The Lover

by Laury Silvers

  Ammar looked at Tein. Tein shrugged and sat back down.

  Ammar insisted, “You’re going to have to tell me.”

  Zaytuna started, carefully, “I doubted it, too, when she told me. I was grieving for the boy. He was a regular in our neighbourhood. I decided to go to the mosque for his funeral prayer. The corpsewashers were there, and I spoke to them. But also, Imam Ibrahim’s housekeeper came with the girl. Zaynab.”

  “Where was this?” He knew where it was. He doubted she was lying, but he wanted to make sure.

  “At the Shuniziyya.”

  “And what happened?”

  “Well, first it was strange for the housekeeper to be there with Zaynab.”

  He got Zaytuna’s point, it was a long way off for the girl to be, but it could be that the housekeeper wanted to be there and took her rather than leave Zaynab home alone. Injudicious, certainly. But it didn’t mean anything in and of itself.

  He prompted, “You said you spoke to the corpsewashers?”

  “One of them. She told me that she found a finely embroidered and beaded silk sirwal tie holding up his pants.”

  Ammar held his breath for just a moment. He had missed it. He didn’t turn the body over. It was pinned under the boy’s waist. But she didn’t have to know that. “I can see why you would find the sirwal tie suggestive, but it is more likely that he stole it from her, probably out of the wash. It wasn’t proof of a romantic gesture on the girl’s part.”

  Zaytuna continued, “And the girl, Zaynab, she nearly collapsed when the bier was brought by us on the way out of the mosque.”

  Ammar replied, “She seemed overly emotional to me as well. But her father rightly suggested that it’d be natural for her to be upset by the loss of a servant boy who had grown up in the household. They’d known each other well in earlier years. Did you get any sense that their friendship had continued past her seclusion? Other than the sirwal tie...”.

  Zaytuna said, “Yes. I spoke to the housekeeper. But Amm…, sir, she knew I suspected something more. She begged me to keep it quiet. She knew what harm could come from the gossip. Someone could use it to attack his reputation and ruin the girl. The girl could be flogged. She herself would be ruined. I’m…,” she fell silent for a moment, “I’m afraid of that as well. If it had just been a childhood love affair I wouldn’t say a word. But Zayd is dead.”

  Ammar, “What exactly did the housekeeper say to you?”

  Zaytuna, “She begged me to understand the situation. She told me that she, herself, loved Zayd like a son. She knew he could charm everyone, but he worked hard. And, well, that she let him get away with too much.”

  Ammar leaned in, hands on his knees, and asked, “But how do you think this implicates the Imam?”

  Zaytuna said, “He might have killed the boy to protect his daughter.”

  Ammar replied, “Why not just send the boy back onto the streets rather than risk the ruination of his family, not to mention prosecution and execution in this world for murder, then burning in Hellfire in the next?”

  Zaytuna said, “I can only think that it was because he’d heard the boy was talking about it. I spoke to a man who teaches the boys. He’s teaching them how to read and study hadith. He confirmed that Zayd was talking about how the girl was in love with him. The man said that Zayd and the girl were with each other when they shouldn’t have been. Zayd said it right in front of the other boys. Why would they keep quiet about that? The man even said he was boasting of it. You know how gossip spreads.”

  Ammar said, “And the man, who is he? What did he say?”

  Zaytuna replied, “Salman ibn Asad al-Kirmani. He has a shop in Suffa Square in Tutha.”

  Ammar interjected, “Ah, better known as Salman the Wine Seller.”

  Ammar turned to Tein, winking, “Do you know him?”

  Tein nodded, unashamed. “By the way, he was attacked by some of Barbahari’s men last night. They smashed his wine jars, destroyed the place.”

  Distracted by this news, Ammar told Tein, “We’ll need to tell Ibn Marwan about that. Salman will have to come in to make a report, but he’ll have to lie about the goods destroyed being wine. Do you know for certain it was Barbahari’s men? We need every bit of evidence we can get about them. There are too many people stirring up trouble where we don’t need it. There is this other one, al-Hallaj, a Sufi preacher who is stirring people up. Do you know him?

  Tein hardened hearing the name and said each word with precision, “He is not a Sufi. He’s been disowned by them. I’ve heard it said. Clearly. Don’t go looking to the Sufis on this. They haven’t done anything.”

  Ammar continued, “What with the decree against street preachers, he’s in trouble. But there’s already been an effort to get al-Hallaj up on charges of heresy. It might be the scholars fighting with each other and using him as a pawn since he’s put himself out in the open. I was told it was a Maliki judge who raised the issue and a Zahiri jurist who made the fatwa against him, but then a Shafi`i got involved and shut the case down.”

  Tein repeated, “He’s not a Sufi.”

  Ammar heard him this time and took in the seriousness of his tone, “Noted. I’ll be sure and clarify that when it comes up. But, Tein, who knows if they’ll listen to me.”

  Zaytuna watched their conversation in fear for the Sufi community and relief at Ammar’s attention having been turned away from her.

  Ammar was weary at the thought of the trouble to come, “There will be difficulties surrounding this man. The poor and the rich love him. It won’t end well. I can tell you that.”

  Tein repeated, “The attack on Salman has nothing to do with al-Hallaj. It was Barbahari’s men.”

  Ammar didn’t acknowledge him, “We’ve had too many reports of harassment and assaults linked to these hard-line scholars. Ibn Marwan says there have been discussions about how to crack down. Negotiation with Barbahari, certainly. That may be possible. But I cannot see what they’ll do with al-Hallaj since he’s protected by the Caliph’s mother at the moment.”

  Ammar came back to the point, “Did Salman say it was Barbahari’s men? Did you speak to him directly?”

  “No, Zaytuna did.”

  Ammar turned back to Zaytuna his voice booming with hard laughter, “Ho! You are at the centre of things. Am I going to have to put you on the payroll too?”

  This was all that Zaytuna feared. The violence of the city was always real. It landed on everyone’s doorstep one day or another, even at the palaces. The police were often the perpetrators. She shouldn’t have come. She should have listened to Mustafa.

  Ammar’s eyes were hard, his face stiff, “Ibn Marwan’s people will have to interview you too, then. For now, tell me exactly what Salman said about Zayd.”

  She wasn’t sure about going on now but didn’t see how she couldn’t avoid answering, “He only said that Zayd boasted of having both girls, Layla and Zaynab, wrapped around his finger. That Zaynab loved him.”

  Ammar’s mind turned to that mother’s son, the Imam’s student, what was his name, Adam? He had reacted so keenly to his talk of impropriety on the part of the girl. That one was in love. He could have fought with Zayd over the girl and killed him. But why would the housekeeper cover up for a student? Out of loyalty to the Imam? He would have to question Adam, but returning to the house would be difficult at this point now the case was closed. He could see a complaint making its way above him.

  Ammar tried to soften his voice to placate her, “I can see why you thought the boy could have been killed. I understand why you came here. The girl coming to you like that. It must have been very upsetting. I can see how upset you are even now. But the housekeeper, herself, said that he walked off the roof while sleeping. She didn’t seem to me the type to lie. She said she was right there when it happened.”

  Zaytuna didn’t speak. His tone picked at her temper, but she didn’t want to give him anything of herself, not even her anger. Why men thought that being dismissed with false sympathy cal
med women down was beyond her. She turned to look at Tein. She saw he heard it. He was one of the few men who knew not to try that with women.

  Tein interjected, “She’s here in good faith, no need to be patronizing.”

  Ammar snapped his head around at Tein, “I never said otherwise.”

  Tein said, “Your tone implies it.”

  Ammar said, “Tein, do I need to ask you to leave while I interview your sister?”

  Tein shut his mouth but would have preferred shutting Ammar’s for him.

  Ammar turned back to Zaytuna, but this time self-correcting to an even tone, “Why do you suppose the housekeeper would lie to protect the Imam?”

  “Because she was afraid of him.”

  Ammar asked, “What evidence do you have she was afraid of him?”

  At this idiotic assumption, her temper broke through, “Have you ever been a servant? A woman working in one of these houses? Men can do what they like. She had good reason to be afraid.”

  Ammar retorted, “She didn’t seem afraid to me. She was like a mother to this boy and was grieving his loss. But she was also feeling, like any good mother would, that she could have kept the boy from walking off the roof herself. She was sleeping nearby him when he got up and did it. She only awakened when she heard him trip over the edge and hit the ground.”

  Zaytuna winced imagining the sound and what that must have been like for her, but he didn’t answer her question. He didn’t know what it was like to work in these houses, but he thought he did.

  He turned away from her and spoke to Tein, “I appreciate you bringing Zaytuna down here, but I don’t think there’s enough to go on to reopen the case. There are a few threads to follow up here, but nothing that I can see would lead me to change my conclusion.”

  Zaytuna wanted to grab his face and turn it towards her and make him speak to her directly. She blurted out, “There’s just one last thing. The boys, Zayd’s friends, thought Umm Binyamin from the Candy Sellers’ Market had poisoned him. He stole from her regularly. They say she made some poisoned candies that caused him to go into a fit and walk off the roof.”

  Ammar burst out laughing, hitting her with all the force of his derision, “Truly?”

  Zaytuna turned red, her voice becoming shrill, “Shouldn’t I tell you everything? Or are you the type of police who decides ahead of time what’s happened and doesn’t want to know? You’ve decided he walked off that roof on his own and you won’t even consider anything else!”

  Tein’s face coloured, he pushed his hands on his knees to stand. He understood her, but he put his hand on her back to indicate it was time for her to go.

  Ammar stood and spoke to Tein, “I’m going to talk to one of Ibn Marwan’s men about the attack on Salman and pick up a witness account about another case. They’ll send a watchman down to get Salman to come in and make a report. You find him first and tell him to say it was bags of grain ruined. Not wine. Zaytuna needs to come back and do the same when they are ready. Make sure she comes in.”

  He turned to Zaytuna, “Thank you for sharing what you’ve heard. For the report on Salman, stick to what you observed, nothing else.”

  She threw back at him, “And what about Zayd?”

  “I’ve heard what you said and I’ll consider it. If there is anything you need to know or if I want to question you further, I’ll go through your brother. For now, this is enough.”

  Tein took her by the arm, she shook it off glaring at him. He said, “It’s time to go,” and walked with her to Solomon’s Gate.

  He stayed back at the gate, not stepping out with her when she did. She asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

  “I have to work.”

  “Of course you do,” and she turned and headed beyond the gate alone.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ammar finally returned to his office, hoping Zaytuna was long gone. Tein was there, feet up on the couch, asleep and snoring. Ammar walked over and smacked Tein’s feet off of it. Tein sat up slowly, as if he’d got up on his own, not smacked away. He leaned over, elbows on his knees, rubbing his face.

  “Tein, I understand saying ‘No’ to your sister is difficult.”

  “You said ‘No’ to her. Was it a problem?”

  “You’re her brother.”

  Tein lifted his head to look at Ammar so he could see the cold challenge in his eyes, “Come out and say what you want to say.”

  Ammar pretended he didn’t hear it as a challenge and sat down hard on the couch near the cabinet, “Is she like this all the time? Discovering murders where there are none?”

  “I’m not sure I like how you’re talking right now, Ammar.”

  Ammar saw he would have to square against him, “I’m not your friend right now.”

  “I can hear it.”

  “She came to you in good faith.”

  “And I have work to do.”

  Tein shot back at him, “And that meeting lasted how long? How much of your day was eaten up by it?”

  “It’ll be more than that, Tein. I never questioned the other servant, Yusuf. She made me reconsider one of the Imam’s students, too. You should have seen the money dripping off him, white silk turban with ridiculous red curls coming out underneath. That’s probably high fashion up caliphate-alley. Anyway, he took special offence when I suggested that the daughter seemed unusually upset about the death of a servant. I can’t see how he could have done it. He doesn’t sleep there. But I should have followed up.”

  “You admit Zaytuna wasn’t wrong.”

  “She wasn’t right either. She doesn’t know about the other servant. Maybe the two had a fight and the other boy pushed him off the roof. It didn’t look that way to me at the time, but I should have followed it up. Now I have to go back and interview Yusuf and I have to question the student.”Ammar slumped against the back of the couch, “But there wasn’t any evidence of a fight. Maryam said Yusuf slept through the whole thing. You know how children sleep, especially children who labour.”

  Tein nodded, knowing full well.

  Ammar pulled himself forward and looked at Tein, “To my mind, if anyone killed the boy in the house, it would have been that rich boy. He may have acted out of jealousy or to protect her honour. Not the Imam. You didn’t meet this man. He is ignorant of his household. Everything is in the hands of the housekeeper. I told you, the girl’s mother is dead. The housekeeper is a second mother to her, but also to the servants, even the girl who lives next door, Layla. The one who came to your sister. I can imagine the housekeeper letting things go on too long. And she confirmed as much to Zaytuna.”

  “Zaytuna was right about that.”

  “Not about the candy seller.”

  “She didn’t take that seriously. She only mentioned it to give you everything.”

  “Tein, I’m satisfied with my judgment that it was an accident despite what your sister said. It’s all written up and in that cabinet over there. Now I have to take those papers out and rewrite the cursed thing. Tein, look, I should have followed up immediately on Yusuf. Same with that fop of a student. Worse, I should have seen that sirwal tie. So not only do I have to admit to myself that I missed material evidence and my questioning was not thorough…”

  Tein cut him off, “Ah, here we have it.”

  “...but I have to admit as much to the powers above me. And you and I have to go question Yusuf and that rich boy now. We’ll need to see how Yusuf reacts to our questioning and see if that mother’s son was anywhere near the house. If he was there that night, then we’ll question him further. So you see, the conversation with your sister was not a short one. Walla, I will not let these threads go. But the end will be the same. I assure you.”

  “You’re angry with Zaytuna because you have to do your job. You weren’t like this at war, Ammar.”

  “This isn’t war,” he sighed. “Give me war over this administrative morass I have to deal with every day just to see a bit of justice done.” Ammar put his hand on the hilt of his sword,
“I’m just waiting for one of these infamous Baghdad uprisings so I can pull this beautiful Yemeni sword out of its scabbard and get back to work with it. I’ve only been able to brandish it dramatically so far. Does the trick, though.”

  Tein replied, disgusted, “You’ve forgotten what it’s like to kill, I see.”

  Ammar looked down at him, “I remember, Tein.”

  Tein straightened up, “So you enjoyed killing?”

  “For God’s sake, Tein, can’t a man bluster?”

  Tein looked at him and decided to let it go. He shifted on the couch. He stretched his legs out again and lay back, his head against one of the stiff pillows, relaxing by way of forgiving him, “It doesn’t answer why the housekeeper would protect the student.”

  Ammar smiled at the gesture, “Who knows, maybe he’s another one of her adopted babies.”

  Tein said, “Maybe it’s just all about the girl, Zaynab. Maybe the housekeeper would cover for anyone to protect her from what the revelation of the boy’s murder would mean. The family would be ruined.”

  He pointed at Tein, “Now that makes sense. Let’s go arrest the housekeeper! Put her in one of the rotting cells below and see how long she lasts before she tells us the truth.”

  Tein laughed, “Zaytuna wouldn’t like that approach.”

  Ammar laughed with him, “Well, let’s by all means not do what Zaytuna would not like. But I believe she would like us to go interview this student.”

  “Do we get horses? It’s a long way.”

  “We were foot soldiers once. Have you no pride left in your low status?”

  “It took Zaytuna and I nearly two hours to walk here.”

  “I walk it myself. I know.”

  “Don’t you remember how to ride?”

  “There are no horses for me. I know you think I’m important, but I’m only an investigator for Grave Crimes in the Southwest quarter. I’ve got a boss, who has a boss, who has a boss, who is the Chief of Police, who has a grand estate to live in.”