Chapter 9Not five minutes had elapsed since Hassan and the two pilots had left when Talya heard the expected knock, more like a loud banging. The man is in no mood to be kept waiting. However, Talya let him brew for a few seconds. Standing in the passage, she could hear her guest growling and muttering to someone beside him, probably his acolyte. When she decided they had lingered long enough in the hotel corridor, Talya flung the door wide open.
“You remember us, don’t you?” Hjamal said by way of greetings. “May we come in?”
“Please do, gentlemen, I was expecting you.”
Monsieur Ahmed Hjamal was dressed in a powder blue ‘grand-bou-bou’ and matching mishlah, embroidered around the neckline, and sleeves trimmed in the same way—the traditional West African Muslim gown worn on prayer day.
