Destination Unknown - Agatha Christie [81]
‘I want no obstructions,’ he said. ‘It is my duty to investigate fully.’
His face very pale, Van Heidem stepped forward.
‘If you will come this way,’ he said, ‘I will show you our reserve accommodation.’
Chapter 21
‘Oh, I feel as if I’d woken up out of a nightmare,’ sighed Hilary.
She stretched her arms wide above her head. They were sitting on the terrace of a hotel in Tangier. They had arrived there that morning by plane. Hilary went on:
‘Did it all happen? It can’t have!’
‘It happened all right,’ said Tom Betterton, ‘but I agree with you, Olive, it was a nightmare. Ah well, I’m out of it now.’
Jessop came along the terrace and sat down beside them.
‘Where’s Andy Peters?’ asked Hilary.
‘He’ll be here presently,’ said Jessop. ‘He has a bit of business to attend to.’
‘So Peters was one of your people,’ said Hilary, ‘and he did things with phosphorus and a lead cigarette case that squirted radio-active material. I never knew a thing about that.’
‘No,’ said Jessop, ‘you were both very discreet with each other. Strictly speaking, though, he isn’t one of my people. He represents the U.S.A.’
‘That’s what you meant by saying that if I actually reached Tom here, you hoped I should have protection? You meant Andy Peters.’
Jessop nodded.
‘I hope you’re not blaming me,’ said Jessop in his most owl-like manner, ‘for not providing you with the desired end to your experience.’
Hilary looked puzzled. ‘What end?’
‘A more sporting form of suicide,’ he said.
‘Oh, that!’ She shook her head incredulously. ‘That seems just as unreal as anything else. I’ve been Olive Betterton so long now that I’m feeling quite confused to be Hilary Craven again.’
‘Ah,’ said Jessop, ‘there is my friend, Leblanc. I must go and speak to him.’
He left them and walked along the terrace. Tom Betterton said quickly:
‘Do one more thing for me, will you, Olive? I call you Olive still–I’ve got used to it.’
‘Yes, of course. What is it?’
‘Walk along the terrace with me, then come back here and say that I’ve gone up to my room to lie down.’
She looked at him questioningly.
‘Why? What are you–?’
‘I’m off, my dear, while the going’s good.’
‘Off, where?’
‘Anywhere.’
‘But why?’
‘Use your head, my dear girl. I don’t know what the status is here. Tangier is an odd sort of place not under the jurisdiction of any particular country. But I know what’ll happen if I come with the rest of you to Gibraltar. The first thing that’ll happen when I get there, I shall be arrested.’
Hilary looked at him with concern. In the excitement of their escape from the Unit, she had forgotten Tom Betterton’s troubles.
‘You mean the Official Secrets Act, or whatever they call it? But you can’t really hope to get away, can you, Tom? Where can you go?’
‘I’ve told you. Anywhere.’
‘But is that feasible nowadays? There’s money and all sorts of difficulties.’
He gave a short laugh. ‘The money’s all right. It’s salted away where I can get at it under a new name.’
‘So you did take money?’
‘Of course I took money.’
‘But they’ll track you down.’
‘They’ll find it hard to do that. Don’t you realize, Olive, that the description they’ll have of me is quite unlike my present appearance. That’s why I was so keen on this plastic surgery business. That’s been the whole point, you see. To get away from England, bank some money, have my appearance altered in such a way that I’m safe for life.’
Hilary looked at him doubtfully.
‘You’re wrong,’ she said. ‘I’m sure you’re wrong. It’d be far better to go back and face the music. After all, it’s not war-time. You’d only get a short term of imprisonment, I expect. What’s the good of being hounded for the rest of your life?’
‘You don’t understand,’ he said. ‘You don’t understand the first thing about it all. Come on, let’s get going. There’s no time to lose.’
‘But how are you going to get away from Tangier?’
‘I’ll manage. Don’t you worry.’
She got up from her seat and walked with him slowly along the terrace. She felt curiously