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

all of my free time.
This man, Savoi, although he didn’t know him, apart from what Mohammed had told him, this man irritated him. For years, Hassan had witnessed this malady. Many of his compatriots wanted to get rich quick. He knew it wasn’t a disease particular to Mali, but a universal malady. However, in his country, the white-man equated easy money and some people would inevitably fall into the temptation to rip-off anyone who came from another continent. Savoi was one of them. Mohammed had said it; he was a ‘first-class con-artist’. What made Hassan angry was the fact that Savoi hadn’t been content with an occasional white man’s rip-off but he had done it to his own people, Malians, and not so rich ones either. The more Hassan thought about it, the more his sense of disgust prevailed over everything he had learned about Monsieur Savoi. It increased his resolve to find the man at once. Whether that was possible or not, he didn’t know. He just had to make it possible, wouldn’t he?
After breakfast, he went to his office. Daphne told him that the afternoon’s meeting with Madame Kartz had been arranged. Hassan was happy to hear Talya had accepted to meet with him again. Why wouldn’t she?
When he left the courthouse, it was nearly lunchtime. As he drove down toward the bridge, at the city’s outskirts, he remembered he hadn’t called Rheza yet. She must have received news from New York by now. Anyway, there was still an hour before having to turn back, and he promised himself to call her before going to the Grand.
He arrived at Savoi’s villa at one o’clock. He parked the car in front of the imposing wooden doors, and as Rheza had done a few days ago, he walked around to the back door. It was still unlocked. He went in. Rheza had been right. It was creepy. Nothing moved. The haunting silence about the place made him shiver. He went to the living room, the terrace, climbed the stairs to the bedrooms, looked into the wardrobes, the bathrooms, and went all over the house. It was definitely empty—no sign of anyone having been near the place for sometime.
Rheza had mentioned she had dinner with her uncle at the villa on Monday night. Was it in that very same dining room where Hassan was now standing? He had a hard time believing it. Dust had already begun to cover every piece of furniture. And where is Allan, his houseboy?
He went back to the door from which he came in. He examined the frame and the lock. Neither showed any sign of forced entry. Hassan was puzzled to say the least. He went out, walked around the house to his car and stood looking at the villa as if the building could tell him what had happened during the past week. Something was wrong. However, he had no time to figure this out; he had to get back to town.
He drove back to his office to find his secretary very agitated and upset.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know, Maitre,” she said, a puzzled and harassed look on her face, “but, Madame McLean’s been on the phone four times this morning. She was crying, yelling and talking a lot of nonsense about Madame Kartz, you and Monsieur Fade. I didn’t know what she was saying—something about her uncle having disappeared?”
“Okay, get her on the line and I’ll see what she wants.”
Daphne dialled the number with a sigh of relief.
What on earth is this woman doing? The phone rang on his desk.
“Hello, Rheza? How are you? I’ve heard you’ve called several times. What’s happening? What have you found out from New York?”
“Oh, I’m so glad you’ve called. Uncle Amadou isn’t in New York. I don’t know what to do. The people in New York said Uncle Amadou phoned and told them he was going to Dakar. They said he’d mentioned something else—he may have gone to Guinée. I don’t know anyone in Dakar or in Guinée. Why would he go to these places? I really don’t know what to make of it. I talked to Madame Kartz. She said Uncle Amadou would phone as soon as he can, but he hasn’t yet. I can’t help it … I know something’s happened to him. I’ll …”
If Hassan didn’t stop her there and then, he would still be on the phone by the time he should be at the Grand Hotel.
“Hold on, are you saying your uncle may be in Dakar? That’s sounds like good news to me. I think Madame Kartz is right, he’ll call you as soon as he can.”
“But—” Rheza tried to cut-in.
Hassan didn’t let her. “Just relax will you? And wait by the phone till tomorrow. If you haven’t heard from him by then, we’ll see what we can do, okay? Just be patient and hang up. You should leave the line open as long as possible, in case he tries to ring you.”
After a few more soothing words, Hassan hung up. He thought the woman’s behaviour was nothing less than asinine. Even if something was wrong with her uncle, she shouldn’t behave like this. He had an innate aversion to hysterical women. He found he couldn’t handle the often-unwarranted fuss. Another ten minutes and it would be two o’clock….
Hassan left his office in a rush. He wanted, above all, to be on time for his meeting with Talya.
As he came into the lounge, Talya was sitting in one of those overstuffed chairs. She looked anxious and yet relaxed. How can she be both?
19
Once again, the man is well dressed. He wore a navy suit, white shirt and a blue and white striped silk tie. His face was drawn and uneasy.
“Hello, Talya. How are you?” He forced a smile. Hassan was worried about something; it was plain to see.
“Good Afternoon, Hassan. I’m fine, thank you.”
“I’ll have a bissap juice,” Talya said to the waiter who came up to the table as soon as Hassan took a seat.
Hassan looked up at the man. “And, I’ll have an orange juice, thanks.”
“So, tell me what’s been happening?” Talya asked. “Have you found out anything about our friend, Monsieur Savoi?”
“I’m afraid I have a lot more questions than answers at this point. I’ve been at the villa, where Savoi was supposed to have been at the beginning of the week. I tell you, if he was ever there, he has left absolutely no trace of it. It looks as if the house has been closed for the winter, except for that back door…”
As the waiter deposited the drinks on the table, Hassan pulled his wallet out of his jacket pocket and placed a couple of bills on the tray saying, “that’s alright, keep the change.” The man bowed slightly and turned on his heels—smiling.
Returning his attention to Talya, Hassan went on. “Of course, he could have left it open intentionally for the houseboy to have access to the house, and keep an eye on it. Yet, I’m wondering if this is another twist to the series of lies we’ve heard so far.” He paused long enough to take a sip from his juice. “I’ve heard Rheza called you. She rang me also and told me Savoi could be in Dakar.”
“Yes, I’ve talked to her. She said her uncle has been in contact with his associate in New York and apparently, Savoi told him he was going to Dakar. She seems overwrought by the whole thing.” Talya drank some of her bissap juice. “You know, I have a good mind to leave the matter alone for awhile and concentrate on getting the Kankoon application filed with the Department before things get out of hand.”
“Yes, but I suggest I make some discreet inquiries in Dakar to see if I can locate the man while you work on the application.”
“Maybe you’re right, because a couple of days ago I’ve met with Steve Quinlan—maybe you know him?” Hassan’s face showed his ignorance of the man’s identity. “Anyway, he told me that Carmine would need to clean their slate. To me that means we need to find Savoi. Yet, I know that James, or the Board for that matter, won’t pay anyone for investigating Savoi’s whereabouts. Do you see the problem?” Talya felt a sense of helplessness invading her thoughts as she progressed with her explanation of the dilemma she faced. “So what am I supposed to do? I’m told that I have to clean the slate and find Savoi or we won’t get the Kankoon permit. Yet Carmine is not prepared to chase after Savoi because they can’t justify any more spending.”
Hassan didn’t react at first. Elbows on his knees, he just kept on looking at the floor in front of him. Finally, he lifted his head and said, “I know what you’re saying. But, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Savoi may be in some sort of danger or involved in a situation which ultimately could implicate you and your company.”
“What do you mean? Would you please explain what you’ve just said?” Talya was nonplussed. What is he talking about?
“What I mean is this: if Savoi is involved with gangsters or an underworld organization of some sort, it may be prudent to divorce ourselves completely from any further involvement with him or his company. On the other hand, it would be wise for us to know who those enemies are, if there are any. We need to be prepared for any eventuality, so we are not taken by surprise if, or when Savoi decides to implicate Carmine in some of his dealings. Because don’t forget, he’s used Carmine’s money for something. And we don’t know how he used it or with whom, do we?”
“What you’re saying is too fantastic to contemplate.” Talya was taken aback by such an outlandish suggestion. “You’re talking about gangsters, underworld organizations, and I don’t know what else. I can’t even begin to imagine such ramifications being possible, let alone real. I think Savoi has simply flown the coop taking our money—or what’s left of it—in his luggage. I’m sure he’s gone into hiding somewhere, maybe in Dakar.”
Hassan looked at Talya, intent on her every word.
“The way I see it, I have no choice,” Talya went on, “I must continue working on the application. Then, if necessary, I’ll worry about Savoi before we get to the approval stage, which won’t be for another three months according to Steve.” She drank some more juice. “As I said, I have to justify Carmine’s expenses in this country and once I have filed the application, my assignment is over. I can’t stay here for three months waiting for the government to make up its mind or go on searching for the elusive Monsieur Savoi, now can I?” Talya was getting hot under the collar.
“Listen to me…,” Hassan said, “you’ve been here only a few days and it’s not sufficient time to make such a decision. I agree you should continue with the paperwork. In the meantime, I’ll investigate Savoi’s disappearance discreetly.”