Passage by Night (v5) (14 page)

'I don't think he's going to be quite that stupid.' Manning took the Luger from inside his shirt, sat on one of the stools and reached across to tap Viner between the eyes with the hard, cold barrel. 'It's no good getting on the radio to Rojas any more, Viner. I'm afraid I left him in a very sorry state.'

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Viner said, trying to speak calmly.

'You made sure they were waiting for me when I reached San Juan,' Manning said. 'You helped to murder Maria. I should put one in your belly right now, Viner.'

'Please, Harry,' Viner said desperately. 'I'm only a tool. I have to do as I'm told. They have a hold on me, these people.'

'What kind of a hold?'

'I was a colonel in the SS during the war. There is a warrant out for me from the War Crimes Tribunal at Ludwigsburg about a certain incident. Not a shred of truth in it of course, but you know what these witch-hunts are like.'

Manning shook his head. 'I'm tired of being pushed around, Viner. This is where it stops. Those bloody Cubans took me for everything I had in Havana. Well, upstairs in my room I've got someone they'd pay a lot more than my business was worth to get back. Am I right?'

Viner hesitated, obviously on the point of denying all knowledge of what Manning was talking about and then he cracked. 'Yes, damn you.'

'I thought you'd know all about it,' Manning said. 'Now this is what I'm going to do. Orlov isn't too happy about being here in case the authorities try to hold onto him, but I've promised to help. He trusts me.'

'Ah, I see now,' Viner said. 'You'd be willing to make a deal?'

'With either you or the Russians. It's all one to me.'

'How much?'

'One hundred thousand dollars American, and it's cheap at the price.'

'It would take me some time to contact my principals.'

Manning shook his head. 'Nothing doing. Either I meet the boss man myself or the whole thing's off.'

Viner shrugged. 'Suit yourself, but we must go after dark.

'How far?'

'Two hours' run, no more.'

'One of the cays off Exuma?'

Viner smiled. 'My dear Harry, do you take me for a fool?'

'Not exactly.'

'Very well. We'll go in your boat. I'll meet you at the jetty around eight o'clock.'

'Fair enough,' Manning said, 'but Orlov stays here with Seth. They're my insurance against you trying to pull something on me out there.'

'What about a crew?' Viner said.

Hans was sitting up, holding his face and moaning slightly. Manning nudged him with his toe. 'Laughing boy here should be fit enough by then.'

As he reached the door, Viner said, 'What about Morrison? He's still here?'

'I know,' Manning said. 'I've just seen him. I told him Garcia was dead. That I was lucky to be back here in one piece.'

'You didn't mention me?'

'No, but I could; remember that.'

He closed the door, pushed his way through the crowd and went back upstairs. Orlov was sitting on the edge of the bed in a bathrobe and Morrison stood at the window.

They both turned expectantly and the Russian said, 'Well, what happened?'

'Nothing much,' Manning said. 'I've agreed to sell you, that's all.'

'You've agreed to what?' Morrison demanded.

'I'm going to do a deal with Viner's friends. I'm meeting him on the jetty at eight. We're going to their headquarters in my boat.'

'Did he say where?'

Manning shook his head and pulled off his shirt. 'Two hours' run. That would take us down to the cays north of Exuma or the other side of Cat Island. No way of knowing.'

'How do you know they won't cut your throat as soon as they get their hands on you?'

'Orlov stays here, so does Seth. Viner provides me with a deckhand. You've nothing to worry about. I put on a pretty convincing display. I asked for a hundred grand and he didn't even blink.'

Morrison was already moving towards the door.

'I've got things to do if we're going to get this set-up in time.'

Manning paused in the doorway to the bathroom. 'Get one thing straight, Morrison. This is going to work. If you try bringing in the Navy or extra police, they'll smell a rat and we'll lose out.'

'I've still got to get things alerted in Nassau so we can move in on this place as soon as we know where it is.'

'See that's all you do,' Manning told him and he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

16
Greek Fire

It was the slight breeze lifting in from the sea that brought him awake so gradually that he lay there in the cane chair on the balcony, only half-conscious, not quite sure of where he was.

He was naked except for a towel about his waist and he shivered slightly and swung his legs to the floor. The heat of the day was over and the sun was dropping towards the horizon.

He paused just inside the French windows, listening to the Russian's steady breathing, and then walked silently across the carpeted floor to the wardrobe, took out fresh clothes and started to dress. As he fastened his belt, the phone buzzed sharply.

'Manning here,' he said in a low voice.

'Reception, Mr Manning. There's a young lady to see you. A Miss Melos.'

'Tell her I'll be right down.'

Orlov still slept steadily and Manning pulled on a linen jacket and left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Anna was sitting on a divan near the door, leafing through a magazine. She was wearing a sleeveless linen dress that fitted her perfectly and her long black hair hung in a pigtail over one shoulder.

'Hello, Anna,' he said.

She stood up and smiled shyly, obviously at a loss for words. 'Hello, Harry.'

The band started to play in the dining room and he grinned. 'Eaten yet?'

She shook her head. 'I don't believe I have. I slept for a few hours. When I awoke, the only thing I was sure of was that I
had
to see you.'

'The food here's marvellous. Anything you've got to say can wait till you've sampled it.'

Although it was early, several couples were already dining and the head waiter moved across with a smile. 'Booth or ringside, Mr Manning?'

'We'll take a booth, I think,' Manning said and they followed him between the tables.

When they were seated, he waved the menu away. 'I don't need to see that. We'll have green turtle soup, salt pork with herbs, followed by baked bananas in brandy. Two iced vodkas to start with.'

Anna smiled and shook her head. 'You know what you want in everything, don't you?'

'Good Nassavian cooking, that's all. How's your father?'

'Much better. He wanted to come himself, but I wouldn't let him.'

'If it's about the boat, you're wasting your time. I'll have the papers drawn up, first chance I get.'

She shook her head. 'We can't take her, Harry. In the first place, she's five times the boat the
Cretan Lover
ever was and I've been talking to Seth. He told me a lot of things. The
Grace Abounding
is all you've got left in the world.'

'Which puts me in the same position as your father, except for one important difference. He's an old man, I've still got a few years left.'

She shook her head. 'I know my father. He has pride. He won't take the boat. He likes you too much.'

'You blasted Greeks are all the same,' he said. 'From Odysseus down. That boat's going to Harmon Springs whether he likes it or not. After tonight, it'll be his and that's an end to it.'

'After tonight?' she said with a slight frown. 'What do you mean?'

'I'm going on a little trip with Viner. Couple of hours there, couple of hours back. Nothing much.'

She leaned across, her face quite pale. 'You're running your head into a noose again.'

He grinned wryly. 'What have I got to lose?'

At that moment, the soup arrived and he deliberately altered the whole trend of the conversation. She had a healthy appetite and he found himself watching her covertly at every opportunity.

He ordered coffee, excused himself and went upstairs to Morrison's room. The door was locked. He knocked softly, but got no reply. When he went downstairs again, he paused beside the reception desk to light a cigarette, and glanced at the board. Morrison's key was on its hook and he returned to the dining room.

The band had started to play again and as he approached the table, he held out his hand and smiled. 'How about it?'

She stood up and they moved on to the small dance floor. She slipped an arm around his neck and danced with her head on his shoulder, her firm young body so closely pressed against him that he could feel the line from breast to thigh.

When the music stopped, they stayed together for a brief moment and then she pulled gently away. 'It's hot in here.'

'Cooler outside,' he said.

A path through the gardens at the rear took them out of town through casuarinas and a grove of palm trees planted by some early settler years before. They came out on the edge of a cliff that dropped to a white strip of beach.

The sea was black with depth, purple and gray near the shore and the sun was a ball of orange fire already drowning. The beauty of it was too much for a man and Manning felt sad and drained of all emotion. She turned and looked at him in a strange, remote way and he took one of her hands. They went down the broad path to the beach together.

Manning paused to light a cigarette. When he looked up, she turned slowly and stared at him, never more lovely, the strange light playing across her face. She whispered his name once and stumbled towards him and they came together naturally and easily at the water's edge. Her hands pulled his head down as her mouth sought his and he lifted her in his arms and carried her up the beach. When he laid her down in the hollow between two rocks, her face was wet with tears.

As they went through the palm trees and down through the gardens into town, they walked hand in hand. Her dress was stained with salt water and badly crumpled. She paused to examine herself in the light from a window.

'I'll have to change as soon as we get back. I don't want to shock my father in his old age.'

She smiled delightfully and Manning was filled with a sudden rush of tenderness. 'Any regrets?'

She shook her head gravely. 'What about you?'

He smiled and reached out to touch her face. 'What do
you
think?'

They took a shortcut through the gardens at the back of one of the hotels. He could hear the splash of water from a fountain hidden amongst the bushes and the air was heavy with the scent of night, filling him with an aching longing for something that was always out there beyond the darkness, never close enough to touch.

He paused to light a cigarette and she turned, her face revealed for a few seconds only as the match flared. She gazed at him steadily, her eyes reflecting the light so that it was impossible to see beneath the surface. When he spoke, he realized that out of some strange instinct she had sensed his mood.

She placed a hand on his arm, holding him for a moment. 'What happened back there - it didn't mean a thing. As far as I'm concerned, you're as free as you ever were.'

'I know, Anna. I know.'

He had the feeling she expected more, but there was nothing he could think of. At least nothing that would have reassured her. They continued their way in silence.

The Caravel was a blaze of lights, the sound of voices and carefree laughter echoing through the night, mingling with the gay, pulsating rhythm of the
goombay.

They paused at the bottom of the steps leading up to the entrance. 'I'll only be a couple of minutes,' he said. 'I want a word with Morrison.'

In the strange distorted light thrown out by the Chinese lanterns that swung from the branches of the sea-almond trees, it was impossible to analyse her expression and yet he knew that, in some strange way, she had stepped firmly away from him.

'I'll go on ahead,' she said. 'We won't have much time to get ready.'

He tried to think of something to say, but nothing would come to mind. What did she want with him, this dark, lovely girl? What had happened had been in another time, another place. Better to leave it like that.

'I'll see you down there then,' he said and she turned and merged with the darkness.

He paused at the reception desk for some cigarettes and noticed that Morrison's key still hung on the board. He went upstairs, a slight frown on his face, wondering what the hell the American was playing at.

He was still frowning when he went into his room and turned on the light. There was no sign of Orlov. The coverlets on the bed and been pulled neatly into place and the French windows stood open to the night.

He went back downstairs and paused at the reception desk again. 'The gentleman who was sharing my room? Have you seen him this evening?'

'He went out about a half hour ago, sir.'

Manning frowned, a tiny flicker of alarm moving inside him. 'Was he on his own?'

The clerk shook his head. 'Oh, no, sir. He was with Mr Morrison, the American gentleman staying in 105.'

Manning turned away, relief surging through him and went into the bar. He lit a cigarette and ordered a barcardi. As the barman brought it, Viner pushed through the crowd.

'On the house, George, and the same for me.' He turned with a smile, supremely elegant in his white dinner jacket. 'Ready to go, Harry?'

'Whenever you are.'

'I've one or two things to settle up here. I'll see you on the jetty in about an hour as arranged.' He raised his glass and a slight smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 'Let's hope you get what you're expecting at the other end.'

'Don't worry about me,' Manning said. 'I'll make out.'

He finished his drink, turned and pushed his way through the crowd. As he went down the steps into the cool night there was a slight frown on his face because for some obscure reason, Viner had appeared to be laughing at him and he couldn't think why.

There were lights in one or two boats, but the jetty was deserted. As he drew near to the
Grace Abounding
he could hear the radio. It was one of the many record shows that could be picked up from the States and of all things, they were playing 'Valse Triste.'

He moved across the deck and paused in the shadows by the companionway, filled with that strange aching sadness again. As the record ended, he sighed and took a step forward. Someone planted a foot in his back that sent him stumbling down the steps. The door at the bottom swung open and he staggered into the cabin and fell on his knees.

He started to get up and a voice said, 'Careful, Manning.'

Hans stood behind the door, a submachine gun in his hands. Anna, her father, and Seth sat on one side of the saloon, Orlov and Morrison on the other. A large, grim-faced islander in red-and-white-striped jersey lounged in the entrance to the galley. He was armed with a machine-pistol.

Manning stood up, arms raised and Hans ran an expert hand over him and found the Luger. He shoved it into his waistband, stepped back and Manning turned.

Kurt Viner was standing in the entrance to the companionway.

'And now perhaps we can get started?' he said.