The Intern Affair (39 page)

“I know that’s what you’ve said, but I can’t help the questions from racing through my mind.
I am very much afraid that if we were apart, I wouldn’t be able to complete our mission alone.”

Talya’s instincts were sounding a strident tocsin in her ears. She could feel danger enveloping her thoughts. She was afraid all right, but of what?

“Talya, you can’t do this to yourself.
Don’t stray from the path of our destiny and don’t presume to know what
God
’s designs are. You can’t be afraid of the unknown.
Those evil thoughts will not help you. We are to be together forever if you really want to know what I feel.”

For me there is no ‘forever’ in anyone’s plans when it comes to loving.

“How can you make such a pronouncement?”

“It’s not a pronouncement, it’s just the feeling I have in my heart.”

“I can’t wait to leave, Samir. I long to be doing something, to be feeling the warmth and the beauty of the
Sahel
and I want to look at evil in the face to—”

“Hush, Talya, do not call on evil to attend your dilemma, or he will, and you’ll lose the battle.
I showed you how it feels when you make it your companion.”

“Yes, you did, but I still don’t understand why you did. The way you did it was offensive.
I couldn’t get over the fact that for a person who should know me as well as you do, you would force yourself upon me at a time I needed guidance and—”

“You didn’t understand then, and you don’t understand now. Time will be the greatest counsellor and it will show you what I meant.”

55

Samir had gone
to visit one of his friends and to make further arrangements for their arrival in
Nouakchott
.
Talya was sitting on the floor reading in front of the fireplace.
She was trying desperately to ease the fear that had
taken
hold of her thoughts a few hours earlier.
It was almost five o’clock when the phone rang, startling her.
She was trembling like a leaf as she picked up the receiver.

“Madame
Gilmore
?
This is
Marianne
LeRoux
, how are you, my dear?”

“I am fine, thank you.”

“I have two gentlemen here who wish to meet with you in the reception hall.
Shall I tell them that you’ll be right down?”

“Who are they,
Marianne
?”

“They said that they never had the pleasure, Madame, but if you wish I could tell them that you’re not available at the moment.”

“Just a minute,
Marianne
; did you ever see these gentlemen in Captain
Mandalay
’s company before now?”

“No, Madame, not that I recall. But that is not to say they have not visited him without my noticing.”

“Very well then, you can tell these gentlemen to wait for me in the hall.
I’ll be right down.”

“As you wish, Madame.”

Talya put the receiver down and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper from the desk. She wrote a few words on it and left it in plain sight on the bureau. She rushed into the bedroom, changed into slacks, flat shoes, cotton sweater and the sport’s jacket she had bought in
Victoria
. She grabbed her wallet and put a few notes in her breast pocket. She put the apartment key and the wallet beside the note on the desk, and hurried out.

When she reached the hall, and before heading to the table where the two men had already got to their feet to greet her, she went to talk to
Marianne
at the counter.

“
Marianne
, would you please tell the Captain, when he gets back, that I will be ‘unavoidably detained’ for a
while and that I should be back soon.”

“Yes, Madame, I will do that. Would you like to have some tea brought to the table?”

“No,
Marianne
, that won’t be necessary, but thank you.”
Talya smiled and turned toward her two expectant, but unexpected guests.

“Gentlemen?
I am
Ms. Gilmore
and to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“
Ms. Gilmore
, we are pleased that you have agreed to meet with us.”
The man who spoke was an Arab.
He was of medium height, a face clean-shaven and unblemished. A heavy black moustache adorned his upper lip. His black eyes were devoid of feelings. They gave Talya the impression of looking at a mask where two black onyx where piercing through the velvety smoothness of its features. He was dressed with a non-descript black suit, shirt and tie.

“Please sit down, gentlemen. Would you like some refreshments?” Talya asked, sitting across from them.

The other man was lanky and extremely thin—emaciated almost—for his height. His face was ashen and he, too, was an Arab fellow, judging by the colour of his skin. His shifty eyes and suspicious demeanour didn’t inspire trust. Neither man did.

“No,
Ms. Gilmore
, thank you.
My name is Al
Najib
and this is
Sal Bahir
,” the former said nodding in the direction of his friend.
“We have been instructed to invite you to take a ride with us to meet one person who could help you in the investigation you’re currently conducting.”

“
Mr.
Najib
,
Mr.
Bahir
, I do not have any intention of following you anywhere nor do I have any desire to meet anyone at this time. Contrary to what you presumed, I’m not conducting any investigation right now. I am on my way back to
Africa
to continue my work on behalf of my company and that’s all.”

“We happen to think otherwise,
Ms. Gilmore
. And I think you should accept our invitation before it’s too late,”
Mr.
Najib
insisted in a slick, alluring voice.

“Too late for what,
Mr.
Najib
?” Talya asked puzzled.
What was the ace he had up his sleeve?

“The person whom you are going to meet will be able to answer that question.”

Determination to find out who the ‘person’ was and what he wanted had replaced fear. Talya decided there and then to accept the invitation.

“Well, if this
person
you’re referring to is able to provide some of the answers I’m looking for, I’ll come with you. Just keep in mind, though, that I’m not travelling alone and that, if I were not to return in time for dinner, my companion will be authorized to go to the police—”

“It won’t come to that,
Ms. Gilmore
, I can assure you. And I’m quite sure you’ll be back in time for dinner.”

Without another word, the two men and Talya got up and walked down the hall leading to the revolving door
s
.
Marianne
watched the trio pass by her desk, observed Talya for a moment and shook her head with some concern.

Jean, the porter, opened the door and smiled. They went to a parked car in front of the hotel.
Talya climbed in the back seat while
Mr.
Bahir
sat in the driver seat, and
Najib
settled himself beside her. His body smell reminded her of that of
Kareef
.
It was a disgusting odour, a mixture of perfume and sweat.

56

When Samir opened the door
of the apartment, a sense of foreboding invaded him.
He closed the door behind him and heard the silence. He listened only to hi
s heart pounding in his chest.
It was not fear that crept
along his spine; it was rage.
He knew instantly that something had happened to Talya, and that she was in danger.

Instinctively he went to the desk. There he saw her wallet, the key and the note she had left for him.
He read:

Evil has finally shown his face!

Pain, anguish and fury filled his whole being. Without another thought, Samir went to his bedroom, lifted his pant leg and attached the knife, in its sheath, which he had
taken
from the wardrobe drawer, around it. He changed from his sneakers into a pair of moccasins and took his wallet out of his back pocket. He retrieved only some notes from it, which he put in the front pocket of his trousers. He then took Talya’s note and he slid it together with both wallets into a cavity behind one of the wardrobe drawers. He locked the little safe, closed the wardrobe and strode out of the apartment.

Downstairs, he went to the front desk. “
Marianne
, would you mind coming with me for a minute, I need to talk to you.”

Marianne
made no reply, seeing that Samir was in no mood to dilly-dally. She came round the counter and led the way to some of the seating arrangements in the hall. They sat down.

“Thank you,
Marianne
, for leaving your post for me, but what I’m about to ask you is of vital importance.”

“Knowing you as long as I have, I only had to look at your face to know that you were not asking me out on a date,”
Marianne
said, smiling.

Samir fixed his gaze on Madame
LeRoux
. “I have received a note
from Madame
Gilmore
, telling me that she is in some danger. Can you tell me what happened while I was out this afternoon?”

“Yes, Capitaine. I called Madame
Gilmore
at about five o’clock…”
Marianne
then described the impromptu meeting and Talya’s sudden departure with the two men.

“Did Madame have an opportunity to speak to you before leaving?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, she did, Capitaine.”

“And what exactly did she say on that occasion?
And please try to be as precise as you can.”

“I remember quite well actually, because the words she used were somehow out of context. She said to tell you that she would be ‘unavoidably detained’ for a while and that she would see you soon. Does that make sense to you?”

“Oh yes,
Marianne
, it does, very much so I’m afraid.”

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Capitaine?”

“No, not at the moment; thank you.” As an afterthought, Samir added, “just one thing perhaps. If you could take down what Madame
Gilmore
say, word for word, if she calls tonight?”

“Of course, Capitaine. I’ll do that and I’ll advise our receptionist to put the call through to me if she calls the hotel and not your direct line.”

“She won’t be able to call me directly,
Marianne
, she doesn’t know that number; she’ll only dial the hotel switchboard.”

“In that case I’ll monitor the calls for you.”

“Thank you,
Marianne
. I should be going out for awhile.”

“No problem, Capitaine, I’ll keep the messages for you.”

57

They had been driving
at a snail pace through the streets of
Paris
for almost a half-an-hour, when they arrived in front of an apartment house in the rue Victor Hugo.
It was one of the many sandstone buildings erected at the turn of the last century, which lines almost every street of the old city.
They typically house a half of a dozen flats on each of their six to eight floors.

Mr.
Bahir
let them off at the door, presumably to park the car somewhere near the premises.
They then took the tiny lift up to the third floor, where
Mr.
Najib
led Talya to a black door on which he rapped his knuckles gently.
From inside they heard the voice of a man bidding them to “Enter!”

Najib
said, “Please,
Ms. Gilmore
,
do go in and have a seat.
Our host will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you.” Talya advanced through the narrow hallway leading into the living room.

Indicating a chair,
Najib
repeated his invitation for her to sit down. She did while looking round at the French décor.
Louis
XVI furniture parsimoniously covered the parquet floor.
There were no carpets anywhere. Garish green wallpaper covered the walls of this large but stuffy room.
The windows weren’t opened and the stale tobacco odour had nowhere to escape but into her clothes and hair, while penetrating Talya’s nostrils offensively.