Free Hiding in Plain Sight by Nuruddin Farah Page B

Kampala. The message is in legalese and brief. Helene introduces herself as an attorney who is writing at the suggestion of Gunilla, who provided her with the name ofBella’s hotel. She continues, “Since the matter I wish to discuss with you is of utmost urgency and its nature delicate and familial, I would appreciate it if you could contact me at your earliest.” Helene provides two office landline numbers and a mobile phone number, each bearing a Kampala area code, and an e-mail address.
    This must be an attorney representing Valerie and Padmini, Bella guesses. The thought that such a person exists relaxes her. She will not walk away from her responsibility to her sister-in-law, she knows, but she also knows that, once free, Valerie will carry on as if nothing has happened, except that she will blame the whole thing on anyone but herself.
    Bella calls one of the landline numbers she has been given. As she waits for someone to answer it, she tells herself that she won’t ever forgive herself if she does nothing to help Valerie, never mind the nature of the trouble the woman is in. And Uganda being Uganda, she thinks that she will be able to find the right officers to bribe. To get matters moving, Bella decides to insist that Helene not disclose to Valerie who is putting up the bail and paying all other expenses incurred.
    Finally, Helene answers. After Bella has introduced herself and then acknowledged receipt of the fax, Helene says, “I’ll tell you enough of what we are up against so you can decide whether you wish to get involved.”
    â€œI can’t help it, I have to be involved.”
    Bella can hear papers being shuffled and then Helene says, “I must tell you this at the start. We do not represent Valerie as such.”
    â€œPlease explain your meaning.”
    â€œWe represent Padmini, her partner, in a property dispute between her and a Ugandan businessman,” Helene says. “And then this.”
    â€œâ€˜And then this’? What’s ‘this’?”
    Helene says, “A few days before Padmini and Valerie’s arrest, we had received notice from the courts about a preliminary date when a judge would hear the property dispute.”
    â€œAre you telling me that this is why they are locked up?” says Bella. “Because the Ugandan has played a dirty hand?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œThe Ugandan tycoon hired a private eye to dig deep into the dirt,” Helene says. “He hopes to force Padmini’s hand so that she will flee the country or at least withdraw her case.”
    â€œHow much dirt did the private eye dig up?”
    â€œThe private eye sneaked in on Valerie and Padmini’s privacy and left his hiding place with a rich harvest of sexually explicit photographs.”
    â€œHow careless of them,” Bella says.
    â€œTheir lack of awareness would be quite understandable if it weren’t for the fact that Padmini comes from here,” Helene says. “She was born here and her family is well known and well respected too.”
    â€œHow do we proceed?”
    â€œWe need to get them out of prison. The yellow press is sniffing around, readying to run off with the story. This will do irreparable damage to their reputations. Somalis, as Valerie told me—as if I needed telling—will bay for her blood if it comes out that she is Aar’s widow. We must do something quick, get them out, and put them on a flight to Nairobi.”
    â€œWhy a flight to Nairobi?”
    â€œAccording to Valerie, Nairobi has one of the largest communities of homosexuals, second only to Cape Town in the entire continent, and she says they will feel comfortable there.”
    â€œHow can I help?”
    â€œCan you come in person to Kampala?”
    â€œAs I said, I do not want her to know that I am her benefactor,” Bella says, this time with great emphasis.
    â€œWe need to move fast,”