After driving around the perimeter, I approach the winery with confidence. It’s late afternoon. Unlike most of the wineries we’ve passed, the D’Aragon Winery has security at the gate. I pull the car up to the barrier and wind down my window.
‘Hello,’ I say. ‘My wife and I are wondering if we can have a wine tasting. We’d like to order a shipment of your finest wines.’
‘Usually tastings are prearranged, Monsieur,’ says the guard.
‘Really?’ asks Neva. ‘Can’t you make an exception?’
‘One moment. I will see if there is anyone available to help you,’ says the guard.
He picks up the phone in his booth and makes a call. Then he begins speaking low in rapid French. When he hangs up, he gives us a smile.
‘You are in luck,’ he says. ‘The winery manager is available and can do the tour.’
‘Wonderful!’ I say.
‘Just follow the road and it takes you straight to the building,’ the man says.
The barrier begins to rise as I wind up the window and then I drive through and onto the signposted road.
‘That was too easy,’ says Neva. She looks around as we drive up a tree-lined driveway.
As we approach the winery building, we take in our surroundings. We can see the château to our right and a further two buildings. One has the appearance of a hospital. The other is clearly the training school building that holds the arena in the centre.
‘Do you recognize this place now?’ I ask Neva.
She shakes her head. ‘If this was my home, then they took the memory from me at the house.’
I feel her frustration as I drive up to the building and park in one of the bays at the front. I look up at the tall brick building which is large and functional but not attractive, despite the rural setting.
‘It might come back,’ I say.
Neva doesn’t answer, instead she looks back at the dense trees as though she expects an assault at any moment. She runs her hand over her boot in an unconscious gesture. She’s ready to reach for her knife if needed.
As we get out of the car, a short man comes out of the building to greet us.
‘Bonjour Madame et Monsieur,’ he says. ‘I am Louis and I’m going to be your guide this day.’
Louis gestures towards the building. I glance over my shoulder back at the château.
‘Lovely château. Who lives there?’ I ask.
‘Ah yes, the estate owner. It has been in the family for a few centuries,’ Louis says. ‘This way if you please.’
‘How long does the tour usually take?’ I ask.
‘For a private visit like this, as long as you wish,’ Louis says.
We follow him into the building.
‘We have a quiet day today,’ Louis says. ‘It is Sunday and our vintners do not work this day. And so, you will see us on a rare visit. Nevertheless, I hope you will enjoy the experience and I can answer all of your questions and especially let you taste our fine wines.’
‘So, you’re alone here today?’ Neva asks.
‘Oui,’ says Louis.
As he closes the door behind us, Neva chops her hand down on his neck. Louis slumps forward, smacking his head on the door. He slides down the wood, landing hard on the stone-tiled floor. We pick the unconscious man up and carry him into the office. Then Neva pulls cable ties from her pocket (I hadn’t even realized that she had them with her) and she secures Louis to the chair. From the office drawer she gets a roll of brown tape and covers Louis’s mouth.
‘This couldn’t have worked out better,’ I say. ‘The absence of staff today…’
Neva shakes her head. ‘It’s too convenient, Michael. We need to keep our guard up.’
I agree with her. It’s all just too easy. Our timing can’t be this good by accident.
‘Maybe Elbakitten knew they’d have less people on hand today?’ I suggest.
‘Maybe she did. Or maybe she is setting us up,’ Neva says.
‘You’re suspicious of everyone,’ I say.
‘It’s kept me alive so far,’ she comments.
I take my Glock out and check the cartridge is full. Neva does the same with her gun.
‘We need to avoid shooting anyone if we can. They’ll hear the gunfire,’ I say.
Neva takes a silencer out of her bag and tosses it to me. She always thinks of everything. Then she puts her gun away, and removes the knife from her boot.
‘I’m happier with this, anyway,’ she says.
I screw the silencer onto my Glock as we walk back out of the winery building and start making our way through the vineyard towards the château. I glance at my watch: it’s just gone 5pm.
‘Should we wait here for nightfall?’ I ask.
Neva shakes her head. ‘The guard on the gate will become suspicious if we aren’t out in two hours. We need to do what we came for, as quietly as possible.’
Neva leads the way through the grape plants towards the château, as though, despite her denial, she does remember this place. I’m about to ask her again if she recalls anything but she silences me. She crouches down and pulls me with her. We hear the crunch of feet as someone moves through the vineyard a few lanes left of us. We remain quiet and still as they pass by.
Once the coast is clear, Neva stands again. ‘We need to be quick,’ she whispers.
We hurry on now, being less quiet but getting closer to the château with every step.
The plan is to get in, find Mia and get out again. Neva will not look to engage with Annalise at this time. Once Mia is safe, I’ve promised to help her confront her mother. But today isn’t the right time or place for such a meeting. But this is all so ad hoc that I’m concerned we’ll fall at the first hurdle. What were we thinking, taking on this place alone? But then, it isn’t as if I can call in help from Ray who has no jurisdiction in France and they’d see him coming a mile off anyway. No, our only option is this direct action and now we have to get inside that building, find Mia, and get away without being noticed.
I try to anticipate how this will go down. There has to be security around Mia, otherwise I believe she would have attempted to escape. As I think about this, my mind flashes back to some of the moments I now remember when Beech had activated me. I hadn’t been desperate to escape on any of those occasions. I’d been more than willing to stay and do his bidding. Will Mia be in that mind-set too? The dilemma we face is this main insecurity. Will Mia fight us to remain, or remember who she is and let us rescue her? Knowing how the conditioning can affect us, I have no idea which Mia we will find, and for this reason I’m very nervous as we reach the end of the vineyard.