The Highwayman (Jerod's Third Tale - Part 6)

I watched Tania struggle with her thoughts. I wanted to tell her that everything would be fine. That she didn't have to blacken her soul for my sake. That I will love her always, no matter what her decision today is.

Yet I said nothing. Because I know she needs to work out what to do on her own. It’s a serious thing, she’s not born for this kind of life. I was and hatching an evil plot to achieve something gives me a rush. Coming up with the base plan, checking the details, putting the finishing touches on it. It’s exhilarating. And the sweet feeling of success when it’s all over and done with is a high of its own.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my family and a quiet life at home too. But scheming has always been a special thrill.

Still, that’s what I get out of it. I can’t make any promises to Tania that she’ll feel the same. She may not, the core of her soul is still as white as an infant’s soul. I’ve laid as much truth as she needs on the line. The rest is up to my lovely wife.



She was standing still as a statue while she thought. Finally there was a quiet, “Jerod?”

“Yes, Tania?”

“When Ted first suggested that you be a foreign rep, he didn’t mention anything like this. It just sounded like simple business trips to exotic locations.”

“Honey, for one thing, Ted is a lying manipulative bastard. He’ll say what he needs to so he’ll get the results he wants.”

“How can you say that about a friend?”

“Ok, he’s my friend who is a lying manipulative bastard. I should know, I can be one too.  Remember that I told you at the start it wasn’t likely to be simple business trips. Ted apparently did not tell you all the risks but situations like this are always possible for the Company.” I looked Tania in the eye. “Have you decided what’s it to be?”

She closed her eyes for a moment. “You’re still not getting rid of me that easily. I’m with you.”

I looked at Tania. It was tempting to send her back to camp, keep her safe as I can. However, that’s not fair to her. If Tania is willing to try dipping into the evil side of the pool, far be it from me to hold her back. “If you are positive,” Tania nodded firmly at me. “Well, let’s go chat to Jean Luc again. You know the drill, I talk and you watch everything.”

Once the decision was made, it was a quick walk back to Jean Luc Beaumont’s house. He didn’t exactly looked thrilled to see us back on his doorstep.

“Why are you back?”

“Jean Luc, I need something from you.”

“I’ve nothing left to give to you. Nothing.” He was in an even worse state then our previous visit. God, he is just pathetic. If I said ‘boo’, he’d probably run out the door.  Surely we aren’t coming across as that dangerous?

“I need to know about how Lambert carries out his blackmail. How does he deliver the demand? How do you get the money to him? I need every last detail that you can think of.”

“Ah, oui, now I understand. I get an envelope under the door every few weeks. It always has the amount of money to deliver, the day, the time and the place.”

“Do you happen to have one of the letters?” It would be useful to have one to base my little scheme on. The devil in any plan like this is to match as much detail as you can.

Jean Luc pointed a shaky finger at a small piece of paper on a table. “It arrived an hour ago.” I found myself almost feeling sorry for the dude now. No wonder he’s been jumpy as hell. Us turning up a second time on the day another blackmail demand arrived must have really put him on edge.

I picked up the paper and glanced at it. The drop was tomorrow at 2 pm. That’s good and bad news. Good news, we have both the time and place to set our trap. It’s a public drop, he’s planning on picking it up quickly. The bad news was it wasn’t a lot of time to set everything up. Then I read the demand more carefully. The amount being demanded was far more then I expected.

“I do not know how I will make the payment this time. I do not want to sell the family heirlooms, but I have sold almost everything else worth money.”

“Jean Luc, I’ll bring the parcel for the drop, you just do it as usual and leave. Understand?”

“Oui, monsieur but if you fail, I do not like to think of the consequences.” Damn, I really want to know what the hell Lambert has on this guy. Whatever it is, Beaumont wants to keep it very hidden from the rest of the world.

“We should return tomorrow with news for you.” With that, Tania and I quietly exited.

We walked over to the local bookshop, which also served as a tiny library for the town. I spotted an ancient computer and printer in the corner. The paper in the printer matched that of our blackmail note. “Tania?”

“Yes, Shrimp?”

“Your job is to ring the local newspaper and convince them to send photographers to central fountain tomorrow at 2:15.”

“What should I tell them?”

“I’ll leave that up to you. I’m thinking about how to phrase the blackmail letter.” I sat at the computer to prepare my first blackmail letter to Yves Bernard. It had to be just pushy enough to be believable without sending the recipient into tail spin. Yves has enough influence in town to be a believable target and someone everyone will listen to. After thinking things through for some minutes, I booted the computer to start typing. While the computer was booting, I listened to Tania making her first phone call.

“Oui, monsieur. The female tourists have decided to protest the lack of separate facilities in the guest house. At 2:15 tomorrow, they will be staging a sit down protest outside the shops.”

“That is not news? In that case, we will have to stage our protest topless. Surely that will be news.”  Well, that bait should bring a few photographers around.

Once the computer was up, it didn’t take me long to finish my note. I sent the result to the printer and as the antique machine started making a racket, I deleted my file. Then emptied the computer recycle bin, and shut it down again. While the computer was shutting down, I picked up the blackmail letter. Tania was finishing a second phone call.

“Topless protests? Am I invited?”

“Certainly not. No ogling the half naked girls for you.”

“Me? Ogle?” I gave Tania a hurt innocent expression.  “Well, can’t I ogle at least one topless girl?” I waggled an eyebrow at Tania. “I take it that the photographers will definitely be coming?”

“They certainly will be.”

“Now, to have this letter delivered.” I looked around and spotted a boy of about 11. “Hey, I’ll give you this if you put this letter in front of that door, knock on the door and run away as fast as you can.” I showed the boy a handful of coins. He nodded and I dumped the coins and the note in his hand. We watched my delivery boy as he performed the task. By the time the door opened, the boy was out of sight. The man at the door looked around then noticed the letter. He picked it up and went back inside, closing the door behind him.

I waited until the door had been shut for about two minutes. Then I walked over to knock on the door, Tania trailing behind. A man slowly and cautiously opened the door. “Monsieur, I am Jerod Templar of the International Crime Squad. I have been tracking a man guilty of fraud and blackmail across Europe. I have reason to believe that he may have recently decided to target you.” I held my breath. If he demanded identification, my scheme was screwed. I motioned toward the inside of the house. “Perhaps we should discuss this in a more private place?”

He nodded and let us in. “Monsieur Templar, I had just received such a demand. You might have even seen the fiend delivering it.”

“Sadly, no. The streets were clear when we found your house. But I assume that it was for a goodly sum of money to be delivered to a public spot. That’s his usual method of operation.”

“Mai oui Monsieur. Who is making such demands? What am I meant to do?”

“The guilty party is Monsieur Lambert. You may know him?” Bernard nodded. “You are innocent of the things in the letter?”

“Naturellement, Monsieur. I would never do such an act.”

“I’ll set up so there is a parcel in place. You go to the drop point and wait until I give you a nod, then shout about the blackmail. Unfortunately, I have no authority to arrest him here but the local police will be able to move in and arrest Lambert. We will put him away once and for all.”

“I would be so happy to cooperate.”

“I shall stop by tomorrow to confirm the details.” With that, I led the way out of the house. Tania and I went back to base camp for a well earned rest.

“The local police?”

“We’ll have to fix that small detail tomorrow, my love. You were magnificent today. You deserve a special bonus.” I held Tania’s hand as we walked up the stairs to the bedrooms.