Comes the Dark Stranger - Jack Higgins [41]
The man at the door moved to get a better view and Shane stepped into the room and threw the bottle at him with all his strength. It caught the man in the side of the neck just below the right ear. He gave a strangled cry and fell back. His fingers scrabbled against the wall for a moment, and then slid to the floor and lay still.
Shane heard a cry of warning from Jenny and ducked as the poker whistled past his head. As Frenchy moved forward, Shane rammed the sofa against his legs, sending him staggering to the floor. He vaulted over the sofa and kicked savagely at the unprotected head, but Frenchy twisted desperately, grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him down on top of him.
For a few moments they rolled wildly from side to side, limbs threshing as Shane tried to get a grip on his opponent’s throat, and then Frenchy shortened his arm and smashed a fist into his mouth.
Shane rolled away from him, head swimming and scrambled to his feet, putting the sofa between them. Frenchy jumped up like a cat, triumph in his eyes and moved towards him.
And then Shane was tired no longer. He felt cold and calm and filled with the killing urge that had so often saved him in Korea. As Frenchy moved in close and swung a tremendous punch at his head, Shane ducked and rammed his stiffened fingers into the other man’s throat just above the Adam’s Apple.
Frenchy screamed horribly and fell on the floor, writhing and choking in agony. Shane stood looking down at him with no pity in his heart and then Jenny came round the sofa in a rush and flung herself into his arms. ‘Thank God!' she said. ‘Thank God you came. I’ve never been so scared in my life.’
He held her gently in his arms for a moment and then pushed her towards the bedroom. ‘You’d better get some clothes on,’ he said. ‘I’ll get rid of these two.’
As the bedroom door closed behind her, Shane hoisted Frenchy on to his shoulders and carried him downstairs to the car. When he returned to the flat his heart was pounding and he felt slightly dizzy. He remembered there was some sherry in a cupboard in the kitchen and went and half-filled a tumbler and drank it down slowly.
After a while he felt better. The man by the door, groaned slightly and tried to sit up. Shane lit a cigarette and went into the bedroom. Jenny was sitting in front of the dressing-table, applying make-up with a hand that shook a little.
‘How do you feel?’ he said.
She turned with a wan smile. ‘Not so good. It was like something that happens in a nightmare. I still can’t quite believe it’s all over.’
Shane squeezed her arm gently. ‘Nobody’s going to bother you any more. I promise you.’ She turned back to the mirror and he went on, ‘Have you any idea where Hampton is?’
She nodded. ‘It’s a village about nine miles out of town on the main road north.’
‘What would Reggie Steele be doing there?’
She shrugged. ‘That’s easy. He has a place just outside Hampton on the river. Garth Cottage it’s called.’
Shane nodded. ‘How do I get there?’
She frowned. ‘There’s an hourly service from Central Bus Station. You get off at Five Lane Ends just outside the village. There’s a dirt road by the bus stop. The cottage is about two hundred yards along it in some trees by the river.’
Shane looked at her in the mirror. ‘You look pretty foul,’ he said. ‘I’d give the club a miss tonight if I were you.’
She nodded and threw down the comb she was using. ‘I think I will,’ she said. ‘In fact I don’t feel like going back to the place ever again.’
He moved behind her and placed a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. ‘We’ll work something out, Jenny. Don’t worry.’ He walked to the door. ‘I’ve got a little business to attend to. It shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’
She was too tired to argue. She nodded her head dumbly at him and he closed the door gently and turned to the man he had left lying on the floor. He was on his feet, leaning against the wall, moaning softly. Shane pushed him through the door in front of him and they went downstairs together.
Frenchy was still unconscious