She had never had so much money in her life.
CHAPTER 17
Tweed and Paula were having dinner in the Grill Room. They had the only table occupied on the balcony, which gave them a good view down into the restaurant below. There were just a few guests, even though they were on the edge of July.
'Not so many people as I'd have expected,' Paula commented. 'I think it must be the heat – it has even penetrated up here.'
She was eating scrambled eggs – not on the menu but she'd explained to the waiter she wasn't very hungry owing to the heat.
'Most unusual, Madame, for Hamburg,' the waiter replied. 'A heatwave is something we rarely experience.'
'I see Newman is sitting at a table over by the wall and has Mark with him,' Tweed remarked. 'As we came in I heard Mark asking if he could join him, as he hated eating alone.'
'Keeping up the pretence they don't know each other,' Paula observed.
'And Marler is having sandwiches and a drink in the lounge by himself. From that position he can observe anyone who comes in here. Doesn't miss a trick, our Marler. Don't look now, but you'll never guess in a hundred years who has just sat down at a table by himself. By the wall,' said Tweed.
'Tell me – or I'll have to look.'
'The Brig. Bernard, Lord Barford. Wearing a white dinner jacket.'
'On a sweltering night like this?' Paula exclaimed.
'Oh, typical of him. You dress for dinner whatever the temperature. He'll have done that hundreds of times in the mess when he was in the Army.'
'Heavens.' Tweed's observation had just sunk in on Paula. 'He's the last man on earth I'd have expected to turn up here. What's going on?'
'I haven't any idea.'
'You don't believe in coincidences. And Hamburg wasn't one of the places Aubrey, his drunken son, included when he told me over lunch at Martino's where the Brig often flies to. I wonder why he keeps Hamburg so secret?' Paula said.
'I simply couldn't even guess.'
Tweed was making short work of his Dover sole. He was famished. Both of them had avoided alcohol, were drinking water to ward off dehydration.
'Has he spotted us?' Paula enquired as she finished off the last of her scrambled eggs.
'No. He didn't look up here as he came in. Now he's concentrating on reading some documents.'
'He probably will see us when we leave, go down the steps from this balcony.'
'We'll try and choose a moment when he's surrounded by waiters serving him. They do have plenty of waiters.' Tweed put down his knife and fork, checked his watch below the table cloth.
'What's our next objective – after we've visited Dr Kefler?'
'To locate and identify Rhinoceros. Coffee? Dessert?'
'Not for me,' Paula decided.
'Then now might be a good moment to leave.'
As they descended the stairs into the main restaurant, Paula had a good look at the unexpected arrival. A covey of waiters hovered round him as they served a steak. She thought he looked very alert, his hand movements agile, very much in command of himself, sitting erect as a ramrod.
'He didn't see us,' Paula said as they walked into the lounge.
'Don't kid yourself. He's a spry bird. Doesn't miss much.'
Marler was seated by himself, shielded from other guests by a palm tree. Tweed walked slowly, dropped a crumpled piece of paper into his lap, continued walking.
'What was the note about?' Paula wondered.
'To tell Marler we're going out to see someone. And also that Harry is going to guard our rear.'
Newman, as arranged, caught them up as they entered the hall. He kept his voice down as he spoke.
'Mark handled that cleverly. Anyone near us who knew English would have heard him talking about New York, then asking what my job was. He's astute. Look who's here.'
They were about to walk down the steps into the street when Lisa appeared from nowhere. She was dangling her shoulder bag by its strap and smiling as though all was well with the world.
'Going somewhere?' she asked Paula.
'Just a long stroll,' Tweed replied quickly. 'We have something we want to talk over in confidence.'
'Can I come with you?'
'You look really tired,' said Paula, having a go at her. 'I'd suggest you go to bed and get some sleep…'
They reached the street and started walking along the pavement towards the landing stage. Lisa ran after them, caught up with Tweed.
'I really am sorry I blew my top. I didn't mean-'
'Lisa,' Paula snapped, 'go back and get some sleep. Didn't you hear Tweed say we had something confidential to talk over?'
Lisa blinked, turned on her heel, went back and climbed the first few steps. She stayed there, waited a short time, then peered after them.
'That wasn't very nice of either of you,' Newman protested. 'I could have shooed her off much more politely.' He frowned. 'I sense good relations with Lisa have broken down. Had a row?'
'She was very rude to Tweed in his room,' Paula told him.
'It isn't that,' Tweed said, glancing over his shoulder. 'I want to see how much of an effort she'll make to get back into our good graces. And here's a taxi coming…'
With the aid of a map he explained to the driver exactly where they wanted to be dropped. The driver looked at them as though surprised, then nodded.
'Don't think he thought it was a good idea,' Paula whispered.
They stopped talking and Paula gazed out of the window as the cab drove at speed deep into Hamburg. Huge solid buildings loomed above them and there was no one else about. At long intervals the streets were lit by tall lamps and then they again plunged into shadows. Paula slipped her right hand inside her shoulder bag to make sure she could grab her automatic quickly. Tweed was following their route, studying his street plan.
'They go to bed early,' Newman commented. 'Not a soul about.'
'They work hard, get up early,' Paula replied, to say something to keep her nerves in check.
The cab stopped in the middle of nowhere. Weird modern buildings hemmed them in. The driver looked back uncertainly, kept his engine running.
'Is this where you want to get off?' he asked in German.
'It is,' Tweed assured him.
'You're certain?'
His manner was uneasy. Paula noticed he had kept the doors locked. He peered at her, frowning.
'This is exactly the point,' said Tweed, handing him the fare plus a generous tip.
'Thanks very much,' the driver said. 'You are coming back?'
He scribbled his name, Eugen, on a card giving the firm's name and phone number. Tweed slipped it into his wallet. The cab disappeared quickly.
'I heard a motorcyclist behind us,' Newman remarked. 'Now he's stopped somewhere.'
'That's Harry,' Paula told him. 'I'm glad he's come,'
They started walking past the weird buildings that reminded Paula of gigantic modern sculptures. It was very quiet, very humid. She thought she smelt a whiff of oil.
'How far to the Elbe?' she asked.
'Not far,' Tweed told her, having put his map away.
