Kane slipped the Colt into his pocket and walked to the door. He turned and said calmly to the other man, ‘Tell Selim he’ll get out of Dahrein if he knows what’s good for him,’
He closed the door behind him, crossed the deck and dropped down into the dinghy. ‘Is everything settled, Sahib?’ Piroo said.
Kane nodded. ‘I think you might say that. You can take me to the jetty now. I’m going into town.’
He stood on the jetty and listened to the sound of the dinghy disappearing into the darkness as the Hindu rowed away and then he turned and walked along the waterfront to the hotel and his appointment with Ruth Cunningham.
SEVEN
THE HOTEL WAS ABLAZE with lights, and the foyer was crowded with people. Kane pushed his way through to the entrance of the casino. Skiros was sitting at a table by the window. His eyes, moving rapidly from table to table, gleamed with satisfaction as the dealers raked the chips across the green baize covers. When he saw Kane, a smile appeared on his face and he waved. Kane nodded briefly and turned away.
The bar was doing a brisk trade and Romero, Noval and Conde, the Catalina crew, were sitting there in flying jackets. Romero waved and Kane joined them.
‘Run any good cargos lately?’ Romero asked.
‘The pot calling the kettle black,’ Kane said. ‘Guptas told me he saw you and some Portuguese freighter offloading thirty miles out.’
Romero smiled. ‘We all need to make a living, amigo.’
‘Take care,’ Kane said. ‘If he saw you, so could someone else.’
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He walked away. Noval said. ‘He’s right.’ Romero shrugged. ‘No problem. A few more days and it will all be over. Let’s have another drink.’
The corridor was quiet, and the noise from below sounded curiously muted and unreal as if it came from another world. A light showed through the transom window above her door and he knocked softly and waited. It was opened almost immediately and she looked out.
She was wearing a brocaded house-coat in heavy silk, tied with a crimson sash at the waist. Her hair hung loosely to her shoulders, and her face was pale and drawn as if she had slept badly. She smiled and stood to one side and he went in.
She closed the door and leaned against it, her eyes gazing into his searchingly. After a few moments she sighed. ‘You haven’t got any news for me, have you?’
For a fraction of a second he hesitated and then he shrugged, ‘I’m afraid not.’
She moved across to a wicker chair by the window and there was an edge of desperation in her face. ‘Surely you’ve managed to find out something? This is a small town. Somebody must have known him.’
Kane shrugged. ‘That’s the peculiar thing about the whole business. Nobody seems to have heard of your husband. I finally had a talk with the Customs Chief here. He swears your husband hasn’t disembarked in Dahrein during the past two months.’
‘But that’s impossible,’ she said. ‘We know he has.’
Kane shook his head. ‘We know he intended to come here. We know he got on the boat at Aden. He may have gone on to another port – Mukalla, for instance.’
‘Do you think that’s possible?’
He shrugged. ‘Anything’s possible. On the other hand I’m still not convinced your husband didn’t land in Dahrein. Captain Gonzalez is inclined to skimp his duties. If he meets half the boats that come in here he’s doing well, but he won’t admit it.’
She looked up at him eagerly, ‘Then you think my husband may have landed here after all?’
Kane nodded. ‘If he landed and went straight up-country the same day, it would explain why no one has heard of him.’
An expression of relief appeared in her eyes and she relaxed against the cushions. ‘I’m sure that’s what must have happened.’ She smiled wanly. ‘What’s the next move?’
He went across to the window and looked down into the crowded street. ‘There’s one more person left to see,’ he said. ‘Marie Ferret.’
Ruth Cunningham looked up at him in surprise. ‘A woman? But how can she help?’