‘Avila's parting present. I know it's illegal, but we should get two or three thousand pounds for them in Belem with no trouble. I'll go halves with you and we'll go home in style.’
He replaced them carefully. ‘Strange,’ he said. ‘To live as he did and in the end, to die so bravely.’
I thought he might take it further, attempt to touch on what had remained unspoken between us, but he obviously thought better of it.
‘I've got a letter to write. I'll see you later.’ He patted me on the arm awkwardly and slipped away.
I had not heard her approach and yet she was there behind me, like a presence sensed.
She said, ‘I've just been talking to the captain. He tells me there's a boat due out of Belem for New York the day after we get in.’
‘That's good,’ I said. ‘You'll be able to fly to California from there. Still make that test of yours at M.G.M. on time.’
The horizon was purple and gold, touched with fire. She said, ‘I've just seen Mannie. He tells me you've had a letter drafting you into the R.A.F.’
‘That's right.’
‘Are you pleased?’
I shrugged. ‘If there's going to be a war, and it looks pretty certain, then it's the place to be.’
‘Can I write to you? Have you got an address?’
‘If you like. I've been posted to a place called Biggin Hill. A fighter squadron. And my mother would always pass letters on.’
‘That's good.’
She stood there, waiting for me to make some sort of move and I didn't. Finally she said hesitantly, ‘If you'd like to come down later, Neil. You know my cabin.’
I shook my head. ‘I don't think there would be much point.’
He was between us still, always would be. She knew it and so did I, She started to walk away, hesitated and turned towards me.
‘All right, I loved him a little, for whatever that's worth, and I'm not ashamed of it. In spite of everything, he was the most courageous man I've ever known — a hero — and that's how I'll always remember him.’
It sounded like a line from a bad play and he was worth more than that.
‘He wasn't any hero, Joanna,’ I said. ‘He was a bastard, right from the beginning, only he was a brave bastard and probably the finest pilot I'm ever likely to meet. Let that be an end of it.’
She walked away, stiff and angry, but somehow it didn't seem to matter any more. Hannah would have approved and that was the main thing.
I turned back to the rail beyond the trees, the sun slipped behind the final edge of things and night fell.
A Biography of Jack Higgins
Jack Higgins is the pseudonym of Harry Patterson (b. 1929), the New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy thrillers, including The Eagle Has Landed and The Wolf at the Door. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Patterson grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As a child, Patterson was a voracious reader and later credited his passion for reading with fueling his creative drive to be an author. His upbringing in Belfast also exposed him to the political and religious violence that characterized the city at the time. At seven years old, Patterson was caught in gunfire while riding a tram, and later was in a Belfast movie theater when it was bombed. Though he escaped from both attacks unharmed, the turmoil in Northern Ireland would later become a significant influence in his books, many of which prominently feature the Irish Republican Army. After attending grammar school and college in Leeds, England, Patterson joined the British Army and served two years in the Household Cavalry, from 1947 to 1949, stationed along the East German border. He was considered an expert sharpshooter.
Following his military service, Patterson earned a degree in sociology from the London School of Economics, which led to teaching jobs at two English colleges. In 1959, while teaching at James Graham College, Patterson began writing novels, including some under the alias James Graham. As his popularity grew, Patterson left teaching to write full time. With the 1975 publication of the international blockbuster The Eagle Has Landed, which was later made into a movie of the same name starring Michael Caine, Patterson became a regular fixture on bestseller lists. His books draw heavily from history and include prominent figures — such as John Dillinger — and often center around significant events from such conflicts as World War II, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Patterson lives in Jersey, in the Channel Islands.