What did he say to you?' he asked hoarsely.
Not a word,' I replied. ' He came at me as silently as a snake.'
An order was shouted from outside and an engine went into reverse. I felt the launch come expertly alongside. Another order, and heavy feet on the deck.
Quick!' I said to Mac. That's the Navy.
E n g i n e – r o o m, ' h e r e p l i e d. H e l p m e w i t h h i m – j u s t a s far as the companionway.'
We half-carried, half-dragged the limp figure from the cabin as several pairs of boots fell into step on the planking a b o v e. I s n a p p e d t h e d o o r s h u t b e h i n d M a c a n d t r i e d t o straighten my clothes in the bar mirror, but before I had run a comb through my hair a man in admiral's uniform, with two officers behind, stood in the doorway. He came forward, stopped at the sight of me, the broken bottle, and the stench of whisky. He stretched out his hand.
Mr. John Garland? I am Admiral Sir William Irvine.'
The C-in-C himself! I was not in any mood for him, or any of the others who were staging a Roman Holiday out of Peace's death. I was still short of breath from the fight.
I have been trying to get hold of you for three days.'
One of the officers looked shocked at my abruptness. Irvine remained bland. You'll appreciate that in view of the high public esteem in which Commander Peace was held, it was not possible to rush through the arrangements.'
Arrangements be damned,' I retorted. If Peace had had his way, he would have asked to be thrown over the side with some old iron at his feet to take him down.'
Commander Peace was very unorthodox, we know,' he replied thinly. He frowned at the whisky-blurred glass and the broken bottle. It appears that his friends are, too.'
Mac the engineer and I were saying goodbye to him in our own way,' I snapped back. We broke a bottle of whisky over his face. It's the sort of thing that would have appealed to him.'
The admiral looked pointedly at my dishevelled appear ance. May we sit down and discuss the arrangements?'
He and the officers found themselves chairs and one of them smoothed out a typewritten sheet.
Ackroyd?
The officer went into action with the smooth competence of a computer. He read: Funeral arrangements for the late C o m m a n d e r G e o f f r e y P e a c e. T h e b o d y w i l l l i e i n s t a t e aboard the yacht Bellatrix for three days..
Three days!' I exclaimed. You mean this sideshow-' I gestured at the coffin-' is to go on for three days just to satisfy the ghoulish whims of a lot of sightseers?'
The admiral dropped his blandness. I think you should moderate your tone, Mr. Garland. It is not a sideshow, as you choose to call it. Commander Peace is a national hero an internationally known figure-and he will be accorded the recognition due to him. A naval guard of honour will stand 17 watch over the coffin. I am afraid we must ask you to leave Bellatrix until after the funeral..
I scarcely heard him. My mind was on that strange figure listening at the coffin, trying to get in. Had he taken a chance in broad daylight because he knew there would be a naval guard after that?
… following the lying-in-state, the body will be conveyed aboard Loch Vennachar,' droned on Ackroyd. Limuria Squadron will put to sea at 0900 hours, using the North Entrance. The u.s. Seventh Fleet will also proceed to sea and take up station in line ahead two miles northward of
Recif Islet, bearing 155 degrees, while Limuria Squadron will be stationed in line ahead approximately three miles south of Renommee Rock.'
` We are burying Commander Peace as near to the area where he was drowned as we can,' consoled the admiral. '
Frigate Island is a bit tricky for the big ships, particularly if we get a squall from the north-west.'
Ackroyd resumed. ' A fighter escort over the fleet will be provided jointly from H.M.S. Teaser and U.S.N. Springfield.'
The more I thought about the grand display, the less I liked it. The mourning party will be abroad Loch Vennachar,' intoned Ackroyd. ' Launch for the chief mourner to be at Victoria pierhead at 0830..
"That means me,' I said.
The C-in-C was patient. ' The Admiralty has informed me that no relatives of the late Commander Peace could be traced. As his close friend, the honour falls to you.'
Honour! At heart I felt like Mac-I wanted to smash something.
Ackroyd went on. ' The official naval party-'
The admiral broke in sharply. ' What about the Dm?'
' The Director of Naval Intelligence, sir? No invitation was sent..
The C-in-C smiled apologetically. ' Not the current DNI. No, the Old-Man himself-just retired-'
I felt a thrill go through me. How often had Peace spoken of him, although I had never met that legendary figure of
British Naval Intelligence! I said off-handedly, ' There's no call for the DNI to come all the way from England for this circus'
The C-in-C's glance contained something I did not understand. ' He does not have to come from England-he lives here-in the Seychelles.'
He watched me closely, too closely. First, the CIA man 18 and now the head of British Naval Intelligence himself, when I had thought him to be living in a country cottage in England,' or sailing a yacht at Cowes. Stranger still that. Peace had not mentioned him in the week we had been together; he must have known he was in the Seychelles. Where did Peace's secret come in? I was in deep waters.
' Didn't you know?' asked the C-in-C. ' He's living here at Mahe-retired and came straight to the Seychelles. He'll be aboard Loch Vennachar for the funeral. You can renew acquaintance.'
' I never met him,' I replied.
` Strange,' he murmured, watching me still. The tenseness seemed to go out of him with my last remark, however. Mac and I would have to find out more from our faceless stranger, even if Mac had to rough him up a little in the process. The odd coffin began to look odder still as my suspicions mounted. Ackroyd cleared his throat and broke the tight silence. At least the funeral arrangements were neutral ground.
` The committal service will be conducted by the Reverend
Miles Sands, Fleet Chaplain. The customary salute will take the form of a salvo fired from the main armament of Loch Vennachar..
The bizarre ceremony took shape in my mind's eye-the double row of British and American ships stopped for the committal, the ramp over the cruiser's side, the weighted body tipped as the padre intoned `… we therefore commit his body to the deep…' the uptilt of the ramp… the faraway splash as the object hit the water…
… following which a wreath will be dropped over the spot by helicopter flying from H.M.S. Teaser.'
I had to be aboard that helicopter! Only if I saw Peace's body sink into the depths would it allay the crowd of doubts and questions which clamoured now in my mind.
I'd like to fly in that helicopter,' I said quickly.
The C-in-C froze. His reply confirmed my suspicions. I'll consider it.'
` Consider!' I retorted. ` You don't have to consider! You can okay my request here and now.'
He said steadily, I said, I'll consider it. I'll inform you of my decision in good time. I can, however, promise that if you wish the pilot to drop a personal floral tribute-'
' Personal floral tribute!' I laughed in his face. The reek of whisky was in my nostrils. Mac's ' personal tribute ' was raw from the heart and it could stay at that, for my part. The mystery remained, larger than before.
' Forget it,' I muttered.
Ackroyd had been well trained. He glided on, trying to reduce the tension. The fleet will then make half-speed to a p osition east-north-east of Recif Islet, to bear 220 degrees
My sharpened mental reflexes jerked at the mistake in the orders.