The Kiwi Target

hotel as a new world-renowned glamour center. Celebrities will be offered free first-class tickets and a holiday, with a girlfriend thrown in if wanted, in exchange for a few photographs taken at the hotel. As far as possible, all of the merchandise offered in the shops—sporting goods, for example—will come from Pricane divisions.”
    Winston was clearly impressed. “You certainly understand how they operate,” he said.
    “Know your enemy,” Peter retorted.
    The superintendent dropped his voice until Peter could just hear him. “At this moment, Peter, Mr. Kincaid is trying very hard to acquire the right to that piece of property. So are the Hong Kong people. Both parties seem very determined, so maybe we’ll be able to smoke out our Australian visitors up there. It could be a big break for us.”
    “You’re telling me all this for a reason,” Peter said. “What is it?”
    Winston ate a last forkful and then offered his open, much too friendly smile. “Let’s wait until after your court appearance for that,” he proposed.

CHAPTER 17

    Throughout New Zealand, by day and by night, the police kept a constant careful watch for the wanted Australians. Teams of officers called at small hotels and fishing camps where the fugitive men might be holed up. The job was complicated by the hundreds of other Australians who were in the country for entirely legitimate reasons. There were a few instances when innocent people objected to being questioned, but when they were given as much explanation as the police deemed necessary, they were usually willing to cooperate.
    Every constable on patrol and all of the supervisory personnel were primed to deal with the situation given the opportunity, but the wanted men seemed to have vanished. There were plenty of places where they could have been hiding out, but most of them were in remote areas where any systematic search was almost impossible. Nothing whatever had surfaced, but the vigil continued, and the careful check of all public transportation facilities was maintained without interruption.

    For his appearance in court, Peter chose a dark suit with a white shirt and a solid-color tie. He ate an early breakfast and was ready in the lobby when O’Malley came by to pick him up. He expected some sort of a briefing, but following a short “Good morning,” O’Malley had little to say during the drive to Lumsden.
    As the now-familiar landscape of the South Island unrolled before him, Peter tried his best to put his mind at rest. His real concern was still to get to Bishop in time, but obviously this was neither the time nor the place to bring up the subject with O’Malley.
    His mind came back to the immediate present when he found Martha and Edmund waiting for him at the courthouse. Together they went inside and found places in the quiet courtroom where they could sit and wait.
    When Court opened, Judge Matthews appeared. His bearing carried with it the authority of his office. He was most businesslike in disposing of two minor matters before he called for the principal case of the morning. O’Malley took his place at the attorney’s table. Peter was called and asked to step into the witness box, where he was duly sworn.
    Calmly he answered questions concerning the time and place of his birth, the facts concerning his parents, and some details of his childhood. The certified copy of his birth certificate was entered into evidence. Sooner than he had expected, he was allowed to step down.
    Martha Glover was next called and sworn as a witness. She answered the few questions about Peter that were put to her.
    When she had finished, Judge Matthews formally asked if there were any other persons or claimants who wished to be heard in the matter before the Court. He waited a short interval and then addressed himself to Peter.
    “Mr. Ferguson, because of the substantial nature of the properties concerned here, this Court has had some inquiries made in the United States, based on the information you were kind enough to supply. The replies received support your claim to being the only child of the late Harriet Oldshire Ferguson.
    “It is therefore our finding that you are her rightful heir. Her estate is released to you together with the funds that have been held in trust. You may take possession of your legacy as soon as the tax obligations have been satisfied.”
    That was all there was to it. On his way out of the courtroom, Peter was stopped by a young journalist, who