The QE2 Is Missing

“You’re half right,” Uzi said. “But to take and hold the cashier’s office you are going to have to take the entire ship. Priorities must be reversed. Take the ship first so the vault can be burned open. Once you have the diamonds you can go after your prisoners.” He smiled crookedly. “After all — they aren’t going to go any place, are they? But the first thing to be done is to get Chvosta and the girl out of sight. They must not let the Germans or the others know that we are aboard. Diaz, call Josep and tell him that I’m on the way down there. My cabin is not far from the one that they are in now. We’ll move them there, leave them under guard, then come back here. Our plans must be accelerated and we must move fast.”

Diaz had just made the call and hung up when the phone rang, loudly and clearly. Everyone watched closely as Hank crossed the room and picked it up.

“Hello?” He smiled and held his hand over the mouthpiece. “It’s my wife,” he said, then took his hand away. “How’s it going?”

“Funny you should ask. I was sure you had forgotten all about me.”

“Never! You are constantly in my thoughts — if not in my arms. Where are you?”

“Lido Bar. Getting Sean smashed. It seems to cure his seasickness. We’ve had the bar to ourselves all day, but my Swedish friend is prowling around and I imagine he’ll join us soon.”

“Good. Hold him there so I can come beat up on him. Be there in two minutes.”

“My caveman hero! I’ll be here.”

“You must not leave,” Concepcion said as Hank pulled on his jacket and headed for the door.

“Get lost, lady,” he told her pleasantly. “And save the orders for your own troops. Tell them where I am when they get back.”

Moving down the corridor was not easy as the ship gyrated and rolled. The elevator creaked and rattled as it moved down the shaft. It stopped on the upper deck and an elderly couple got on. The man was half supporting the woman, whose skin was a delicate shade of green.

“First time out of bed and out of the cabin all day. And Mama upchucks the second she gets a whiff of food from the dining room. Luxury cruise, my ass. We fly from now on.”

“You can’t blame the QE2 for the storm,” Hank said.

“I goddamn well can. Every picture of this damn ship, it’s sailing on a damn flat sea. Stabilizers my ass!”

“I wish I was dead…. “ Mama wailed as the door opened and they staggered out. Hank made his way through the empty lounge to the Lido Bar. Frances was seated at the bar and a tall, blond’man was standing next to her, talking.

“Hi, Hank,” she called out and waved.

The effect on the blond man was dramatic. He staggered back and dropped the book he was holding under his arm. Started to pick it up, then changed his mind and fled the bar by way of the door at the far end.

“Let me guess,” Hank said. “That’s your Swedish friend and he thinks I have leprosy?”

“Better than that. He heard that you just came out of jail after serving five years for manslaughter. Seems you killed a man in a brawl who made a pass at me.”

“Where did he get an idea like that?”

“From Sean here.”

The bar man smiled and tottered a bit. His eyes had a definite glazed look about them. “Read it in the paper, I did. New York Daily News. Told him all about it. Har!” He snorted approval of himself, neatly poured three fingers of Paddy Irish Whiskey into a glass and downed it with a single motion.

“The poor man was trying to apologize when you appeared,” Frances said. “We’ll have to see that he gets his book back.”

Hank bent and picked it up and looked at the spine. “Crime and Punishment. I suppose he thinks I’ll come after him with an axe. Well done, Sean. Will you look after the book for him?”

“Wheesht!” the bar man said and poured himself another drink. Then slid slowly down onto the stool in the corner. Hank left the book on the bar. “Have a good lunch?” he asked.

“Not really. My appetite ran out and depression set in. Anything to report from the front?”

“Nothing I dare talk about now.” He glanced at his watch. “My God, it’s seven o’clock already. And I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“I remember that breakfast. It should last you two or three days.”

“Let’s go have dinner. I’ll fill you in on what has been going on.” Hank reached across Sean, who was humming happily to himself and polishing the same glass over and over, and picked up the phone. When he dialled his room Uzi answered.

“Hank here. I’m taking my wife to dinner now. The Queen’s Grill if you want me. Anything wrong with that?”

“It’s a very good idea. I have taken the liberty of ordering coffee and sandwiches here. Enjoy your meal — and could you be back here by nine at the latest?”

“No problem. Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“Not now. Just be here.”

As they walked towards the dining room, Hank told her about the affairs of the day. He did not mention their intention to take over the ship. Frances was not at all disturbed by the news of the shooting.