Kek rubbed a hand through his touseled hair. “Without a connecting door, I’m afraid. Actually, if I can arrange it, on separate decks and, if possible, on opposite sides of the ship.”
“You wouldn’t want me to stay home and just rent a rowboat in Central Park?” Anita asked with dangerous sweetness. “I certainly appreciate the way you invite people on cruises!” She stared at him a moment and then shook her head, her thick hair curling about her face. “I’m sorry, darling. I’m sure you have a good reason for it.” Suddenly she smiled her gamine grin. “How are you going to avoid me, though, if I pursue you on board with an eye on a flaming shipboard romance? Or is that also verboten?”
Kek considered. “Well,” he said, smiling, “that might be a possibility.”
“Thank you, sir. Anyway,” Anita said philosophically, “maybe it’s even better this way. You won’t be able to complain about my smoking in bed, or about my things hanging over the bathtub.” She frowned. “I’ll have to check my wardrobe to see what I’ve got to wear on a cruise where the temperatures are apt to melt my makeup. It’s a pity your M’sieu Victor Eugène Whatever didn’t want his whatever it is brought in during the winter. With my luck, Ile Rocheux will probably be the hottest, most humid of all the hot and humid islands.”
Kek had been on the point of walking out. Now he paused and looked back at Anita in surprise.
“Ile Rocheux?” he said. “Did I give you the impression that we would be taking a cruise to Ile Rocheux? I’m sorry, sweet. Plan on the other islands, but the one place, I promise, our cruise, singular or plural will not be going, is Ile Rocheux!”
He shuddered at the thought, and went in to take his bath.
4
The young lady behind the counter of the All-Ways Travel Agency beamed at the handsome man across from her, wishing she had done her hair differently and had worn the new dress she had so recently bought.
“A cruise? Of course, a cruise!” she said. Her tone indicated that the thought of a cruise as a possible vacation solution would never have occurred to her in a million years had it not been for the near-genius of her customer in bringing it to mind. “To the Caribbean? Oh, yes! Very good. Very good. Do you like to play bridge?”
“On occasion,” Kek said cordially, “but I’m afraid I’m rather busy this afternoon, and this evening is out of the question. And tomorrow I have an appointment—”
“Or possibly you prefer canasta?” the young lady asked anxiously, certainly not wishing to make an improper selection at this stage of the game, particularly not to this nice gentleman.
“I beg your pardon? I thought we started talking about cruises.”
The young lady simpered. “We are talking about cruises. Things people do on board.” A third possibility occurred to the young lady and she nodded emphatically, ashamed of herself for not having thought of it sooner, especially in view of the excellent physique of the handsome gentleman. “Of course,” she said. “Golf!”
“They play golf on ships?” Kek asked, suitably impressed. He sounded as if he knew they were building the floating palaces bigger and bigger, but this seemed a bit much, even for the most massive. “They must have done wonders with stabilizers since the last time I traveled. But I’m afraid it’s out of the question. With my slice …” He shrugged.
The young lady smirked at this bit of wit, properly interpreted it as being rhetorical, and dredged up a fourth possibility. “Or perhaps you would prefer to do nothing?”
Kek looked at her wonderingly. “You mean, forget the whole business and stay home?”
The young lady fought down a giggle at this waggery. She managed to bring it under control and turned, sweeping her arm in an arc to indicate a series of racks crowded with leaflets, pamphlets, and other folders in all colors and thicknesses.
“You see,” she said, getting down to the nub of the matter, “we have all types of cruises for all sorts of people with all kinds of tastes and for every size pocketbook. We have six-day cruises to St. Thomas, stopping in San Juan, where everyone plays cribbage day and night—”
Kek fought down a shudder as the young lady, now wound up, continued.
“—we have five-day cruises to Jamaica stopping at St. Croix for shopping, where the motif is canasta. We have golfing cruises where we stop at the islands with the better golf courses, and where our cruise director is a member of the PGA and gives driving lessons from the aft deck during sailing days. You must provide your own golfballs, of course. Naturally, we recommend old balls. Then we have cruises where the main interest is more cultural; one in particular—nine days to Jamaica with a stopover for shopping in Martinique—is proving a great favorite with mystery fans. Between writing classes, conducted by qualified people who have been published at least once, old Charlie Chan movies are shown in the ship’s theater. Then we have what we call—”
Kek had had enough. “Miss—”
“—Trips to Nowhere,” the young lady went on, nowhere near through with her pitch. “On these cruises the ship merely goes out into the ocean out of sight of land for three or four days and then comes back to the same port. These cruises are mainly for people who just love the sight and sound of the ocean and have no particular desire to take advantage of the tax-free shopping on most of these islands. Even the ship’s shop is closed on these cruises, so if you’re planning on much shopping, I would suggest—”
“Young lady!”
The young lady skidded to a halt, suddenly aware that she had somehow lost the attention of her customer, wondering what on earth she could possibly have said to bring that steely look to those handsome gray eyes. She hadn’t even touched on the cruise to sunken pirate treasure, not to mention the pièce de résistance, the cruise for single persons. It was the one she had always preferred, herself.
“Sir?”
“Look,” Kek said into the welcome silence, “these multitudinous sailings with everybody doing everything their hearts desire—or not doing them, if it so pleases them—are they recorded anywhere on paper, or did you have to memorize all that?”
“Oh, yes, sir,” the young lady said fervently, and indicated once more the racks upon racks of printed material. She suddenly seemed to realize what the handsome man was driving at. “Would you care for some brochures covering the various trips I mentioned?”
“Yes,” Kek said sincerely.
“Of course, of course!” said the young lady, and proceeded to round up an armful of various colored pamphlets, speaking as she did so. “The cruise for singles—”
“Do they have both schedules and accommodations? The pamphlets, I mean.”
“Oh, yes, oh yes!” It seemed the handsome man was not interested in cruises for singles. What a pity! Ah, well.… She stuffed the lot into a large plastic bag and placed it on the counter.
Kek hefted it; it made for a goodly load. He had the feeling that every sailing vessel in the world must be pressed into service to carry vacationing Americans, pied-piper style, into the sun and sand. It made him wonder what happened to cruise-loving Finns, or Italians, when apparently all the ships in the world were in the Caribbean practically side by side.
The young lady smiled proudly, aware of a job well done. “Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?”
“Just one thing,” Kek replied. He tapped his package of brochures. “How much actual notice would be required to be sure and get the exact accommodations at the exact time for any particular ship? I mean, on any particular cruise? Or cruises?”
“Cruises?”
Kek chose not to explain. “That’s right.”
The young lady, having no choice, let the matter go. “It would depend on the time of year, sir.”
“This month.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about this time of the year,” the young lady said with assurance. “Especially if”—she noted the suit and went on confidently—“especially if one were to book one of the higher-priced staterooms. A lot of people travel in July, but the more expensive
staterooms are usually booked more solid in the winter. But July is a very good time to travel; it’s warm from the very first day, while some of the winter cruises are pretty chilly the first few days out of New York.”
“Thank you.” Kek turned to leave.
“There’s nothing else you need?”
“No, thank you,” Kek said. He rewarded the young lady with a bright smile, shouldered his mountainous load of brochures, and managed to get through the door before the hurrying young lady could get around the counter and open it for him.
Behind he left a young lady who thought what a pity it was that her own vacation didn’t come until November!
“July twenty-first, in Barbados,” Kek said to the swarthy man.
The two were occupying chairs in one corner of the reading room at the Quinleven Club; the cardroom was too active this night for conversation, even though the men spoke, as always, in French. The pair of bodyguards restlessly shuffled through the magazines on the long mahogany table in the center of the room, wondering what gave the management the idea that Business Week was more interesting than Playboy. At least you didn’t have to understand English to enjoy Playboy.
Girard frowned unhappily. “July twenty-first? This is only the fifth! That’s more than two weeks! Why so long?” A more important question intruded on his thoughts. “And why Barbados? Why not Ile Rocheux itself?”
Huuygens sighed inwardly at the other’s lack of imagination; he would have assumed it would have been a necessary adjunct of any successful dictator’s makeup. On the other hand, Girard was not a sucessful dictator. Maybe that explained it.
“M’sieu Girard, picture it: the museum of Ile Rocheux is burglarized; I gather it is not something that can be kept from the police indefinitely. Any strangers on the island are going to be the first ones to be suspected. As a matter of fact, July twenty-first is particularly convenient; it not only suits my plans, but there will actually be a cruise ship in Ile Rocheux from the nineteenth until the twenty-second. That ship will, I assure you, be held up, searched from one end to the other, and its passengers made extremely uncomfortable. I try to avoid such discomfort where possible.”
“But Ile Rocheux is always full of strangers! The gambling brings them from the entire area! Two more—”
“No,” Kek said, quietly but firmly. “They will have to do without this particular stranger. Let it be my way. The presence of a cruise ship in Ile Rocheux will keep the staff of local police occupied while we—your thief and I—transact our business quietly and efficiently in Barbados, and then go our respective ways.” He watched Girard accept the answer, albeit not with complete happiness. “Now, as I was saying: I shall be a passenger on the motor vessel Andropolis, which docks in Barbados on July twenty-first. My passage is all arranged.”
Girard grimaced. “Damn it, my man is already on his way to Ile Rocheux! I had no idea you would delay like this! And why are you planning on returning to New York by ship rather than by plane?”
“How I return to New York is both my business as well as being highly unimportant as far as our—ah, wager, is concerned,” Huuygens said quietly. “When the Andropolis docks on its return from that trip—which will be July twenty-fifth, if you want to come down to the dock with flowers—I shall not, repeat not be taking any carving from the ship, whether I am on the ship or not. If that answers your question.”
“But—”
Kek studied the other man steadily. “Yes?”
“Well, damn it,” Girard said angrily, “then when will you be bringing it through Customs? And what’s the purpose of this trip by ship, if you don’t plan to use the ship?”
“The cruise,” Kek said gently, “is for my nerves, which are on the verge of being unraveled, mainly by a lot of unnecessary questioning.” He shrugged, “In any event, our wager said nothing of dates—”
Girard’s face hardened. He sat a bit more erect. At the table the two bodyguards looked more alert. “Now you see here! Just remember to whom you are speaking! We made a wager, and I live up to the terms of my wagers, but I take that tone from no one!”
“I apologize,” Kek said calmly. “And, if it will relieve your mind, we’ll settle our little bet on the first of next month. That makes it less than one month from today, so I see no reason for complaint.”
There was a dangerous silence. Girard’s face was a rock. “Why so long?”
“I’m slow,” Kek said apologetically. “Your contacts in Paris should have explained that to you.” He looked at the other man expressionlessly, in no way intimidated by the stocky man’s dislike. “May I continue?”
Girard would have enjoyed nothing more than stalking off and forgetting the matter, but he had made a wager and intended to stay with it. And he also knew there was no question of changing horses in midstream. He bottled his temper and prepared to memorize the program about to be given to him.
“All right,” he said harshly. “On July twenty-first your ship, the Andropolis, will dock at Barbados—at Bridgetown, of course, since there is no other place to dock. My man will have the carving in his possession by then. He will bring it to Bridgetown—”
“Not by BWIA, nor by the Cap Antoine-Bridgetown ferry,” Huuygens interrupted. “Let him rent—not steal, even though he’s such a marvelous thief—a powerboat of some sort. For a few weeks’ fishing, let us say; he has to do something with his excess time. On the twenty-first he can land it in Barbados anyplace between Bridgetown and Holetown. Just beyond Paradise Beach are several good deserted spots. He can anchor there, bring the dinghy in to shore, and catch a bus into town.”
“It’s an idea,” Girard said grudgingly. “All right. He comes into Bridgetown without any hue and cry. He’ll do it fine; he’s good. The best, in fact. He’ll come aboard the Andropolis—”
“He will not come aboard the Andropolis. In fact, there is no need for him to know the name of the ship, or the fact it will be docked there.” Kek’s voice was definite about this. He leaned toward the smaller man a trifle, as if for emphasis. “He will have nothing to do with the ship, and no more to do with me than is necessary for this operation.”
“Then, how—”
“What he will do,” Kek went on, leaning back again, “is the following: He will go shopping at Harrison’s, in the Broad Street, and he will buy some object the same size as the carving. He will then go someplace private—the men’s room at the nearest bar might serve—and use the wrapping paper to rewrap the carving. He will not go into Harrison’s and ask for the paper, nor will he try to steal it. He will buy something. Harrison’s paper is quite distinctive.”
He paused. Girard regarded him stonily, each portion of the instructions remembered exactly. Kek nodded and continued.
“Your man will then take a taxi to Sam Lord’s Castle, arriving there as close to eleven o’clock in the morning as possible. The bar opens at that hour, and is deserted until the luncheon is served, which is much later. He will go into the bar, sit down as far from the bartender’s normal position near the cash register as possible, and order a Benedictine sour—”
Despite his composure, Girard was startled. “A what?”
“A Benedictine sour,” Kek said evenly. “It’s like a whiskey sour, but with Benedictine, instead.”
“I never heard of it.”
“Neither have I. However, when I come in later and order the same thing, it will serve as some sort of identification. Beyond the package, of course.” He paused. “All clear so far?”
“Go on,” Girard said with no expression in either voice or face. He was finding it harder and harder to take this Huuygens character. Still, he had gambled with other people he had disliked in the past; it was one of the penalties of gambling. “You said, ‘Beyond the package.’ That would identify him, but not you.”
“In time,” Kek said, and went on. “Now, your man will have his package near his elbow, on the bar, and about that time I come in. By utter coincidence I shall also have been shopping at Harris
on’s and I will have a package very much the size of his. Incidentally, tell him not to embellish the thing. Don’t have him put it into a shoe box, or something on that order. Tell him to merely cover it with tissue paper and rewrap it in the Harrison’s paper. I have the dimensions of the Chang carving from the catalog, so that’s no problem. In any event, I shall sit next to the gentleman, also order a Benedictine sour, and having drunk it—or as much of it as I can stomach—I shall leave, being careless enough to take his package and to leave mine. We will not fall into conversation; actually, we need not even look at each other …”
Kek thought about this a moment and then nodded.
“In fact, that would be even better, if we do not even see each other’s face. For all concerned.” Kek suddenly smiled. “Tell your man to try and appear as British as he can; the bartender will think our mutual reticence only natural. All clear?”
Girard’s tiny eyes narrowed even further as he considered the matter. “It sounds a lot of cloak-and-dagger …”
Kek nodded. “More cloak-and-dagger than walking out of the museum and handing the carving to me on the street in Ile Rocheux? More cloak-and-dagger than coming from Ile Rocheux to Barbados and coming aboard the Andropolis to hand it over, probably under the eye of the captain? Possibly, but it’s precisely that cloak-and-dagger that has kept me out of trouble in the past. Anything else?”
An objection instantly appeared to the smaller man.
“What if somebody notices you making the switch?”
“To begin with,” Kek said with a patience he was beginning to lose, “as I said, at that hour the bar is almost sure to be deserted. But even if they are having a wedding party with sixty-five guests, if anyone notices me making the switch, I shall change professions and take up ditch-digging.” His tone clearly indicated he felt he had been insulted.
Girard was not greatly saddened at having insulted the great Kek Huuygens. “And what will be in the package you leave?”
Kek stared across the table in honest surprise.
“What on earth difference does it make? I’m not asking him what he’s going to do with the ashtray, or whatever, that he buys at Harrison’s.” He shrugged. “If I happen to be in a generous mood, I may buy him a nice Wedgwood platter—small of course, and not gaudy—to take home to his wife and loved ones. On the other hand, if I’m feeling particularly stingy, due to circumstances I cannot foresee at the moment, I may leave him a cheap soup plate made in Ohio. Why?”
The Wager Page 4