Midnight Plus One

'I meant, Mr Cane, that you must find yourself in a rather equivocal position, attempting to help me as you are. Yet when I talked to Monsieur Merlin on the radio-telephone from my yacht, he told me you had asked to be assured that I wasnot guilty of this – this charge laid against me, and also that I was travelling to save my own investment, not to try to steal somebody else's. You wished to believethen that I was a moral man.' And all the steel smoothness was back in his voice.

'Morality can also be relative, Mr Maganhard. For instance, I'd say you were more moral than those goons who jumped us in Tours. You don't seem to be trying to kill anybody – but it seems somebody's trying to kill you. I don't have to believe you're particularly moral over taxes to think I'm on the right side in helping you here.'

'You also believed Monsieur Merlin over the other charge! ' For a moment, the harshness in his voice surprised me. Then I got it: anybody who believed he was such a stiff, upright character as he did, would naturally take the old fate-worse-than-death attitude on rape. He'd believe it was the ultimate crime. Probably that was why he hadn't been able to bring himself even to use the name: he'd just said 'this charge'.

I wondered if whoever had framed him hadn't had a sense of humour. Among other talents.

I said: 'Merlin's a good lawyer – and he said it was a frame. Anyway, I know something about rape charges.'

Harvey turned and said cheerfully: 'You do? Tell us more.'

I said: 'For one thing, you don't need witnesses: nobody expects witnesses to a rape charge. All you need to know is that a man was alone in a likely place at a likely time, and have some girl complain he was raping her there and then. If you can get her to sleep with him, you can even get some medical evidence. But either way, it always ends up just her word against his. And even if it fails, or never comes to court, a smear sticks.'

Harvey said softly: 'And I thought you only knew about machine-guns.'

Miss Jarman said: 'Howdo you know this, Mr Cane?'

'I did it to somebody once. Oh, it was quite moral, really. It happened in the war. We used it to get rid of a German civil official in Paris – he was being too efficient. It never went to court, of course, and it wouldn't have worked if the German Army hadn't wanted an excuse to get him recalled: they found him too efficient, too. So we gave them the excuse.'

'What happened to the girl?' she asked.

'We got her out to the country, in case there was an enquiry.'

'I didn't mean that,' she said coldly.

'I know you didn't. Let's say she was fighting a war and knew it.'

Maganhard interrupted impatiently: 'I understand all that, Mr Cane. You were telling me why you believed the charge against me was false.'

'I was.' I fumbled a cigarette out of the pack on the seat beside me; Harvey reached across with his lighter. 'Yes – that still leaves a couple of questions. Why should anybody frame you?'

He thought it over. 'It makes my movements more difficult. Particularly in France, of course. But it is an extraditable offence that I am accused of, so I might be arrested anywhere. If I were in jail, then something like – like what we are trying to avoid would be more easy. Obviously.'

I grinned sourly: he hadn't given anything away. Then I got serious again. 'But the girl didn't scream until you'd left France. That sounds like a pretty clear attempt just to scare you off, without risking a trial. Come to that, why weren't you tried in your absence? You can be, under French law.'

'Monsieur Merlin stopped an attempt to do that. I believe the prosecution weren't pressing for it.'

'It sounds as if they weren't very happy about their own frame – if they thought it mightn't stand up even without you there. Now let's have the basic question: why didn't you fight the charge? If it was a frame, you could get it knocked flat. You'd still have a bit of a smear – but now you've got thatand you can't come and go freely.'

'I thought you'd answered that question yourself, Mr Cane.' He sounded slightly amused, if that was the right word for a very small change in tone. 'You said that it would eventually come to being my word against the woman's. I don't believe any court in the world is infallible; they might have made a mistake.'

'Mr Maganhard, I wasn't talking about going to court; it would never get that far.' I sounded puzzled; Iwas puzzled. I hadn't expected to find myself lecturing a man with a home-made million on the facts of legal life.

He said: 'I'm not sure I understand.' His voice had gone stiff again.

I said: The disadvantage of a rape frame is the same as its advantage: it all depends on the evidence of one woman. If the woman's really a phoney, then she's been" hired. And if she can be bought once, she can be bought twice. So she changes her identification of you – and no case.'

'I would regard that as wasted money.' The voice was as rigid as cast iron now.

Harvey and I glanced at each other. He smiled briefly and went on leaving the work to me.

'Look, Mr Maganhard,' I said carefully. This would have saved you money. Say you'd given me the job of going to see this woman a month ago. If I thought she'd been bought, I'd have bought her back for a few thousand more. The whole cost – hers and mine – would be about a quarter of what you're paying for this trip. And no risk. Strictly as a businessman, how does that appeal to you?'

'Nobody is strictly a businessman, Mr Cane. One must take the moral question. And the morality of this____________________'

'Morality? Who's talking about morality?' I found I was shouting, and lowered the volume. 'We're talking about a frame-up: where's the morality of that? And if you want to do the moral thing, why didn't you stand up in court and fight it?'

'Forgive me, Mr Cane, but I have been thinking about this far longer than you have.' He was calm and very sure. 'Since I am innocent, I could gain nothing by going to court. I would merely risk the court making a mistake and finding me guilty. And I will not fight bribes with bribes; I do not see why I should pay for justice that should be mine by right. Thisis a moral question.'

For a long time there was nothing but the gentle zoom of the engine and the wind rush along the windows. Then Harvey said: 'Well, it's a good way to stay rich: count your money with glue on your fingers.'

'Mr Lovell – don't you think there might be a question of right and wrong in how the rich spend their money, as well as how the poor do?'

Harvey looked at me; I lifted an eyebrow back at him, and then fiddled the mirror to catch Maganhard's face. He was leaning forward slightly, and frowning – slightly – at the back of Harvey's neck. But I was beginning to learn that his slightness was only skin deep.

Harvey said: 'Mr M. – how the rich spend their money has never been a really pressing problem with me. I'll just say you've got a point of view there.'

Maganhard's face twitched briefly into what could have been a smile, scowl, sneer, or almost anything else. But suddenly I thought I could see, under the square solid face, the lean Scots preacher thundering cold hellfire and penny-wise salvation from the stone pulpit.

'He's got a point of view,' I growled. 'He may lose an empire, but he's got a point of view.'

TEN

After that nobody said anything much. The sky clouded over again with lumpy grey clouds that didn't look as if they were going to rain, but were just wanting to shut off the sun. The whole afternoon tasted of yesterday's beer.

Themarc wore off, leaving me feeling dull and sour, and my driving reactions slowed down; I let my driving slow down, too. Beside me, Harvey gave me an occasional new road number or direction to follow; that apart, he was slumped back staring out at the roadside winding past. Maganhard and the girl did nothing but keep some weight on the rear wheels.