perched on a sofa covered with white lace like a pair of tidy crows. They stared at him in silence. A clock ticked loudly somewhere.
After a time Maysoun reappeared and led the way back down the hall to the big study. Ridwan Hilal looked worse. He was dressed in a shirt with stain marks in the armpits and he appeared to be growing a scruffy beard. He sat slumped behind the desk, his head resting on his right hand. The eyes opened and he made an effort to sit up as Makana entered.
‘Please, don’t hurt him any more,’ Maysoun whispered as she went by on her way out.
‘So, our investigator returns. And . . . have you found out who killed my wife?’
‘I’ve found out a number of things we need to talk about.’
Hilal waved a weary hand towards a chair. ‘Very well. Please speak your mind.’
Makana glanced at the open doorway as he sat down across the desk from Hilal.
‘Feel free,’ Hilal smiled. ‘There are no secrets in this house.’
‘As you wish. Do you know why Meera went to work at the Blue Ibis company?’
‘I have no idea.’
‘Perhaps it will be easier,’ Makana smiled, ‘if I explain what I think happened and you correct me?’
‘Very well.’
‘Nasser Hikmet came to you. He said he was working on a story about the Eastern Star Investment Bank. Since you had some expertise on the subject of Islamic banking he thought you might be able to help. He was looking into a number of small companies that he believed were siphoning funds away from the bank into the accounts of private individuals, some quite high-up officials. It was a huge story and not without risk.’
‘I thought you were trying to find out who killed my wife?’
Makana ignored this. ‘I imagine you dismissed Hikmet as a dabbler. What could a poor journalist understand about the theoretics of Islamic banking? But Meera saw it differently. She persuaded you that this was an opportunity to restore your reputation. She contacted Hikmet and went around the list of companies he had until she found work, at Blue Ibis Tours.’
Hilal stared at Makana in silence, then he got up and went over to close the door.
‘Inside the company, Meera made friends with Ramy, Faragalla’s unwanted bastard. For his own reasons Ramy decided to help Meera and led her to the documents which demonstrated how money was being re-routed from the bank. And that brings us to the letters.’
‘What about the letters?’
‘The letters were meant as a personal warning, to you, from an old friend, Professor Serhan. He overheard Hikmet’s name mentioned in connection with Meera. When Hikmet fell out of a hotel window Serhan suspected she was in danger. For sentimental reasons perhaps, he decided to warn her, to warn both of you, in fact. But there was a problem, he couldn’t contact Meera directly. He was on the side of respectability now, and she was your wife. He would have died of shame if the story had come out and besides, he was probably still a little bit in love with her. Being a professor he came up with an obscure and roundabout way of trying to warn you. He sent the Dogstar letters to her anonymously. He thought you would understand.’
‘How would I know they were a warning?’
‘I think you did. When I spoke to Professor Serhan I asked him why he had sent three letters. Surely one would have been sufficient? He thought so too. He couldn’t understand why you didn’t respond to the first one. He was counting on you recognising the Sura, since as students the two of you had been young poets, part of a movement that revered those texts. The ambiguous Suras, as you explained to me. The first time I showed you the letters I asked if you had seen them before. You said no. You lied to me. Why?’
‘None of what you are saying makes any sense,’ said Hilal.
‘Let’s go on. When Meera found out why Faragalla was hiring me she decided she had to talk to me. She told me about the other letters. Faragalla had only seen one. She was worried I might discover what she had found in the office records and that her plan would be exposed. Meera was a cautious person. You had told her not to worry about the letters, but she wasn’t convinced.’
‘This is all pure speculation.’
‘I think it was pride that stopped you from responding to Serhan’s warning, but there was