Страница 58 из 98
“No.”
“Then who will?”
“I’ll get by. She’ll no doubt leave me something in her will. I’ve looked after her for sixteen years.”
“Yes, of course she will. She’ll see you all right—no doubt of it.”
He spent another hour in the back kitchen, and when he left he was a much happier man. It was nearly closing tune for shops and offices, but from a corner phone booth he made a call to the head office of Man-Con, and within ten minutes Endean had done what his colleague asked.
In the West End an insurance broker agreed to stay late in his office that night and receive Mr. Thorpe at ten the next morning.
That Thursday evening Joha
He met the diplomat from the Iraqi embassy for di
When they parted, it was too late for the German to return home, so he spent the night in London and left the following morning.
At eleven on Friday morning, Cat Sha
“Did you find that man I asked you to trace?” he inquired after introducing himself. He had already warned the Belgian to talk very carefully on the telephone.
“Yes, I found him,” replied Tiny Marc. He was sitting up in bed, while A
“Is he prepared to talk business about the merchandise?” asked Sha
“I think so,” said Vlaminck. “I haven’t raised the matter with him yet, but a business friend here says he will normally do business after a suitable introduction through a mutual acquaintance.”
“He still has the goods I mentioned to you at our last meeting?”
“Yes,” said the voice from Belgium, “he still has them.”
“Fine,” said Sha
“Sure,” said Marc. “I’ll get on with it over the next couple of days and set the meeting up for some time to be confirmed later, but during next weekend.”
They exchanged the usual good wishes and hung up.
At half past two a cable from Marseilles arrived at the flat. It bore the name of a Frenchman and an address. Langarotti said he would telephone the man and introduce Sha
Sha
Just after lunch Sir James Manson summoned Simon Endean to his office. He had finished reading Sha
“You say Sha
“Yes, Sir James.”
“Good. There’s a job that has to be done sooner or later, and it might as well be now. Get one of our standard contracts of employment, the kind we use for the engagement of African representatives. Paste over the name of ManCon with a strip of white paper and fill in the name of Bormac in its place. Make it out for a one-year engagement for the services as West African representative of Antoine Bobi at a salary of five hundred pounds a month. When you’ve got it done, show it to me.”
“Bobi?” queried Endean. “You mean Colonel Bobi?”
"That’s the one. I don’t want the future president of Zangaro ru
Company, whose representative you are, has been so impressed by his mental and business acumen that it would like to engage his services as a West African consultant. Don’t worry, he’ll never check to see who or what Bormac is, or that you are its representative. If I know anything about these lads, the hefty salary will be what interests him. If he’s short of the ready, it ought to be ma
“You are to tell him his duties will be communicated to him later, but the sole condition of employment for the moment is that he remain where he is at his house in Dahomey for the next three months or until you visit him again. Persuade him there will be a bonus in salary if he waits where he is. Tell him the money will be transferred to his local account in Dahomean francs. On no account is he to receive any hard currency. He might vamoose. One last thing. When the contract is ready, have it photocopied to hide the traces of the change of name of the employing company, and only take with you photocopies. As for the date on it, make sure the last figure for the year is blurred. Smudge it yourself.”
Endean absorbed the instructions and left to begin setting up the employment under false pretenses of Colonel Antoine Bobi.
That Friday afternoon, just after four, Thorpe emerged from the gloomy Kensington apartment with the four share-transfer deeds he needed, duly signed by Lady Macallister and witnessed by Mrs. Barton. He also bore a letter of authority signed by the old woman, instructing Mr. Dalgleish, her attorney in Dundee, to hand over to Mr. Thorpe the share certificates upon presentation of the letter and proof of identity and the necessary check.
The name of the recipient of the shares had been left blank on the transfer deeds, but Lady Macallister had not noticed. She had been too distraught at the thought of Mrs. Barton packing her bags and leaving. Before nightfall the name of the Zwingli Bank’s nominee company acting on behalf of Messrs. Adams, Ball, Carter, and Davies would be written into the vacant space. After a visit to Zurich the following Monday, the bank stamp and countersignature of Dr. Steinhofer would complete the form, and four certified checks, one drawn against the account of each of the four nominees buying 7.5 per cent of the stock of Bormac, would be brought back from Switzerland.