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Chapters (45)
  1. The Man With No Face
  2. Also by
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. Contents
  8. INTRODUCTION
  9. CHAPTER ONE
  10. CHAPTER TWO
  11. CHAPTER THREE
  12. CHAPTER FOUR
  13. CHAPTER FIVE
  14. CHAPTER SIX
  15. CHAPTER SEVEN
  16. CHAPTER EIGHT
  17. CHAPTER NINE
  18. CHAPTER TEN
  19. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  20. CHAPTER TWELVE
  21. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  22. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  23. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  25. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  26. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  27. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Platt sat down on the edge of a chair and listened in astonished silence as Bannerman spelled it out. He was barely able to conceal his excitement, mopping his fat flushed face repeatedly with his soiled red handkerchief.

‘What about Jansen?’ he said when he’d had time to process it all. ‘We’ll have to put it to him.’

‘Yes.’

‘When?’

‘Tonight. I’ve already fixed a rendezvous. But I’m seeing him alone.’

Platt didn’t argue. In fact he was quite relieved. He would not have relished a confrontation with a man like Jansen. He knew his own limitations. And, anyway, why not let Bannerman do the dirty work? Hadn’t he dismissed Platt’s efforts so disparagingly only yesterday? Let him do it on his own and then make him eat dirt. Finally he had Bannerman right where he wanted him. Platt could hardly believe his luck. The euphoria of the day before returned and he beamed happily. ‘How about a drink to celebrate?’

Bannerman shook his head and looked at Platt with faint distaste. ‘I agreed to share the story. I don’t feel obliged to drink with you.’

Platt’s smile never wavered. I’ll show you, he thought. ‘Can I borrow Slater’s car?’

Bannerman was surprised. ‘What on earth for?’

‘There are things I need to do. I’ll have to go to the office and take copies of my notes from the Tribunal de Commerce, and then I can bring them round to you tonight. After you’ve seen Jansen.’

Bannerman felt in his pocket for the keys and threw them across to Platt. ‘Don’t wreck it.’ This way, at least, he had an excuse for not going to the clinic.

Platt scurried off with his happiness and his dark secrets, leaving Bannerman to face the phone call he knew he must now make. An image came to him of Tania standing at the window, watching for him to come. She would be expecting him today, and he did not have the courage to face her, or tell her of the plans other people were making for her future.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Across the city Kale lay fully clothed on his bed as he had done throughout the hours of darkness. At first it had been the thump of music from the nightclub next door that kept him awake, pounding through his head until after five. But by then he had been beyond sleep. He had left the shutters open, and a neon sign in the street outside flashed every few seconds to bathe the room in a warm red glow. Now, many hours later, the smoke from his cigarette drifted lazily towards the ceiling where a thick pall from all the cigarettes that had gone before hung in the grey light of late morning.