Angel of Darkness

by Christopher Nicole

  ‘Then you have a problem. Until you get the proof you need. Now I must dress for dinner. I assume you’re joining me?’

  ‘Anna, we haven’t reached a decision.’

  ‘I have. It’s not on.’

  ‘Now, Anna. You are the only one we have who can do this.’

  ‘Oh, yes?’ She took off the dressing gown, pulled on a clean pair of knickers taken from her valise, sat at her dressing table, laid down the pistol – she could watch him in the mirror – and applied make-up. ‘What I didn’t tell you is that by the terms of my agreement with the British Government, I am never again to set foot in the UK.’

  ‘Who’s to know? We’d give you a false identity.’

  ‘Big deal. Don’t you realize there are people in Britain who would recognize me on sight?’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Well, Clive, of course. I don’t know that he’s in England right now, but he could be. And Billy. He’s always there.’

  ‘Oh, really, Anna. I believe the population of the British Isles is currently well over forty million. Do you seriously suppose the moment you step off the plane you are going to run into the only two people who can identify you? We’re not suggesting that you pay MI6 a visit and say “Hello, I’m back, how about a cup of coffee?”.’

  Anna brushed her hair. ‘I don’t see why you need me. You seem to know where this character is situated. Can’t you just send in an ordinary hit man?’

  ‘Can’t be done. He seems to have unlimited funds, which arouses all sorts of sinister connotations anyway. With this money he has converted the house in which he lives into a fortress, complete with a retinue of armed heavies.’

  ‘The British have let him do this?’

  ‘As long as they don’t actually shoot anyone, save in self-defence, he has broken no laws. There are quite a few people who have a paranoid fear of assassination. Oh, we could send in a squad, but that would cause an outsize diplomatic incident. We have a new president who’s been in office only a few weeks. Eisenhower wouldn’t take kindly to beginning his term with a full-scale quarrel with Britain over prerogatives. Anyway, with this ongoing mess in Korea, we need all our allies on board, and Britain is number one. We simply can’t afford to antagonize her.’

  ‘With allies like you, who needs enemies? And just suppose I was crazy enough to take this on, do you suppose I can get in and out of this fortress, leaving a few dead bodies scattered about, without causing a diplomatic incident?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Convince me.’

  ‘Fahri has only one known weakness. Women. He cannot keep his hands off any woman who takes his fancy. In fact, he is so voracious that he has his sidekick scouring the London nightclubs looking for suitable bimbos, preferably long-haired blondes. They are bribed in the first place by a promise that he can place them in show business. He never harms them, just has sex with then, and pays them well to clear off. Incidentally, look out for this aide, Khouri. He is every bit as unpleasant as his boss; and, as I have said, he’s had a share in everything Fahri has done. If he gets in your way, you have our permission to waste him as well. But remember that Fahri is more important.’

  Anna put on her dress. ‘In case it has slipped your notice, Joe, I am no longer a bimbo. In fact, I don’t think I ever really qualified. But in any event, I am now thirty-two years old.’

  ‘That seems to be bothering you. But you are still the most beautiful woman in the world.’

  ‘You say the sweetest things.’

  ‘Listen. It’s all laid on. You will be escorted to all the best nightclubs. And the worst. There can be no doubt that you’ll be noticed and picked up.’

  ‘Who is going to do this escorting?’

  ‘Ah . . . we thought Jerry would suit you best.’

  ‘Would you mind repeating that? I seem to have gone deaf.’

  ‘Well, I mean, you’ve worked together before, and have something going for each other, and . . .’

  ‘One should always make sure of one’s facts before making fatuous statements.’ Anna returned to the dressing table to put on her jewellery. ‘Jerry and I never worked together. You sent him to Brazil as my back-up when I was after Martin Bormann, and yes we had a brief fling. It went with the job, and he is a handsome hunk and knows what a bed is for. But when we met a crisis, all he did was get himself shot, leaving me in a most embarrassing situation.’

  ‘But those four heavies were after you anyway.’

  ‘I’m not talking about the Russians. As you say, they had to go regardless. But to get Jerry to hospital before he bled to death I had to drive his car.’

  ‘What was embarrassing about that?’

  ‘Joe, I couldn’t drive a car. I had taken four lessons, and I did not have a licence. I was run in by the police, for driving too fast and on the wrong side of the road. How was I to know which side of the road they use in Brazil? And then, I didn’t have a licence and I was uninsured. It was the most humiliating moment of my life. Especially as I had virtually nothing on and I was covered in mud.’

  ‘They didn’t rough you up, did they?’

  ‘They were the soul of politeness, and when I told them that my boyfriend had been shot by bandits they couldn’t have been more helpful. They didn’t even charge me with driving without a licence. But the whole thing was still very embarrassing. I had never been arrested before, well, only once or twice. And never when virtually naked.’

  ‘And you had just left four bodies lying in a ditch. Anna, you are a hoot!’

  Anna blew a raspberry. ‘As for when you sent him over here to act as a back-up when the Mafia were getting too close, when it came to the crunch he got seasick and I had to commit piracy all by myself, with Jerry lying prostrate on his bunk.’

  ‘OK, OK. But I’m not asking you to accept him as a back-up. Just an escort, until you get picked up. Then he will disappear. But he’ll be there when you come out the other side, to get you safely out of the country.’

  Anna strapped on her watch, thoughtfully. She had not operated in England since 1940. Just on thirteen years, and she had been twenty years old. The odds on her meeting anyone who remembered her from those days had to be so long as to be ridiculous. Except that Mark Hamilton apparently did. Unless he was a fake, acting on information.

  But to be able to do one last job, and then be out, out, out! For ever! And with carte blanche to travel anywhere she wished in the US – which meant virtually all of America north of the Rio Grande, as she was still wanted by the Mexican police for the Capillano job in 1949. The achievement of that goal had to be worth any risk. And there was no risk. Save for Hamilton. And the small matter of Fahri and his heavies . . . and Scotland Yard, once the job was done. But those were all aspects of her profession with which she had coped time and again successfully. So it was really only Hamilton.

  ‘Do we have your acceptance?’ Joe asked.

  Anna stood up, smoothed her dress, fluffed out her hair, and regarded herself in the mirror with some satisfaction; her hair was still damp, but this made it lie the more gracefully. ‘The guarantee will have to be in writing, signed and sealed by the very top.’

  ‘You will have it. A courier will come to this hotel the day after tomorrow with all the documentation you need, including your false papers and flights to and from London. I assume that, like us, you wish to have this done as quickly as possible.’

  ‘I would certainly like to be back here before Clive gets back from wherever he is. There is just one more thing. Does the name Mark Hamilton mean anything to you?’

  Joe considered. ‘Can’t say that it does.’

  ‘It’s probably a pseudonym anyway.’

  ‘Is he is a problem?’

  ‘Just an old acquaintance. Or so he claims. I’m afraid I distrust old acquaintances who I cannot remember.’

  ‘You want something done about him?’

  ‘No. He seems harmless enough. But perhaps you could have someone check your files and see if the name crops
up anywhere.’

  ‘Will do. What sort of timescale are we talking about?’

  ‘Back to 1938 should cover it.’

  He nodded. ‘I’ll send you what we turn up, if anything, with the other bumf. Now, let’s get down to cases. When are you returning to the cay?’

  ‘Get your man here by lunchtime on Thursday, and I’ll wait for him.’

  ‘He’ll be here, with everything you need. That includes a new passport, but you’ll need a photo. He’ll bring the equipment to endorse it.’

  ‘No problem.’

  ‘I think you should have your hair up. And wear it up to pass through English immigration. Whenever anyone thinks of the Countess von Widerstand, they remember the hair first.’

  ‘Good point.’

  ‘You know, it’d be much safer for you to cut it.’

  ‘Sorry. I am not cutting my hair. I’ll wear it up.’

  ‘Suit yourself. Anyway, wear these.’

  He held out a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles.

  ‘Just what I’ve always wanted.’

  ‘Now, how long will you need before leaving?’

  ‘I have to make sure everything is all right on the cay, and I have to pack. From what you’ve said, this job could take a few weeks.’

  ‘It could. Remember it’s winter over there.’

  She smiled. ‘It’ll be a pleasure to wear my sable again.’

  ‘You know, that’s another trade mark of yours.’

  ‘Only to one or two people. And again from what you say, this character goes for style.’

  ‘He does. So we’ll book your flights for a week on Thursday. Your return will be open, and Jerry will take care of it.’

  ‘Big deal. You understand that as I am fairly well known around here, the flights will have to be in my real name. It would be simpler and safer for me to come up to New York as myself and change identities there.’

  ‘Can’t be done. Just in case something goes wrong, we cannot take the chance of you being traced back to us. We don’t want you to set foot on US soil until the job is done, and any fuss has died down.’

  ‘You certainly know how to make a girl feel she’s wanted.’

  ‘Listen, there need not be a problem. You will fly as Anna Bartley. Just make sure no one in the UK, apart from Jerry, gets to look at the tickets, at least until you’re ready to check in for your return flight. But when you land, to go through immigration you will switch passports and assume your new identity.’

  She made a face. ‘It’s all so simple, isn’t it? To you, sitting in your office. And my fee?’

  ‘Fifty thousand.’

  ‘A hundred.’

  ‘Now wait a moment. Do you need that much? Do you need anything?’

  ‘Maybe not. But a workman is worth his, or her, hire. This could be the most dangerous job I’ve ever taken on.’

  He sighed. ‘A hundred.’

  ‘Plus expenses.’

  ‘That will all be taken care of.’

  ‘Thank you. OK, Joe, we have a deal, for the last time. Tell me about the delivery.’

  ‘His name is Horace Spence. Short, squat and balding. Not your type.’

  ‘Password.’

  ‘The only place that’s hotter than this is Owattamie.’

  ‘Say that again.’

  ‘I don’t even know if it exists. So no one else is likely to know either.’

  Anna sighed. ‘OK. Owattamie. Now let’s finish with business for tonight, go down, check you in, and have a drink and then dinner. Where’s your bag?’

  ‘I don’t have a bag.’ He looked at his watch. ‘I’d love to have dinner with you, Anna. But I have a plane to catch.’

  ‘At this hour? It’s seven o’clock.’

  ‘It’s a private plane.’

  ‘How the upper classes travel. Well, then . . .’ She held out her hand.

  He held it to draw her against him. ‘Anna . . . take care.’ And kissed her. ‘Hasta la vista.’

  She kissed him in turn. ‘Joe, darling, not if I can help it.’

  *

  She gave him ten minutes, then went downstairs. ‘I shall be dining alone after all Charles. Or maybe not.’ She looked through the open doors into the bar. ‘I’ll let you know. But I’ll eat on the terrace. Oh, and could you radio the cay and tell Tommy I’d like to be picked up the day after tomorrow, in the afternoon?’

  ‘Will do, ma’am.’

  She went into the brightly lit bar, chose a stool next to Hamilton. She was back on a high, the adrenalin flowing. To think that within a month she could be out the other side. She remembered believing that before, in 1944 and again a year later. Neither of those plans had worked out. But she was determined that this one was going to, no matter what it took to achieve. ‘I’ll have a champagne cocktail, George.’

  ‘One champagne cocktail coming up, Mrs Bartley.’

  ‘Well, hello,’ Hamilton said. ‘Did you have a good nap?’

  ‘I had a very good nap, thank you. And you?’

  ‘I’m afraid not. I found I had too much to think about.’

  ‘Oh, dear. Thank you, George. And cheers.’ She sipped. ‘Nothing serious, I hope?’

  ‘I could not stop myself thinking about you.’

  ‘Now, that could be catastrophic.’ She smiled at him. ‘So stop thinking about me, and enjoy me instead. I find I’m free for dinner after all.’

  ‘You mean your date isn’t coming?’

  ‘The bastard has stood me up.’

  ‘I find that hard to believe. I mean, that anyone who had a date with you wouldn’t show.’

  ‘I entirely agree. But I have a more attractive replacement. Do I not?’

  ‘I’m flattered.’

  She finished her cocktail. ‘Well, then. Shall we?’

  He looked at his watch. ‘It’s only a quarter past seven. Bit early, isn’t it?’

  ‘The earlier we eat, the more of the evening we have left after dinner. You said you wanted me to show you some Nassau night life.’

  She signalled Charles to lay an extra place at her table.

  INCIDENT ON A BEACH

  ‘I’ll have the grouper and a bottle of Montrachet, Charles,’ Anna said. ‘I’ve given up eating red meat or drinking red wine in the evenings,’ she explained to Hamilton. ‘I hate indigestion.’

  ‘Good point. I’ll join you.’

  The meal was served.

  ‘I wonder if I may ask you a question?’ Hamilton asked.

  ‘Of course you may ask me a question,’ Anna agreed. ‘I don’t have to answer it.’

  ‘I was wondering what your husband does for a living? I mean, whatever it is, he seems to do it very successfully. You own your own cay, you have a yacht, you clearly travel a lot, you have a lavish lifestyle . . .’

  ‘I suppose you could say that my husband does a bit of this and a bit of that. As for the lifestyle . . . the money is mine. An inheritance.’ From the Third Reich, she thought.

  ‘I see. An heiress, and a beauty too. Your husband is a very lucky man.’

  ‘You say the sweetest things.’

  ‘So, where would you like to go after dinner?’

  She had deduced both that he held his liquor almost as well as she did and that, if he really was fascinated by her, he was not likely to be distracted by a few exotic dancers. If she was going to get into his head, her approach would have to be more direct. ‘Do you have transport?’

  ‘I have a hire car, yes.’

  ‘Well, then, let’s take a drive. It’s a beautiful moonlit night.’

  They finished their meal just before nine, and went down to the car park. ‘Where did you have in mind to drive?’ Hamilton asked.

  ‘Take the coast road west.’

  ‘You mean to Cable Beach?

  ‘We’ll go beyond Cable Beach. Do you know the island?’

  ‘Some of it. But mainly around Nassau, looking at property.’

  ‘There’s not a lot of property for sale west of Cable Beach, unle
ss you mean to build. There’s certainly land available.’

  ‘You mean, you own land in New Providence?’

  ‘Good lord, no. I’m taking you to a beach I know. A quite stunning spot, about fourteen miles out of town. And you’ll never guess what it’s called.’

  ‘Probably not. What is it called?’

  ‘Love Beach.’

  He shot her a glance.

  ‘Actually,’ she said, ‘I hate to be a party pooper, but I think it’s named after a person rather than an activity.’

  To their right, through a fringe of casuarinas, the moon sparkled on the calm water. ‘This whole island,’ he commented, ‘is nothing but superb beaches.’

  ‘Some are better than others,’ she promised him. ‘And taken as a whole, the beaches on New Providence can’t compare with some of those on the Out Islands. If only because nowadays they’re so crowded. I have a beach on the cay that is superb, and empty. Save for me.’

  ‘I’d love to see it,’ he ventured. But as she made no immediate response, asked ‘How long have you lived there?’

  ‘Six years. That was well before devaluation, and the Bahamas were a bit of a backwater, certainly as regards tourists. They were just too expensive compared with Miami. But when the pound was virtually cut in half, they became cheaper and so the flood gates were opened. In Nassau, at least. But I suppose it’ll spread throughout the entire archipelago.’

  ‘Except for your island, I gather. You came here with your husband?’

  ‘No. I wasn’t married then. I came here with my parents. I was looking for somewhere to live, and I liked this best.’

  ‘I assume this was after you had received your inheritance. But obviously not from your parents.’

  ‘Obviously.’

  ‘But you preferred not to settle in Nassau itself?’

  ‘I like my privacy.’

  They were now past the glowing lights of the Country Club and Cable Beach, and the houses had disappeared. The night became a kaleidoscope of bright moonlight and sudden shadows cast by the trees.