Deep Black

93

We all took our coats off and hung them on the wall hooks to the left of the door. He was dressed in a simple black dishdash, black trousers and socks. My socks had dried like cardboard; it wouldn’t be long before they warmed up and started stinking the place out.

This room was also very plain, decorated only with some framed verses from the Qurŕān. The light from the two oil lamps was enough to show that although Nuhanovic’s skin wasn’t translucent like Benzil’s it was almost unnaturally clear and wrinkle-free.

The top panel of the door to our left was a decorative carved grille. We could hear the clanking of pans and the good-humoured murmur of people at work coming from the other side of it; even better, we could smell food.

Nuhanovic held out a bony hand to Jerry. ‘Welcome.’

Then he took another step forward and shook my hand too. His grip wasn’t firm, but it was quite obvious that, like Benzil, his strength was in his head; he didn’t need it anywhere else. In this light, and up close, his dark brown eyes were even more piercing. They didn’t roam, they looked where they wanted to look and stayed there until they’d seen enough.

‘Nick, Jerry, please . . .’ He gestured towards the cushions. ‘Welcome.’ He had his own teeth, but no teeth were that naturally white.

Jerry and I sat cross-legged with our backs to the door. He took the cushion opposite, the paper bag to his left, the coffee to his right, and started pouring the heavily perfumed brew, holding the spout right near the glass then lifting it away steeply. It was like watching some kind of ceremonial ritual.

I accepted a glass. His hands were still as perfectly manicured as they were in the ‘Chetnik Mama’ picture.

The coffee tasted just the way it smelt, so I added a couple more lumps of crystallized brown sugar.

Nuhanovic passed a glass to Jerry and once again glanced sympathetically at his damaged face. ‘This has been an eventful time for you both. My people will discover what has happened to Ramzi and Benzil. I’m sure Nasir has taken care of everything; he normally does.’

He fixed us each in turn with his steady gaze, his eyes giving nothing away. ‘But please explain to me again, in greater detail, the events that have beset you.’

For the next ten minutes his gaze only shifted once from my face, to pour more coffee for himself and Jerry. I gave him the edited version of why we’d gone to Baghdad, how we’d come to meet Benzil, seen Goatee, and what had subsequently led us here – Jerry for his picture, me because Nuhanovic found it interesting that I was at the cement factory.

He shook his head gently and listened while pouring again for Jerry. I left my glass a third full. Once you’ve emptied it, the host’s duty is to offer a refill, and I’d had enough. I’d managed to avoid the perfumed shit for the whole of this job, and I wasn’t about to get hit by it now.

I didn’t want to waste any more time talking about things that didn’t matter. I didn’t know how much of it we had. ‘Our passports, phone, money . . . Will we get them back?’ I smiled. ‘One of the curses of the West. We feel naked without them.’

He replaced his glass delicately on the tray in front of him, and dropped his hands on to his knees. ‘Of course. When you leave. And of course you are free to go whenever you wish. I’m sure Ramzi explained that we do nothing here that might help our enemies to trace us. We use no electronics, no TV, no phones, no satellite technology. No devices of the kind that might bring a bomb down on my head.’ He paused, and seemed to be reserving his little half-smile for me personally. ‘You understand my concern, Nick, I am certain.’

I returned his smile as he picked up his glass.

‘My people are not pleased that I wanted to meet with you. They think you could be here to kill me.’ He took an appreciative sip and studied us both. ‘I’ve told them that if that is God’s will, then so be it. But the fact is, I wish to talk with you.’

He put his glass down, but his eyes never left mine. Was it true? Was I here to kill him? If I looked away, I knew his suspicions would be confirmed. ‘But let us eat and talk a while. I’m sure you’re hungry, after your long and eventful journey.’

His head tilted gently to one side. ‘And you, Jerry . . . Why is it that you wish to take my picture?’

Jerry looked straight at him as well. ‘To help me, and to help you. To help me win a Pulitzer, and help you get on the front cover of Time magazine. I thought maybe you’d like that.’ He sounded as if he was talking to royalty.

Nuhanovic arched an eyebrow. ‘In what way?’

Jerry smiled wearily. ‘I haven’t got my camera any more, so it’s academic.’

The side door opened and two men came in carrying a selection of bowls, which they laid out on the tray between us. I caught a glimpse of two others standing outside with AKs, paying a lot more attention to us than to what was happening in the kitchen. No way were we going to be able to hit-and-run this man.

The bowls contained hot rice, raisins, meat, chopped onions, and enough pitta bread for an invading army. Forks were offered, but we refused politely.

As the door closed again, Nuhanovic gestured for us to eat. I ripped off a piece of pitta with my right hand and used it as a scoop to get among the meat juices. No doubt the two AK boys were now standing with their faces against the grille, just in case I tried to jam it down his throat and choke him with it.

The door opened and the waiters were back with glasses of orange juice and a brass washing bowl, jug and hand towels for later on. The AK boys hadn’t budged an inch.

The door closed again.

‘Hasan?’

He looked up and smiled, and I hoped my chin wasn’t dripping gravy. ‘What concerns me is that we might be the ones getting killed, because we know where you are.’

He glanced at the door and treated us to the full smile this time.

‘They’re simply for my protection. I do not kill people.’ He took a sip of his coffee. ‘Besides, you knew how to get here, and yet you have made no attempt to compromise me. I am happy for us to trust each other.’

He smiled again, but held our gaze for that extra second before continuing. ‘When we have spoken about certain things, you will be taken back to Sarajevo.’

He put a piece of bread into his mouth and handed Jerry the paper bag. ‘Jerry, I agree with you. I think being on the cover of Time would help me in my work.’

Jerry glanced inside and pulled out two cardboard and plastic disposable cameras, the sort you see waved about on hen nights.

It was as if a switch had been thrown. Suddenly Jerry was in Pulitzer mode. ‘There’s not enough light in here. Can we improve it?’

Nuhanovic nodded slowly, looking towards the decorative grille. ‘I’m sure we can.’

Jerry ripped the cellophane wrapper from the first camera as he checked out the room for light angles or whatever photographers do.

Nuhanovic carried on eating, but I felt his eyes boring into me. The door opened and the two guys came in again, another oil lamp in each hand. Jerry showed them exactly where he wanted them, then adjusted them an inch or two for perfection as the boys chucked some more wood on the fire and left. The AK boys still stared at us from the other side of the door.

Jerry wound the first exposure into place. ‘Mind if I move around, try some angles?’

Nuhanovic didn’t look up, just nodded and finished chewing. Then, as Jerry began to fine-tune the lamp positions yet again and busy himself with even more photography stuff, he leaned towards me, his elbows on his thighs. ‘Nick, I, too, want to talk about what happened in the cement factory. But first, please tell me, why were you there? And what exactly did you see?’