Десмонд Бэгли - The Spoilers

‘We go another fifteen miles,’ said Eastman. ‘Then turn and shoot. We have a couple of boats along the course in case the torpedo comes up too soon, but we’ll be pacing it anyway. It should surface somewhere near the yacht — if we get the range we need.’

Abbot laughed, and said to Parker, ‘You’d better not be too good, Dan; it would be a hell of a joke if you slammed the torpedo into the Stella del Mare. ’

Parker grunted. ‘It wouldn’t do too much damage without a warhead. But the fish would be a write-off an’ I wouldn’t like that.’

‘Neither would I,’ said Eastman. He gave Abbot an unfriendly stare and said coldly, ‘I don’t like your sense of humour.’

‘Neither do I,’ said Abbot, still smiling. ‘Dan and I have a hundred thousand dollars riding with this torpedo.’

The Orestes ploughed on westward. Jeanette took Eastman by the elbow and they walked to the other side of the deck, deep in conversation. Abbot said, ‘He’s not as friendly as he was.’

Parker shook with laughter. ‘Maybe he’s jealous. Has he any cause to be, Mike?’

‘You mean me and Delorme?’ Abbot pulled a sour face. ‘I don’t know about jealousy, but he ought to be running scared. The bitch wants me to knock him off at an opportune moment. We had a nice friendly chat.’

‘I’ll bet you didn’t stop at taikin’,’ said Parker pointedly. ‘Do you mean to tell me that she asked you to kill Eastman?’

‘Not in so many words, but the subject came up. Another thing — Warren’s been hitting her hard over in Iran. She’s really steamed up about it. She wanted to know about Regent Films.’

‘That’s good to know,’ said Parker. ‘What did you tell her?’

‘I acted dumb and stuck to generalities. Maybe Warren can pull off the whole trick and let us off the hook here.’

‘He can’t,’ said Parker. ‘We’re on the hook an’ we’re wrigglin’. We’ll have to get out o’ this ourselves. I’m goin’ below — I want to check the fish.’

Abbot frowned; he thought he detected a shade of nervousness in Parker — something that now showed itself for the first time. He did not like to think of what might happen if the trial proved a bust, but Parker was worried about something else — the problem of what was going to happen if the trial was a success. It was something to think about.

Very likely he and Parker would be expected to go with the Orestes on the final job, clear across the Atlantic to fire the torpedo ashore on some secluded beach. The snag about that was that it would never get there — Parker would see to that. And what Jeanette would do in that case was not at all problematical, although the details were hazy. Probably he and Parker would share the same concrete coffin at the bottom of the Caribbean. It was a nasty thought.

The correct course of action would be to wait until the warhead was filled with heroin and then dump the lot somehow in such circumstances that he and Parker could get away. The trouble with that line of thought was that everything depended on what Delorme did — he had no initiative at all. They would just have to wait and see what happened.

He leaned on the rail and looked gloomily at the sea, and his thoughts were long and deep. Presently he sighed and turned to watch Jeanette and Eastman who had their heads together. She would be telling him of the arrangements she had made in the States, and he would have given a lot to be able to eavesdrop. If he knew where the heroin was going then the gang in the States could be rounded up — a quick closing in on the beach with the capture of the torpedo — and he and Parker would be in the clear.

His train of thought was broken by the clang of the telegraph bell and the sudden easing of vibration. Parker came up from below and looked over the side. ‘We’ve arrived,’ he said. ‘Look at that thing down there.’

Abbot saw a fast-looking boat riding easily in the water. Eastman came over, and said, ‘That’s to take us back to the yacht. How are you going to work this, Parker?’

‘Can we talk to this ship from that boat?’

‘Sure — there’s radio communication.’

‘Then have a word with the skipper. There’s a switch near the binnacle; he presses the tit when the compass points due north magnetic. I’d like to be in that boat to watch the fish when she leaves. All the skipper has to do is to watch the compass and flick the switch. He’d better be on the wheel himself.’

‘I’ll tell him,’ said Eastman, and went up on to the bridge.

The instructions were given and they went down to the boat which had come alongside, Jeanette and Eastman first, then Abbot and Parker. The engines opened up with a muted growl which spoke of reserve power and they moved away from Orestes which turned in a wide sweep on a reciprocal course. Parker watched her. ‘Give me the glasses an’ tell the skipper he can fire when ready. We move off when I give the word a little over thirty knots — course due north magnetic. Everyone keep an eye astern.’

Eastman spoke into the microphone, then said, ‘He’ll fire when he gets his bearing — any time now.’

Parker had the glasses at his eyes and was gazing at the bows of Orestes. There was a pause, then Eastman said, ‘He’s fired,’ and simultaneously Parker yelled, ‘She’s on her way — get goin’.’ He had seen the burst of air bubbles break from the bow of Orestes to be swept away in the wake.

The low growl of the engines burst into an ear-shattering roar as the throttles were opened and Abbot was momentarily pinned back in his seat by the sudden acceleration. Parker was staring at the water. ‘She didn’t porpoise,’ he yelled. ‘I was a bit worried about that. She should be runnin’ true.’

‘What do you mean?’ shouted Eastman.

‘The tube’s only six feet underwater an’ the fish is set to run at twelve — I thought she might duck down an’ then come up again sharply to break surface. But she didn’t — the beauty.’ Parker leaned forward. ‘Tell your helmsman to keep as near to thirty-one knots as he can an’ steer a straight course.’

It was a wild ride and seemed to go on for ever as far as Abbot was concerned. Even though the sea was calm there was a minor swell and the boat would ride a crest and seem to fly for a split second before coming down with a jolting crash. He touched Parker on the arm. ‘How long does this go on?’

‘Half an hour or so. The torpedo is makin’ thirty knots so we should be a bit ahead of her. Keep your eyes peeled aft — wi’ a bit o’ luck you won’t see a bloody thing for a while.’

Abbot stared back at the sea and at the rushing wake unreeling itself from the boat at what seemed to be a fantastic speed. After a while he found it hypnotized him and tended to make him feel sick, so he turned his head and looked at the others, blinking as the wind caught his eyes.

Jeanette was sitting as calmly as she had sat in the Paon Rouge, with one hand braced on a chrome rail. The wind streamed her blonde hair and pressed her blouse against her body. Eastman had his teeth bared in a stiff grin. Occasionally he spoke into the microphone he held, but to whom he was talking Abbot did not know. Probably he was telling the Stella del Mare that they were on their way. Parker was riding easily and staring aft, a light of excitement in his eyes and a big grin on his face. This was his day.

The boat rushed through the water interminably. After ten minutes they swept past a fair-sized motor launch which was making lazy circles, and Eastman stood up and waved. This was one of the boats which guarded the course. Eastman sat down abruptly as their own boat bounced violently over the wake which crossed their path — and then again. The circling boat receded into the distance behind them as they pressed on.