Page 177 of Secrets Beneath the Waves
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Thank you,” she says, hesitating before picking up her water bottle. “Just please. . .please find Oumar.”
I ask Lizzie to help Mariam get set up in the bedroom with whatever she needs. Then I step into the living room, trying to process my thoughts over the interview.
“How did it go?” Graham asks, standing up from the desk and stretching.
I drop my notebook onto the couch, praying I’m not over thinking things, but I can’t shake my initial impression.
“Besides the fact that I’m convinced my asset’s life is in danger and his cover probably blown?” I let out a puff of air, then catch his gaze. “I don’t think she’s who she says she is.”
CHAPTER
SIX
[Ransom Countdown: 36 Hours, 15 Minutes remaining]
I don’t thinkshe’s who she says she is.
I pull back the blackout curtain and stare out the sixth-floor window. Below me, a maze of rooftops and flickering lights presses in from all sides as I try to make sense of the last few hours. From up here the hum of traffic is muted, and there’s a sense of detachment from the situation. But I can’t shake the feeling that something is off.
I want to be wrong about the woman in the other room, but I can’t deny what’s right in front of me. I’m convinced that this woman, whoever she is, isn’t Mariam.
“Okay. . .” Graham says, looking toward the hallway. “Explain to me what you’re thinking. If she’s not Mariam, then who is she?”
I let the curtain go and turn back to him. “I don’t know.”
“I thought you hadn’t even met Mariam.”
“I haven’t,” I say. “And Oumar didn’t tell me much about her. Just bits and pieces. He thought that would protect her. It was part of the deal he made with me not to involve her, and I’ve always respected his decision.”
Now I wish I would have pushed more. Demanded to know more details about her. Of course, I never imagined being faced with a situation like this.
“What did she say to convince you she’s a fake?” Graham asks.
I sit down on the couch and clasp my hands in front of me, knowing that if I’m right, everything could quickly spiral out of control if we aren’t careful.
“It’s small things. For example, I asked her about a trip they took to Istanbul, but I just made it up to see what she would say. She went along with it and even threw in a handful of details about the trip.”
He sits down on the other side of the couch. “I understand your concern, but it’s certainly not conclusive. Even you admit you don’t know everything about Oumar. They could have taken a trip to Istanbul that you don’t know about.”
“Agreed, but it’s more than the details. It was her entire demeanor.”
“Explain.”
I close my eyes for a moment, trying to put my thoughts together. “I asked her about her role in the Baako Group. Oumar once mentioned Mariam was building a platform to help women in Mali export their artisan products. She knew the facts, but there was no real passion in her voice. No resonating emotion when she shared details with me. Oumar’s Mariam would have had passion in her voice.”
Graham still doesn’t look convinced. “Are you sure you’re not searching for something that’s not there?”
“It’s possible.”
I let out a soft sigh, not ready to admit he could be right, because no matter what angle I look at the situation from, I keep coming up with the same answer—the woman I’ve been interviewing isn’t who she says she is.
Graham leans forward. “What would be the point of her faking who she is?”
“I have no idea.”
