Gunilla turns several pages one at a time and then she talks to herself in a low voice in self-reprimand. Eventually, she says, “Valerie has been in touch with me too.”
“Has she now?”
“Her expectations are unreasonable.”
However much Gunilla pretends to be following the UN rules and acting neutral, Bella is aware that love and the memory of her affection toward Aar will sway her mind. She will exploit the play in the rope. “Valerie rang me at Padmini’s insistence, she assured me, to see Aar’s last will.”
“What was your answer?”
“It is out of the question.”
Bella is determined not to prod.
Gunilla goes through moments of nervy dithering. “Then a man claiming to be her lawyer rang me just before you came, wishing to know if this office had a copy of Aar’s will on file and if his wife and the mother of his children could see it. I replied that I would get back to him about it after I had the chance to look into the matter further. Meanwhile, I consulted a Kenyan who is well informed about who is who in the legal fraternity and who happens to be a good friend of Aar’s. I gave him the name of the lawyer representing Valerie. Apparently, said lawyer is Ugandan, with his chambers in Kampala, not here.”
Bella says, “They are married out of community of property and the two of them have not lived together or shared a conjugal bed for a number of years. Does she have any legal legs to stand on?”
“Chances are she won’t file.”
“Why do you say that?”
Gunilla narrows the blue hardness of her eyes into slits because the sun is in them. “Aar was of the impression that Valerie doesn’t have the patience to pursue any matter, especially a legal matter, to its conclusion. According to him, she would never do anything of the sort.”
“There is always a first time.”
“Aar used to say to me that Valerie would start on a project with great enthusiasm but wouldn’t follow it to its end. Even having the children was such a project, embarked on with passion but abandoned in the end. This has been her downfalclass="underline" the inability to stay the course; the refusal to pay up when a bill is presented to her unless Padmini steps in to help. Now tell me,” she says, “how have Salif and Dahaba responded to her presence?”
“They are hostile to both Valerie and Padmini.”
“And how does that sit with you?”
“I want no friction if I can have it my way.”
Gunilla again opens one of the files, which she studies for a couple of minutes. She nods in silence in the manner of someone who has finally gained an understanding of a complicated matter. She says, “Please sign these forms using your name as it appears on your birth certificate and your passport.”
Bella signs the forms without reading them. Gunilla has earned her trust.
“As the children’s mother, what are her chances of convincing a judge to grant her custody now that she is back in the same country as they are and since she is the only living biological parent and they are under the age of majority — are there any good legs she can stand on?”
“The law is not favorable to her side.”
“Besides, Valerie has a way of spreading vitriol the same way one spreads butter on one’s toast,” says Bella, and she tells Gunilla about Valerie’s trying to convince Salif that his father had wanted to be cremated.
“But that is absurd. She hasn’t seen the will.”
The telephone on Gunilla’s desk squeals. She picks it up gingerly, as if it might burn her fingers, and holds it away from her ear, speaking rather disinterestedly into the mouthpiece. “Yes, who is it?”
A moment after the speaker on the other end of the line identifies herself, Gunilla indicates to Bella that she wishes to take the call and makes as if she is leaving her office. Bella motions to her, waving, and mouthing the words, “I’ll step out for a moment,” then does so.
She tiptoes out of Gunilla’s office and then takes the opportunity to call Salif and Dahaba, who don’t answer. Then, remembering how the young are more fond of text messages, she sends one to Salif, who responds instantly with three comforting words, “All well here.” Even though she is tempted to ask where “here” is, Bella restrains herself from doing so.
She hears her name being called and sees Gunilla waving to her from the doorway of her office. “Please pardon the interruption and let’s resume our conversation where we left off.”
Bella says, “I would rather not know what Valerie said.”
Gunilla agrees. “Fair enough. I won’t tell you.”
They sit opposite each other. Gunilla spreads the relevant papers on a low table and asks Bella to bring out her documents. Gunilla purposefully states what they are as if their conversation were being recorded. Gunilla reads the list aloud: an original copy of the will and statement. She receives the stapled document consisting of three pages and studies it with care, comparing it for the second or third time to the notarized and witnessed copy she has on file.
Gunilla rises to her feet, opens a cupboard, and brings out a folder with the name AAR on its cover. The documents in this folder have been brought from Mogadiscio and they include several personal papers found in his apartment and office.
“And here is Aar’s passport,” says Gunilla.
Bella receives it, her hand shaking.
“Please open it and check,” says Gunilla.
Bella does as told.
Gunilla then rummages in her briefcase and brings out a one-page document — Aar’s death certificate issued by the UN office in Mogadiscio. Again, Bella scrutinizes the document, saying nothing.
“Please come with me,” Gunilla says to Bella.
“Where are we going?”
“To photocopy every single piece of paper, including the notarized and witnessed documents, which, I understand, are also with Aar’s attorneys in England.”
Gunilla leads the way after locking her office.
“Why are you making photocopies?”
“The originals will be stored here as reference.”
When they are back in her office, Gunilla replaces the documents in their correct folders and puts all of these into a drawer, which she locks with a key. Then she returns Bella’s originals, her passport, and the copy of the will she had come with, saying, “Please keep them in a safe place in case somebody wants to see them.”
Gunilla then warns Bella to prepare mentally for a great shock. She says, “I am now going to hand over to you Aar’s personal effects that were found in the taxi, including the shoulder bag he was intending to bring along to Nairobi, as well as his personal computer. You are a strong woman, and you will understand if I don’t preface this ordeal further. I see you have come prepared for it,” she adds, noting Bella’s carryall.
It is Bella’s turn to break down at the sight of Aar’s favorite pair of jeans, his jogging shoes, his sunglasses, his Yankees cap, his T-shirts. Then Gunilla hands over a small plastic-covered shoulder bag, which she says contains Aar’s Mac computer and his two mobile phones, which Bella knows are one for Somalia and one for Nairobi.
Bella says, “Do you know whether anyone has his passwords?”
“Ask Salif. He never gave them to me,” says Gunilla.
But Bella knows there is no need to involve Salif for now. Unless Aar has changed his practices, she believes that, as with his suitcase, he will have come up with a password based on her name or nickname or birth date. She will try these when she is back home.
“And here is something else,” Gunilla says.
Knowing Aar, Bella is not at all surprised that he has entrusted the passwords to his Kenyan bank account to Gunilla. She has all the passwords to his euro accounts. Aar was in the habit of trusting people — and it is not out of character for him to have trusted Gunilla to wire funds to him in Mogadiscio, as credit cards did not work there. He needed an active account in Nairobi, where the children lived. Every now and then, he would telephone to wire transfer large sums from an account he held in Switzerland from the time he worked there or from another account in Vienna. He led a messy life, one that was trusting, loyal, and orderly in its own way. Bella once asked him how he could trust his accounts and all his secrets to others. And he responded, “Because secrets are not everlasting and you can trust most people with your money as they will take it upon themselves to honor the faith you’ve put in them.”