Saving Kabul Corner (19 page)

“Then the awful flyers appeared,” said Ariana.

“Then someone broke into Kabul Corner,” said Wali.

“And the more we thought about it, we knew that our families weren't behind these terrible things,” said Ariana.

“How could you know?” asked Jamil, leaning forward.

“Well,” said Mariam, “I asked Wali to meet with us. We wanted to talk to him about our suspicions. We knew that neither you nor Uncle Shams had created the flyers in order to hurt Uncle Gulbadin. And Wali swore that Uncle Gulbadin hadn't broken into Kabul Corner. So the more we talked about it, we realized someone else had to be behind all of it.”

“Why didn't you tell us,
bachay
?” asked Gulbadin.

“Dad, you had so many other things to worry about,” said Wali. “And even though we had our suspicions, we had no proof.”

“Yes,” said Laila, her voice wavering a moment as Ariana gave her a reassuring glance. “To find proof we made a list of all the people who could benefit from the stores going out of business.”

“Yes,” added Mariam. “We investigated all the other store owners, and even Mrs. Wong, but they were all dead ends.”

“You investigated them?” interrupted Wali's mother in a horrified voice.

“Mom.” Wali sighed. “We promise, we didn't do anything illegal. We just snooped around a little. We also analyzed all the clues Ariana's been collecting.”

“What kind of clues?” asked Gulbadin.

Ariana spent the next few minutes talking about the horse meat flyer and its poor Farsi translation, which Mariam and Laila passed around. Their audience listened with rapt attention as Ariana showed them Ronald's campaign flyer and told them how she'd noticed that both were printed on the same kind of paper, using identical smudgy ink.

Then Wali dropped the bombshell. “We found out from the clerk at Leaf Designs that both flyers had been printed there, and the horse meat flyers had been ordered by Paige Jensen, Ronald's assistant.”

“Ronald Hammersmith?” said Uncle Shams in a choked voice. “But he's running for mayor!”

“But why would someone like him do something like this?” blurted out Sara
Khala
, her round cheeks flushed.

“Are you sure it wasn't just a coincidence?” pondered Wali's mother.

“No, my dear,” said Gulbadin, looking at the flyers over Jamil's shoulder. “That's no coincidence.”

Jamil looked at Gulbadin and nodded in agreement. “Definitely not a coincidence,” he said. “But it's not direct proof either,” he added.

“That's where Mrs. Wong came in,” said Ariana with a triumphant smile.

“Yes,” said Wali. “When Ariana and I visited Mrs. Wong, we learned a critical piece of information. She told us that Ronald had been after her to sell Wong Plaza to him.”

“Oh my goodness,” said Sara
Khala
, twisting her magenta scarf in her hands.

“Did you know this?” Jamil asked, sharing an incredulous look with Gulbadin and Shams.

“No, I had no idea,” said Gulbadin.

“Now we had a direct link to Ronald and his interest in the plaza,” said Laila. “He wanted to buy it, but Mrs. Wong wouldn't sell.”

“We suspect that Ronald started investigating Mrs. Wong and found out she was strapped financially, and dependent on the rent coming in from the plaza. If any of the stores suffered, or closed down, she might be pushed to sell,” Wali explained.

A stillness came over the room as the adults tried to take everything in.

“This all sounds very convincing,
jaan
,” said Jamil. “But there's no direct link that Ronald did any of this.”

“Wait, Jamil,” said Uncle Habib, a twinkle in his eye. “Let the kids continue.”

“Well, that's when Mariam had a brilliant idea,” said Ariana.

Mariam explained the plan to collect the evidence they needed, based on the show
Take That
.

“You confronted Ronald Hammersmith?” said Uncle Shams, incredulous.

“What a terrible, dangerous idea!” exclaimed ­Nasreen, and Wali's mother nodded wholeheartedly.

“You children could have been arrested,” cried Gulbadin.

“We actually didn't end up meeting him,” said Wali, “but we got this.” He spread out the blueprint on the carpet, and the grown-ups huddled around to look.

“That's Wong Plaza,” murmured Jamil.

“Yes,” said Uncle Habib, “and the plot of land behind it is that auto parts warehouse that was just sold.”

“Hey, you called me for the Realtor's number,” remembered Uncle Shams, turning to Habib.

“Yes, and I called them. Guess who the new owner is,” said Uncle Habib.

“Ronald Hammersmith,” said Uncle Shams in a small voice.

“Yes,” said Uncle Habib. “All the clues the children dug up point to Ronald.”

“I just can't believe this . . . ,” said Nasreen, looking dazed.

“I also think I know why there was no sign of forced entry at either store,” said Ariana, holding up Officer Nguyen's report. “We know that the Ghilzais didn't break into Kabul Corner, and the Shinwaris didn't set a fire in Pamir Market.” She told them about ­Lucinda's corkboard of labeled keys, and how Kabul Corner's and Pamir Market's keys had been switched.

“Mrs. Wong mentioned that Ronald had come to her house to convince her to sell him Wong Plaza,” said Wali. “He could have taken the keys and made a copy of them.”

“It's my fault!” Uncle Shams groaned, holding his head in his hands.

“What are you talking about, Shams?” asked his wife.

“No, you don't understand,” wailed Uncle Shams, popping up from his seat. “I went to that crook, ­Ronald, and told him that Pamir Market was opening and that we were very upset. It's as if I gave Ronald the idea to do these terrible things.”

“Don't say that,” said Gulbadin, who rose to awkwardly pat Shams on the shoulder. “None of us could have foreseen that Ronald was behind this. Who could have predicted that Ronald would find out about our old family feud and use it to try to destroy us?”

“I'm afraid I'm responsible for that,” said Tofan
Baba
, clearing his throat in embarrassment. “My old friend opened his big mouth at Kandahar Kebob House a few months ago and shared the story of that darn goat starting the old feud. Obviously the gossip reached Ronald.”

“Don't blame yourself either, Tofan
Baba
,” said Jamil. “You couldn't control what your friend said, or where the stories ended up.”

“He could have found out about the feud multiple ways,” said Ariana.

“Yeah,” said Mariam. “Gossip about the feud spread like wildfire through the Afghans, but people outside the community knew about it as well. We overheard Mr. Martinez and the Smiths talking about it one day while we were . . . er . . . investigating.”

“But once Ronald knew, the feud was the perfect story to cover up his crimes,” said Wali.

“It was all to drive Wong Plaza under and force Mrs. Wong to sell,” said Laila.

“This is just amazing,” said Nasreen. “I can't believe you kids figured this all out.”

Gulbadin looked at Wali with pride. “While we were feuding like fools, you were working hard to uncover the truth behind what was really happening.”

“
Mashahallah,
Ariana
jaan
,” said Uncle Shams, examining the flyers. “Who knew that all those years of folding paper would enable you to find these remarkable clues?”

Ariana grinned, her heart swelling with relief and pride.

Wali's mother sat with tears in her eyes. “We owe you children a great debt of gratitude.”

Hava Bibi and Tofan
Baba
sat back and shared a pleased smile.

His body stiff, Uncle Shams turned to Gulbadin. “Jamil and I were very sorry when we heard what happened to your store,” he said, his voice serious. “And now that we know it was Hammersmith, I feel a great injustice has been done to all of us.”

“It was a terrible blow,” agreed Gulbadin. “But thankfully the insurance company has agreed to pay me for all the money I put into the store.”

“Thank goodness for that,” said Jamil.

“What do you plan to do?” asked Uncle Shams.

“I don't know,” said Gulbadin, turning to Tofan
Baba
. “We have a few options—rebuild, or move to a different location.”

“Whatever you decide to do, there is enough business for all of us,” said Jamil with conviction.

“Thank you,” said Gulbadin. “That is very generous of you to say.”

“At least the silver lining in all this is that Ronald Hammersmith has brought your families together,” said Uncle Habib, a twinkle in his eye.

“Oh my goodness,” exclaimed Jamil, blinking at the mention of Ronald's name. “
He
might win the mayor's race.”

He's right,
thought Ariana with a jolt. In another hour the voting polls would close and the vote count would begin.

“There's no way we can let him become mayor,” said Gulbadin.

“We need to do something,” said Uncle Shams as the horror of that reality settled over the room.

“Well, we must tell the police what we've learned,” said Uncle Habib.

“I'll call Officer Nguyen,” said Jamil. “His number is in my cell phone.” As he hurried to find a quiet spot to talk, Uncle Habib turned to everyone.

“
Alhamdulillah
, now we have something to celebrate! Let's eat.”

As everyone scurried to lay the
dastarkhan
and bring out the food, Ariana turned to Wali and whispered, “We did it.”

“We sure did,” he said, and grinned back.

SCANDAL ROCKS FREMONT AS MAYORAL CANDIDATE ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF FRAUD AND ARSON

November 10, 2007

By Terry Yurkovich

FREMONT—Ronald Hammersmith, owner and president of New Vistas Development ­Corporation and recent mayoral candidate, was arrested yesterday afternoon, charged with vandalism, arson, and conspiracy to commit fraud. This was the second dose of bad news for the real estate developer, who lost the race for mayor by a narrow margin last week. It has been uncovered that Mr. Hammersmith had been acquiring several properties in Fremont for redevelopment schemes, the latest of which, Clay Terrace, was financed by risky loans. Bank records reveal that Mr. Hammersmith hoped to avoid bankruptcy by rapidly building and leasing environmentally sustainable units at Clay Terrace.

“I was approached twice by Mr. Hammersmith to sell Wong Plaza, but I refused,” said Lucinda Wong, owner of Wong Plaza, a critical parcel of land integral to Clay Terrace's success. Mrs. Wong's family has owned the land for three generations, and she was unwilling to part with it.

“In an attempt to force Mrs. Wong's hand into selling, Mr. Hammersmith engaged in unlawful activities,” reported an unnamed source close to the Fremont Police Department. Mr. Hammersmith allegedly hired Gilbert Fargas, an ex-convict with a long record of breaking and entering. Mr. Fargas, in collusion with another New Vistas Development Corporation employee, Paige Jensen, attempted to undermine the reputation of one of the stores at Wong Plaza, Pamir Market, by accusing them of selling horse meat masquerading as beef.

The source confirmed that Mr. Fargas confessed to entering Kabul Corner a few weeks later, with the aid of a key, which was procured by Mr. Hammersmith during a visit to Mrs. Wong's house. Mr. Hammersmith allegedly used bars of soap to make imprints of the old-fashioned master keys for Kabul Corner and Pamir Market. The locksmith who crafted the copy has been found and will be testifying at Mr. Hammersmith's trial.

Mr. Fargas also confessed that Mr. Hammersmith paid him to burn down Wong Plaza by entering Pamir Market and starting an electrical fire in one of the bakery ovens. The Fremont Fire Department reported that because of the cold, wet weather conditions on October 31, they were able to contain the fire before it spread to neighboring stores. Mr. Hammersmith has been taken into custody and is being held without bail.