Nightmare in Morocco (4 page)

"I have friends."
Noa remembered Mike's letter,
the reference
to the bad company she had been keeping
.
Cathy's eyes narrowed
.
"You can't make me go to Spain with you
.
Not if I don't want to go
.
If I was you, I wouldn't even try."

What had Mike gotten her into?
With effort, Noa bit back the bitter words that waited on the tip of her tongue
.
Daylight was only a few hours away
.
She had funeral arrangements to make, all of Mike's business to settle
.
Any showdown between Cathy and her would have to wait.

* * *

Mike's lawyer, who Noa saw a few days after the funeral, informed Noa that she was sole beneficiary of Mike's estate
.
Mike had worked for Intermax, a huge investment firm, and the mass of his money
which amounted to a sizeable
fortune had
been put into short term investments.

The aging lawyer in a rambling way tried to explain why Cathy had been totally and legally disinherited
.
He used words like immaturity, emotional problems, but with a great reticence, leaving Noa the impression that he knew much more about her niece than he would ever be willing to reveal
.

The vast amount of money he spoke of, which Noa for the first time thought about, did not pose any problems
.
She knew she could manage it wisely, invest in a future that would make both Cathy and her secure
.
In fact, she knew exactly how she would invest it; she would buy into Carlson Rand Tours
.
She would become Wendell Carlson's
partner;
fulfill the unrealized dream of her late father, a dream that had become hers also.

But being responsible for a wayward, teenage girl who apparently detested her seemed a very heavy burden
.
"Why didn't Mike set up a trust fund for her?"

"Perhaps he realized Cathy needs something no amount of money can buy."
As if unwilling to discuss it further, the
lawyer
drew a paper from his file
.
"Here's a list of Mike's valuables, mostly coins."

Even as a boy, Mike and his coins had been inseparable
.
Then the collection had consisted of a few Indian head pennies in a tin box under his bed, now the coins, some valued at a thousand dollars each, were a substantial investment. "Where does he keep them?"

"You know how Mike wanted them right with him
.
They will be somewhere in the apartment."

Dread of her new
responsibilities
deepened as Noa left his office
.
By the time the huge condominium came into view, her qualms had changed to real fear
.
As far as Cathy was
concerned
,
she was never going to be able to live up to Mike's expectations of her!

* * *

"Why did Mike leave me out?"
Cathy demanded after Noa had explained the terms of Mike's will
.
"I'm his daughter!
I can't believe he left me without even a stinking roof over my head!"

"I don't want to talk about the money right now."

"I do!"
Cathy trailed Noa into the hallway
.
"What are you doing, anyway?
Why are you snooping around?"

"I'm trying to find some of Mike's valuables
.
We'll want to put them in a safety deposit box before we leave."

Cathy sniffed
.
"I'm not going anywhere!"
Still, to Noa's surprise, she began to help search the rooms. "I would like to give Dad's watch to Wendell Carlson, if you don't mind."

"Why should you care if I mind?
I'm disinherited
.
Nobody!"

A detailed search uncovered no watch to give anyone, nor could the other items of
jewelry
on the lawyer's list be found.

"Do you know where Mike kept his coin collection?"

"In here."
Noa followed Cathy back into Mike's room
.
The neatness and order, so distinctly Mike's, saddened her, made her anxious to get the job done.

Cathy pointed to the bed
.
"He kept them in a box under there."
 

Inside the huge container
were a few silver dollars and a scattering of old nickels, dimes, and quarters
.
But
the rare coins, the ones described on the paper the lawyer had given her, were not there!

Noa's fingers played through the scattering of coins that remained
.
They clanged together loudly
.
"The valuable coins are missing."

Cathy looked away
.
"Maybe Mike sold them."

Noa felt a sick feeling clutch at her heart
.
The gold rings could have been lost, the watch easily misplaced
.
But Mike would never have parted with his coins!
What could this mean?
She glanced at Cathy, who still stared at the rug
.
When she finally did lift her head, Noa saw what might have been a trace of guilt in her eyes.

* * *

The issue of Cathy's going to Spain with Noa had hung in the air between them, unresolved, since Mike's funeral
.
Noa finally decided that where dealing with Cathy was concerned, the firm, no nonsense approach might be best
.
Two tickets to Spain, one in her name, the other in Cathy's, lay in a neat packet inside her purse
.
Mike's obstinate daughter was going to get on that plane with her Monday morning, Noa silently vowed, even if she had to carry her, kicking and screaming, all the way.

As the cab approached the condominium, Noa felt her stomach constrict into a tight ball at the thought of another angry confrontation with Cathy
.
Over the past few days it seemed she had grown steadily more surly and petulant, more resentful of Noa's intrusion into her life
.
After leaving the cab, Noa squared her shoulders and forced herself to take a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the forthcoming fight
.
Gathering her courage, she marched directly up to where Cathy lounged upon the sofa, doing her nails in a deep, brilliant red.

"I've bought tickets for our flight to Spain,"
Noa said in her most authoritative voice
.
She tossed the tickets down upon the nearby table for emphasis.

Cathy did not look up from the last painted nail. "You heard me, didn't you?
I said that I've bought tickets to Spain
for both of us!"

Cathy glanced up, no smile on her lips, the yellowish eyes totally expressionless
.

"I am getting pretty tired of your attitude
.
You are going to be on that plane!
I'm not going to put up with any of your pouting or arguments!"

Cathy responded with a slight shrug of her shoulder, as if the matter was of absolutely no importance to her
.
"So when do we leave?"

Almost too stunned to answer, Noa groped for a reply
.
"In three days."
Noa hardly believed her own ears
.
Words of threat and persuasion still occupied her mind like wary soldiers, ready to spring into action.

"That don't give me much time to pack."

"It's all we can spare."
Wary of a trick, she asked, "What made you decide to come peaceably?"

Cathy shrugged
.
"I decided I want to see Spain."

"How would you like to see Morocco, too?"
Noa explained about the tour scheduled only days after their return to
Algeciras
.
"I'd like to take you along with me."

"Why not?" Cathy replied with the same fated nonchalance with which she now accepted the inevitable trip to Spain
.
Cathy finished another nail and blew on it
.
"You will let me buy some new clothes, won't you?"

"It's a promise!"
Later, Noa might regret her words, but at the moment a new wardrobe seemed an insignificant price to pay for her sullen niece's cooperation
.
In fact, it seemed a great bargain!

For the first time, she saw Cathy actually smile
.
She could be an attractive girl if she would rid herself of those pouty lips and that perpetual scowl, Noa thought
.
Noa felt a spark of hope, even enthusiasm
.
Maybe they would get along, after all; perhaps the girl would fill the great void left by Mike's absence.

"I think I'll get my hair done
.
Tomorrow."

"That's a good idea
.
A good cut will keep you from having to fuss with it on the trip."

"That's not exactly what I meant," Cathy replied, running a hand through the tousled brown waves
.
"Oh, forget it!
What kind of clothes will I need?"

"I'd bring mostly slacks and cool blouses. And comfortable shoes
.
The climate is warm, but I wouldn't advise skimpy tops or short shorts
.
They'll only make you feel conspicuous
.
Morocco is still a very conservative country
.
Many of the women still cover their faces with veils.

"No kidding!"

"I could go shopping with you," Noa suggested.

"I don't think so," Cathy said, with a critical glance at Noa's neat cotton skirt and blouse
.
"Just give me the money."
With an exaggerated sweep of her hand, she put the finishing touches on her nails
.

* * *

When Noa returned to the apartment the following day, her first alarmed impression was that a stranger had slipped in and made herself at home in front of the television set
.
Another startled glance told her that it was Cathy.

"Hi."
Noa avoided Cathy's eyes, avoided looking directly at the stiff, bold streaks of platinum that ran through the once soft, pretty brown hair. "So what do you think?
I had it streaked and tipped
.
The hairdresser says it looks real European."

"I
liked it better the way it was,"
Noa said, recovering from her speechlessness.

"It was yuk before!
This is the real me,"
Cathy turned her head this way and that
.
She was obviously pleased with the mess they had made of her hair
.
The bold, bleached stripes of blonde would make heads turn here in New York City; Noa dreaded the impact it would have in the Moroccan villages where few light haired tourists were seen, and where many local women still covered their hair and faces with modest veils
.

Impulsively, Cathy grasped Noa's arm
.
"Come on
.
I want you to see my new clothes."

Noa's chin dropped at the sight of high, spiky heels, a host of skimpy tops and leather miniskirts, a backless cocktail dress, and to top it off, a pile of chunky, garish golden bangle bracelets.

"This is...all?"

"I could have gotten more if you'd given me more money," Cathy said, an edge of sulkiness creeping into her voice
.
"At least Mike wasn't stingy."

"I gave you over three hundred dollars!
You...you didn't buy any tennis shoes?"

Cathy held up a pair of fragile, strappy sandals
.
"I got these instead."

 
Noa imagined Cathy meeting the rest of the tour with her New Wave hairdo, dressed in a series of wild, impractical outfits
.
Why, she'd make a laughingstock of them both!
In a flush of anger, Noa wondered if that was what Cathy intended
.

"These things will have to go back to the store."

"Why?"

"They aren't...appropriate
.
As I tried to explain to you before, Morocco is a very conservative country
.
Women just don't dress this way."

"I'll dress any way I want!"