Nightmare in Morocco (18 page)

The thought of getting lost in the maze of winding alleys and passageways of the medina made her chest tighten with apprehension
.
She couldn't possibly lose her way, Noa reassured herself
.
After all, she had been by the brass shop with the tour group only yesterday.

The streets grew tight and narrow
.
Every turn of sharp, jutting passageway brought some unexpected, often unpleasant surprise
the sight of goats' heads strung in rows in the open air market, the scent of strong spice, a call of "
balek
"
forcing
Noa to press herself tightly against thick walls.

The sweep of long robes, the surrounding echo of
footsteps
made Noa feel uneasy
.
Once or twice she looked over her shoulder, certain she was being followed
.
Long afternoon shadows played upon the old walls, making the shop entrances appear dark and sinister.

Wendell did not often use poor judgment, but his entering this medina with the emerald had certainly been foolish
.
Unless
... Noa felt herself gripped by anxiousness, the same kind that had possessed her in the hospital when she had sincerely believed Wendell was only pretending unconsciousness
.
Quickly she checked her thoughts
.
If she couldn't trust Wendell Carlson, she could trust no one!

Since she had read Mike's note, Noa had been to sick at heart to think of Cathy at all
.
Now she admitted to herself the truth:
Cathy was a thief
the thief
.
But the girl had to be working with someone else
.
Noa could not imagine Cathy, who squealed at the sight of a cut finger, able to carry out the vicious attacks on Belda and Wendell.

The crowd thinned as Noa reached the place where the cobblestones grew rough and uneven, where primitive steps slanted downward
.
Tall, sand colored buildings rose high on either side of her, nearly blocking out the sun
.
The uneasy sensation that someone was dogging her steps intensified
.
Nervously, she glanced back again, but saw no one
.

She had at last reached the clearing where the tour group had rested yesterday
.
The bare outline of the distant minaret against the sky towered as a familiar landmark
.
Noa spotted the great stone fountain
.
Ali Balsam's shop stood only a few steps away.

Her eyes dropped to the packed sand between fountain and store
.
A clear imprint, a dark stain, remained
.
Wendell's blood! Why hadn't the police found a weapon, tossed aside, as the billfold had been tossed?
Her gaze roamed over walls worn so smooth she could see portions of ancient herringbone brickwork fossilized beneath the plaster
.
She glanced back at the cobblestone walkway behind her; centuries had pounded the rocks so solidly they could have been set in cement
.
Once again a dreadful doubt washed over her, questioning the credibility of Wendell's story
.
Had gambling and mismanagement placed him in such financial ruin that he himself had staged his own beating to cover up his involvement in stealing Belda's jewel?

No!
Cathy, large and strong for a girl, could certainly have wielded the weapon
.
Or if she was working with someone, he may have used some object found in Ali Balsam's shop, an object he returned
.

Thick bars enclosed the windows and huge doorway of the shop
.
Through them Noa could see polished brass and curved Moroccan
daggers
, gleaming wickedly in the dimness
.
A loud jangle of bells sounded as she entered.

Trying to adjust her eyes to the contrast of lighting, Noa stepped into great expanse of tiled floor arranged with huge, heavy glass cases containing masses of expensive jewelry and antiques, signs of opulence not expected in the medina
.
What rare treasures were locked and hidden beneath the
counters
?
Noa would not have been surprised to have discovered Alladin's magic lamp buried in some dark corner.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

Noa started
.
Her thoughts seemed to have caused the thin, turbaned man to appear with the suddenness of a genie from the depths of the shop
.
Behind him, dangling glass beads swayed, revealing the entrance to a dark anteroom.

"I'm Noa Parker
.
I work for Wendell Carlson
.
Are you Ali Balsam?"

A golden tooth glittered at the corner of his mouth as he smiled and said rapidly, with strong accent
.
"Yes
.
I am Ali
.
How is our friend?"
The small, pointed beard and glittering tooth brought to Noa's mind the image of a Barbary pirate; the shop of a pirate's plunder
.

"He will recover
.
The police say you were the one who found him."

"Yes."
Ali nodded, his black, darting eyes inspiring suspicion
.
"He was coming by to see me
.
Wendell and I have, how do you say?"
He smiled widely,
"Much business interests together."

"What kind of business?"

"Oh, Wendell and I are brothers
.
Just like brothers
.
For twelve years I say to him, bring your tour down here to Morocco
make riches for both of us
.
This morning he called me. We will talk, he said, about his bringing me trade from his tour in exchange for a commission
.
It is good deal
.
Good for me, good for him."
Ali spoke rapidly, as if warding off unspoken accusations
.
Noa found it difficult to follow his quick, sometimes inaccurate words.

Once again, Noa glanced around the shop, then back at the sleazy Ali Balsam
.
He looked much more like one of the forty thieves than his namesake, Ali Baba
.
Black market dealings would definitely suit him, she thought, and wondered why Wendell would consider doing any business with him
.
Wendell had a soft spot for the unfortunate; most of the stores on his tour stops were run by poor but honest men of the struggling class
.

"So you've known Wendell a long time."

Before Ali could answer, sounds of jingling beads caused him to turn
.
A man's muffled voice called, "Ali, old buddy, where have you hidden the beer?"

"I am a Moslem and I do not drink,"
Ali said to her, "but I keep beer on hand for my buddy."

The word buddy sounded so foreign to Ali's lips that Noa smiled, but her smile faded abruptly when she recognized Johnny Ramos!

At first Johnny glared toward her, then he attempted to cover his displeasure with a wide smile
.
"Ali and I are old pals,"
he announced loudly, as if trying to explain away his almost incriminating presence
.
Were
he and Cathy... Johnny lumbered forward, stopping to drape a hand around Ali's thin shoulder
.

"Johnny is, what do you say?
Best buddy."

"And he introduced you to Wendell."

"No, that was Thomas Rand
.
We were business..."

"Associates,"
Johnny filled in, walking away from them.

"Associates for years and years,"
Ali said
.
"He and his son, Taber
.
Taber buys from me,"
he added proudly
.
"Just last month Taber brought his wife in and bought a sapphire necklace for her."

"Wife?" Noa repeated
.
"Taber isn't married."

"Girlfriend," Johnny again filled in
.
"He messes up on words."

Of course a handsome man like Taber would have women friends
.
Still Noa felt a rush of jealousy.

Johnny spoke again
.
"Lies do get started," he said
.
"Like with me
.
This Marie Landos has been telling things about me that aren't true
.
She tells everyone I'm married."

"And he's really, what do you say?
Engaged."

"Separated,"
Johnny corrected
.

"Nothing is Johnny's fault
.
Girl didn't know she had a good man, that's all."

Johnny watched for Noa's reaction through heavy lidded eyes
.
He probably thought he was being sexy, but to Noa it made him appear even duller.

When Johnny stepped closer to her, thumbs hooked into the loopholes of his tight jeans, she instinctively moved away, closer to where Ali now stood polishing a brass plate he had lifted from the table.

Johnny's neck and shoulders were thick and strong
.
She noticed his forearms, so large, so muscular, easily capable of prying loose heavy columns or beating a man senseless
.
In this new environment, he seemed foreign to her, threatening
.
His large eyes shone with a dark, evil light
.
She felt suddenly afraid of him.

"Shouldn't be out here all by yourself," Johnny said.

Seeking protection from Johnny's bold, suggestive gaze, she addressed Ali
.
"I was hoping you might know of some reason for the attack on Wendell Carlson."

"You know why,"
Johnny interrupted
.
"They wanted the Ward ring."

"Did you see anyone or anything that might help us find the attacker?"

Ali's eyes drifted to Johnny before he spoke
.
"We are...what do you say?
Corrupted
.
The medina is not safe, like it used to be."
The brass plate resounded as he slammed it down on the table
.
"I would like to find this man myself!" he said, eyes, no longer conspiratorial, but bright with
vengeance
.
"I would take care of him in the old way!"

Ali lifted a statuette from the table
.
Wasn't it made of stone?
Noa's eyes rose again to Ali's cruel gaze and she could well believe him capable of striking down Wendell himself and taking the ring
.
Maybe Johnny and he worked together
or maybe there were more than two of them
.
At any rate, she was afraid of them both.

Johnny had moved toward the front door, Ali between the back entrance and her
.
Noa suddenly felt trapped
.

"If you hear anything, will you let me know?"

"Of course."

Noa drew a deep breath and passed close by Johnny, smelling the alcohol on his breath
.
He stood leering at her, but made no effort to stop her as she left the store.

"I shall pray for our friend," Ali called after her. "Tell Wendell I will pray to Allah five times a day."

Lowering shafts of sunlight announced the lateness of the hour
.
The thought of being caught in the medina alone with dusk steadily approaching urged Noa to hasten her steps; still she paused for a moment near the tiled fountain
.

The thought of Wendell Carlson lying near the fountain, badly hurt and bleeding, made her shiver
.
Why hadn't he gone straight to the bank with Belda's jewel?
Why had he risked his life to talk to some shady brass merchant about a small time commission deal?
Noa wondered who had beaten him so severely
.
Who, besides she and Marie Landos, had even known that he carried the jewel?

Lost in thought, Noa moved down the dark, winding path of the medina
.
Surely, Wendell would not have told Johnny or Ali Balsam about the ring
.
Noa remembered Ali saying that Wendell had called him earlier
.
An ugly thought suddenly entered Noa's mind
.
Wendell might never have intended to take the jewel to the bank in the first place!
All along, Ali Balsam's shop could have been his destination
.
Had he planned to turn the ring over to Ali to sell on for him on the black market?