Fifteen
Clarity saw Lanai and LT step away from Ms. Avenworth. The girl with auburn hair watched Isaias, who stopped sweeping the floor with an amused look on his face. His expression seemed to approve of the coming confrontation. Clarity saw him move towards the entrance and close the door for privacy.
“Ms. Avenworth, this is all one big misunderstanding, we certainly didn´t steal your cocktail formula because we didn´t know about it on the ship, somebody set us up and we think it is Miss Tik and Cactus, the head of administration and the head of maintenance. They had copies of the safety deposit boxes and placed your money in my box. We were trying to find out on our own about the formula to know more about Miss Tik´s plans.”
“I don´t like people nosing in my affairs, much less in my desk. You tampered with my computer,” said Ms. Avenworth.
“Juarez jailed us, we had to show you that we didn’t steal the formula, but we had to understand exactly what were looking for. And our next question to Isaias was whether he has seen Miss Tik or Cactus around here.”
“Yes,” said the healer, “ a woman came here and asked for the identity of the final buyer for the formula. Her name was Miss Tik, I spoke at length with her, she said she spoke with you at the Yoga Golden Ray Center. She is led by power and ambition, she wants to own the lab and use plants like Damiana for her benefit only.”
“If what you say is true, I won´t tell Juarez,” said Ms. Avenworth, looking at Clarity. “But you will have to prove that Miss Tik is after the lab. I did tell her about the nursery because she thought you might come here after investigating the lab and looking at the computer. I also told her about the owner of the lab.”
“Who is the owner Ms. Avenworth, we will show you that Miss Tik is the culprit in this affair and that she stole the formula.”
“It´s a woman, her name is Duchess Leonora Sanchez de la Cueva, she is one of the wealthiest people of Acapulco. She lives in Punta Diamante, an exclusive residential area south east of Acapulco. She has all the contacts with the final buyers for the cocktails and she´s giving a lavish party tonight in her home, Villa Avelaneda. I could get you in as guests.”
Clarity shook hands with Ms. Avenworth to seal the agreement. They would carry out the investigation and show that Miss Tik was up to devious activities. In order to properly carry out their role as guests of Ms. Avenworth, Clarity requested that they borrow money to buy some clothes. Elegant clothes. Expensive clothes.
They drove in Ms. Avenworth´s car and spent the day with her choosing the most appropriate dress for her and Lanai, and the best smoking for LT. After a good dinner, they drove to Villa Avelaneda and left the car with a valet who asked their names. Clarity stayed behind Ms. Avenworth, and LT and Lanai made their way to the reception together. The girl with auburn hair followed the super taster to the reception´s main hallway to meet the Duchess, an attractive single woman in her late fourties who was well known for her lewd excesses.
“Well, what a lovely lady we have here, Donasio, please ensure this friend of Ms. Avenworth can stay here tonight,” said the duchess, looking away from Clarity at one of the butlers.
Clarity shook hands, made a reverence and admired the woman´s high cut Channel dress studded with diamonds. She glanced to her right and saw Miss Tik, followed by Cactus making their way to the main hallway.
“Thank…thank you very much Ms. de la Cueva, I…I have to go now.” She waved hurriedly to Lanai and LT, and the three of them moved into the cocktail area, where five waiters who seemed to have been recruited at Chipendales served a variety of drinks. Several couples pushed Clarity forward towards the cocktail table and she noticed a miniature fountain made of champagne glasses flowing with an orange mixture.
“What´s this?” she asked.
“Damiana a gogo,” said one of the butlers, “it has mango and some properties which will make you feel very good tonight.”
“I see, no thank you, I´ll have a glass of mineral water on the rocks.”
“Coming up,” said the waiter, “water with much ice.”
As the evening passed, Clarity and her friends played hide and seek with Miss Tik and Cactus, leaving the room that they entered. Around five in the morning, the lights were dim in the house and various couples could be seen fondling and moving into private quarters on their own or with other couples.
Clarity stood near the door of the large living room, decorated with the hunting trophies of the duchess´ seventh husband, heads of big game like antelope, lions and bears. She saw Miss Tik and Cactus meet a corpulent sailor and speak to him for more than forty five minutes. After the conversation was over, Clarity inquired about the sailor to a good looking couple who were obviously interested in a threesome with him. The wife, a woman with red hair, slid her hand under the back of Clarity´s dress and kindly told her.
“Well, he´s part of the crew from the Costa Amalfitana, the official yacht for upper executives of the Summer Breeze soft drink company. It´s anchored near El Faro, by Isla Roqueta. Come with us tomorrow, we have an invitation for a reception and party there, the Duchess won´t be able to make it after tonight, and she let us go instead of her.”
Clarity took the couple´s business card and left the the Duchess residence with her friends. They were getting closer to finding the final buyer of formula number five. Now, they had to catch Miss Tik in the act of her illicit offer to sell the formula.