Mamur Zapt 19 The Women of the Souk by Michael Pearce

Author:Michael Pearce [Pearce, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780107806
Publisher: Severn House Publishers
Published: 2016-03-06T22:00:00+00:00

EIGHT

Selim was agitated. He had been agitated all morning, ever since Fatima had gone off. Could they be trusted to get it right? Even Fatima?

Eventually he could bear it no longer and went along to the Bab-el-Khalk. At the office they said that Owen was still out, and so was Nikos. What part Nikos had to play in all this, Selim was not sure. He had never quite been able to make Nikos out. He was different from everybody else at the police station. He stayed in his room and rarely went out. What he did in there all the time Selim couldn’t see. Something to do with paper. He always had papers in his hand and was always peering at them. Selim never peered at papers. His mind went into a fog at once whenever they were presented to him. Some people were born to play with papers, others not. Selim was definitely not. He had never been able to get on with Nikos, but knew that everyone thought he was very clever and that the boss trusted him, which was enough for Selim. Still, even demi-gods could slip up. And they had been gone a long time.

He wandered out on to the street and back to his usual spot. It was early in the morning and the children were on their way to school. He looked out for Minya. He always did these days. He looked forward to seeing her happy little face, her cheerful little skips. If he had had a little girl he would have liked her to be like this. He had never been able to understand people who were unkind to children and it disturbed him. Lately he had fallen into the habit of going each day along the route on which he knew he would meet her. Often he gave her a sweet. Ever since he had seen her eyes light up at the scentmaker’s shop, he had got into the habit of popping into the shop and buying a boiled sweet for her. He had one in his pocket now.

Ah, there she was! She had been looking out for him too, as she did every day now. It wasn’t just the sweet, she had got used to this big shambling man whom the Mamur Zapt, no less, had told to protect her. She knew he would. She could just feel it. She didn’t mind not going without Marie now, although she still thought about her a lot, and when she did would clutch hard at Selim’s great hand.

This morning she was singing a little song to herself. It was one that Selim knew too, one that he remembered from his own childhood, and oftentimes he joined in, although he never sang it quite right. Sometimes she tried to correct him, although his voice would never go quite where it ought. It was, however, a comforting voice to have beside you as you went to school. Since Marie had disappeared, there had been

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