Nightmare in Morocco (24 page)

Noa studied the report for a long while
.
Her voice sounded hesitant to her when she finally spoke
.
"Nothing to find fault with here
.
Profits are exceptional."

"When no one tampers with them,"
Wendell added curtly.

Noa had never noticed this
particular
tone to his voice
.
Perhaps Wendell Carlson, the business man, was not quite the same person as Wendell Carlson, the friend.

"I'm going to need an answer, Noa
.
No later than next Saturday, June 25th."

"Why so soon?"

"If you don't want the partnership, I have someone who does
.
You, of course, are my first choice."

The provisions of Mike's will gave her complete control of his investments
.
She could sign now, act at once
.
She couldn't lose the one thing she had wanted all of her life!
Still she hesitated. Doubtfully Noa read through the agreement he had drawn
.
She was aware of his confident waiting, his slight smile when she at last extended her hand for the pen he supplied from his breast pocket
.
"No need to wait at all," Noa said as she signed the agreement
.
"I definitely want to be your partner!"

Greatly pleased, Wendell shook hands with her
.
As Wendell returned the papers to his briefcase, he said, "I've got some news for you, Noa
.
I told you about Graham's
investigation
.
He's come up with some surprising new evidence concerning the company's missing funds."

"What did he find out?"

"He found out that Thomas Rand was never guilty
.
He was set up by the head accountant
.
You probably remember Sam Morrison?
He gave a full confession
.
It makes me feel very good and very bad
.
If I had only known..."

"It's too late now to look back."

A tightening of deep lines in Wendell's face revealed a sardonic acceptance, like the shrug of a shoulder
.
"Too late for me to make it up to Thomas."
Wendell's large eyes raised to the doorway Taber had just entered
.
"But there's still his son..."

"What are you talking about with heads so close together?"
Taber asked, as he seated himself between them
.
"Me?"

Wendell said with a light chuckle, "I was just praising Noa for the wonderful job you two have done keeping the tour together under such trying circumstances."

"I couldn't have done it without Noa." Taber said.

At the same time, Noa began, "The credit really should go to Taber."

"So you two are willing to share the praise as well as the blame!
That's what I call real team work!"
He paused, beaming appreciation
.
"Because we've been successful in keeping the... unfortunate incident of professional theft out of the news, we already have a full tour booked for July
.
I'm convinced this Moroccan venture is going to be a big success, after all!
I've decided to make it a permanent part of our agenda
.
And to celebrate
we're all having steak tonight
compliments of Carlson Rand!"

"I don't believe this," Taber said to Noa. "Are you sure it's in the budget?"

A twinkle appeared in Wendell's eyes, but his voice remained serious,
"My friends, for the first time in years Carlson Rand is in the black again."
Wendell lifted his water glass
.
Vanishing sarcasm left only kindliness as he looked from Taber to Noa
.
"Let's drink a toast to its
remaining
that way."

"The three of us make a great trio!" Noa said.

Taber, eyes sparkling, tapped his glass against Noa's
.
"I'll drink to that!"

Noa had not realized how heavily fear and suspicion had weighted upon her, until they were replaced with this glow of happiness and security
.
Her greatest hopes had been realized!
Noa was a full partner in the tour company, and Taber, like his father, had been proven innocent!

Noa's high spirits lasted during a radiant dinner,
until she saw Cathy coming toward them
.
Her hair had grown to almost shoulder length during the trip
.
The sun had bleached the ends almost white, making the roots appear even darker
.
The
contrast
gave her
a
wild, striking appearance
.
The strapless blouse and shorts she wore revealed smooth, perfectly tanned shoulders and legs
.
Noa could not see the slightest sign of blister or sunburn
.
Before she could make any comment, Cathy said in a sing song voice
.
"Guess what, Noa?
Someone left a purse on the bus!"

"How do you know?"

"Ran into Johnny
.
He said tell you it's a big, white purse
.
He said don't worry
the bus is locked."

From the description Noa knew the purse belonged to Belda
.
"Thanks for telling me," Noa said, as Cathy bounded away
.
Noa turned to Taber
.
"I'd better return Belda's purse to her before she starts to worry
.
Do you have the keys to the bus with you?"

He shook his head
.
"Sorry
.
I left them back in my room
.
Do you want me to go up and get them?"

"No, I'll just get mine."

Taber rose to accompany her, but Wendell stopped him
.
"You stay, Taber
.
I want to talk to you."

When Noa, keys in hand, returned to the lobby, she stopped to glance into the dining room, but both Wendell and Taber were gone
.
She looked around for them, but they were nowhere in sight.

The setting sun threw slanted rays against the glass doors of the hotel
.
The harsh glare caused Noa to shield her eyes
.
Traffic upon the busy street seemed worse than it had been this afternoon
.
Sure that the way was clear, Noa hurried across the street to where the bus was parked.

Upon the fifth seat, she discovered Belda's leather bag
.
She took a quick glance inside
.
She still would not put it past Johnny to pilfer a few bills and credit cards
.
Satisfied that no one had rummaged through its contents, Noa shouldered the
bag, locked
the bus and stood waiting for the traffic to clear.

The steady stream of cars was interrupted by a short break in traffic
.
With quick steps, Noa started across the street.

Noa had reached the center of the road when a white car turned the corner and recklessly speeded toward her
.
Instinctively
, Noa jumped back
.
Breathless from her narrow escape, she raced to get out of the street.

Noa heard the squeal of tires behind her as the car made a sudden lunge to the right
.
Once again, it headed straight toward her!
Noa caught a glimpse of the driver
.
The sight made her blood freeze in her veins
.
Behind the wheel bent a dark figure swathed in scarf and hooded burnoose.

Tires spun as wheels scraped the edge of the street
.
A single scream tore from Noa's throat as the car jumped the curb and lurched toward her
.
She took another step backward,
stumbling
as her heel struck a rough place in the pavement
.
She was losing her balance,
falling.
She could see the bright chrome, the dirty edges of hot, spinning wheels only inches away
.
She would be crushed beneath them!

"Noa!"
Taber's voice rang out harshly
.
His arms thrust her forward, ahead of him, away from danger
.
Behind them, Noa heard an angry squeal of tires being turned back across the curb into the road
.
She got a fleeting glimpse of the car careening in and out of traffic.

Noa clung to Taber
.
His arms gathered her closer
.
She was grateful for their strength, knowing her shaking legs would not have supported her.

"Did you see what happened?" she sobbed. "Someone tried to kill me!"

He pulled her even closer
.
"Did you see who was behind the wheel?"

"No."
Noa thought of the figure swathed in heavy
disguise
and cried against his shoulder.

"Let's get you back inside," he said gently.

A crowd had gathered at the hotel entrance
.
Inside curious faces pressed against the glass window
.
Noa heard Taber
telling
them that it was nothing, a reckless driver had lost control turning the corner and ran up on the curb
.
No harm done
.
Noa listened to his calm voice, his careful explanations
.
Had he believed Noa when she had told him that someone had tried to run her down?
Or had he attributed her words to the shock of her close brush with death?

The crowd slowly began dispersing
.
As they cleared, Noa recognized Moulay Aziz standing in the doorway
.
He stood very still and rigid, his dark robe blowing with the movement of wind.

Slowly, small, feverishly bright eyes found them
.
They seemed to look at Taber and her simultaneously as he moved toward them
.
It was Noa he addressed
.
"I saw the whole thing," he said, his English a little more broken than usual
.
"This...what happened...was no accident
.
Someone deliberately tried to murder you."
As his glance shifted to Taber, the slightly out of focus eyes seemed to fill with accusation
.
"I wish to speak with the police."

"Of course
.
I'll go with you
.
Noa, you just wait here
.
You'll be all right, won't you?"

"Yes."

Noa felt the weight of Belda's purse, which still clung by its wide leather straps to her shoulder
.
She examined it for damage
.
The large, white leather purse that had almost cost her her life seemed unscathed by the incident.

A sick, queasy feeling began in Noa's stomach as she suddenly remembered how Cathy had sent her out there for the purse
.
Had she used the purse as bait, a lure to get Noa to cross the busy street?
Had Cathy been behind the wheel of that car, trying to run her down?

Noa felt a sense of shock
.
Could the girl hate her that much?
The answer was painfully clear
.
Cathy had always stolen for profit, and now she was willing to kill!
Without Noa, Mike's entire fortune, because Noa had no will, would be
legally
transferred
to her next of kin, to Cathy, to spend on clothes, men, whatever she wanted.

That was what this whole thing had been about all along
.
Cathy, so greedy and impatient, wanted Mike's money to spend now
.
The series of robberies, even the theft of Belda's jewel were only a sideline, a carefully set up scheme so that when Noa was killed it would look like she had been the victim of some professional jewel thief.

Noa remembered the loosened pillar at the ruins
.
The "accident" had not been meant for Belda at all, but for her
.
Someone, maybe Johnny, was helping Cathy
.
She surely must have an accomplice
.
But even if she did, even if someone else had been behind the wheel, the planning of Noa's "accident" could have originated with no one but Cathy
.
Only Cathy would benefit from Noa's death!