The City & the City - China Mieville [98]
“What? Who?”
“She’s undercover. What do you think? She wanted a free trip.” I glanced apology at him, though he could not hear me over the criminal din. “Keep this low, Corwi. Just a little moment in the investigation, okay? And I’m going to want your help getting something, getting a package, out of Besźel. You understand?”
“… Think so, boss. Boss, someone’s been calling for you. Asking what’s going on with your investigation.”
“Who? What do you mean, what’s going on?”
“Who I don’t know, won’t leave his name. He wants to know, Who are you arresting? When are you back? Have you found the missing girl? What are the plans? I don’t know how he got my desk number, but he blatantly knows something.”
I was clicking at Dhatt to pay attention. “Someone’s asking questions,” I said to him. “Won’t say his name?” I asked Corwi.
“No, and I don’t recognise his voice. Crap line.”
“What does he sound like?”
“Foreign. American. And scared.” On a bad, an international, line.
“God damn,” I said to Dhatt, hand over the receiver. “Bowden’s out there. He’s trying to find me. He must be avoiding our numbers here in case he’s traced … Canadian, Corwi. Listen, when did he call?”
“Every day, yesterday and today, won’t leave his details.”
“Right. Listen. When he calls again, tell him this. Give him this message from me. Tell him he’s got one chance. Hold on, I’m thinking. Tell him we’re … Tell him I’ll make sure he’s okay, I can get him out. We have to. I know he’s afraid with everything going on, but he’s got no chance on his own. Keep this to yourself, Corwi.”
“Jesus, you’re determined to fuck my career.” She sounded tired. I waited silently until I was sure she would do it.
“Thank you. Just trust me he’ll understand and please don’t ask me anything. Tell him we know more now. Shit, I can’t go into this.” A loud burst from the sequined Ute Lemper look-alike made me wince. “Just tell him we know more and tell him he has to call us.” I looked around as if inspiration might jump to me, and it did. “What’s Yallya’s mobile number?” I asked Dhatt.
“Huh?”
“He doesn’t want to call us on mine or yours, so just…” He recited it to me and I to Corwi. “Tell our mystery man to call that number, and we can help him. And you call me back on that, too, okay? From tomorrow on.”
“What the fuck?” said Dhatt. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“You’re going to have to borrow her phone; we need one so Bowden can find us—he’s too scared to, we don’t know who’s listening to ours. If he contacts us, you might have to …” I hesitated.
“What?”
“Jesus, Dhatt, not now, okay? Corwi?”
She was gone, the line disconnected, by her or by the old exchanges.
Chapter Twenty-One
I EVEN CAME WITH DHATT into his office the next day. “The more you’re a no-show, the more people wonder what the fuck’s going on and the more they’re going to notice you,” he said. As it was there were plenty of stares from his office colleagues. I nodded at the two who had tried halfheartedly to start an altercation with me.
“I’m getting paranoid,” I said.
“Oh no, they’re really watching you. Here.” He handed me Yallya’s cell phone. “I think that’s the last time you’re getting invited to supper.”
“What did she say?”
“What do you think? It’s her fucking phone; she was seriously pissed off. I told her we needed it, she told me to fuck off, I begged, she said no, I took it and blamed you.”
“Can we get hold of a uniform? For Yolanda …” We huddled over his computer. “Might get her through easier.” I watched him use his more up-to-date version of Windows. The first time Yallya’s phone rang we froze and looked at each other. A number appeared that neither of us knew. I connected without a word, still meeting his eyes.
“Yall? Yall?” A woman’s voice in Illitan. “It’s Mai, are you … Yall?”
“Hello, this isn’t Yallya actually …”
“Oh, hey, Qussim …?” but her voice faltered. “Who is this?”
He took it from me.
“Hello? Mai, hey. Yeah, he’s a friend of mine. No, well spotted.