Kidnapped and a Daring Escape (32 page)

    
"No, it’s too complicated. I’m using a borrowed phone. You see, I
have no papers, no credit card, no money. They took everything from me,
except the clothes I am wearing. I have to hang up now. Give everybody
my heartfelt regards.
Ciao
."

    
She cuts the connection and turns to André. "Thank you for encouraging me. At least they know now."

    
"I’d like to know what will go on in Franco’s mind when he gets
confirmation that his scheme has failed and that he’s 200,000 euros
deeper in debt. It could well be that this is the first he hears about it."

    
"I hope he’ll have a few sleepless nights, the bastard."

* * *

One of the things that has been bugging André since their arrival in
Bogotà is how to get the US twenty-dollar bills out of Colombia. When
he took them in ‘
le vilain’s
’ hideout, he didn’t give that aspect any
thought. It was a spontaneous grab. He knows it is foolish even to try to
get the funds out of the country. But he isn’t willing to give up without
exploring all possibilities.

    
Putting it into the check-in luggage is the obvious solution. But he
expects that Colombian airports are now also scanning all luggage of
outgoing passengers. He does not want to run the risk that the scanner
picks up the notes on the X-ray screen. If they do, he will be taken off the
plane, his luggage searched, and once the money is discovered he will be
grilled by the agents of the secret service as to where these bills came
from and how he got into their possession. The assumption would be that
either they are the proceeds of a drug deal or he intended to buy drugs.
He doubts they would believe his story that he stole them from his
kidnappers. And even if they did, he would be in trouble for not reporting
to the police after he escaped. In all likelihood they would confiscate the
money, even if they let him go.

    
Would it be possible to hide the bundles between books? If packed
cleverly, the scanner may not be able to differentiate the notes from the
books.

    
Another possibility is to carry the notes evenly distributed on his
thighs and stomach, making it look like he has a small potbelly. Since
people are only scanned for metal objects, he may be able to slip through,
unless they do a thorough body search, which is unlikely when leaving
the country. Identifying himself as a journalist who travels frequently, he
is unlikely to be searched upon arrival in Rome. But a potbelly does clash
with his slim athletic built. Besides, it would be highly uncomfortable,
nor is he sure that the combined effect of six thousand tiny metal strips
in the bills might not trigger the scanner.

    
A third possibility is to deposit the notes with a local bank. Once he
has new travel documents this could work. He could then arrange for a
subsequent transfer of the fund to his bank account in Switzerland. The
resulting exchange loss would amount to ten percent. There is though a
real risk the bank may notify the authorities, since the sum is so large.
They may even be required to notify the Central Reserve Bank of any
transaction of that size. If he happens to fall on a suspicious bank clerk,
the latter may also call in the police right away. Counting that many bills
will give the police ample time to arrive. And how to explain the bullet
hole in one of the packages? No, using a bank is simply too dicey.

    
Finding a shady middleman to do it for him would probably be the
surest way to get the funds out, except for the risk of being swindled by
the middleman and the high commission on the transaction. But he
doesn’t have such contacts, and there is not enough time to find one he
would risk trusting.

    
Sending it via an international courier service? Don’t they X-ray all
packages crossing national borders like the post office does? That is why
he doesn’t even consider sending it by post.

    
He also doesn’t want Bianca to be involved. It is a real dilemma.
Should he simply forget about it? Spend as much as they can on various
things, jewelry for Bianca, his mother and sister and himself? Electronics
and other gadgets? It goes against his grain to spend in an extravagant
manner like this, although with the tickets they have already used almost
four thousand dollars. He would rather give the money to a charity.

    
As is his habit when faced with a dilemma that does not require
immediate action, he lets it simmer in the back of his mind. He still has
at least another two days before he has to make a final decision.
Sometimes, a solution emerges on its own.

They eat dinner in a small restaurant just around the corner from their
hotel and go to bed early.

12

Wednesday, they pick up their new passports. André’s driver’s license
will have to wait until he is back in Switzerland. In the afternoon, they
go sightseeing.

    
"André what’s the matter," Bianca questions when they look at the
view from a hill above the city. "You seem preoccupied."

    
"Yes, I am. I’ve not yet figured out how to get that damn money out
of this country."

    
"You mean you took that money without having figured that out
beforehand?" She says with a mocking smile. "You sometimes fail to
plan ahead?"

    
"Yes, love, I took that money on the spur of the moment. It was too
tempting. And I never claimed to be perfect."

    
"You would be boring if you were perfect," she answers, chuckling.

    
"Perfect, like ‘noble’ Franco." His wink says it all.

    
She winks back. "Yes, just like Count Franco. But can’t you put the
bundles in a suitcase which we check in?"

    
"No, they are all X-rayed."

    
"Oh."

    
He briefly explains his various thoughts.

    
"Maybe the best is to give it to a charity," she remarks in the end.

    
"That’s easy for a rich girl to say. I’m a poor man and will soon bear
the marital cross of a wife."

    
For a moment she is thrown, but then she sees him grinning mischievously.

    
"You dare calling marriage bearing a cross," she cries, feigning
outrage.

    
"I would never dare such a thing. Did you hear ‘bear the marital cross
of a wife’? I thought I said ‘share the marital bliss of ma’ life’, didn’t I?"
His eyes sparkle with amusement. "Do you have any doubt that I love
you more than my own life? Come, give me a kiss."

    
She cannot help smiling at how he twisted the words around. He bends
forward, his lips half open to receive the kiss. She playfully bends away,
letting him wait a second or two before she relents. Yes, she believes that
he loves her more than his own life. He has proved it more than once.

    
"Still, it may be a good idea to give that money to a charity. My father
is bound to give you a fat reward. He is that type of man. He likes seeing
his name in the papers for his generosity." She is certain of it.

    
"You think so?"

    
"Yes, for sure. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave you a check for fifty
or a hundred thousand euros."

    
"No matter how much he gives me, it will never match the reward that
I already got."

    
For a second she is puzzled by what he means and then she smiles and
plants a kiss on his cheek. "I love you," she murmurs.

    
"All right," he nods, giving her the smile she is so fond of. "Let’s
spend a few thousand more of that money on other worthy causes, such
as buying you some jewelry, maybe some jewelry for my mother and my
sister, new watches for both of us, and replace other items we lost, like
the cameras, or things we like when we see them, and then give the bulk
to a charity. Anyway, that money has served its main purpose of stopping
the bullet intended for us."

    
Yes, she thinks as a slight shiver creeps up her spine by this reminder.
She is though surprised. She hasn’t expected that he would part with that
money so easily and loves him even more for it.

    
Back in possession of their passports, they exchange four lots of one
thousand US dollars into pesos at different banks and currency exchange
dealers and buy an exquisite Swiss white-gold watch for Bianca and a
sporty watch for him, as well as several native Indian silver and precious
stone earrings, a finely crafted silver necklace, a fun armband, and
jewelry for his mother and sister, the same small Sony camera ‘
la bête
’
stole from him, as well as a new genuine Swiss army knife.

    
That night, after a delicious meal in an expensive restaurant, they
dance the evening away in a disco.

* * *

Thursday morning, André convinces her to call her parents once more to
inform them of their flight number and arrival in Rome’s Fumicino
Airport.

    
"You say ‘we’," questions her father. "Who will be coming with
you?"

    
"André Villier, you know the man who rescued me. He will be with
me. He has looked after me ever since and paid for the airfare. I’m very
indebted to him." She thinks a hint that he should think of a hefty reward
for André may not go amiss.

    
"Well, in this case I may well use this opportunity to express the
thanks of our entire family in an appropriate way."

    
She winks at André. He shakes his head.

    
"As you know, your mother is arranging a huge welcoming party for
you," her father continues.

    
"Papà, I begged mother not to have a party. I need a few quiet days. I
have to sort out several things. Please, no party."

    
"It is too late for that. The invitations have already been sent out."

    
"Then send out another notice, canceling the party. Use any reason.
That I need rest or something. I don’t care."

    
"No, you will enjoy seeing all the family and Franco, and this would
just provide the right venue for thanking
Signor
Villier. So you must
bring him to our house. I will send our chauffeur to pick both of you up
at Fumicino. How does
Signor
Villier write his name?"

    
Bianca spells it out. After the call ends, she moans: "I don’t want to
face these people. I don’t want to see Franco yet."

    
"I’ll be there with you."

    
She smiles and then adds triumphantly: "See, I told you that my father
will give you a hefty reward."

    
"So you did, love, so you did."

    
This cryptic remark puzzles her. She expected him to be pleased by
the prospect of getting fifty thousand euros, especially after giving up the
loot from ‘
le vilain
’, but there seems to be a hint of scorn in his mien.

    
"Aren’t you pleased?"

    
"Bianca, you are my reward, the only one that counts."

    
She decides to let it go and instead says: "Let’s find a charity for the
dollars."

    
He searches Colombian Internet web pages for a suitable institution
or organization. After some heated arguments — Bianca wants to give
the money to an orphanage, while André opts for a center that looks after
battered women or rape victims, pointing out that the latter will find it
more difficult to raise funds than an orphanage — they settle on the
Bogotà Women’s Refuge Center. She feels happy about that.

    
He phones the contact number given on the website. It turns out to be
lawyers’ offices. After stating that he wishes to make a substantial
donation to the Women’s Refuge Center, he is connected to Maria
Pasqua.

    
"
Señora
, I am a foreign visitor to this country and happen to have
come in possession of about 100,000 US dollars in twenty-dollar notes
by somewhat unusual circumstances. It is either the proceeds of drug
deals or ransom money."