Free A Dead Man in Tangier by Michael Pearce Page A

his head.
    ‘They would not be,’ he said definitely. ‘The committee is not authorized to disburse funds. It has a few for expenses, of course. For stationery, my salary, and so on, but there are all minor and do not correspond to any of these sums.'
    ‘Perhaps they’re not money, then.'
    Mr Bahnini studied them.
    ‘Although what else could they be?’ he said.
    ‘Take a look at the dates. Do they correspond to anything in Bossu’s diary?'
    ‘He didn’t keep one,’ said Mr Bahnini. ‘But I did.'
    He produced a desk diary and began to go through it.
    ‘He was certainly away from the office on those dates,’ he said.
    ‘So they could be dates of meetings?'
    ‘But why would he have been having meetings in places like that? Casablanca, I could understand. But Tafilalet! Mr Bossu had business dealings all over the place, it is true, but – Tafilalet! It’s just an oasis.'
    ‘No record here, then?'
    ‘No. Of course . . .'
    ‘Yes?'
    ‘He had business dealings of his own. He only worked for the committee part time. The sums might relate to them.'
    ‘Where would I find out about them? Did he have another office somewhere?'
    ‘I don’t think so, sir.'
    ‘His bank, perhaps, might have a record of cash transactions. Do you know which bank he used?'
    ‘I am afraid not, sir. His wife, perhaps . . .'
    ‘Doesn’t know a thing. And Renaud has taken all his papers away. I could ask him, I suppose.'
    Mr Bahnini was hesitating. He cleared his throat deferentially.
    ‘I wonder, sir . . .'
    ‘Yes?'
    ‘I am not sure, sir, that, given the location of the places, he would have made much use of his bank. In the south they usually prefer money in physical form.'
    ‘Coin, you mean?'
    ‘Or bullion. Silver is much in use.'
    ‘And if Bossu was making payments there, that is what he would have used?'
    ‘There are no banks there, sir. The south is a very backward place. Not to say lawless.'
    ‘Hmm. So if he wanted money in hard form, where could he have gone to get it?'
    ‘I suspect the big moneylenders in the souk, sir. But a bank here would be able to advise you.'
    ‘Thank you. I’ll try them.'
    ‘There is one other thing, sir.'
    ‘Yes?'
    ‘Money in that form is heavy. The first part of the journey could be done by truck, but after that he would have had to use camels. And porters. Also . . .'
    ‘Yes?'
    ‘Almost certainly he would have needed bodyguards. The south is, as I have said, a lawless place.'
    Seymour asked if he could see the committee’s minutes. He settled himself at Bossu’s desk and Mr Bahnini brought them to him. Then he ploughed systematically through them. There was no mention of any of the places on the slips of paper, nor any reference to the dates or sums. He began to get, however, a sense of the committee’s preoccupations. Impressed by his display of clerical adhesiveness, Mr Bahnini warmed to him and dropped in from time to time to explain particular points.
    Much of the most recent discussion referred to a venture at Marrakesh. Mr Bahnini said that this was to do with a project to build a railway, which, it was hoped, would open up the interior. Of course, Marrakesh was a long way inland and since it did not fall within the area of the proposed Tangier zone it was, strictly speaking, nothing to do with the committee. Tangier interests would, however, be providing the money and for that reason were interested in the legal powers that the committee would be recommending. Strongly interested, judging by the frequency of the committee’s returns to the subject.
    ‘They are interested, of course, in the likely route the railway would take.'
    ‘Is that the responsibility of the committee to decide?’
    ‘No, but what they decide – the scope and nature of the legal powers they decide on – could have a considerable bearing on the route. That is terribly important, of course, because once the route has been decided on, businesses will be jostling to take appropriate