where Millie was chatting to the girl behind the desk. Seeing them, she drew the conversation to a close. Akram showed them out.
Outside on the forecourt another car had been added to the collection: Akram’s top of the range black Mercedes with the registration MOH 1. It had a vicious scratch along one side. ‘Yours is the Mercedes?’
Akram nodded.
‘It’s a distinctive car,’ said Mariner.
A glint of irritation flashed in Akram’s eyes and Mariner began to recognise him as a man with a short fuse. ‘I work hard. I should be allowed to drive the car I choose.’
‘Naturally,’ said Mariner, calmly. ‘I only meant that it makes it an easy target. We’ll be in touch, Mr Akram.’
Chapter Three
While they’d been inside, the sun had moved round and their own vehicle was no longer shielded from its burning rays. The heat inside gusted out when they opened the doors. It wasn’t until Mariner pulled out on to Highgate Middleway, where the traffic and the air moved more freely, that he asked, ‘So what have we got here, simple absconder or something more sinister?’
‘I thought it was interesting that Mr Akram made the point about his wife reporting Yasmin missing.’
‘Implying that perhaps he wouldn’t have? That she’s over-reacting?’
‘Could be. I thought his response was unusual. To begin with, he seemed angry, then once he’d calmed down he was almost businesslike.’ Millie was perceptive.
‘Maybe he’s just a pragmatist: OK, this is the problem, so what can we do about it?’
‘So far I can’t see a clear reason why Yasmin would have run away.’
‘Not one that they’re telling us about. But does there have to be one? It could be that even Yasmin herself doesn’t know. Perhaps she just needed some time away. Sometimes it happens.’
Millie turned to face him. ‘Does it? That sounds like experience talking.’
Mariner shifted in his seat. Now wasn’t the time. ‘Think about it,’ he said. ‘Yasmin’s parents are both high achievers, which makes me wonder what sort of pressure they put on their children.’
‘Without playing a particularly active part in their lives. They’re “busy people”. Sounds as if most of the parenting gets left to grandma.’
‘Even worse then: at seventeen, having an elderly woman breathing down your neck.’
‘Yasmin might have a great relationship with her grandmother, ’ Millie said.
‘Yes, she might.’ But the ensuing silence signalled that they both had doubts.
‘Have a look in the inside pocket of my jacket.’
Reaching round to the back seat, Millie fished out the plastic wallet containing the sheet of A4. ‘What’s this?’
‘It’s the latest of a series.’ Mariner took her briefly through his conversation with Mohammed Akram.
‘So he was pretty quick off the mark to finger Cox’s organisation.’
Mariner shrugged. ‘If you’ve been subjected to that kind of campaign it would be only natural. Though I did wonder about their knowledge of the Koran.’
‘It would be a clever tactic though: turning someone’s religious beliefs back on them.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Alternatively, this could have come from inside the community. Sometimes the in-fighting can be worse than anything from the outside.’
Mariner turned to her. ‘You’ve got a reason for saying that?’
‘Fakhra in the office was less than discreet. Competition to get into Allah T’ala is fierce. There are forty-six places available for the new term, and they’ve already had a hundred and thirty-eight applications.’
‘Mm, Akram said as much to me.’
‘Did he also tell you that one family in particular was upset that their child didn’t get a place for September.’
‘Not specifically. But forty-six vacancies for a hundred and thirty-eight kids doesn’t make for great odds. Not getting a place is pure bad luck, no worse than losing on the lottery. Why take it personally?’
‘This child is very disabled. The father is bitter about this
Outside on the forecourt another car had been added to the collection: Akram’s top of the range black Mercedes with the registration MOH 1. It had a vicious scratch along one side. ‘Yours is the Mercedes?’
Akram nodded.
‘It’s a distinctive car,’ said Mariner.
A glint of irritation flashed in Akram’s eyes and Mariner began to recognise him as a man with a short fuse. ‘I work hard. I should be allowed to drive the car I choose.’
‘Naturally,’ said Mariner, calmly. ‘I only meant that it makes it an easy target. We’ll be in touch, Mr Akram.’
Chapter Three
While they’d been inside, the sun had moved round and their own vehicle was no longer shielded from its burning rays. The heat inside gusted out when they opened the doors. It wasn’t until Mariner pulled out on to Highgate Middleway, where the traffic and the air moved more freely, that he asked, ‘So what have we got here, simple absconder or something more sinister?’
‘I thought it was interesting that Mr Akram made the point about his wife reporting Yasmin missing.’
‘Implying that perhaps he wouldn’t have? That she’s over-reacting?’
‘Could be. I thought his response was unusual. To begin with, he seemed angry, then once he’d calmed down he was almost businesslike.’ Millie was perceptive.
‘Maybe he’s just a pragmatist: OK, this is the problem, so what can we do about it?’
‘So far I can’t see a clear reason why Yasmin would have run away.’
‘Not one that they’re telling us about. But does there have to be one? It could be that even Yasmin herself doesn’t know. Perhaps she just needed some time away. Sometimes it happens.’
Millie turned to face him. ‘Does it? That sounds like experience talking.’
Mariner shifted in his seat. Now wasn’t the time. ‘Think about it,’ he said. ‘Yasmin’s parents are both high achievers, which makes me wonder what sort of pressure they put on their children.’
‘Without playing a particularly active part in their lives. They’re “busy people”. Sounds as if most of the parenting gets left to grandma.’
‘Even worse then: at seventeen, having an elderly woman breathing down your neck.’
‘Yasmin might have a great relationship with her grandmother, ’ Millie said.
‘Yes, she might.’ But the ensuing silence signalled that they both had doubts.
‘Have a look in the inside pocket of my jacket.’
Reaching round to the back seat, Millie fished out the plastic wallet containing the sheet of A4. ‘What’s this?’
‘It’s the latest of a series.’ Mariner took her briefly through his conversation with Mohammed Akram.
‘So he was pretty quick off the mark to finger Cox’s organisation.’
Mariner shrugged. ‘If you’ve been subjected to that kind of campaign it would be only natural. Though I did wonder about their knowledge of the Koran.’
‘It would be a clever tactic though: turning someone’s religious beliefs back on them.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Alternatively, this could have come from inside the community. Sometimes the in-fighting can be worse than anything from the outside.’
Mariner turned to her. ‘You’ve got a reason for saying that?’
‘Fakhra in the office was less than discreet. Competition to get into Allah T’ala is fierce. There are forty-six places available for the new term, and they’ve already had a hundred and thirty-eight applications.’
‘Mm, Akram said as much to me.’
‘Did he also tell you that one family in particular was upset that their child didn’t get a place for September.’
‘Not specifically. But forty-six vacancies for a hundred and thirty-eight kids doesn’t make for great odds. Not getting a place is pure bad luck, no worse than losing on the lottery. Why take it personally?’
‘This child is very disabled. The father is bitter about this
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