“Is that really all you want?”
“No,” said Gabriel. “But it’s a good place to start.”
“Actually, I was planning to start somewhere else.” Khalid returned the flash drive to the pocket of his blazer. “There’s something I must do before I become king. I was hoping you might be willing to play the role of intermediary.”
“What did you have in mind?”
Khalid explained.
“She’s not terribly hard to find,” said Gabriel. “Just send her an e-mail.”
“I have. Several, in fact. She doesn’t respond. She doesn’t answer my calls, either.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
“Perhaps you can approach her on my behalf.”
“Why me?”
“You seem to have something of a rapport with her.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Can you arrange it?”
“A meeting?” Gabriel shook his head. “Bad idea, Khalid.”
“My specialty.”
“She’s too angry. Let a little more time pass. Or better yet, let me handle it for you.”
“You don’t know much about Arabs, do you?”
“I’m learning more every day.”
“It is an essential part of our culture,” said Khalid. “I must personally make restitution.”
“Blood money?”
“An unfortunate turn of phrase. But, yes, blood money.”
“What you need to do,” said Gabriel, “is accept full responsibility for what happened in Istanbul and see that it never happens again.”
“It won’t.”
“Tell that to her, not me.”
“I intend to.”
“In that case,” said Gabriel, “I’ll do it. But let it be on your head if anything goes wrong.”
“Is that a Jewish proverb?” Khalid glanced at his watch. “It’s late, my friend. Perhaps it’s time for me to be leaving.”
83
Berlin
Gabriel rang her the next morning and left a message on her voice mail. A week passed before she bothered to call him back, hardly a promising beginning. Yes, she said after hearing his proposal, she would be willing to hear Khalid out. But the last thing he should expect from her was a grant of absolution. She wasn’t interested in his blood money, either. When Gabriel told her about his idea, she was skeptical. “The Palestinians will have an independent state,” she said, “before Khalid opens a journalism school in Riyadh with Omar’s name on it.”
