46
WASIM HAD RECEIVED such an earful from his wife about catching the culprit before Dr Sofia went back to Sydney that his ulcer was giving him hell and he was suffering from a constant headache. There was no way he could make Behnaz understand that he couldn’t catch the culprit when the culprit was Minister Massoud. By lunchtime, though, Wasim had formed a plan, and if he was very careful, and if he did everything right, it just might solve all their problems.
Climbing the stairs to Dr Sofia’s apartment, Wasim realised that he had never visited her before, although he had been in the apartment a few days earlier looking for her passport. When she saw it on her bedside table he had hoped she might understand that someone who cared about her was sending her a message to leave, but that plan, like the other plans he had hatched to keep his friends safe, had not worked. He hoped this last one would.
Dr Sofia invited him in but he was reluctant to enter, preferring to remain standing by the open door. He was a bit embarrassed about being alone with Dr Sofia in her apartment, but more importantly, he was nervous about the conversation he was about to have, and the message he was about to deliver. Staying by the door would give him an easier exit.
‘I’m sorry you have to leave so soon, Dr Sofia, but for the moment I believe in my heart that it’s for the best. Definitely, when I find who killed Dr Jabril –’
‘Who tried to kill Dr Jabril!’ she snapped.
Wasim looked suitably chastened. It had been a stupid error. ‘Of course. You’re right. When I find who tried to kill Dr Jabril and understand their correct motives, I’ll let you know and you can return. We would all like that, especially Behnaz.’
‘Thank you, Chief Wasim. Would you like to come in and sit down?’ she asked again as they stood awkwardly by the door.
‘It’s not necessary. What I have to say won’t take long. It’s about my wife.’ Clearing his throat, Wasim moved his weight from one foot to the other before he cleared his throat again. ‘This is a highly … irregular conversation, Dr Sofia, and I hope you can forgive me for what I’m about to say.’
‘I’m sure I can.’
‘We shall see.’ Wasim fidgeted some more before forcing himself to look directly at Sofia. ‘Behnaz has never been able to give me a child, and even though she’s my cousin, my family said I should take another wife, but I never did.’ Wasim could feel his insides twisting. He would have given a lot not to be having this conversation. It was not an easy topic, but it was something he had to do for the woman he loved.
‘I’ve known Behnaz since we were children. I’ve never wanted any other wife, but she wanted children very much, and she begged me to marry again so there might be children in our home. I disappointed my wife because I wouldn’t take another wife.’ Wasim was looking past Sofia, shaking his head. ‘Who can believe that?’ When he looked back he gave Sofia a nervous smile. ‘I assure you, Dr Sofia, one wife is enough trouble for any man.’
Wasim became serious again, focusing his attention on a spot on the floor as he sighed. ‘Over time she became more and more unhappy. She couldn’t understand why we hadn’t been blessed and neither could I. Then you arrived, Dr Sofia, and you became the daughter she never had, and for the first time in many years she was happy. Forgive me for saying this but when she learned your mother was dead she truly believed you had been sent to her for a reason, but now you are leaving and she feels like she is losing her child and it’s all my fault.’
‘No, Chief Wasim, it’s not your fault.’
‘That’s what I told her, but it’s no good. She won’t listen.’
‘Do you want me to talk to her?’
Wasim shook his head. ‘No. She must not know I’m telling you these things.’
‘Then can you please tell Behnaz that she’s been like a mother to me and that I’m sure my mother would have approved.’
‘Thank you, I’m sure it’ll help.’
Wasim looked down at the floor again. Earlier in the day his plan had seemed like a good one, but now he was not so sure. He sighed again. Being the chief of police took the balancing skills of an acrobat on a high wire over the tallest peak of the Hindu Kush. His talk with Dr Daniel had not gone as well as he had hoped but as he had expected. He had hoped this conversation might go a little better.
‘I have been thinking. Perhaps I might be able to have a word with … some people and it might be possible for you to stay if you agree not to speak about bacha bazi again … or about men with boys.’ Wasim looked directly at Sofia. ‘I hope you understand what I mean.’ He watched the colour drain from her face and knew he was in trouble.
‘You mean you’ll have a word with Massoud?’
‘That’s not what I said.’
‘But it is what you meant, isn’t it? You will have a word with the good Minister Massoud, and if I agree to never speak about the fact that he and all those bottom-feeders like
