Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie Read Free Book Online Page B

operating here knows is that Olive Betterton will arrive on such and such a plane and is to be given such and such instructions. You see, it's not as though she were important in herself. If they're bringing her to her husband, it's because her husband wants her brought to him and because they think they'll get better work out of him if she joins him. She herself is a mere pawn in the game. You must remember too, that the idea of substituting a false Olive Betterton is definitely a spur of the moment improvisation - occasioned by the plane accident and the colour of your hair. Our plan of operation was to keep tabs on Olive Betterton and find out where she went, how she went, whom she met - and so on. That's what the other side will be on the look out for.”
    Hilary asked:
    “Haven't you tried all that before?”
    “Yes. It was tried in Switzerland. Very unobtrusively. And it failed as far as our main objective was concerned. If anyone contacted her there we didn't know about it. So the contact must have been very brief. Naturally they'll expect that someone will be keeping tabs on Olive Betterton. They'll be prepared for that. It's up to us to do our job more thoroughly than last time. We've got to try and be rather more cunning than our adversaries.”
    “So you'll be keeping tabs on me?”
    “Of course.”
    “How?”
    He shook his head.
    “I shan't tell you that. Much better for you not to know. What you, don't know you can't give away.”
    “Do you think I would give it away?”
    Jessop put on his owl-like expression again.
    “I don't know how good an actress you are - how good a liar. It's not easy, you know. It's not a question of saying anything indiscreet. It can be anything, a sudden intake of the breath, the momentary pause in some action - lighting a cigarette, for instance. Recognition of a name or a friend. You could cover it up quickly, but just a flash might be enough!”
    “I see. It means - being on your guard for every single split second.”
    “Exactly. In the meantime, on with the lessons! Quite like going back to school, isn't it? You're pretty well word-perfect on Olive Betterton, now. Let's go on to the other.”
    Codes, responses, various properties. The lesson went on, the questioning, the repetition, the endeavour to confuse her, to trip her up; then hypothetical schemes and her own reactions to them. In the end, Jessop nodded his head and declared himself satisfied.
    “You'll do,” he said. He patted her on the shoulder in an avuncular manner. “You're an apt pupil. And remember this, however much you may feel at times that you're all alone in this, you're probably not. I say probably - I won't put it higher than that. These are clever devils.”
    “What happens,” said Hilary, “if I reach journey's end?”
    “You mean?”
    “I mean when at last I come face to face with Tom Betterton.”
    Jessop nodded grimly.
    “Yes,” he said. “That's the danger moment. I can only say that at that moment, if all has gone well, you should have protection. If, that is to say, things have gone as we hope; but the very basis of this operation, as you may remember, was that there wasn't a very high chance of survival.”
    “Didn't you say one in a hundred?” said Hilary drily.
    “I think we can shorten the odds a little. I didn't know what you were like.”
    “No, I suppose not.” She was thoughtful. “To you, I suppose, I was just...”
    He finished the sentence for her:
    “A woman with a noticeable head of red hair and who hadn't the pluck to go on living.”
    She flushed.
    “That's a harsh judgment.”
    “It's a true one, isn't it? I don't go in for being sorry for people. For one thing it's insulting. One is only sorry for people when they're sorry for themselves. Self-pity is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the world today.”
    Hilary said thoughtfully:
    “I think perhaps you're right. Will you permit yourself to be sorry for me when I've been liquidated or whatever the term