On the evening of February 7th, hours after meeting the director of Luxembourg's intelligence service, Prince Albert summoned his spymaster, Robert Eringer, to the Palace, as they had not had the opportunity earlier to privately confer.

Eringer was shown to the living room of Albert's private apartment and handed a scotch on the rocks. He picked up and inspected the Oscar Princess Grace won for Best Actress in Country Girl. The Prince appeared thirty minutes later.

The first item on Eringer's agenda: Narmino/Muhlberger.

"I don't want to complain about anyone or get into a pissing match," Eringer began. "Just the facts: The man who said he would travel anywhere in the world to resolve his Number One Priority cancelled traveling to the Balkans on the very date we tailored for him. Furthermore, he now says he will not trace a fax number we gave him."

The Prince said, "Then why did he ask for it?"

"Precisely."

The Prince suddenly had a thought: "Maybe the DST is trying to make me look bad."

Eringer conveyed that Gocha Arivadze had told a group of high-powered Russians at Villa Mangiacane that he represented the Prince and also that the Prince had provided him a Rolls Royce to get to the meeting.

The Prince expressed astonishment. He had not provided Arivadze with any car and knew nothing about any such meeting.

Eringer told him he had traced the plates to Francesco Bongiovanni.

The Prince expressed surprise that his friend Bongiovanni could afford such a car. It was probably Arivadze's car, said Eringer. (Bongiovanni later confirmed this to an MIS asset.)

The Prince told Eringer he'd met with Franck Nicolas and brother Freemasons regarding their desire to create a lodge in Monaco. The Prince explained that he had agreed to allow Monegasques to establish such a lodge in Monaco as long as French Freemasons were not members of it. "But I made it clear," the Prince added sternly, "I want nothing to do with it myself."

It made no sense. But so much of what the Prince said--and did--made no sense.

Before they adjourned, the Prince asked, "Do you really think Jean-Leonard [de Massy] is right [for intelligence work]?" His concern, he added, was that by allowing him this role he might be criticized for nepotism--a rather odd concern given that Monaco is an absolute monarchy ruled by a Royal Family. Perhaps the Prince still did not appreciate the power at his disposal. Or, more likely, Thierry Lacoste had poisoned the Prince against de Massy.

Eringer reiterated his belief that de Massy was enthusiastic and motivated, with the wicked sense of humor necessary for dealing with vipers and mules.

Finally, the question everyone in Monaco was asking: Would Monaco conform to France's new no smoking in public places law?

The Prince did not smoke, and he constantly claimed concern about the environment, having just created a foundation in his name to actively promote this interest. But, as usual, he could not bring himself to make a decision, and he cast the blame away from himself. He told Eringer that Jean-Paul Proust was "slowing things down," because the minister of state enjoyed chain-smoking throughout meals in restaurants.

But the truth lay elsewhere, stemming from a recent incident at the Palace: The Prince had decreed the Palace a "no smoking zone." Soon after, Princess Caroline and her husband, Prince Ernst of Hannover, both avid chain-smokers, arrived at a Palace reception and immediately sought to find an ashtray. They asked a servant, who responded by saying all ashtrays have been removed in accordance with the Prince's new no-smoking policy. Caroline apparently stormed over to the Prince and confronted him, demanding an explanation. It was said he stuttered, as often he does when nervous, and apologized, adding, yes, this indeed was the new policy. Caroline stormed back to her husband; they exchanged a few words before lighting up and thereafter flicking cigarette ashes on the floor. It was a test of the Prince's authority inside his own palace.

On March 5th, Eringer met with police chief Andre Muhlberger in the bar at Hotel Columbus for six o'clock cocktails. The Mule bitched about how everyone in the principality--"this bubble"-- was constantly watching, gossiping and conspiring-with himself now suffering criticism. He'd heard that Philippe Narmino was saying to others about him, "He's not here to do investigations." The Narminos and Briantis of Monaco wanted their police chief to direct traffic. And while he talked a big game, The Mule now leaned toward obliging them.

Mulhberger told Eringer he had met Adnan Houdrouge at Sass Café, the police chief's favorite hangout, and Houdrouge, who'd drunk one drink too many, told The Mule he had paid the Prince three million euros under-the-table and, hence, had the Prince in his pocket. Houdrouge's message: Corruption goes to the very top-leave it alone.

And The Mule seemed inclined to believe him.

So Muhlberger did not wish to be burdened with intelligence. He had already convinced himself that the brothers from New Zealand still traded in Dubai, because that is what their Internet website stated-which meant that all the employees trading commodities at their Monaco building were, in Muhlberger's words, "personal servants."

Eringer had not called either of the officers from SIGER, but ran into one of them on the street, so they met at Au Royal Café later that day. The officer was suffering from a sciatic nerve problem--"too much stress," he said-and had been taking it easy. It was a sad meeting. The fire had gone from the officer's eyes and he seemed broken. Eringer asked about his partner. The reply: "On leave, doing home improvement."

So much for the investigation of Narmino#

And then--wouldn't you know it--immediately upon leaving Au Royal Cafe, the officer beat a path straight to Mulhberger's office, where de Massy was wrapping a meeting with the police chief.

Clearly, the officer had been instructed to report to Muhlberger the minute he finished with Eringer. As the officer tried to melt from sight, de Massy sidled up and whispered to him, "Did you have a nice coffee with Robert?" Little wonder the man was broken.

The Prince and Eringer were scheduled to meet at six o'clock in the evening on March 6th. The spymaster awaited him with de Massy in Columbus. Madame Viale called Eringer's cell phone. "The Prince cannot come," she said. "He will call in one hour."

The Prince never called. Later, they learned he had gone go-karting on the port with Stefan Morondi, his friend who had been implicated in the Hobbs-Mellville scandal and banned from Monaco.

In view of this, Eringer worried that the Prince would not honor his commitment three weeks hence to meet LIPS and U.S. Ambassador to France Craig Stapleton.

When Eringer arrived at that meeting on March 25th, in the Port Palace Hotel, LIPS hovered outside; ten minutes later Ambassador Stapleton appeared.

The Prince phoned Eringer's cell at quarter to eleven to say he'd be down presently, and indeed arrived ten minutes later.

The discussion was stilted at first (the Prince had been up most of the night after the Rose Ball Gala) but the dialog picked up after Ambassador Stapleton graciously praised Eringer's efforts to keep the Prince well informed, and offered the Prince continued support and reinforcement.

The Prince mentioned that he would fly to Moscow two days hence to attend a celebration at the Kremlin hosted by President Vladimir Putin in honor of Mstislav Rostropovich, the renowned cellist.

"Will Gocha Arivadze be there, too?" Eringer asked.

The Prince hesitated a moment, then lied. "No."

Not only would Arivadze be there, too, he would fly with the Prince to Moscow on Albert's jet!

Eringer had begun to see a pattern of lies-lies that nobody ever attempted to call Albert on because he was the Prince. And the more Albert lied, and got away with it, the more comfortable he became with the telling of lies.

As Eringer saw the Prince to his car, he mentioned that he had a number of urgent issues to discuss with him.