Wyatt - 05 - Port Vila Blues Read Free Page B

paintwork, bedding, decor, prints
above the fat beds.

    They got out of the taxi a block
past the motel and walked back. It was called the TravelWay and it faced St
Georges Road. One lane of cracked and buckled asphalt had been cordoned off by
plastic ribbon and witchs hats, and boggy holes had been carved out under the
tramtracks in the centre of the road. In the late morning light the street was
a wasteland, still and lifeless.

    Wyatt viewed it sourly: this wasnt
a place with a quick exit. The motel itself was a simple building, a one-storey
block parallel to the street, with rooms facing St Georges Road and an
identical number of rooms backing on to them, facing suburban back yards at the
rear. Most of the cars in the lot were Falcons and Commodores, commercial
travellers cars, white station wagons with sample cases and cardboard displays
stacked behind the front seats. Wyatt automatically examined the interior of
every car in the lot and on the street outside, then watched the door to room
14 for a few minutes while Jardine sat on a bluestone block in the sun.

    Satisfied that they werent walking
into a trap, Wyatt knocked on 14 and stepped to one side. That was automatic,
too: hed been shot at through spyholes; men had come at him through doors or
bundled him into rooms through doors much like the red door to room 14.

    Jardine, hearing the knock, blinked
and limped to join him. A womans voice, pleasant and inquiring, the voice of a
faintly puzzled legitimate guest, said, Who is it?

    Frank Jardine, Jardine said.

    The door opened. Nothing happened.
When hands didnt seize Jardine and men didnt scream at him to drop to the
ground, Wyatt stepped into view behind him.

    The womans eyes flicked over them,
assessing their faces, where they had their hands, finally checking the motel
forecourt and the torn-up street behind them. Until shed done this she said
nothing, expressed nothing but wariness, but then she smiled, a flood of warmth
in the poky doorway. Come in, she said, stepping back, one hand indicating
the room, the other holding the door fully open.

    As they edged past, Wyatt saw her
glance at his overnight bag. Aware of his eyes on her, she looked up and
grinned. He smiled a little, despite himself. She had a cheery vigour that he
liked, an air of someone good at her job but not about to let it button down
the atmosphere. She wore sandals and a billowy cotton shirt over patterned
tights. A faint scent of soap and shampoo drifted around her head. Her hair was
fine, dark and dead straight, parted in the middle, framing her face. There was
a faint asymmetry about her features: one eye seemed to stare out a little, one
cheekbone sat a fraction lower than the other, giving her an air of sceptical
good humour and quick intelligence.

    Wyatt entered the room cautiously.
Apart from the standard fittings, it was empty. Jardine checked the ensuite
bathroom and came out again, nodding the okay. So he hasnt completely lost it,
Wyatt thought, setting the overnight bag on the bed and unzipping it.

    Straight down to business, the
woman said.

    He is a bit obsessive, Jardine
agreed, catching her mood. Together they watched Wyatt.

    Does he talk? Drink tea or coffee?

    Been known to, Jardine said.

    Wyatt had few skills at this sort of
thing, but he made an effort. I wont have a drink, bad tooth, but you two go
ahead. His palm floated automatically to his cheek.

    The smiling sympathy in Liz Reddings
face and manner was genuine. Abscess? Old filling? She came close to peer at
his face. It does look swollen on that side, she said. Youd better get it
seen to or your performance will suffer.

    She could have meant anything by
that. He felt an absurd desire to embrace her. Im fine.

    Sure. Tough guy.

    Look, can we get down to it?

    Suit yourself.

    Wyatt stepped back from the bed and
leaned his rump on the leading edge of the television bench under a painting of
junks on Hong Kong harbour. Jardine swung die rooms only chair around and