'All my garments are double-knit; they can wait. I really want to see that lovely garden. Do hurry.'
He pulled the door open and saw that the girl was closing the balcony door, drawing the curtains across the floor-to-ceiling glass. Alison Booth was doing the right thing, he reflected. Holcroft had often repeated the command: When you find a transmitter, check outside sightlines; assume visual surveillance.
He came out of the bathroom; she looked across at him... No, he thought, she did not look at him, she stared at him.
'Good,' she said. 'You're ready. I think you missed most of your beard, but you're presentable. Let's go... luv'
Outside the room, in the hotel corridor, Alison took his arm, and they walked to the elevator. Several times he began to speak, but each time he did so, she interrupted him.
'Wait till we're downstairs,' she kept repeating softly.
In the patio garden, it was Alison who, after they had been seated, requested another table. One on the opposite side of the open area; a table, Alex realized, that had no palms or plants in its vicinity. There were no more than a dozen other couples, no single men or unescorted women. McAuliff had the feeling that Alison had observed each couple closely.
Their drinks arrived; the waiter departed, and Alison Booth spoke.
'I think it's time we talked to each other... about things we haven't talked about.'
Alex offered her a cigarette. She declined, and so he lighted one for himself. He was buying a few seconds of time before answering her, and both of them knew it.
'I'm sorry you saw what you did upstairs. I don't want you to give it undue importance.'
'That would be funny, darling, except that you were halfway to hysterics.'
'That's nice.'
'What?'
'You said "darling."'
'Please. May we stay professional?'
'Good Lord! Are you? Professional, I mean?'
'I'm a geologist. What are you?'
McAuliff ignored her. 'You said I was... excited upstairs. You were right. But it struck me that you weren't. You did all the correct things while I was fumbling.'
'I agree. You were fumbling. Alex... were you told to hire me?'
'No. I was told to think twice or three times before accepting you.'
'That could have been a ploy. I wanted the job badly; I would have gone to bed with you to get it... Thank you for not demanding that,'
'There was no pressure one way or the other about you. Only a warning. And that was because of your recent husband's sideline occupation, which, incidentally, apparently accounts for most of his money. I say money because it's not considered income, I gather.'
'It accounts for all his money, and is not reported as income. And I don't for a minute believe the Geophysics Department of London University would have access to such information. Much less the Royal Society.'
'Then you'd be wrong. A lot of the money for this survey is a grant from the government funnelled through the society and the university. When governments spend money, they're concerned about personnel and payrolls.' McAuliff was pleasantly surprised at himself. He was responding as Holcroft said he would: creating instant, logical replies. Build on part of the truth, keep it simple... Those had been Holcroft's words.
'We'll let that dubious, American-oriented assessment pass,' said Alison, now reaching for his cigarettes. 'Surely you'll explain what happened upstairs.'
The moment had come, thought Alex, wondering if he could carry it off the way Holcroft said: Reduce any explanation to very few words, rooted in common sense and simplicity, and do not vary. He lighted her cigarette and spoke as casually as possible.
'There's a lot of political jockeying in Kingston. Most of it's petty, but some of it gets rough. This survey has controversial overtones. Resentment of origin, jealousies, that sort of thing. You saw it at Customs... There are people who would like to discredit us. I was given that goddamned scanner to use in case I thought something very unusual happened. I thought it had, and I was right.' Alex drank the remainder of his drink and watched the girl's reaction. He did his best to convey only sincerity.
'Our bags, you mean,' said Alison.
'Yes. That note didn't make sense, and the clerk at the desk said they got here just before we did. But they were picked up at Palisados over two hours ago.'
'I see. And a geological survey would drive people to those extremes? That's hard to swallow, Alex.'
'Not if you think about it. Why are surveys made? What's generally the purpose? Isn't it usually because someone - some people - expect