BAMAKO by Aribert Raphael (smart books to read txt) 📖

a notebook. Finally, a man flung the door open. He stood on the threshold, welcoming the three women with a broad smile.
“Rheza! How nice to see you…” He embraced the woman. “Please come in, come in. You must be Madame Gauthier,” he said, addressing Chantal. “And you, of course, you’re Madame Kartz.”
They shook hands and exchanged business cards. He had his at the ready when they entered the room. Judging by its smooth features, his face suggested he might have been in his mid-forties, perhaps older, while his black eyes evoked confidence and inspired trust. His tall frame allowed for a certain suppleness of movement, noticeable as he strode toward the massive wooden desk to the right of the room. The black and white tiled floor was shining from all the scrubbing it probably withstood over the years. The two bookcases along the far wall were heavy under the weight of rows of legal volumes. Talya had expected to see soccer trophies adorning every shelf. There was none. Nothing pertaining to any form of sports was evident in this room. The décor was one she would have associated with a solicitor’s office.
“Please sit down, ladies,” Monsieur Fade said, indicating the three Queen Anne chairs facing the desk, while he went round it, sat down, crossed his legs and reclined in the seat, seemingly quite relaxed.
He came straight to the point. “Madame Kartz, Rheza tells me you have some trouble with one of our countrymen?”
Although she was in no mood to give the man any sort of tactful reply, Talya decided to respond with some caution. “I don’t know who you are, sir, or what is your interest in this affair, and before explaining what brought me to Mali, I’d like to obtain some clarification as to why we’re here, in your office? Where do you fit in all of this? And why is it that I should divulge anything to you?”
He joined the fingers of both hands in front of him and smiled. His detachment was irritating.
“Good question, Madame Kartz. And one of the reasons for you being here is that Madame McLean is my niece.”
Talya’s mouth fell open at hearing this startling bit of information. She felt Rheza’s gaze resting on her, watching. She knew Rheza wouldn’t allow herself to speak in the presence of a man (and her uncle at that). Yet, she was sure that if she could, she would have put in her two cents’ worth.
Monsieur Fade shot a meaningful glance in her direction in silent admonition, and to Talya, he said, “I can see by your reaction you had no idea, did you? But yes, I’m another one of her uncles. She brought you in to see me because she feels indebted to you and she thought I could help somehow.” The smile had left his face. The casual attitude had gone.
He unfolded his long legs, brought his elbows to rest on the blotter in front of him, and continued in earnest, “She told me something about her involvement with the Savoi Mining Company. I’m only a paper shuffler in this government’s administration, a bureaucrat, Madame Kartz, and, it’s not I who should be interested in your dilemma, but a friend of mine. His name is Hassan Sangor. He is a solicitor in town, and he may well be the one person who could work with you to recover the missing funds or at least, assisting you in redressing the deplorable situation in which you’re involved, and the bad reputation your company has in this country.”
This man knows everything about Carmine’s problems. Yet I don’t know anything about him. Except that, he is another of Rheza’s uncle and a paper shuffler.
“I see you’ve been well informed,” Talya replied pointedly.
“My position in this government allows me the luxury to be well informed, especially when events or circumstances happen to involve members of my family.”
“Be that as it may, Monsieur Fade, but am I then to understand that I’m supposed to engage this lawyer friend of yours, to try to resolve one of your family’s problems? I’m not familiar with the laws of your country, yet it seems to me there would be a conflict of interests here.”
“There shouldn’t be any conflict of interests.” The counsellor shook his head. “I have not spoken to Maitre Sangor yet. Should you wish to retain him, you are free to do so. You’re the one who would engage his services, not me, not Rheza.”
“Very well then,” Talya replied flatly. “I’ll think about it, and if you give me his address and phone number, I’ll contact him once I’ve made up my mind.”
He opened the address book in front of him and passed it to Chantal who took down the details. He then replaced the book in the desk drawer and said, “I can understand you would want to take your time to arrive at a decision, but I must remind you that a year has gone by already. You shouldn’t waste any more time to redress this situation. You will have the landowners to contend with, and I’m sure you understand that you can’t postpone the inevitable in this regard.” He paused long enough for Talya to recognize that he, or better said, the Prime Minister was asking—no, demanding—that Carmine make good the promises made to their countrymen. “…and, please remember, Madame Kartz, this was only a suggestion. You have no obligation to take it.”
“I have no intention to dilly-dally in Bamako, believe me,” Talya retorted curtly. “However, I’ll contact Maitre Sangor if and when I choose to do so. In the meantime, I thank you for the trouble you have taken in reminding me of the problems caused by one of your family members, and the bad reputation my company now enjoys thanks to his suspected fraudulent activities.”
Pointed comments they were, but Talya thought Monsieur Fade deserved to hear how she felt about his family’s involvement in this mess.
Their host then rose, indicating the meeting was at an end. “I think we understand each other, Madame Kartz … and it was a pleasure meeting you.”
In a more amiable tone, Talya said, “You can rest assured that your help is appreciated, although unexpected, and a little bias, as it were. I’ll let you know what my decision is when I’ve made up my mind regarding engaging Maitre Sangor.”
They shook hands and Rheza embraced her uncle once more, and whispered a few words in his ear. They said the usual good-byes and Talya and her two companions left.
When they were back in the car, Talya was lost in thought. She didn’t like being manipulated. Rheza turned on the ignition. She seemed dissatisfied.
The drive back was made in silence. When they arrived at the hotel, it was nearly lunchtime. By way of apology for her conduct earlier, justified as it may have been, Talya asked Rheza if she would like to have a drink with them before going back to her office.
“No thank you. I’ll see you both later.” And putting her foot down on the accelerator, Rheza sped away, leaving the two women standing on the hotel’s doorsteps.
They entered the lobby drenched in perspiration. Talya needed a drink and so did Chantal by the looks of things. She was red in the face as if she had run a marathon. They gratefully sat down in the lounge. The morning’s events had taken their toll. They each ordered an orange juice and when their bodies and minds were a little cooler, and they had recovered some of their melted strength, they began talking again.
After having another welcome sip of juice, Chantal was ready for a debriefing. “Well, what do you think? Are you going to retain this lawyer?”
“I don’t know. It seems that everyone is aware of Carmine’s bad reputation, and they all know about the bribing and the promises made to the landowners, but no one is pointing the finger at Savoi—just at me.”
“But that’s to be expected,” Chantal said. “They’re not going to go after one of their own. They’ll expect you, Carmine I mean, to do something. Since Savoi is your agent, they’ll always have an excuse to blame you for whatever he’s done. If it were left to me, I would go after him right away, with a solicitor at my side.”
“Are you saying I should retain this Maitre Sangor?”
“I guess I am. He’s probably very good. And what’s more he’s one of them and they would trust his judgment, better than if you were hiring a Canadian lawyer.”
“Yes, and perhaps because he is endorsed by a member of government, they would have to abide by his findings and his recommendation to prosecute, if it came to that.”
“Yeah, you’ve got it! They want to get rid of Savoi but they want you to do it for them.”
“Okay, I see the point. Let me think about it, though. Now, do you want to join me for lunch?”
“Sorry, I can’t. But thanks for asking.” Chantal got to her feet. “I need to get back to Jean-Claude. He’s leaving tonight and I’ve got to get things ready for him.” Talya understood.
Chantal left the hotel, and Talya went to the restaurant to eat something. She wasn’t hungry, but she knew some food would be welcome. Her body was beginning to feel the aftershock of heat exhaustion.
Back in her room, she wrote a lengthy report to James and brought it down to the desk clerk for him to fax as soon as he could. For her benefit, she made a few notes about Rheza’s relationship to Savoi and to Monsieur Fade, which fact she did not mention in her report to James.
He would have enough to deal with as it is.
As she was about to go to the pool for a swim, the phone rang. The man’s voice was soft although the tone was firm. “Madame Kartz, I presume?” Here we go again!
Talya was about to reply, “Yes, this is Doctor Livingston,” but she wasn’t in the mood.
“My name is Hassan Sangor. My friend, Monsieur Fade, gave me your name with no explanation other than I would do well to ring you.” A likely story...
“I think you may have been misinformed, Maitre. Monsieur Fade may have wanted you to speak to me, but I have no intention to talking to you, not at this time anyway. That will remain the case until I am assured Monsieur Fade, or his family, wouldn’t be made aware of our discussions under any circumstance. The mere fact that Monsieur Fade has given you my address and telephone number, already demonstrates that it may be otherwise.”
“I am a solicitor in Bamako, Madame Kartz, I have practiced in the city and in Paris for over fifteen years, and I’m not in the habit of divulging the conversations I have with my clients to all and sundry.” His voice sounded unruffled. “So, should you decide you might need my services, I will be at your disposal. I believe you have my phone number?”
“Yes, I do, thank you. I’ll be in touch…. Good bye for now,” was Talya’s curt reply before ringing off. She didn’t like to be pressured into doing anything, even if it made all the sense in the world. She