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

Then with some hesitation, “One more thing, Madame Kartz, if you’ll accept my help this time round, I’ll send you a fax this afternoon at your hotel. It will be listing the names of the people I know in Dakar and who may be of assistance to you. Also, if you wouldn’t mind calling me before your departure, so I could advise the parties concerned of the date and time of your arrival in Senegal.”
“I couldn’t ask for anything more from you, Monsieur Fade. And, if I don’t see you before I leave, let me thank you right now for everything you’ve done for me during my stay in Mali.” After a few more parting words, Talya hung up feeling relieved. Yet, Mohammed’s words of caution were not lost on her. Does he know more about Hjamal and Rasheed than he let on?
Talya went down for some late breakfast or early lunch, something to eat anyway. George, the waiter, didn’t know what to make of her changing schedule. He asked her if she wanted to wait for lunch or if he needed to ask the Chef to prepare something like a sandwich, perhaps. When Talya saw the nearly empty croissants’ tray and the pot of coffee left on the side table, she told him to bring her whatever he had left from breakfast.
Once she had eaten a couple leftover croissants, and she had drunk the last of the coffee, she went to the lounge and waited for Hassan to arrive. She was impatient as a schoolgirl waiting for her first rendezvous.
He eventually walked in around noon. He looked tired. He sat down opposite Talya and smiled but didn’t say anything. Are we going to play this game again, him smiling and saying nothing while I talk my mouth off? I think not.
“I’m glad to see you’ve reconsidered your position, Hassan, and decided to come back…”
“I’ve heard from Mohammed,” he interrupted brusquely. “You’re definitely leaving for Dakar next weekend and he’s going to give you a list of names of people who could help you when you’re there.” He was trying to put her on the defensive.
“Words do travel fast, I see,” Talya said a little miffed at his frontal attack. “But you’re right. I phoned Monsieur Fade this morning to apologize for my behaviour yesterday. We talked briefly about my intention to go to Dakar. By the way, he warned me not to trust anyone.” Hassan shook his head and frowned. She ignored his reaction. “As I told you yesterday, I’ll leave when (and only when) the Kankoon application is well in hand and not before. And, that is what I intend to do. I won’t drop everything to run off to Senegal without being assured my job here is done, or at least progressing.”
“I know you want to get out of here as soon as you can, Talya. I also know that it is important for you and for everyone concerned, that you should reach Dakar to try to find Savoi or Rheza, but you need also to make some sort of arrangements with the landowners before you go…”
“You mean, your father?”
“Yes, Talya, I mean my father. He is the man who will be able to intercede on your behalf and talk to the other proprietors so that you wouldn’t have to worry about these people protesting against the processing of the Kankoon application.”
“Can they do that?” That’s all I need—another hurdle…
“Of course they can and will. You have to consider that your agent has promised them that their land would be explored. Therefore, if no one explains to them that nothing of the sort is going to happen, these people are going to lodge a protest against Carmine for breach of promises.”
“But that could take weeks before we could visit everyone…”
“Not necessarily. As we discussed, my father is the one we should visit at the first opportunity and resolve the issue with him. After that, he will make it his duty to call on every other owner and explain the situation to them in view of settling the matter as rapidly as possible.”
“All right then. I guess my trip to Dakar is off for awhile.”
Talya had too much on her plate and problems seemed to pile up on it every time she blinked.
“Meanwhile we’ll get the application filed…”
A thought occurred to her and Talya rudely cut him off. “Oh, by the way, do you have the owner’s deed for the Kankoon property? We need a copy to go with the application.”
“Yes, I do. It was among the paperwork that Kane returned to me when I got the list of the landowners.”
“And what kind of settlement will he want, do you think?”
“I suggest we discuss the matter with my father first.”
“Alright then, I suppose it’s back to work…”
“Yes, it is, but I still haven’t heard you say that you wanted me as your attorney again. You dismissed me last night, remember?”
“I did, didn’t I? But consider yourself re-hired,” Talya said smiling. Really, who else was there to help her out?
“Thank you, Talya, and I accept. I also want to apologize for my disrespectful behaviour toward you. But I won’t hide the fact that I care for you and I would like us to be friends.” Talya didn’t like that last word.
Do I dare ask? She did. “And what kind of a friend, am I supposed to be?” She was afraid of the answer. “What kind of friendship do you want? From everything I’ve heard last night; you want me in bed as soon as possible.”
Hassan was visibly obfuscated by her rebuke. They stayed quiet for several minutes. This time he was the first to break the silence.
“I think I better go. You’re not ready for any of this. I can see that you don’t want to be honest with yourself and with me. So, if you’ll permit me I’ll leave…” He took his keys and briefcase off the table. Talya didn’t want him to go.
He was right. I am not ready for any of this. Then much against her will and with less success to remain on the fringe of her emotions, to face the facts as best she could, without showing any private conflict, she broke down. She couldn’t avoid admitting that she wanted to be Hassan’s friend, perhaps more than a friend.
“Hassan, please allow me to say, I’m sorry. I know I’ve offended you. You’re right; I’m pushing you away because I’m afraid to take the first step toward a relationship that may be doomed to fail. Yet, in the end, I guess you win—yes, I want to be your friend. Maybe more so than you can believe or imagine at this moment.”
The dismay in his face seemed to subside a little. He knew he had won her over. Talya was relieved to have admitted to him and to herself that she needed someone.
“Thank you, Talya. You have earned my respect and admiration now, but you’ll have to learn to let go. When you’re with me, from now on, you have to let yourself go, so I can understand and love you better.”
For everything he was saying, Talya was pleased, yet neither her heart nor her mind was ready for any of this.


28
For the next week or so, Talya worked on the Kankoon application at Hassan’s office. They didn’t mention anything about this friendship that they had settled upon one another. Truth be told, Talya was glad of it; she had enough in mind without having to worry about a relationship for the time being. She postponed her trip to Dakar to the following Sunday, as Hassan suggested. They translated forms, deposited forms and filed even more forms.
In every country, there is an administrative body, which is created for the sole purpose of issuing, sorting, classifying and stamping forms. What am I saying? There must be dozens of these offices and ‘bureaux’ in each of the numerous government departments, which serve that purpose—in triplicate eventually.
Throughout this enforced administrative labour, Talya didn’t broach the subject of Hassan’s adoptive father being one of the landowners. This was an omission on her part—perhaps she trusted Hassan would reveal the name of the person when he was ready to do so. The Kankoon land belonged to a woman—not a man—which was the only person of importance in this instance.
Talya heard nothing from Rheza. The need to find Savoi and eventually bring him to justice was shelved for the time being—it would have to wait until she reached Dakar. Actually, all of their pre-occupations were overshadowed by the amount of work the Kankoon application demanded.
Most of the time, Daphne helped them with some of the typing. Talya checked with the hotel occasionally for messages and kept James in the loop, so to speak, without giving him too many details—he didn’t want to hear from her if everything was going according to plan.
Chantal phoned a couple of times giving her an update on Jean-Claude’s progress since his surgery, while Talya would give her a run-down on what had become their daily routine—filling out and filing forms.
Meanwhile, Hassan and Talya had another meeting with Mohammed Fade. She had received the promised fax with a list of names, before she knew they were to meet again prior to her leaving for Dakar. They were mostly professionals who were on assignment in Dakar and others who were members of government with influence in the right circles. Monsieur Fade explained how these people could help if Talya needed their particular assistance. Before they were about to leave his office, he renewed his warning.
“I’ll give you a word of caution once again, Madame Kartz, do be careful. Senegalese people are not as complacent and easygoing as Malians are. Their ancestors were mostly warriors, hunters and fishermen. They have a belligerent trait, which doesn’t allow for much understanding or compassion. If things don’t go their way for some reason, they’ll fight for what they want, with bloodshed if necessary. Even mere tourists have come to harm at their hands for innocently trespassing on their property. And I’m not telling you this to scare you, only to warn you.” He paused for a moment as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to make the next comment. “Please don’t be offended when I say that you have a tendency to lose your temper, which in Senegal may cost you your life.”
“I appreciate you giving me some insight into the background of the people I’m going to deal with,” Talya said, some edginess in her voice, “and I know my attitude in certain circumstances has caused me grief more than once. I’ll take your advice, I’ll keep my eyes opened and I’ll try to keep my emotions in check. I have no intention to return to Canada in a coffin, my mother would turn in her grave.” Talya slid in a smile. It didn’t work. “All joking aside, Monsieur Fade, I know what you’re saying and believe me I’m not taking anything you’ve said lightly.”
Hassan was sitting on the edge of Mohammed’s desk looking down at Talya. “Mohammed is right. You’re going to face people, who want something from you, or maybe they want to hide from you, and they’re not going to shy from aggression just because you’re white or a woman. You have to understand that Senegal is full of