Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil(91)

Gray chose that moment to appear. “What’s going on?” he asked, picking up the mood between them.

Lorna Vasquez was staring at Bish, defiantly.

He pocketed his phone. “Nothing,” he said. “My work here’s done.”





43



That night he paid a visit to Algiers Street Food on Uxbridge Road. He was politely advised that all they could offer him was a seat at the bar, where he was most welcome to order food. He ordered a tasting plate, ignored the wine list, and then ordered more of what he’d tasted. Bish recognized Bilal Lelouche from the CCTV at Holloway. He was dividing his time between chatting with guests and checking up on his staff, but Bish felt the man’s attention on him the entire time, and when he’d finished his meal it was Lelouche who came to remove the plates and cutlery.

“May I?” he asked, pointing to the stool beside Bish when everything was clear before him.

“Of course.” He extended a hand. “Bish Ortley.”

“Bilal Lelouche.”

They talked about food and business for a while, even though they both knew that Bish wasn’t here for the hospitality.

“What you did was illegal, Mr. Lelouche,” Bish said at last.

“And what was it that I did, Chief Inspector Ortley?”

“Passing off Noor LeBrac’s daughter and Eddie Conlon as your own children.”

“Well, you do not have proof of that.”

“Do you know where Violette and Eddie are?” Bish asked. “I’m not here to bring any harm to them.”

Bilal Lelouche shook his head. “Both Jamal and Noor have asked me to keep an eye on her. But Violette is a very determined young lady. They stayed one night. I haven’t seen her since we left…since this morning.”

“But she’s in contact?”

“I sense you’re angry, Chief Inspector Ortley.”

“Then you’ve read me wrong. Maybe I’m disappointed Violette didn’t come to me. Because I would have done anything to get her and Eddie in to visit Noor.”

Lelouche eyed him. “You make it seem as if it’s personal.”

“Doesn’t everything feel personal when you get to our age, Mr. Lelouche?” The other man’s smile suggested that he couldn’t help but agree. Bish took the photo of Khateb from his pocket. “Do you recognize this man? His name’s Ahmed Khateb.” Briefly he explained the connection to Violette.

Lelouche studied the photograph. “He does not seem familiar. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”

Bish pocketed the photo and removed his wallet to pay.

“You haven’t tasted our date and honey pastries, Chief Inspector Ortley.”

Bish looked at him. Bilal Lelouche had a story to tell, and these days Bish couldn’t resist one.

A waiter was beckoned and instructions given.

“How is it you know the Sarrafs?” Bish asked when they were alone again.

“The LeBracs,” Lelouche corrected. “Etienne came across my food at the souk close to where he lived. They had moved in with his wife’s family when she took up her studies again. The next week he brought Noor to my stall and told her it was the way he wanted her to cook.”

Lelouche couldn’t help being amused at the idea of anyone telling Noor how to do anything.

“It was an ongoing joke between them. Etienne would say his wife could do everything in the world better than everyone else. Except cooking. That was his job. He was always with a smile. A laugh. I knew I could trust him, so I told him about my past, why it was impossible for me to ever return to my country, and about my Amina, who was pregnant with our second child, and about Amina’s parents, who lived with us. Mine had died in Algiers. We had been lucky to get a temporary visa. When it expired we stayed, scared all the time that we would be found out. But better to take that chance than return.”

The coffee and pastries arrived. When the waiter had gone, Lelouche continued. “One day, Etienne and Noor came to my stall to tell me she was going to work on making things right for my family. Noor…she was difficult to understand. Not her language, but in here.” He pointed to his heart. “How do you say it? Aloof. But she told me she had filled out immigration and government papers for the Sarrafs all her life. She would be convincing with ours. So she and Etienne spent the next month interviewing us, writing down everything about our life in Algiers and our life in London. At first we were frightened to reveal so much that would place our entire family in danger, or trouble, both here and in Algeria. But it didn’t take long to trust the LeBracs.”

He smiled sadly. “Months later, when they came to arrest Noor, she wouldn’t let them in without a warrant. The police believed she used that time to burn evidence of buying material for the explosives, but what she actually burnt were the notes she took about us. Evidence that could have been used to tear my family apart. You see, regardless of how strong our chances were of staying here, we were planning to break the law. Noor had put in an application for Amina and me, but she believed Amina’s parents’ application would fail. So we decided that if we succeeded, my wife’s parents would live here with us illegally and no one would ever discover it.”

Bish put up a hand. “Be careful what you tell me here, Mr. Lelouche.”