Dennis Wheatley - Contraband

She drew quickly away from him. 'But no! It is impossible for me to do that. To break away from Gavin myself is one thing, but to betray him quite another. How can you ask me to, when you know he saved my mother and me from starvation, and that he has been as generous as any father to me, giving me everything that I've ever had.'

'Now listen, Sabine,' he turned a little and faced her squarely, 'you've got to be sensible about this. I value loyalty myself above any other quality in a man or woman but Gavin Fortescue has placed himself outside the bounds of any decent code. Whatever he may have done for you in the past was done entirely for his own ends. When he saw you first, as a little girl, he had the sense to realise that one day you'd be a very beautiful woman and, even then, you probably showed signs that you'd be a very clever one, too. He realised that by an outlay, which meant nothing to him with his immense wealth, he could forge in you an instrument which would be of the very greatest use in furthering his scheme a few years later; and his foresight has been justified. You've already paid him back, more than paid him back, by taking criminal risks which he had no earthly right to expect of you, for every penny he spent on your education or allowed your mother.'

'That may be so, but nothing would induce me to trompe him.'

'But, my darling, you must think of yourself. You don't seem to realise that you've committed yourself to all sorts of criminal actions. The net is closing in on the whole of Gavin's organisation now. You'll be arrested with the Limper and the others and charged like any ordinary female crook. The Court will deal lightly with you. compared with the others, because you gave information which saved myself and Wells from death, but they won't let you off entirely. You'll be sent to prison, Sabine. Don't you understand what that means. You can't, of course, or you'd never hesitate, but for a woman like you it will be a living hell and there's only one way you can save yourself from that: you've got to turn King's' Evidence before the balloon goes up, so the court may use their full discretion in your case.'

'I can't, I tell you. I will not.'

'Please, Sabine, I beg you to.'

'No, Gregory, no. Whatever he has done, he has also been my friend. If I did as you wish my self-respect would be gone for ever.'

'Then there's only one thing for it; I've got to get you out of England before the police decide to act.'

'That would mean your having to give up your job no?'

'Oh, to hell with the job! I would have given a lot to be in at the death, when we corner Gavin and the Limper, but that's a bagatelle compared with your safety.'

'Are there not extradition laws so that they could bring me back?'

'There are, but I don't think they would apply them. You see, your having saved Wells and myself makes the police reluctant to prosecute you in any case now. It's only that they're bound to do so by the law if they catch you.'

She nodded thoughtfully. 'Where could we go?'

Gregory stood up and, forgetting the abrasions on his chest and back, stretched himself. He grimaced suddenly and lowered his arms. 'The world's big enough and there are plenty of places where the two of us could lose ourselves very happily for a time.'

'When when do we start?' she asked a little timidly.

'Mid day will be time enough. Nobody knows you're here and zero hour for mopping up Gavin's crowd will certainly not be before tonight. They may even leave him on a string for some days yet; until they're satisfied they've gathered together all the threads of his organisation.'

'By mid day he'll know that I've left him. Don't you fink that may make him uneasy. He knew I liked you. That, I think, was why he did not speak again of the business at Pegwell Bay all through today. He mentioned at lunch, too, that he had sent up to London for some sapphires that I might like to see; as though such things could possibly compensate me for your murder! It was horrible! But he is clever. When he finds I've left him he may think I cared about you far more than I said and have gone to the police to tell them how you died.'

'That's true; and if he does think that he'll hop over to France in his plane so as to be out of the way until he's certain you haven't split on him. Then the police will miss him. after all; which would be a tragedy. I wish to God you'd change your mind and come clean with the people at the Yard. We wouldn't have to make a moonlight flitting if you did and, with the information you could give them, the police would be able to fill in their gaps. Then they could raid Quex Park right away. If we acted now there would just be time for them to get Gavin in his bed before he finds out you've cut adrift from him.'

'It's no good, Gregory. I will not give evidence against Gavin.'

'All right, my dear, in that case we must get out at once. The police don't know you're here so we'll have a free run to Heston where we can pick up the plane. Before I leave I’ll telephone the Yard that if they don't pinch Gavin within the next two hours they'll lose him. I need not say what makes me believe that; or where I got my information.'

'But you should rest. You're worn out mon pauvre petit and you've been through a time incredible. How can you possibly talk of just walking out of the house and flying the Channel when you must be so desperately tired.'

He shrugged and put a hand up to his bandages again. 'I'm all right. Slept ail through the day at the Granville Hotel, Ramsgate. Bit sore where the ropes cut into me when they pulled us out of those blasted sands that’s all. It's been worse for you than for me, really. You had no sleep last night and a gruelling day worrying your lovely head whether I was alive or dead'o. But you can sleep in the plane once we're in it.'

'You are a very wonderful man, Gregory the most wonderful man. I did not think that there was anybody in the world quite as wonderful as you. I love you.'

He bent above her. 'The gods are being kind to me in my old age. Most beautiful women are either good, stupid or vicious. And you are the marvellous exception. Lovely as a goddess, clever as an Athenian and a bad hat like myself, yet one who still has decent feelings. I'm going to kiss the lips off you once we land in France.'

The temptation to set about it now was strong within him, but time was precious: it was already after five o'clock. He had to get his car, take Sabine down to Heston in it, and see that his plane was fuelled for a cross Channel flight. He did not intend to telephone Scotland Yard until the last minute before leaving. It was doubtful if Superintendent Marrowfat would be able to reach Birchington before Gavin Fortescue was up but he could telephone the local police with orders to prevent him leaving the Park until the Yard men arrived.

Gregory bent down and pulled a couple of suitcases from under his bed. 'Pack for me, will you?' he said. 'Anything you can lay your hands on that you think will" prove most useful. Rudd sleeps down in the basement so it would only waste time for me to go and dig him out of bed.'

She stood up at once and began to collect things from his dressing table.

'I'll go round and get the car,' he told her. 'It's garaged in Elvaston Mews, about ten minutes' walk away, but I'll be back in a quarter of an hour. Bless you.'

'Bless you' she echoed, as he smiled over his shoulder, and his tall, slouching figure disappeared through the door.

She heard him let himself out and his footsteps echo along the pavement of the deserted street in the silent hour that preceded dawn. A greyish light already filtered sluggishly through the chinks in the window curtains of the bedroom. She pressed the electric switch, flooding out those signs of approaching day; then she set to work rummaging through Gregory's drawers.