Nightmare in Morocco (23 page)

"Noa, I remember Rick's from my last trip here," Belda said
.
"It's right near the palace
.
They have the best tea
and a piano bar!
"We can still stop there, can't we?"

"I don't see why not, since it's on the way
.

Out of the corner of her eye, Noa saw Johnny pulling up in the space across the street from the hotel
.
She tried to sound happy as she called, "All aboard!"

As Belda started to lead the way out of the hotel, Milton called her back, with, Noa noticed, a slight edge to his voice
.
"Belda, Dear
.
Don't forget your purse
.
You've left it on the sofa."

"Oh, I'm getting so darned absent minded," she said as Milton brought the huge white leather bag to her. "Thank you, Miltie."

 
"I have to watch her every minute," Milton grumbled. "She'd forget her head if it wasn't fastened on."
Milton's words held a sting despite the humorous delivery
.
His eyes, as they fastened on Noa, held unspoken accusation
.
She knew he blamed both Belda and her for the missing ring
.

"I'm not the one who left my razor and shaving cream at the last hotel!" Belda snapped at him
.
Her sharp remark left Milton without retaliation, silently stroking the four o'clock shadow upon his coarse face.

Cars and busses whizzed by on the congested street that ran past the hotel. "Be careful crossing the street, Noa cautioned the group
.”
We're in the big city now."

Greg, with great chivalry, helped Noa get the group across safely
.
"Whew!
The Moroccans don't pay much attention to a crosswalk sign, do they?"

Noa laughed
.
"Casablanca has over three million people
.
And we're used to dodging donkeys, not automobiles!"

Compared to the African wildness of Marrakesh, Casablanca seemed tame, civilized
.
New buildings, hotels and skyscrapers gleamed white in the afternoon sun
.
No danger here
.
Noa was glad she was in a modern city again, where she felt safe.

"Four hundred kinds of flowers grow here," Noa said as they drove through the residential sections, stopping at the site of the famous meeting of the Allied leaders
.
She spoke of Churchill and Roosevelt
.
"The original hotel is gone now, but another has sprung up in its spot."

The bus drove along the seacoast to view the ships, then stopped in front of the Royal Palace with its buff colored walls and green tile roof
.
Two armed guards in full uniform stood near the door
.
True to Taber's word, a husky, African man in a
d
jellaba
and red
tarbrush
was waiting to greet the tour bus
.
"The King won't allow tours inside," Noa explained.
“But
the guide will take us around the grounds."

The group gathered near the huge stone
pavilion
which surrounded the palace
.
The guide began to tell of the history behind the palace.

Grateful that the guide had taken over, Noa rested her arm against a huge, rusty cannon which still pointed outward from the wall as if to protect the immense stone palace from intruders.

Lost in thought, she looked out at the white topped buildings of the town visible from the rise of the hill
.
She heard the sound of footsteps moving away from her as the tour group proceeded to the next point of interest
.
She could hear the guard pointing out the names of the pink, flowering bushes and leafy green trees that surrounded the great building.

Noa turned abruptly and almost ran into Marie, who still stood close by her, a tall, angular figure in her trim jacket and shapeless brown skirt
.
The blowing wind that whipped Noa's hair around her face did not make a ripple in Marie's stiff, darkish blonde curls.

Without introduction, Marie said what was on her mind
.

"You probably know by now that we were wrong about who Cathy was with the other night," she said, unsmiling. "It's Taber, not
Johnny that
Cathy had been sneaking out to meet all along."

Unnerved at hearing her own suspicions being voiced aloud by someone else, Noa asked, "What makes you think that?"

"I caught them together late last night
.
Cathy tried to duck around the corridor when she saw me, but I knew it was her
.
Taber had his arm around her
.
They had just left his room."

A vision of the kaftan Cathy wore this afternoon, so much like Taber's, leapt to Noa's mind
.
The image made her ill, made
Marie's world hardened face grow distant and obscure
.
Taber and Cathy
lovers!
Cathy, so very young!
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Where are Cathy and Taber this afternoon?"
As if their mutual absence was proof enough of their guilt, Marie tossed back her head and moved briskly away from Noa
.
At that moment, Noa disliked her intensely, hated the artificial tint of her hair, the way she walked so tall and straight
.
Why should she spy on Cathy and Taber?

Noa wanted to believe that Marie was
purposefully
trying to cause trouble for Taber
.
It was much more likely that Marie and Wendell Carlson were lovers than Taber and Cathy!

She
remembered
the gambling trips and vacations with Wendell Marie had spoken of; they were obviously much closer than Wendell had ever let on
.
Wasn't it even likely that Wendell and Marie
...?

Noa remembered her first meeting with Marie on the boat to Tangier
.
Even then, she had been looking for Wendell
.
Together,

Wendell and she might have plotted the theft of the jewel down to the last detail before the tour had ever begun.

The jewel was gone
.
And now Wendell had disappeared from the hospital without a trace.

Firmly Noa checked her run away thoughts
.
Marie Landos was only trying to help her, and
Wendell Carlson was the dearest, kindest person she had ever known, as much a part of her family as her brother, Mike.

* * *

"Rick's Cafe" was worse than a phony, with its glitzy piano bar and blown up posters of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman
.
The artificiality of the atmosphere would have made Noa laugh if Greg and Belda weren't so serious and impressed
.
They kept exchanging glances, as if some secret lay hidden between them.

"We have to sit close to the piano bar," Belda insisted
.
Greg and Noa slid into a table
.
Noa expected Belda and Milton to join them, but they moved off to another table nearby.

"Play it again, Sam," Belda called
.
The small, dark man at the piano seemed bored, his playing mediocre at best, until Belda came up and placed a fistful of bills from her purse into his bowl
.
She whispered her request
.
The little man flashed a big smile at Greg and Noa, then began playing
enthusiastically. Belda
stopped by their table, singing in a low voice, "It's still the same old story!"
She patted Greg's arm
.
"The rest is up to you!"

As Belda walked away, Greg grinned
.
"Belda's loyal to my cause!" he said.

"Your cause?"

"You
.
The fact that I'm crazy about you!"
His clear, blue eyes held hers
.
Time in the sun had lightened Greg's thick, brown hair and the blue of his knit shirt accentuated his tan.

"I'm hoping we can see each other after the tour."
Gently, he took both of her hands in his
.
"In fact, I want to see you every day for the rest of my life."

"Greg, you're not
—”

"Yes, I am,"
he said shyly
.
"Like Belda says, who could think of a more romantic place to propose than Casablanca?"

Rick's cafe, no less
.
She watched uneasily as he took a small box from his pocket and handed it to her
.
Inside was a tiny diamond set in gold.

"Greg I can't accept this
.
It's just
too sudden." She felt embarrassed, half afraid to meet his disappointed gaze
.
Greg
so earnest and handsome
.
Any woman would be glad for his attention
.
And yet, Noa could not stop herself from wishing that not Greg, but Taber, was here beside her, offering her his ring, a promise of his love
.
She knew then what her answer would have been.

* * *

Once again, Greg stopped to assist Noa in guiding the group across the busy street
.
"Thanks, Greg
.
I appreciated your help today."

"Then how about dinner?"

"I'm sorry
.
I can't."

"Another business meeting?"
A ripple of darkness moved through Greg's eyes, making them suddenly appear more green than blue
.
She could sense his irritation, even a flash of anger as he said, "In a few more days the tour will be over, Noa
.
I want to spend some time alone with you."

"We'll talk soon
.
I promise."
Greg had taken the rejection of his ring with good natured optimism
.
He had even hinted that he might fly out to
Algeciras
to see Noa before his classes started in the fall
.
Noa wished she could find some way to discourage him without hurting his feelings
.
She knew what it was like to be hurt by love
.
"
I have
to go, Greg."
Noa could sense that he was watching her as she moved quickly away.

As Noa entered the dining room, thoughts of Greg were quickly replaced by images of Taber
.
She looked around the darkened room for sight of him, but her gaze locked not on Taber's dark eyes, but on eyes that were startlingly light, a little sardonic, surrounded by creases that edged downward to thin, smiling lips
.
"Wendell!
I didn't expect to see you!"

As he rose with a great dignity, amusement lit his face
.
"I thought I'd surprise you
.
I just got in
.
Met Taber in the hallway and he said he was meeting you here
.
I thought I'd join you, if you don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind!"
Despite the bandage that seemed to add to his paleness, he appeared normal
.
The bruise that darkened his temple had spread downward across his
jaw line
, but it no longer looked
ominous
.
"But you shouldn't have left the hospital
.
The doctor..."

Wendell's raised hand caused her words to fade away
.
"I couldn't take another minute of that deadly dullness
.
So I checked myself out early this morning, rented a car and drove down here."

She had been so worried about him and all the time he had been on his way to see her!
"I'm so glad you're here!"
Noa felt relieved and happy as she seated herself across the table from him
.

Wendell lifted his briefcase embossed with huge gold letters, Carlson Rand Tours
.
He placed before her a stack of papers
.
"Here is a complete
financial
statement for the business," he said
.
"Along with a partnership agreement
.
Informal
, of course, but enough for me to go ahead with the contract."