Chapter 30
L ahcen explained that most of the abandoned warehouses had been used by weavers or tanneries. He suggested that they split the men into two groups to search for the warehouses of the two groups of artisans. Omar would lead one group to the tanneries, and Lahcen would lead the other to the weaver’s warehouses. They suggested that Melody wait at the riad in case the boys returned.
While she was initially reluctant to be left behind, Melody knew that it made sense. As the men left, Melody took a seat on the couch next to Fatima, who had watched the proceedings with interest. The woman seemed disinclined to be involved in the plan, and so her continued presence was irritating. Melody hadn’t put on the niqab yet and now fidgeted with it to distract herself.
“For heaven's sake, Melody, do stop playing with that. Have a cup of tea or something.”
“Some of us are concerned,” Melody replied caustically.
“And how will tying that niqab into knots help your brother?” Then, adopting a gentler tone, Fatima said, “I know that you are worried about Matthew. We all are.” Melody wasn’t sure she believed that statement. Nevertheless, she let the woman continue uninterrupted. “It seems that you might have been correct, or at least more so than I gave you credit for in your theories of what might be going on.”
Fatima said no more, and Melody realised that was as close to an apology as she was likely to get. She inclined her head in acknowledgement. A servant brought mint tea and some aniseed pastries, which, if nothing else, gave Melody something to do with her hands instead of fidgeting.
She didn’t know how long it had been since the men had left. Initially, Melody had been checking the clock anxiously every few minutes. Fatima had become irritated by that as well and had insisted that Melody swap seats with her so that her back was to the grandfather clock in the corner of the courtyard.
Just as Melody thought she could no longer endure the waiting, Mustafa came running into the riad. “Lalla Melody,” he said excitedly, “the large, scary man left, and I followed him to the tanneries. I saw where he went, and then I came here straight away. I ran all the way back,” the young boy said with pride.
Melody had jumped up when Mustafa had entered the room and now embraced him gratefully. But what now? “The captain said that he would take the carriage and come here and meet me,” the boy continued. “He said that I would be able to follow the man far more effectively than he could.” Again, the boy’s pride in the task he had been entrusted with was heartwarming.
As tempting as it was to leave then and there with Mustafa, Melody knew that wasn’t the most sensible plan. If William was on his way, they should wait for him to arrive. While Omar and the men had headed off towards the tanneries, Melody had no idea how big the area was nor how likely it was that they’d run into each other. Even though she knew this all intellectually, the wait was excruciating.
Finally, after what seemed like forever but was likely less than ten minutes, William burst into the courtyard, still dressed in his Moroccan garb. Melody and Mustafa updated him on where the men had gone and where Mustafa had followed Kacem.
“Good job, lad,” William said, slapping the boy on his back. Then, turning to Melody, he confirmed, “So, Omar and some men are somewhere in the tanneries? We don’t know where exactly, but they are trying to identify an abandoned building where it is possible that your brother is being held?”
“Yes. We determined that the tanneries and the area of the weavers were the two most likely areas where there are a lot of abandoned warehouses, which seemed a likely place to hold someone.”
“Good deduction,” William said with a grin. “And it seems that you were correct.”
Melody smiled shyly, “How do you know that this was my deduction? Actually, only a part of it was. Lahcen supplied the key information about where such abandoned buildings might be in and around the souq.”
“Then, what are we waiting for?” William said. “Lead the way, boy.”
In no time, they were weaving their way through the narrow, winding alleyways of the souq. Melody didn’t want to show a lack of faith in Mustafa, but she was concerned that he might not know how to navigate through the Medina as well as he claimed. A couple of wrong turns didn’t allay her worries. Mustafa stopped near where men were dying large bundles of cloth, turned around, and then said something in Arabic to one of the men, who pointed back the way they’d come.
They turned and retraced their steps, then took another route. Finally, Melody smelled the unmistakable odour that indicated they were nearing the tanneries. Mustafa seemed to have regained his confidence and led them down a particularly narrow alleyway between two shops selling all manner of leather products. At the end of the alleyway, they found themselves standing next to a raised structure containing deep vats filled with pungent chemicals.
Melody remembered seeing these vats from the upper window of one of the leather shops when they had gone on their shopping expedition with Hakima. Then, the shopkeeper had given them a sprig of mint to hold under their noses to try to mitigate the awful smells coming from the vats. Now, they had nothing to ward off the disgusting odours, and Melody was grateful that she at least had the niqab covering her mouth and nose.
Previously, Melody had seen the vats from above. Now, viewed from up close, she realised that the workers not only had to deal with the chemical fumes, which almost certainly burned their lungs, but they also had to be extremely careful as they balanced on the narrow ledges between the vats. Melody remembered Hakima telling them about the arduous and revolting process the leather hides had to undergo: washing, removing hair and fur in highly caustic limewater, cleaning, and finally, tanning and dying.
From this close distance, the sharp, acrid odour emitted from the lime vats and the reek of decomposition and dung from others was quite overwhelming, even through the niqab. Melody couldn’t imagine spending all day, every day, in such an environment, to say nothing of the danger of walking the narrow ledges. Given what some of the vats did to animal hides, Melody could only imagine what a horrible death it would be to fall into such a vat.
Mustafa led them around the vats to a partially crumbling building with rusted iron gates and rotting wooden beams. He pointed to a large iron door and said, “The big man went in there.” They had guessed that Rat was being held in an abandoned warehouse, and it seemed the supposition was correct.
The boy continued, “I think he brought food. He was carrying a bag with him.”
Well, that was something, Melody thought. It meant that Rat was alive, probably. Moreover, his captors had been feeding him. Was Kacem still in the warehouse? Melody voiced this question.
William gestured for Melody and Mustafa to follow him as he went to the side of the warehouse, where a grimy window was located. Luckily, the noise of the tannery workers was so clangorous that there was no need to be particularly quiet. The window was too high for Melody to look through, but the captain found a large rock, which he stood on as he peeked through the small, greasy pane of glass.
Melody didn’t want to rush him, but she could barely contain her impatience to know what he could see. Finally, after what felt like an age, he stepped off the rock.
“What did you see, William?”
“Well, it is dark in there and I wouldn’t swear that Kacem isn’t in there, but I couldn’t see him. I didn’t see anyone else either, though, but there is a large pit in the middle of the floor. I do wonder whether they’ve put your brother in that.”
Melody’s heart clenched; the thought that her beloved brother was being held as if he were livestock sickened her. They had to get into this warehouse and rescue him, no matter the risks. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him there for a moment longer than necessary.
As if anticipating her words, William said to Mustafa, “I want you to see if you can locate the other men who came to search around here. We do not know what we are walking into, and it would be good to have them know where to find us as backup.” Then, turning to Melody, he asked, “Is there any possibility that I can persuade you to go with the boy?”
“I have two guns with me, and I know how to use them,” Melody said defiantly. “I also have lockpicks and a torch. I am breaking into this building to rescue my brother. Whether or not you join me is up to you.”
William signed resignedly. He also looked quite surprised to hear that she was armed. “I have a revolver as well,” he told her. “Do you know how to use those lockpicks?”
“Not as well as I should,” Melody admitted reluctantly.
“Then, why don’t you give them to me? I do have some experience.” Melody raised her eyebrows but said nothing as she handed over the picks.
As they sent Mustafa off to find Omar and the other men, Melody considered the situation. “If the door is locked, then it’s likely because Kacem has left. Why would he bother to lock the door after him?”
William wasn’t sure the issue was as cut and dried as Melody wished it to be, but he conceded there was a chance she was right. After considering the possibility, he said, “Stay behind me but have your revolver at the ready. I am going to try the door handle gently. Whether or not your logic is unassailable, it is surely the case that if the door isn’t locked then Kacem is still in there. If that’s the case, he may be alerted when I try the door, and we will need to be ready to shoot. If the door is locked, then hopefully, I can open it with the picks. However, we should still proceed as if someone might be waiting for us on the other side of the door.”
Melody nodded and retrieved her Derringer out of one of the djellaba’s pockets. While she was glad to have Fatima’s gun with her as well, Melody was used to her gun and would only use the other if she had no choice. Luckily, the warehouse was in the shadows of the vats. It was unlikely that any of the workers above could see them, and even if they could, would they care? They were far more likely to be concerned about their safety as they moved the hides in and out of the dangerous chemicals.
William moved towards the door and Melody stayed close behind him, her gun at the ready. He reached out for the door handle and gingerly tried it. With a sigh of relief, he turned to Melody. “It’s locked. But even so, don’t let your guard down.” She nodded. He took the picks and made surprisingly quick work of the lock. “Let me go in first,” he commanded. Melody was about to argue, then William continued, “If someone is waiting there, let him think that I’ve come alone before you spring your attack on him.” It was a sensible plan, and there was no good reason not to agree.
Melody stood with her back flat against the warehouse wall just a little away from the door so that she would be out of sight when the door opened. Then, as quietly as possible, William opened the door and slipped into the building.