Memories of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon Page A

horn. The rope trailed behind the horse, but it never touched the ground. It was a long rope, two hundred feet in length. The other end was held up by Mustafa and his fifteen hired runners behind him. They walked in a crouch, each bent over close to the ground, one hand holding the rope line, and the other clutching a gunny sack of opium. Each $ack weighed thirtyfive pounds. The woman and her horse walked through a stretch booby-trapped with anti-personnel mines, but there was a path that had been cleared by a small herd of sheep driven through the area earlier. If the rope fell to the earth, the slack was a signal to Mustafa and the others that there were gendarmes up ahead. If the woman was taken in for questioning, then the smugglers would safely move on ahead across the border They crossed at Kilis, the border point, which was heavily mined. Once past the area controlled by the gendarme patrols, the smugglers moved into the buffer zone three miles wide, until they reached their rendezvous, where they were greeted by Syrian smugglers. They put their sacks of opium on the ground and were presented with a bottle of raki which the men passed from one to the other. Rizzoli watched as the opium was weighed, stacked, tied and secured upon the sway-backs of a dozen dirty Syrian donkeys. The job was done All right, Rizzoli thought. Now let's see how the boys in Thailand do it.
    Rizzoli's next stop was Bangkok. When his bona fides had been established he was allowed on a Thai fishing vessel that carried drugs wrapped in polyethylene sheeting packed into empty kerosene drums, with rings attached to the top. As the shipping boats approached Hong Kong they jettisoned the drums in a neat row in shallow water around Lima and the Ladrone Islands, where it was simple for a Hong Kong fishing boat to pick them up with a grappling hook 'Not bad,' Rizzoli said. But there has to be a better way.
    The growers referred to heroin as 'they' and 'horse', but to Tony Rizzoli, heroin was gold. The profits were staggering. The peasants who grew the raw opium were paid three hundred fifty dollars for ten kilos but by the time the opium was processed and sold on the streets of New York, its value had increased to two hundred fifty thousand dollars It's so easy, Rizzoli thought. Carella was right. The trick is not to get caught That had been in the beginning, ten years ealier. But now it was more difficult. Interpol, the international police force, had recently put drug smuggling at the top of its list. All vessels leaving the key smuggling ports that looked even slightly suspicious were boarded and searched. That was why Rizzoli had gone to Spyros Lambrou. His fleet was above suspicion. It was unlikely that the police would search one of his cargo ships. But the bastard had turned him down. I'll find another way, Tony Rizzoli thought. But I'd better find it fast.
    'Catherine am I disturbing you?' It was midnight. 'No, Costa. It's nice to hear your voice.' 'Is everything going well?' 'Yes thanks to you. I'm really enjoying my job/ 'Good. I'll be coming to London in a few weeks. I'll look forward to seeing you.' Careful. Don't push too fast. 'I want to discuss some of the company's personnel.' 'Fine.' 'Good night, then.'
    'Good night.'
    This time she was calling him. 'Costa -1 don't know what to say The locket is beautiful. You shouldn't have . . .' 'It's a small token, Catherine. Evelyn told me what a big help you are to her. I just wanted to express my appreciation.'
    It's so easy, Demiris thought. Little gifts and flattery. Later: My wife and I are separating Then the 'I'm so lonely' stage A vague talk of marriage and an invitation to travel on his 84

Memories Of Midnight

I
    IWcht to his island. The routine never failed. This is going to be iparticularly exciting, Demiris thought, because it's going to have a 0 different ending. She's going to die.
    He telephoned Napoleon Chotas. The lawyer was delighted to hear from him. 'It's been a while, Costa.