Nightmare in Morocco (16 page)

Taber reached Cathy before Noa did
.
He yanked her back through the doorway
.
Cathy shrieked and kicked out at him
.
The blow of narrow toed shoe landed just above his ankle, but he made no cry of surprise or pain
.
In fact he laughed as if the scene amused him
.
Hastily he stepped forward, swept Cathy off the ground into his arms.

"Let go of me!
You have no right!"

"We're going back to the bus," he said as he walked by Noa.

The surprised group gazed after them with disbelief.

At first Cathy's free hand pounded Taber's back, now she ceased struggling
.
Was that what Cathy had wanted all along
to be singled out, noticed, by Taber Rand?

Noa felt a pang of jealousy
.
Taber was holding Cathy so closely!
Was Taber thinking of her as a child or as a woman?

Why was she feeling anger at Taber?
She should be grateful that he had managed to save them all from some bitter and ugly confrontation.

* * *

The hotel clerk, spotting Noa, came quickly around the desk
.
"Miss Parker, Dr. Hajji has been trying to reach you
.
It's about Wendell Carlson."

His grave, formal words jolted her like a physical blow
.
Noa felt her legs weaken and she grasped the nearby column for support.

"Dr. Haggi's message was for you to contact him at once."
She listened to his directions concerning the whereabouts of the hospital, accusing herself, condemning the fact that she had allowed Mr. Carlson to take the jewel and place himself in such danger!
Noa had seen for herself the brutality of the jewel thief
.
Whoever intended to steal the ring wanted it badly enough to maim, to kill!
Whatever had happened to Wendell Carlson was her fault for not convincing him of the risk!

Noa summoned a cab, leaned forward, both hands gripping the back of the front seat, as if her watching their swerving maneuvers through the crowded street was necessary to their quick arrival.

She raced up the hospital steps and, out of breath, faced a young man in white
.
"Wendell Carlson."
Her words trembled and ran together
.
"What has happened to him?
Is he going to be all right?"

The man she addressed did not understand her questions
.
He waved a hand to silence her, lifted the phone and made a call which brought another, older man into the room
.
He spoke in choppy English
.
"Carlson. Down the hall
.
End."
He gestured to the right
.
"This side."

"What is his condition?"

"Dr. Hajji will soon speak with you."

Noa first noticed the purple bruise on Wendell Carlson's temple below the white bandage
s that criss
crossed his head
.
He, pale and thin, lay very still
.

This man was so important to her life!
She couldn't even remember the time he hadn't been there, assisting her, so generous in his opinion of her abilities and accomplishments
.
What would owning a share of the tour be without his blessing?
A goal she did not even want!
He couldn't just slip away, like Mike had, when she least expected it!

Noa blinked and tried to combat the tears that formed
.
Despite her willing them not to, they rolled in hot trails across her face
.
She wiped them away impatiently, leaned over, and called his name.

No response
.
She listened
.
He was breathing steadily, but didn't seem to be asleep
.
Perhaps the sedation made it impossible for him to answer
.
She wondered if he heard her, or felt the movement of her hand that smoothed the lank hair up from his forehead.

After a while she sank into the uncomfortable chair beside his bed
.
Belda had trusted her and now...waves of guilt joined with fear for Wendell Carlson and caused the room to grow
stiflingly
warm
.
The stillness intensified, magnified the sound of her friend's slightly labored breathing.

What chance had Noa of finding out who had attacked him?
Wendell Carlson's fate loomed as ugly reality beyond her control
.
So, too, did the fate of Belda's precious jewel!

Noa's eyes from time to time returned to Wendell Carlson, anxious for some movement, some change
.
Occasionally she thought she detected some slight sign of consciousness
.
Several times, she rose and called to him.

A slight tightening of the deep lines at the corner of his eyes and around his mouth occurred
.
Other than that, nothing.

A strange feeling possessed her: he was only pretending
.
She tried to set aside her conclusion, label it as impossible, as stupid, as the result of her over anxiety
.
But it remained with her until she actually wondered why he was putting on this act
.

She must stop imagining things
.
If he had wanted to avoid speaking with her, he would not have sent for her in the first place.

She sat down again, lifting a paper from the stand, but not looking at the pages
.
Not that she could read Arabic, anyway.

The feeling persisted
.
The fact that Wendell was alert, that he knew she was in the room, became a fact to her
.

She called his name again just as the doctor entered
.
He looked very old, stooped and slow
.
He addressed the nurse who accompanied him in Arabic, but in perfect English said to Noa, "I am Dr. Hajji."

"Noa Parker"

"He kept asking for you
.
Are you his daughter?"

"No, he has no close relatives
.
Do you know what happened to him?"

"As you can see, he was very badly beaten
.
Other than that, he told us nothing."

"What is his condition?"

"To begin with, he is not in good health."

"He will be all right?"

She wanted so much his
reassurance
, but he said nothing to quiet her fears
.
"These things are often difficult to predict
.
I thought at first we were going to lose him, but he has
stabilized
."

Silence fell
.
"Who found him?"

"A shopkeeper named Ali Balsam."

"Doesn't he deal in brass?
I think I saw his store today
.
About a forth mile inside the medina, isn't it?
By the fountain."

"Across the way."

What was Wendell Carlson doing in the medina?
Suspicion, like the physical waves of nausea, for a moment overwhelmed her
.
What was she believing about her dearest friend and Belda's lost jewel?
"Ali Balsam talked with the police
.
He said he witnessed nothing of significance."

Noa watched the doctor finish his careful check in silence
.
"I'm going to remain here with him," she said as he started to leave
.
She was grateful the doctor offered no protest
.
When she was able to talk to Wendell, everything would clear up
.
He would tell her why he had not gone directly to the bank with the ring.

After a while she became aware of someone standing in the doorway
.
Nerves on edge, she jumped to her feet
.
Marie Landos' determined step brought her to Wendell Carlson's bedside
.
Her critical survey ended with summation
.
"He's going to be fine
.
He might not be so strong physically, but mentally, he's a giant!"

When Marie turned, she seemed slightly less worldly, a great deal less in charge
.
Noa even thought she recognized a momentary reflection of her own fear in the ice blue eyes.

"You know Wendell and I go back a long way," she said
.
"I went to college with his wife
.
Ann was my best friend."
She glanced from Wendell's face back to Noa
.
"He loved her so much
.
Of course, I did, too
.
We always make it a point to meet in London at least once a year and visit her grave."

Suddenly, as if disgusted with herself for giving into sentiment, she spoke harshly
.
"I knew that fool Belda Ward would bring us to this!"

"Did you know the Wards before the tour?"

"Doesn't all Europe?
And most of Asia
.
That silly old lady drips money and jewels all over the place
.
And takes absolutely no responsibility
.
And then," she added in
additional
rebuke, "Wendell believes he's John Wayne and rides in to save the day!"

Marie Landos stopped short
.
She gazed again at Wendell Carlson's immobile form, reached out and gently touched his shoulder.

What Noa witnessed, she found almost
unbelievable
: this tower of strength was on the verge of toppling.

Noa rose
.
"Shall we get some coffee?"

Their steps sounded loudly in the quiet corridor
.
Noa believed she had seen through Marie's crust of artificiality
the heart of Marie Landos was anything but fake.

By the time they reached the cafeteria, Marie, fully recovered, ordered small cups of Arabic coffee and little frosting
-
less cakes
.

Once seated at the small table, Marie said, "I spoke to Wendell before the tour, right after you did today."
With a quick motion she snapped open her shoulder strap bag
.
"Wendell said he had forgotten to give you a letter
.
He thought it was an important one
.
I was going to give it to you on the tour, but it completely slipped my mind
.
Anyway, here it is."

Noa immediately recognized the large scrawl which read: To Noa
.
Mike!
She wanted to tear open the envelope, but she wouldn't be able to bear reading her dead brother's letter in front of Marie
.
Placing the envelope so it was half concealed under the cake plate, Noa sipped the strong coffee with
shaking
hands.

"I had no idea Wendell and you were such good friends," she said
.
Her words sounded forced and strained.

"Wendell goes to Monaco often
.
He likes to gamble and always takes me along."

"I wouldn't have taken you to be a gambler." "Oh, I'm not
.
Believe me, I don't appreciate the odds
.
I just watch
.
We were there in March."

Dreading the threat of silence that loomed over them, Noa asked, "Does he win much?"

"Wendell is so brilliant
.
You wouldn't think he'd be fooled by those racketeers
.
But Wendell Carlson is just another sucker."
She smiled, fondness mixing with cynicism
.
"Sometimes I have to drag him from the tables
.
That's why he takes me along
.
I can say no for him."

Marie drank her coffee quickly, the way she had belted down the drinks at the hotel bar
.
"Wendell tells me that if I could speak only one word of English, I'd chose the word NO
.
I believe that's a fair assessment."

Marie didn't linger after those clipped words
.
She pushed back the cup and announced, "I'm going back to Wendell's room."