Authors: Colin Forbes
'You will tell me, Mr Tweed, where the others are and what they are doing otherwise I shall shoot Miss Grey.'
He spoke very rapidly, excellent English but with an
accent. For once in his life Tweed was uncertain. He
opened his mouth to say something, anything to delay the
killer. That was the moment when Harry appeared behind
the Slovak and hammered his sap hard on the back of his
hatless head.
Radek's eyes opened very wide, then he collapsed
backwards. Harry caught him, lowered him to the floor as
the waitress appeared again. Paula stood up, spoke quickly
to her in French.
'This poor gentleman has collapsed. Could be a heart
attack. Call an ambulance. We have to go but we'll be back.'
As they hurried out of the cafe the waitress rushed to the
phone.
Outside Newman appeared, carrying a beautifully
wrapped package. He stared at their obvious haste. Paula hailed an oncoming cab.
'Gare du Nord, please,' said Tweed, handing the driver a
large tip. 'And hurry, or we're going to miss our train.'
Paula repeated the request in French, seeing the driver's
stare of incomprehension. They piled into the back, Tweed
and Paula occupying the main seat while Harry and
Newman used the jump seats. They were moving.
At the Gare du Nord, Tweed found an empty coach. The
Eurostar was on the verge of leaving. They had just settled
in their seats when it glided out of the terminus.
Tweed told Newman what had happened. Newman
stood up and carefully placed his wrapped gift with their
small bags. He didn't comment until he sat down.
'How the devil did Radek reach Paris so quickly?'
'By busting the speed limits on the autoroute, would be my guess,' Tweed told him. 'When we were parked in the
lay-by while Philip collected our weapons I noticed a car
going over the limit. Two people inside - the driver and one
passenger. Too quick to identify anyone.'
'Did you kill Radek?' Newman asked Harry.
'Definitely not. That would have brought the police. He
will be out for about an hour and then recover - with the
mother and father of all headaches.'
'What puzzles me,' said Paula, 'is how he spotted me,
knew who I was.'
'We've taken photos of people,' Tweed reminded her.
'So why shouldn't someone from the Cabal have done the
same thing? Then Noel, the hyper-efficient Noel, takes the
prints with him.'
No one said any more until they emerged from the tunnel
into Kent. Paula peered out of the window, heaved a great
sigh.
Unlike in Paris, the sun was shining brilliantly out of a
duck-egg-blue sky. Not a cloud in sight. She savoured the green fields which, early, were beginning to sprout, the orchards coated in a green fuzz.
'I'm glad to get out of France,' she said. 'So glad to get back to England and peace.'
'Don't count on peace,' Tweed warned. 'We have a
savage murder to investigate and a battle to crush the
merger of all the security services.'
'Do shut up,' Newman told him. 'She's had a rough ride.
Your problem is you never appreciate the finer things of
life.'
'Sorry. You're right, Bob. Paula has had a nerve-racking
trip most of the way. I do realize that.'
'I just want to get home, to have hours of sleep in my own
bed. In the morning I'll be a hellcat,' Paula added.
21
Tweed walked into an atmosphere of crisis,
He took off his coat, settled down in his chair, looked round his office. Monica, grim-faced, got up to come over
to him. Pete Nield was standing up, arms folded, no sign of a smile. Marler stood against the wall, fiddling with his
cigarette holder, which was empty. He stared at Tweed.
Paula, who had been going to leave, sat down at her desk.
Newman waited by the door, scanning expressions. It was
Tweed who broke the ice.
'Well, what happened in my absence? You all look as
though a bomb has gone off.'
'It has, in a manner of speaking,' Monica said, standing
stiffly in front of his desk. 'First, General Macomber
phoned, told me that under no circumstances must Tweed
go anywhere alone. He added he'd just seen the Cabal.
Then Benton Macomber bulldozed his way in. Asked to see
you urgently. I said you weren't available. "Is he abroad?"
Benton asked. I said I'd no idea where you were. He said you must call him the moment you returned, then pushed
off. Pete,' she went on, turning to Nield, 'maybe you'd like
to describe your experience.'
'Sinister,' Nield began. 'Early this afternoon I saw a large
white van stopped across the road. Had TV painted on its
side. They were using cameras to photograph this building.
So I went out, crossed the main road in front of the van. It
started moving, nearly mowed me down. I skipped on to the
pavement and it stopped. I opened the passenger door. The
thug beside the driver swore at me. I demanded to know
what the hell they were doing, who they were. The passenger
tried to kick me in the face. I grabbed his leg, hauled him
out, repeated my questions. The driver produced an
auto
matic, pointed it at me, ordered me to let go of his mate. I did so. The van drove off.'
'Intimidation,' said Tweed. 'So if they're playing rough we must respond at once. Marler, work out a plan.'
'I already have done. I'll need Harry's help. Now . . .'
Both men left the office. Tweed, his manner calm, took
out a pen and a pad, began doodling. Those remaining
waited for his next words.
'Interesting that Benton asked if I was abroad. He knew
I was. Was checking your reaction, Monica. You did well.'
'How could he know?' Paula wondered aloud.
'Radek. He'd report our presence to Noel, wherever he
was keeping out of sight of violence. Noel would then
phone the information to the Cabal. Benton came in about
five o'clock this afternoon?' he asked Monica.
'Not far off that.'
'We'd be on Eurostar. Noel probably flew back ahead of
us. With Radek. Which reminds me.' He took out a photo
Philip had handed him, gave it to Monica. 'Take that
downstairs. Ask them to make five copies. Urgent. Then
everyone has a copy.'
'Horrible-looking brute,' Monica commented.
'The devil himself,' chimed in Paula. 'Radek.'
'You think he's over here already?' Newman suggested.
'Sure of it. He'd fly back with Noel. We have two choice
killers to watch out for. Fitch, now Radek.' He looked at
Paula. 'You go back home, escorted by Newman. You
won't mind if he sleeps
in your spare bedroom tonight?'
'I'd appreciate it, when I do go. I'm wide awake now we have all this to deal with. I find it strange that General Macomber should warn us.'
'Could be he doesn't like the Cabal. Or it could be part
of the campaign of intimidation.'
'You can't suspect the General,' she protested.
'I suspect everyone until we've smashed the Cabal. Why,
I wonder, did he visit the Cabal when he's supposed to
detest his offspring? I sense everyone is lying.'
'Can I tell you about my encounter with my informant
yesterday?' Nield enquired.
'Encounter?' Tweed queried. 'Yes, go ahead.'
'I wasn't happy, so I called her and suggested we had
dinner. She accepted immediately, said she was worried.
This is how it went. . .'
Nield had arrived promptly at Coral's apartment. When
she opened the door she was dressed to kill. Her flaming
red hair was piled on top of her head, and she wore a
short close-fitting white dress, accentuating her excellent
figure.
'Come in and have a drink first, Pete,' she invited him
with a glowing smile.
'Unfortunately we haven't time,' he replied, thinking
quickly. 'I've booked a table at that restaurant
just down the
road. If we don't grab it now they'll give it to someone else.'
'OK. Let me get my coat.'
'What are you worried about?' he asked as they walked
down the street.
'It can wait until we've had a drink. I need one. Brandy.'
Seated at a corner table, well away from any of the crowd already creating a babble of voices mingled with the clink of
glasses, they were able to talk unheard.
'This is good,' she said as she consumed her starter, a mix of sliced melon, oranges and bananas, generously flavoured
with brandy. 'My favourite tipple, brandy,' she told him.
'What is worrying you?' he had asked again.
'The Parrot. She asked me out to lunch today, took me
to a very posh restaurant. I saw the bill later. Sky high.'
'I thought you were enemies. That's what you said last
time we talked.'
'I know, Pete. I thought so too. Now she's all over me. I
can't do anything wrong at work. During lunch she said one
of the Cabal was after her. Wouldn't say which one. She's
not prepared to play ball with him - so she's worried they'll
manoeuvre her out of her job.'
'They?'
'The Cabal. They support each other. They're planning
something aggressive against Tweed's outfit. Thought you
ought to know.'
'But how do you know this? They're in a separate room.'
'I know.' She fluttered her eyes at him. 'You'll think I'm
wicked. The hinges between our large room and the Cabal's
HQ have been oiled, but the door doesn't shut properly if
someone isn't
careful. When the Parrot is away I creep over,
open it just a bit more and listen to what they're saying.'
'Dangerous.'
'I'm very careful. I have a file tucked under my arm.
There is a filing cabinet close to that door in our room.'
'Going back to what you said earlier,' Pete said, pausing
while the waiter served their main course, 'you referred to
some aggressive action planned against Tweed. Any
details?'
'Only that Noel, who was away, planned it. Benton said he hoped Noel wouldn't go mad. Then I sidled back to my
desk. Just in time. One of them closed the door.'
'Noel was away. Where?'
'No idea
They chatted about other things until they'd finished the
meal. When they left the restaurant, Nield walked her to the entrance to her flat. She took out her keys, opened the door, tucked her arm in his. She turned to face him, her eyebrows
raised, invited him in for a quiet drink.