair of them like this. Jack’s clearly hurt by the relationship.’
‘We agreed not to interfere,’ Charlie stroked her partner’s arm soothingly. ‘They’re all adults, and they’ve chosen this setup with their eyes open. Jack might be feeling a little bruised right now, but you can bet your finely toned Irish ass he’ll bounce back as soon as Dorian leaves. Which of them do you think will be spending the night in the waterbed?’
‘It certainly won’t be Ireland’s richest man,’ Simone was nodding thoughtfully. ‘He never stays over. Apparently, the cameras really freak him out. He must have some bizarre notion the guys will try to make a sex tape of him or something. I think it’s mean of him, and Dottie must find it irritating and hurtful. It doesn’t bode well for the future if he’s this uncompromising so early on.’
‘That might go a long way towards explaining why Dottie is keeping her options open,’ Charlie slipped her arm around Simone’s waist as they made their way across the hall. ‘We should leave well alone and see what happens. Promise you won’t say a word.’
‘I promise,’ Simone replied grumpily. ‘But I have to tell you, Chaz, this is totally out of character for Dottie. If this is what hundreds of millions of euro does to a person, I’m glad we’re no more than comfortably off.’
Charlie was still chuckling over this when the lovers joined their hostess and her boyfriend in the kitchen, where Dorothy was politely admiring some recent photographs of Dorian’s children.
