Alex was getting tired of all this flattery. And he couldn’t help but feel that there was something sinister in it. “Why am I here?” he asked. “What do you want with me?”

“Why you are here should be self-evident,” Sarov answered. “Conrad wanted to kill you. I prevented him. But I cannot allow you to return to the hotel or, indeed, to leave the island. You will have to consider yourself my prisoner, although if the Casa de Oro is a prison, I hope you will find it a comfortable one. As to what I want with you…” Sarov smiled to himself, his eyes suddenly distant. “It is late,” he announced suddenly. “We can talk about that tomorrow.”

He stood up.

“Is it true that you have a nuclear bomb?” Alex asked.

“Yes.”

Part of the puzzle fell into place. “You bought uranium from the Salesman. But then you ordered Conrad to kill him! You blew up his boat!”

“That is correct.”

So Alex had been right all along. He had seen Conrad in Miami. Conrad had put some sort of explosive device on the Mayfair Lady-and it was that, not the fire, that had caused the destruction and loss of life. Turner and Troy had accused him unfairly.

“The nuclear bomb…” Alex said. “What are you going to do with it?”

“Are you afraid?”

“I want to know.”

The general considered. “I will tell you only this for now,” he said. “I do not imagine that you know a great deal about my country, Alex. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as it was once called. The USSR. Russia, as it is today. I do not suppose these things are taught to you in your Western schools.”

“I know that communism is finished, if that’s what you mean,” Alex said. “And it’s a bit late for a history lesson.”

“My country was once a world power,” Sarov continued, ignoring him. “It was one of the most powerful nations on the earth. Who put the first man into space? We did! Who made the greatest advances in science and technology? Who was feared by the rest of the world?” He paused. “You are right. Yes. Communism has been driven out. And what do you see in its place?” A flicker of anger appeared on his face-there only for a second and then it was gone. “ Russia has become second-rate. There is no law and order. The prisons are empty and criminals control the streets. Millions of Russians are addicted to drugs. Millions more have AIDS. Women and children find work as prostitutes. And all this so that the people can eat McDonald’s and buy Levi jeans and talk on their mobile telephones in Red Square!”

General Sarov walked over to the door.

“You ask me what I am going to do,” he said. “I am going to turn back the page and undo the damage of the last thirty years. I am going to give my country back its pride and its position on the world stage. I am not an evil man, Alex. Whatever your superiors may have told you, my only wish is to stop the disease and to make the world a better place. I hope you can believe that. It matters very much to me that you should come to see things my way.”

“You have a nuclear bomb,” Alex said, speaking slowly. “I don’t understand. How is that going to help you achieve what you want?”

“That will be revealed to you… in time. Let us have breakfast together at nine o’clock. Then I will show you around the estate.”

General Sarov nodded and left the room.

Alex waited a minute before slipping out of bed. He looked out into the courtyard, then went and tried the door. He wasn’t surprised by what he found. Sarov had described the Casa de Oro as a prison and he was right. There was no way Alex could climb down into the courtyard. And the bedroom door was locked.

THE HOUSE OF SLAVES

A knock at the door woke Alex just after eight o’clock the next morning. As he sat up in bed, a woman dressed in black with a white apron came in, carrying a case which he recognized as his own. Sarov must have sent someone to the Hotel Valencia to collect it. Alex waited until the woman had gone, then got quickly out of bed and opened it. All his clothes were there. So were the Michael Owen figurine and the bubblegum that Smithers had given him. Only the mobile phone had gone. Clearly, Sarov didn’t want him to phone home.

After what Sarov had said the night before, he decided to leave his Levi’s in the case. Instead he chose a pair of baggy shorts, a plain T-shirt and the Reefer sandals he’d last used when he was surfing in Cornwall. He got dressed and went over to the window. The courtyard he had seen the night before was now bathed in sunlight. It was rectangular in shape, surrounded by a marble walkway and a series of arched colonnades. Two servants were sweeping the fine sand which covered the ground. Two more were watering the plants. He looked up and saw the watch tower that he had noticed from the boat. There was still a guard in place, his machine-gun clearly visible.

At ten to nine, the door opened again. This time it was Conrad who came in, wearing a black shirt buttoned to the neck, black trousers and sandals that revealed four toes on one foot, only three on the other.

“Desayuno!” Alex recognized the Spanish word for breakfast. Conrad had spat the single word out as if it offended him to say it. He was clearly unhappy to see Alex again-but then of course, he’d had other plans.

“Good morning, Conrad!” Alex forced a smile to his face. After what had happened the night before, he was determined to show that the man didn’t scare him. He pointed. “You seem to have forgotten some of your toes.”

He walked over to the door. As he passed through into the corridor, Conrad was suddenly close to him. “It isn’t over yet,” he whispered. “The general may change his mind.”

Alex continued forward. He found himself in a wide corridor above a second courtyard. He looked down at a stone fountain surrounded by white pillars. He could smell perfume in the air. The sound of water rippled through the house. Conrad pointed and Alex took a staircase down and into a room where breakfast had already been served.

General Sarov was sitting at a huge polished table, eating a plate of fruit. He was wearing a tracksuit. He smiled as Alex came in, and gestured towards an empty seat. There were a dozen to choose from.

“Good morning, Alex. You will have to forgive my clothes. I always run before breakfast. Three times around the plantation. A distance of twenty-four miles. I’ll change later. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Help yourself, please, to breakfast. There is fruit and cereal. Fresh bread. Eggs. Personally, I eat my eggs raw. This is a habit I have followed throughout my life. To cook food is to remove half its goodness. Up in smoke!” He raised a hand in the air. “Man is the only creature on the planet that needs to have his meat and vegetables burned or broiled before he can consume them. However, if you wish, I can have some eggs prepared the way you like.”

“No thanks, General. I’ll stick with the fruit and cereal.”

Sarov noticed Conrad standing at the door. “I don’t need you now, thank you, Conrad. We’ll meet again at midday.”

Conrad’s one good eye narrowed. He nodded and left the room.

“I’m afraid Conrad doesn’t like you,” Sarov said.

“That’s all right. I’m not crazy about Conrad.” Alex glanced at the door. “What exactly is the matter with him?” he asked. “He doesn’t look well.”

“By any rights, he should be dead. He was involved in an explosion with a bomb which he happened to be carrying at the time. Conrad is something of a scientific miracle. There are more than thirty metal pins in his body. He has a metal plate in his skull. There are metal wires in his jaw and in most of his major joints.”

“He must set off a lot of alarms in airports,” Alex muttered.

“I would advise you not to make fun of him, Alex. He still very much hopes to kill you.“ Sarov touched his lips with a napkin. ”I won’t allow it to happen, but while we are discussing such unpleasant matters, perhaps I should lay down some house rules, so to speak. I have removed the mobile telephone which I found in your case and I should tell you that all the phones in the house require a code before they can be used. You are to make no contact with the outside world.”