The Hotel Riviera(67)
“Don’t you see,” I said, “it’s my only chance to find Patrick. I have to do it, Miss N. I just have to.”
Chapter 65
Jack
Jack wasted exactly fifteen minutes loitering in the Place Garibaldi in Nice before realizing he had made a mistake. It was still early but he called Lola anyway. There was no reply. He frowned, worried. Why wasn’t she answering? On an impulse, he called his own number. There was a message from Miss Nightingale.
“I’m breaking a confidence telling you this,” she said in the clipped British accent that always made him smile, “but Lola got this weird telephone call last night. The man made her promise not to tell, but of course she told me, and now I’m telling you. We’re on our way to La Turbie to meet Patrick—at least, that’s what the man said. He also told Lola that if she didn’t show up, she knew what the consequences would be. And that made me think about my Tom, and what he would have done. So now, dear Jack, I’m telling you because I don’t like the sound of this one little bit. Anyhow, we’re to meet in the village square at La Turbie at six A.M. I’d be so pleased if you could join us,” she added, just as though she were inviting him to a party.
Jack clicked off the phone. He’d been duped, gotten out of the way. He was back in the rented Peugeot and on the road to La Turbie before Miss Nightingale could have said Jack Robinson.
The vehicle in front of Jack was a camouflage-green Hummer, wide and squat. In front of that was the little silver Fiat with Miss N at the wheel, belting along hell-for-leather, as though there were no hairpin bends and no hundred-foot drop. The Hummer was a shade behind and edging closer. Too close, Jack thought with a twinge of alarm. It looked as if the Hummer driver wanted to pass the Fiat, though how he hoped to manage that maneuver on this road and with the width of his vehicle, he had no idea.
He dropped back a bit, giving the Hummer room to fall back and stop pressing the Fiat so hard, but all he succeeded in doing was lengthening the gap between them. What the hell was wrong with them anyway? He peered through the windshield trying to catch a glimpse of the driver, but the windows were dark and all he could see was a silhouetted head.
“Idiot,” he yelled, leaning on the horn, but the driver took no notice.
Chapter 66
Miss N
“My dear,” Miss Nightingale said to Lola, peering through the rearview mirror, “don’t you think that army vehicle is too close to our tail?”
Lola checked. “That’s no army vehicle, it’s a customized Hummer, very expensive and murder on gas.”
“Hmmm,” Miss N said, pressing her foot to the metal. The little Fiat gave a hiccuping jolt, then surged forward, making Lola gasp.
“Oh my God,” she said, with a quick check of the sheer drop to the right. “Oh my God, slow down, Miss N. When we get to a turnabout just let him pass if he’s in such a hurry.”
“Question is, why is he in such a hurry?” Miss N negotiated an S-bend with nonchalant flair, though in truth she was starting to get a little worried. The Hummer was still tailgating, forcing her to go even faster, and now she was afraid to slow down for fear it would hit them. There had been another car behind the Hummer earlier, but it was no longer there. There were no other cars on the road. They were, so to speak, on their own.
Chapter 67
Jack
Steam hissed from the Peugeot’s radiator and a clunking sound came from the engine as the car slid to a stop.
Jack slammed the steering wheel with both hands. He got out and surveyed the steam coming out of the radiator. What a f*ckin’ time to overheat. Now what? Miss N must be a mile away by now and that Hummer was right behind her. He dragged out the red warning flares, ran back a few yards, put them on the road and lit them. He stopped and stared into the rocky chasm below the road.
“Oh no,” he said, “oh no…” Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed the emergency number, told the police in execrable French/American that there was a dangerous driver on the Moyenne Corniche, he was afraid there was going to be an accident, it might even be a murder…Better get a helicopter out there right now. Before it was too late.
He hoped they’d taken him seriously as he jogged back up the road, heart pounding, praying as he’d never needed to pray in his life before. He heard a car behind him, spun round thumbing it. It slowed and he climbed in behind a startled German couple.
“Hurry,” he told them, “there’s trouble ahead, people need help.” The German didn’t stop to ask questions, he just put his foot down and went.
Chapter 68
Miss N
“My dear,” Miss N said to Lola again, “I think we’ve got trouble. This Hummer is trying to edge me over.”
Lola peered out the back window. She waved at the Hummer to back off, but instead it surged forward. “Omigod,” she screamed as the Hummer’s front bumper nudged them. “Oh my God, Miss N, he’s trying to kill us!”
Miss N swallowed hard; the Fiat couldn’t go any faster, they were trapped with a crazy murderous driver. All she could do was pray to Tom, to tell her what to do.
Zigzag! The answer came like a bolt from the blue and Miss N swerved obediently into the oncoming lane, praying again that nothing was heading her way. The Hummer swerved with her.