Just as Liana and I stood to go upstairs, Sonya became business-like again. ‘There is important information you should know.’ I paused wondering what she’d say. ‘There has been talk of a prowler in the area. It would be better not to go outside at night alone.’
‘Is he dangerous?’ Liana asked.
Sonya bit her lip. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing to be worried about, but best to be warned.’
n
All through the day at the school campus, while we played matches, the American kids were ‘putting on the dog’ for us: feeding us Coke, genuine (and non-halal) hot dogs and Baskin Robbins ice cream. We ended up losing the last hockey match and I also lost Uncle Jon’s bangle. I was devastated when I realised and ran back onto the oval searching for it.
Sonya found me there. Her congenial mood of the morning had worn off. When she spoke to me she sounded exasperated. ‘Don’t you know it is getting late? We must return home.’
‘I’m sorry, I lost my bangle. The clasp mustn’t have been shut properly …’ Tears were close.
She held out her hand. ‘This is what you search for?’
On her palm was the bangle. ‘Where did you find it?’
‘A girl was taking it to lost property and I recognised it.’ Sonya made a comment about my Pakistani name being Jameela but it didn’t sound sincere. What I did find weird was how she even knew my other name. I hadn’t told her and it was written in Persian script on the bangle. She couldn’t have understood that, could she?
n
Later that evening I stood at the window, staring through the twilight at the Margala Hills. Two days we’d been there and I still hadn’t worked out what sort of person Sonya was. At breakfast she was the kindest she’d ever been. She’d let me keep the clip in my hair and even borrow her red shawl to wear to the movie that the Teen Centre was showing that night. I couldn’t put my finger on what didn’t add up and I imagined Mum telling me to be careful.
I wondered what my family were doing at home. Dad had so wanted to come with me. To keep me safe, he had said, just in case the terrorism was as bad as Australian media portrayed it. Money was the problem, of course. It was Grandad’s bonds which paid for my ticket. Dad would have loved seeing the bazaar and the carpet shops again. Thinking of Dad never failed to lighten my spirits. He had such a sense of fun and adventure, even if he did find it hard to settle back in Australia. He fitted in so well in Pakistan; with his dark hair and beard and dressed in a shalwar qameez, he looked just like everyone else.
My thoughts turned to Jasper then. Did he smile as I just had when he thought of his father? I didn’t think so. Yet, I knew it shouldn’t have to be like that. Couldn’t he remember the good times and enjoy those, be thankful he had them? Before I left Pakistan I used to think Jasper was resilient, as though he drew strength from beyond himself and had an internal transformer to make it his own. Now it was as if he’d cut off his whole life-support system and it was a struggle for him to breathe.
The call to evening prayer from the mosque broke into my thoughts. It was seven by my watch and dark outside. We wouldn’t be leaving for another half-hour. Liana was still in the shower. No one would notice if I slipped out to sit on the balcony for a while. The evening air was crisp and misty, reminding me of girls in long scarves dancing in a forest.
Carefully I opened the outside door and stepped out onto the balcony. I heard the click behind me and groaned. No wonder Sonya told us to keep the door locked; it was one of those that shut by itself. I didn’t have my phone to ask Liana to open it. Now I’d have to go all the way around the front to get back in, and there was no light. It was colder than I realised too. I clutched the handrail as I carefully stepped down to the garden. The grounds were immense; I hadn’t had a chance to explore them. I was attracted by the sound of the fountain and kept walking further from the house. I could just make out its shape. Dad would have loved it, for it was shaped like the minaret of a mosque. Water came splashing out where the loudspeaker would have been.
Then Sonya’s warning about a prowler came to mind. I glanced around. I couldn’t see far. Nor could I hear anything, other than the splashing of the water. Maybe Sonya did have cause to warn us, I should have remembered. My unease swiftly turned to icy prickles that ran up my back and the hair separated on my head. Someone was behind me, I was sure of it, yet I was too scared to check. The house seemed so far away. The wall and dark hedge by the road were too close for comfort.
I hurried over the lawns towards the house, praying I’d been mistaken, my heart thumping too fast. Then I heard the breathing behind me, footfalls keeping up with mine. I tried to move faster, but it was like a bad dream where I couldn’t move, and the unseen threat loomed. When I screamed it was soundless.
Suddenly I was jerked backwards by a heavy weight on my shoulder. I froze, but only for a moment. I took in breath, ready to shout, but a hand clamped over my mouth. A man’s voice whispered, ‘Raza! Raza!’ and other stuff I couldn’t catch. He didn’t sound psychopathic but I wasn’t taking any chances.
I breathed out deeply from my stomach and tried to calm down. Instantly, the hand was removed from my face and I twisted and kicked out as hard as I could. The man gasped and let go of my shoulder. I flung my arms up and felt my fingernail rip through smooth flesh. He grunted and, in that second, I could smell the same woolly smell of Dad’s Afghan carpets as the man let me go.
I didn’t need another moment to think. This time I turned and ran, panic giving flight to my feet, but it wasn’t fast enough. The guy must have thrown himself after me and the impact flung me to the ground with him half on top. At that point, images flashed through my mind; stories I’d been told of girls attacked in the night, disgusting things that we’d whispered about in boarding school with a thrill of horror. I groaned. God, help me. I never thought it would happen to me.
The man’s hold on me was much tighter this time as he pinned me to the ground. I tried to say, ‘No’, but it came out as a whimper. I looked up and saw the dark outline of the house, closer now. I struggled to get free but the man was too strong.
Just as I was about to scream something smashed into my head. At first I was stunned, until pain ripped across my mind, jagged and red. Then there was nothing.
7
Jasper
Jasper rang the bell on the outside gate of Sonya’s house and was ushered into a foyer by a servant, who soon rushed off to find the girls. He stood there admiring the rugs on the floor and on the walls, wondering if they came from the shop. Each one was Afghan and some were ancient. He ran his finger along the border of a threadbare one and frowned. It had been repaired but the old pattern seemed to be changed along the border.
‘Jasper! Am I glad it’s you!’ Liana rushed towards him, Sonya not far behind her.
He turned towards Liana with a smile. ‘I came to take you all to the movie—’
It was as if she hadn’t heard him. ‘We can’t find Jaime.’
‘Hey, wait up a minute. Is this the cool and calm Liana?’
‘Jasper, listen! There’s a prowler and—’
‘You lost me. Why can’t you find Jaime?’
‘I don’t know,’ Liana answered, quieter now. ‘Sonya warned us not to go into the grounds at night. But you know what Jaime’s like. When I got out of the shower, she was gone. She wouldn’t think twice about walking outside and sitting in the dark.’
Jasper turned to Sonya. ‘What the hell is going on?’
Sonya didn’t even flinch. ‘I cannot help it if they are so stupid to go outside after I have warned them about the danger.’
Jasper opened his mouth to speak, glanced at Liana and thought better of it.
‘Don’t you think we should get help?’ Liana looked from Jasper to Sonya, but Jasper just stared at Sonya, his face darkening. Why wasn’t Sonya calling for a search party?
Liana asked, �
�What about the police?’
Sonya cast Liana a withering glance, but Jasper was immune to scornful looks.
‘When did you first hear of the prowler?’ he asked.
‘Yesterday.’
‘And you’ve searched?’
Liana cut in, ‘She’s not in the house and we were just checking outside when you came. The chowkidar hasn’t found her, either.’
‘I think Liana has the right idea, we should tell the police.’ Jasper pulled out his phone and Liana moved to his side.
‘No!’
Jasper looked up in surprise. Sonya’s expression was so anxious all of a sudden that it made him wonder if maybe she was human after all.
‘You know how the police can be here. They would take too long. They might ask for a bribe. We would never find her.’
‘You have a better suggestion?’ Jasper didn’t bother keeping the sarcasm from his tone. He caught Liana glancing at him in concern.
‘Actually, I do.’ Sonya gave the ghost of a smile, which Jasper mirrored. Liana frowned at them both.
‘We should go straight away. I know someone who can help.’
Jasper hesitated.
‘I still think we should go to the police,’ Liana said.
‘It’s true about the police, Li,’ he said, then his mouth tightened. If Sonya was playing a game, he could play along. He turned to Sonya. ‘After you.’
In the back of the car, Liana turned to Jasper, ‘I wasn’t expecting you to come.’
He answered quietly. ‘You hadn’t arrived at the Teen Centre yet, so I thought I’d check if everything was okay. I’m glad I did. I get the impression that finding Jaime is not high on Sonya’s priority list. Besides, remember when I followed her last night?’
Liana nodded.
‘I think Sonya’s mixed up in something. The more I think about it, the more suspicious it seems.’
‘Why do you think that?’
‘The fact that she’s Russian and knows Afghans and speaks Pakhtu.’
‘How can that matter? The days are gone when Russians were a threat to the Afghans.’
‘I’m not so sure. There’s always talk of Moscow spreading out and controlling the Muslim states on the Afghan border again, especially with other militant groups growing in the Middle East. Everyone’s after a slice of the pie.’
‘But they’re not Russia’s states any more. That all finished with the Union breaking up years ago.’
‘What about Ukraine? And they are still part of the Commonwealth, with Russian advisors influencing their governments.’
‘You can’t be serious.’
Jasper set his face and stared out the window.
‘You are, aren’t you?’ Then she added, ‘You have to let this go, there’ll be no proof Sonya’s—’
He shushed her as Sonya made a movement in the front seat. Then she turned to face them as the driver stopped the car.
‘We have arrived,’ she announced with an air of command that made Jasper give Liana a see-what-I-mean look. Liana blew out a breath.
‘I shall go and see my friend.’ Sonya moved to get out of the car, but Jasper was out his side door before both her feet had even touched the ground.
‘I’m coming with you.’ His jaw was firm and Sonya hesitated long enough for Jasper to relax. He knew he’d won.
She just shrugged. ‘As you wish.’
Liana took one look at the dimly lit bazaar and joined them. Sonya graced them both with an expression that showed her frustration as she walked towards the carpet shop.
Jasper bent and whispered in Liana’s ear. ‘She’s weird.’
‘Your ideas are weird,’ she whispered back. Then Jasper put his arm around Liana’s shoulders. She glanced up in surprise at his sudden gesture of comfort. ‘I was right, Li. This is the same carpet shop she went into last night.’
They looked at the rugs hanging in the window with others thrown over camel stools in a haphazard window design that made Jasper think of wild desert places and mountain tops. Sonya was the first to notice the heavy padlock. Her first few words were unintelligible. Then she muttered, ‘They have gone already.’ She looked so undecided and normal for a moment that Liana made a suggestion.
‘If you don’t want the police in on this, then we should go to the Australian Embassy.’
It was as if she hadn’t spoken. Sonya seemed to have pulled herself together and was gazing at Jasper. ‘Please,’ she actually said, so that Jasper raised his eyebrows in disbelief. ‘There is nothing to be concerned about. There is a person who will know where she is. We can travel there and get her back.’
Jasper didn’t answer; just stood, staring at her.
‘The decision isn’t just up to you, Jasper,’ Liana said. ‘We need more information to decide.’
‘I cannot tell you anything else.’ Sonya was almost pleading. Almost. ‘Just … trust me.’
Jasper laughed. ‘That’s the problem. I don’t trust you.’ He chewed his lip, and he thought of what he’d heard in the shop the night before. And the photo; how he’d love to quiz Sonya on that. He glanced up at her. She did look as if she knew where Jaime was.
‘Okay. We find her ourselves. No police. No embassies.’ Sonya closed her eyes as though she’d won and didn’t want the victory to shine.
‘But, Jasper. We can’t …’ Liana paused mid-sentence at the irritated scorn that settled again on Sonya’s features. ‘Think about this. You always decide things so quickly and now I have to go along with this stupid plan.’
But Jasper had been doing more swift thinking. ‘Sonya,’ he faced her squarely, so she could look nowhere else, except up at him, ‘I don’t leave your side. We’re in this together. Understand?’
‘As you wish,’ was her only comment.
Jasper glanced down the bazaar. ‘Right. Where is this person who can help?’
Sonya started back to the car. ‘He will be on the road to Peshawar. We should hurry, before he realises …’
Jasper stopped short, feeling like he’d walked into an invisible wall. ‘Peshawar! That’s three hours away, and near the Afghan border. Are you crazy?’
‘No,’ Sonya flung back, her spirits obviously revived. ‘But Jaime might be in trouble if we don’t find her soon.’
Jasper fell into step beside Sonya. ‘You didn’t tell us about Peshawar.’ He glanced at Liana but didn’t like the ‘I told you so’ look on her face. Peshawar. How could he go there again?
‘You did not ask.’ Sonya was almost flippant as she stopped to face him. ‘Besides, we cannot waste time arguing. We need to send Aslam to get an unmarked car. We would be too conspicuous in this one.’ She moved on again. ‘Also, we girls need to wear covering clothes for Peshawar. I presume you are coming?’ The query was directed at Liana. ‘We shall go to the house now. Jaldi!’ This she threw at the driver as she flung herself into the front seat and the others climbed into the back.
‘You’re mad!’ Liana managed to hiss at Jasper. ‘How will we find Jaime in a wild place like Peshawar?’ Jasper couldn’t answer. He was staring out the window, feeling as hopeless as he had that day at school, all those months ago, when the news had come from Peshawar that his father was missing, presumed dead in Afghanistan.
8
Jaime
In my dream we were all standing round the piano and Mum was clowning around, playing a blues version of ‘Für Elise’. It was a family gathering that no one else would find remarkable, but to us, it was hilarious. Dad gave a ‘whoop’ in all the wrong pauses and I was laughing so hard I had to go to the bathroom. Then I realised what a headache I had.
I groaned as I struggled to surface, for that was what it felt like: pushing up through thick black mire, and the weight of it all was on my head. When I opened my eyes it was dark, but I could tell I was lying face down into the back s
eat of a van. Every time it swerved, I dug my nails in to keep from rolling backwards. I lay still, for each time I moved, it felt as if the waves of nausea washing over the black mire would drown me, now that my head had finally emerged.
Lying half awake, I could hear the voices from the front seat. I could hardly understand a word, so they weren’t speaking Urdu. I recognised the voice of the man who’d attacked me and I remembered the horror of the garden. I gingerly felt myself in the places I could reach, the most important ones anyway. As far as I could tell, it was only my head that had been attacked.
There was a deep chuckle from the driver’s side of the vehicle. I was imagining things, of course, but it sounded as if the first voice had been apologising. Then he switched to Urdu.
‘It was like she suspected foul play, Abu ji.’
‘Perhaps she did not like you, my son.’ More chuckles.
‘She did not see me, nor did I expect her there so soon.’
The driver sounded older than the other, and he sighed. ‘I, too, am sorry. I should have gone. That was the plan. Also she is no longer a child. I should have given more thought to the matter.’
‘I had to hit her, you understand. She fought like a jackal.’
So it was a young guy who abducted me.
That was when I heard the older man’s voice grow louder as though he’d turned to face the back. ‘Whatever your fears, Sohail, there has been no mistake. I, myself, gave her that lapis hair clasp from my own shop.
‘So,’ and his voice was muffled again, coming from the front, ‘when we arrive in Peshawar, we shall sound the alarm. We shall let those dogs know we have their precious little flower.’
Guess that was when they laughed some more and I didn’t like it at all. Just then the horn blared as we passed a truck, the force of the wind making the little van shudder as it passed. But the sound that reduced me to tears was the van’s horn. It played ‘Für Elise’, and it reminded me of home, of Mum and Dad, even of Uncle Jon, for his horn played ‘Jingle Bells’. What would they do when they found out what had happened? Oh Dad, if only you were here. You’d find me, I know you would. But I’m on my own, aren’t I? No one knows.
The War Within Page 4