Free Passage by Night (v5) by Jack Higgins Page B

permission.'
    'I should damn well think so.' Manning was conscious of a sudden irrational anger. 'There must be a better solution than that.'
    'But there is,' she said, 'and you have offered it to us.'
    There was nothing he could say and they sat there in silence and gradually, the rain stopped and dawn began to seep into the sky. Daylight came with a slight mist on the sea and a chill wind, but Manning hardly noticed.
    Anna leaned back in the corner half asleep, all tiredness and strain wiped from her face. He sat there quietly watching her for a while and realized, with a sense of wonder, she was beautiful. It was as if he had never really seen her before.
    She opened her eyes and looked at him and a smile appeared on her face.
    'Good morning, Harry,' she said.
    He smiled back, absurdly pleased she had used his first name. 'A long night.'
    'I'd better get breakfast ready.' She picked up the tray, moved to the door and hesitated. 'This may be the last chance I have to speak to you on your own.'
    He waited, his heart a stone inside him. 'Whatever happens in San Juan, you've given up hope. For that, I'll always be grateful.'
    And then she was gone and he sat there watching the door swing to and fro, listening to her footsteps fade away along the deck. When he opened a window to let in the cold air, his hands were trembling.

10
Isle of Tears
    San Juan slumbered in the noonday heat as they turned past the concrete pillbox on the point and moved into the narrow channel. On the far side, the cliffs lifted a hundred feet out of the water with an old Spanish fortress perched on top.
    Papa Melos leaned out of the wheelhouse window and nodded towards it. 'They're using it as a prison for political offenders. I've heard some terrible stories about what goes on up there.'
    'I can believe them.'
    Manning looked up at the fortress. It was at least four hundred years old and the amenities had probably altered little since it was built. From the Inquisition to Castro. He sighed and shook his head. Time was a circle turning endlessly on itself. There was no beginning, no end.
    San Juan itself was a typical small Cuban fishing port, but there were few boats in the harbour and a strange air of decay hung over everything. Even the Cuban flag over the Town Hall hung like a limp rag in the great heat.
    Papa Melos cut the engines and signaled to Manning to let go the anchor. For a moment longer, the Cretan Lover glided forward and then, with a gentle tug, it came to a halt fifty or sixty yards from the crumbling stone jetty that formed the south side of the harbour.
    The old man stepped out of the wheelhouse and joined Manning at the rail. 'We have to wait here till we've been cleared by the harbour-master.'
    Anna came out of the cabin. A blue silk scarf was bound about her head peasant-fashion and sunglasses shaded her eyes. She moved beside him, her arms touching his.
    'What do you think, Harry?' she said anxiously.
    He tried to sound reassuring. 'There's nothing to worry about. Everything's going to be fine.'
    Inside his shirt, tucked into his waistband, was a .38 caliber automatic and he touched the butt quickly to reassure himself.
    As they looked across the harbour a small rowing boat appeared from between two moored fishing boats. The man at the oars was being urged on by a fat, bearded official in a crumpled khaki uniform.
    Papa Melos gave an exclamation of relief. 'It's still the same harbour-master, thank God. Luis Raphael is his name and he's as genial as he is fat.'
    'That could be important,' Manning said.
    As the boat bumped against the side of the launch, Rafael smiled up at them, his face shiny with sweat. He spoke English with a pronounced American accent.
    'Papa Melos, by all that's holy. I thought it was your boat, but I couldn't believe my eyes. Long time no see.'
    'Papa Melos leaned over the rail and they touched hands. 'Luis, my old friend, good to see you.' He waved towards Anna. 'My daughter. You've heard me speak of her