Interesting theory, said McCready. Youd make a good alienist except for one thing. You lack empathy.
I cant stand the man, said Carey bluntly. Hes an overweening, overbearing, supercilious son-of-a-bitch who thinks the sun shines out of his arse. Mr Know-it-all in person and too bloody toplofty by half. He shrugged. But I cant pick and choose the people I work with. Its not in my contract.
What did you say he called himself?
Giles Denison from Hampstead. Hampstead, for Christs sake!
Ill be back in a minute, said McCready. He left the room.
Carey loosened his tie with a jerk and sat biting his thumbnail. He looked up as McCready came back holding a book. What have you got there?
London telephone directory.
Give me that, said Carey, and grabbed it. Lets see Dennis, Dennis, Dennis... Dennison. Theres a George and two plain Gs neither in Hampstead. He sat back, looking pleased.
McCready took the book and flipped the pages. After a minute he said, Denison, Giles... Hampstead. He spells it with one n.
Oh, Christ! said Carey, looking stricken. He recovered. Doesnt mean a thing. He picked the name of someone he knows. His daughters boy-friend, perhaps.
Perhaps, said McCready non-committally.
Carey drummed his fingers on the desk. Ill stake my life that this is Meyrick; anything else would be too ridiculous. His fingers were suddenly stilled. Mrs Hansen, he said. Shes been closer to him than anybody. Did she have anything to say?
She reported last night that shed met him. Hed broken a date with her in the morning and excused it by pleading illness. Said hed been in bed all morning.
Had he?
Yes.
Did she notice anything about him anything odd or unusual?
Only that he had a cold and that hed stopped smoking. He said cigarettes tasted like straw.
Carey, a pipe-smoker, grunted. They taste like straw to me without a cold. But he recognised her.
They had a drink and a conversation about morals and religion, she said.
That does it, said Carey. Meyrick is ready to pontificate about anything at the drop of a hat, whether he knows anything about it or not. He rubbed his chin and said grudgingly, Trouble is, he usually talks sense he has a good brain. No, this is Meyrick, and Meyrick is as flabby as a bladder of lard thats why we have to coddle him on this operation. Do you really think that Meyrick could stand up against four men with guns and knives and coshes? The man could hardly break the skin on the top of a custard. Hes gone out of his tiny, scientific mind and his tale of improbable violence is just to save his precious superiority, as I said before.
And what about the operation?
As far as Meyrick is concerned the operation is definitely off, said Carey decisively. And, right now, I dont see how it can be done without him. Ill cable London to that effect as soon as Ive had another talk with him. He paused. Youd better come along, George. Im going to need a witness on this one or else London will have me certified.
They left the office and walked along the corridor. Outside the room where Meyrick was held Carey put his hand on McCreadys arm. Hold yourself in, George. This might be rough.
They found Meyrick still sitting at the desk in brooding silence, ignoring the man he knew only as Ian who sat opposite. Ian looked up at Carey and shrugged eloquently.
Carey stepped forward. Dr Meyrick, Im sorry to...
My name is Denison. I told you that. His voice was cold.
Carey softened his tone. All right, Mr Denison; if you prefer it that way. I really think you ought to see a doctor. Im arranging for it.
And about time, said Denison. This is hurting like hell.
What is?
Denison was pulling his sweater from his trousers. This bloody knife wound. Look at it.
Carey and McCready bent to look at the quarter-inch deep slash along Denisons side. It would, Carey estimated, take sixteen stitches to sew it up.
Their heads came up together and they looked at each other with a wild surmise.
Seven
Carey paced restlessly up and down McCreadys office. His tie was awry and his hair would have been tousled had it not been so close-cropped because he kept running his hand through it. I still dont believe it, he said. Its too bloody incredible.
He swung on McCready. George, supposing you went to bed tonight, here in Oslo, and woke up tomorrow, say, in a New York hotel, wearing someone elses face. What would be your reaction?
I think Id go crazy, said McCready soberly. He smiled slightly. If I woke up with your face I would go crazy.
Carey ignored the wisecrack. But Denison didnt go crazy, he said meditatively. All things considered, he kept his cool remarkably well.
If he is Denison, remarked McCready. He could be Meyrick and quite insane.
Carey exploded into a rage. For Gods sake! All along youve been arguing that hes Denison; now you turn around and say he could be Meyrick.
McCready eyed him coolly. The role of devils advocate suits me, dont you think? He tapped the desk. Either way, the operation is shot to hell.
Carey sat down heavily. Youre right, of course. But if this is a man called Denison then there are a lot of questions to be answered. But first, what the devil do we do with him?
We cant keep him here, said McCready. For the same reason we didnt keep Meyrick here. The Embassy is like a fishbowl.
Carey cocked his head. Hes been here for over two hours. Thats about normal for a citizen being hauled over the coals for a serious driving offence. You suggest we send him back to the hotel?
Under surveillance. McCready smiled. He says he has a date with a redhead for dinner.
Under surveillance. McCready smiled. He says he has a date with a redhead for dinner.
Mrs Hansen, said Carey. Does he know about her?
No.
Keep it that way. Shes to stick close to him. Give her a briefing and ask her to guard him from interference. He could run into some odd situations. And talk to him like a Dutch uncle. Put the fear of God into him so that he stays in the hotel. I dont want him wandering around loose.
Carey drew a sheet of paper towards him and scribbled on it. The next thing we want are doctors tame ones who will ask the questions we want asked and no others. A plastic surgeon and he smiled at McCready bleakly and an alienist. The problem must be decided one way or the other.
We cant wait until they arrive, said McCready.
Agreed, said Carey. Well work on the assumption that a substitution has been made that this man is Denison. We know when the substitution was made in the early hours of yesterday morning. Denison was brought in how?
On a stretcher he must have been unconscious.
Right! said Carey. A hospital patient in transit under the supervision of a trained nurse and probably a doctor. And theyd have taken a room on the same floor as Meyrick. The switch was made and Meyrick taken out yesterday morning probably in an ambulance at the back entrance of the hotel by arrangement with the management. Hotels dont like stretchers being paraded through the front lobby.
Ill get on to it, said McCready. It might be an idea to check on all the people who booked in on the previous day, regardless of the floor they stayed on. I dont think this was a two man job.
I dont, either. And you check the comings and goings for the past week somebody must have been watching Meyrick for a long time.
Thats a hell of a big job, objected McCready. Do we get the co-operation of the Norwegians?
Carey pondered. At this time no. We keep it under wraps.
McCreadys face took on a sad look at the thought of all the legwork he was going to have to do. Carey tilted his chair back. And then theres the other end to be checked the London end. Why Giles Denison of Hampstead? His chair came down with a thump. Hasnt it struck you that Denison has been very unforthcoming?
McCready shrugged. I havent talked to him all that much.
Well, look, said Carey. Here we have this man in this bloody odd situation in which he finds himself. After recovering from the first shock, he not only manages to deceive Mrs Hansen as to his real identity but he has the wit to ring up Meyricks home. But why only Meyrick? Why didnt he check back on himself?
How do you mean?
Carey sighed. Theres a man called Giles Denison missing from Hampstead. Surely hed be missed by someone? Even if Denison is an unmarried orphan he must have friends a job. Why didnt he ring back to reassure people that he was all right and still alive and now living it up in Oslo?
I hadnt thought of that, admitted McCready. Thats a pointer to his being Meyrick, after all. Suffering from delusions but unable to flesh them out properly.
Carey gave a depressed nod. All Ive had from him is that hes Giles Denison from Hampstead nothing more.
Why not put it to him now? suggested McCready.
Carey thought about it and shook his head. No, Ill leave that to the psychiatrist. If this is really Meyrick, the wrong sort of questions could push him over the edge entirely. He pulled the note pad towards him again. Well have someone check on Denison in Hampstead and find out the score. He ripped off the sheet. Lets get cracking. I want those cables sent to London immediately top priority and coded. I want those quacks here as fast as possible.
Eight
Giles Denison stirred his coffee and smiled across the table at Diana Hansen. His smile was steady, which was remarkable because a thought had suddenly struck him like a bolt of lightning and left him with a churning stomach. Was the delectable Diana Hansen who faced him Meyricks mistress?
The very thought put him into a dilemma. Should he make a pass or not? Whatever he did or did not do, he had a fifty per cent chance of being wrong. The uncertainty of it spoiled his evening which had so far been relaxing and pleasant.
He had been driven back to the hotel in an Embassy car after dire warnings from George McCready of what would happen to him if he did not obey instructions. Youll have realized by now that youve dropped right into the middle of something awkward, said McCready. Were doing our best to sort it out but, for the next couple of days, youd do well to stay in the hotel. He drove it home by asking pointedly, Hows your side feeling now?
Better, said Denison. But I could have done with a doctor. He had been strapped up by McCready, who had produced a first-aid box and displayed a competence which suggested he was no stranger to knife wounds.