Part 14 (1/2)
For the last time I swam out beyond the reef, and for half an hour hoped that the dolphins ed, picked upfrom the bed and went out to where the pick-up was parked in the yard I didn't look back as I drove up through the pal this way again
I parked in the front lot of the hotel and lit a cheroot When Marion finished her shi+ft at noon she came out the front entrance and set off down the drive with her cheeky little botto under the mini skirt I whistled and she saw er's seat beside me
”Mister Harry, I'm so sorry about your boat We talked for a few minutes until I could ask the question
- ”Miss North, while she was staying at the hotel, did she make any phone calls or send a cable?”
”I don't remember, Mister Harry, but I could check for you
”Now?”
”Sure,” she agreed
”one other thing, could you also check with dicky if he got a shot of her?” dicky was the roving hotel Photographer, it was a good chance that he had a print of Sherry North in his file
Marion was gone for nearly three-quarters of an hour, but she returned with a triuht before she left-” Marion handed me a flimw copy ”You can keep this copy,” she told e
it was addressed to: ”MANSON FLAT 5 CURZON STREE7 97 LONDON w j and the e read: ”CONTRACT SIGNED RETURNING HEATHROW BOAC FLIGHT 316 SAturdAY”There was no signature
”dicky had to go through all his files - but he found one” She handed lossy print It was of Sherry North reclining on a sun couch on the hotel terrace She wore her bikini and sunglasses, but it was a good likeness
”Thanks, Marion” I gave her a five-pound note
”Gee, Mister Harry,” she grinned at me as she tucked it into the front of her bra ”For that price you can take what you fancy”
”I've got a plane to catch, love” I kissed her on the little snub nose, and slapped her bottoelo came out to the airport Chubby was to take care of the pick-up for me We were all subdued, and shook hands aardly at the departure gate There wasn't ht before
As the pistonengined aircraft took off for the ether at the perimeter fence
I stopped over three hours at Nairobi before catching the BOAC flight on to London I did not sleep during the long night flight It was many years since I had returned to rieance I wanted very much to talk to Sherry North
When you are flat broke, that is the tiuinea suit Look brave prosperous, and people will believe you are
I shaved and changed at the airport and instead of a Hill e pub
I had a double portion of hae while I studied the road o that I was unsure of lish countryside was too tareen after Malaya and Africa, and the autuhter fiercer sun - but it was a pleasant drive over the downs and into Brighton
I parked the Chrysler on the promenade opposite the Grand Hotel and dived into the warren of The Lanes They were filled with tourists even this late in the season
Pavilion Arcade was the address I had read so long ago on Jie, and it took me nearly an hour to find it it was tucked away at the back of a cobbled yard, and most of the s and doors were shuttered and closed
”North's Underwater World” had a ten-foot frontage on to the lane
It was also closed, and a blind was drawn across the singleI tried without success to peer round the edge of the blind, but the interior was darkened, so I hammered on the door There was no sound from within, and I was about to turn ahen I noticed a square piece of cardboard that had once been stuck on to the bottom of thebut had fallen to the floor inside By twisting e which had fortunately fallen face up Enquiries to Seavieners Lane, Falmer, Sussex I went back to the car and took the road an to rain as I pushed the Chrysler through narrow lanes
The windscreen wipers flogged sullenly at the I spattering drops and I peered into the pre
Twice I lost e The sign nailed to the gate read: NORTH SEAVIEW, and I believed that it ht be possible to look southwards on a clear day and see the Atlantic
I drove down between hedges, and came into the paved yard of an old double-storeyed red-brick farrowing on the wood-shi+ngle roof There was a light burning downstairs
I Parked the Chrysler and crossed the yard to the kitchen door, turning up ainst the wind and rain I beat on the door, and heard so around inside The bolts were shot back and the top half of the stable door opened on a chain A girl looked out at me
I was not iy blue fisherirl with a swi e but not bony or beaked, and below it her mouth ide and friendly She wore no make-up at all, so her lips were pale Pink and there was a peppering of fine freckles on her nose and cheeks
Her hair was drawn back severely from her face into a thick braid behind her neck Her hair was black, shi+ht, and her eyebroere black also, black and boldly arched over eyes that seeht them and I realized they were the same dark haunted blue as the Mozambique current when the noon sun strikes directly into it
Despite the pallor of her skin, there was an aura of good and glowing health about her The pale skin had a lustre and plasticity to it, a quality that was somehow lu - it seeh the surface to the flush of clean blood rising warmly to her cheeks and neck She touched the tendril of silky dark hair that escaped the braid and floated lightly on her teesture, that betrayed her nervousness and belied the serene expression in the dark blue eyes
Suddenly I realized that she was an unusually handsoh she was only in her irl - but full woth and uing
Usually the women I choose are y in the pursuit This was so beyond my experience and for the first ti at each other for
”You're Harry Fletcher,” she said at last, and her voice was low and gently aped at her
”How the hell did you know that? I demanded
”Come in” She slipped the chain and opened the bottom of the stable door, and I obeyed The kitchen ar
”How did you know ain
”Your picture was in the newspaper - with Jiain, onceeach other
She was taller even than I had thought at first, reaching to s clad in dark blue pants and the tops thrust into black leather boots Now I could see the narroaist and the Proood breasts beneath the thick jersey
At first I had thought her plain, ten seconds later I had reckoned her handsome, now I doubted I had ever seen a more beautiful woman It took time for the full effect to sink in
”You have e,” I said at last ”I don't know your name”
”I'm Sherry North,” she answered, and I stared at her for a moment before I recovered from the shock She was a very different person from the other Sherry North I had known
”Did you know that there is a whole tribe of you? I asked at last
”I don't understand” She frowned at ly blue under the lowered lashes