Exocet - Jack Higgins [62]
He said, 'But there is, my love. Tomorrow I fly back to the Argentine direct from here.'
'But I don't understand.'
'From Lancy. There's a plane putting down with war supplies. A Hercules transport. You could come with me.'
And she could, that was the truth of it. It would be so easy. At that moment, she was closer to telling him the truth than she had ever been.
* * *
When Villiers went in the front door of the bungalow he called, 'Harvey, where are you?'
There was no reply, but a radio sounded faintly and rather eerily from somewhere at the back of the house. Strangely enough he recognised it. A nostalgic record. Al Bowlly, the famous crooner of the thirties, singing Moonlight on the Highway.
The bedroom door stood ajar and Villiers paused on the threshold. Jackson sat at a table on the opposite side of the bed, a small radio playing beside him.
'Heh, Harvey,' Villiers said. 'What in the hell are you up to?'
And then he moved close enough to see that Jackson was tied to the chair. His cheeks were badly blistered, probably from repeated applications of a cigarette lighter flame. There was a bullet wound just above his right ear, small calibre as there was no exit wound, and the sightless eyes stared into the wall.
Villiers slumped down on the bed and sat there looking at him. Aden, the Oman, Borneo, Ireland. So much action, so much dying and Harvey Jackson always the indestructable one. And to go this way, at the end of things.
The door slammed against the wall behind him. His hand was already groping for the butt of the Walther as he turned and found Stavrou and two armed men facing him.
'A tough bastard,' Stavrou said. 'I couldn't get a thing out of him.'
'Yes, you train them well in the SAS, Major Villiers,' Felix Donner said. 'I'll give you that.'
* * *
Montera and Gabrielle were sitting by the fire talking together in low voices when the door opened and Donner entered. He closed it and came and stood with his back to the fire.
'This is nice. Damned cold out tonight.'
'Have you been far?' Montera asked politely.
'Far enough. You see I had a phone call early this evening from a friend in Paris. He'd been doing some checking for me on your girlfriend here.'
'What in the hell are you talking about?' Montera said angrily.
'Yes, Mademoiselle Legrand, or would you prefer Mrs Gabrielle Villiers, or didn't you know she was married?'
'Divorced,' Montera said. 'Your information would appear to be hugely out of date.'
Gabrielle sat frozen, waiting for the axe to fall. Donner said, 'Yes, but who was Mr Villiers, or should I say Major Villiers? Quite a man. Grenadier Guards and 22 SAS, would you believe? When my friend read his description to me over the phone a lot of interesting little pieces fell into place.'
He crossed to the door and opened it, and Stavrou pushed his prisoner through. 'Colonel Raul Montera, meet Major Anthony Villiers. I'd say you two have got a hell of a lot in common.'
14
Two of Roux's men stood against the wall holding Armalite rifles. Stavrou gave Villiers another push further into the room and tossed the Walther PPK across to Donner who caught it neatly.
'Found that strapped to his leg above the ankle.'
Donner turned to Montera. 'You see, a real pro. Of course, you do realise, colonel, that this raises a very big question as to sweet Gabrielle's role in this whole affair. I get the feeling she's not been strictly honest with you. I mean, the only possible explanation is that she's working hard for the other side.'
Montera said to her calmly, 'Is it true?'
'Yes,' she said.
'Holy Mother!' he said. 'I see it all now. It started in London, didn't it? Everything so convenient. And then Paris and the Bois.'
Her eyes were hot, burning. She wanted to speak and couldn't. She stood there staring at him. She opened her mouth, but no sound came.
It was Villiers who spoke for her. 'Try and understand, Montera. She has a half-brother, a helicopter pilot, killed flying