The Thousand Faces of Night - Jack Higgins [13]
'What about Kennedy?' Marlowe said. 'Where does he fit in?'
The old man's face darkened. 'He worked for me for nearly six months. I never liked him, but good drivers are scarce in a place like this. One day last week he told me he was leaving. I offered him a little more money if he would stay, but he laughed in my face. Said he could double it working for O'Connor.' He sighed deeply. 'I think O'Connor is beginning to think he's God in these parts. It's difficult to know what to do.'
'I suppose it hasn't occurred to anybody to kick his bloody teeth in,' Marlowe said.
Papa Magellan smiled softly. 'Oh, yes, my friend. Even that has passed through my mind, but O'Connor's business has many ramifications these days. He has imported some peculiar individuals to work for him. Anything but country-bred.'
'Sounds interesting,' Marlowe said, 'but even that kind can be handled.' He stood up and stretched, and walked a few paces across the room. 'How are you going to fight him?'
Magellan smiled. 'I've already started. My other driver is a young fellow called Bill Johnson, who lives in the village. O'Connor offered him a good job at better money. Bill told him to go to hell. I've sent him into Barford today with a truck-load of fruit and vegetables. He's making the rounds of all the retail shops, offering to sell to them direct.'
'And you think that will work?'
Magellan shrugged. 'I don't see why not. Even O'Connor can't control everybody. He certainly can't intimidate every shopkeeper in Barford and district.'
Marlowe shook his head slowly. 'I don't know, Papa. It's a little too simple.'
The old man jumped up impatiently. 'It's got to work. He isn't God. He can't control everybody.'
'He can have a damn good try,' Marlowe said.
For a moment it seemed as if Magellan was going to explode with anger. He glared, eyes flashing, and then turned abruptly and went over to the fireplace. He stood looking down into the flames, shoulders heaving with suppressed passion, and Marlowe helped himself to another brandy.
After a while the old man spoke without turning round. 'It's a funny world. After the Spanish war when I returned home to Portugal, I found I was an embarrassment to the government. Franco was able to touch me even there. So I came to England. Now, after all these years, I find he can still touch me. Franco - O'Connor. There isn't any difference. It's the same pattern.'
'You're learning, Papa,' Marlowe said. 'It's the same problem, and the solution is always the same. You've got to fight. If he uses force, use more force. If he starts playing it dirty, then you've got to play it dirtier.'
'But that's horrible. We aren't living in a jungle.' Maria had come quietly back into the room and spoke from just inside the door.
Marlowe raised his glass to her and grinned cynically. 'It's life. You either survive or go under.'
Papa Magellan had turned to face them. For a moment he looked searchingly at Marlowe, and then he said, 'That job you're looking for. Why go to Birmingham? You can have one right here working in Kennedy's place.'
Marlowe swallowed the rest of his brandy and considered the idea. It was just what he was looking for. A job in a quiet country town where nobody knew him. He could lie low for a few weeks, and then return to London to pick up the money when all the fuss had died down. After that, Ireland. There were ways and means if you knew the right people.
The whole idea sounded very attractive, but there was the added complication of the trouble with O'Connor. If that got too messy the police would step in. Contact with the police was the last thing he wanted at the moment.
He put down his glass carefully. 'I don't know, Papa. I'd have to think it over.'
'What's the matter? Are you afraid?' Maria said bitingly.
Her father waved a hand at her impatiently. 'You could stay here, son. You could have Pedro's old room.'
For several moments there was a silence while they waited for him to answer. The old man was trembling with eagerness, but the girl seemed quiet and withdrawn. Marlowe looked at her steadily