The Light of Day by Eric Ambler

he said. 'Who said anything about the police?'
    'You were talking of compelling me to hand over the car to you. Only the police could make me do that.’ I paused. 'Unless, that is, you had some other compulsion in mind. In that case, perhaps I should go to the police anyway.'
    He did not know what to say to that. He just stared. It was all I could do not to smile. It was quite obvious that he knew perfectly well what was hidden in the car, and that the very last thing he wanted was the police taking an interest in it. Now he had to make sure that I didn't go to them.
    There is no need for that,' he said finally.
    'I'm not so sure.' The waiter brought me the drink and I motioned to Fischer. This gentleman will pay.'
    Fischer hesitated, then threw some money on the table and stood up. He was doing his best to regain control of the situation by trying to look insulted.
    'Very well,' he said stiffly; 'we shall have to wait for Mr Harper's arrival. It is very inconvenient and I shall report your insubordinate behaviour to him. He will not employ you again.'
    And then, of course, I had to go too far. 'When he knows how careless you can be, maybe he won't have much use for you either.'
    It was a silly thing to say, because it implied that I knew that the situation was not what it appeared on the surface, and I wasn't supposed to know.
    His eyes narrowed. ‘What did Harper tell you about me?'
    ‘Until tonight I didn't even know you existed. What should he have told me?'
    Without answering he turned and went.
    I finished my drink slowly and planned my movements for the evening. It would be best, I thought, to dine in the hotel Apart from the fact that the cost of the meal would go on the bill, which Harper could be paying. I wasn't too keen on going out just then. Fischer had seemed to accept the situation; but there was just a chance that he might change his mind and decide to get rough after all. Tufan's men would be covering me, presumably, but I didn't know what their orders were. If someone were to beat me up it wouldn't be much consolation to know that they were standing by, taking notes. It was certainly better to stay in. The only problem was the ten o'clock telephone report. I had already noticed that the public telephones in the foyer were handled by an operator who put the calls through the hotel switchboard, so I would have to risk going out later. Unless, that is, I missed the ten o'clock call and left it until the morning at eight. The only trouble was that I would then have to explain to Tufan why I had done so, and I did not want to have to explain that I was afraid of anything that Fischer might do. My trousers were still damp where he had upset the drink over me, and I was still remembering how good it had felt to make him climb down and do what / wanted. I could not expect Tufan to realize how successfully I had handled Fischer if I had to start by admitting that I had been too nervous to leave the hotel afterwards.
    All I could do was to minimize the risk. The nearest café I knew of was the one on the side street below my room. With so many lighted hotel windows above, the street would not be too dark for safety. The telephone would probably be on the bar, but with any luck the noise of the music would compensate for the lack of privacy. Anyway, it would have to do.
    By the time I had finished dinner I was feeling so tired that I could hardly keep my eyes open. I went back to the terrace and drank brandy until it was time for the call.
    As I walked from the hotel entrance to the road I had to get out of the way of a taxi and was able to glance over my shoulder casually as if to make sure that it was safe to walk on. There was a man in a chauffeur's cap about twenty yards behind me.
    Because of the contours of the hill and the way the street twisted and turned, it took me longer than I had expected to get to the café. The man in the chauffeur's cap stayed behind me. I listened carefully to his footsteps. If he