The Care of Time
Eric Ambler
Language: English
Pages: 368
ISBN: 0993278469
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
One Monday, Robert Halliday receives a bomb threat in the mail. Two days later, the bomb arrives-accompanied by an offer of employment from one Karliss Zander, an international fixer. Unless Halliday agrees to help him edit the memoirs of a 19th century Russian terrorist and ghostwrite an expose of modern terrorist governments, Zander will detonate the bomb. For the sake of self-preservation, Halliday joins the project-but quickly discovers that Zander requires more than mere literary assistance: He and his daughter are in mortal peril from a Middle Eastern terrorist group. Now tangled in this massive international web of danger, Halliday wonders if it wouldn't have been far less painful if that bomb had just gone off. The Care of Time, Eric Ambler's final novel, is a carefully constructed, utterly absorbing story of intrigue and suspense, one of the most acclaimed works of his more than sixty year career."
Pacioli had been fidgeting. Now he broke in sharply. ‘You tell us, Herr Schelm, that this man’s motive for blackmailing us into this situation is to establish communications with you through the CIA? It makes no sense! What would a gangster of this type want with government agencies such as yours?’ ‘A sensible question,’ Schelm replied, but he kept his eyes on me. ‘What do you think, Mr Halliday?’ I had been thinking of Chihani’s references to me as an ‘experienced’ person. Now I knew what she
partners. I noticed that I felt reassured by that information and wondered why. It took me a second or two to get the answer. You didn’t find men like McGuire acting for the likes of Karlis Zander. I pulled myself together sharply. ‘Have you dealt with Pacioli before?’ ‘Through our Italian sub-agent, of course. Well-established publishers with a healthy educational department and a good back list. They’re owned by a conglomerate now, I seem to recall, which may explain their readiness to make
May I, please, have it?’ I handed it over. He passed it to Chihani, dismissed her with a casual wave and then came out from behind the desk. ‘Come this way, Mr Halliday, please.’ He behaved, and indeed looked, rather like the martinet manager of a very grand hotel who has taken personal charge of the arrival of a distinguished guest. The only thing immediately wrong with that picture became visible when he lifted the hinged section of the desk counter to come through. On the shelf just below
all. Graciously, I agreed to await the bomb-squad’s verdict. There was no point in telling them that, until at least some of the mounting pressure of curiosity I was suffering had been relieved, they would have had to use force to persuade me to leave. After nearly an hour, negative reports began to come in. The PO box number in Miami did not exist. The FBI had no record of any Zander. Shortly afterwards, Captain Boyle sent for me so that I could hear the bomb-squad report. The man in charge of
‘What have Human Rights to do with this?’ ‘The Ruler claims that the government of the Austrian province of Steiermark, that’s Styria, is invading or attempting to invade his privacy. In particular, he refuses to acknowledge that the media, whether press, television or radio does not matter, have any right whatsoever to question him, his servants or other employees, or his legal representatives on the subject of his personal property wherever it may be. He has refused all requests for statements