The '44 Vintage

the main party.' He turned towards them again. 'I said . . . hold it.'

Winston frowned across the German at Butler.

Audley smiled at Pierrot. 'Do you have the key to the handcuffs, m'sieur?' he enquired politely.

'Huh?' Pierrot looked at him quickly.

'Do—you—have—the—key—to—the—handcuffs?' repeated Audley slowly.

Butler lifted up the German's handcuffs. ' La clef?' he said.

'Oh, la clefl' Pierrot nodded. ' C'est dans ma poche.'

Audley gave Butler an exasperated look, then turned back to Pierrot. 'Do—you—speak—English?'

'M'sieur?'

Audley smiled. 'Is it a fact that your sister sleeps with your father?' he said amiably.

Price, Anthony - [David Audley 08] - The '44 Vintage

Pierrot shrugged. ' Je ne comprends pas, m'sieur.'

Winston leaned forward suddenly. 'Okay, Lieutenant'—he held up a finger behind Pierrot's back

—'when we slow down at the next intersection, I'll stick this knife of mine into his back—right?'

'Exactly right, Sergeant.' Audley nodded. 'And I'll grab the steering wheel. Just make sure you stick that knife of yours in the right spot, eh?'

Winston waggled his finger. 'You betcha.'

Audley stared ahead again. 'Here we go, then.'

The Kubel slowed in front of them as the road forked. Butler watched fascinated as Winston placed the tip of his finger gently below Pierrot's shoulderblade.

'Now, Sergeant,' said Audley conversationally, tapping the dashboard with his left hand.

Winston jabbed his finger.

Pierrot wriggled slightly. ' Qu'est-ce que c'est?'

'Sorry, mac'—Winston leaned forward apologetically—'I was just stabbing you by accident.

Pardonnez, huh?'

Pierrot shrugged.

'Okay, Lieutenant,' said Winston. 'You can take it from my finger that he's not with us. So now what?'

'So now we're in trouble again,' said Audley.

'You don't say!' Winston gave a grunt. 'And what sort of trouble this time?'

'We're being double-crossed.' Audley nodded at Butler. 'D'you remember the colonel gave us the cover if we got picked up—no matter who we were picked up by?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Yes . . . well, I thought it smelt to high heaven then, and now I'm bloody sure of it.' Audley gave Pierrot another friendly grin. 'These people know there's something in the wind.'

Price, Anthony - [David Audley 08] - The '44 Vintage

'How d'you figure that?' asked Winston.

'The wrong code name,' said Butler suddenly. 'You gave him the wrong code name—and he knew it was the wrong one. He was waiting for you to give the cover—the right cover.' Then he frowned at Audley. 'But how did you come to suspect him, sir?'

'I didn't exactly suspect him. But when he was showing me the ambush setup he kept asking questions in between—he wanted to know where the main party was, and where they were going.'

Winston nodded. 'Yeah, I get you . . . and when you wouldn't play ball he gave us lover-boy here, to make sure you didn't run out on him.' He patted Pierrot's shoulder. 'You're doing a great job, man.'

Butler stared blindly at the road ahead. If Audley was right they were in all kinds of trouble now—

trouble multiplied by ten. What they had run into had been practically a reception committee lying in wait for them. The German at his side had fallen into the trap almost incidentally—the Frenchman had picked him up almost as a man hunting a fox might bag a rabbit or two on the side for the pot while he searched for the killer of his chickens.

And, what was more, it meant that the major himself had slipped through the net.

'Wow-ee . . .' Winston breathed out noisily. 'You really got yourself into the shit right up to your chin, Lieutenant!'

'What d'you mean?'

'Man—I mean when that schoolteacher gets you home he's going to take you apart piece by piece to find out where the major's heading for.' Winston shook his head. 'And the joke is—you don't know . . .

and he's not going to believe you one little bit.'

Audley scowled at the American. 'But that goes for you too, Sergeant,' he said nastily.

'Me? Hell no!' Winston sat back. 'I'm just a poor Yankee who's got caught up in a private fight.' He gestured