The Intern Affair (63 page)

“I hear you, but he’s a strong man and I’m sure he’ll be all right.”

“Yes, maybe, but I can’t say anything to Talya when I see her. She couldn’t cope with that kind of news at the moment.
Jerry
will keep me posted when I get to
Bamako
and give me an update on his condition. If it gets worse, then I’ll tell her when I feel the time is right.”

“Okay, and have you decided where you’re going to stay?”

“Yes, I’ve looked at the list of hotels, and based on what I know of Samir, I have chosen the hotel where they’ll probably stay themselves. The name is the Djenné and the number is 234-6395. I’ll be registering under the name of
Christian
Kiddo. Talya will know who it is the minute I’ll make contact with her.”

“Of that you can be sure!  You could be black or wearing a red wig and a skirt, when she’ll hear that name, she’ll recognize you instantly.”

“I thought so.  Oh, one more thing before I leave:
Jerry
will be staying in my apartment here at the hotel. So if you need him, you know what to do.”

“No problem. Have a good trip, and a successful one.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Once he had put the receiver back in its cradle,
Charles
felt as powerless and distraught as he rarely had felt before that night. If
Alhassan
were to die, Talya would probably put herself in front of a bullet to end it all. The only assuaging thought was that
Christian
might be able to prevent that from happening. 
Would Samir be the one man who could give her a reason to live and give her peace?
Charles
asked himself.

Still pondering, sitting on the edge of his bed, he heard
Thomas
knock at the opened door of the bedroom.

“What’s up? Was that
Christian
on the phone?”

“Yes it was,”
Charles
replied distractedly.

“Why don’t we go downstairs and have a drink at the Terrace Restaurant before bedtime. I have slept so much today that I don’t think I’ll get much shut eye—”

“
Alhassan
is getting worse.”
Charles
looked up at his friend who was standing beside his bed now. “I don’t know if I should go
and
see him now or wait until morning—”

“
Charles
. Snap out of it!  You can’t go anywhere tonight, you know that. Come on, let’s go downstairs and we’ll talk about all this. Come on let’s go before they close shop,”
Thomas
urged, seeing that
Charles
wasn’t moving.

“Okay, okay … but I’m in no mood to argue—”

“Who’s talking about
arguing
?  We’re simply going to have a drink.”

A few minutes later, they were sitting at the same table where
Alhassan
, Talya and
Charles
had been sitting so many weeks ago now. As they were waiting for their drinks,
Charles
was invaded by a sense of deep sadness. He was reliving the evening he had spent with
Alhassan
and Talya
.
He had been so harsh in his words to her on that occasion, that she had stumped off back to her apartment only to re-appear an hour later, and for Samir to take her out to have dinner somewhere else
.
That had been the last time he had se
en her the way she used to be.
Now she was drowning
in vengeance and distrust.
Had he been able to cry,
Charles
would have done so. 

“Okay, now you tell me what this is all about,”
Thomas
said, seeing that his friend was losing it.

“I can only tell you what
Christian
told me and what he suggested we do i
n the morning.
The rest you don’t have to know.”

“Oh no? And what am I? The hired hand?
You’re going to tell me what’s going through that brain of yours or I’ll call
Carl
to com
e down and straighten you out.
We haven’t got time to luxuriate in self-pity.”
Thomas
’s voice was scolding.
“We only have a week to get the agreements signed before the team comes down, and you know that it will be the only thing that will keep Talya going.”

Charles
smiled at the thought of having
Carl
at his side and then related his short conversation with
Christian.

“We
ll, that’s what we’ll do then.
We’ll go to the hospital in the morning and get
the low-down on the situation.
But there is something else that’s eating you. What is it?”

“I feel responsible,
Thomas
, that’s wha
t it is.
If it weren’t for me getting involved with
Karim
in the first place, we wouldn’t be sitting here wondering if Talya is going to see tomorrow’s sunrise.”

“You’ll have to excuse me, for what I am about to tell you.”
Thomas
shook his head and then lifted his gaze from his whiskey to
Charles
.
“You’re an imbecile!”
Charles
raised an eyebrow.  “But
you’re right about one thing.
We wouldn’t be sitting here if it weren’t for you getting involved with
Karim
.
But because of that involvement and Talya’s subsequent actions, we can now look forward to producing gold in two years’ time, and that,
Charles
, is what is
driving all of us to succeed.
We’re not here to drown in nostalgia and regrets; we’re here to see all of us through this.”

“And why do I feel so down right rotten right now?”

“Because we are locked up and powerless at helping the person responsible for our
survival and promised success.
I feel the same way you do, but I know I can’t help her, so I hang on to the one thought that keeps me going, and that is ‘to get the projects on tracks’ as she asked us to do.”

“I guess I’m an overreacting old imbecile then!” A rueful smile appeared across
Charles
’s lips
.

“Except for the word ‘old’ that would sum it up!”

A half-an-hour later, the two men decided that the wind was getting a little too strong and that going to bed was a good idea.  As they were walking up the flagstone steps,
Thomas
heard a sharp sound
whiz
past his left ear. The next thing he knew,
Charles
was kneeling and then falling across the step at his feet.  

In a fraction of a second,
Thomas
was covering
Charles
’s
body with his own.
Except from hurrying footsteps getting closer, he couldn’t hear any other suspicious sounds. At this late hour, there was no one about to hurry and help. Nor would anyone have heard the muffled shot of a gun’s silencer. He turned
Charles
’s inert body
to see where it had been hit.
Jerry
was at their side, standing alert, pointing his gun to the darkness of the gardens from where he thought the shot had been fir
ed.
Yet he knew the sho
oter had gone never to return.
He knelt beside
Thomas
putting the gun away and asked, “Where is he hurt?” 

“In the shoulder.
It looks like
the bullet
scraped his arm
.
We should get him to the apartment and get a doctor to stitch him up.”

“Yes, let’s do that, but we still can’t attract attention.  So let’s get him out of here, quietly.”  

105

How are you feeling,
M
r.
Durant?”
Dr. Simeon
asked when
Charles
opened his eyes.  He was lying in his bed in the apartment and remembered instantly that he had been coming up the garden steps . . . and then he had felt an agonizing pain piercing his left shoulder. 

“What happened?”
Charles
asked
,
bewildered. 

“Well, you’ve been shot.
That’s what happened,”
Thomas
said, smiling down at his friend. “And this doctor has just treated your wound.”

“I remember you.”
Charles
looked at the doctor intently. “You’re the doctor who treated Ms
Gilmore
after the assault.”

“Yes, sir, the one and the same.  And I don’t know what you people are into, but I should take up permanent residency here, you’re providing me with more patients than the clinic does.”
Thomas
and
Jerry
s
miled at each other knowingly.
“Okay, there is not much else I can do for you, M
r.
Durant
.
It’s just a flesh wound; the bullet scraped the upper muscle down to the bone,
I’ve stitched the incision
and a change of dressing twice a day; that’s all you need now.”
Dr. Simeon
looked at his patient compassionately. “You’ll be fine. Just watch not to get the wound infected, though.” He then got to his feet, gathering his instruments and empty bandages packets from the side of the bed.

“Doctor, may I talk to you for a moment, before you leave?”
Jerry
asked, leading the doctor by the arm out of the room and into the living room where they sat down.
Dr. Simeon
didn’t quite know what to expect, so he listened to
Jerry
’s story and suggestions in puzzlement.

“From what you’ve just explained, I should call you
Jerry
, is that right?”

“Yes, that should be enough.”

“Well then,
Jerry
, this is a gunshot wound we’re talking about and you’re asking me not to report it. I don’t know if I can do that. Although we’re not in
Canada
and the rules regarding reporting such incidents are a little more flexible, I don’t want to become the next persona non grata in
Senegal
.”
Dr. Simeon
was a little more than upset at being asked to bend the rules. 

“Yes I know that,
D
octor, but have you considered the alternative? You report this incident, which means you have talked to
Mr. Durant
and that means you’re going to be next on the killer’s list.”

“You mean, either way I’m in trouble?”

“Not necessarily.  There is a third alternative which would save all of our necks.”

“Well then, let’s have it.”

“Okay, here is what you’re going to do….”

A little while later,
Jerry
phoned
Christian
.

“Yes?”
Christian
answered, picking up the phone at the first ring.  He had arrived at the Djenné an hour before the call came through, and was ready to go to bed.

“
Jerry
here. It’s just to inform you that
Charles
has been shot tonight. He’s going to be all right but we’ll have him declared dead by morning, if you understand what I mean?”

“Yes I do.”
Christian
’s voice was steady. “But I’ll have to reach Talya before she hears the wrong news from anyone.
Charos
is on the warpath as you probably gathered. He’s been told that his operation is all but destroyed, so he’s starting to make his threats a reality. What’s the plan at your end?”

“I alerted
Sir Reginald
and we’re going to ‘store’
Charles
away for a few days waiting repatriation, which won’t happen.
Charles
is more adamant than ever to stay here. He’s mad as hell.”

“Okay, I get the picture. Leave it to me, I’ll get to Talya and Samir soon enough. They’re staying here under his
other
name.”

“You mean the crest—”

“Yes I do, but you haven’t heard me say anything.”     

“Oh no, I won’t touch that one, you can be sure of it.  By the way
,
I have another question—what do we do about
Alhassan
?”

“Just tell him that
Charles
has met with an untimely death and that he should get better fast. Talya needs him on his feet for when she gets back.”