Dark Oil (24 page)

She looked up the lawyers listed in the small but handy phone book put together by Global Oil's local office. There were eight, a far cry from the number you would find in most capital cities, but then there probably wasn't a great need for them in Zakra. And perhaps Dave Maine had already eliminated some on the basis they were insufficiently qualified or not trustworthy.

Four of the eight lawyers failed to answer their phone and only one had an answering machine on which Lara left a message. Of the others, two had only ever practised Negalese family law, although they expressed a willingness to branch out into company and contract law, or in fact to do anything that would earn them a living.

The remaining two said they had experience with contracts and business law generally. One of those acted for the government and so had a conflict of interest. Although he was prepared to also act for Global Oil, it was something to which Global Oil could not agree. In the end the choice had been obvious and Lara had made an appointment to see the only available, and apparently relevantly qualified, Ougu Bada that afternoon.

As she tidied her papers and prepared to leave she heard Jack's footsteps, a soft shuffle that told her he was tired. Or heavy-hearted. She turned to him.

“Any luck with the lawyers?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. I have an appointment. I'm leaving in twenty minutes or so.”

“OK. I'll meet you downstairs. You're safer with me than with Bengali. And resistance is futile. My mind's made up. Besides, I want to hear what the lawyer has to say.” He avoided her gaze as he spoke and she could tell from his body language all was not well. Had she upset him that much by talking about Ange? Had it brought back such bad memories that he could no longer smile? Was he still in love with the woman? Or was it something else? Something to do with Lara?

She thought back to their earlier conversation, to how he'd seemed lost for a moment. He was probably shocked he didn't have Lara wrapped around his little finger, was probably used to women being all over him, figuratively and literally. Well, she wasn't like that, wasn't interested in him or anyone else. Besides, for all he knew, she was married and blissfully so.

She looked down at the wedding band and engagement ring on her finger. She was still itching to take them off, but now was neither the place nor the time.

“Everything OK, Lara?”

“Fine.” She smiled.

Everything was just fine. She had rid herself of her two-timing husband, had a job some would die for and more than paid the bills, had a loving mother whose presence was a delight and, she told herself, would not be sick anymore. Yes, everything was perfect and she was in control of her life, so she cleared her throat and tried her best to free her mind of the image that had forced itself into her consciousness, ahead of all other thoughts when Jack smiled back at her.

She tried not to see herself kissing Jack.

Lara checked the number on the door against the address she had written down. She stared at Jack in disbelief. “This must be it.”

The building was derelict. The door was warped, the paint peeling off it, and a large fissure ran the full length of the wall. The glass was missing from the windows, too. Lara knocked, but there was no answer.

Jack pointed to a sign directing them to the back. “Looks like there's another entrance.”

“That can't be. We're meant to go through that?” She pointed to the rubbish piled up in the narrow passage between the lawyer's office and the building next to it.

“You have a better idea?”

Now she knew why most meetings were held at the Malina Hotel in town. It wasn't luxurious but it was better than this. Much better.

Jack put his hand on her shoulder. “If you don't mind, I'll go first, make a bit of a path for you.”

That was something she loved about Jack. He was always looking out for her, thinking of ways to make her life that little bit easier. She smiled at him. “You're such a gentleman.”

“Yeah. That and you finally walk behind the man like all good women are supposed to.” He flashed his pure white teeth, then hid his face in his arms as if she were going to hit him.

“Mr Norton!” she exclaimed. “If I didn't have to keep my hands clean I'd throw this stuff at you!” She kicked a paper bag in his direction and he chuckled, his whole face lighting up. She could tell he was enjoying the teasing, and, she had to confess, so was she. There was something about Jack that made her want to let go of her inhibitions, her reserve, her common sense, even. He made her want to let go of everything, and, without thinking, without analysing, slip into his arms, into his life.

She knew better. She'd have fun, until reality hit, until she discovered he'd set out to conquer her, because she was, he thought, married and wouldn't cramp his style, until he quickly tired of her and she found him with another woman. Yes, he was just like Tim. Wasn't every man?

“Hello! It's here, up here. I am Ougu Bada.” A curly haired man in a shirt and tie was waving to them from the second floor. “The door to the left over there and then come up the stairs.”

As Lara entered the gloomy passage she told herself it had been a mistake to come here, but a necessary one. How else would she have realised in what dire conditions anyone providing advice to her was working?

It took some time for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did there was nothing that surprised her in sight: the corridor was dingy, the rooms they passed on the way to Ougu's office dark and mostly empty. And the nauseating smell of decomposing rubbish filled every room.

As they finally reached the near end of the corridor Ougu came out to greet them. He shook hands a little too enthusiastically with Jack and grinned at Lara, revealing two
silver teeth and others that had turned a yellowish-brown, clearly in need of replacing with more of the metal non-decaying kind.

Lara followed Ougu to his office. As she passed the room adjacent to his, she saw a woman lying on a table in the dark. The sight was so unusual it made Lara jump. “Is she all right?” she asked with concern.

“Oh, yes, she is fine. She is having a rest.”

Lara held back a chuckle. Ougu seemed to find it perfectly natural that the woman would sprawl out on a table in her work environment. Ougu suddenly barked at her in Negalese. “Introduce yourself, be polite. These are refined people.”

The woman sat up, sighing, and nodded towards Lara and Jack.

“This is Jamila, my secretary,” Ougu said.

“Hello, Jamila.” Lara held out her hand, but the secretary failed to take it. Lara glanced at Jack and saw from the tightness of his upper lip that he was holding back laughter. She could see why. This was quite a different way of doing business.

Ougu's office was tiny and as run down as the rest of the building. He sat behind a makeshift desk of planks on trestles. A vinyl couch, torn and shabby, offered lumpy seating to Lara and Jack.

“Would you like a drink? Orange soda, maybe?”

Jack nodded. “Thank you.”

Lara looked around for the source of the smell assaulting her nostrils. It wasn't just the rubbish outside, this time. It was stronger, richer, a stench she couldn't define, although it somehow reminded her of a pig farm. She imagined a dead goat, its belly swollen, its hooves turned to the sky, lying beneath Ougu's window.

Ougu yelled in Negalese. “Jamila. Soda for us.” His voice dropped as he addressed Lara and Jack. “It is a little bit hard to find me here. Maybe next year I move closer to the centre. I hope your families are well, yes?”

Jack and Lara nodded. Lara's family wasn't though. Her marriage had fallen apart and her mother might be seriously ill, but you didn't say that to a stranger, did you? You said it to hardly anyone, barely admitted it to yourself. The secretary who had been sleeping on the table next door brought in three bottles of brightly coloured cool drink and poured them into plastic cups.

As soon as they had all taken a sip Ougu got down to business, his eyes sparkling with eagerness. “How can I help?”

“We may have a need for legal advice in the future.” Lara was cautious, not wanting to promise anything. “We thought we would take this opportunity to meet and perhaps ask a few questions about the Negalese legal system.”

With a nod, Ougu invited them to begin. “Please, go ahead and ask questions. I will help as much as I can.”

“All right.” Lara wondered for a second where to start. “What textbooks do you usually rely on?”

“Any textbooks. Usually we are given from colleagues in France.”

Lara couldn't see any in the office and there wasn't the obligatory wall lined with reference books that seemed to be a feature of every other lawyer's office in which she'd set foot. “Do you have any I could have a look at?” She wanted to flick through, take the reference and see if she could buy a copy. She would still need to rely on local lawyers and international experts, but a textbook would allow her to develop a basic general knowledge
of the country's legal system. It would help her form her own view of any issues reviewed by others. So far she'd only managed to get her hands on isolated pieces of legislation.

Ougu shook his head. “I am hoping to get one soon.”

Lara tried to hide her surprise. How did the poor man work? When she saw Ougu look away, she thought it best to leave it at that and moved on to another question. “What's your filing system? How would you go about finding a precedent?”

Ougu rushed to the only cupboard in the room. He threw open its flimsy doors to reveal a huge pile of papers, which tumbled onto the floor. “I have many cases here. See.” His proud smile lit up his face now that he could finally show her something and Lara saw the little boy in him. He crouched down without apparent effort and started re-forming the stack.

“Let me help.” Jack picked up some of the papers and placed them back into cupboard.

Lara thought of the rows and rows of books in Global Oil's library, of all the meticulously organised files of precedents she kept. She had access to numerous computer search engines both at home and at the office to keep her abreast of the ever-changing, ever-developing law. If she needed any other tool or assistance, all she had to do was ask. Global Oil would foot the bill. It was a far cry from Ougu's working conditions.

But someone, somewhere in Negala, must have had a handle on what was happening in the legal arena in the country, a more global view of the legal system. “And the courts? Do they have a system that can be searched? For example, if I wanted to know if there are any Negalese cases about privity of contract, or unconscionable conduct, or challenging a Minister's decision, how would I go about it?”

“I can look through my cupboard. Or I can go to the Supreme Court and they have some cases there.” Ougu shrugged. “Sometimes the clerk puts the cases on the file there and sometimes he forgets. The best is to ask around if people remember. Someone usually does. We always share our dinner with others and talk, every night. It is the Negalese way.”

Lara gasped, terrified at the prospect of having to work in a jurisdiction with collective memory as the best support. If they ever got to the bottom of matters here it would be a miracle. Even Jack, who was not easily unnerved, sat there with raised eyebrows and a look of dismay.

The lawyer then honed in on the last part of Lara's question. He must have heard of Global Oil's predicament, the challenge to their title. He would have known the company would want to call into question the Minister's decision. “It is very difficult to challenge a Minister. The Minister is appointed by the President.”

“But by law, is there a way? An administrative process?” Lara clasped and unclasped her hands.

“I do not know. But it does not matter because the judges of the courts are good friends of the President. So if the President wants the decision to stand, it will stand.”

Lara nodded. “It's good for business, I'm sure, to be a friend of the President.” She studied Ougu's face, but it didn't change, he just kept smiling.

Then his eye twitched, probably as he understood the purpose of her last comment, before he spoke. “I am not so lucky. I have no ties to our honourable President.”

He had couched his answer in terms that showed respect, but he had made clear that he was not aligned with the President. Therefore, Global Oil could expect his unbiased and independent advice and confidentiality would be respected—as much as it could be in Negala. Lara was impressed.

They discussed fees for a while, and billing, and then Lara took a deep breath before turning to Jack. “I can't think of anything else to talk about at this stage. Can you?”

“No. It's been good meeting you, Ougu.”

When Ougu asked about future prospects, Lara was sorry she couldn't offer him anything concrete, for she could see how much he needed it. Still, her parting words, even though they were probably less than he had hoped for, seemed to bring the poor man pleasure. “I do hope to do business with you in the near future,” she said with sincerity.

Lara and Jack left the way they had come, wading through the possibly toxic rubbish a goat was now devouring. They walked in silence for a while. The meeting had been so confronting, so shaming. It was heartbreaking to see how an educated man lived in this part of the world.

Lara finally said what she was feeling. “I think we'll need the international legal expert after all. Ougu is smart, I don't doubt that for an instant, but the conditions he's working in are shocking. It would be so easy to miss something, a relevant piece of legislation, a case.”

Jack nodded. “It must be so hard.”

“Maybe we can find some work to give him, though”. They both smiled at the suggestion.

On their way back to the car they noticed a set of sticks planted in the sandy footpath. They stopped to examine them. Three about a metre each in height were lined up in the middle, and four shorter ones branched out to each side, forming more or less a cross.