by John Creasey
“Do we know what really happened?” asked Thomas.
“So far as tonight’s business is concerned, yes,” answered Cross. “I’ve talked to the man who brought the sick member of the crew over.”
“Is he sick?” asked Thomas.
“No. They pumped morphine into him, not penicillin. He’ll be all right. It was simply a trick to get the jewels on board the motor-boat, and to take the girl off. It nearly worked, too. What made you realise it was a fake, Mannering?”
“Call it luck,” Mannering said. “I saw a man dropping shuffleboard discs into the motor-boat, and that seemed a bit odd. It dawned on me that the jewels we were looking for could be hidden in fake discs.” He looked at the six which were laid out on a small table. “Are they, sir?”
“We’ve examined one,” Cross answered. “It contained two diamonds and two emeralds, wrapped in cotton wool, packed as safely as you could want.”
“What jewels are they?” Thomas demanded. “Don’t try my patience too far or I’ll get my Committee to take this ship over, too.”
“That will be the day,” said Cross. “Like to explain, Mr. Mannering?”
Mannering smiled: “He’s earned it.” He told the story as simply as he could. When he had finished, Thomas said almost sadly: “I could have sworn it was a drug racket.”
“Never satisfied, some people,” Cross remarked. “The prisoner knows the situation, Mannering. He says that Akbar Kassim has often handled stolen jewels – he’s acted as a kind of half-way house between East and West. O’Keefe’s always been a small-time drug trafficker working with Kassim. This time O’Keefe carried a bit of ready cash with him, as always, and then realised that Mrs. Ransom was after him. He went to Kassim for protection, and discovered that the Thai girl was working with Kassim. He tried to blackmail Kassim. We don’t need any more telling why he was killed. Kassim wanted you dead, too – but on the ship at sea, not at Port Said, where he would be involved. And Pearl, whoever she is, thought you’d seen the truth about her, John – that was another reason why you were on the assassination list.”
Mannering said: “I was beginning to suspect Pearl before we reached Port Said. I must have given myself away. Has she talked?”
“She won’t say a word,” Cross told him. “But the man who dropped those discs over the side has. He is a man named Smith, an associate of the dealer, James Harding. Harding himself was first approached by the Thai girl who called herself Pearl Toji. She had word that Nikko Toji was bringing the jewels to you, Mannering – and something else.”
“What else?” demanded Mannering, tensely.
Cross said: “Care to open those discs, Mannering?”
Mannering hesitated, then stood up and went to them. He picked up one and the top half came off easily; this was the one which Cross had already opened. A diamond winked at him from its bed of cotton wool. He picked up another, felt it, tried to prise it open, and then pressed all round the edges. Suddenly there was a sharp click; after that the top of the disc came off easily.
There were rubies and emeralds there.
In two others there were jewels, too. Mannering put them all aside, acutely aware of Thomas’s interest and Cross’s watching eyes.
In the fifth disc there were smaller jewels and a small cylinder which contained a roll of paper. Mannering unrolled it, and saw the wording and realised almost at once what this meant.
“It’s a detailed list of directions where to find the rest of the Crown Jewels of Sumi,” Mannering said, very softly. “The hiding place of two million pounds’ worth of precious stones. I wish I knew just what Nikko Toji had in mind.”
“You should know at Aden,” Cross said. “I’ve just had word that his real daughter arrived there by air from Bangkok.”
“I would never have believed she was a criminal,” young Joslyn said miserably. “I can really believe it now.”
“Why did you follow her last night?” asked Mannering.
“Somehow I had to. I always had to,” Joslyn said. It was almost pathetic.
“John,” said Naomi, “I wouldn’t have taken your money. I threatened blackmail just to make sure you were the man of your reputation.”
“Did the Globe ask you to take up the story after Dottie Mills?” inquired Mannering.
“Yes,” said Naomi. She was cooler and much more herself. “You’ll get such a build up, John.”
“I’m not sure I want one,” Mannering said.
Naomi laughed. “I’ll let you off if you answer one question.”
“What is it?”
“Who is the woman who called herself Pearl Toji?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out,” Mannering said.
Lorna was standing in the launch which approached the East Africa Star from Aden. It was dusk. A heat haze gathered over the volcanic hills, almost like a threat of an eruption tomorrow. Several big freighters were at anchor, and a dozen small craft and lighters moved in all directions at once, it seemed.
Lorna waved.
Mannering felt a wave of emotion such as he had not experienced for a long time. The soft light gentled Lorna and yet could not dull the eagerness in her eyes. She waved only once, then stood quite still. The launch drew alongside. Behind Lorna was a much smaller woman, obviously from the East.
Two men came up the gangway. A third helped Lorna on to the bottom of it. She stepped on the platform and started up the stairs. As she came, it dawned on Mannering that he was looking at her as if she was the only woman in the world. She wore a sleeveless, tailored dress, light green in colour, but no hat. She stepped inside the doorway on to the ship.
Mannering said huskily: “Hallo, my sweet.”
“John,” Lorna said. “I had to come.”
“You’d have heard from me if you’d stayed away,” Mannering said.
He hugged her close, and he could feel her heart thumping. Then he forced himself to let her go and to stand back. Lorna turned as the Oriental woman came aboard.
“This is the real Pearl Toji,” Lorna said.
The Thai girl was not lovely as the impostor had been, yet in her way attractive with her broad face and delicate, unblemished skin. She smiled gravely and held out her hand.
“I must thank you, Mr. Mannering, for all that you have done,” she said simply. She offered him her hand.
“Miss Toji,” Mannering said, “can you answer me one question before we go into details?”
“I will try.”
“Is the woman who impersonated you Prince Asri’s wife, Kana?”
The real Pearl Toji said: “Yes, Mr. Mannering. She wanted the jewels for their value, she did not share her husband’s opinions. In one way it is good, for now he will have to divorce her. He will be able to serve his country better that way.”
“I realise what else you need to know, Mr. Mannering,” Pearl said. “It is really very simple. My father was asked to sell these jewels for the best possible price, for the Government of Sumi. The country needs funds so very much. My father believed you would be most likely to find the best market. But he could not bring everything with him. The risk was too great. So he brought the mask, and in one of the settings was all that you found – details of the place where all the other jewels can be found. Only my father and the Sumi Government knew. But my father told me what he was planning and where he had hidden the secret. Also, he told Princess Kana, believing he could trust her.”
“So she was in at the beginning,” Mannering said heavily.
“Yes, that is so. We know now that she tried to find someone else to handle the jewels – James Harding. Harding arranged for his associate to meet Toji at the airport, but it was Kassim – whom Harding had to use – who planned everything after what happened in London. Kassim – and Princess Kana.”
“Did she know about the poiso
ning?” Mannering asked.
“I do not know. I am only sure that Kassim did. Once Kassim took control, no one else greatly mattered. But for you,” she added, “I think the plot would have succeeded. For the other jewels are still in the possession of Prince Asri. He would have surrendered them to anyone who took him the jewels from the mask.
“I thank you for the memory of my father, who can rest in peace. I thank you for myself. And I thank you in the name of Prince Asri and the people of Sumi.”
Mannering said to Lorna: “I don’t think I’ve ever known anyone more touching.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Lorna said.
They stood at Aden airport and saw the great aircraft take off to the East, with Pearl Toji aboard. An official of the Aden Police was with them, and as they turned away, he said: “Very satisfactory outcome for you, Mr. Mannering, and for that young woman.”
“Very,” Mannering said – and thought of Nikko Toji dying.
“I’ve sorted out the mess where the others are concerned,” the police official went on. “The woman who posed as Pearl Toji and the man Smith are to fly back to England – their crimes were committed aboard the East Africa Star, and will be tried in England. The people from the yacht are Egyptians but I’ve had agreement from Egypt to try them here in Aden for piracy on the high seas. They’ll get what they deserve, be sure of that. Egypt will deal with Kassim.”
“I’m sure,” Mannering said.
“Now, how about a little sightseeing before your plane leaves …”
“What I would like to do is talk to Captain Cross by radio-telephone,” Mannering said.
“That’s no trouble,” the official assured him. “The East Africa Star will be about twelve hours out of Mombasa. Come back to my office and I’ll fix it.”
There were other things he had “fixed”. He was able to tell Mannering that Smith had talked freely, blaming the man whom Kassim had sent – the man who had died at Gibraltar – for the poisoning. He had telephoned Lorna in the first place, when he had felt it was too late for Mannering to help. He had even gained more time by pretending that Toji had said “Mrs” not “Mister” Mannering.
Smith had sent the threatening notes on board, too – the one to Pearl to make her look a victim.
“The master of the yacht is the man who acted as Kassim’s bodyguard,” the police chief had said. “Kassim was terrified of serious trouble at Port Said. He hoped you would be scared off by the danger to the woman you thought was Pearl Toji. Then Thomas – damned good chap, Thomas – put the fear of Allah and Nasser into him, too.”
“I don’t really understand how Kassim took such an important part,” Mannering said.
“He’s been a kind of clearing house for anything stolen for years – arch-smuggler between East and West. He’d often worked with Jimmy Harding. Harding realised he couldn’t handle this on his own, and Kassim flew an agent to London ahead of Toji. Harding committed suicide, by the way. Well! I must fix that call to the East Africa Star.”
“Hallo, Mannering,” Cross said in that familiar matter-of-fact voice. “Nice of you to call me. What’s happened?”
He listened. “Well, well,” he said at last. “What a story! I’m glad it ended at Aden, mind you. Had a very peaceful trip since we got rid of you. Young Joslyn’s found another girlfriend. Thomas prowls around looking for trouble he knows he won’t get. Not in the way he’s hoping, anyhow.”
“What trouble will he get?” asked Mannering.
Cross laughed.
“He and Naomi Ransom spend a lot of time together. I wouldn’t be too surprised if they’re serious. Nice couple. Might work out very well.”
Mannering had that feeling too.
Series Information
Published or to be published by
House of Stratus
Dates given are those of first publication
Alternative titles in brackets
'The Baron' (47 titles) (writing as Anthony Morton)
'Department 'Z'' (28 titles)
'Dr. Palfrey Novels' (34 titles)
'Gideon of Scotland Yard' (22 titles)
'Inspector West' (43 titles)
'Sexton Blake' (5 titles)
'The Toff' (59 titles)
along with:
The Masters of Bow Street
This epic novel embraces the story of the Bow Street Runners and the Marine Police, forerunners of the modern police force, who were founded by novelist Henry Fielding in 1748. They were the earliest detective force operating from the courts to enforce the decisions of magistrates. John Creasey's account also gives a fascinating insight into family life of the time and the struggle between crime and justice, and ends with the establishment of the Metropolitan Police after the passing of Peel's Act in 1829.
'The Baron' Series
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Meet the Baron (The Man in the Blue Mask) (1937)
The Baron Returns (The Return of the Blue Mask) (1937)
The Baron Again (Salute Blue Mask) (1938)
The Baron at Bay (Blue Mask at Bay) (1938)
Alias the Baron (Alias Blue Mask) (1939)
The Baron at Large (Challenge Blue Mask!) (1939)
Versus the Baron (Blue Mask Strikes Again) (1940)
Call for the Baron (Blue Mask Victorious) (1940)
The Baron Comes Back (1943)
A Case for the Baron (1945)
Reward for the Baron (1945)
Career for the Baron (1946)
Blood Diamond (The Baron and the Beggar) (1947)
Blame the Baron (1948)
A Rope for the Baron (1948)
Books for the Baron (1949)
Cry for the Baron (1950)
Trap the Baron (1950)
Attack the Baron (1951)
Shadow the Baron (1951)
Warn the Baron (1952)
The Baron Goes East (1953)
The Baron in France (1953)
Danger for the Baron (1953)
The Baron Goes Fast (1954)
Nest-Egg for the Baron (Deaf, Dumb and Blonde) (1954)
Help from the Baron (1955)
Hide the Baron (1956)
The Double Frame (Frame the Baron) (1957)
Blood Red (Red Eye for the Baron) (1958)
If Anything Happens to Hester (Black for the Baron) (1959)
Salute for the Baron (1960)
The Baron Branches Out (A Branch for the Baron) (1961)
The Baron and the Stolen Legacy (Bad for the Baron) (1962)
A Sword for the Baron (The Baron and the Mogul Swords) (1963)
The Baron on Board (The Mask of Sumi) (1964)
The Baron and the Chinese Puzzle (1964)
Sport for the Baron (1966)
Affair for the Baron (1967)
The Baron and the Missing Old Masters (1968)
The Baron and the Unfinished Portrait (1969)
Last Laugh for the Baron (1970)
The Baron Goes A-Buying (1971)
The Baron and the Arrogant Artist (1972)
Burgle the Baron (1973)
The Baron - King Maker (1975)
Love for the Baron (1979)
'Department Z' Novels
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
The Death Miser (1932)
Redhead (1934)
First Came a Murder (1934)
Death Round the Corner (1935)
The Mark of the Crescent (1935)
Thunder in Europe (1936)
The Terror Trap (1936)
Carriers of Death (1937)
Days of Danger (1937)
Death Stands By (1938)
Menace! (1938)
Murder Must Wait (1939)
Panic! (1939)
Death by Night (1940)
The Island of Peril (1940)
Sabotage (1941)
Go Away Death (1941)
The Day of Disaster (1942)
Prepare for Action (1942)
No Darker Crime (1943)
Dark Peril (1944)
The Peril Ahead (1946)
The League of Dark Men (1947)
The Department of Death (1949)
The Enemy Within (1950)
Dead or Alive (1951)
A Kind of Prisoner (1954)
The Black Spiders (1957)
Doctor Palfrey Novels
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
Traitor's Doom (1942)
The Legion of the Lost (1943)
The Valley of Fear (The Perilous Country) (1943)
Dangerous Quest (1944)
Death in the Rising Sun (1945)
The Hounds of Vengeance (1945)
Shadow of Doom (1946)
The House of the Bears (1946)
Dark Harvest (1947)
The Wings of Peace (1948)
The Sons of Satan (1948)
The Dawn of Darkness (1949)
The League of Light (1949)
The Man Who Shook the World (1950)
The Prophet of Fire (1951)
The Children of Hate (The Killers of Innocence; The Children of Despair) (1952)
The Touch of Death (1954)
The Mists of Fear (1955)
The Flood (1956)
The Plague of Silence (1958)
Dry Spell (The Drought) (1959)
The Terror (1962)
The Depths (1963)
The Sleep (1964)
The Inferno (1965)
The Famine (1967)
The Blight (1968)
The Oasis (1970)
The Smog (1970)
The Unbegotten (1971)
The Insulators (1972)
The Voiceless Ones (1973)
The Thunder-Maker (1976)
The Whirlwind (1979)
Gideon Series
(Writing as JJ Marric)
These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels
