The Lady of Zamalek by Ashraf El-Ashmawi

Author:Ashraf El-Ashmawi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press

16

“Cases went cold when witnesses fell silent, police stopped investigating, and law enforcers let wrongdoers off.”—Murad Kashef

I said goodbye to Nadia at our front door with a warm, husbandly hug, after telling her that I had to report to the front in order to inspect the troops with the defense minister. Now I could look forward to a whole week with Nagwa, as promised.

Nagwa was a journalist I’d gotten to know about a year ago. Our department had hired her, on the recommendation of a prominent journalist, to file reports on what women gossiped about as they had their hair done in a well-known beauty salon in Zamalek. We’d noticed her physical potential at first sight and knew her star would rise. She was then tasked with gathering sensitive information from important figures at private parties and functions. My section continued to rely on the reports I submitted on the basis of information I harvested from Nadia and her aunt.

Before her assignment as an informant, Nagwa was subjected to the customary “entrance exam.” We fixed her up with an agent of ours who looked like a foreigner, photographed her, then arrested her in flagrante delicto. This was the process with all of our new female agents. It made them less resistant and easier to bargain with. Nagwa caused us no trouble at all. She was soft and pliable from day one, which caught my attention. I also felt that she was sincere in her patriotism and her desire to help us serve the country. Due to the nature of my job, I watched her at work almost every night through hidden cameras. She was unaware of their existence. The following day, when she submitted her report, she was a different woman: meek, bashful. The contrast kindled my interest in getting to know her better. She excited me in a way that neither Nadia nor any other woman had before. But I had to keep a distance, since she was still in our employ.

After a while, her star and her enthusiasm began to wane. I seized the opportunity to write a report stating that she was no longer fit for the secret service. They took my advice and pensioned her off, adding a generous bonus for duties performed in the service of the nation. But she continued to pass by my office in the hope of getting an apartment in one of the buildings in Garden City that now belonged to the National Insurance Company. This was the moment I’d been waiting for. I hadn’t wanted to take the first step, so as not to give her a hold over me. I promised I’d do the best I could for her, and our deal was sealed. Of course, I couldn’t start a secret affair. I’d have to take her as a second wife. Regulations were clear on that point, even if they were unwritten: if you entered into an extramarital relationship, you lost your job. However, there was a greater obstacle

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