The Midnight Palace - Carlos Ruiz Zafon [21]
‘You don’t believe me …’
‘I didn’t say that,’ Carter pointed out.
‘You didn’t say anything,’ said Aryami. ‘That’s what’s worrying me.’
Carter savoured the brandy and wondered what had made him wait ten years to release the heady charms of the superb spirit. Why on earth had he kept it locked away in his cabinet like some useless relic?
‘It’s not easy to believe what you’ve just told me, Aryami,’ replied Carter. ‘Put yourself in my shoes.’
‘And yet you took the boy into your care sixteen years ago.’
‘I took charge of an abandoned child, not of an improbable story. This is my duty, my job. This building is an orphanage, and I’m the head of it. That’s all there is to it.’
‘There is more to it than that, Mr Carter,’ replied Aryami. ‘At the time I did a little investigating: you never informed the authorities of Ben’s arrival. You never filed a report. There are no documents to prove that he was taken in by this institution. There must have been some reason why you acted in this way if you didn’t believe what you call this “improbable story”.’
‘I’m sorry to have to contradict you, Aryami, but such documents do exist. I may have put down other dates and other circumstances as a precaution, but this is an official institution, not a travelling circus.’
‘You haven’t answered my question,’ Aryami cut in. ‘So I’ll ask you again: what prompted you to fake Ben’s records if you didn’t believe the facts I set out in my letter?’
‘With all due respect, I don’t see why I need to reply to that question.’
Aryami looked straight into Mr Carter’s eyes but he tried to look away. The old lady smiled bitterly.
‘You’ve seen him,’ said Aryami.
‘Are we talking about a new character in the story?’
‘Who is fooling who, Mr Carter?’
The conversation seemed to have reached deadlock. Carter stood up and paced round the office under the watchful eye of Aryami Bose.
‘Supposing I believe your story,’ he said, turning towards her. ‘It’s just a supposition. What would you expect me to do now?’
‘Get Ben away from this place,’ Aryami replied emphatically. ‘Talk to him. Warn him. Help him. I’m not asking you to do anything for the boy that you haven’t already been doing for years.’
‘I need to consider this matter carefully,’ said Carter.
‘Don’t take too long. This man has waited sixteen years; perhaps he won’t mind waiting another day. Or perhaps he will.’
Carter collapsed into his armchair, defeated.
‘I had a visit from a man named Jawahal the day we found Ben,’ Carter explained. ‘He asked about the boy and I told him we didn’t know anything. Soon after, the man disappeared and was never seen again.’
‘This man uses a lot of different names and identities, but he has only one objective, Mr Carter,’ said Aryami, her steely eyes shining. ‘I haven’t crossed the whole of India to sit and watch my daughter’s children die because of the indecision of a couple of old fools, if you’ll forgive the expression.’
‘Old fool or not, I need time to think. Perhaps we’d better talk to the police.’
Aryami sighed.
‘There is no time, and it wouldn’t do any good,’ she replied harshly. ‘Tomorrow afternoon I’m leaving Calcutta with my granddaughter. Tomorrow afternoon Ben must leave this place and get as far away as possible. You have a few hours to talk to the boy and prepare everything.’
‘It’s not that simple,’ Carter objected.
‘It’s as simple as this: if you don’t talk to him, I will,’ Aryami stated, making her way to the door. ‘And pray that this man doesn’t find him before he sees the light of day.’
‘I’ll speak to Ben tomorrow,’ said Carter. ‘I can do no more.’
Aryami threw him a last glance from the doorway.
‘Tomorrow, Mr Carter, is today.’
‘A SECRET SOCIETY?’ SHEERE asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. ‘I thought secret societies only existed in penny dreadfuls.’
‘Siraj here could spend hours contradicting you,’ said Ian. ‘He’s our expert on the subject.’
Siraj nodded gravely, agreeing with the reference to his boundless