The Ring of Ritornel by Charles L. Harness

Author:Charles L. Harness
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berkley Medallion
Published: 1967-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

10. THE RIGHT KEY, AND BEYOND

He stopped in front of his cabin door and knocked. As he expected, there was no answer. “Hasard?” he called loudly, “Andrek here. Hold your fire. I’m coming in.”

He lifted the latch and opened the door.

Hasard was sitting in the chair by the table. His right hand held a biem-gun, resting casually on his knee. With his left hand he reached over and turned up the lights. “Come in,” he said. “And close the door.”

Andrek closed the door behind him carefully. And, concealing the motion with his body, he locked it with the inside latch. He wanted no interruptions from the corridor.

He studied the man quietly. The question now was—how much did this shark-faced brute know about him, and why he, Andrek, was on Xerol? Probably very little. Probably Huntyr had simply told the man to wait for him in this room and to kill him here.

“Keep your hands up,” said the intruder.

Andrek raised his hands, and continued to examine the hard features. Hasard’s pleasures were written on his face. They were simple but expensive: women and night life, probably in Huntyr’s borrowed coupé. Money would make a strong appeal. Andrek had very little money, but it was unlikely the other knew this. So he would start by talking money. It would at least delay matters, give him time to develop the details of his defense. No one, honest or otherwise, had ever been killed while in the act of offering a bribe!

And during the forthcoming dialogue, there was a very important point that he had to work into the conversation. He was certain that Hasard carried a transmitter on his person, and that Huntyr and Vang were back in their cabin listening to every word. On this assumption, Huntyr was about to hear something that would keep him very seriously occupied with Vang for the next few minutes.

Andrek faced Hasard and said, rather loudly: “Brother Vang agreed at dinner tonight to call off the assassination. For ten thousand gammas. It’s Huntyr’s own refund check to me. You remember it, I’m sure. Oberon made him give it to me. I endorsed it and gave it to the good brother. He put it in the inner pocket of his robe, and promised to divide it among the three of you.”

Hasard laughed. “A smart man like you, Don Andrek, an advocate and all, ought to do better than that.”

“Really? You mean you don’t believe me? This is indeed embarrassing.” Andrek breathed deeply. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he thought he saw Hasard’s trigger finger relax. Clearly, the man was interested. The fish was circling the bait, and sniffing hungrily. Andrek hoped that by now Huntyr was fully occupied with Vang and couldn’t pay attention. He tried to visualize affairs in Huntyr’s cabin … Huntyr’s voice rising … Vang’s vehement and indignant denial … Huntyr insisting on searching the other … violent hands … the discovery of the check. But the actual details didn’t really matter. Just so those two kept each other busy for five minutes.

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