The Intern Affair (9 page)

“I think I’m passed the point of control.” She sniffled and grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table.
“Look at how I behaved just now. I knew you were coming and yet when you came through the door;
Kareef
was the only person I could think of.”
She wiped her eyes and nestled her head on his chest once again.

Ghali
felt so good, so comforting. She needed his reassurance.

“Do you know who I talked to today?” He
caressed her hair in a manner she knew so well.

“No, I don’t unless you tell me.”

“Samir.”

Instantly Talya sat up straight, glaring at her friend. “Did you say
Samir
?
Why would you talk to him?
How did you get hold of him?
What did he say?
Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Wow! Hold on. I can only answer one question at a time.”
Ghali
was smiling at her sudden eagerness and vehemence.
He had hit a nerve.

Somehow, Samir had become Talya’s private friend.
No one was supposed to intrude on that friendship.
She was upset at the thought of
Ghali
talking to him.
“You had no right to talk to him. I wouldn’t have let you if you had asked me.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Talya, but I had to.”

“What d’you mean ‘
you had to
’?”
She was getting more upset by the minute.

“
Charles
and I had lunch when I left you this morning.
He told me what happened to you and why.
He also told me about Samir who had seen you through this ordeal when you were in
Dakar
.
And—”

“Still, you had no right to call him without talking to me first.”

“Hold on, Talya, let me finish.
I suggested calling him so that he could talk to
Alhassan
and explain that you are sick.”

“I’m not
sick
as you put it.” Talya was getting angry at this renewed intrusion on her privacy.
Ghali
and she had bro
ken
up.
What is he thinking?
“I’m just fearful at the thought of seeing
Kareef
again—nothing else is wrong with me—”

“Do you want to know what Samir had to say or not?”
Ghali
insisted.

“Of course I do. What did he tell you?” She wasn’t crying anymore; she was on the warpath.

“All right then, but first I want to know if you have eaten today?”

“Oh stop it!
I don’t need any doctoring right now, just answers.”

“Okay, okay!
You’re like a cat ready to pounce and I’m the canary.”

Talya had to giggle; she couldn’t help it. “Are you going to tell me or do I have to meow to get an answer?”

They both laughed.

“All right. Samir sounds like a very learned fellow and he grasped the meaning of every word I said. You could say; he could
hear
between the lines. I told him that you were feeling poorly since your return, and I asked him if you had told him anything that could help me in getting you back on track—or to get rid of this fear you have of
Kareef
.”

“And…?
What was his answer?”

“He said that you and he went flying a few times and that you told a few things about your childhood, such as where you lived, the people you knew, and you apparently talked a lot about your days at school when you learned to read the Koran.”

“And…?”

“And nothing.
He simply said that he was trying to distract you the best he could, and that you enjoyed yourselves telling anecdotes of your days in school…. That’s all.”

“Well, I’d say that’s enough, as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t want any more inquiries about me to any one; I’m serious,
Ghali
…, I won’t have it.”

“Okay, we’ll let it pass for now—”

“Oh no you don’t—nothing doing, this won’t happen again, I can assure you—there is no ‘for now’ about it.
I don’t want anymore questioning anyone about my past, do you understand that?”

“Forget it, Talya!
I will not question anybody, I promise you, because
you are
going to talk to
me
instead.”

“I won’t… ” She couldn’t say anymore because
Ghali
had grabbed her and was kissing her.
She had lost the fight once again.
Talya loved that side of
Ghali
; perhaps above all else, he could always end any fighting or misunderstanding by showing his loving care.
She would surrender every time, and he knew it.

Then he gently lifted her off the sofa and carried her to bed.
He kissed her good night and left her, only to stare at
Kareef
’s shadow—watching, grinning, his ugly face staring at her fearful eyes.

In the morning, Talya woke at the sound of a couple of pigeons cooing on the balcony railing outside the bedroom window.
She looked around her.
She loved her bedroom.
The dark chest of drawers stood proudly in front of the bed, its patina, shining softly under the dawning light. The white walls, fresh and gleaming, were parsimoniously decorated with a few paintings and drawings. To put on the night tables, Talya had chosen a couple of crystal lamps, projecting shimmering designs on the walls at night.
There was a large palm in a corner, its green and luxuriant foliage relieving the whiteness of the room. A white embroidered eiderdown covered the bed, on which she had placed a few colourful cushions recalling the ruby tones of the carpet. She had laid it partly under the bed, but it was quite visible throughout and underfoot, for it was a large Indian silk rug.
It was a sparkling place, yet the quietness of it was seductive.

She needed to get ready.

11

“
Charles
?
Will you take this call?
It’s from
Sir Reginald Carson
. He says it’s urgent,”
Cecilia
asked, talking in the mouthpiece in front of her lips.
It was Monday afternoon.
She remembered the first call she’d received from
Sir Reginald
.
That’s when all the trouble started.
As the Canadian Ambassador in
Senegal
,
Sir Reginald Carson
had tried—but failed—to provide sufficient security when Talya’s life was endangered on several occasions during her investigation of the
Karim
Affair. Ultimately, however,
Sir Reginald
had given the answers Talya had been looking for to put
Kareef
behind bars.

Cecilia
was apprehensive.

“Sure, put him through,”
Charles
said, “but, isn’t it time for you to go home?
It’s past four o’clock.”

“No, no, not yet.
I’ve got to finish a few things for Doug.”

“For Doug?”
Charles
blurted in disbelief. “Don’t you start spoiling him. He’ll have to type his own reports. Anyway, you go home and we’ll talk about this in the morning.
And if there’s nothing else, just put the call through.”

“No, nothing. Have a good night.”
Cecilia
didn’t wait for an answer and depressed a key on the console to connect the call.
She had wanted to ask about Talya. Maybe she could phone her at home. Something wasn’t right. This
Ousmane
fellow had phoned again. Why wouldn’t people leave her friend alone?

“
Sir Reginald
.
How are you?”
Charles
reclined in his chair.
He knew from experience that this was not going to be a short conversation.

“I’m fine,
Charles
.
I’m just about to go home but before I did I wanted to check with you on a couple of things.”

‘Go home’—it must have been nearly midnight in
Dakar
.

“Of course, what can I do?”
Charles
was a little curious.

“Actually there are two items which will require your attention.
The first is the upcoming trial and
Ms.
Gilmore
being called as a witness for the prosecution. The other is your involvement in the development of Sabodala.”

“Those are tall orders. Are you sure you have time before you leave your office to talk about this?”
Charles
asked.

“I realize these issues will require more than a phone-call, and perhaps I should have addressed the subjects differently.
I wish for you and
Ms.
Gilmore
to travel to
Dakar
as soon as possible so that we can review her testimony before the trial and your involvement in the upcoming development in Sabodala.”

“May I ask why these matters would require our presence at such an early stage?”

“For one thing,
Charles
, we have reason to believe that the ramifications of the drug operation that
Ms.
Gilmore
has uncovered, extend much farther than just
Senegal
or
Mauritania
.
For this reason, we, as a government, are very keen to pursue this investigation.
Ms.
Gilmore
might be able to help us in that regard.”

“Pardon me for interrupting,”
Charles
jumped in, “but isn’t that the job of our Intelligence Service in
Ottawa
?”

“Yes, it is, of course, but
Ms.
Gilmore
is better placed to lead our service in the direction that would bring rapid results.”

“Again, isn’t CSIS better equipped to handle this sort of planning and execution?”

“I can certainly understand your reluctance to involve
Ms.
Gilmore
in furthering the investigation, but believe me when I say that
Ottawa
does not have the intelligence, background and experience of Islam that
Ms.
Gilmore
has. If anyone in the service was equal to the task, I would not have even considered asking.”

“I see.”
Charles
had to surrender to that conclusion. He knew of Talya’s experience in
West Africa
, the very same experience that had led her to her current depression. “I’m sure you’re right about her background and experience, but you will need to understand my reluctance to throw her in the web of drug lords and who knows what else—”

“Let me be the one to interrupt here. We are not talking about
Ms.
Gilmore
going in the field, she will be directing the operations from the safety of our offices and housing—probably even living at my house, if that would reduce the risks in any way.”

“That’s very gracious of you to offer, Sir, but we have another problem regarding
Ms.
Gilmore
’s ability to return to
Africa
at the moment—”

“And what problem might that be?”

“
Ms.
Gilmore
has fallen at the hands of depression since her return to
Vancouver
. She’s under care and I don’t think she would be able to face
Mustafa Kareef
any time soon.
But that’s not to say that she couldn’t help in the matter of uncovering the extensions that may exist to the drug routes if she were put under protective custody once she reached
Dakar
.”

“I’m sorry to hear about
Ms.
Gilmore
’s illness,”
Sir Reginald
said perfunctorily, “but I could inquire if we could do away with the most strenuous part of the trial such as her presence in court.
Or, we could ask that
Kareef
be removed from court during her testimony.”

Charles
frowned. “I don’t know if that’s going to be possible since the accused has always had the right to face his accuser.”

“Maybe not in this case.
You need to keep in mind that t
his trial may be conducted on the basis of the Islamic law.
The usul-al-figh (or the Source of Law) is intimately combined with the criminal law of some Islamic countries.
If this is the case in
Senegal
, the accused has no right what so ever.
He’s already presumed guilty before the trial.”