Hammond Innes: The Strange Land

‘Why?’ Bilvidic’s voice was still and hard.

‘What else was I to do? Kostos had taken my passport. But I still had Kavan’s papers and I had to get to Kasbah Foum.’ His voice sounded nervous.

‘Why did you not report the loss of your passport to the authorities? The International Police were the proper people to deal with the matter.’

‘But that would have taken time. Listen, monsieur.’ Jan leaned forward and the nervousness was suddenly gone from his voice. ‘I was with Kavan over two weeks in the confined space of a small boat. He told me the whole story — how Duprez had given him the deeds and had made him promise to get his title to Kasbah Foum confirmed before Caid Hassan died. If he didn’t, the property, with all its potential wealth, would have passed to Ali. You know the sort of man Ali was. He would have used that wealth against France. He would have purchased arms. Kavan was dead. I accepted his responsibility as though it were my own. It was the least I could do.’ He stopped then. He was breathing heavily.

‘Nevertheless,’ Bilvidic said, ‘you should have reported the loss of your passport to the police.’

‘Damn it, man. Don’t you understand?’ Jan’s anger was genuine. ‘Kostos was waiting for me there on the beach at Tangier. The matter was urgent. Latham understood. That was why he agreed to get me out on Kavan’s papers.’

‘Very well, monsieur. It is understood. But why do you have to go on calling yourself Kavan?’

‘What else could I do? I was here in Morocco on Kavan’s papers. Besides, Caid Hassan wouldn’t have confirmed the title to anyone but Kavan.’

‘Ah. That is the real point, eh?’ There was a cold glint in Bilvidic’s eyes. ‘You had to be Kavan in order to obtain the title to Kasbah Foum.’

‘Are you suggesting I arranged for Kostos to steal my passport?’ Jan demanded. ‘Do you think I enjoyed getting out of Tangier the way I did and coming down here under an assumed name? It was dangerous. But I had to do it.’ He got up suddenly and walked over to the desk, leaning on it and staring down at Bilvidic. ‘What you’re implying is a motive of personal gain. What you should be considering is the alternative. Your troops are all fighting in Indo-China. Caid Hassan is dead, and if Ali were now alive and the owner of Kasbah Foum …’ He thrust his head forward slightly, staring at Bilvidic. ‘Be thankful, monsieur, that it has turned out the way it has. If there is silver there, then it will be developed for the benefit of the people. It was what Kavan wanted. It is what I promised Caid Hassan.’

I glanced at Bilvidic. The whole thing was so logical that I almost believed it myself. The detective was staring at Jan. He didn’t say anything and a silence settled on the room. Jan had turned away from the desk. I wondered how long he could stand the silence. There were beads of sweat on his forehead. And then I saw Bilvidic relax in his chair. He drew gently on his cigarette. ‘Perhaps you will go and join the others now,’ he said to Jan. ‘I would like a word with Latham alone.’

Jan hesitated and glanced at me. He looked tired.

Then he turned without a word and went out through the curtains. I moved uneasily in my chair, turning to face Bilvidic. He was watching me, his cigarette held vertical between two fingers and a thumb. ‘How is the shoulder?’ he asked me. ‘Painful?’

‘A little,’ I said, waiting.

His face softened to a smile and he offered me a cigarette. ‘There are one or two questions I would like to ask you. First, who suggested that method of getting him out of the International Zone — you or he?’

‘I did.’

He nodded. ‘That is what I thought. I have seen your security report. Perhaps you have had previous experience of that method, eh?’

‘Perhaps,’ I said.

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘Well, that is for Tangier to worry about. Now, this matter of Kavan being lost overboard from the yacht. Did our friend tell you how it happened?’

‘Yes.’

‘In detail?’

‘Yes.’ I explained when he had told me and he nodded. ‘Good. He would have been tired then. Will you repeat it to me in the exact words he used, as far as you can remember them.’ I did so and he sat for a long time, tapping his pencil against his teeth. ‘Have you sailed yachts at all?’ he asked suddenly.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Quite a lot when I was a boy.’

‘And do you believe this story? Could a man fall overboard like that — or would it be necessary to push him? Remember, the storm was finished.’

‘You don’t need a storm for a thing like that to happen,’ I said. ‘It can happen quite easily.’ I was determined to convince him on this point. ‘The guardrails are often no more than thirty inches high — less than a metre,’ I explained. ‘Even in a quiet sea a man can go overboard, if he’s careless — especially if there isn’t much wind and the boat is rolling.’ He made no comment and I added quickly, ‘In this case, though the storm was over, there was still a big sea running. If you make a quick move out of the cockpit in such conditions and the stern of the boat falls away in a trough…’ He still said nothing. ‘They were both very tired,’ I said. ‘That was confirmed by the log.’

‘Ah. So you have seen the log, eh? Where is it? Has he got it?’

‘No.’

‘Where is it then?’

I explained how I had burned it and he said, ‘Why? Why do you do that?’

‘He asked me to.’

‘Why?’

I didn’t know what to say. For a moment there was a tense silence. And then he gave me the answer himself. ‘Was it because he was afraid Kostos might get hold of it?’

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Yes, I think that was it.’

He leaned slowly forward across the desk. ‘Why should that matter, monsieur?’

It was a trap. I realised that too late. There was no earthly reason why Kostos shouldn’t have seen the log. If it were Kavan who had gone overboard, then the writing in the log would have remained unaltered. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Bilvidic waited a moment and then he got up and crossed the room and pulled back the curtain. ‘Wade. A moment please.’ Jan’s eyes were fixed on my face as he came in, walking jerkily, his hands thrust into his pockets. ‘There is something I don’t understand,’ Bilvidic said. ‘Why did you ask Latham to destroy the log?’

Jan’s hesitation was only momentary, then he turned slowly to face the detective. ‘It was the handwriting, monsieur,’ he said in a tone of surprise. ‘I could not take Kavan’s identity and still carry about with me all those pages of my own handwriting.’

It was so simple, so logical. I felt a sense of relief. Bilvidic wasn’t to know that the decision to get out on Kavan’s papers had been taken after the log had been destroyed. The detective turned back to the desk. ‘Now then,’ he said, ‘let us get this down in the form of a statement.’ He looked across at me. ‘I think perhaps, Latham, you would be more comfortable in the other room. Keep warm by the fire.’ His expression was almost friendly.

Julie and Karen were standing by the hearth. There was no one else in the room. The lamps and the fire gave a glow of warmth to the bare walls. Karen turned and moved slowly, almost reluctantly to meet me. ‘Is it all right?’ she asked in a whisper.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I think so.’

Her lips trembled slightly and then she turned away her head. I think she was close to tears. Julie’s fingers closed on my hand. ‘You’re cold,’ she said. ‘Come and get warm.’

Ed came back soon after and we sat and waited in silence. It seemed a long time before Jan came out. He was talking to Bilvidic. ‘And you’ll make it clear that I had no alternative, won’t you?’