Dark Ransom Read Free

clearly contemptuous of anyone who would ask
    for a drink without ice in such heat. He waved her towards one of
    the stools at the bar, and uncapped a bottle taken from a primitive
    refrigerator.
    But the glass she was handed, along with the bottle, was surprisingly
    clean, and the drink tasted magical. Good old Coca Cola, she
    thought, taking a healthy swig.
    The hotel proprietor had vanished back into the domain behind the
    beaded curtain. Charlie suspected that he was probably steaming
    open Senhor da Santana's letter at that very moment, and wondered
    whether it would ever reach its rightful destination. Well,
    fortunately that wasn't her problem. She was simply the messenger
    girl.
    She glanced at her watch, decided there was time for another Coke,
    and tapped on the counter with a coin. There was no response, so
    she knocked again more loudly. The bead curtain stirred, and this
    time two men entered, both strangers.
    More customers, she decided, dismissing a faint uneasiness as they
    came round the bar to stand beside her.
    'Senhorita.' It was the smaller and swarthier of the two men who
    spoke. He was wearing denims and a faded checked shirt, his hair
    covered by an ancient panama hat which he lifted politely.
    'Senhorita, the boat, he wait.'
    'Oh, my God.' Charlie slid off her stool, thrusting a handful of coins
    on to the bar-top. Either she'd lost all track of time, or her watch
    must have stopped. Thank heavens Captain Gomez had sent
    someone to find her. The last thing she wanted was to remain here
    in Mariasanta, possibly at this hotel, until the Manoela came
    downstream again.
    A battered jeep was waiting outside the hotel. The small man
    opened its door, motioning Charlie on to the bench seat.
    Under normal circumstances she wouldn't have dreamed of accepting
    such a lift, but time was of the essence now, and she scrambled in.
    However, she was slightly taken aback when the other man, taller,
    with a melancholy black moustache, climbed in beside her,
    effectively trapping her between the two of them.
    Her uneasiness returned in full force. She began, 'I've changed my
    mind...' but got no further as the jeep roared into life with a jerk that
    nearly sent her through its grimy windscreen.
    By the time she'd recovered her equilibrium they were heading out
    of town—in the opposite direction to the dock and Manoela, she
    realised with horror.
    Suddenly she was very frightened indeed. She turned to the driver,
    trying to speak calmly. "There's been a mistake— um engano. Let
    me out of here, please.'
    The driver beamed, revealing several unsightly gaps in his teeth.
    'We go boat,' he assured her happily.
    'But it's the wrong way,' Charlie protested, but to no avail. The jeep
    thundered on towards the heavy green of the forest, and if she was
    going to scream, now was the time, before they got completely out
    of town. But she wasn't in the least sure that her throat muscles
    would obey her.
    She took a deep breath, trying to think rationally, then reached in
    her bag for her wallet.
    'Money,' she said, tugging notes out of their compartment. 'Money
    for you—to let me go.' She thrust the cash at the man with the
    moustache. 'It's all I've got, really.'
    The man inspected the cash, nodded with a sad smile, and handed it
    back.
    'I haven't any more,' she tried again desperately. 'I'm not rich.'
    Or were all tourists deemed to be millionaires in the face of the
    poverty she saw around her? Maybe so.
    But if they didn't want her money—what did they want? Her mind
    quailed from the obvious answer.
    The road was little more than a track now, and the jeep rocketed
    along, taking pot-holes and tree roots in its stride. It occurred to
    Charlie that if and when she emerged from this adventure it would
    be with a dislocated spine.
    The driver was whistling cheerfully through one of the gaps in his
    teeth, and the sound made her shiver.
    He glanced at her and nodded. 'Boat soon.'
    She said wearily, 'The bloody boat's in the