Mexico Set

'Then why did we drag out here through that disgusting jungle?'

'You know why we came. We came because Biederma

'And you wanted to prove Berlin was wrong. You wanted to prove you know better than she knows.'

'Biederma

Then let's get on the road back,' said the older man. 'You've proved your point; now let's get back to Mexico City, back to electric light and hot water.'

'The house must be searched. You are right, Pavel. Take a look round. I will wait here.'

'I have no gun.'

'If anyone kills you, Pavel, I will get them.'

The elder man hesitated as if about to argue, but he went about his task, nervously poking about with his flashlight, while Sti

'You've gone soft, Pavel. Is that why Moscow sent you to be my assistant?'

'You know why Moscow sent me here,' the elder man grumbled.

Sti

'Nothing. You know very well that that bastard got rid of me because I discovered he was taking bribes. One day his turn will come. A criminal like that ca

'But meanwhile, Pavel, you suit me fine. You are politically unreliable and so the one man I can be sure will not report my unconventional views.'

'You are my superior officer, Major Sti

'That's right. Well, let's head back. You'll drive for the first couple of hours. I will drive when we reach the mountains. If you see anything in the road drive over it. Too many people get killed on these roads swerving to avoid eyes they see shining in the headlights.'

4

I didn't sleep again after they departed. I dozed fitfully but imagined I could hear their diesel car returning, with the alternate roars and screams that a really bad surface racks from a small engine. But it was just the wind, and then, as dawn came and the storm passed over, I was kept awake by the screeching and chattering of the animals. They came right down to the water through the thick undergrowth that bordered one side of the house. There was a stream there; it passed close by a window of Paul Biederma

Dawn shone its hard grey light and made the sea look like granite. I went down to the kitchen and found some ca

From the kitchen window there was a view back towards the village. That way the sky was light pink. I counted seven vultures, circling very high and looking for breakfast. Nearer to the house there were birds in the trees making a lot of noise, and monkeys scrambling about in the lower branches with occasional forays into the garden.

I would have given a lot for a cup of coffee, but instant powder stirred into cold ti

Fortified by the strong drink, and one of Biederma

The pool was big, and very blue. And full length on the bottom, at the deep end, was a human figure. At first I thought it was a drowning case. Wrapped in cheap grey blankets, the figure made a shapeless bundle that almost disappeared in the dark depths of blue shade. It was only when I got past the wooden building that housed four changing rooms and filtering and heating equipment that I was sure that the pool was dry and drained.

'Hey!' I shouted at the inert figure. 'Tu que haces?'

Very slowly the blankets became unravelled to reveal a man dressed in badly wrinkled white trousers and a T-shirt advertising Underberg. One of his bare sunburned arms bore a lacework of neat white scar tissue, and so did one side of his face. He bunked and squinted into the light, trying to see me against the glaring sky.

'Paul Biederma

'You came,' he said. His voice was hoarse and he coughed to clear his throat. 'The others have gone? How did you get here?'

'It's Bernd,' I said. 'We spoke on the phone; Bernd Samson. I walked. Yes, the other two drove away hours ago.' He must have been watching the road. My approach along the track had gone unobserved from wherever he'd been hiding.

Wrapped into his blanket I could see a hunting rifle. Biederma

'Bernd. Are you alone?' he said, trying to make it sound as if it meant no more to him than how many cups of coffee to order. His face and arms were blue; it was the light reflected from the painted sides of the pool.

'They've gone,' I said. 'Come and switch the electricity on, and make me a cup of coffee.'

He slung the rifle on his shoulder and climbed up the ladder of the empty pool. He left the blanket where it was. I wondered if he intended to spend another uncomfortable night here.

He moved about like an automaton. Once inside the house he showed me all the things I should have found for myself. There was bottled gas for cooking, a generator for lighting, and a battery-powered Sony short-wave radio. He boiled water and measured out coffee in silence. It was as if he wanted to take as long as he could to defer the start of the conversation. Even when we were both seated in his study, hands clasped round cups of strong black coffee, he still didn't offer any explanation about his curious behaviour. I said nothing. I waited for him to speak. It was usually better that way and I wanted to see how he would start, and even more importantly what he would avoid.

'I've got everything,' said Paul Biederma