Sheba. Part 38

IT WAS QUIET in the garden and a slight breeze lifted coolly across Kane's cheek as he crouched behind a bush a few yards from the front door. He moved forward out of the shadows and mounted the steps to the terrace, followed by Jordan and the Somali.

The door opened to his touch and he walked inside, sub-machine gun ready. The light was on, and from upstairs, there came the sound of faint movement.

He turned to speak to Jordan and a door clicked open on one side of the hall. An Arab servant in white robes entered, carrying a suitcase. As he saw them, his eyes widened into saucers. Before he could cry out, Jamal took a quick pace forward and slammed his fist against the side of the man's jaw. He slumped to the ground without a cry, the case slipping from his grasp.

A voice called impatiently from upstairs and Muller appeared on the landing. 'For G.o.d's sake, hurry, boy!' he shouted, and then he saw Kane.

He pulled a Luger from his pocket and fired one wild shot that ricocheted from the wall, causing them all to duck instinctively, and then he turned back into his study and slammed the door.

Kane moved cautiously up to the landing and flattened himself against the wall. He reached over quickly and tried the door. It was locked. Jordan and Jamal crossed to the other side and they waited. Muller made no sound.

Kane nodded to Jamal and the Somali moved forward silently, fired a long burst that shattered the lock, and kicked the door open. He jumped back to the shelter of the wall, but Muller made no move. After a moment, Kane peered round the corner into the room. It was empty, and in the far wall, another door stood open.

It gave on to a back stairway and he led the way, moving cautiously down into the darkness. The door at the bottom was closed, and when he opened it, he found himself standing in the garden.

'Do you think he's still there?' Jordan whispered.

Kane nodded. 'He must be, I locked the gate, and he's too small to get over that wall without help.'

A bullet sang through the bushes and dunted against the wall a few feet away. They crouched down and Jamal moved in beside them.

'Don't be a fool, Muller,' Kane called. There are three of us and we're well armed. You don't stand a chance.'

Somewhere, a bird, disturbed by the unaccustomed noise, lifted through the bushes, and there was an uneasy fluttering from the doves that perched on the roof of the house nightly.

'We'd better split up,' Kane told Jordan softly. 'This isn't getting us anywhere. But for G.o.d's sake, don't start any indiscriminate firing. You might get me instead of Muller.'

Jordan grinned. 'I'll be careful.'

Jamal moved away to the right and Kane started to crawl forward. The ground was wet with dew and he got to his feet and stood in the shadow of a fig tree, acutely aware of every sound. And then another shot was fired and Jordan cried, 'He's making for the gate, Kane! Head him off!'

Kane moved forward quickly and came out on to the path as Muller appeared some twenty or thirty feet away. The German ran to the gate and vainly tried to open it as Jordan emerged from the bushes and joined Kane.

The German turned to face them, despair in his eyes. He held the Luger close against his right thigh and Kane lifted the sub-machine gun. 'Don't be a fool.'

Muller raised the Luger and fired, and Jordan seemed to catch his breath sharply and stumbled sideways into

Kane. Muller raised the Luger again, and Jamal stepped out of the bushes and fired a burst that drove the German back against the gate.

Jordan's face was twisted with pain and Kane could feel blood trickling across his hand as he supported him. He called to Jamal and the Somali lifted Jordan in his arms and carried him back towards the house.

Kane was about to follow, when Muller groaned. He hesitated and then walked down to the gate and dropped to one knee beside the German. His eyes were open and glazed with pain, and his chest seemed completely shattered.

Kane leaned down and said urgently, 'Muller, can you hear me? Where are the others?'

But he was wasting his time. Muller's eyeb.a.l.l.s retracted and blood erupted from his mouth. His head fell to one side and he lay still.

Kane stayed there for a moment, thinking, and then he dragged the body off the path into the bushes and unlocked the gate. He went back up the path to the house.

Jamal had stripped Jordan's shirt from his body. The bullet had caught him beneath the left breast, but a close examination showed that it had been deflected by a rib, scoring a deep groove in the flesh, which bled freely, but was not otherwise dangerous.

As Jamal tore the shirt into strips and quickly bandaged the wound, Jordan opened his eyes. 'Don't worry about me,' he said. 'You've still got Skiros to think about.'

'After we've got you to a doctor,' Kane said.

As Jamal picked him up, the young geologist fainted, and Kane led the way down through the garden to the truck. The Somali eased Jordan into the back seat, then climbed in beside Kane.

As they drove away, the surrounding houses were quiet, and Kane reflected grimly that it was a fortunate thing that, in Dahrein, gunfire in the night was not so unique as to arouse comment.

He braked to a halt outside the hotel and Jamal followed him in, Jordan cradled in his arms. The foyer was deserted and a Hindu night-clerk dozed behind the desk. Kane grabbed him by the shoulder and brought him rudely awake.

'Where is Skiros?'

The Hindu spread his hands. 'He is away, Sahib. He has been away for several days now.'

The man was lying, Kane was sure of that, but for the moment, he let it go. 'Is Doctor Hamid still living here?'

When the clerk nodded, Kane went on, 'Give me a key for a room on the first floor and get him out of bed. Tell him it's urgent.'

The clerk moved round the desk, handed him a key, and went upstairs ahead of them. Kane quickly checked the number of the key, located the room and opened the door.

Jamal laid Jordan gently on the bed and stood back. Jordan's face was beaded with sweat, and as Kane anxiously examined him, the door opened and a thin-faced, greying Arab entered. He wore a dressing-gown and carried a black bag. He nodded briefly to Kane, pushed him out of the way, and leaned over Jordan.

He straightened up and opened his bag. 'Looks worse than it is,' he said in precise English. 'He's a lucky man, though.'

Til leave him with you, then,' Kane said. Til be back later to see how he is.'

Doctor Hamid nodded impatiently, his mind already on the task before him, and Kane and Jamal left the room.

When they went downstairs, the clerk was back behind his desk, reading a newspaper. Kane went and leaned against the desk and waited.

The man looked over the newspaper and smiled uncertainly. 'There is something I can do for you, Sahib?'

'You can tell me where Skiros is,' Kane said.

The Hindu shrugged. 'As I have already told you, Sahib, I have not seen Mr Skiros for several days.'

'Normally I'm a patient man,' Kane said, 'but you've caught me on an off-night. Either you tell me where Skiros is, or I'll ask my friend here to break your arm.'

The clerk looked at Jamal and winced. 'That will not be necessary, Sahib. There is a limit to all things - even loyalty. Mr Skiros was here about an hour ago. He took many papers from his office and a quant.i.ty of money from the safe. He told me he was going away for a while, that if anyone asked for him I was to say I knew nothing.'

'Was Marie Ferret with him?'

The clerk shook his head. 'He made two telephone calls, that is all.'

Kane glanced across at the switchboard and smiled. 'And naturally, you listened in to those calls.'

The Hindu shrugged. 'The first was to Professor Muller. Mr Skiros told him to hurry. He said that everything was arranged.'