His hunger and thirst forgotten, his heart pounding, he broke into a stumbling run. He reached the canoe and then stopped abruptly.
Lying in the bottom of the canoe was a dead Zulu. By his side were two rucksacks which Garry recognized as belonging to Ken and Fennel and more welcome still, Ken's water bottle.
On the Zulu's forefinger of his right hand, flashing in the sunlight, was the Caesar Borgia ring.
As soon as Garry had cleared the customs at London Airport, he hurried to a telephone box and dialled Toni's number. The time was 10.25 hrs. and he was pretty sure she would be still sleeping. After the bell had rung for some minutes, he heard a click, then a sleepy voice said, 'Miss White is away.'
Knowing she was about to hang up, Garry shouted, 'Toni! It's me!'
There was a pause, then Toni, now very much awake, released a squeal of excitement. 'Garry! Is that really you, darling?'
'Yes. I've just got in from Jo'burg.'
'And you're calling me? Oh, darling! So she isn't so marvellous after all?'
'Don't let's talk about her.' Garry's voice went down a note. 'Listen, Toni, how are you fixed? I'm flying to Bern tomorrow morning and I want you to come with me.'
'Bern? Where's Bern?'
'It's in Switzerland. Didn't you learn anything at school?'
'I learned to make love. Who cares where Bern is anyway? You want me to come with you? Why, darling, of course! I'd go with you to Vierwaldstattersee if you wanted me to.'
'That's nice. Where's that?'
She giggled.
'It's in Switzerland too. How long will we be staying?'
'A day or so, then I thought we would go down to Capri for two weeks and really live it up. You know where Capri is, don't you?'
'Yes, of course. I'd love to, Garry, but I simply can't. I have to
work. I can manage three days, but not two weeks.'
'Wives shouldn't work, Toni.'
There was silence. He could hear her breathing over the line and he imagined her kneeling on the bed in her shortie nightdress, her big blue eyes very round and astonished, and he grinned.
'Did you say wives shouldn't work?' she asked, her voice husky.
'That's what the man said.'
'But I'm not married, Garry.'
'You soon will be. See you in two hours from now,' and he hurriedly hung up.
He piled his luggage into a taxi and told the driver to take him to the Royal Towers Hotel.
Arriving at the hotel, he had his luggage put in the baggage room and then asked the hall porter to call Shalik's suite and announce him.
There was a brief delay, then the hall porter told him to go up.
Arriving at the suite, he tapped and entered the outer room. A blonde girl sat at the desk, busily typing. She surveyed him as she paused in her work and got to her feet. Dressed in black, she was tall and willowy and exactly the type of girl Garry went out of his way to avoid: hard, shrewd, intelligent and very efficient.
'Mr. Edwards?'
'Correct.'
'Mr. Shalik will see you now.' She opened the door to Shalik's office and motioned him forward as if she were shooing in a nervous chicken.
Garry smiled at her more from force of habit than to be friendly. He need not have bothered. She wasn't looking at him and her indifference irritated him.
He found Shalik sitting at his desk, smoking a cigar, his plump hands resting on the blotter.
As Garry walked towards him, he said, 'Good morning, Mr. Edwards. Have you the ring?'
