Comes the Dark Stranger - Jack Higgins [40]
The man by the door took out a packet of cigarettes and put one in his mouth. At that moment Shane’s hand closed over a loose cobblestone, and he dug his fingers desperately into the ground and pulled. The stone came free so suddenly that he rocked back against the wall. He took a deep breath and pushed himself upright.
The man by the door struck a match and cupped it in his hands against the wind. He leaned over and Shane staggered forward and smashed the cobblestone into the back of the exposed neck. As the man keeled over, Shane lurched across the yard and out through a narrow opening.
He found himself in the alley at the side of the club and as a sudden outcry broke out behind him, he emerged into the square. He moved along the pavement at a shambling trot and turned into the first side street he came to. He finally stopped from sheer exhaustion after turning and twisting through a maze of back streets for ten or fifteen minutes. He moved inside the gate of a scrap yard and sank down on his knees in the shadows. His stomach seemed to move and then he gagged suddenly.
It was some time before he could think clearly again. He cleaned himself up as far as he was able and lit a cigarette with hands that shook violently. He felt detached from his surroundings and as he started to walk, the buildings around him seemed to float in the thin fog and heavy rain.
There was a dull ache in the side of his neck where Steele had kicked him and his head seemed to swell like a balloon and coloured lights burst around him in the darkness. He paused and hung on to a lamp-post, letting the rain fall on his upturned face and after a while he felt better.
He took over half an hour to walk back to the flat and when he reached it there was a black saloon car parked outside. He stood by the gate and looked at the car, a slight frown on his face and then he entered the front door and mounted the stairs quietly.
As he moved towards the door there was a faint cry of pain that sounded somehow remote and far away. Shane stood there listening for a moment and then he moved quietly along to the end of the passage and opened the landing window.
An ornamental ledge a foot wide ran along the face of the building about three feet beneath the windows. He quickly scrambled out on to the ledge and started to edge his way along to the living-room window.
The rain hammered against his face and every muscle in his body seemed to tremble as he moved forward and peered round the edge of the window into the living-room.
A man in a dirty brown raincoat stood by the door, his arms folded impassively, no expression on his wooden face. Jenny Green was crouched on the floor by the fireplace, a dazed look on her tear-stained face. She was wearing a pair of black panties and the rest of her clothes were scattered about the room.
Frenchy was sitting in a chair beside her, heating a poker in the fire. There was an evil smile on his face and he reached out and nudged her with the toe of his shoe and said something. She shook her head vehemently and he slapped her across the face.
Shane moved along the ledge towards the bedroom window, black rage erupting inside him. He remembered that Jenny had left the window slightly open at the bottom on the night he had spent with her and prayed that it was her usual custom.
He slipped once and clawed desperately at the wall and then his right hand got a grip on the edge of the window and a moment later, he was holding on to the sill. His fingers found the gap he had been praying for, and he pushed up the sash silently and scrambled into the room.
There was an ornamental lamp at the side of the bed made from a French brandy bottle. He dispensed with the shade and the bulb and hefting the bottle in one hand, approached the door. He opened it quietly and peered in.
Frenchy had just taken the poker from the fire. It glowed white hot and he turned to the girl and said, ‘Now start talking. I know you’ve been making quite a friend of this bloke Shane. All you’ve got to do is to tell me where he might