Arriving at the airport, priority had been given to Butler, who, with Paula in attendance, had been taken off the jet first, put inside a waiting ambulance, rushed to a hospital where a waiting staff and doctor had examined him at once.
The doctor, expecting far worse, had been surprised. He had treated Butler, replaced the bandages. Then he had a word with Paula in the corridor outside the private room where Butler was kicking up merry hell.
'No sign of infection, Miss Grey, the doctor at Sion did a good job. He's very rebellious. What would happen if I let him go now?'
'I'd take him to a hotel, make him go to bed and rest.'
'Really what he now needs is a good night's sleep.'
'I'll see he gets that.' Paula had replied with determination.
'Mr Beck has supplied an unmarked police car to take him from here when I give the go-ahead. Mr Butler doesn't like anything medical. I think you should take him to a hotel.'
Which is how Eve, who had walked halfway across the platz and was standing on a pedestrian platform, came to see a car pull up outside the hotel, a tough-looking man get out, while Paula firmly held one arm.
Paula happened to glance across the platz, saw Eve staring. Their eyes met for a brief moment. Paula's expression was blank but Eve's was full of venom. She disliked Paula and sneered to herself. So that's her boy friend, she thought, and she hangs onto his arm like a leech.
Accompanying Butler inside, Paula told the concierge he had had a fall so could she take him up to his room at once? She would bring his passport down shortly and deal with the registration. The concierge agreed without hesitation, gave her the number and key of a good room on the first floor.
Paula was troubled as she took Butler to his room and waited in the bathroom while he got undressed and into the pyjamas he had unpacked from the case she had carried. It was the unexpected sight of Eve which worried her and made her think furiously. Should she tell Philip? In spite of what he had said earlier she knew some women had only to crook their little finger and the men came running.
After he was settled in bed and had given Paula his passport, Butler promptly fell fast asleep. She phoned the concierge, obtained the number of her own room and an assurance that the housekeeper would be waiting outside her room with the key.
She unpacked very quickly, went down to the concierge, completed the registrations, went back up to Tweed's room. The three of them were sitting in armchairs – Tweed, Philip, and Newman. Taking a deep breath, she turned to Philip as she sat down thankfully, crossing her legs.
'Philip, I saw Eve floating about in the platz.'
'Let her float – to kingdom come as far as I'm concerned. Don't want to see that woman again. Ever.'
'Curious she should be near this hotel.' said the ever-suspicious Tweed.
'I suppose she's staying with Brazil.' Paula remarked.
'He's welcome to her.' said Philip. 'They make a pretty pair.'
Eve crossed the platz to outside the Schweizerhof, weighing up whether to go in and ask for Newman. No, best to phone him, bearing in mind what she was going to demand.
She hurried back to the phone box in Bahnhofstrasse she had used before. Opening a small notebook, she checked the number of the Schweizerhof and called it, asking for Mr Robert Newman.
There was a pause. Newman was on his way back to his own room and heard the phone ringing as he entered. Locking the door, he ran to the phone.
'Yes, who is it?'
'Bob, it's Eve. I've missed you.'
'All right. What are you after?'
'Don't be like that. We could make music together.'
'Discordant music.'
'You're not being at all nice to me.'
'Get to the point.'
'I will.' Her voice hardened. 'How would you like the scoop of your career? Something so sensational you would hit the headlines all over the world.'
'Go on, if you must.'
'I can give you the real story of Leopold Brazil. And I have evidence to back it up. How he seduced twenty of the world's top scientists to work for him.'
'Did he?' Newman enquired in a bored voice.
'You listen to me.' she snarled. 'I had notes taken from his secret files giving all the intimate details about those missing scientists. Later, I was able to photograph the sheets from those files. Ed Reynolds, Irina Krivitsky, and others. Are you listening?'
'Vaguely.'
'I want one hundred thousand pounds for the information.'
'You don't want much, do you?'
'You can syndicate your expose. You'll make another fortune. I'm offering it to you cheap for one hundred thousand pounds. Other people would pay one helluva sight more.'
'Go to other people.'
'You'd make the most terrific job of it. I've read some of your stuff. And on top of the hundred thousand I'd want five per cent of the total profits.'
'You're making my mouth water.' he said cynically.
'When you ponder it you'll come round to my way of thinking. I'm at the Baur-en-Ville. Give your name as Cross when you phone me.'
'Mr Double-Cross?'
Newman put down the phone. He had a reaction of complete revulsion.
47
Eve flounced out of the phone box, hurried back to the Baur-en-Ville. She was going to the bar. She needed a large vodka.
Gustav had watched her from inside a shop front across the street. As soon as she was hidden by an approaching tram he ran across to the phone box. A grim-looking woman had her hand reached out for the door of the phone box. He brushed her aside, ignored her abuse, pretended to look up a number.
As soon as she had gone he detached the miniature listening and recording device he had hidden, pulling hard at the suckers which held it in place. Gustav had hoped that if she made another call she would use the phone box he had seen her use before.
He wasted no time getting back to his office in the hotel. Once inside, he locked the door, extracted the cassette, placed it in the machine which played it back, listened with growing excitement. He had never liked Eve.
He was walking along the corridor to Brazil's room when his chief came up behind him. Gustav dropped back as Eve came out of her room. She had freshened herself up and was on her way to the bar.
'Where is Jose?' she asked.
'Jose decided to stay behind,' Brazil told her cheerfully. 'I think he's gone home.'
'I'll be in the bar if you want me.' she said.
'Where else?' replied Brazil, even more cheerfully.
He was unlocking his door when Gustav came up behind him, said he'd like a private word.
'Is it important?' asked Brazil.
'I think you should judge that for yourself.'
'Oh, all right. You'd better come in. But not for long.'
Brazil sat behind his desk, hoping Gustav would soon go away. He wanted to listen to the latest radio reports -particularly if anything had slipped through about the situation in Moscow.
'I want to play you a tape.' Gustav said.