Hell Is Too Crowded - Jack Higgins [34]
Soames mounted the slippery gangplank and Brady followed her. "And who the hell might you be?" the watchman demanded ungraciously.
"I'm a friend of the captain's," she said. "I must see him before you sail. It's very urgent."
"No skin off my nose." The watchman shrugged. "He's in his cabin. You'd better hurry, though. We're casting-off in twenty minutes."
The decks bustled with activity as men worked busily, battening down hatch-covers and making ready to sail. Soames threaded her way through them, ignoring the ribald comments and coarse laughter, and mounted a companionway to the next deck.
At the entrance to the captain's cabin, she hesitated and turned to Brady. "What now?"
"Tell him you've changed your mind," Brady said. "I'll handle it from there."
When she opened the door, Skiros was sitting at a desk in one corner and he swivelled to face them, a pen in one hand. He was large and fat, the great pendulous stomach straining against the buttons of his shabby uniform. His face with its multiple chins gave an impression of jollity and good-humour that was belied by the sharp cunning in the little pig eyes.
He looked surprised and when he spoke, his English was good with just the hint of accent. "My dear professor, what brings you back so soon?"
Soames managed a smile. "Something came up, Skiros," she said. "Something important. I'm afraid I'm going to have to call our little deal off."
The smile remained fixed firmly in position, but his eyes became cold and hard. "But that is impossible, my friend. The bargain has been made. You have my money, I have the girl, so everybody should be satisfied."
"Not quite," Brady interrupted calmly. "The professor made a mistake. The merchandise wasn't hers to sell." He took the bundle of banknotes from his pocket and tossed them on to the desk.
Skiros laughed until his eyes almost disappeared between folds of flesh. "Your friend is really very funny," he said to Soames. "Does he expect me to give up the girl in exchange for what I paid for her? That would leave me with no profit on the transaction. In my country we do not do business in such a way."
"In my country we're not used to this kind of transaction so you'll have to excuse my bad manners." Brady produced the .38 from his raincoat pocket and thumbed back the hammer. "This thing has a hair trigger, fat man," he said. "I could easily have an accident. I probably will if you don't produce that girl in about ten seconds flat."
The Greek's eyes became round pieces of stone. "You are on my ship, surrounded by my crew," he said. "And they usually do as I tell them."
"In case you haven't noticed it, you've put on weight lately," Brady said calmly. "I'd find it difficult to miss."
"If I were you, I'd do as he says," Soames put in quickly. "He means every word, believe me."
Skiros sighed, put down his pen and took a bunch of keys from the drawer of his desk. "As always, I bow to your perspicacity, my friend. You will find, however, that the terms of our next little transaction will require some adjusting, if only to recompense me for the loss of profit and considerable annoyance I have suffered over this affair."
He crossed to the door to the inner cabin and unlocked it. "Come out!" he said sharply and stood to one side.
Anne Dunning appeared in the doorway and stood there, her shoulders bowed in defeat. Her face was shadowed so that the bones stood out in relief, the eyes deep-set in their sockets and the hand that pushed back a tendril of dark hair, trembled slightly.
Then she saw Brady, the shock was almost physical. She gave a long shuddering sigh and lurched forward into his arms.
Her slender body started to shake uncontrollably and he held her close with one hand and said, "Hang on, Anne. There's nothing to worry about any more. I'm going to get you out of here."
She nodded several times, unable to answer him and he glared coldly at