Free Man on Fire by A. J. Quinnell Page B

laughed.
    "She thinks all bears are like the toy one she cuddles at night. But bears can be dangerous."
    "Why would he want to be a bodyguard?" she mused.
    "It's a tame job after the kind of life he's been used to."
    They were getting onto dangerous ground.
    "He's probably tired of it," he said. "Besides, he's no spring chicken."
    "Forty-nine," she commented, remembering the file.
    "And no family, no children. Does he have a home anywhere?"
    "I don't know, I doubt it. That kind of man doesn't put down roots."
    He wondered at the cause of Creasy's drinking. Perhaps that was part of it. A lifetime of fighting and adventure and then getting too old for it, and not knowing what to do. Rika's thoughts were paralleling his.
    'There's a flaw somewhere there," she said.
    "A flaw?"
    "Yes. There's something about him. As though he's been very ill recently. He's very self-assured, but there's something not quite right. Maybe it was a woman."
    He smiled. "That's a typical woman's guess."
    But then she shook her head.
    "No, I don't think it's a woman. Something else. Something missing. A part of his personality is missing. He interests me, this Creasy-at least he's not boring."
    Ettore was content. It would never occur to him that she would be interested in Creasy in any sexual way. He had long ago closed his mind to such thoughts. But he knew how she liked to analyze people. Slot them into neat categories. She would try to do this with Creasy. She wanted him numbered, tagged, and tidy, within her view of the world. He thought that might prove difficult with the man upstairs. He was outside her world. Right outside it. The influences and emotions that guided her were alien to the American. Still, Ettore was content. She had accepted the man, Pinta was going back to school on Monday, and he could concentrate on sorting out his business problems. Then he remembered something curious.
    "You said he frightens you."
    "Yes. But perhaps 'frightens' is the wrong word. In a way, he's menacing. A bit like an animal that's been domesticated, but you're never quite sure. Do you remember that Alsatian the Arredos had? After five years, it suddenly turned on him and bit him."
    "He's not a dog, Rika!"
    "It's just an example. He seems to be brooding. Smoldering. It's only an attitude, I'm not worried. It's interesting, really. I'd like to know more about him-his past-I mean how he feels about things."
    She yawned and slipped lower in the bed. Her words had reminded Ettore how little he did know about Creasy. Perhaps he should have dug deeper. Still, he presumed the agency would have been satisfied. They must have checked for a criminal record, at least. Anyway, it was done now.
    Rika moved against him slightly, and her breathing deepened. She was asleep. It wasn't until the morning that he remembered she had left him unsatisfied.

Chapter 5
     
    Pinta sat quietly in the front seat beside Creasy. He told her that he needed to concentrate on the route. She was a little mystified because they were on the main Como-Milan road and that was easy enough to follow. But Creasy wanted to look out for potential danger spots. Places where he would have to slow for a sharp bend and which were away from buildings. He simply transposed a military ambush situation for a kidnap attempt and his trained eye picked out and noted the likely places.
    After half an hour Pinta pointed out the turnoff, and a few minutes later they pulled up in front of the school gates. She jumped out and pulled a metal handle set in the wall. Creasy remained in the car, taking note of the high, spike-topped walls and the lack of cover in front of the heavy gates.
    A shutter opened at eye level and Pinta held a conversation into it and the gates were opened slowly by an old watchman. She beckoned and walked through and Creasy followed in the car. Inside was a big, rambling, ivy-clad building set in spacious grounds. Creasy parked in the courtyard and followed Pinta as she pointed out the