is nothing sinister. Aziz, would you please take Dr. Habib and introduce him to Professor Malik. Tell him he has my authority to speak freely about the conference.”
Fahd made a face. “What am I saying? Of course you can’t tell him. He’s a mute, you see. Here. Take him this note.”
Fahd went to the desk, pulled a piece of paper from a pocket notebook, and wrote Kill him on it. He folded it up and handed it to Aziz.
Aziz nodded, and led Dr. Habib out.
Fahd picked up the phone and barked, “Joram!”
Joram expected to be in serious trouble for telling the doctor who else was going with him to Paris. “Yes, sir,” he said meekly.
“Change the itinerary. We’re only taking two doctors.”
56.
TEDDY WOKE UP and called the front desk from his cell. “This is Devon Billingham in room three oh eight. I’m checking out. My bill’s paid, and I’m leaving my keys in the room.”
Teddy wasn’t in Devon’s room. He was upstairs in Floyd Maitland’s suite, and he didn’t feel like dressing up like Devon Billingham just to check out. He’d already left the keys and taken his suitcase, so he just had to make the phone call.
Teddy had breakfast, got Maitland’s car back from valet parking, and drove down to the dock. He went into a bait-and-tackle shop and bought a fishing rod, a creel, a net, a beer cooler, and two extra-large coolers.
The salesclerk grinned and inquired in halting English, “You plan on catch that much?”
“If your equipment’s any good,” Teddy told him.
Teddy found the French equivalent of a Home Depot and bought two fifty-pound bags of cement. The salesman helped him carry them out. He headed for the trunk, but Teddy stopped him.
“Throw them in the back seat.”
The salesman was surprised. “Really?”
“Trunk’s full,” Teddy told him.
After a couple of blocks Teddy stopped, got out, and poured the cement into the two large coolers. He crumpled up the bags and threw them in a garbage can on the street corner.
Teddy stopped at the first convenience store he came to and bought a bag of ice and two six packs of Bud Lite. He took them out to the car and filled the beer cooler.
Teddy got back in the car, drove down to a marina, and rented a boat. It was expensive—even more so because he didn’t want a pilot. He had to sign a zillion forms exempting liability in the event anything happened. He signed them as Floyd Maitland. If he wrecked the boat, Teddy figured, Floyd was in a lot of trouble.
It was a while since Teddy had piloted a boat, but like riding a bicycle, Teddy didn’t forget. A sailboat might have been trickier, but a cabin cruiser was a piece of cake. Teddy maneuvered easily through the harbor and headed for the open sea.
As soon as he was more or less alone he killed the motor, dropped anchor, and went to work.
First he took out the fishing rod, unwound the line, and cast it off the stern of the ship. He was terrible at casting, but no one was looking. He stuck the handle of the rod into one of the round metal holders built into the rail for that purpose. He left the net and the creel lying on the deck to complete the picture. He realized these were hollow gestures that would only fool the most casual inspection. There wasn’t even bait on the hook.
Teddy popped open the beer cooler, grabbed a few cans, and poured them out in the sea. He popped another can, chugged half of it, and poured the rest out. He tossed the empty on the deck with the others, and turned his attention to the task at hand.
Teddy unzipped the duffel and took out his tools, which he had packed carefully around the body. He took out a roll of duct tape and taped up the coolers. They had latches, but Teddy wasn’t about to trust them. He wound the duct tape around the coolers, taping them crosswise and lengthwise again and again.
When he was satisfied, he took out a coil of rope and fed it through the handles of the coolers. He tied it off with knots he knew would hold, whether they would have impressed a true seaman or not. He reinforced them with duct tape nonetheless.
He pulled Maitland out of the duffel bag. It would have been easier to leave him in the bag, but if the body was ever discovered, the duffel could conceivably