High Water (1959), page 15
‘Right, that’s enough!’ He spat the words between his tight lips, the casual and haughty veneer dropping from him like a discarded garment. ‘Just drop the plates on the floor, and no foolishness, or that’ll be your lot, I promise you!’ His eye fell on the other bag. ‘What’s in there?’
‘He’s brought a load of clothes for his little bird.’ Cooper’s nasal voice was gleeful.
‘Well, put those down too, just in case.’
The plates clattered noisily on the wooden floor, and as Vivian lowered the other bag beside them, he heard Cooper chortle with satisfaction.
Mason scowled in his direction. ‘All right, Cooper, just watch him, that’s all. Did you make sure of everything? No police cars, or anything?’
‘Nothing.’ Cooper sounded hurt at being rebuked.
‘Right, now back away, you two.’ Mason’s voice was controlled once more. ‘And, Morrie, get that bag up here.’
The big man dumped the plates in front of Mason, who eagerly tore at the wrappings with a knife. As the oblong pieces of metal came to light, Vivian tensed, waiting for Mason’s quick eye to notice the incomplete sets. He breathed a trifle easier, as the other man raised the first plate to the light and examined its intricate surface.
‘What a job,’ he breathed admiringly. ‘No wonder we never have any complaints about our supplies!’ He laughed shortly, and placed it back carefully on the pile.
‘All right, Vivian, you can go and see your Karen now. But no tricks!’
‘And then?’ Vivian’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
‘And then,’ Mason answered mockingly, ‘we shall have to decide what’s to be done with the pair of you.’
With a jerk he tossed the pistol to Cooper. ‘Just check that bag of clothing before you hand it over. Now, take him in the next room.’
Vivian crossed to the door, caring nothing for Mason’s sneer, and seizing the handle he thrust his way into the room. It was smaller than the one he had just left, and the only light was a feeble, grey glow, which filtered down from a dirt-encrusted skylight, which rattled and cracked to the monotonous beat of the heavy rain.
She lay on a low, makeshift bed of sacking and old canvas sheets, directly under the skylight, so that in the filthy and drab surroundings she seemed to shine in an unreal, statue-like pose. At first Vivian thought she was lifeless, and his heart almost froze within him, but as he watched with fearful eyes he saw the quick, unnatural breathing, the movement beneath the dust-smeared breast of the blue swimming costume which, creased and disordered, was still her only covering. The yellow tresses of hair were strewn across the sacking under her head and her face was white and strained under the tan.
‘What have you done to her, you swine?’ Vivian wheeled on Cooper, his face savage.
‘Steady now!’ The pistol rose menacingly. ‘She’s okay. Just a whiff of dope to keep her quiet.’ He waved the gun again. ‘Don’t go gettin’ any ideas either. As I said, she’ll be all right in a bit.’
Vivian flung himself down on his knees at the girl’s side and tenderly slid his hand under her shoulders, and lifting her head on to his chest, felt her rapid breathing fanning his cheek. Gently he smoothed a smudge of dirt from her cheek, and without releasing his grip slung his jacket across her legs.
Cooper tipped the contents of the bag on to the dirt floor of the room, and as the girl’s underwear floated down into the dust he whistled in lecherous admiration.
‘Well now,’ he grinned, ‘ain’t they just ducky?’
From his kneeling position on the floor, Vivian stared up at him, his mind a cold knife of fury. Unconsciously he tightened his grip around the smooth, bare shoulders, a fresh determination fighting off the recurrent waves of helplessness which seemed to mock him at every turn.
How they must have laughed at him, and how simple it had all been for them to play with his stupid, naïve approach to what was rapidly developing into the most dangerous situation of his life.
Karen moaned softly against his chest, and he almost cried aloud in his misery. To have been so easily snared was folly enough, but to have brought her to the edge of disaster was enough to send a new knife turning in his bowels.
‘Can’t you get out?’ He hardly recognized his own voice. ‘You’ve had your little victory. You must be damned proud of yourselves!’
‘I was goin’ anyway. But don’t think there’s a way out of here, ’cause there ain’t. Except through this door.’ He leaned forward, his pointed shoes glinting like two misshapen claws. ‘And believe me, if you try anything, nothing’d give me greater pleasure than to put a bullet into her little belly, seein’ that she seems to think she’s a cut above me!’ As he kicked open the door, the brighter light glinted on the spittle on his thin lower lip and the savage glint in his eyes.
‘Swine!’ But Vivian was, nevertheless, thankful to be left alone with Karen and his thoughts.
As she lay inert in his arms, he let his mind wander back over the mad stream of events which had somehow borne him along a new course, and into a final, horror-filled climax.
It was difficult to see the situation clearly, as would an outsider. To anyone else, he must surely be a criminal, a smuggler, and probably worse. He shifted slightly, trying to ease the pain in his cramped knees as they rested heavily on the uneven floor. A criminal, he thought, it sounded strange somehow, but then he could hardly expect to notice any real change in himself. Even the people he had been working with had appeared quite ordinary; except Cooper, that was. He twisted his neck to study the inside of the room more carefully. It must be a lean-to of some sort, he mused. As he had not noticed one when he approached the building, he decided it must be tacked on to the rear, probably resting against the big bank of dirt and waste gravel. The skylight appeared to have bars across the outside, thick ones too.
A heavy, sullen rumble rolled across the building, dying away in a threatening murmur. A real, thundery storm was brewing, and already the damp air in the room was growing thick and heavy.
Carefully and gently he began to ease the girl up into a sitting position so that she sat limply on the side of the bed, her hair and arms hanging motionless, giving her the appearance of a small, neglected child.
There was a pale blue flash, and shortly afterwards, another rumble of thunder. Closer this time, and somehow giving the air a fresh edge of imminent danger.
He gritted his teeth in desperation. Come on, man. The voice inside him seemed to be imploring. Are you going to let them take you both like sitting ducks? No fight? No nerve?
Even the heavy thuds of the raindrops seemed to accentuate the growing uneasiness.
Don’t panic, you fool. Think, think!
He swallowed heavily, his throat dry and raw. Then, reaching down, he took one of the girl’s small, limp hands in his and began to squeeze it, gently and insistently, at the same time murmuring softly into her ear.
‘Karen, Karen, my darling,’ his voice was taut with anxiety, ‘please try to hear me. Try to wake up again.’ He kept on talking but only once did she even move and then it was only a slight shudder which ran through her.
He stood up and pulled her up against him, her hair falling across his shirt and her bare feet dragging helplessly on the dirt. Together they stood, like two weary dancers on a forgotten dance-floor waiting for the music to begin.
He darted a frantic glance at the door, but as far as he could tell the others were busy preparing some sort of meal, and he could hear the occasional clink of crockery above the roar of the rain on the iron roof.
He buried his face in her hair and crushed her slim body against him, feeling a smarting in the back of his eyes.
‘My poor darling,’ he spoke aloud, ‘what have I done to bring this on you?’
He suddenly stiffened, aware that the weight of her body had lessened. Her feet were firmer on the ground and, even as he waited, hardly daring to breathe, her hands moved blindly, feeling at his waist, while her shoulders twisted slightly in his grasp, as if testing the strength of his hold. A long, drawn-out sigh escaped her lips and he felt another shudder run through her. He watched her cautiously as her drugged limbs seemed to come to life. When her eyes opened, their wide, almost fierce stare, all but threw him off his guard, for whereas the rest of her now seemed relaxed and calm, her eyes held, at once, the true imprint and message of the torment and agony within her. For what felt like an eternity, she stared up at him, her whole face so filled with an uncomprehending terror, entirely lacking in recognition, that his words of comfort died on his lips, he could only hold her and wait.
Slowly she opened her mouth to speak, her expression changing to one of disbelief. ‘Philip?’ She spoke his name as a question, as if unable to trust what she saw.
He did his best to give her a reassuring smile, and nodded dumbly.
‘I’ve been asleep,’ she faltered and swayed against his arm. ‘I remember now, they drugged me!’ Her eyes widened as her memory came flooding back, and her body began to tremble violently. ‘Philip! Tell me it’s not true about—about Nils?’
He tried to meet her penetrating gaze, but the desperate brightness of the blue eyes forced him to look away, his heart sick with fear for her, and disgust and hatred at the men who had told her.
She suddenly jerked away from his arms and seized the front of his shirt in her hands, forcing him to look at her. ‘Philip, please, I have to know!’
He could feel her nails biting into his skin.
‘Yes, it’s true.’ He tried to find the right words. ‘I found him when I was trying to get to you.’ He hurried on, wanting her to be rid of her fears: ‘It was very sudden, I believe. He—he felt no pain.’
Still she said nothing but stood straight and still, her eyes on his face, her arms down at her sides.
‘Why did it happen?’ Her voice, when it came, was thin and small. ‘Why did they do such a thing to him? Why?’
He took half a step towards her, but she shook her head quickly, the loose hair swinging across one shoulder.
‘Tell me, can you, Philip? How did all this happen to us?’ Her voice rose slightly, and it was obvious that she was only holding on to herself with a great effort. ‘They killed him. Those men killed him.’ It was as if she was trying to explain it to her inner self. ‘And they are going to kill us too!’
Her words, though spoken so quietly, and almost drowned by the hiss and roar of the rain, burned into his mind like hot irons. She didn’t seem aware of his presence, and when she spoke again her voice was almost puzzled, and only by watching her mouth could he be certain of the words.
‘And we were so,’ she faltered, ‘so very happy.’
It was then, as she looked up, that he saw the tears beginning to pour unrestrainedly and unchecked down her face. ‘They are going to kill us, aren’t they?’ He caught her as she fell, the pent-up misery and terror making her sobs shake and wrench her body, so that he had to hold on to her with a fierceness, which filled him with a rising and consuming determination, as well as new uncontrollable hatred for those who had brought this horror to the one person he had ever wanted to love and protect.
A sudden rumble of thunder directly overhead made fresh feeling of urgency flood through him. If only he knew what was happening and what Mason had said to Karen. He rested his cheek against her hair, trying to ease the pain of her grief.
‘Listen to me, Karen,’ he said softly, ‘and try to remember, no matter what happens, everything will be all right. And remember too that I love you very much.’ He stopped, and beneath his grasp he felt the sobs becoming quieter, and more subdued.
‘Right now I have to think of a way to get us out of here, so that we can get help. If it doesn’t hurt you too much, could you tell me what you’ve heard? There may not be much time,’ he ended gently.
She slowly lifted her head and he was shocked by the look of despair on her tear-stained face.
‘It’s no use, Philip, it’s no use,’ she repeated. ‘That dreadful man,’ she faltered, ‘Cooper, told me it was all arranged. That we were going to be taken care of.’ Her lip trembled. ‘They are going to make it look as if you killed Nils. He was horrible, Philip, he kept boasting, but all the time I hoped, I prayed, that he was not telling the truth.’
The swine, he thought, the dirty, rotten, little swine.
‘He’s full of bluff,’ he answered. ‘We’ll fix him, if only we can get away from here!’
If only Lang hadn’t been shaken off the trail. Vivian wondered what Lang was doing now. Probably going back to the boat to wait, and hope for the best. But how long would he wait before he called in the police? And suppose—he shook his head angrily. This wouldn’t do.’
‘Look, Karen, we must get ready. The chance may come, it has to come, and then you and I will get out of this together. Do you believe that?’
She studied him carefully. ‘I believe in you, Philip. I will try not to let you down when the time comes.’
She said it so simply, so trustingly, that he wanted to crush her in his arms, but he forced a grin.
‘Come on then, my girl, get some clothes on, while I watch the door.’
He picked up her clothes from the floor, brushing the dust from them with his hand which, he noticed, was trembling.
She turned her back to him. ‘The swim-suit, Philip. Will you unzip the back for me?’
As he felt for the fastener he moved some of her hair to one side so as not to catch it in the costume, then he stopped, his eyes fixed to a livid, red bruise on her right shoulder.
‘How did you get this?’ His voice was strangely flat.
‘That man Cooper,’ she trembled, ‘he tried to kiss me, but when I would not let him touch me he bit my shoulder!’
He squeezed her arm, not daring to speak at that moment, and not wanting her to see his expression. Instead, he unclipped the costume and stepped away.
‘All right, Karen, you get changed. We’ll talk later. But not about all this.’ He turned his eyes to the door. In the half light they looked like two slivers of steel.
A quick rustling of clothing behind him jolted him away from his murderous thoughts, and from the corner of his vision he saw her body pale against the black walls, and he knew that what he had to do had to be done carefully and with a cool head. There could be no second chance of escape.
As another peal of thunder rolled and echoed around the clouds Vivian paused in his second examination of the walls. The thick, decaying atmosphere of the room and the moist, stifling heat made him breathe heavily and he paused, with one arm resting on the rough, wooden planking, while he plucked his shirt free from his damp skin.
Behind him he heard Karen move slightly and the frown of concentration on his face deepened. Without turning, he knew that she was still sitting listlessly on the edge of the bed, as she had been for the last half an hour, while he had paced watchfully around the room and beat his brain for some fresh solution, or method of escape.
‘Philip?’
The suddenness of her voice made him jump. He swung round, forcing his face to soften slightly.
‘It’s all right, Karen. I’m just having another prowl, to see what I can find.’
‘What is the time, Philip?’ Her eyes still looked frightened.
‘Er, about midday.’ Then as the thought struck him, ‘Are you hungry?’
‘I have not eaten since last night. But I am not hungry.’
He stared down at her helplessly. ‘I’ll tell them to get us something,’ he paused uncertainly. ‘You’ve had a bad-enough time as it is, without making yourself ill.’
She shrugged her shoulders, biting her lower lip. ‘It really doesn’t matter.’ Her voice sounded tired, beaten.
He reached over to her and gently lifted her chin with his hand, and when she raised her gaze to his he again marvelled at the strength she seemed to give him.
‘Look here,’ he began quietly, ‘you’ve been through hell. It’s my fault and I realize now that I’ve been a complete fool!’
She tried to shake her head, but he held her face firmly in his hand.
‘Oh yes, I have. Let’s not argue about that. I’d like myself to believe that I’m a blind, trusting type of chap who’s been taken in by a bunch of crooks. But I knew what I was doing and I knew it was wrong. I just didn’t know that I wasn’t big or clever enough to pull away from their filth when I realized just how rotten they were. There’s only one thing I don’t regret.’ He swallowed hard. ‘That was getting enough mixed up with Mason and Co. to meet you.’ She dropped her eyes and he hurried on, as if to purge his very soul: ‘I love you, Karen—you know that already. But I swear that somehow I’ll get you out of this, so that you’ll be able to live your life again, free from all this misery. I’ll see that Nils is avenged too.’
She took one of his hands in hers and pulled it against her cheek. ‘You are a fool, Philip, but not in the way you mean. You are trying to tell me that if we can escape, and right now I do not see how we can, you will help me to get settled again, and then you will go away, so that I can never see you, never feel your arms about me, and all because you think that you have been the cause of all this!’
He flushed and started to protest, but she would not listen.
‘No, Philip, it is not true. Do not deceive yourself any more. I came to you in France because I knew that I loved you then. I think I knew it when you came to the house at Hampton Court. I saw that you were different, and well’—she shrugged—‘here we are.’
As he struggled for an answer, she gripped his hand with a sudden fierceness.
‘I am all right now, Philip. When the time comes I will not let you down. This is not the first time I have been afraid, you know. When I was a little girl I remember the shooting, and the fear of others.’ She stared up at him, her eyes bright and almost defiant. ‘But, believe me, if I am to die here and now, I shall still be thankful for those few hours of happiness we had together before things started to go wrong.’
