The Intern Affair (14 page)

“Sure, but what if she doesn’t want to remember.
Whether she’s here or somewhere else won’t make a bit of difference.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.
She has to go back to the place where it happened, and she will do that with me.
I’ll take the time to do it with her.
There is no place for you in her life or even near her until I do what
Allah
has ordered me to do.”

“How can you say that Allah has
ordered
you to do this?”

“Don’t insult me with your disbelief!
I will not stand for it.
And yes, Allah has seen fit to intervene in such a way that I am now able to reach Talya.
He may not have pronounced the words but it has been written,
“Who is there that can intercede with Him, Save by His leave?
He knows what lies before them and what lies after them…,”
and I shall intercede only by His leave,
Alhassan
.
He knows what lies before us and what lies after us.”

“I’m sorry. I must be losing my mind. I’m like a lost soul, Samir.
I don’t even remember the teachings of my father….
Yet, I know you’re right.”

“Well, now that I have brought you back to reason, may I ask you why you wanted to visit me?”

“Yes. I keep going back to the times Talya and I spoke privately. Since we discussed this yesterday, I’ve been trying to recall every word she spoke in hope to find some indication that could elucidate the mystery of her past.”

“And, have you found out anything that will be helpful?” Samir’s voice sounded uneasy.

“Not really, but I called my father and explained what’s happening, and he repeated some of the words Talya spoke when we were together at his place.
He said that, when he asked her if she was in love with me, she apparently told him that she didn’t know if she was, and then she added that
she was afraid to fall in love with me
.”

“Well that only confirms what we’ve said yesterday; the fact that she is afraid of loving…”

“Yes, I know, but there was something else she said … when Yves asked her if I weren’t good enough for her, she replied, and I think I can quote what my father said,
“But am I good enough for him?
And what was in my youth maybe has no place in his future.”
I trust Yves has repeated word for word what Talya has said, because he has an excellent memory, as you know.”

“Those are the best words yet.” Samir was overjoyed. “They’re the key.
Don’t you see?
She actually said that ‘what was in her youth may have no place in your future’. The rest is easy,
Alhassan
.
She has acknowledged that something
did
happen to her.
It’s no mere conjecture anymore, it’s a fact.”

“When are you leaving?”
Alhassan
sounded excited now; he came to appreciate what Samir was saying and planning to do.
He knew the sooner his friend would leave the sooner he would return with the woman he wanted for his wife.

“At about four o’clock tomorrow morning. I should be in
Paris
by early afternoon.
I’m flying out that night which will get me into
Vancouver
at about the same time as I would have left
Paris
.”

“May I drive you to the airport?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.
I need to be alone from now on.
I will go and with Allah’s guidance I will come back safe—with Talya.”

“I know you shall, my friend.
May the blessings of Allah be upon you on your journey.”

“Inshallah,
Alhassan
!”

18

Mansur
looked at the folder in front of him. He, as one of the Prime Minister’s Advisors, had become the caretaker of this ignoble document.
A pang of guilt pierced his heart.
He hadn’t revealed the whole truth to Samir and
Alhassan
.
He couldn’t bring himself to tell them what he had read the previous day. The latest notes to the report came unexpectedly. One of these was sketchy but described to some extent the reasons for Talya’s absence during the last term of her third year at the Lycée.
When
Mansur
had read the one lengthy paragraph, he had been shocked. It wasn’t so much what the few lines had reported but what they had implied that had offended
Mansur
. There and then, he had resolved not to reveal the notes’ content for as long as he lived.
He had felt ashamed and outraged at the evil of men.

Earlier that day,
Mansur
had been told that the notes were to be considered as an addendum to the document.
The reason given for adding this information was that it might be used at
Kareef
’s trial.
Mansur
had been dumfounded at this latest announcement.
The prosecution had talked to the Prime Minister and it had been agreed that the added notes would be admissible during the trial. Although
Mansur
could not fathom how one event related to the other, the powers-that-be had decided to make the appendix available.
What was even more perplexing to
Mansur
was the fact that
Kareef
was to be tried for crimes committed in
Senegal
—not in
Mali
.
Was there another link that hadn’t been uncovered yet?
Maybe it was because two of the victims were Malians.
No, that couldn’t be it,
Mansur
told himself.
The murdered man was Canadian and the drug ring that Talya had uncovered thus far, and to his limited knowledge, only spread between
Mauritania
and
Senegal
, and not to
Mali
. The question was therefore, why was his government involved?
Sir Reginald
had told him about Talya being needed to clarify some of the questions regarding the drug routes, but he hadn’t said anything about the ramifications that might exist between the past events and today’s investigation.
He was puzzled.

The next day at about noon, as
Mansur
opened the door to go out for lunch, he found
Alhassan
standing in the doorway. He looked angry.

Mansur
took a couple of steps backwards, but smiled awkwardly at his friend. “
Alhassan
? What are you doing here?
Shall we go for lunch?
I’ve got to get back for a meeting but we can go somewhere and talk, if you like?”

“Yes.
That sounds like a good idea.
Why don’t we go somewhere and talk about what you
didn’t
tell us yesterday.”
Alhassan
was all aggressiveness.

“Not here…. Let’s go.”
Mansur
closed the door of his office. He strode toward his car parked in the shade of a large tree in the lot of the Primature (the Prime Minister’s Department). “Hop in,”
he said.
“We can go to the Djenné, if you like?”

“Yes, why don’t we?”
Alhassan
got in and sat in the front seat beside
Mansur
.
Before leaving, the two men looked at each other.
They both knew they were going to come to blows if they didn’t control their temper.
Finally,
Mansur
turned on the ignition and in a few minutes, they were driving down toward the
Niger River
. They couldn’t speak.
Their words would have been lashing and the inside of a car was not the place for what was sure to turn into an aggrieved argument.

The Djenné was a lovely place a few minutes out of the downtown district, and yet set apart from
Bamako
’s midday bustle. It was named after a celebrated city located some two hundred miles north of
Bamako
. In the middle of the
Sahel
, this oasis had been the resting spot for many
travellers
of the desert throughout the ages. Most buildings in Djenné had been constructed out of mud and sand blocks.
They were imposing dreamlike structures, which had suffered the erosive power of fierce seasonal sandstorms over the centuries. The only pieces, which had withstood these relentless waves of destruction, were the edifices’ doors.
Elaborately carved out of large ebony or redwood planks of huge dimensions, they were the everlasting reminders of what had been once the City of
Djenné
. Now the ‘Doors of Djenné’ are coveted antiques, found in museums or still attached to their original hinges on the ruins of sandcastles of the past.

The Djenné hotel had been erected at the edge of the
Niger
.
Its architecture replicated one of the guesthouses of the ancient city.
Standing proud over a vast grass expanse, the Djenné was famous for its restaurant, which had been built on pylons and literally overhung the river’s embankment.
The décor was non-existent. It was just an overextended terrace with no windows, nor walls, and only a thatch roof affording its support from the pylons below, rising some ten feet above the slate floor, to protect it from the sun and rain.
The freshness of the wind
tunnelling
through the valley provided the guests with continuous air-conditioning.
The food was good and nothing fancier than mutton, chic
ken
or fish could be found on the menu.

As soon as they were sitting down at a table set against the terrace’s banister,
Alhassan
began speaking.
“I don’t know if I want to knock you down with my fist or hang you by your feet until you die, but you deserve either one or both treatments,
Mansur
.
You kept something from Samir and me yesterday. Something we needed to know to help Talya. You’re an ungrateful pagan. How could you withhold information that could help a woman who saved you’re flesh and blood?”
Alhassan
was enraged and yet he spoke softly and with kindness. He knew that his friend had done the wrong thing, but he knew also that the man sitting across from him must have had a good reason for doing it.

“I know I have failed you,
Alhassan
, but I couldn’t do what you asked.
It’s already bad enough that the Prime Minister has authorized the release of all information to be used at
Kareef
’s trial without me telling
anyone
else about it.”
Mansur
shook his head ruefully.

“Are you telling me that what’s in that folder is going to be made public?”
Alhassan
was beside himself with disquiet at this latest news.

Averting his eyes from
Alhassan
’s condemning gaze,
Mansur
replied, “That’s about the size of it, yes.”

“First of all I’m not
anyone
,”
Alhassan
expostulated, getting angrier by the minute. “And why didn’t you say anything,
Mansur
?
You know I’m Talya’s attorney and as such, I should have been informed of this, even before you were.
I’m going to slam an injunction on you and on the prosecution team in
Dakar
so fast, you’re not going to have to worry about telling
anyone
about this. I’ll shut
your
mouth
for you and forever.”
This whole thing is unbelievable
.
“Have you even considered calling
Charles
and telling him what’s going on?”

“No, I couldn’t do that either. The report is still confidential and a property of the Malian government.”
Mansur
’s eyes were pleading for understanding.

“You know Samir is going to
Vancouver
tomorrow?”

“He’s what?”
Mansur
blurted in total surprise.

“Oh yes he is. Did you think for one minute that you fooled Samir?
Or that he was just going to stand by and let it all ride?”

“But I didn’t say anything… I just read what the notes said—”

“You didn’t have to say anymore.
The minute we left your office, Samir knew you had kept something back.”

They each had ordered a small dish of rice simmered in meat and vegetable sauce.
Their plate arrived at that moment.
As he laid the cutlery down, the waiter asked if they wanted some tea after their meal.