alistairmaclean.bearisland-第48章

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my　belief　that　they　are　still　alive　and　that　Heissman　is　no　more　your　mother's　brother　than　he　is　your　uncle。　It　is　my　belief　that　he　is　holding　them　as　hostage　for　your　good　conduct　and　that　he　is　holding　you　as　hostage　for　theirs。　I　don't　just　think　that　Heissman　is　up　to　no　good；　I　know　he　is；　for　I　just　don't　think　he's　a　criminal　operating　on　an　international　scale；　I　know　that　too。　I　know　that　you're　not　Latvian　but　strictly　of　German　ancestry。　I　know；　too；　that　your　father　ranked　very　highly　in　the　Berlin　councils　of　war。〃　I　didn't　know　that　at　all；　but　it　had　bee　an　increasingly　safe　guess。　〃And　I　know；　too；　that　there's　a　great　deal　of　money　involved；　not　in　hard　cash　but　in　negotiable　securities。　All　this　is　true；　is　it　not？〃
　There　was　a　silence　then　she　said　dully：　If　you　know　so　much；　what's　the　good　in　pretending　any　more。〃　She　pushed　back　a　little　and　looked　at　me　through　defeated　eyes。　〃You're　not　a　real　doctor？〃
　〃I'm　real　enough；　but　not　in　the　ordinary　way　of　things；　for　which　any　patients　I　might　have　had　would　probably　feel　very　thankful　as　I　haven't　practised　those　past　good　few　years。　I'm　just　a　civil　servant　working　for　the　British　Government；　nothing　glamorous　or　romantic　like　Intelligence　or　Counter…Intelligence；　just　the　Treasury；　which　is　why　I'm　here　because　we've　been　interested　in　Heissman's　shennanigans　for　quite　some　time。　I　didn't　expect　to　run　into　this　other　busload　of　trouble；　though。〃
　〃What　do　you　mean？〃
　〃Too　long　to　explain；　even　if　I　could。　I　can't；　yet。　And　I've　things　to　do。〃
　〃Mr。　Smith？〃　She　hesitated。　〃From　the　Treasury；　too？〃　I　nodded　and　she　went　on：　〃I've　been　thinking　that。〃　She　hesitated　again。　〃My　father　manded　submarine　groups　during　the　war。　He　was　also　a　high　Party　official；　very　high；　I　think。　Then　he　disappeared…〃
　〃Where　was　his　mand？〃
　〃For　the　last　year；　the　north…Tromso；　Trondheim；　Narvik；　places　like　that；　I'm　not　sure。〃　I　was；　all　of　a　sudden　I　was；　I　knew　it　had　to　be　true。　I　said：　〃Then　disappearance。　A　war　criminal？〃　She　nodded。　〃And　now　an　old　man？〃　Another　nod。　〃And　amnestied　because　of　age〃
　〃Yes；　just　over　two　years　ago。　Then　he　came　back　to　us　…　Mr。　Heissman　brought　us　all　together；　I　don't　know　how。〃
　I　could　have　explained　Heissman's　special　background　qualifications　for　this　very　job；　but　it　was　hardly　the　moment。　I　said：　〃Your　father's　not　only　a　war　criminal；　he's　also　a　civil　criminal…probably　an　embezzler　on　a　grand　scale。　Yet　you　do　all　this　for　him？〃
　〃For　my　mother。〃
　〃I'm　sorry。〃
　〃I'm　sorry；　too。　I'm　sorry　for　all　the　trouble　I've　given　you。　Do　you　think　my　mother　will　be　all　right？〃
　I　think　so；　〃；　I　said；　which；　considering　my　recent　disastrous　record　in　keeping　people　alive；　was　a　pretty　rash　statement　on　my　part。
　〃But　what　can　we　do？　What　on　earth　can　we　do　with　all　those　terrible　things　happening？〃
　〃It's　not　what　I've　can　do。　I　know　what　to　do。　It's　what　you　are　going　to　do。〃
　〃I'll　do　anything。　Anything　you　say。　I　promise。〃
　〃Then　do　nothing。　Behave　exactly　as　you've　been　behaving。　Especially　towards　Uncle　Johann。　But　never　a　word　of　our　talk　to　him；　never　a　word　to　anyone。〃
　〃Not　even　to　Charles？〃
　〃Conrad？　Least　of　all　to　him。〃
　〃But　I　thought　you　liked…〃
　〃Sure　I　do。　But　not　half　as　much　as　our　Charles　likes　you。　He'd　just　up　and　clobber　Heissman　on　the　spot。　I　haven't；〃　I　said　bitterly；　〃been　displaying　very　much　cleverness　or　finesse　to　date。　Give　me　this　one　last　chance。〃　I　thought　a　bit　about　being　clever；　then　said：　〃One　thing　you　can　do。　Let　me　know　if　you　see　anyone　returning　here。　I'm　going　to　look　around　a　bit。〃
　Otto　had　almost　as　many　locks　as　I　had　keys。　As　befitted　the　chairman　of　Olympus　Productions；　the　producer　of　the　film　and　the　de　facto　leader　of　the　expedition　he　carried　a　great　number　of　bits　and　pieces　of　equipment　with　him。　Most　of　the　belongings　were　personal　and　most　of　these　clothes；　for　although　Otto；　because　of　his　spherical　shape；　was　automatically　excluded　from　the　list　of　the　top　ten　best…dressed　men；　his　sartorial　aspirations　were　of　the　most　soaring；　and　he　carried　at　least　a　dozen　suits　with　him　although　what　he　intended　to　do　with　them　on　Bear　Island　was　a　matter　for　conjecture。　More　interestingly；　he　had　two　small　squat　brown　suitcases　that　served　merely　as　cover　for　two　metal　deed…boxes。　Those　were　hasp　bound　with　imposing　brass　padlocks　that　a　blind　and　palsied　pick…lock　could　have　had　opened　in　under　a　minute　and　it　didn't　take　me　much　longer。　The　first　contained　nothing　of　importance；　nothing　of　importance；　that　was；　to　anyone　except　Otto：　they　consisted　of　hundreds　of　press　clippings；　no　doubt　carefully　selected　for　the　laudatory　nature　of　their　contents；　and　going　back　for　twenty…odd　years；　all　of　them　unanimous　in　extolling　Otto's　cinematic　genius：　precisely　the　sort　of　ego…feeding　nourishment　that　Otto　would　carry　around　with　him。　The　second　deed…box　contained　papers　of　a　purely　financial　nature；　recorded　Otto's　transactions；　ines　and　outgoes　over　a　good　number　of　years　and　would　have　proved；　I　felt　certain；　fascinating　reading　for　any　Inland　Revenue　inspector　or　law…abiding　accountant；　if　there　were　any　such　around；　but　my　interest　in　them　was　minimal：　what　did　interest　me　though；　and　powerfully；　was　a　collection　of　cancelled　chequebooks　and　as　I　couldn't　see　that　those　were　going　to　be　of　any　use　to　Otto　in　the　Arctic　I　pocketed　them；　checked　that　everything　was　as　I　had　found　it　and　left。　Goin；　as　befitted　the　firm's　accountant；　was　also　much　given　to　keeping　things　under　lock　and　key　but；　because　the　total　of　his　impediments　didn't　e　to　much　more　than　a　quarter　of　Otto's；　the　search　took　correspondingly　less　time。　Again　as　befitted　an　accountant；　Goin's　main　concern　was　clearly　with　matters　financial　and　as　this　Goincided　with　my　own　current　interest　I　took　with　me　three　items　that　I　judged　likely　to　be　handsomely　rewarding　of　more　leisured　study。　Those　were　the　Olympus　Productions　salary　lists；　Goin's　splendidly　padded　private　bankbook　and　a　morocco　diary　that　was　full　of　items　in　some　sort　of　private　code　but　was　nonetheless　clearly　concerned　with　money　for　Goin　hadn't　bothered　to　construct　a　code　for　the　columns　of　pounds　and　pence。　There　was　nothing　necessarily　sinister　about　this：　concern　for　privacy；　especially　other　people's　privacy；　could　be　an　admirable　trait　in　an　accountant。　In　the　next　half　hour　I　went　through　four　cubicles。　In　Heissman's　I　found　what　I　had　expected　to　find；　nothing。　A　man　with　his　background　and　experience　would　have　discovered　many　years　ago　that　the　only　safe　place　to　file　his　records　was　inside　his　head。　But　he　did　have　some　innocuous　items…I　supposed　he　had　used　them　in　the　production　of　the　Olympus　manifesto　for　the　film…which　were　of　interest　to　me；　several　large…scale　charts　of　Bear　Island。　One　of　those　I　took。
　Neal　Divine's　private　papers　revealed　little　of　interest　except　a　large　number　of　unpaid　bills；　I0Us；　and　a　number　of　letters；　all　of　them　menacing　in　varying　degrees；　from　an　assortment　of　different　bankers…a　form　of　correspondence　that　went　well　with　Divine's　nervous；　apprehensive；　and　generally　down…trodden　mien。　At　the　bottom　of　an　old…fashioned　Gladstone　in　the　Count's　room　I　found　a　small　black　automatic；　loaded；　but　as　an　envelope　beside　it　contained　a　current　London　licence　for　the　gun　this　discovery　might　or　might　not　have　significance：　the　number　of　law…abiding　people　in　law…abiding　Britain　who　for　divers　law…abiding　reasons　consider　it　prudent　to　own　a　gun　are；　in　their　total；　quite　remarkable。　In　the　cubicle　shared　by　Jungbeck　and　Heyter　I　found　nothing　incriminating。　But　I　was　intrigued　by　a　small　brown　paper　packet；　scaled；　that　I　found　in　Jungbeck's　case。　I　took　this　into　the　main　cabin　where　Mary　Stuart　was　moving　from　window　to　window…there　were　four　of　them　keeping　watch。
　〃Nothing？〃　I　said。　She　shook　her　head。　〃Put　on　a　kettle；　will　you？〃
　‘There's　coffee　there。　And　some　food。〃
　〃I　don't　want　coffee。　A　kettle…water…half　an　inch　will　do。〃　I　handed　her　the　packet。　〃Steam　this　open　for　me；　will　you？'
　〃Steam…what's　in　it？〃
　If　I　knew　that　I　wouldn't　ask　you　to　open　it。〃
　I　went　into　Lonnie's　cubicle　but　it　held　nothing　but　Lonnie's　dreamsan　album　full　of　faded　photographs。　With　few　exceptions；　they　were　of　his　family…clearly　Lonnie　had　taken　them　himself。　The　first　few　showed　a　dark　attractive　girl　with　a　wavy　shoulder…length　I930s　hairdo　holding　two　babies　who　were　obviously　twins。　Later　photographs　showed　that　the　babies　were　girls。　As　the　years　had　passed　Lonnie's　wife；　changing　hair　styles　apart；　had　changed　remarkably　little　while　the　girls　had　grown　up　from　page　to　page　until　eventually　they　had　bee　two　rather　beautiful　youngsters　very　closely　resembling　their　mother。　In　the　last　photograph；　about　two…thirds　of　the　way　through　the　album；　all　three　were　shown　in　white　summer　dresses　of　an　unconscionable　length　leaning　against　a　dark　open　roadster：　the　two　girls　would　then　have　been　about　eighteen。　I　closed　the　album　with　that　guilty　and　unfortable　feeling　you　have　when　you　stumble；　however　inadvertently；　across　another　man's　private　dreams。
　I　was　crossing　the　passage　to　Eddie's　room　when　Mary　called　me。　She　had　the　package　open　and　was　holding　the　contents　in　a　white　handkerchief。　I　said：　〃That's　clever。〃
　〃Two　thousand　pounds；〃　she　said　wonderingly。　〃All　in　new　five…pound　notes。〃
　〃That's　a　lot　of　money。〃　They　were　not　only　new；　they　were　in　consecutive　serial　number　order。　I　noted　down　the　first　and　last　numbers；　tracing　would　be　automatic　and　immediate：　somebody　was　being　very　stupid　indeed　or　very　confident　indeed。　This　was　one　item　of　what　might　he　useful　evidence　that　I　did　not　appropriate　but　locked　up　again；　resealed；　in　Jungbeck's　case。　Men　a　man　has　that　much　money　around　he's　apt　to　check　on　its　continued　presence　pretty　frequently。　Neither　Eddie's　nor　Hendriks's　cubicles　revealed　any　item　of　interest；　while　the　only　thing　I　learned　from　a　brief　glance　at　Sandy's　room　was　that　he　was　just　that　modicum　less　scrupulous　in　obtaining　his　illicit　supplies　than　Lonnie：　Sandy　stocked　up　on　Otto's　Scotch　by　the　bottleful。　The　Three　Apostles's　quarters　I　passed　up：　a　search　in　there　would；　I　was　convinced；　yield　nothing。　It　never　occurred　to　me　to　check　on　Conrad。
　It　was　just　after　three　o'clock；　with　the　light　beginning　to　fade　from　the　sky；　when　I　returned　to　the　main　cabin。　Lonnie　and　the　other　two　should　have　contacted　Otto　and　the　others　a　long　time　ago；　their　return；　I　should　have　thought；　was　considerably　overdue。　Mary；　who　had　eaten…or　said　she　had…gave　me　steak　and　chips；　both　of　the　frozen　and　precooked　variety；　and　I　could　see　that　she　was　worried。　Heaven　knew　she　had　enough　reason　to　be　worried　about　a　great　number　of　things　but　I　guessed　that　her　present　worry　was　due　to　one　particular　cause。
　〃Where　on　earth　can　they　all　be？〃　she　said。　〃I'm　sure　something　must　have　happened　to　them。〃
　〃He'll　be　all　right。　They　probably　just　went　farther　than　they　intended；　that's　all。〃
　〃I　hope　so。　It's　getting　dark　and　the　snow's　starting…〃　She　broke　off。　and　looked　at　me　in　embarrassed　accusation。　〃You're　very　clever；　aren't　you？〃
　I　wish　to　God　I　were；〃　I　said；　and　meant　it。　I　pushed　my　almost　uneaten　meal　away　and　rose。　〃Thank　you。　Sorry；　and　it's　nothing　to　do　wi