BAMAKO, Aribert Raphael [read out loud books .TXT] 📗

to stand at Mohammed side at the foot of the bed looking down at their friend. Seeing Hassan lying there helpless and fighting for his life was overwhelming. Mohammed put his arm around her shoulders and whispered in her ear, “He’s going to be all right.”
“Yes, I guess so.”
He peered into her eyes. “But … you’re crying?”
She hid her head in his shoulder so Hassan couldn’t see what was happening.
Mohammed wrapped his arm around her and said, “It’s all right, my friend. I know it hurts. But with Allah’s help we’ll see the end of this turmoil, with a smile on our faces. Inshallah.”

45
While they were waiting for Hassan to come out of his delirium, she and Mohammed had had a chance to talk. Really talk. Talya told him everything she learned from Jean-Claude, the Dutchman and all those little things that bothered her—like the five hundred pounds of nitro-glycerine on order. She couldn’t stop herself. She also repeated what Rasheed had said the previous evening and the tentative conclusion she drew regarding his niece’s safety.
When Talya finished with her little exposé, she waited for his reaction. Pouring her heart out at this stage had been impulsive. Perhaps, she would regret it later. Somehow, she doubted it.
A moment later, it seemed that Talya had fuelled his anger sufficiently, for Mohammed uttered what sounded like a couple of swearwords.
“Talya, please don’t misunderstand my outburst, it’s not directed at you. I blame myself for being blind. I knew Savoi for all of his wrong doings. I knew he was leading Rheza astray. But, I always believed the influence of the family circle would deter him from hurting his own people. I guess that’s where I was wrong. Rheza has been hurt, in more ways than one.” He began pacing the floor. “I think what I’ll do, is to take a few days off and accompany you myself to Dakar. After all, Rheza may need me there. And as it stands right now, I’ll probably be the only one able to help her.”
Maybe he was right in thinking Rheza would need him to see her through this ordeal. However, the last thing Talya wanted was an irascible uncle in tow. How was he going to handle it if Rheza was hurt? Talya didn’t even want to think about it.

46
It had been twelve hours since the first knock at Talya’s door. Hassan was asleep, peacefully now. His breathing was regular and he had stopped groaning for quite sometime. Dr. Ferron had taken the drip apparatus away. Justine continued to stay with Hassan. Another twelve hours had to pass before they would know for sure if Hassan were safe. Then, there was another three days of recovery. Malaria is merciless and incurable.
Mohammed and Talya decided to go to his office that afternoon and ring Vancouver to tell James about the new turn of events. He wasn’t in the office. Talya left a message with Sabrina. Then, they phoned the ambassador. The latter showed dutiful concern for Hassan’s health. He emphasized again the importance of caution, if Talya were to go to Dakar alone. She didn’t think she needed to be reminded how cautious she should be; she was scared enough to do that on her own.
Sensing Talya’s hesitation at the mention of being alone to face Monsieur Hjamal and Rasheed, the ambassador said, “Ms Kartz, let me assure you that if it were the case, and you should come to Dakar without Maitre Sangor, you will be escorted the minute you get off the plane.”
47
When Mohammed dropped Talya off, and she was back in her room, she called Chantal to let her know what happened. She no longer cared if the world wanted to eavesdrop on her conversation; she needed a friend.
“My God, poor Hassan,” Chantal said when she heard what had taken place in the last twelve hours. “What are you going to do? Are you going to Dakar anyway? Will he be well enough to go this weekend do you think?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m going to do. All I know is that I have to get to Dakar…”
“But you can’t do that; that’s not safe. Why don’t you go back to Vancouver from here?”
“You know I can’t. Anyway, let’s talk about something else. I forgot to ask you about your phone call from Rasheed. What did the man have to say?”
“Okay…, here goes it. He didn’t…”
“Hold on…,” Talya cut-in. “On second thought, I prefer you don’t tell me, not right now.” One part of Talya wanted to throw safety to the wind, but the other wanted to remain safe and abide by the rules that had been laid down for her.
“But, I…”
“Please, we’re not out of the woods yet, Chantal. You know what I mean.” Talya hesitated. “Would you like to come and have dinner with me tonight? Perhaps we could pay a visit to Hassan. He may be able to see us then.”
“Okay, I know what you’re saying. I’ll come around in an hour’s time. Is that okay?”
“All right then, in an hour then.” Talya rang off.
Still sitting on the bed, she let her head drop on the pillow and closed her eyes. She longed for peace. Yet she knew she wouldn’t be able to breathe a sigh of relief for a long time to come. She was weary. She got up and went to sit down near the window. She looked up at the sky. The clouds were gathering rapidly. It would rain tonight.

48
At eight o’clock sharp, Chantal walked into the restaurant. Talya had been waiting for her for only a few minutes. She looked a bit frazzled. She sat down, out of breath.
“Are you Okay?”
“Yes, I am, Talya. I’m rushed off my feet—that’s all. My daughter wants to come down with her father. I can’t say no, of course. If only she’d waited until her father was well again. You know how it is. She thinks she’s going to help me to take care of her dad. I’m sure it’ll be quite the opposite. I’ll be doing all of the caring for both of them.”
Talya could sense the weariness in her voice. Chantal wanted her husband to herself for a while—understandably so.
They chatted during dinner but as they were finishing their meal, Talya raised the Rasheed question.
“So tell me what did Rasheed have to say? And how did he get your number?” Two glasses of wine were the only remnants of their meal. The crimson wine shimmering against the light was almost mesmerizing. Wine in most parts of the continent comes from South Africa. Its fruitful flavour is captivating, its strength enveloping.
Talya listened.
“Oh, that’s easy—we’re in the directory…. Anyway, first, I had no idea who he was—I mean who was ringing me. I thought it was my daughter, but when he said, “My name is Abdul Rasheed,” I got scared. I don’t know why, Talya, but his voice sounded creepy. Anyway, he went on asking after Jean-Claude. He insisted on speaking to him. Obviously, he didn’t know what had happened and he probably thought I was lying when I said my husband was out of town. So, I guess after a while, when he realized I was not going to give in and let him know where Jean-Claude was, he relented. He gave me a message though—”
Chantal reached down in her big bag and retrieved the famous notebook.
“I have taken down what he said. “Tell your husband what he heard at the site was all lies. Tell him to keep his mouth shut.” Then he hung up.” She put the notebook away and took a sip of wine. “Do you think there is anything in what he said?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Oh dear! What could he do? He’s not going to come to my home, is he?”
“No, nothing of the sort. At the moment, he has the upper hand. He probably feels he could threaten anyone. He has two aces up his sleeve, Rheza and Savoi. He knows where they are. As long as we are kept in the dark as to their whereabouts and as long as we can’t figure out the connections between the players, he will continue threatening anyone who needs to be kept at bay.”
“So? What am I supposed to do?” Chantal’s voice was tinged with worry.
“Nothing, nothing at all. You just wait for Jean-Claude to come back. When he does, and, when he’s had time to recover, then you let him have the whole story.
“What if he calls again?”
“He won’t. He left yesterday. That’s what the guards told me. And, I have confirmed his departure with the desk. He’s gone back to Dakar, I’m sure of it. Although, I’m not sure that he’s taken Rheza’s car with him. In any case it’s not parked in the hotel lot.”
“So, you think I shouldn’t worry about him any more?”
“No need. Rasheed thought Jean-Claude was in town. He was afraid he’d have said something to any of us regarding the conversation he had with the Dutchman or with Richard last year at the mine-site. Somehow, this conversation between Jean-Claude and the Dutchman is important. Also, the fact that Rasheed doesn’t know how much we know bothers him. He came to Bamako on a fishing trip. He wanted to discover what we found out. Now that we’ve said very little, which amounted to nothing really, he’s left.”
“What about you? Is he still expecting you to arrive in Dakar? Will he be waiting for you when you get there on Sunday?”
“Oh yes, I’m sure he’ll be expecting me. However, Rasheed doesn’t know exactly when I’ll be in Dakar. He had already left when we discovered that Hassan was bed ridden. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not worried. I’m apprehensive, of course, but, I know Rasheed wants me to bail them out. He’s astute enough to know that if he hurts me, Hjamal would have one less chance to complete his mining plant … or whatever his reasons are for wanting me in Dakar.” Talya shrugged.
The waiter brought them some coffee. They sat in silence for a few moments.
Talya lifted her eyes from her cup. “Did you have a chance to talk to Jean-Claude about the nitro again?”
“No, I didn’t want to worry him any further. I thought I’d leave it for when he gets home.”
“That’s good, because as I said, it will be better for you two to talk when he gets back. There are so many disjointed pieces in this puzzle that Jean-Claude would get lost trying to figure out how and where they fit. We’re already getting lost doing it and we’re right here in the middle of it all.”
The hour grew late. Talya thought it might be a good idea to postpone their visit to Hassan until morning. He was probably sleeping and didn’t need any visitors at that late hour. “Would you mind if we didn’t go and see Hassan tonight?”
“I was thinking the same thing.