Part 5 (1/2)
”I heard what happened. I am sorry. I meant to come by and say-”
”But whether or not he is good,” Amin interrupted, ”that is not relevant to you. What is relevant, what you should know, is that aid workers are not soldiers.”
”Of course I know.”
”They are not politicians and they are not ousted leaders.”
”I realize-”
”And if all the aid workers are driven out of Afghanistan-”
”But why are you telling me-”
”Todd Barbery,” Amin spoke over her, ”would never abandon this country, no matter what. But his big boss, his emir back in America, and the other emirs, they will finally say no. Do you understand that? And if all the aid workers are driven out, this will not be a good thing. Not for this hospital-how much foreign money have you received here? Not for the women. Not even, ultimately, for you.”
”Of course I know this,” she said, rising from her seat as she spoke. ”You think this is something I can control? Have you forgotten the country from which you come? Have you forgotten how little we women mean here? How quickly they m.u.f.fle our voices, if they let us speak at all?”
”You have ears, at the very least.”
”Which do me no good now.”
”And you also face threats,” Amin went on as if she hadn”t spoken, ”because this country is not ready to smile and bow to a progressive woman, is it? In Afghanistan, progressive women must also be wise, playing one side against another so they can stay safe. Pa.s.sing on information if needed. That could be motivation, I guess.”
She glared at him. ”Your implications insult me.”
”Really? I was trying hard to be polite.”
”I have no connection to criminal elements.”
”In our country, politics and crime are wedded.”
”Who took him? And why? Those are the questions you should be trying to answer if you hope to win his release.”
”Those are the questions I”m trying to answer, Zarlasht.”
Zarlasht gestured to the door. ”I request that you leave.”
Amin studied her face silently, trying to a.s.sess if he could extract any information at all from her, or if he was, for the moment, forced to count a delivered warning as enough.
A young female medical student opened the door. ”Zarlasht jan, an ambulance has just arrived. A boy stepped on a mine and-” Her words were drowned out by a mother”s wailing. The nurse left the office, leaving the door ajar.
”Stay, then,” Zarlasht said coldly. ”Sit here alone, if you wish. I must admit the patient.”
”Of course. But first.” Amin leaned forward so he could speak softly and Zarlasht could hear him above the cries of anguish, which would not abate, he suspected, for some time. ”Once before I let someone down.”
”I know. We all know.” She turned her head and murmured under her breath, ”He who has been bitten by a snake now fears a piece of string.”
”This time, I won”t let a good man be sacrificed to wrong-headed beliefs.”
”It is not my business,” Zarlasht said, ”but you know you put yourself at risk in this alliance.”
”That is my worry. Here is yours: if you had anything to do with it, you better make sure Mr. Todd is released safely, and soon. If he is not, and if it links back to your family in any way, I will find out. And you will discover you made a mistake.”
She narrowed her eyes. ”I must go now,” she said.
”Of course.” He straightened. ”I speak out of respect, Zarlasht,” he said, allowing his voice to turn conversational again. ”I wouldn”t bother giving this warning to a man.” He inhaled deeply. ”Go with Allah,” he said as he turned to leave.
Clarissa, September 5th Clarissa dimly realized, as she reached for it, that the phone had been ringing for some time. Out of a desire for silence, not conversation, she groggily lifted the receiver. She put it to her ear but did not speak.
”Clari.” It was her brother”s voice, and he sounded stern. ”Clari,” he said again.
”Mmmm.” She was aware that the scratchiness in her throat betrayed this as her first attempted word of the day.
”Are you okay?”
”What time,” she managed, ”is it?”
”Almost noon. I”m downstairs. Let me in.”
She replaced the receiver and sank back into bed. How nice it would be simply to close her eyes, go back to sleep and wake up when she wanted to-that shouldn”t be too much to ask, should it? But then she heard the bell again, insistent as a crying baby. She swung her legs to the floor. ”Patience,” she murmured. Still barefoot, she went downstairs and opened the door. Mikey swept her face with his eyes. ”I”m fine, only I couldn”t fall sleep until about 6 in the morning,” she said, adding unnecessarily, ”Come in,” as he moved past her into the kitchen. ”Want some coffee?” she asked his back.
”I”m already making it.” He went to the cabinet and poured beans into the grinder on the counter. She watched him a moment, then slipped into the bathroom off the kitchen.
When she emerged a moment later, she saw that Mikey was trying to carry out an un.o.btrusive inspection. What worried him? That he would find pills or empty wine bottles? She smiled a little at the thought. In fact, the kitchen looked clean; she”d shoved most of the food Ruby had prepared into the refrigerator, leaving the rest stacked on the counter, one container atop another.
”Ruby”s gone mad,” she said. ”She dropped all this off last night. I know she feels helpless and wants to be doing something, but-what am I going to do with all this? Will you take some?”
He glanced sideways at her as he bent over something on the kitchen table; she saw it was the dead insect she”d left there, centered on a paper napkin. She”d forgotten about that. Mikey straightened, raising his eyebrows in a question she ignored.
”How about some of the salads?” she asked. ”It”s too much and it really isn”t for me. It”s food for Todd, even if she doesn”t realize that, and I don”t want it to spoil.”
”What can I do to help?” he asked.
”I”m telling you, Mikey. Take the food. It feels to me like an offering left at a grave.”
”Clari,” he said. ”I know this is hard-”
”Listen,” she interrupted. ”I really appreciate your coming and all, but I don”t want to-I can”t do a conversation right now. I haven”t even had coffee.”
”Let”s remedy that.” He poured two cups full, brought them to the kitchen table and sat. ”You heard from the FBI again?”
She shook her head. ”Not yet. You”re my wake-up call.”
He gestured with his chin to the center of the table. ”What”s this?”
”A bug,” she said flatly.
”I meant, what”s it doing on your table?”