SPOILERS!!!
We discover that the murdered man was Jean-Bene, Macaire's cousin. He turned out to be a surprise when he blackmails his cousin. When Macaire is pushed to kill Tarmagol, using a poisoned bottle of whisky, he has to give in and leaves the bottle in he office where the drinks are taken. Then when he goes to find the bottle, it is gone, and he panics. He realises that the bottle has been used to prepare cocktails, and he trusts his cousin. That night when the new president is to be announced, people start to feel sick, the announcement has to be postponed.
That night Jean-Bene comes to talk to his cousin, and he tells him that he will be the president, but then he will resigned and he (Jean-Bene) will be the next president, and he also wants the shares from Targonol. If he doesn't comply, he will tell the police that he was the one who poisoned the cocktail.
Then during the night someone comes to Jean-Bene's room and shoots him dead. Lev and Anastasia have left together, and they are now in Corfu, and Macaire has not heard anything. Targonol is also gone, and Jean-Bene's father dies of a heart attack on learning about his son's death.
Scarlet and Joel keep investigating, and they even talk to the police. We discover that Cristina, Macaire's assistant, was an undercover police because there were suspicions about the bank's activities. Then what the police discover is that Targonol never existed, and a mask and a suit with padding to make the person look stouter. The police conclude that Jean-Bene was Targonol in disguise, especially as they discover that his house that he owned had been bought by a shell company owned by Jean Bene. The mask has Jean Bene's DNA. Cristina finds it difficult to believe as he saw the two men together from time to time, and her boss thinks that he must have had an accomplice.
Macaire discovers through Wagner, the man from Intelligence, that the man who Anastasia fled with is Lev, so he plans to have his revenge. So he leaves Targonol's handkerchief and Anastasia's engagement ring in Lev's drawer. Cristina finds these things, and that leads the police to discover the jeweller who sold the ring, and they discover that the owner was Sol, Lev's father.
We discover that Lev was the one who disguised as Targonol. That happened after he discovered that his father's role in the hotel was to appear as different characters he disguised as to control the staff. Sol was very sick then, and Lev started to dress up as Targonol. His father had meddled in his relationship with Anastasia, giving Macaire and Lev the letters that were intended for the other. Lev thought that Anastasia was in love with Maccaire, and he, dressed up as Targonol, told Macaire that if he gave him his shares and his position as vicepresident, he would provide Anastasia. Macaire agreed, and from then on Targonol was part of the bank. I found that part difficult to believe.
The police also find that Lev not only impersonated Targonol, but also Dr Kazan, the psychoanalyst that Macaire went to, and Wagner, the guy in Intelligence. So he was tried and sentenced to four years in prison. Anastasia and Lev went their different ways.
And just at the end of the book Joel and Scarlet discover the truth. It was Monsier Rose who killed Jean-bene because he had discovered that Lev was Targonol, and afraid that he would report him to the police, Monsieur Rose killed him. Then when Lev was sentenced, the man committed suicide.
At the end of the book Scarlet and Joel get to talk to the manager of the hotel, and they discover that it is Lev, who tells them everything. They also discover that he and Anastasia got together again, and they are married and have two children.
Joel returns to Geneva with his finished book, and we discover that Scarlet Leonas is part of his imagination, and she is based on Sloane, who she runs into a few days later, and they decide to have a drink together.
This was intriguing, but I have to say that some parts were too far-fetched to be believable.
No comments:
Post a Comment