Part 32 (1/2)

'Not bothering. I admit it's sheer curiosity. But why is Keith Kent coming with us when we leave?'

'I told you in the car on our way to the launch what he had said.' Tweed produced an envelope, took out the two banknotes, a British twenty-pound note, a ten-pound note. 'Fakes. Good ones. They really worry me.

'Why?'

'Remember that letter from the dead, as Marler called it - from Kurt Schwarz? The wording was brief. Be very careful of the barges Be very careful of the barges. At Park Crescent I thought he was referring to Thames barges. When we arrived here and I saw barges on the Rhine I began to think they were what Kurt had referred to. We now know it was. We'll never know how he suspected what might happen.'

'But he was right. So what about the banknotes?'

'The second sentence in Kurt's letter said: You must locate the printing presses You must locate the printing presses. So what prints banknotes? Printing presses. I think Was.h.i.+ngton has devised a diabolical plan to destabilize Britain. There may not be much time to stop them. And I think the secret lies at their base in the Black Forest.'

29.

Tweed received the invitation soon after Paula had left him. When he picked up the phone it was Sharon Mandeville. He remarked he hadn't seen much of her since arriving in Basel.

'Well, some people would say that's your fault,' she chided him gently in her soft voice. 'You stood me up for drinks.'

'I was about to apologize for that. Something I couldn't ignore turned up. And I had to rush out.'

'You're forgiven. I'm calling you because I thought it might be nice if you and Bob Newman had dinner with me this evening. Here at the hotel, if that suits you.'

'Suits me down to the ground. What time?'

'Would eight o'clock be all right? Maybe afterwards we could all adjourn to the bar.'

'Sounds like a great programme. I could phone Bob Newman to save you the time.'

'Would you? I'm about to dash out to see my Swiss couple again. They're getting wearing, but I agreed to go. See you tonight...'

Instead of phoning Newman, Tweed called him to ask him to come to his room. He was staring out of the window when Newman arrived. Then he told him about the invitation.

'I hope you don't mind,' he said, 'but I accepted on your behalf.'

'I'm glad you did. I'm just wondering what she's up to.'

'She sounded a bit fed up. I got the impression she's in need of some company. I'm hoping to lever information out of her.'

'What could she possibly tell us?'

'Maybe something she's observed while at the Emba.s.sy in London. Now, I'm popping down to the reception desk. There's something I want to ask whichever girl is on duty.'

'I'll continue with my packing, then.'

'Hurry. As I told you, Beck phoned to say there's been a heavy fall of snow in the Black Forest, with more to come.'

'In that case we're going to need cars with snow tyres. I'll call in on Marler to give him the good news. He won't find a car hire place open now, but he can organize things in the morning. We'll just have to hope Ronstadt and Co. don't leave tonight. Oh, what time is the dinner?'

'I should have told you. Eight o'clock in the main restaurant downstairs. Don't forget to put on your best suit for Sharon ...'

Tweed walked down the wide flight of stairs instead of taking the lift. The lobby was empty. No one was sitting at any of the tables overlooking the Rhine. He smiled at the receptionist, kept his voice quiet.

'I expect you've heard about the barge disaster near the harbour?'

'Yes, sir. Everyone is talking about it. Apparently it exploded but I heard no one was hurt.'

'That's right. No one was. And the trouble was one of- the boilers blew up.'

'Oh, that is what caused it.' Tweed guessed that at the earliest opportunity she would pa.s.s his fict.i.tious explanation down the grapevine. Which would soften rumours. 'Anyone sitting by the windows over there must have seen it pa.s.s,' he suggested.

'Two guests did. One was Ms Mandeville. She was sitting by herself at the corner table when the barge pa.s.sed us. Then there was Mr Osborne, sitting in a chair near the restaurant. Both of them had binoculars. We all heard the sound of the explosion - of the boiler blowing up. It's never happened before. Someone's coming,' she ended in a whisper.

'Hi, there, Tweed!' Osborne's very American voice boomed behind him. 'Been lookin' for you, feller.' A strong hand grasped his arm. 'Time we had a drink together. Mebbe more than one. n.o.body over by those windows.'

'I haven't a lot of time,' Tweed warned.

'Always time for a drink - or two.'

Osborne guided Tweed to the corner table he had sat at before. He boomed across to the receptionist.

'Send a waiter, would you? Toot sweet, as the French say.'

'They do speak excellent English,' Tweed remarked as they sat at a table next to a window.

'Guess I like to try out my foreign languages. When in Rome...'

'I'll have a gla.s.s of French white wine, medium dry,' Tweed ordered as a waiter appeared swiftly.

'You ain't got Bourbon. Don't know why,' Osborne complained. 'I guess I'll settle for a double Scotch on the rocks.'

'You know about the barge which blew up?' Tweed enquired.

'Sure. No body bags needed, so I heard.'

'Ed, why are you here in Basel?'

'Ed. That's better, much better. Why am I in this weird town? Emba.s.sy sent me to check on a Swiss PR firm. See if they know their stuff. I guess they're OK. We might pick up their key people. Take them to New York. Boy, here are the drinks. Your good health, Tweed.'

'Yours too.'

'Now the job's done, guess I may soon move on. To Freiburg - near the Black Forest. They tell me there's a nice place there. Hotel Schwarzwalder Hof. Some street called Konvikstra.s.se. I like that. Convict Street.' Osborne gave a belly laugh. 'Just the place for me.'

'When are you thinking of going there?'

'Haven't decided:' He paused. 'Could be in the next few days.'