Now, of course, there had to be a weekend and two working days in London after Geneva. She arrived in Heathrow late on Saturday morning and called Rummy from the Churchill on Portman Square to let him know she would be staying there. Doris answered the phone and they exchanged pleasantries until Doris suggested they meet for dinner.
Even though she and Rummy had been working companions for years, Helen hardly knew Doris Harms. Their few meetings had been very casual. What she did know was that Rummy seemed to have eyes only for Doris. That meant that Helen could either wear something scandalous and get away with it or dress like a bag lady and not be noticed. Except by Doris and everyone else. She chose a mid-thigh skirt and a loose, button-front blouse.
When they had all arrived at the agreed-on Indian restaurant off Old Brompton Road, Doris wore a short, tight dress with a deeply scooped neckline. There was no doubt that her figure was astonishing, even on the scale of a very tiny woman, not much over 150 cm.
“Rummy says you really scored in Geneva,” Doris said, once drinks had been ordered.
Helen grinned, “Boy, I´ll say. We spent yesterday afternoon on the contract, and I think we´ll get everything important. We got far enough that I´ll leave it to our lawyers from here.”
Rummy chuckled, “I think she blinded him. At the meeting I was at, he couldn´t take his eyes off her.” He glanced briefly at Doris and back at Helen. “Not that you didn´t have a deal for him he couldn´t turn down.” He looked at Doris again. “Helen found out Schellen´s in trouble and can´t build the project the way he proposed. She showed him how he could afford it. So it wasn´t just that she´s a looker.” He resumed his study of Doris´s breasts.
“Well,” Helen mused aloud, “I have a hunch that now Schellen may be thinking he could actually make some money on the Wald Sauna projects over the long term. If he had gone the way he was thinking of, he´d have to sell out in a couple of years when the place began going to pot. I hope our pitch made him think he could go for the long term. I certainly made an issue of that.”
Doris asked, “What were you wearing that…” she glanced at Rummy, “blinded him?
“Oh, at the meeting Rummy was at – very professional and conservative suit with a silk blouse that was just slightly snug.” She smiled knowingly at Doris. “Schellen´s a randy old goat – but in that elegant continental way, you know. Yesterday I wore a double-breasted suit with a long, slit skirt. He kept trying to figure out if I had anything at all on under my jacket.”
“Did you?” Doris asked.
“Actually, yes, I did. Most respectable, in fact. But he never was really sure.”
Doris changed the subject. “Tell me about this place where you live, Helen. Since you moved, Rummy mumbles a lot about ‘south of France´ and ‘crazy place to live.´ I´ve gotten the idea he´s spooked about it.”
“I am spooked about it, Doris,” Rummy said. “It´s unnatural, that´s what it is.”
Doris rolled her eyes. “Really, Rummy! What´s his problem, Helen?”
Helen laughed. “Simple, really. Rummy can´t decide if he´s a prude or a libertine. I guess you already know that.” Doris grinned and nodded.
“His problem is, I live at Heliopolis in Cap d´Agde. Do you know about it?”
Rummy groaned. “It´s a bleeding nudist colony, Dor. Everyone´s bare-arse there.”
“Of course, dear, I know about the place; it´s a naturist resort. Clothing is optional.” Her prim response belied the spark in her eye. She turned back to Helen. “I think it´s a great idea. How long have you lived there? I thought it was just a vacation venue.”
Helen and Doris spent the rest of the evening talking about her home, how she had remodeled it, and how much she loved her life in Heliopolis. Doris made her promise to invite them to stay, even though Rummy turned bright red at the thought. What wasn´t clear was whether he was more concerned by the idea of his adored wife wandering naked through the streets, or by the thought of having to do it himself.
Before they parted, Helen asked Rummy, “Heard anything more about the Theo business?”
“No,” Rummy said, “I´ve asked one or two of my contacts on the continent if they have anything, but I haven´t heard.”
Doris, her face concerned, said, “Helen, Rummy told me about what happened. What´s this all about?”
Helen had had time to come to terms, in part, with Theo´s re-appearance, if she could call it that. “I have no idea. Theo worked for IG Bau, the German construction union, but I have no idea what that fellow was talking about.”
Rummy said, “Helen, just from the way the guy approached me, I think we need to know a lot more about it. He struck me as a sleaze. And don´t forget all those suggestions Schellen was making.”
“Thank you, Rummy. Keep after it, please.”
.oOo.
Helen didn´t like London much. Hectic, expensive, crowded and uncomfortable, she avoided going there whenever possible. On this occasion, she spent Sunday at the Victoria & Albert Museum, then, at Doris´ suggestion, she went to their flat in Kensington for dinner.
Doris met her at the door in a leotard and tights. A colorful scarf was fastened at one hip with an ornate brass clasp. Seeing Helen´s delighted response, she posed briefly, grinning broadly. They hugged and Doris and led the way through. The evening was fun, the food good, and Helen went back to her hotel well before the Underground closed.
.oOo.
Helen and Rummy met at her hotel all day Monday and Tuesday morning and pulled together the details of the project they had sold in Geneva, deciding on the suppliers they would need, arranging meetings for Rummy with the contractors.
At intervals, she checked her e-mail. Finally, late on Monday, there was a message from the doctor in Geneva. The important words were “negative, repeat, negative in all respects.”
Relieved, she sat at the desk in her room in the evening after a quick pub meal nearby. She had no idea, even now, why she had decided to meet Johannes´s friend Jeanne. Somehow, she had thought it would enable her to close out the warm, though mainly sexual, relationship she´d had with Johannes for several years. At the end of it, she wasn´t sure what she´d achieved. ‘Perhaps the best thing is that he´s still my friend. He´s someone I can trust.´
And now Theo was back. And not just as a nightmare.