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

She had been scared, but why? Talya had never met this Monsieur Savoi. She had only seen a picture of him, which James showed her before she left. On that photo, Savoi looked like a fat cat—a small and greasy fellow, bald with a thick moustache over a spiteful grin. Where was he? Where did he go? He must have gone to New York. Talya tried to convince herself of it. It upset her that she couldn’t do anything. She didn’t know anyone in town, except Chantal, and she couldn’t possibly be of any assistance at the moment, since she didn’t seem to know many people either.
Talya sat on the bed, picked up the phone and dialled James’s number. She had to tell him what happened. The fax she wrote that afternoon, had become old news—things were moving much too fast. Events were cascading down at her feet and she was being splashed to the point of not being able to catch her breath. She didn’t like it. Maybe he could give her some idea as to the connection, which existed between Savoi and this New York person. As she recalled, James had mentioned meeting Savoi for the first time in New York….
Sabrina answered at first ring, and put the call through to James immediately.
“Talya. How are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you. But nothing else is around here.”
“What’s wrong? What’s happening?”
“Oh, just that Savoi has disappeared.” The line went dead. The silence was so heavy across the ocean; Talya thought that they had been cut-off.
James was the first to speak. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean just what I said. Savoi hasn’t been seen at his villa since last night and no one has any idea where he is.” She went on to tell James the whole story since her landing in Bamako—most of which she had already related in her report—and waited for his comments. She could have sworn she heard the grinding wheels of his brain over the line.
“Perhaps, you should come home.” His voice sounded worried. “If people start disappearing, no telling what could happen to you.”
“I know you’re concerned, but my going home is not going to solve anything. We’ve got a lot at stake here. Who’s to know Savoi hasn’t just gone away somewhere for awhile hoping I would do just that: go home, so he could start playing games again. I can’t just forget about Kankoon either—I’ve got to file that application. Apart from finding out what happened to our funds, it was the main purpose for my coming here, wasn’t it?”
“Okay, you’ve made your point. I’ll talk to the fellows here and let you know what we suggest you do.”
“Fine… If you can’t reach me at the hotel, just send a fax or leave a message. I’ll call you back when I have something to report.”
“All right then, but be careful, will you? I don’t like it. Something isn’t right …”
“I know what you’re saying but I can’t just play into Savoi’s hands. I need to know what’s going on…”
“Just a minute, hold on. Terry just came in, stay on the line, will you, I’ll tell him what happened … or better we’ll call you right back when we’ve had a chance to talk. Okay? Talk to you in a few minutes.”
“I’ll be right here.” They hung up. Talya was glad that Terry came in the office. She was sure he would see through this muddle and perhaps give her some pointers as to what the next step should be.
Within fifteen minutes, the phone rang. Talya was startled even though she was expecting the call. She must have been nervous, tense, anxious or all of the above.
“Talya, I’ve put you on the speaker so we can all hear you. I’ve got Terry and Ken in the office with me.”
Ken? What’s he doing there? Does he want my expense claim already?
“Hi, fellows.”
“Okay.” James was speaking. “Just tell us what you plan to do at this point.”
“Thanks. As James told you, Savoi has apparently flown the coop, taking our money with him. And, well…” Talya hesitated. “At the moment, I think I need to concentrate on filing the Kankoon application. But Mr. Kane won’t accept an application unless we can prove that we had nothing to do with the bribing that’s been going on, and to do that, I will need to find Savoi.”
“Talya, this is Terry. I’ve heard the story from James and it sounds to me like the man doesn’t want to be found. My suggestion is that you don’t waste time with the fellow right now. Let him wander. If I’m right, he’ll re-appear when you least expect it. In the meantime, you should start from scratch, as Mr. Kane suggested, and re-apply as quickly as you can. I’m sure the bribing bit will be set aside once Kane sees that we mean business. Doing that would also justify part of the money we’ve spent and we could write off the rest in some way.”
“Talya? Ken here. I agree with Terry. I don’t think there is any way for you, or anyone for that matter, to recover the money we’ve sent to Savoi. There is no doubt those funds have been spent long ago. Now what’s important is to account for the expenditure, at least partly, so we have something to show for it. As Terry said, let’s forget about Savoi and this bribing business for now, we’ll see about that later. Anyway that’s our suggestion.”
They were right, of course. Yet, Savoi’s disappearance worried Talya. What’s more, she was quite sure they needed to clear-up the bribing accusations. Kane will not set them aside. She needed to follow her instincts.
“Yes, I agree with you, we may have to kiss the money goodbye, but at this time, I don’t think we can get the Kankoon permit unless I can clear Carmine’s name, and to do that, I will need to locate Savoi.” Talya realized that she sounded like the proverbial broken record, but she needed them to understand that without Savoi they couldn’t move forward—even if they were able to file the application—without clearing Carmine’s name, they wouldn’t be able to obtain any permit.
James got back on the line. “What about this lawyer that you have engaged, can’t he locate him?”
“I could ask him, yes. In the meantime, I think I’ll start on the documentation and see how far I get.”
“Good,” James said, an approving tone in his voice. “I’ll ask Stanley to send you the power-of-attorney and all the rest of it by courier.”
“Actually, we should have given you a POA before you left,” Ken remarked.
“Yes,” Talya put in, “yet, all of us thought that Savoi and his company would act on our behalf, such as a partner would, without the need for me to have a POA.”
“I agree, but what is done is done,” Terry rejoined, “and we don’t have time to revisit our partnership with Savoi now, so let’s move forward and get you what you need.”
“Well, Talya, you know what the goal is,” James said. “We need a permit to justify some of the expenditure and write-off the rest. That should be your primary objective. If it becomes imperative for you to find Savoi, you talk to the lawyer, yet Savoi may show up unexpectedly, as Terry said. Or maybe you’ll hear from him when he’ll want his check at the end of the month.”
“I think it’s very likely that the man will need money, because did you know he has three wives?” Talya thought she would add that in to rejoin Ken’s comments about the money having disappeared long ago. The three men laughed and she could hear them making inane remarks about the mess such a ménage-à-quatre would make.
They ended the conversation on a happy note, which relieved some of the strain under which Talya had been all day.
By this time, nearly midnight, she was very hungry. She had forgotten to eat. Apart from the orange juice in the evening, she had not eaten anything since lunch. She picked up her key and went downstairs to see if she could get a snack. She was in luck. There was a flight arriving from Paris that night and the passengers usually wanted something to eat, same as Talya, so the manager had kept the kitchen open. She ate at the bar. She was lost in thought. Hassan—what a handsome fellow, but irritating … Rheza’s lies … The landowners—what kind of settlement would satisfy them? Talya didn’t talk about that with James and the fellows … maybe it’s just as well—until I know what would appease them. She didn’t want to stir the pot … And Savoi … Where is he? What happened to him?
Once she finished eating her crusty bread sandwich and drank her tea, she felt more relaxed. Although her mind was still abuzz with unresolved problems, as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.
17
The harsh light of the morning sunrise woke her. As in most parts of Africa, you don’t need to listen to the weather forecast, you know what tomorrow will bring—98% chances of sunshine, 2% chances of rain and the reverse is true during the wet season. In Bamako, you enjoy the most reliable climate conditions, but they’re also the most tedious. Day after day the same heat, the same dust, and the same smell. It gets to the point where you want to see rain, feel the wetness on your face, stare at the clouds, breathe the freshness of snow, and yes, you even start wanting to feel cold and shivering.
That morning brought nothing more than sunshine. Talya got up, took a shower and went downstairs to have breakfast. There was a large envelope in her mailbox, containing pages and pages of faxed documents. Ken had done his homework. He had sent her details of every transaction which had taken place between Carmine and Savoi’s company. She also received a faxed copy of her power-of-attorney (the original of which Talya was to get a couple of days later in the Canadian consulate’s pouch, she had been told). Stanley’s blurb on the company’s history, registration, etc. was also among the umpteen pages Talya pulled out of the envelope, all of which she would need to write the Kankoon application, to start from scratch as Kane had suggested.
She went over everything while eating her croissants. Croissants are a specialty in France but in the old colonies, they’re as good as they come. The bakers have learned the trade from the best.
There was a lot for her to absorb, and soon a pattern emerged. From everything she was reading, Carmine had entered into a partnership with Savoi’s company and none of the basic terms of representation had been fulfilled. In fact, Savoi had reported the filing of applications but had not sent copies of the paperwork—they had no proof of any transactions having taken place.
After coffee, orange juice and a couple or three croissants, Talya felt she was ready to begin working—doing some real work for a change.
She phoned Hassan. His secretary told her that Maitre Sangor was in court. He had left a message saying that Talya shouldn’t expect to see him for a few