“It is a long time since we have met,” he said, watching her slip off her wet mac. “But how did you know I lived here?”
She moved with flowing grace to an armchair and sat on the edge of it. In her black cheongsam with the white silk pants showing, her black hair oiled with a lotus bud behind her ear, she made an entrancing picture.
“I want to know where Erica Olsen is,” she said softly.
Wolfert gaped at her. For a moment he didn’t think he had heard aright, then sudden alarm flowed through him.
“What do you mean? I... I don’t understand.”
“The woman in the American hospital. She has been moved,” Pearl said, her black almond-shaped eyes glittering at him. “You work for Dorey. My people must know where she is. You must tell me.”
Wolfert heaved himself to his feet. His fat face was flushed. He pointed a shaking finger at the door.
“Get out! I won’t have you here! Get out at once or I will call the police!”
She stared at him for a long moment, her face expressionless, then she opened her handbag and took out five glossy photographs.
“Please look at these. You may not wish your friends to have them. I could also send them to Mr. Dorey. Please look carefully at them.”
Wolfert gulped. He snatched the prints from her hand, examined them, turned white and shuddered. What he had never realised before was how disgustingly fat he had become. His nakedness revolted him. The blocked out face of the naked woman with him, he knew would be Pearl.
“I have no time to waste,” Pearl said. “I must know where this woman is. Where is she?”
Dropping the prints on the floor with a shudder of disgust, Wolfert said, “I don’t know. I know she was at the American hospital. If they have moved her, then I don’t know.”
“You must find out.”
“How can I?” Wolfert’s white face was flabby with fear. “Dorey wouldn’t tell me. You can see that? Of course, he wouldn’t tell me.”
“Then you must help me to find out.” She took from her handbag a small, flat box. “You will use this. It is a limpet microphone. All you have to do is to fix it under Dorey’s desk. We will do the rest. If it isn’t in place by tomorrow morning at ten o’clock at the latest, then these pictures will be circulated. I have many copies. You may keep those to remind you how urgent this is.”
She got up, slipped into her mac and quietly left the apartment.
Wolfert, his fiat body cold, stood motionless, his eyes on the box she had left him.
At the junction of the autoroute leading to Ville d’Avray, Smernoff reduced speed. It was now raining hard again and there was very little traffic.
Malik said, “All right... now.”
Smernoff stopped the ambulance.
“Get out, both of you,” Malik said, a snub-nosed automatic appearing in his hand. He waved the barrel first at Ginny and then at Girland.
“Well, thanks for the ride,” Girland said and opened the double doors of the ambulance. He paused to regard Malik, “Sure you don’t want to do a deal? It would be money well spent.”
“Get out!” Malik said angrily.
Ginny had already scrambled out and was standing miserably in the rain. Shrugging, Girland joined her. Malik slammed the doors shut and the ambulance took off again. In a few seconds its red taillights had disappeared.
“You should be ashamed of yourself!” Ginny exclaimed, her young face indignant and rain-wet. “Do you call yourself a man?”
“My mother thought so otherwise she wouldn’t have named me Mark,” Girland said lightly. “Damn this rain! Looks as if we are going to have a long walk back.”
“But aren’t you going to do something? This woman is being kidnapped! You’ve got to do something!”
“You suggest something,” Girland said in a bored voice. He grimaced as rain began to trickle inside his shirt collar. “I’m getting wet.”
“Stop a car and follow them!”
“Yes, that’s an idea.” Girland regarded her with a smile. “Do you think if we caught up with them we could do much? They have an automatic rifle and revolvers.”
Ginny seemed as if she was going to hit him.
“Then stop a car and tell the police!” she cried, stamping her foot on the sodden grass.
“All right... all right. Let’s stop a car then.”
Girland turned to stare down the long straight autoroute. He saw in the distance, approaching headlights. He began waving. The car roared past, sending a fine spray of rain and mud over him.
“The trouble with the French is they don’t care to stop on a dark road,” he explained. “But let’s try again. Here comes quite a fast job.” He moved slightly so that he was well in the centre of the first lane. “If this guy kills me, I hope you will send flowers.”
Headlights flashed on and Girland, ready to jump back to safety began to wave. Tyres screamed, the car slid into a skid, came out of it, then came to a stop a few metres beyond where Girland was standing.
“Well, at least he’s stopped,” Girland said. “I’ll talk to him.”
He ran towards the car which was now pulling off the road onto the grass verge.
Ginny, her white coat plastered against her by the rain, ran after him.
Jack Kerman leaned out of the car’s window and grinned at Girland.
“I was expecting them to drop you. Get in. The bleeps are coming through beautifully.”
Girland opened the rear door and bundled the girl into the back seat. Then he ran around the car and got in the front passenger’s seat. As Kerman sent the car shooting down the road, Girland leaned forward and examined the radar screen.
“Hey! Take it easy,” he said sharply. “They’re stopping. They’re probably changing cars. We don’t want to catch up with them.”
Kerman slowed. A car with a blasting horn, snarled past them so he again pulled off the road onto the grass verge.
After another look at the screen, Girland twisted around in his seat and smiled at Kerman.
“Long time no see,” he said and gripped Kerman’s hand. “So the old fox still has no confidence in me. He has to stick you on my tail.”
“Looks as if he had a reason,” Kerman said dryly. “You could have lost her.”
“That’s a fart,” Girland said, lighting a cigarette. “Remember Malik who we thought we had left for dead? He’s handling this. Believe it or not, he got out of that hell hole the same way as you got me out.”
Kerman whistled.
“I’ll have to alert Dorey. You sure it is Malik?”
“Come on, Jack, how could anyone mistake that big ape?”
The bleep on the scanner began to move again.
“Suppose you drive while I talk to Dorey?” Kerman said.
Girland jumped out, ran around while Kerman slid into the passenger’s seat. In a moment or so Girland had the car moving along the AutoRoute while Kerman called Dorey on the telephone.
Girland listened to the one sided conversation and grimaced. When Kerman put down the receiver, Girland said, “I bet the old goat laid an egg.”
“He’s pretty livid,” Kerman returned. “He’s holding you responsible. He wants to know if you want help. Do you want me to alert O’Halloran’s boys?”
“If he asks that, then he still leaves this to me,” Girland said sending the car storming down the rain swept road. “Well, that’s a point in my favour. No, tell him I can handle it.” He glanced at Kerman. “You coming along?”
“What do you think?”
Girland grinned.
“Okay, then tell him we can handle it.”
Kerman spoke to Dorey again. When he hung up, he said, “He doesn’t seem to like it. It’s my bet he’ll turn O’Halloran’s toughs loose.”
“Well, they have got to find us first,” Girland said.