Читать книгу MemoRandom - Литагент HarperCollins USD, Anders de la Motte - Страница 15

The smell of perfume lay heavy in the little entrance hall to the chapel. About fifty people in total, Atif estimated. Considerably more than he had thought at first. A seventy-thirty split between men and women. Almost all of them were younger than he was; a few of them didn’t look like they were even twenty-five. More than half the men had gym-pumped bodies and a swaggering walk. They were also relatively smart and well turned out. There were a couple in tracksuits and a few more in jeans and hoodies, with T-shirts underneath with gang symbols on them. But most of them were, like him, dressed in cheap black suits from Dressman. Diamond earrings, gold necklaces and bracelets – all the predictable gangster accessories. Atif didn’t recognize any of the men, but he still knew exactly who they were. Or rather, who they were trying to be.

Did I used to be like that? Did you, Adnan? Silly question …

They had all shaken his hand, fixing their eyes on him and giving it a good squeeze. To show that they didn’t back down for anything, never showed any cowardice. But at least half of them had had sweaty palms and not even their overwhelming aftershave could hide the smell of fear. The first of them had made the mistake of attempting some sort of ghetto hug. But Atif had been prepared, locked his lower arm, and stopped the man halfway. He had given him a quick look, which the man had been smart enough to pick up. The rest of them figured out the rules, even the women.

It was different with Cassandra; she hugged them all and took her time over it. She let them kiss her on both cheeks and seemed to enjoy being the centre of attention in her role as the grieving widow.

He had exchanged a few words with Cassandra’s parents and some of the older guests. Naturally they had all said nice things about Adnan. How pleasant and considerate he was, how much he loved his family. Atif had listened, knowing full well that they weren’t just the usual funeral clichés. Adnan had been an easy person to like, he always had been. Open, cheerful, funny, loyal. He could think of a whole heap of adjectives.

Atif slid over to the coffee machine in one corner of the hall, put in a ten-kronor coin, and waited as the machine set to work. He tried to force his mind to change track. Soon he would be sitting on the plane.

A plastic mug slid out, then the machine squeezed out a thin brown trickle. The mug filled slowly, as if the huge machine were really doing its best to produce some liquid.

‘Atif, my friend.’

With the plastic mug in his hand he turned around. He had identified the hoarse, rasping voice before he saw the familiar face. He couldn’t help smiling.

‘Abu Hamsa!’

He leaned forward and let the fat little man kiss him on both cheeks. Abu Hamsa was an old friend. Atif’s mother had worked in one of his bars a long time ago. Atif, and later Adnan, used to hang out there after school. Running small errands in exchange for the occasional bar of chocolate or can of cola. Hamsa was one of the old guard. He owned a couple of neighbourhood bars, a few exchange bureaus, and loaned out money – no champagne orgies or luxury villas, no overblown signs of success. Nothing to attract the attention of the police, or anyone else, for that matter.

‘Envy, boys …’ he used to say in his hoarse but simultaneously slightly shrill voice. ‘Envy is fatal. If you make too much of a show of success, people will want to take it from you!’

Hamsa was content with what he had, the status quo suited him, calmness and balance. For that reason he was also a popular mediator, someone everyone trusted. He must be close to seventy now, yet there wasn’t a single grey hair on his head. He probably dyed both his hair and his little mustache. The rug on his head looked suspiciously thick: Abu Hamsa had always been rather vain.

‘I’m truly sorry for your loss, my friend,’ he hissed in Arabic. ‘Your brother was a fine young man. He deserved a far better fate than this.’

‘Thank you, Abu Hamsa,’ Atif said as he blew on the scalding-hot coffee.

‘How long are you staying, my friend?’

‘I’m going back the day after tomorrow.’

‘Ah, so you’re not looking for work?’ Abu Hamsa smiled.

Atif shook his head, which seemed to make the little man’s smile even wider.

‘Wise decision. Things aren’t what they used to be. The consultants are taking over, even in our business. Everything is being opened up to competition, there’s no honour anymore, no loyalty. High time for people like me to get out. Let younger talents take over, inshallah.’

Abu Hamsa made a small gesture toward the ceiling. Atif couldn’t help looking over at the young men who were still flocking around Cassandra. A couple of them were glaring in his direction. He drank some coffee without looking away.

‘You can hardly blame them.’ Abu Hamsa seemed to have read his mind.

‘How so?’

‘You still have a certain … reputation, my friend. There was a lot of talk when you left. Some people really weren’t happy, and even suggested that you were letting everyone down.’

‘Like I said, I’m going back first thing next week,’ Atif said, still without looking away from the young men. ‘And whatever a load of snotty kids think about that, well—’ He broke off, realizing that his tone of voice was getting harder. ‘You must forgive me, I didn’t mean to sound unpleasant,’ he said, and looked back at the little man.

‘No problem, my friend. I understand. Not an easy situation, this. Your brother, his little girl. What’s her name again? I’m starting to get old, I was at her naming ceremony and everything …’

‘Tindra,’ Atif said, noting how his voice softened as he said it.

‘Little Tindra, yes, that was it. Losing your father so young, in that way …’ Something in Abu Hamsa’s voice made Atif frown, and the little man noticed. ‘I … I assume you know what happened?’

Atif nodded. ‘Cassandra told me.’

‘And you know the details?’

‘The boys were unlucky,’ Atif said. ‘An unmarked cop car saw them driving away from the security van. Evidently one of them hadn’t taken his balaclava off in time, so the cops followed them and called in backup. The rapid response unit went in just as they were changing cars, and shots were fired. Adnan and Juha were killed, and Tommy was left a vegetable.’

‘Sadly that’s all true.’ Abu Hamsa nodded. ‘I just wanted to be sure that you knew all the details. Sometimes stories take on a life of their own, people talk so much. You know how it is.’ The little man held out his hands. ‘By the way, you don’t have to worry about Adnan’s family.’ Hamsa tilted his head toward Cassandra. ‘There are a lot of people supporting them, people who are angry with the police. Perhaps you heard that the rapid response unit was cleared of any suspicion of using excessive force, and that the whole thing was regarded as self-defense seeing as Adnan fired first? Things looked very unsettled for a while afterward. Cars set on fire, stone throwing, all the usual.’

Atif nodded slowly and drank his cooling coffee.

‘And I myself will keep an eye on Tindra and her mother. For the sake of old friendship,’ Abu Hamsa added. The little man glanced at Atif, evidently expecting some sort of reaction.

‘Thank you, Abu Hamsa. I know Adnan would have appreciated that,’ Atif said.

Abu Hamsa went on looking at him, then broke into a smile.

‘You seem different, my friend. Calmer, nowhere near as angry as you were before. You look much healthier, and your Arabic is much improved. You did the right thing in leaving. If your brother had done the same, or me too, for that matter, who knows how things might have turned out? But it takes great courage to do what you did, leaving everything behind. Starting again from scratch. Courage that most of us don’t have.’ Abu Hamsa gestured toward the ceiling again.

‘Well, my friend, I shall let you finish your coffee,’ he said. ‘It was lovely to see you again, even if the circumstances could obviously have been better. Please, convey my condolences to your mother. How is Dalia, by the way?’

‘Alzheimer’s,’ Atif said quietly. ‘She’s living in a nursing home. But I promise I’ll tell her. She remembers things from the past fairly well. The present is more of a problem.’

‘I understand.’ Abu Hamsa nodded. ‘I myself have come to the painful conclusion that I have forgotten considerably more things than I remember. My doctor says that it’s all there in my head, and that I’ve just forgotten how to find it. Like a path in the forest getting overgrown. Maybe she’s right, unless she’s just saying that to cheer me up.’ The little man patted Atif on the shoulder. Tenderly, almost cautiously, in a way that made Atif smile slightly without knowing he was doing it.

‘Farewell, dear friend. Now I must convey my condolences to the beautiful young widow,’ Abu Hamsa said. ‘But if there’s anything you need, I hope you’ll be in touch. Cassandra has my number, you only have to call. No matter what.’ Abu Hamsa gave him an emphatic wink.

‘Really, I thought you were going to retire?’ Atif said.

‘Inshallah!’ the little man said, bursting into a hoarse laugh. ‘If it is God’s will. Have a safe journey home, my friend!’