Deception

Candido remained motionless as Ray stared at him with a condescending smirk.

“They are both so naive,” Ray muttered as he adjusted his bow tie.

A woman’s voice called out from upstairs. “Are you ready, Ray? Darren will be here any minute.”

Ray turned toward the stairs. “I couldn’t be any more ready.” He faced Candido and chuckled. “I can only imagine the looks on their faces when they wake tomorrow morning and discover the money is gone.”

Despite his detached consciousness from those around him, Candido clearly discerned Ray’s true character: deceptive, self-seeking, egocentric. The others somehow failed to see these characteristics in Ray until yesterday when Candido revealed them to the woman. He also knew it would all come to a head tonight, when at the right time, he would further assist the woman expose Ray’s true motives. Until then, he’d remain inconspicuous, just another inanimate object in the living room, and watch the unfolding events with anticipation.

Ray jumped at a loud thump on the front door. He yanked it open, and a dark-haired man dressed in a tuxedo burst in. “A couple of gentle knocks would suffice, Darren.”

“Lighten up, Ray. Tonight is going to set us up for life. Where’s Jen?”

“Still getting ready.”

“Cool tux,” Darren said. “But your tie is crooked.”

Ray shot Darren a scowl, looked at Candido, and fidgeted with his tie. Jennifer entered the living room dressed in a full-length sky-blue gown. Her platinum-blonde hair flowed down her back. Despite her attractive features, Candido believed she peered at the world through eyes of steel, devoid of warmth.

“Hi Darren,” Jennifer said. Before Darren could respond, she continued. “Both of you, look at me. This is how tonight will play out. I’ll sneak out of the concert just before interval and meet our contact behind the stage. I’ll give them the first of the three computer chips, and once they are satisfied it’s authentic, they’ll transfer a third of the agreed amount to our offshore account. Ray, as soon as you confirm the funds are in the account, I’ll tell them where to meet you, Darren. Any questions so far?”

Ray and Darren shook their heads.

Jennifer continued. “Darren, after you provide them with your chip and Ray has confirmed the second lot of funds have been transferred, I’ll tell you both where you, Ray, are to leave the case holding the third chip. Darren, pass that location to the contact, and emphasise that I will remotely open the case only after I receive confirmation that the remaining funds have been transferred. Don’t forget to keep your earpieces on. If they try anything underhanded at any point during the operation, I’ll call abort and the three of us walk away. Right, let’s go. The concert starts in twenty minutes.”

“I’ll be along shortly,” Ray said.

Jennifer frowned at Ray with suspicion. “Just don’t be late! You won’t be allowed inside the concert hall once it starts.”

“Understood.”

Ray stood in front of Candido and combed his hair as Jennifer and Darren exited the house. He retrieved a passport and airline ticket from his inside coat pocket. “Fools. By the time they know what happened, I will be sunning myself on a beach in the Virgin Islands. Well, Candido. This may be the last time I see you. You always allowed me the chance to look my best. For that I thank you.” Ray laughed, pocketed the ticket and passport, and left the house.

Your vanity will be your undoing, Candido thought.

Minutes later, Jennifer and Darren snuck back inside without Ray. Darren seemed on edge.

“Are you now going to tell me why you insisted on returning?” Darren said.

“Calm down.”

Darren paced around the room. “Calm down? If we don’t leave now, we’ll be locked out of the concert.” He stopped pacing when Jennifer smiled and raised her eyebrows. “We won’t be locked out, will we? Jen, what’s going on?”

“Let me show you.”

Darren joined Jennifer, and they both stood in front of Candido.

“What do you see?” Jennifer asked.

Darren leaned forward and read the word, “Candido. So?”

“There’s more here than meets the eye. You see, Candido sees and hears everything that takes place in this room. He heard all our conversations on the planning and organising of tonight’s operation. He also hears us when we, shall I say, talk to ourselves. Candido knows it all.”

Darren looked at Candido and frowned. “How is that possible?”

Jennifer powered up the laptop on a nearby table. Darren joined her, and a voice crackled through the laptop’s speaker. It was Ray’s. Although Darren blocked Candido’s view of the laptop, he could hear Ray clearly. After a few minutes, Jennifer switched off the laptop.

“He’s ripping us off,” Darren said. He raised his voice in anger. “That scumbag. He’s going to take all the money for himself!” Darren dropped onto the couch and looked up at Jennifer. “Why did you hire him?”

“In a past life, Ray worked for the IMF as a senior systems analyst. He also became an expert in financial crime. He knows his way around the world’s banking systems more efficiently than you know how to switch on a computer.”

Darren made a face. “Oh, thank you for those kind words.”

“I hired Ray because I needed him to set up the offshore account.”

“And it seems he’s used his expertise to have the funds subsequently transferred into another offshore account,” Darren said. “We must abort tonight’s operation, Jen. Then get that computer chip from Ray and organise another exchange with just the two of us.”

“Not necessarily,” Jennifer said with a smile.

“You’ve got something in mind, haven’t you?” Darren said. A grin split his face. “What is going through that scheming mind of yours?”

“We’re going to set Ray up.”

Darren leaned forward. “How?”

“Ray’s past was a concern, so I used Candido to keep an eye on him. Candido also showed me via this laptop how Ray opened the account, and when I discovered his plans yesterday, I opened another account.”

“I still don’t understand. How did you use Candido?”

“I’ll explain that later. But listen. I opened the other account under my name only, and our contact has been advised of those details. You and I will provide the contact with our two computer chips in exchange for the fund transfers tonight as planned. Except that the funds will be transferred into the new account. Ray, of course, will be in the audience anxiously waiting for confirmation of the fund transfers, unaware that the exchanges have been made. I’ll let our contact know who he is and they can find him after the concert.”

“Why don’t you just have Ray leave the case with the third chip in a location for the contact to pick it up as planned?”

“Think about it, Darren! If I ask Ray to part with the third chip before he receives confirmation that the first two fund transfers have been completed, he’ll know something is wrong and walk away. OK?”

Darren nodded sheepishly.

“This way, our contact can get the chip from Ray, by force if necessary,” Jennifer said. “Once they transfer the remaining funds, I’ll tell Ray something has gone wrong and to abort. I’ll also direct him to a safe place where, unfortunately for him, Interpol will be waiting. By the time he tries to implicate us, we’ll be on a plane.”

“A plane?”

Jennifer opened a drawer and grabbed an envelope. “Here’s your passport and ticket? You and I will return here after we make the exchanges, get our belongings and make our way to the airport. We need to go; the concert has started.”

Darren seemed at a loss for words as he followed Jennifer through the front door.

Candido had no notion how much time had passed when he heard a key being inserted in the front door. Jennifer entered looking every bit as gorgeous as when she had left earlier. Darren followed with dishevelled hair, an open collar and jacket. He seemed distressed.

Jennifer placed her hands on Darren’s shoulders and whispered. “Will you please stop worrying? The funds have been transferred into the new account, and we’ve made it back here safely. It’s all going according to plan. Quickly, go and get changed. We need to put all our belongings in the car and dump them on the way to the airport.”

Jennifer and Darren returned to the living room dressed in casual attire. Candido watched them whisk suitcases and other items out the front door. Darren then grabbed the laptop.

“Leave it,” Jennifer said. “Once Interpol discovers this place, they will use it as evidence against Ray.”

That comment seemed to prompt Darren. “You never told me how you used Candido to discover Ray’s plans.”

“Look at Candido and tell me what you see.”

Darren stood in front of Candido. “I see nothing.”

“Look closely.”

Darren scrunched his eyebrows. “It’s just a mirror with the name Candido etched into the wooden frame.”

Jennifer joined Darren and slid her hand into his. “Candido is a two-way mirror. Built into the wall on the other side is a tiny camera, which records twenty-four hours a day. It automatically transmits to the laptop.”

A smile split Darren’s face. “A two-way mirror. I should have guessed. Why the name Candido?”

“It’s an Italian word for candid.” Jennifer pecked Darren on the cheek. “Candid camera, my darling.”

Jennifer and Darren cleared the room of all remaining items, and Jennifer took one last look around. “That’s everything,” she said. “We should go; our future is waiting for us.” She headed for the front door.

Darren stood in front of Candido and smiled. “Who could have guessed that an inanimate object could play such an important role in an elaborate deception? Well done, Candido. Well done.” Darren turned toward the front door.

“It was my pleasure.”

Darren spun around, his jaw dropped, eyes wide. “Jen, did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Jennifer asked, holding the front door open.

Darren paused, shook his head, turned and headed for the front door. As he passed Jennifer, he muttered, “Never mind.”

Before Jennifer closed the front door, she looked at Candido and smiled. “I can see right through you.”