Eye Of The Needle Part 37

The young man came on. "The set's still transmitting, sir, but she's not speaking. We can't hear anything."

"She screamed."

"Yes, we got that."

G.o.dliman hesitated a moment. "What's the weather like up there?"

"It's raining, sir." The young man sounded puzzled.

"I'm not making conversation," G.o.dliman snapped. "Is there any sign of the storm letting up?"

"It's eased a little in the last few minutes, sir."

"Good. Get back to me the instant that woman comes back on the air."

"Very good, sir."

G.o.dliman said to Terry. "G.o.d only knows what that girl's going through up there-" He jiggled the cradle of the phone.

The colonel crossed his legs. "If she would only smash up the radio, then-"

"Then we don't care if he kills her?"

"You said it."

G.o.dliman spoke into the phone. "Get me Bloggs at Rosyth."

BLOGGS WOKE UP with a start, and listened. Outside it was dawn. Everyone in the scramble hut was listening too. They could hear nothing. That was what they were listening to: the silence. with a start, and listened. Outside it was dawn. Everyone in the scramble hut was listening too. They could hear nothing. That was what they were listening to: the silence.

The rain had stopped drumming on the tin roof.

Bloggs went to the window. The sky was grey, with a band of white on the eastern horizon. The wind had dropped suddenly and the rain had become a light drizzle.

The pilots started putting on jackets and helmets, lacing boots, lighting up last cigarettes.

A klaxon sounded, and a voice boomed out over the airfield: "Scramble! Scramble!"

The phone rang. The pilots ignored it and piled out through the door. Bloggs picked it up. "Yes?"

"Percy here, Fred. We just contacted the island. He's killed the two men. The woman's managing to hold him off at the moment but she clearly won't last much longer-"

"The rain has stopped. We're taking off now," Bloggs said.

"Make it fast, Fred. Good-bye."

Bloggs hung up and looked around for his pilot. Charles Calder had fallen asleep over War and Peace War and Peace. Bloggs shook him roughly. "Wake up, you dozy b.a.s.t.a.r.d, wake up!"

Calder opened his eyes.

Bloggs could have hit him. "Wake up, come on, we're going, the storm's ended!"

The pilot jumped to his feet. "Jolly good show," he said.

He ran out of the door and Bloggs followed, shaking his head.

THE LIFEBOAT dropped into the water with a crack like a pistol and a wide V-shaped splash. The sea was far from calm, but here in the partial shelter of the bay there was no risk to a stout boat in the hands of experienced sailors. dropped into the water with a crack like a pistol and a wide V-shaped splash. The sea was far from calm, but here in the partial shelter of the bay there was no risk to a stout boat in the hands of experienced sailors.

The captain said, "Carry on, Number One."

The first mate was standing at the rail with three of the ratings. He wore a pistol in a waterproof holster. "Let's go," he told them.

The four men scrambled down the ladders and into the boat. The first mate sat in the stern and the three sailors broke out the oars and began to row.

For a few moments the captain watched their steady progress toward the jetty. Then he went back to the bridge and gave orders for the corvette to continue circling the island.

THE SHRILL RINGING of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter. of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.

Slim said, "I thought something was different. We aren't going up and down so much. Almost motionless, really. Makes me d.a.m.n seasick."

n.o.body was listening: the crew were hurrying to their stations, some of them fastening life jackets as they went.

The engines fired with a roar, and the vessel began to tremble faintly.

Up on deck Smith stood in the prow, enjoying the fresh air and the spray on his face after a day and a night below.

As the cutter left the harbor Slim joined him.

"Here we go again," Slim said.

"I knew the bell was going to ring then," Smith said. "You know why?"

"Tell me."

"I was holding ace and a king. Banker's Twenty-One."

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER WERNER HEER looked at his watch. "Thirty minutes." looked at his watch. "Thirty minutes."

Major Wohl nodded. "What's the weather like?"

"The storm has ended," Heer said reluctantly. He would have preferred to keep that information to himself.

"Then we should surface."

"If your man were there, he would send us a signal."

"The war is not won by hypothesis, captain," said Wohl. "I firmly suggest that we surface."

There had been a blazing row while the U-boat was in dock between Heer's superior officer and Wohl's; and Wohl's had won. Heer was still captain of the s.h.i.+p, but he had been told in no uncertain terms that he had better have a d.a.m.ned good reason next time he ignored one of Major Wohl's firm suggestions.

"We will surface at six o'clock exactly," he said.

Wohl nodded again and looked away.

37.

THE SOUND OF BREAKING GLa.s.s, THEN AN EXPLOSION like an incendiary bomb: like an incendiary bomb: Whoomph...

Lucy dropped the microphone. Something was happening downstairs. She picked up a shotgun and ran down.

The living room was ablaze. The fire centered on a broken jar on the floor. Henry had made some kind of bomb with the petrol from the jeep. The flames were spreading across Tom's threadbare carpet and licking up over the loose covers of his ancient three-piece suite. A feather-filled cus.h.i.+on caught and the fire reached up toward the ceiling.

Lucy picked up the cus.h.i.+on and threw it through the broken window, singeing her hand. She tore her coat off and threw it on the carpet, stamping on it. She picked it up again and draped it over the floral settee.

There was another crash of gla.s.s.

It came from upstairs.

Lucy screamed. "Jo!"

She dropped the coat and rushed up the stairs and into the front bedroom.

Faber was sitting on the bed with Jo on his lap. The child was awake, sucking his thumb, wearing his wide-eyed morning look. Faber was stroking his tousled hair.

"Throw the gun on the bed, Lucy."

Her shoulders sagged and she did as he said. "You climbed the wall and got through the window," she said dully.

Faber dumped Jo off his lap. "Go to Mummy."

Jo ran to her and she lifted him up.

He picked up both guns and went to the radio. He was holding his right hand under his left armpit, and there was a great red bloodstain on his jacket. He sat down. "You hurt me," he said. Then he turned his attention to the transmitter.

Suddenly it spoke. "Come in, Storm Island."

He picked up the microphone. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Just a minute."

There was a pause, then another voice came on. Lucy recognized it as the man in London who had told her to destroy the radio. He would be disappointed in her. It said, "h.e.l.lo, this is G.o.dliman again. Can you hear me? Over."

Faber said, "Yes, I can hear you, professor. Seen any good cathedrals lately?"

"What?...is that-"

"Yes." Faber smiled. "How do you do." Then the smile abruptly left his face, as if playtime was over, and he manipulated the frequency dial of the radio.

Lucy turned and left the room. It was over. She walked listlessly down the stairs and into the kitchen. There was nothing for her to do but wait for him to kill her. She could not run away-she did not have the energy, and he obviously knew it.

She looked out of the window. The storm had ended. The howling gale had dropped to a stiff breeze, there was no rain, and the eastern sky was bright with the promise of suns.h.i.+ne. The sea- She frowned, and looked again.

Yes, my G.o.d, it was was a submarine. a submarine.

Destroy the radio, the man had said.

Last night Henry had cursed in a foreign language..."I did it for my country," he had said. he had said.

And, in his delirium, something about waiting at Calais for a phantom army.... waiting at Calais for a phantom army....

Destroy the radio.

Why would a man take a can of photographic negatives on a fis.h.i.+ng trip?

She had known all along he was not insane.

The submarine was a German U-boat, Henry was some kind of German agent...spy?...this very moment he must be trying to contact that U-boat by radio...

Destroy the radio.

She had no right to give up, she couldn't now that she understood. She knew what she had to do. She would have liked to put Jo somewhere else, where he could not see it-that bothered her more than the pain she knew she would feel-but there was no time for that. Henry would surely find his frequency at any second and then it might be too late- She had to destroy the radio, but the radio was upstairs with Henry, and he had both the guns and he would would kill her. kill her.

She knew only one way to do it.

She placed one of Tom's kitchen chairs in the center of the room, stood on it, reached up and unscrewed the light bulb.