‘Larry isn’t going to like this,’ I said.
‘Larry knows I’m here.’ Mary assisted Hans out the door and closed it. ‘My darling husband is an ingenious swine, and as I pointed out to Larry, it would be foolish to
take unnecessary chances.’
‘Are you really married?’
‘Bell, book, and candle.’ Mary leaned against the table, hands in her pockets. ‘Not for long, though,’ she went on conversationally. ‘I regret that, in a way. I
shall hate wearing black. It’s not my colour. And sharing his bed was quite an interesting experience.’
‘Oh, come off it,’ I said. ‘You’re wasting your time with that routine, Mary. He could hardly stand to touch you. It was always you hanging on to him, instead of –
’
I wouldn’t have believed a soft little hand like that could hit so hard. When my ears had stopped ringing I said, ‘Did Larry authorize beating me up?’
‘He took my knife away.’ Mary’s voice deepened and the golden eyes glittered. ‘But he can’t object to this. A few bruises will have a persuasive effect on John.
You’ve got him trained like one of Pavlov’s dogs. I don’t understand how you accomplished it – ’
She examined me curiously, from head to foot and back again. I could see her problem; the idea that any normal man could resist a cuddly little cutie in favour of a six-foot Amazon with a
sarcastic tongue and the disposition of a hedgehog absolutely baffled her. To be honest, it baffled me too – not that he could reisist little Miss Mary the Ripper, but that he had stuck with
me so long.
With an abrupt movement she pulled the lovely little Greek heads from her ears and flung them at me. ‘These were meant for you, you know: I made him give them to me. Did you enjoy seeing
me wear them?’
‘I did wonder. They aren’t your style.’
‘But they were clearly a love token, weren’t they? Something distinctive and different, carefully chosen for a woman who would appreciate them.’ Her thumb caressed the gaudy
diamond on her finger.
I knew what she intended and I was contemptibly relieved when she decided to try a little mental torture first. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know how your other friends are
faring?’
I shrugged. ‘You haven’t got Schmidt or you would have said so. Feisal . . . I assume Feisal is dead.’
‘Oh, no,’ Mary said softly. ‘He’s still alive. He may never walk again, but that won’t concern him after they hang him for treason.’ The tip of her little
pink tongue showed between her parted lips. She was having such a good time she didn’t even hear the voices outside.
There’s a poem about a highwayman who came riding, riding, up to the old inn door. The soldiers used his sweetheart as a decoy, tying her to a chair with a rifle pointed at her breast. She
managed to get one finger around the trigger, and when she heard him coming she pulled – ‘and warned him with her death.’
I always wondered why she didn’t just yell.
Oh, well, maybe he couldn’t have heard her over the pounding of his horse’s hooves. Or maybe it didn’t fit the metre. I didn’t have a rifle at my breast. Anyhow, John
knew the soldiers were there.
I threw my head back and opened my mouth and screamed. But the name I called was not that of my lover. ‘Max! Hey, Max!’
John was the first one through the door, but Max was right behind him. It wasn’t until much later that I understood the significance of that sequence.
The Pavlonian conditioning didn’t seem to be as strong as Mary had believed. After a few steps John stopped. He had only glanced at me; his eyes were fixed on Mary.
‘More melodrama,’ Max said in exasperation. ‘How weary I am of this! You were forbidden to come here, Mary. Mr Tregarth is willing to cooperate. You will only irritate him if
you persist in this nonsense.’
‘I am already irritated,’ John said. His eyes returned to my face. ‘Are you – ’
‘Fine, just fine,’ I said, stretching my mouth into a smile. My cheek hurt. ‘I do hope you have a couple of aces up your sleeve, because if you haven’t, this was not one
of your brighter moves.’
He was still wearing Keith’s suit, but he had washed the cheap dye out of his hair. Avoiding my eyes, he remarked, to the room in general, ‘She tends to babble when she’s
nervous. Mary does affect people that way. Get her out of here.’
Blenkiron was the next to arrive. ‘Damn it,’ he exclaimed. ‘Mary, I told you – ’
She laughed contemptuously. ‘What a conveniently bad memory you have, Larry.’
‘Well, I certainly didn’t give you permission to . . .’ He couldn’t even say the ugly words. ‘I’m sorry, Vicky. I told her to stay with you but I never
authorized . . .’
‘Swell,’ I said. ‘So how about untying me?’
Nobody reacted to that naive suggestion. Mary backed off a few steps and Max said, with poorly concealed exasperation, ‘Can we now discuss the situation in a reasonable way? You have the
pectoral, Mr Tregarth?’
‘You know I haven’t,’ John said. ‘You watched Rudi search me.’
‘Where is it?’
‘None of your damned business. Now, Maxie, don’t lose your temper. That pectoral is my ace in the hole. You don’t suppose I’ll meekly hand it over without getting
something in return, do you?’
‘Need I ask what?’
‘Surely not. And please don’t insult my intelligence by suggesting you’ll turn her loose after I deliver the goods. I want her out of here and safely back at the Embassy. As
soon as she telephones to say she’s there, and the ambassador confirms it, I’ll get the pectoral for you.’
‘We could force you to tell us,’ Max said.
‘You could certainly try,’ John said agreeably. Leaning against a chest of drawers, hands in his pockets, he was putting on a pretty good imitation of languid self-confidence, but
the tension that vibrated along every nerve was evident to me at least. He was trying very hard not to look at me.
‘But it’s not the most efficient method of attaining your ends,’ he went on. ‘You know me well, Maxie; do you suppose I give a damn about the museum or the tomb or any
bloody antiquity on the face of the earth? I’ll even go through with the robbery, if that’s what you want.’
‘You will?’ Blenkiron said eagerly. ‘But you said – ’
John raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t object to robbing the museum. The thing that put me off a bit was a strong suspicion that I wouldn’t survive the attempt. I’m willing to
take my chances with the ordinary security system, but I object to being shot or stabbed in the back by one of my purported assistants.’
Max looked a little embarrassed. ‘I was against that,’ he said. ‘I felt sure you would expect something of the sort and there really was no need – ’
John cut him off. He was looking at Max, but I knew he was aware of every move Mary made and every breath she took. She was the most unstable and unpredictable factor in the structure of mutual
self-interest he was building with such agonizing deliberation. I was afraid to move or speak for fear of shaking it. And I knew why he wouldn’t look at me.
‘There was no need,’ John agreed. ‘You’re a businessman, Max, and Mr Blenkiron’s sole concern is making off with his pretty toys. My sole interest is my survival
and Vicky’s. My proposal will accomplish all those admirable aims, but you will have to make up your minds without delay. Herr Schmidt has an appointment with the director of the museum
in’ – he glanced at the cheap watch that had replaced his – ‘in an hour and a quarter. If he hasn’t heard from me before he leaves his present location he will take
the pectoral with him and then, if you will excuse a cliché, the die will be cast. There’s barely time for Vicky to reach the Embassy providing she leaves within the next five
minutes.’
Max’s eyes narrowed. ‘We must discuss this. It requires consultation.’
‘It’s your own fault,’ John said. ‘You oughtn’t to have selected such a remote hideout. Cairo traffic is difficult at any time of day or night.’
Maybe there was something to that business about auras. I could almost see the taut lines of tension crisscrossing the empty air like a cat’s cradle of coloured yarn. The strain of
manipulating them was beginning to tell on John; his nonchalant pose hadn’t changed but his face was beaded with perspiration.
‘It sounds reasonable to me,’ Blenkiron said slowly. ‘So long as we have Tregarth, the others won’t risk – ’
‘You fools,’ Mary said suddenly. ‘Can’t you see what he’s doing?’
She had been standing quietly, hands folded and head bowed. It was her old pose of sweet submissiveness and the men, bless their chauvinist hearts, had dismissed her from consideration. But I
had been afraid of this, and so had John. He straightened, taking his hands out of his pockets, but before he could speak Blenkiron said angrily, ‘Be still. You’ve already caused enough
trouble.’
‘You sentimental idiot!’ She took a step forward. Her hands were empty, clasped and twisting. ‘Too fine-minded to hurt a woman, is that it? And you, Max, you’re getting
soft too. I’m afraid I won’t be able to give you a favourable efficiency report on this job. Are you really stupid enough to let him hypnotize you into giving up the one thing that will
force him to cooperate? I’ll show you how to get what you want. Hold on to him, Max.’
She didn’t wait to see him comply with her order. It would never have occurred to her that he might not.
Who needs a knife when she’s got diamonds? They are harder than steel. She had twisted the ring around and when her hand struck my face the stone opened up a long stinging cut.
When I opened my eyes John had her by the throat. I could see her mouth gaping in a struggle for air, her cheeks darkening.
Max hadn’t moved.
John could have snapped her neck with one twist of those long skilled hands. When he released his hold she crumpled bonelessly to the floor, but she was still alive. I heard the rattle of
painfully drawn breath. John’s hands fell to his sides. I couldn’t see his face; his back was to me.
Max sighed. ‘You surprise me, Mr Tregarth. Mr Blenkiron, I think perhaps you had better run along.’
Larry’s features were drawn with disgust and horror. ‘Yes, yes, perhaps I had,’ he mumbled. ‘The boat will be in shortly; I’ll just go down to the dock and . . .
You’ll make the – the arrangements, Max?’
‘Don’t concern yourself, Mr Blenkiron. I’ll handle everything.’
‘You’re a very competent man, Max. I leave everything in your hands. Vicky, I – uh – you’ll be fine. I hope we meet again under more – uh – pleasant
circumstances.’
The door closed.
John turned. His colour was bad and perspiration trickled down his cheeks, but his voice was cool and ironic. ‘A pity we didn’t have a basin of water to offer him. Don’t do
anything you might regret, Max. It’s over, you know.’
He stepped back, closer to me, as Max came towards him. ‘I know,’ Max said calmly. Stooping, he lifted the unconscions woman and carried her towards the bed. Instead of putting her
down he went on, out onto the balcony. When he came back his arms were empty.
It was done with such quiet unhesitating efficiency I didn’t understand what had happened until John moved, violently and jerkily, and then jolted to a stop.
‘That’s settled,’ Max said. ‘I had hoped you would take care of it for me, but evidently I overestimated you. It doesn’t matter; the onus won’t rest on me. If
you two will wait here for – oh, an hour should be long enough – you can proceed on your way. Whitbread has gone with Blenkiron, and Rudi and Hans will accompany me, so you need not
worry about being disturbed.’
John cleared his throat. ‘You mean you – ’
‘I am a professional, Mr Tregarth, and I don’t underestimate your intelligence. When I learned that you and Herr Schmidt had reached Cairo unscathed I knew we had lost. He would, of
course, go straight to the authorities. His reputation is such that they would be forced to listen to him and, however reluctantly, act on his accusations. They would be hammering at the door by
this time if they weren’t hoping you could get Dr Bliss out safely.’
He waited for confirmation. John nodded dumbly. ‘So,’ Max went on, ‘I requested Mr Blenkiron to settle our outstanding account, and made plane reservations. He has not my
experience; I fear the unfortunate man doesn’t realize that there will be a reception party waiting for that boat to dock.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I really must be off. Oh, do
forgive me, Dr Bliss. No doubt Mr Tregarth would find it easier to release you if I returned his pocket knife.’
John had recovered enough to catch the knife, though his movements lacked their usual smoothness. ‘Thank you. I trust there won’t be any – onus – misdirected at me
either?’
‘Only insofar as my employers are concerned.’ John started to protest and Max went on smoothly, ‘You must realize that I can’t accept the responsibility without incurring
a reprimand, at the very least. I take pride in my record and don’t want to see it blemished. You are at liberty to tell the police whatever you choose. You needn’t worry about
retribution; from a financial viewpoint this affair has been a success for us and we haven’t time to waste on personal grudges. We won’t bother you if you stay out of our
way.’
‘That, I assure you, is my greatest ambition,’ John said. He had cut the ropes around my ankles. Now he moved behind me and freed my arms. I just sat there. Joining in that
conversation would have strained even my gift of repartee.
‘And mine,’ Max said. ‘I don’t like you, Mr Tregarth. I hope never to see you again. Goodbye. Goodbye, Dr Bliss.’
‘Goodbye, Max,’ I said. ‘I can’t bring myself to thank you, but . . .’
‘You owe me nothing.’ He hesitated briefly, and then an odd little smile stretched his thin mouth. ‘I wish you good luck. If you gain what you clearly desire, you will need
it.’
I sort of hoped that maybe, once we were alone, my hero, the man who had risked all to save me, would sweep me into his arms and hold me close, murmuring broken endearments the way they do in
romantic novels. John just stood there string blank-faced at the closed door. So I got up all by myself. My legs seemed to be working all right, and I thought I was in full possession of my senses
until I realized I was heading blindly for the balcony.