Passage by Night - Jack Higgins [11]
'He was staying at the Old Ship Tavern. Been here for maybe two weeks. Small, middle-aged man with a walkingstick.
Manning nodded. 'I remember him. Limped badly on his right foot.'
'It wasn't surprising,' Howard said. 'He was lucky to have one. A Castro agent tossed a bomb at him in Vera Cruz a couple of months back. Real name was Dr Miguel de Rodriguez, a prominent Cuban refugee. He'd been having too much success in the Central American states whipping up opposition to the Castro regime.'
'What was he doing here?'
'Recuperating quietly, which explains the assumed name. Nassau informed me as a matter of course when he came in. I didn't know he was leaving last night. Obviously someone else did.'
'And planted a bomb in the baggage compartment?'
'Easily enough done. The Walrus was moored out there beyond the point on her own for several hours after dark. Hard luck on the other passengers, but then I suppose these people never give that side of it a thought.'
Manning found that his hands were trembling. He lit a cigarette and stood at the window. 'What happens now?'
'The Commissioner wants me in Nassau right away. With luck I should be back by this evening. I'll let you know if anything turns up.' He moved to the door and hesitated. 'She was a nice girl, Harry. I'm sorry! Damned sorry!'
The door closed softly behind him and Manning stayed there looking out across the harbour for a while, thinking about it all, and then he reached for his cap and went downstairs.
The bar was deserted and he went out on the terrace and found Viner having a late breakfast on his own. The German snapped his fingers for the waiter as Manning joined him.
'What about some breakfast, Harry?'
Manning shook his head. 'Just coffee.'
The waiter brought another cup, filled it and retired. Viner continued with his meal, obviously embarrassed, and Manning lit a cigarette and looked over the water at the dim bulk of Andros shimmering in the heat haze.
Viner finished eating and carefully fitted a cigarette into an elegant silver holder. 'Your coffee's getting cold.'
Manning emptied his cup and helped himself to some more. 'Where's Morrison? I was supposed to be taking him out at the crack of dawn.'
'Under the circumstances, he didn't think you'd be interested. Decided to take a run across to Nassau. Joe gave him a lift in the police launch.'
'Did he tell you about Rodriguez?'
The German nodded. 'It doesn't make sense, Harry. To kill a man they think their enemy is one thing, but this sort of affair can only do their cause harm.'
'Maybe they want to put a little fear into all of us,' Manning said. 'Show us they mean business. I think Joe was wrong about the way they planted the bomb, though.'
Viner looked surprised. 'I thought his theory seemed pretty sound.'
'So did I at first, but I've been thinking about it. Jimmy Walker always supervised loading himself. He had a thing about it ever since one of his shipping clerks tried to run a little heroin into Vera Cruz and Jimmy nearly took the drop for it. And he always locked that luggage compartment. He'd have noticed if anyone had tampered with that door.'
'Then the bomb must have been taken on board in someone's luggage. Probably by Rodriguez himself.'
Manning nodded. 'Whoever it was wouldn't know a thing about it. Probably planted at their hotel. Lots of people would have the opportunity. Chambermaids, waiters and so on. I shouldn't have thought Rodriguez would have fallen for a thing like that, though. A man in his position only survives by being careful.'
'Obviously he wasn't careful enough,' Viner said dryly. 'But even if the bomb was planted in another passenger's luggage, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a culprit. We could start by checking on all staff taken on by the hotels in question during the past fortnight.'
'A good point,' Manning said. 'Was anyone on that list staying here?'
Viner shook his head. 'We know Rodriguez was at the Old Ship Tavern. We could make some enquiries there for a start. You know, the owner, Bill Lumley, as