Michael Pearce - The Mingrelian Conspiracy

‘When he thought he was going to die, yes.’

Owen laughed.

‘A lot of us are like that.’

‘Everyone is like that,’ said the priest.

He walked with them to the door. In the court everything was still. Even while they had been inside, it had grown appreciably hotter.

They heard the tap of boots on the atrium, unusual in a world of slippers and bare feet. A man appeared at the top of the staircase.

‘One of the workmen?’

‘A friend of theirs, I think.’

First, the boots, and then the face; Owen recognized the man who had run after Sorgos on the night of the boisterous public meeting in the Der.

‘It must be,’ said Nikos. ‘Nicodemus said that Herbst-Wickel was insisting on payment in gold. It must be for the explosives.’

‘One thing’s for sure,’ said Georgiades; ‘it’s not for the ikons. The amount they need is nothing like the amount he’s getting.’

‘It’s got to be the explosives. What else would he want gold dust for?’

‘It’s a hell of a clumsy way to get gold, though, isn’t it?’ said Owen.

‘Ah, yes,’ said Georgiades, ‘But-don’t you see? — he’s never done it before. It’s not something you buy everyday. Take me, for instance: I never buy gold. You buy gold?’ he asked Nikos.

Nikos sniffed disdainfully.

‘If I did,’ he said, ‘I’d know how to go about it better than he does.’

‘Very amateurish,’ said Owen.

‘Ah, yes, but, you see, he is an amateur. It’s the first time he’s ever done anything like this. The same with all of them, probably. Never bought gold, never bought explosives, never even tried to kill a Grand Duke before!’

‘Why did they pick on explosives, then? Why not just try and shoot him?’

Nikos shrugged.

‘Perhaps they wanted to make sure.’

‘The danger is,’ said Owen, ‘that they try to make too sure and send a lot of other people with him. Explosives are not for amateurs. God knows who they might blow up!’

‘The way they’re going,’ said Nikos, ‘they’re not going to be in a position to blow anyone up, not by the time the Grand Duke gets here, anyway. Not if it depends on Sorgos acquiring enough gold to pay for the explosives. If you look at what he must have been able to get in this ham-fisted way, he must still be miles short.’

‘That’s our big hope.’

‘Well,’ said Georgiades, ‘if it all depends on Sorgos, isn’t the solution obvious?’

‘Take him in, you mean?’

‘Someone else might do it then,’ said Nikos, ‘someone who’s more efficient.’

‘In any case,’ said Owen, ‘I’m hoping he’s going to lead us to the rest of the people involved. You’ve got someone on him?’

‘Yes,’ said Nikos. ‘Apparently he’s still buying.’

‘That’s good. Don’t forget, Herbst-Wickel want payment in advance. It means they’ve still not got the explosives.’

Owen had hoped that, having passed the case over to Mahmoud, for the time being he could forget about protection gangs, but early the next morning he received an agitated summons from Mustapha.

‘What’s the trouble?’

‘Two!’ said Mustapha, shaking his head disbelievingly. ‘Two on the same night!’

‘Two what?’

‘More demands from the gangs. I thought you said everything was going to be all right?’

‘It will be. Don’t worry. Who were they from?’

‘The same as before. One was from the Black Scorpion. You know, like the first time. The other was one of those who came the other time, you know, the time they beat that dope up.’

He inclined his head in Selim’s direction. Selim, however, was unmoved. Indeed, he was positively beaming.

‘This is getting beyond a joke!’ said Mustapha. ‘I don’t mind paying protection to one gang, or, rather, I do, but there’s not much I can do about it. But I can’t pay protection to everyone in Cairo!’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll look after it.’

‘Well, I should hope you would. I pay my taxes, you know. Or, at least, some of them. That’s another bunch of robbers for you! It’s about time I got something back.’

‘Don’t worry. You won’t have to pay. I’ll see to it. Or, at least,’-remembering that Mahmoud was now supposed to be looking after this end of things-‘I’ll talk to someone who will.’

‘Oh, yes,’ said Mustapha sceptically. ‘Passing the buck, are you?’

‘No. I’ll get on to him right away. Meanwhile, you’ve got Selim. And friends.’

‘Friends?’ said Mustapha, scandalized. ‘You mean that?’

He drew Owen to the door and pointed along the street. A hulk lying in the shade raised an arm in acknowledgement.

‘He looks big enough,’ said Owen.

‘Oh, he’s big enough, all right. If he could only manage to drag himself to his feet. And the only time he does that is when he comes in here and asks for something “to keep him going”. Well, I’d like to keep him going, all right, going somewhere else, fast. Protection racket? This man’s a protection racket all on his own!’

‘Only coffee, I hope?’

‘ Only coffee? Look, coffee costs money, as well as all the other things my wife gives him. Another of these down-and-outs she can’t resist! I tell you, I’m feeding half the population. And the other bloody half is sending me protection notes!’

At last Owen managed to get away. He had just turned the corner when he heard himself hailed by Selim.

‘Effendi! Effendi!’

‘Yes?’

‘Effendi, there is much to report!’

‘Report away, then.’

‘Effendi, I saw those men last night. Including that little bastard who was one of those who attacked me the other day. And I said to myself: I will stave that man’s head in! But then, Effendi, I reflected. Am I not a policeman, I said to myself? Do not I serve the Mamur Zapt? And would he wish me to do a thing like that? Surely not. He would wish me to hold back until I could stave in the heads of all the bastards. So, Effendi,’ said Selim, swelling with pride, ‘I held back!’

‘Good for you. Now-’

‘Then, Effendi, I thought more. These are evil men, I said, and they will come again. And when they come again, by God, this time I will be ready and I will level the score. And the good thing is, I don’t have to go to them; they will come to me. All I have to do is sit here on my backside. That was pretty good thinking, wasn’t it, Effendi?’ said Selim anxiously.

‘Pretty good. Now-’

‘I put it to Babakr. That was Babakr up the street, Effendi. I think you saw him?’

‘Yes, indeed.’

‘Well, I put it to him and he thought it was a good idea too. He said, it’s better that the mountain should not go to Mohammed, especially if it’s very hot, but that Mohammed should come to the mountain. And then we can throw the bloody mountain at him. That was a good thought, wasn’t it, Effendi? I must say, I’d never thought of Babakr as a religious man before, but that was pretty good.’

‘Yes, well, thanks, Selim-’

‘But that is not all, Effendi. When the second man came, that little bastard who was here the other day, I said to myself: I will not stave his head in, but is it right that I should let him go? If I miss the chance, I may lose him forever. I may never see him again. But if one were to follow him home, so that I would know where to look for him-’

‘You followed him home?’

‘Well, no, Effendi, not I. I’m the one who has the ideas. It is for other people to do the walking. So I told Mekhmet-’

‘Mekhmet followed him?’

‘Yes, Effendi. He was at first unwilling-Effendi, the man is but a hollow reed-but I persuaded him. So if you would like to give him a piastre, no more, the man’s not worth it, but I wouldn’t mind a couple for myself, Effendi-’