The Snow Tiger / Night of Error (58 page)

I took another look and she was right. ‘Ramirez!’ I exclaimed and she nodded. ‘Could well be.’

We glanced towards the doorway, but saw nobody there.

‘Don’t tell Pop,’ she whispered to me. ‘He’ll get mad if he sees Ramirez. I don’t want us to have a scene – I want us to get him away quietly.’

‘You’d better get him up to bed then – if you can. Geordie and I will check out now and go back to
Esmerelda
to push things on – we’ll try and leave early tomorrow morning. You be there.’

‘I can manage it,’ she said.

They didn’t come into the dining room while we were there, and Clare and Paula got the old man upstairs without him being aware that he was being moved like a chess piece – they seemed to be good at it, and I was hopeful that they’d handle him as well the next day. As soon as they’d gone I said to Geordie, ‘We think Ramirez has arrived. We’d better pack up here.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Clare’s been Sherlocking, and I think she’s right.’ I indicated the waiting table.

We went straight to the desk and settled up, taking advantage of an empty foyer, and then went up to our room to pack our gear. I took one of the two .38 revolvers which Campbell had entrusted to me and tossed it to Geordie. ‘The boss says this is for you. Can you use it?’

He held it in his hand. ‘Just let me get Kane or Hadley at the other end of it and I’ll show you. Got any ammo?’

We split the ammunition, loaded the guns and went downstairs with our duffle bags. I was conscious of the weight of the gun in my jacket pocket and felt a bit ridiculous, as though I were impersonating a fifth-rate movie gangster. But there was nothing funny about it really – I might have to use that gun.

Halfway down the winding stairs I checked and put out my hand to stop Geordie. The foyer seemed full of people and I heard a drift of conversation. It was in Spanish.

We waited until the crowd had moved into the dining room, led by a tall, thin, hawklike man who must have been Ramirez. He tallied with Campbell’s description, though I couldn’t see the scar, and I felt a wave of angry nausea in my throat at the sight of him. When the foyer was empty we carried on.

We found Ian on the deck of
Esmerelda.
Geordie asked abruptly, ‘Any new ships come in during the last hour or so?’

‘Aye,’ said Ian. ‘That one.’ He pointed across the water and I saw the dark loom of a boat anchored a little way out. It was difficult to tell her size, but from her riding light I judged her to be about the same size as
Esmerelda
, maybe a bit bigger but not much.

‘That is Suarez-Navarro,’ said Geordie and Ian stared at him aghast.

‘I want the crew rousted out. I want a watch – two men on each side and a look-out up the foremast. And I don’t want any extra lights – I don’t want to show that anything out of the ordinary is happening. I want her ready to be moved at a moment’s notice. How many are on board?’

‘Most of the lads, and I can round up the others easily enough.’

‘Do that, right away.’

‘Aye aye, sir,’ said Ian smartly and went below at a dead run.

Geordie looked across at her. ‘I wonder if Hadley’s over there – or Kane?’ he said softly.

I said, ‘They weren’t in Ramirez’s party in the hotel. Perhaps they’re too scared to come ashore – there must be warrants out for them in every port in the Pacific by now. On the other hand, there’s no reason for them to be on board her at all. Hadley’s still got the
Pearl
, remember, and we’ve got no proof that they came here, or joined up with Ramirez after leaving Papeete.’

‘True,’ said Geordie glumly.

‘I’ve got things to do in the lab,’ I said. ‘I have to make ready for sea. I’ll see you later.’

I had been working for an hour when Geordie and Ian came in to see me. ‘We’ve got an idea,’ Geordie said. They both looked alive with something that I felt could be called mischief.

‘What is it?’

‘The boys think that Kane and Hadley may be across there, on Ramirez’s ship. They want to go and get them.’

‘Christ, they can’t do that!’

‘Why not?’

‘You know damn well they’re most unlikely to be there. This is just an excuse for any nonsense they’re cooking up.’

‘But suppose they are? It would solve a hell of a lot of problems. We hand them over to the police and that scuppers
Ramirez. He’ll be too busy explaining why he’s harbouring a couple of wanted murderers to be able to follow us.’

I thought about it and shook my head. ‘No, it’s too risky, too damn close to piracy. Campbell wouldn’t like it at all.’

‘Look,’ said Geordie, ‘the boys are all steamed up. They didn’t like your stories, they didn’t like what those two did on Tanakabu, and they sure as hell didn’t like the week’s work they’ve had to put in here because of Kane. They’re tired of being pushed around – some of them were shot at in Tanakabu lagoon and they didn’t like that either. I don’t know if I can stop them.’

I looked at the glint in Geordie’s eye. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve tried too hard, have you, Geordie?’

He bristled. ‘Why the hell should I? I’ve got scores to settle with Hadley too, remember. He gave me a pistol whipping, don’t forget that. And it’s
my
ship that Kane’s been sabotaging, not Campbell’s!’

‘Suppose they aren’t there after all?’

‘We’ll be bound to learn something to our advantage.’ I noticed he was now including himself in the venture and had given up any pretence of being against it.

Ian said, ’Ach, Mike, it’s all laid on. It’ll be as easy as lifting a trout from the stream when the keeper’s having a dram in the pub.’

‘Oh, it’s all laid on, is it? Would you mind telling me what the pair of you have been up to?’

Ian looked at Geordie, who said, ‘Well, it’s like this, Mike. I thought a guard was all very well in its way, but a bit negative, if you know what I mean. So I sent a couple of boys ashore to scout around. They found a lot of the crew of that hooker in a pub, drinking themselves silly. A tough-looking mob, true, but they’re almost out of it already. All dagoes.’

‘And no Kane or Hadley?’

‘No one spotted them. Anyway with your lot at the hotel, there are precious few bodies left on Ramirez’s ship.’

I said, ‘They’ll be keeping a watch too. Ramirez isn’t a damn fool, and he knows we’re here.’

‘Right enough,’ agreed Geordie. ‘But I’ve gone into that too. I sent Taffy and Bill Hunter out in a boat to have a look. Bill’s the best swimmer we’ve got, and he had a good look at that ship.’ He chuckled suddenly. ‘Do you know what he did? He swam right round her first, then he hauled himself aboard on the port side, had a good look round the deck, then let himself into the water on the starboard side and came back to report. That’s the sort of watch they’re keeping over there.’

‘It would have to be done very quietly,’ I mused.

‘Ach, that’s no trouble,’ said Ian. ‘We’re a quiet lot.’

‘Just about as quiet as a bunch of sharks. They don’t make much noise either.’

‘Well, what about it?’ said Geordie imploringly.

‘There would have to be no guns. No killing. Just bare fists.’

‘Or maybe the odd belaying pin,’ offered Ian gently.

‘You’re a bloodthirsty lot. It’s a damn silly idea, but I’ll agree to it – conditionally.’

Geordie grinned delightedly. ‘I knew you had something of your father in you, Mike!’

I said, ‘Dad would have had you court-martialled for disobedience and subordination, and you damn well know it. All right, here are the conditions. One – if you find Kane or Hadley we hand them over to the police intact to the last hair of their heads. We don’t want to ruin our own case. Two – if we don’t find them you get back here fast. We’ll have to get the hell out of Nuku’alofa anyway – Ramirez will be looking for us and maybe the cops too. That means, three – that Campbell and the girls will have to be got aboard.’

Geordie’s face fell. ‘That means the whole thing’s off. He’ll never stand for it, not with the girls along.’

‘He doesn’t have to know about it too soon – if we time it right. You send someone up to the hotel and get him aboard at just the right time.’

‘The right time being when it’s too late to stop us,’ said Geordie. ‘Mike, laddie, you’re going to have a hell of a time explaining to the old man what we’re doing.’

‘I’ll leave the explanations until afterwards,’ I said. ‘I’ve got another condition, number four – I’m coming with you. I’ve got scores to settle myself.’

The timing was a bit tricky. We didn’t know how long Ramirez and company were going to stay in the hotel, nor even if they intended returning to their ship that night. We didn’t want to bump into them because then there certainly would be noise.

Again, Campbell and the girls had to be got out of the hotel under the nose of Ramirez, another tricky bit. So we made a plan.

Geordie had picked Nick Dugan to bring Campbell from the hotel. ‘He’s probably the best scrapper of the lot of us,’ he said. ‘But he’s never quiet in his fighting. It’s best we keep him out of the main operation, and he’ll not take it well.’

I had a word with Nick and sent him off immediately. ‘You’ve got two jobs,’ I told him. ‘The first is to keep an eye on Ramirez. If any of them make a move to go back to their ship, you nip down to the waterfront and flash a signal to us. Then the operation is definitely off. Got that?’

‘Right.’ As it turned out he was surprisingly meek.

‘We’ll be starting off at eleven-thirty. At exactly that time you get into Mr Campbell’s room and give him a note which I’ll write. No sooner and no later than eleven-thirty – that’s important.’

‘I understand,’ said Nick.

‘Have you got a watch?’

He showed me his wrist watch and, as we synchronized, I wondered how many times my father had done the same before an operation.

‘I settled their bills along with mine – they don’t need to stop at the desk. No porters. Get them back here as fast as you can, and as quietly – and don’t let Ramirez or any of his crowd see you.’

I also had a word with Bill Hunter. ‘What sort of watch are they keeping over there, Bill?’

He smiled. ‘I suppose they think they’re keeping a good one – by their standards. It’s nothing to worry about, though. It’ll be a piece of cake.’

‘Geordie tells me you’re the best swimmer, so you’ll go first. But you must be quiet about it or the balloon will go up. Your job will be to find the quietest spot on board to get the rest of us up.’

‘Not to worry,’ he said easily. ‘It’ll be like the old times.’

As I turned away he said, ‘Er – Mike …’

‘Yes, Bill?’

‘It’s good to work with a Trevelyan again.’

I was touched. ‘Thanks, Bill. You don’t know how I appreciate that.’

At last we were ready. Six of us were going – Geordie, Ian, Taffy, Jim, Bill Hunter and myself. Danny Williams was left in command of the ship and the rest of Geordie’s non-commando crew, and I said to him, ‘Danny, if anything goes wrong, get the hell out of here as fast as you can, once Mr Campbell and the girls and Nick are back on board, even if it means leaving us behind. Mr Campbell mustn’t be involved in this, you understand?’

‘I gotcha,’ he said. ‘But you’ll be all right.’

Geordie was fussing. ‘Jim, got all your bits and pieces?’

‘I’m okay,’ said Jim. ‘Stop binding, skipper.’

I stepped over to Geordie. ‘What are these bits and pieces?’

‘Nothing much,’ he said airily. ‘A few tools. Belaying pins and stuff like that. What time is it?’

I looked at the luminous hands of my watch. ‘Eleven-twenty-eight.’ It had been a rush to get ready but the last few minutes crawled.

‘Let’s go,’ he said. ‘It’ll be a doddle.’

We dropped into the larger of our two dinghies, Ian and Taffy took the oars and pulled quietly, and the boat moved out. We rounded the stern of
Esmerelda
and Ian steered us across the harbour.

I was thinking of all the things that could go wrong and what Campbell would say when we got back, and damning myself for an idiot. I leaned over to Geordie and whispered, ‘If Taffy’s got that damned knife of his, tell him to leave it in the bottom of the boat. We don’t want even the possibility of him using it.’

‘It’s all right,’ he said in a low voice. ‘He left it aboard – I told him to.’

It wasn’t long before Ian and Taffy stopped pulling and the boat glided to a stop, rocking gently. Bill was dressed in dark clothing and all I saw of him was the flash of his teeth in the moonlight as he slipped over the side.

‘Are you sure the torch is waterproof?’ Geordie murmured.

‘It’s okay,’ Bill replied. ‘I’ll give you a flash as soon as I’m ready.’ He moved away without a single splash and we sat quietly waiting for his signal. It seemed a long time coming and as I sat there I wondered what I was doing in this Pacific harbour, contemplating an act of piracy. It seemed a long way from my office at the Institute.

I said to Geordie, ‘He’s a long time, isn’t he?’

‘Stop worrying,’ said Geordie. ‘We’re professionals.’

I let out my breath and tried to relax on the hard thwart, never taking my eyes off Ramirez’s ship. Suddenly there
was a flicker of light, so faint and so quickly doused that I wondered if I’d really seen it or whether my eyes were playing tricks.