A Dangerous Fortune

by Ken Follett

  Hugh said immediately: "You could promise to protect British investors from loss."

  "How?"

  "I'm not sure, I'm thinking aloud." Hugh shifted in his chair. Four-year-old Sol was building a castle of wooden blocks around his feet. It was odd to be deciding the future of a whole country here in the tiny kitchen of a cheap suburban house. "British investors put two million pounds into the Santamaria Harbor Corporation--Pilasters Bank being the biggest contributor. All the directors of the corporation were members or associates of the Miranda family and I have no doubt the entire two million went straight into their war chest. We need to get it back."

  "But it's all been spent on weapons."

  "All right. But the Miranda family must have assets worth millions."

  "Indeed--they own the country's nitrate mines."

  "If your side won the war, could President Garcia hand over the mines to the Santamaria Harbor Corporation, in compensation for the fraud? The bonds would be worth something then."

  Tonio said firmly: "I have been told by the president that I can promise anything--anything--that will get the British to side with the government forces in Cordova."

  Hugh began to feel excited. Suddenly the prospect of paying off all the Pilasters' debts seemed closer. "Let me think," he said. "We ought to lay the groundwork before you actually make your pitch. I believe I could persuade old Ben Greenbourne to put in a good word with Lord Salisbury, telling him he ought to support the British investor. But what about the Opposition in Parliament? We could go to see Dan Robinson, Maisie's brother--he's a member of Parliament, and he's obsessed with bank failures. He approves of my rescue scheme for Pilasters and he wants it to work. He might make sure the Opposition supports us in the House of Commons." He drummed his fingers on the kitchen table. "This is beginning to look possible!"

  "We should act fast," Tonio said.

  "We'll go into town right away. Dan Robinson lives with Maisie in south London. Greenbourne will be at his country house, but I can telephone him from the bank." Hugh stood up. "Let me tell Nora." He extricated his feet from Sol's wood-block castle and went out.

  Nora was in the bedroom, putting on an elaborate hat with fur trimmings. "I have to go into town," Hugh said as he put on a collar and tie.

  "Who's going to look after the boys, then?" she said.

  "You, I hope."

  "No!" she screeched. "I'm going shopping!"

  "I'm sorry, Nora, but this is very important."

  "I'm important too!"

  "Of course you are, but you can't have your way about this. I have to speak to Ben Greenbourne urgently."

  "I'm sick of this," she said disgustedly. "Sick of the house, sick of this boring village, sick of the children and sick of you. My father lives better than we do!" Nora's father had opened a pub, with a loan from Pilasters Bank, and was doing extremely well. "I ought to go and live with him, and work as a barmaid," she said. "I'd have more fun and I'd be paid for doing drudgery!"

  Hugh stared at her. Suddenly he knew he would never share her bed again. There was nothing left of his marriage. Nora hated him, and he despised her. "Take your hat off, Nora," he said. "You're not going shopping today." He put on his suit jacket and went out.

  Tonio was waiting impatiently in the hall. Hugh kissed the boys, picked up his hat and coat, and opened the door. "There's a train in a few minutes," he said as they went out.

  He put on his hat and shrugged into his coat as they hurried down the short garden path and out through the gate. It was snowing harder and there was a layer an inch thick on the grass. Hugh's home was one of twenty or thirty identical houses built in a row on what had been a turnip field. They walked along a gravel road toward the village. "We'll call on Robinson first," Hugh said, planning their schedule. "Then I can tell Greenbourne that the Opposition is already on our side.... Listen!"

  "What?"

  "That's our train. We'd better hurry."

  They quickened their pace. Fortunately the station was on the near side of the village. The train came into sight as they crossed a bridge over the line.

  A man was leaning on the parapet, watching the approaching train. As they passed him he turned, and Hugh recognized him: it was Micky Miranda.

  And he had a revolver in his hand.

  After that everything happened very quickly.

  Hugh cried out, but his shout was a whisper compared to the noise of the train. Micky pointed the gun at Tonio and fired at point-blank range. Tonio staggered and fell. Micky turned the gun on Hugh--but as he did so, steam and smoke from the engine billowed over the bridge in a dense cloud, and suddenly they were both blind. Hugh threw himself to the snowy ground. He heard the gun again, twice, but he felt nothing. He rolled sideways and got to his knees, peering into the fog.

  The smoke began to clear. Hugh glimpsed a figure in the mist and rushed at him. Micky saw him and turned, but too late: Hugh cannoned into him. Micky fell and the gun flew from his hand and sailed in an arc over the parapet and down onto the railway line. Hugh fell on top of Micky and rolled clear.

  They both struggled to their feet. Micky stooped to pick up his walking cane. Hugh rushed at him again and knocked him down, but Micky kept hold of the cane. As Micky scrambled to his feet again Hugh lashed out at him. But Hugh had not punched anyone for twenty years and he missed. Micky struck at him with the cane and hit his head. The blow hurt. Micky hit him again. The second blow maddened Hugh and he roared with rage, rushed at Micky and butted his face. They both staggered back, breathing hard.

  Then there was a whistle from the station, indicating that the train was leaving, and panic showed on Micky's face. Hugh guessed that Micky had planned to escape by train, and could not afford to be stuck in Chingford for another hour so close to the scene of his crime. The guess was right: Micky turned and ran to the station.

  Hugh gave chase.

  Micky was no sprinter, having spent too many nights drinking in brothels; but Hugh had passed his adult life sitting behind a desk, and he was not in much better shape. Micky ran into the station as the train was pulling out. Hugh followed him, blowing hard. When they charged onto the platform a railwayman shouted: "Oy! Where's your tickets?"

  By way of reply Hugh yelled: "Murder!"

  Micky ran along the platform, trying to catch the receding rear end of the train. Hugh charged after him, doing his best to ignore the stabbing pain in his side. The railwayman joined in the chase. Micky caught up with the train, grabbed a handle and jumped on a step. Hugh dived after him, caught him by the ankle and lost his grip. The railwayman tripped over Hugh and went flying.

  When Hugh got to his feet the train was out of reach. He stared after it in despair. He saw Micky open the door of the carriage and move gingerly from the step into the train, closing the door behind him.

  The railwayman got up, brushing snow off his clothes, and said: "What the 'ell was all that about?"

  Hugh bent over, breathing like a leaky bellows, too weak to speak.

  "A man has been shot," he said when he caught his breath. As soon as he felt strong enough to move he walked back toward the station entrance, beckoning the railwayman to follow. He led the man to the bridge where Tonio lay.

  Hugh knelt by the body. Tonio had been hit between the eyes, and there was not much left of his face. "My God, what a mess," said the railwayman. Hugh swallowed hard, fighting down nausea. He forced himself to slide his hand under Tonio's coat and feel for a heartbeat. As he had expected there was none. He remembered the mischievous boy with whom he had splashed around in the swimming hole at Bishop's Wood twenty-four years earlier, and he felt a wave of grief that pushed him close to tears.

  Hugh's head was clearing, and he could see, with anguished clarity, how Micky had planned this. Micky had friends in the Foreign Office, as did every halfway competent diplomat. One of those friends must have whispered in his ear, perhaps at a reception or dinner party last night, that Tonio was in London. Tonio had lodged his letters of accreditation a
lready, so Micky knew his days were numbered. But if Tonio were to die the situation would become muddled again. There would be no one in London to negotiate on behalf of President Garcia, and Micky would be the de facto minister. It was Micky's only hope. But he had to act fast and take chances, for he had only a day or two.

  How had Micky known where to find Tonio? Perhaps he had people following Tonio--or maybe Augusta had told him that Tonio had been there, asking where to find Hugh. Either way, he had followed Tonio to Chingford.

  To seek out Hugh's house would have meant talking to too many people. However, he had known that Tonio had to come back to the railway station sooner or later. So he had lurked near the station, planning to kill Tonio--and any witnesses to the murder--and escape by train.

  Micky was a desperate man, and it was a fearfully risky scheme--but it had almost worked. He had needed to kill Hugh as well as Tonio, but the smoke from the engine had spoiled his aim. If things had gone according to plan no one would have recognized him. Chingford had neither telegraph nor telephone, and there was no means of transport faster than the train, so he would have been back in London before the crime could be reported. No doubt one of his employees would have given him an alibi, too.

  But he had failed to kill Hugh. And--Hugh suddenly realized--technically Micky was no longer the Cordovan Minister, so he had lost his diplomatic immunity.

  He could hang for this.

  Hugh stood up. "We must report the murder as soon as possible," he said.

  "There's a police station in Walthamstow, a few stops down the line."

  "When's the next train?"

  The railwayman took a large watch from his waistcoat pocket. "Forty-seven minutes," he said.

  "We should both get on it. You go to the police in Walthamstow and I'll go on to town and report it to Scotland Yard."

  "There's no one to mind the station. I'm on my own, being Christmas Eve."

  "I'm sure your employer would want you to do your public duty."

  "Right you are." The man seemed grateful to be told what to do.

  "We'd better put poor Silva somewhere. Is there a place in the station?"

  "Only the waiting room."

  "We'd better carry him there and lock it up." Hugh bent and took hold of the body under the arms. "You take his legs." They lifted Tonio and carried him into the station.

  They laid him on a bench in the waiting room. Then they were not sure what to do. Hugh felt restive. He could not grieve--it was too soon. He wanted to catch the murderer, not mourn. He paced up and down, consulting his watch every few minutes, and rubbing the sore place on his head where Micky's cane had struck him. The railwayman sat on the opposite bench, staring at the body with fearful fascination. After a while Hugh sat beside him. They stayed like that, silent and watchful, sharing the cold room with the dead man, until the train came in.

  2

  MICKY MIRANDA was fleeing for his life.

  His luck was running out. He had committed four murders in the last twenty-four years, and he had got away with the first three, but this time he had stumbled. Hugh Pilaster had seen him shoot Tonio Silva in broad daylight, and there was no way to escape the hangman but by leaving England.

  Suddenly he was on the run, a fugitive in the city that had been his home for most of his life. He hurried through Liverpool Street Railway Station, avoiding the eyes of policemen, his heart racing and his breath coming in shallow gasps, and dived into a hansom cab.

  He went straight to the office of the Gold Coast and Mexico Steamship Company.

  The place was crowded, mainly with Latins. Some would be trying to return to Cordova, others trying to get relatives out, and some might just be asking for news. It was noisy and disorganized. Micky could not afford to wait for the riffraff. He fought his way to the counter, using his cane indiscriminately on men and women to get through. His expensive clothes and upper-class arrogance got the attention of a clerk, and he said: "I want to book passage to Cordova."

  "There's a war on in Cordova," said the clerk.

  Micky suppressed a sarcastic retort. "You haven't suspended all sailings, I take it."

  "We're selling tickets to Lima, Peru. The ship will go on to Palma if political conditions permit: the decision will be made when it reaches Lima."

  That would do. Micky mainly needed to get out of England. "When is the next departure?"

  "Four weeks from today."

  His heart sank. "That's no good, I have to go sooner!"

  "There's a ship leaving Southampton tonight, if you're in a hurry."

  Thank God! His luck had not quite run out just yet. "Reserve me a stateroom--the best available."

  "Very good, sir. May I have the name?"

  "Miranda."

  "Beg pardon, sir?"

  The English were deaf when a foreign name was spoken. Micky was about to spell his name when he changed his mind. "Andrews," he said. "M. R. Andrews." It had occurred to him that the police might check passenger lists, looking for the name Miranda. Now they would not find it. He was grateful for the insane liberalism of Britain's laws, which permitted people to enter and leave the country without passports. It would not have been so easy in Cordova.

  The clerk began to make out his ticket. Micky watched restlessly, rubbing the sore place on his face where Hugh Pilaster had butted him. He realized he had another problem. Scotland Yard could circulate his description to all port towns by cable. Damn the telegraph. Within an hour they would have local policemen checking all passengers. He needed some kind of disguise.

  The clerk gave him his ticket and he paid with bank notes. He pushed impatiently through the crowd and went out into the snow, still worrying.

  He hailed a hansom and directed it to the Cordovan Ministry, but then he had second thoughts. It was risky to go back there, and anyway he was short of time.

  The police would be looking for a well-dressed man of forty, traveling alone. One way to get past them would be to appear as an older man with a companion. In fact, he could pretend to be an invalid, and be taken on board in a wheelchair. But for that he would need an accomplice. Whom could he use? He was not sure he could trust any of his employees, especially now that he was no longer the minister.

  That left Edward.

  "Drive to Hill Street," he told the cabbie.

  Edward had a small house in Mayfair. Unlike the other Pilasters, he rented his home, and he had not been obliged to move out yet because his rent was paid three months in advance.

  Edward did not seem to care that Micky had destroyed Pilasters Bank and brought ruin to his family. He had only become more dependent on Micky. As for the rest of the Pilasters, Micky had not seen them since the crash.

  Edward answered the door in a stained silk dressing gown and took Micky up to his bedroom, where there was a fire. He was smoking a cigar and drinking whisky at eleven o'clock in the morning. The skin rash was all over his face now, and Micky had second thoughts about using him as an accomplice: the rash made him conspicuous. But there was no time to be choosy. Edward would have to do.

  "I'm leaving the country," Micky said.

  Edward said: "Oh, take me with you," and burst into tears.

  "What the devil is the matter with you?" Micky said unsympathetically.

  "I'm dying," Edward said. "Let's go somewhere quiet and live together in peace until I'm gone."

  "You're not dying, you damn fool--you've only got a skin disease."

  "It's not a skin disease, it's syphilis."

  Micky gasped in horror. "Jesus and Mary, I might have it too!"

  "It's no wonder, the amount of time we've spent at Nellie's."

  "But April's girls are supposed to be clean!"

  "Whores are never clean."

  Micky fought down panic. If he delayed in London to see a doctor he might die at the end of a rope. He had to leave the country today. But the ship went via Lisbon: he could see a doctor there in a few days' time. That would have to do. He might not have the disease at all
: he was much healthier than Edward generally, and he always washed himself after sex, whereas Edward was not so fastidious.

  But Edward was in no state to help smuggle him out of the country. Anyway, Micky was not going to take a terminal syphilis case back to Cordova with him. Still he needed an accomplice. And there was only one candidate left: Augusta.

  He was not as sure of her as he was of Edward. Edward had always been willing to do anything Micky asked. Augusta was independent. But she was his last chance.

  He turned to go.

  "Don't leave me," Edward pleaded.

  There was no time for sentiment. "I can't take a dying man with me," he snapped.

  Edward looked up, and his face took on a malicious expression. "If you don't ..."

  "Well?"

  "I'll tell the police that you killed Peter Middleton, and Uncle Seth, and Solly Greenbourne."

  Augusta must have told him about old Seth. Micky stared at Edward. He made a pathetic figure. How have I put up with him for so long, Micky wondered? He suddenly realized how happy he would be to leave him behind. "Tell the police," he said. "They're already after me for killing Tonio Silva, and I might as well be hanged for four murders as for one." He went out without looking back.

  He let himself out of the house and got a hansom in Park Lane. "Kensington Gore," he told the cabbie. "Whitehaven House." On the way he worried about his health. He had none of the symptoms: no skin problems, no unexplained lumps on his genitals. But he would have to wait to be sure. Damn Edward to hell.

  He also worried about Augusta. He had not seen her since the crash. Would she help him? He knew she had always struggled to control her sexual hunger for him; and on that one bizarre occasion she had actually yielded to her passion. In those days Micky had burned for her too. Since then Micky's fire had abated, but he felt that hers had grown hotter. He hoped so: he was going to ask her to run away with him.

  Augusta's door was opened not by her butler but by a slovenly woman in an apron. Passing through the hall, Micky noticed that the place was not very clean. Augusta was in difficulties. So much the better: it would make her more inclined to go along with his plan.

  However, she appeared her usual imperious self as she came into the drawing room in a purple silk blouse with leg-of-mutton sleeves and a black flared skirt With a tiny pinched waist. She had been a breathtakingly beautiful young woman and now, at fifty-eight, she could still turn heads. He recalled the lust he had felt for her as a boy of sixteen, but there was none left. He would have to fake it.