Twelve Hours To Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page A

in the picture as far as his side of the business was concerned.”
    “Wasn’t that an odd way of doing business? As his Number Two, surely you knew virtually everything he was doing?”
    “That’s how I thought it was supposed to be,” said the other harshly. “But he said that there were too many people watching Europeans and working for the Hong Kong station was different from any other. He may have been right. After all there are more than three and a half million Chinese in Hong Kong and only a few thousand Europeans. They run the place in spite of what people might think in London.”
    “Then you’ve no idea at all what happened that night?”
    “Only that whoever did it, made a dammed good job of destroying the station. The entire place was gutted. All of the records had been destroyed, together with the transmitter.” The other paused, then went on: “You know about the torpedo boat?”
    “Yes, they told me about that in London.”
    “There was no sign of a body in the ruins, so it seems more than likely they smuggled him out of the colony and into China. They’d never have gone to the trouble of attacking a British torpedo boat unless there was a very good reason for it.”
    Carradine grunted something in reply, turned his head to glance through the rear window. The headlights of a solitary car showed some distance behind them. Although Kellaway was driving slowly, the other vehicle showed no sign of catching up with them. Sharply, he said: “That car behind us. It’s been there for some minutes now, just keeping pace with us.”
    Kellaway glanced in the mirror, his face tight. “Could be some of the other passengers who were on the plane with you. This is the only road into Kowloon.”
    “Maybe. But I’ve got the feeling whoever is in it may be interested in us, or more precisely in me.”
    “You want me to try to lose them?” Kellaway asked.
    Carradine smiled to himself at the note of eagerness in the other’s tone. Apart from what had happened to Chao Lin, this was perhaps the only bit of excitement which had come along to brighten the other’s life out here. He shook his head. “No. Wait until you come to some convenient spot where you can pull off the road, then put out the headlights and we’ll take a closer look at them. Are there any sharp bends in this road?”
    The other pursed his lips momentarily, then nodded. “One up ahead, about a quarter of a mile. There’s also a short cul-de-sac leading off it to the right.”
    “Good. Then get in there.”
    Jerking his head around, he kept an eye on the twin spotlights behind them as Kellaway eased his foot down slightly on the accelerator to widen the distance between them. They drove over the brow of a hill with the lights of Kowloon stretched out before them. Then, almost before Carradine was aware of it, the other spun hard on the wheel and they roared into a narrow, dark entrance, with a tangle of brush at the far end, blocking any further movement.
    Snapping off the headlights, Kellaway switched off the ignition. Tension built up swiftly in the warm, dark silence. Then there came the muted purr of the car which had been following them. Jerking the Luger from his shoulder holster, Carradine opened the door and stood up, crouched down behind the car. Kellaway remained seated behind the wheel, his body hunched slightly forward. There was a tense expression on his face, the lips twisted into a faint grimace.
    Headlights showed along the road at the mouth of the alley. They grew brighter as the sound of the car increased. It was moving slowly, almost as if the driver suspected what they had done. Then it glided past. He caught a brief glimpse of the man in the driver’s seat, leaning forward as though peering intently through the windscreen. There were at least two men in the back, dark anonymous shadows from which no detail emerged.
    Two of his fellow passengers as Kellaway thought? Or was his presence here in Hong Kong known to the