“The system never broke down. The backup method was only for emergencies.”
“How many times?”
“It wasn’t necessary. The scanner has always worked.”
“Amany,” Melissa said. “We can only help you if you tell us the truth. If you keep lying to us, I’m sorry, but the deal’s off.”
She said nothing.
I pulled over to the side of the road, took out my phone, and held it up so the woman could see it.
“I’m going to call one of my people,” I said. “I’m going to have them compare the maintenance log for the scanners with the method of entry for the information. And when I do, how many times will it say you used the backup?”
She didn’t answer.
“Do you know why I picked this exact spot to stop?” I said.
She shrugged.
“Because of that junction,” I said, pointing towards the roundabout that was a couple of hundred yards ahead. “If I go left, there’s a police station within a quarter of a mile. If I go right, we can be back at your house inside twenty minutes.”
I saw a scowl begin to spread across her face.
“Keep lying, and I’ll turn left,” I said. “Start telling the truth, and I’ll turn right.”
“Two,” she said, after another few seconds. “Turn right. The answer’s two. I used the backup system two times, even though scanners were working.”
“Thank you,” I said, pulling back out into the traffic but joining the queue in the centre lane. “Now, tell me who asked you to do it.”
She didn’t respond.
“We’re moving again,” I said. “We’ll be at the roundabout in a moment. The way things are going, I’m turning left. To the police station. Is that where you want to go?”
“No one asked me to do it,” she said. “I was just curious. I did it as an experiment. To see how it would work. I know that was wrong. I apologise. But I didn’t think it would do any harm. I never thought anyone would find out.”
I pulled into the left hand lane.
“No,” she said. “Wait. Please. I am confused. I need more time. English is not my first language. I do not understand what you’re asking me.”
“Keep going straight please, David,” Melissa said. “I think I know what’s going on here. Amany, I understand that in life, people sometimes do things they’re ashamed of. Things they never want their families to hear about. But here’s the problem. We are going to find out why you did what you did with those records. And if you tell us now, while there’s time for us to make sure no one else gets hurt, we can keep your secret hidden. No one in Egypt will ever know. But if you don’t...”
The woman’s left hand started to shake, and I saw her draw it onto her lap and hold it still with her right.
“It was a man who asked you to, wasn’t it?” Melissa said.
The woman gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
“Were you involved with him?” Melissa said.
The woman said nothing.
“I think you were,” Melissa said. “You might as well come clean. You’ll feel better if you admit it. Trust me.”
“How did you know?” she said.
“A sudden divorce. Falling out with co-workers. Public fights in the hospital canteen. I know the signs.”
“It’s so shameful. I don’t know how to explain.”
Melissa gave her a second to catch her breath.
“My husband, Mark, and I,” she said, when her breathing was almost back under control. “We were having terrible problems. He’s an artist. He doesn’t earn much, but he thought we’d be OK, with me as a teacher. Only I wasn’t allowed to teach.”
“That wasn’t your fault,” Melissa said.
“I know. But he was still mad with me. He thought I could get a better job if I tried harder. He said I was lazy. That I was a liar. That I was disrespectful to him. His temper was so awful, any little thing would set him off and he’d scream at me, right in my face, for hours and hours. He’d use such horrible language. And he was so much bigger than me. I was terrified. I had no friends. My mother, my sisters, they were on a different continent...”
“And then you met someone? Who was nice to you?”
“Yes. Stewart.”
“Stewart?”
“Stewart Sole. My boss. The first man from Scotland I ever met. It’s funny. At first I could hardly understand what he said, and soon he was the only person I could talk to.”
“And Stewart asked you to enter some numbers manually one day, when a delivery came? To act as if the scanners weren’t working?”
“Yes. He came to me, that morning. I could tell something was wrong. At first he didn’t want to tell me what, but I pressed him. He said he was in trouble. He’d made a mistake, something to do with the delivery, and he was going to get fired. I was scared. I needed him. I couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing him every day. I told him I’d do anything I could to help him.”
“The numbers he gave you. They didn’t match what was on the containers?”
“I honestly don’t know. I thought it would be better if I didn’t look. But...”
“But?”
“They can’t have been the same, can they? Or what difference would it have made, me entering them?”
“Good point.”
“The same thing happened once more, but they were the only times I ever did anything against the rules, you must believe me. And it was only to save Stewart. He’s a good man, and all he’d done was make a couple of honest mistakes.”
“I understand. And I believe you. But there’s one other thing I need to know. When did this happen?”
The woman reeled off two dates, both in mid August.
“You’re sure?” Melissa said.
“I’m certain,” she said. “It’s been heavy on my conscience ever since. I’ll never forget them.”
“And which hospital did the deliveries come from?”
“I can’t remember. But there was only one delivery on each of the days. It should be easy enough to find out. I can check for you first thing in the morning.”
“Thank you. Please do.”
Neither woman spoke for the next couple of minutes, and I pulled over to the side of the road without waiting to be asked.
“I have told you truthfully,” the woman said. “I have told you things I have never spoken of before, to anyone. Please. Will you keep your promise not to let word spread back to Egypt?”
“Are you still seeing Stewart?” Melissa said.
The woman looked away.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Melissa said. “He’s married, isn’t he?”
The woman didn’t speak any words, but a short, strangled moan told us what we needed to know.
“OK,” Melissa said. “Here’s where we stand. We need to talk to Stewart. We need to talk to him today. And it’s vitally important that he doesn’t know we’re coming. So, if you keep your mouth shut, and promise not to warn him, your secret won’t leave these shores. Understand?”
The woman nodded.
“Good,” Melissa said. “Where will we find him?”