alistairmaclean.bearisland-第59部分

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ing　you　into　a　share　of　the　loot　was　that　his　niece；　Mary　Stuart；　be　employed　by　Olympus　Productions。　Having　the　nasty　and　suspicious　minds　that　you　do；　you　probably　and　rapidly　arrived　at　the　conclusion　that　she　wasn't　his　niece　at　all…which　she　isn't…and　was　along　for　some　other　purposes；　which　she　is。　But　not　for　the　purposes　which　your　nasty　and　suspicious　minds　attributed　to　her。　For　Heissman；　Miss　Stuart　was　essential　for　the　achievement　of　an　entirely　different　purpose　which　he　kind　of　forgot　to　tell　you　about。
　〃Miss　Stuart's　father；　you　have　to　understand；　was　just　as　unscrupulous　and　unprincipled　a　rogue　as　any　of　you。　He　held　very　senior　positions　in　both　the　German　Navy　and　the　Nazi　Party　and；　like　others　similarly　placed；　used　his　power　to　feather　his　own　nest…just　as　Hermann　Goering　did…when　the　war　was　seen　to　be　lost；　although　he　was　smarter　than　Goering　and　managed　to　get　out　from　under　before　the　war　criminal　roundup。　The　gold；　although　this　will　probably　never　be　proved；　almost　certainly　came　from　the　vaults　of　Norwegian　banks　and　a　man　with　all　the　resources　of　the　German　Navy　behind　him　would　have　had　no　trouble　in　choosing　such　a　splendidly　isolated　spot　as　Perleporten　in　Bear　Island　and　having　the　stuff　transferred　there。　Probably　by　submarine。　Not　that　it　matters。　〃But　it　wasn't　just　the　gold　that　was　transported　to　Perleporten；　which　is　why　Mary　Stuart　is　here。　Feathers　weren't　enough　for　Dad's　nest；　nothing　less　than　swansdown　would　do。　The　swansdown　almost　certainly　took　the　form　of　either　bank　bonds　or　securities；　probably　obtained…I　wouldn't　say　purchased…in　the　late　〃30s…　Such　securities　are　perfectly　redeemable　even　today。　An　attempt　was　recently　made　to　sell　30；000；000　worth　of　such　securities　through　foreign　exchanges　but　the　West　German　Federal　Bank　wouldn't　play　ball　because　proper　owner　identification　was　lacking。　But　there　wouldn't　be　any　problem　about　owner　identification　this　time；　would　there；　Heissman？〃
　Heissman　didn't　say　whether　there　would　or　there　wouldn't。　〃And　where　are　they？〃　I　said。　〃Nicely　welded　up　on　a　dummy　steel　in　got。〃　As　he　still　wasn't　being　very　forthing　I　went　on：　〃No　matter；　we'll　have　them。　And　then　you're　never　going　to　have　the　pleasure　of　seeing　Mary　Stuart's　father　put　his　signature　and　fingerprints　on　those　documents　and　of　checking　that　they　match　up。　You're　sure　of　that？〃　Heissman　said。　He　bad　recovered　his　normal　degree　of　posure　which　meant　that　he　was　very　posed　indeed。　〃In　a　changing　world　like　ours　who　can　be　sure　of　anything。　But　with　that　proviso；　yes。　I　think　you've　overlooked　something。〃
　〃I　have？〃
　〃Yes。　We　have　Admiral　Hanneman。〃
　〃That's　Miss　Stuart's　father's　true　name？〃
　〃You　didn't　even　know　that？〃
　〃No。　It's　of　no　relevance。　And　no；　I　haven't　overlooked　that　fact。　I　shall　attend　to　that　matter　shortly。　After　I　have　attended　to　your　friends。　Maybe　that's　the　wrong　word；　maybe　they're　not　your　friends　any　more。　I　mean；　they　don't　look　particularly　friendly；　do　they？〃
　〃Monstrous！〃　Otto　shouted。　〃Absolutely　monstrous。　Unforgivable！　Diabolical！　Our　own　partner！〃
　He　spluttered　into　an　outraged　silence。　〃Despicable；〃　Goin　said　coldly。　〃Absolutely　contemptible。〃
　〃Isn't　it？〃　I　said。　〃Tell　me；　does　this　moral　indignation　stem　from　this　revelation　of　the　depths　of　Heissman's　perfidy　or　merely　because　he　omitted　to　cut　you　in　on　the　proceeds　of　the　cashing　of　the　securities？
　Don't　bother　answering　that　question；　it's　purely　rhetorical；　as　villains　you're　dyed　in　the　same　inky　black　as　Heissman。　What　I　mean　is；　most　of　you　spend　a　great　deal　of　time　and　careful　thought　in　concealing　from　the　other　members　of　the　board　of　Olympus　Productions　just　what　the　true　natures　of　your　activities　are。　Heissman　is　hardly　alone　in　this　respect。　〃Take　the　Count　here。　pared　to　the　rest　of　you　he　was　a　vestal　angel　but　even　he　dabbled　in　some　murky　waters。　For　over　thirty　years　now　he's　been　a　member　of　the　board　and　has　had　a　free　meal　ticket　for　life　because　he　happened　to　be　in　Vienna　when　the　Anschluss　came；　when　Otto　headed　for　the　States　and　Heissman　was　spirited　away。　Heissman　was　spirited　away　because　Otto　bad　arranged　for　him　to　be　so　that　he　could　take　all　the　film　pany's　capital　out　of　the　country：　Otto　was　never　a　man　to　hesitate　when　it　came　to　selling　a　friend　down　the　river。　〃What　Otto　didn't　know　but　what　the　Count　did　but　carefully　refrained　from　telling　him　was　that　Heissman's　disappearance　had　been　entirely　voluntary。　Heissman　had　been　a　German　secret　agent　for　some　time　and　his　adopted　country　needed　him。　What　his　adopted　country　didn't　know　was　that　Russia　had　adopted　him　even　before　they　had　but　this　isn't　germane　to　the　main　point　that　Otto　believed　he　had　betrayed　a　friend　for　gold　and　that　the　Count　knew　it。　Unfortunately；　it's　going　to　be　very　hard　to　prove　anything　against　the　Count　and　not　being　a　grasping　man　by　nature　never　asked　for　anything　more　than　his　salary　there's　nothing　to　demonstrate　blackmail　which　is　why　I've　chosen　him…and　he's　accepted　as　the　person　to　turn　Queen's　Evidence　against　his　fellow　directors　on　the　board。〃　
　Heissman　now　joined　Otto　and　Goin　in　giving　the　Count　the　kind　of　look　they　had　so　lately　given　him。　〃Or　take　Otto；〃　I　went　on。　〃For　years　he'd　been　embezzling　very　large　sums　of　money　from　the　pany；　virtually　bleeding　it　white。〃　It　was　now　the　turn　of　Heissman　and　the　Count　to　stare　at　Otto。　〃Or　take　Goin。　He　discovered　about　the　embezzling　and　for　two　or　three　years　he's　been　blackmailing　Otto　and　bleeding　him　white。　In　sum；　you　constitute　the　most　unpleasant；　unprincipled　and　depraved　bunch　it's　ever　been　my　misfortune　to　encounter。　But　I　haven't　even　scratched　the　surface　of　your　infamy；　have　I？　Or　the　infamy　of　one　of　you。　We　haven't　even　discussed　the　person　responsible　for　the　violent　deaths　that　have　taken　place。　He　is；　of　course；　one　of　you。　He　is；　of　course；　quite　mad　and　will　end　his　days　in　Broadmoor：　although　I　have　to　admit　that　there's　been　a　certain　far　from　crazy　logic　in　his　thinking　and　actions。　But　a　prison　for　the　insane…one　regrets　the　abolition　of　the　death　penalty…is　a　certainty：　it　may　well　be；　Otto；　as　well　as　being　the　best　you　can　hope　for；　that　you　won't　live　long　after　you　get　there。〃　Otto　said　nothing；　the　expression　on　his　face　remained　unchanged。　I　went　on：　〃For　your　hired　killers；　of　course；　Jungbeck　and　Heyter；　there　will　be　life　sentences　in　maximum　security　goals。〃
　The　temperature　in　that　icily　cold　metallic　tomb　had　fallen　to　many　degrees　below　freezing　point　but　everyone　appeared　to　be　pletely　unaware　of　the　fact：　the　classic　example　of　mind　over　matter；　and　heaven　knew　that　the　minds　could　rarely　have　been　more　exclusively　and　almost　obsessively　possessed　than　those　of　the　men　in　those　weird　and　alien　surroundings。　〃Otto　Gerran　is　an　evil　man；〃　I　said；　〃and　the　enormity　of　his　crimes　scarcely　within　the　bounds　of　prehension。　However；　one　has　to　admit　that　he　has　had　the　most　singularly　wretched　luck　in　his　choice　of　business　associates；　and　those　associates　must　be　held　partly　to　blame　for　the　terrible　events　that　happened；　for　their　extraordinary　cupidity　and　selfishness　drove　Otto　into　a　er　from　which　he　could　escape　only　by　resorting　to　the　most　desperate　measures。　
　〃We　have　already　established　that　three　of　you　here　have　been　black…　mailing　Otto　steadily　over　the　years。　His　other　two　fellow　directors；　his　daughter　and　Stryker；　joined　wholeheartedly　in　what　had　bee　by　this　time　a　very　popular　pastime。　They；　however；　used　a　very　different　basis　for　their　blackmail。　This　basis　I　cannot　as　yet　prove　but　the　facts；　I　believe；　will　be　established　in　time。　The　facts　are　concerned　with　a　car　crash　that　took　place　in　California　over　twenty　years　ago。　There　were　two　cars　involved。　One　of　those　belonged　to　Lonnie　Gilbert　and　had　three　women　inside…his　wife　and　two　daughters；　all　of　whom　appeared　to　be　considerably　the　worse　for　drink　at　the　time。　The　other　car　belonged　to　the　Strykers…but　the　Strykers　were　not　in　their　car。　The　two　people　who　were　bad；　like　Lonnie's　family；　been　at　the　same　party　in　the　Strykers〃　house　and；　like　Lonnie's　family；　were　in　an　advanced　state　of　intoxication。　They　were　Otto　and　Neal　Divine。　Isn't　that　so；　Otto？〃
　〃There's　nothing　of　this　rubbish　that　can　be　proved。〃
　〃Not　yet。　Now；　Otto　was　driving　the　car　but　when　Divine　recovered　from　the　effects　of　the　crash　he　was　convinced…no　doubt　by　Otto…that　he　had　been　at　the　wheel。　So　for　years　now　Divine　has　been　under　the　impression　that　he　owes　his　immunity　from　manslaughter　charges　purely　to　Otto's　silence。　The　salary　lists　show…'　
　〃Where　did　you　get　the　salary　lists　from？〃　Goin　asked。　〃From　your　cubicle…where　I　also　found　this　splendid　bankbook　of　yours。　The　lists　show　that　Divine　has　been　receiving　only　a　pittance　in　salary　for　years。　How　admirable　is　our　Otto。　He　not　only　makes　a　man　take　the　responsibility　for　deaths　which　he　himself　has　caused　but　in　the　process　reduces　that　man　to　the　level　of　a　serf　and　a　pauper。　The　blackmailed　doing　some　blackmailing　on　his　own　account。　Makes　for　a　very　pretty　picture　all　round；　does　it　not？　〃But　the　Strykers　knew　who　had　really　caused　the　crash　for　Otto　had　been　driving　when　they　left　the　house。　So　they　sold　their　silence　in　return　for　jobs　on　the　board　of　Olympus　Productions　and　vastly　inflated　salaries。　You　are　a　lovable；　lovable　lot；　aren't　you？　Do　you　know　that　this　fat　monster　here　actually　tried　to　have　Lonnie　murdered　tonight？　Why？　Because　Judith　Haynes；　very　shortly　before　she　died；　had　told　Lonnie　the　truth　of　what　had　happened　in　the　car　crash：　so；　of　course；　Lonnie　would　have　been　a　danger　to　Otto　as　long　as　he　had　lived。　〃I　don't　know　who　suggested　this　film　expedition　as　a　cover　for　getting　the　bullion。　Heissman；　I　suppose。　Not　that　it　matters。　What　matters　is　that　Otto　saw　in　this　proposed　trip　a　unique　and　probably　never　to　be　repeated　opportunity　to　solve　all　his　troubles　at　one　stroke。　The　solution　was　simple　…eliminate　all　his　five　partners；　including　his　daughter　whom　he　hated　as　much　as　she　hated　him。　So　he　gets　himself　two　guns　for　hire；　Heyter　and　Jungbeck…no　question　about　the　hire　aspect；　I　found　two　thousand　pounds　in　five…pound　notes　in　Jungbeck's　case　this　afternoon：　two　alleged　actors　of　whom　no　one　but　Otto　h