‘No? “Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a nail of the tent and a hammer in her hand and smote the nail into his temple…” Or something like that. One of the brighter bits of the Good Book. Only whoever this joker was went for the neck, so perhaps he wasn’t a Bible-boy after all. As you said — a nice Oriental touch. Either that, or a European trying to make out it was an Oriental.’
Ryderbeit took a step forward, breathing hard. ‘Just a moment, Murray boy.’ He held the lamp higher, and in the raw light his eyes had a dry yellow glitter. ‘I’m not that well-educated, and I’m not even a good Jew, so I can’t quote chapter and verse. But as I read you, are you saying I did this?’
‘You could have done. You knew his routine and the layout of the place. You also knew he had an appointment with me tonight. You might even know what that appointment was about.’
Ryderbeit nodded. ‘Go on.’
‘Did he live alone?’
‘As far as I know.’
‘Servants?’
‘Houseboy. And his secretary. Nice little Vietnamese number he used to knock off in the afternoons. She could have done it. Vietnamese women have some nasty habits in the crime passionnel line — doin’ things with razors and hatpins while their lover-boys are tucked up asleep.’
‘And tear his office to pieces afterwards with a crowbar?’
Ryderbeit shrugged: ‘Cover-up — makin’ out it was a simple break-in.’
‘Heavy work, even for a Vietnamese girl.’ Murray turned and walked over to the chair with the suit folded over the back. Using a handkerchief he felt inside the jacket and lifted out a fat snakeskin wallet edged with gold. The leather compartments bulged with credit cards and cash. He rifled through a sheaf of brand new 500-kip notes, a wad of well-thumbed U.S. twenty and fifty dollar bills, then tossed the load down at Ryderbeit’s feet.
‘And take another look at the bed, Sammy. He’s still wearing his bracelet and watch — another good five hundred dollars’ worth. Funny way of trying to pretend it was simple robbery. A jealous mistress might just drive a nail through his neck — and if she was really cunning she might try to cover her tracks, like pulling out the telephone so that anyone trying to contact him this evening or tomorrow morning would think the line was out of order. But that would only make sense if she was planning on an early getaway — either the ferry across to Nong Khai to catch the overnight train down to Bangkok, or the first plane out in the morning. What doesn’t make any sense at all is killing him and systematically ransacking his office, but touching nothing else in the house — not even his wallet and watch. She didn’t do it, Sammy. For that matter, nor did you.’
‘Oh no?’ Ryderbeit had leant down and was holding the wallet open in his hand.
Murray nodded at it: ‘You’d have gone for the petty cash, at least. His jewellery could be traced, so you’d probably have left that — but not those nice old Andrew Jackson and General Grant jobs. Those you couldn’t have resisted, could you?’
‘You bastard. First you have me nailin’ him down to his cot — and now I’m robbin’ his bloody corpse. You must think I’ve got the morals of a snake’s belly!’ He grinned, beginning to fold the dollar bills from the wallet into his trouser pocket. ‘But since I stand accused, I might as well cash in. If I don’t, others will.’ He counted out half the dollars, then tossed the wallet back at Murray.
‘I don’t want it, Sammy.’
‘Take it, you scrupulous bastard! At least let’s make it look like a break-in. You can always get rid of it outside.’
Murray dropped the wallet reluctantly into his jacket pocket. ‘And we’d better wipe off everything we’ve touched.’
‘What! — for the Royal bloody Lao Police? You think they’ll bother with prints?’
‘They will on this job. They’ll call in the old French Sûreté boys who stayed on as advisers. And later the Americans’ll want to check up too, because FARC’s in their sphere of influence.’ He glanced again at the bed and winced. ‘Come on, let’s get away from here!’
Outside he wiped the office doorknob, trying to remember if he’d touched anything else, while Ryderbeit wiped off the lamp, after replacing it on the table in the main room. Then he turned down the wick till they were in darkness and Murray, still using his handkerchief, opened the verandah door.
They stood outside for a moment, listening. The moon was gone and there was a dead hush all round; even the crickets seemed to have grown quiet. Murray started across the verandah on the balls of his feet, groping for the latch of the door to the steps. He found it and rested against the frame, his whole body covered in a thin oily sweat. Ryderbeit, trained with a pilot’s night-sight, led the way unerringly down the steps, round the Mercedes and out of the gate. The track back into town was empty. He took Murray’s arm: ‘We’ve got to work something out, soldier — and fast! You go back the way we came, I’ll take a short cut, and we’ll meet at the hotel, up in your room. It’ll be all right there — nobody ever notices who comes and goes in that place. Just as long as we’re not seen leaving here together. What’s your room number?’
‘Two. First floor.’
‘I know it.’ His smile shone through the dark: ‘See you there!’ — and he vanished like a cat into the trees.
CHAPTER 5
Murray was not at all happy as he started on the short jogtrot back into Vientiane. His eyes had still not adjusted to
