Czechs and naturally I wasn't taking any chances by showing my hand—not with her around.'
'How did you find out for certain, then, that I was playing the same game as yourself?'
'Your suddenly quitting Rhodes for Crete gave me the idea that you might have got on to something here; so I followed. I got in yesterday evening, but I couldn't trace you; so I came out here this morning. I had a hunch that if I sat around for a while, you might show up. You did, and when I saw you stalking those two Czechs, that told me for sure that you were not on their side but on mine.'
'Well, where do we go from here?' Robbie asked.
'We've got to have a long talk: compare notes. Two heads are always better than one in this game. If we argue round all the possible theories we can think of, we may get somewhere, That is, unless you've already solved this riddle?'
'No; I wish to God I had.'
T take it, er . . . well, to call a rose by any other name, Julie Thevanaz is still with you?'
'Yes, she's in a car we've hired, down on the road about a mile away, waiting for me.'
The American sat silent for a few moments, then he said: 'Look, friend. I've no wish to butt in on your private life, and I've no doubt you trust her. But that's no reason why I should. I've no intention of discussing this business in front of her, and before we go any further I want your word that you won't let on to her that I'm anything but an American playboy.'
Robbie shook his head. 'I'm afraid I can't give it. Not if we are going to work together. That would mean my leaving her for hours, perhaps days, and I wouldn't do that without giving her a proper explanation. You see, she's been absolutely marvellous as far as I am concerned. You are right about my having killed Cepicka and being wanted by the police. Without her help, I doubt if I could have kept out of their clutches for twenty-four hours, so-'
'Since you admit to having killed that guy,' Mahogany Brown cut in, 'as I see it, there is only one way you can beat the rap. That is by helping me get the better of the Czechs. If we can pin the goods on them, it is they who will be up before the Judge; then, whatever actually occurred between you and Cepicka, you can plead that it was all part of the job, and put yourself in the clear by pleading self-defence.'
His proposal had exactly the same object as that by which Stephanie had urged Robbie ten days before at Argos to try to save himself, and which they now hoped to achieve by luring Barak to Crete. But Barak might not take the bait, and here was a second life-line. Robbie was desperately tempted to snatch at it but he felt that, after all Stephanie had done for him and with all she had come to mean to him, he could not possibly deceive her in this way. He was about to say so when the American, who had been watching the struggle plainly to be seen on his features, said:
'It's no good making promises unless you mean to keep them, and it's clear that this woman's got right under your skin. But say, now, could you honestly agree to this? Tell her that I'm C.I.A., and that we're going to work together; but don't disclose to her any information I may give you and keep her absolutely in the dark about any action that we may decide to take.'
'Yes,' said Robbie, 'that's fair enough. I'll agree to that.'
'Right, then, let's get moving. Since she's waiting for you, we'll have to put off our talk, because it's got to be a long one. I take it you are staying in Heraklion?' As the American asked the question, they headed for the track that led down the far side of the hill.
'Yes,' Robbie replied.
'Where about?'
That's my business.'
Mahogany Brown grinned. 'Afraid I'd make an unwelcome third in your love nest, eh? You needn't worry. It's you I'm interested in at the moment; not Julie, or whatever you care to call her. When I've left you, tell her that we are going to work together and that you are going to have dinner with me this evening at the Heraklion Club, so as to swop information. It's in King Constantine Avenue, so you'll have no difficulty in finding it. The premises and the cooking are not exactly k la Ritz, but they give you an edible meal there, and at the Candia Palace, where I'm staying, guests have to eat out. Be there at seven thirty and I'll be setting up the drinks.'
'How did you get out here?' Robbie asked.
'I hired a motor bike. It's down there among the bushes, just off the road.'
They came to the stream and crossed it in turn on the donkey. As they were walking along the path on its far side, the American said: 'Remember, as far as Julie is concerned, we've met again by chance. I don't want any talk of this and that while she is round. I'll just say that, after leaving Rhodes, I decided to fly down from Athens for a few days in Crete and came out this morning to take a look at Ayia Triada. Later, when you have her alone, you can tell her I'm C.I.A. That way she'll have no chance to ask me any questions to which I'd be put to the bother of thinking up lies for answers. Have you made any plans for lunch?'
'We meant to lunch at the Tourist Pavilion at Phaestos, but I spotted those two Czechs at Gortyne and followed them here.'
Mahogany Brown glanced at his wrist-watch. 'It's only just half after one, and Phaestos is less than six kilometres from here. There's nowhere else within miles where we'd get anything better than a slice of tough goat, olives and sour cheese, so we'd better
make for there. I'm told it's worth seeing, too.'
Two minutes later, they came out on the road. Stephanie was still sitting patiently at the wheel of the car. The moment Mahogany Brown came within sight of her, his personality changed back to that of the irrepressibly cheerful young man they had known in Rhodes. Raising his hand, he gave a loud cry.
'Hello! Hello! What d'you know! Just fancy seeing you again. Say, Julie, you're prettier than ever. What a bit of luck for me running into old Max here, while I was giving the once-over to those ruins. I've got a motor bike somewhere round in these bushes. Soon as I can find the darn thing we're all going on to Phaestos, and lunch there is on me.'
Stephanie had enjoyed dancing with him in Rhodes and had encouraged him, not with any view to making Robbie jealous but because his gay, inconsequential chatter helped to keep both her mind and Robbie's off the serious developments that might arise at any time through the police learning Robbie's real identity. Now she was far from pleased that he should have turned up again, since he might prove very difficult to throw off, and their situation in Crete was very different from what it had been in Rhodes. Nevertheless, she returned his greeting with a smile and called out: 'Why, Henry, what a lovely surprise to find you here.'
Henry found his motor cycle. Stephanie turned the car round and ten minutes later they were winding their way up the hill on which stood the ruins of Phaestos.
The situation of the Palace had been greatly superior to that of Knossos, as the hill that it crowned lay between two ranges of mountains, and it had been built in a series of terraces looking out on the long valley between them. The Tourist Pavilion was above the highest of these terraces; so while they ate a pleasant lunch on the shady verandah, they had the ruins just below them and could admire the splendid twenty-mile-long vista.
Over the meal, they talked of the international situation. The American said that he had found Athens almost empty of foreigners. The tourist season, which meant so much to Greece and which should now be in full swing, had been ruined, the Stock Markets had taken another plunge after the breakdown of the Delhi Conference, and many rich Greeks were leaving the capital, either for places in the country or the islands in the Aegean, because they thought that would give them a better chance of survival in the event of war. But he was still of the opinion that there would not be war.