Alex Diggs: Shades of Betrayal

By Radwan Saade

Educated at the most prestigious universities in France and the United States, Alex Diggs was destined for greatness, or so everyone thought. While corporations were salivating at the prospect of employing one of the brightest minds to emerge in at least the last twenty years, the storm brewing and fueling Alex's mind was, to say the least, attuned to a different frequency. Many years ago, in a villa in beautiful and picturesque Andorra, the past would not stop haunting Alex, try as he might to normalize his life. This story will take the reader into the mind of this genius, through the peaks and valleys and through the most intimate musings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641385879

Book preview

1

On a brisk autumn morning, Dr. Hans Kliet stepped outside the patio door of the villa they were staying at and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. Upon finally reopening his eyes, he admired the beauty that surrounded him; the vegetation was lush and green, and the olive trees looked particularly wholesome. They had gotten used to the fresh-pressed olive oil, and the bottled stuff was now no longer acceptable. He liked the richness and nuttiness of the fresh oil. Of particular interest was the young fig tree that he had nursed over the past years, which now was bearing young green figs, which would eventually brown and be served in a salad or a tart.

The scent of jasmine permeated the patio, as arches were built by the local gardener, to allow the tender branches to grow along the structure; and when they flowered, the soft smell of jasmine would overtake all senses, as one walked onto the patio. The Mediterranean jasmine had a unique scent that its brethren from more temperate climates could not match. As a French parfumeur had proven, one of its most recognized eaux de cologne for women was based on the Mediterranean jasmine. The limited nature of this line demonstrated the uniqueness and noncommercial availability of the plant. Here though, out of two planters, the vines grew to meet in the middle, right above his head, and he reveled in this succulent smell.

The villa was situated on a hilltop overlooking the valley, and all the planning that had gone into securing it a few years ago was worth it. He had scoured the area on Google Earth, handpicked the location before making the call, and signed the multiyear lease agreement. The house itself was unique. Its exterior walls were white, and the many glass windows had a bluish hue. This color combination, amidst the olive and fruit trees around the property, gave it the charm and loveliness of an early century country retreat. The path from the patio to the fruit trees was made of cobblestones a few centuries old; they glistened in the morning sun.

He sat on the patio and cupped his coffee mug with both hands and brought it closer to his face. He closed his eyes again and took a sip. This early morning routine had been very revealing to Dr. Hans as this new chapter in his life was intrinsically linked to the previous chapters. The previous chapters were difficult and fraught with danger, death, and missed opportunities. The fact that the current chapter was so normal put him in a slight funk every now and then. He was no worrywart but realistic enough to understand his predicament.

The antidote to this melancholic feeling in his morning routine happened to live with him, and as he reopened his eyes, she was standing across from him, staring at him with her beautiful green eyes. She was his love, he loved her, and she adored him. They had basically become the talk of the small town as they were cutely dubbed, the American lovebirds. Barefoot and wearing a silk gown, she stood a few feet from him, watching him while his eyes were closed. She knew that he was thinking, and she too reveled in the morning scents to give him time to smell her presence. Within a few seconds, he opened his eyes, and their eyes met. She literally engulfed him in her eyes before the first words were spoken.

The years and time had been very kind to Amy as her beauty remained front and center, and her personality was the icing on the cake that Dr. Hans ate every day. The carnal nature of their relationship had persisted, and they departed the universe they lived in, two to three times a day, depending on the circumstances.

He got up, gave her a soft hug, planted a kiss on her beautiful lips, and sat down. Amy sat on his lap. The soft fabric of the gown she was wearing allowed her breasts to be at their natural fullness, and she brushed them against him. As he hugged her more securely, their breathing accelerated, and off to bedroom they went. Getting older had not slowed them down, and the few years spent in Andorra had proven to them that life as they both had anticipated would be when they were reunited, materialized. It was blissful.

They showered and left to have breakfast at their favorite café in town, the Bloc Café on Baixada del Moli. Service was slow, but the view from the large windows was to die for, and the coffee was exquisite. Manuel flashed them a smile and started fixing their order; coffee and oatmeal for beautiful Amy, and espresso doble for Dr. Hans. They sat across from each other, held hands, and he got lost in her eyes. She would just devour him whole with the soft and sensuous look that she would give him at breakfast. Manuel always hesitated before putting things down on the table as he did not want to interrupt the intense exchange between his two customers.

They had met Manuel early on as they had slowly started to venture into town. They had sat at his café and asked a few questions, and answered a few also. He had been nice enough to tell them where to eat and what to do in Andorra, and they often called on him to ask him about boat rentals and the like. He had all the information and contacts.

His office was a large one by university standards with tall ceilings that spanned about twelve feet. The walls were adorned with paintings of great French thinkers, but the pale-yellow paint was visible in some spots. The four double windows were covered with thick nineteenth century–style curtains. He cared for none of that. All he cared for was exercise for his brain; he needed to keep thinking. The past was painful, the present fraught with uncertainty, and the future was too far to assign its certainty a probability. He sat in his office and pondered his existence as he has been prone to do. Out of the window, when the thick curtains were drawn, he could see the cathedral. How ironic! he would think, for his office to be located right across from the historic monument, edified, and proof positive of earlier glory for all religions. Ironic for his obvious lack of faith and explicit atheism, explicit as he pursed his lips every time he looked out the window. Dr. Hans got away with a lot on the fabled grounds of La Sorbonne, Université de Paris. As a visiting professor, they had begged him to come to their institution, for they wanted the cachet that Dr. Hans provided to their technology department. As obstinate as he was, Dr. Hans also had a chair at the Université de Bordeaux I, for he had always been partial to the campus located in la Gironde.

Dr. Hans Kliet commuted from Andorra to Paris and Bordeaux twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Fridays, he held seminars in Andorra at a local university, for the thirst for what he could teach was insatiable. Insatiable also was his love for his beloved, Amy, as they had now been settled in Andorra for a few years; and as inseparable as they had been, they had not relaxed their routine a bit. He was now in his early fifties and Amy in her midforties, but beauty was on her side; she got more beautiful as she aged.

The carnal nature of their relationship predominated their lives, and they had opted not to get married as they did not want to introduce the probability of anything changing in their relationship. Dr. Hans was a busy mind and lying low in Andorra. He was relaxing, but he needed to exercise his brain, he needed new challenges. Hence, the chairs at the two universities in France and the projects he ran around where they lived.

As for Amy, she was of such a lovely disposition that she was welcome in every venue that she entered in Andorra and had become very good friends with Senora Cecilia and Senora Gertruda. Cecilia was a tall brunette, unmarried, with beautiful hazel eyes and long châtain hair. Senora Gertruda, on the other hand, was about five feet seven and svelte. She had a pretty face and dimples as she smiled just like Amy. Her hair was brown and short. She was married to a local businessman. She and Cecilia had been friends since they met in kindergarten. The two ladies spent entire days with Amy and were very attractive in their own respects. The first time that Dr. Hans had come home from France and found the two ladies sitting with Amy, he was relieved that she had found some companionship in town as he needn’t worry as much as he used to. The two ladies, on the other hand, stood as soon as he entered the room and stared at him as though forever. Amy, though perplexed, did not ask about it and did not speak to Dr. Hans about it either. It was just odd that her guests knew that she was attached to someone, to him, and would stare at him so intently.

The next time that he met Cecilia and Gertruda, they had spotted him as he was leaving the coffee shop on his way to the bus station. They had waved; he had stopped. They each planted a kiss on his right cheek, spoke a little, and departed. As they were walking away, he stood by his car to connect what had just happened to what happened at home. Just then, Cecilia turned around, made eye contact with Dr. Hans, smiled, and winked.

The scenery was racing by as the SNCF train was slicing through the air at a high rate of speed. Dr. Hans sat in his seat and mentally prepared for the lectures he had this Tuesday. Eyes closed, brain working, yet an image appeared, distinct and in HD. Every time it happened, he would open his eyes and look around, and his breathing would accelerate. What was happening to the doctor?

On his way back from his day of lectures and meetings, he sat motionless on the train, then on the bus with his eyes closed. He was literally mesmerized by the way Cecilia had looked at him, and that was the image he could not shake. He kept reminding himself that he was a little older now, and he should act a little more discreetly, yet there she appeared again, smiling at him.

He got off the bus and walked to his car, still thinking about what happened to him. How could he not be shaken by what had happened? Cecilia was a beautiful woman with long châtain hair and beautiful brown-hazel eyes. She was tall and fit. The skirt she wore that morning showed a glimpse of her toned legs. Dr. Hans turned the corner to find his car. It was dark, and the parking lot was not well lit, when a car near him started its engine.

He stepped aside to give way to the car when the driver lowered their window and said, Hello, Dr. Hans. The voice was sultry and soft and very feminine. Cecilia asked him to get in so that she could give him a ride to his car. They did not speak while in her car, but as soon as they got to his VW, she flung her door open and met him on the other side. She asked him to open the side door as she started unbuttoning her blouse. Mechanically, without thinking, he did what she asked him to do, not stopping to think about the why and the how.

He slowed his breathing and closed his eyes, then he grabbed her arm and jerked her out of the van; and staring at her with piercing eyes, he mouthed, Not in this lifetime! Not in the next one either!

Without uttering a word, she got into her car, seething, and left. A rebuke was not what she expected. He made a mental note to himself about the incident, as he knew that although he did not dispute the fact that there existed randomness in life generally, the probability of the event occurring to him or around him was limited. In effect, he took everything seriously in his first level of analysis, and he needed to parse the details of what happened tonight, definitely connect them to the events that had ensued in the previous days. How irresistible was he to engender such behavior? Really? No! The string of data to this point was starting to formalize. The frequency of meetings between the ladies and Amy increased, and so did the aggressiveness toward Dr. Hans. The two increasing functions pointed to one conclusion that he quickly internalized. He needed to be careful. He needed to warn Amy.

2

Amy continued her friendship with Cecilia and Gertruda, and they had become inseparable. Dr. Hans had initially felt awkward seeing them at the house, but as he had started to notice the stares coming his way from Cecilia, he slowly adapted his expectations to the reality of the situation as he continued to gather his data. Gertrude was a little more reserved and commanded respect in her demeanor and attitude.

On the following Tuesday, again out of the coffee shop, Dr. Hans saw Cecilia running toward him. She hugged him and kissed him and appeared to have something in her hand. She handed him the envelope and asked him to call her when on the train. Not knowing what it pertained to, he stuffed it in his jacket and continued to the station. Once in his seat on the train, he retrieved the envelope and opened it slowly, methodically. It had pictures in it. There was a total of three pictures, one of Amy sitting at an outside table at a café. The next was that of a man hugging Amy, and the third was one of Amy getting into the man’s car.

Dr. Hans closed his eyes and squeezed his temples. Who was that man? He looked familiar. Think, he must. He promised himself not to open his eyes until he remembered who the man was, and bingo! Enrico! That was the guy that had given him