Part 63 (1/2)
”I don't know.”
386.
R O B E R T G O D D A R D.
”What do you think it will be?”
”I don't think.” He looked straight across at Frank. ”You've told me often enough since we left England to wait and see. Well, you should be glad. Now, that's all I'm capable of doing.”
CHAPTER.
NINETEEN.
Eight hours later, Derek's vigil in his room-which he dared not leave in case Galazarga tried to contact him-was wearing on his nerves as well as his patience. A one-sided conversation with Frank and a static-ridden call to Charlotte had failed either to calm or to cheer him. Now, as the evening advanced and the chances diminished of Galazarga being in touch before morning, he decided solitude was no longer tolerable. A visit to the bar, though it did not promise unbounded gaiety, at least const.i.tuted a change of scene. Without looking in on Frank for fear the old curmudgeon might object, he set off, pausing at reception en route to emphasize where he could be found.
Galician beer having proved a disappointment, he opted this time for spirits, of which Spanish measures proved gratifyingly generous.
Halfway through his second substantial cubalibre, he was beginning to imagine he really was a match for Galazarga and his elusive employer when a strikingly attractive dark-haired girl in a black combination of mini-skirt, polo-necked sweater and bolero jacket sat down at his table.
”Er . . . h.e.l.lo,” Derek said, with a frown of puzzlement.
”Buenas tardes. Mr Fairfax?”
”Er . . . yes.”
Her voice fell to a whisper. ”I am Yolanda Delgado Vasconcelez. I must speak with you. It is very important.”
”What?” Derek could hardly believe his ears, but there was no doubting her seriousness. Nor her sincerity, to judge by the frankness of her gaze. ”But . . . I was told . . .”
”That I was in Switzerland?” She nodded. ”I am supposed to be. I H A N D I N G L O V E.
387.
would still be there now if my grandfather had not . . .” She leant closer, her eyes wide and imploring. ”I must not be recognized, Mr Fairfax. If he knew what I was doing, he would be very angry.”
”Your grandfather?”
”Of course. But I cannot let this go on. Surely you see that.”
”I . . . I'm not sure I-”
”I know about your letter. And your meeting with Norberto Galazarga. I know why you are here.”
”You do?”
”Could we go somewhere else?” She glanced round. ”Somewhere more . . . discreet?”
”Well, I-”
”I can help you.” She placed her hand over his where it rested on the table. ”But only if you help me. Will you come with me?”
”Where to?”
”Not far.” She looked over her shoulder again. ”But it has to be now. Will you come?”
”I . . .” What manner of help she was offering him he could not guess. But he knew also he could not turn his back on it. The chance of a swift end to Samantha's ordeal-and to his-was too tempting to resist. ”All right. Let's go.”
She did not accompany him to the bar to pay, but waited by the side-door that led directly out of the hotel. When he followed, she went ahead, a black-clad figure hurrying into the Santiago night. It was dry now, but still misty, the street-lamps and cathedral floodlights blurred and subdued like nurses' lanterns. The city seemed older and more watchful than by day, its senses sharpened by darkness, its purposes concealed.
They headed downhill, away from the plaza, turning right and then left along deserted dimly lit streets. Before they had reached the end of the second of these, Derek began to regret leaving the warmth and security of the hotel. It would be all too easy to become lost in this cobbled maze of ancient by-ways. Sobered by the coolness of the air, he suddenly began to wonder if Yolanda might be leading him into some form of trap. A noise behind them made him swing round abruptly. But there was no trace of anybody in or between the shadows.
”Don't worry,” said Yolanda, looking back at him as if she had read his thoughts. ”It's just down here. A little cafe I know where we can talk without being overheard.”
Rea.s.sured, he followed her into the mouth of an alley to their 388 R O B E R T G O D D A R D.
left. But rea.s.surance lasted no more than an instant. There were no beckoning lights of a cafe ahead, no lights in fact of any kind. He pulled up and was about to turn back when he was seized around the waist and dragged to one side. He was aware of two large men hauling him into a doorway, of shapes moving vaguely around and behind him, of m.u.f.fled words in Spanish, of garlic on the breath of his a.s.sailants. All this came into his mind a fraction of a second before it was swamped by fear. Then he was slammed against a heavy wooden door, his arms pinned to his sides, a metal knocker grinding against his spine. The blade of a knife flashed in a shaft of light and he saw two faces close to his own, swollen and distorted by the shadows like pumpkin masks at Hallowe'en. And then a drift of cigar-smoke caught in his nostrils. Galazarga was standing a few feet in front of him, an overcoat slung like a cape around his shoulders.
”We will resume our conversation, Mr Fairfax,” he said in a tone of studied normality. ”Without the need to guard our tongues so closely.”
”What . . . What do you want?”
”The map-along with the other papers.”
”I told you: it doesn't exist.”
”We have searched your room. It is not there. I conclude you value it too highly to part with it. So, please be so good as to hand it over.”
”I haven't got it.”
”Cachealos!”
Derek was pulled forward. One of the men twisted his left arm behind his back while the other began searching his pockets, handing the contents to Galazarga as he went. There was not much: wallet, pa.s.sport, diary, pen, comb, keys, a half-finished packet of pepper-mints and a few crumpled tissues. Yolanda switched on a torch and trained the beam on the bundle of items while Galazarga sifted through them.
”It does not appear to be here, Mr Fairfax.”
”Of course it isn't. It's-”
”You called at the pazo in the company of an elderly man. Does he have it?”
”No. Neither of us does.”
”What is his name, Mr Fairfax? Where is he to be found?”
”I'm not answering any more questions.”
”I rather think you are. Unless you want to end your days as H A N D I N G L O V E.