Passage by Night - Jack Higgins [17]
'Is that where Garcia's going to get his?' Manning said.
Pelota shook his head. 'He will not need to go that far, my friend. We have a little paradise here on earth called the Isle of Tears.'
Mother Diamond cut in sharply. 'Enough of this nonsense. This man is dangerous. I won't have him in my house. It was not in our agreement.'
Pelota's eyes flickered towards her angrily and Manning seized the lamp from the table, pulled it from its socket and plunged the room into darkness. As he jumped for the shelter of a horsehair sofa, Pelota fired twice, orange flame momentarily lighting the room.
Manning scrambled to one knee and Pelota cried, 'Better come out, Manning. You haven't a chance.'
At that moment, the door was kicked open, a great shaft of light flooding in from the corridor, picking Pelota out of the dark. He turned in alarm. As he started to raise his automatic, a bullet caught him in the centre of the forehead, lifting him back against the old woman.
As Manning got to his feet, the main light was switched on. Morrison was standing in the doorway, a revolver in one hand, Viner and Joe Howard at his shoulder.
6
The Man from CIA
When Manning came out of the commissioner's office, he found Seth and Viner sitting on a bench in the waiting room. The black man had a dressing taped to one side of his head and looked strained and ill.
He forced a smile. 'Everything okay, Harry?'
Manning nodded. 'How do you feel?'
'Not too good. Never saw what hit me. Do you think they'll get anything out of him?'
'Pelota?' Manning shook his head. 'The hospital rang through a few minutes ago. He's dead. The Commissioner and Morrison are discussing it now.'
'I still haven't been able to work out where Morrison fits into all this,' Viner said. 'Who is he, anyway?'
'Central Intelligence Agency,' Manning said. 'Apparently they've been expecting trouble in these parts for some time. They sent him down here to see what he could turn up.'
'I thought there was something special about him when I found him at police headquarters with Joe Howard.' Viner grinned wryly. 'Forgive me, Harry, but it seemed the sensible thing to do with you apparently running headlong into trouble. I hired a launch and followed you over.'
'Good thing you did,' Manning said. 'That explains my meeting with Morrison on the wharf. Presumably you followed us.'
Viner nodded. 'All the way. We were in the garden at Mother Diamond's when the shooting started. That's when we broke in.'
'Now she's a weird old bird if you like,' Manning said. 'Put a curse on me as they took her downstairs.'
'Did they get anything out of her?'
'Not a thing. They only used her place as a clearinghouse. She was in it for the money, that's all.'
At that moment, the door to the Commissioner's office opened and Morrison came out. He grinned. 'I don't know about you guys, but I could use a drink.'
'Good idea,' Manning said.
They went out into the cool night and walked towards the waterfront. When they reached the corner of Bay Street, Seth caught hold of Manning's sleeve.
'If it's okay with you, I'll go back to the boat, Harry. I don't feel so good.'
'You do that,' Manning said. 'Get some sleep. I'll be along later.'
They watched him negotiate the busy street successfully, then walked along the pavement and entered the first bar they came to. It was still early by Nassavian standards and the place was almost deserted. Morrison ordered gin slings and they sat in a secluded booth in the corner.
'What happens now?' Manning said.
Morrison shrugged. 'Looks like we've hit a brick wall. Pelota dead and our only lead on the way to the Isle of Tears, God help him.'
'What is this place?' Manning asked.
'A small island off the Cuban coast about a hundred and thirty miles south of Andros. There's a port there called San Juan. Used to be a centre for deepsea fishermen. Since the revolution, they've been forbidden to come up