Extract from "For the Love of David"

The blue station wagon weaved in and out of the traffic as Anna desperately tried to keep
up with it. Her sweating hands slipped on the steering wheel and she was prompted to take risks
that she would never have attempted before, sliding in and out of the lanes and veering sharply
around street vendors and pedestrians. Anything to keep that tenuous contact with the car in
front.
So intense was her focus on the traffic, she only narrowly missed a black-robed figure who
appeared suddenly in front of the car - a woman struggling with bundles of shopping and a
recalcitrant toddler. As Anna swerved to avoid her she caught a glimpse of the woman’s
frightened face as she snatched up the infant, slinging him around her plump hips. She
somehow managed to make it across to the other side of the road, narrowly missing being hit
by a donkey cart, the driver of which shouted at her, his voice harsh as he waved his whip
angrily in the air. The woman’s appearance and the subsequent altercation momentarily
distracted Anna. When she was able to bring her attention back to the road in front, the blue
station wagon was nowhere to be seen.
A cold wave of panic overwhelmed her as she frantically turned her head, looking all around
her, trying to peer past the cars in front. The traffic was becoming heavier as other cars joined
the stream; the road ahead densely packed with vehicles. She was forced to slow to a painful
crawl.
As the car lost speed, she became aware of raised guttural voices all around the vehicle, loud
shouts and the noise of running feet. The car was bumped by another behind her and she could
hear the sound of fists banging on the hood and side of the car, as it rocked with the impact.
All at once, there were faces peering in at the window and hands pushing at the glass.
She screamed and covered her head.
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The noise was all pervading, ringing in her head as if in some dreadful nightmare from
which there was no escape. The tears poured down her face as she stared in desperation at the
scene ahead.
For a brief moment, the wall of vehicles shifted and she saw a route open up around a
broken down truck whose hood had been propped up and human cargo disgorged. It created an
eddy in the surrounding flow of traffic. She put her foot hard down on the accelerator, the
torment of the situation giving her the necessary impetus to shoot forward quickly round the
truck. As she wrenched hard at the steering wheel, the car veered off sharply down a side road.
The street she now found herself in was long and narrow, hemmed in by parked cars but it
had a blessed familiarity and Anna realized with profound relief that she was in one of the
roads that led down to the school.
The sidewalk and school yard when she reached it was teeming with worried mothers and
fretful children. Teachers were running up and down the school steps, helping to usher the
younger ones out of the school. The air was filled with the sound of children’s voices raised
querulously against mothers and teachers who were anxiously trying to hurry them into cars
and minibuses. Some of the little ones were crying, comforted by elder brothers and sisters
attempting to put on a brave face.
Walking slowly against the tide of people, Anna searched for David’s face, hoping that he’d
not been too frightened by the confusion. All at once she saw his teacher, in the act of
shepherding a group of children from his class onto a minibus. Running over she tried to attract
her attention to ask where she could find David.
The teacher, Mrs. Marks, answered her distractedly over her shoulder whilst helping the
children to get settled on the bus. “Oh, Mrs. Carter. I didn’t expect to see you here, as you had
sent your husband’s driver to fetch David.”
“I didn’t send him… are you sure?” Anna’s voice rose. “I brought David to school today and
he knew I was coming to fetch him again this afternoon.”
“Well he went off with the driver, of that I’m certain.”
“Was it Karim, the usual driver?”
“Yes, I’m pretty sure it was,” she replied, turning back from the bus. “I’ve seen him bring
David to school a couple of times, so I recognized him.”
“I didn’t ask him to come and collect him. I’m sure my husband would have called me if he
was sending him.” Anna was starting to feel waves of panic wash over her again.
The children safely on the minibus, David’s teacher gave Anna her full attention. “Now,
Mrs. Carter why don’t you come into the office and telephone your husband,” she said
reassuringly. “I’m sure you’ll find that he asked his driver to come and that David is waiting for
you, quite safe back at home.”
“We don’t have a home!” Anna was close to tears, the panic destroying rationality. She
allowed herself to be led inside the school and into the cluttered office. She got out her
notebook and shakily dialed Ben’s office number.
“Ben!” It came out as a desperate wail.
“Anna, are you OK? Are you back at the hotel?”
She sniffed. “No, I’m at the school - Ben, did you send Karim for David?”
“No Honey. Why did you want me to?”
Anna burst into tears, her gasping sobs racking her thin frame as David’s teacher took the
‘phone gently but authoritatively from her hand.
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“Mr. Carter, this is Mrs. Marks, David’s teacher. It is a little chaotic here as you can
imagine, but your driver Karim did come and collect David from school. I handed him over
myself.”
On the other end of the line, there was a long pause before Ben answered. “Mrs. Marks, are
you absolutely certain that it was my driver, Karim?”
“Well, yes,” she replied, nonplussed. “As I said to your wife, I’ve seen him a couple of
times dropping David off at school. Why is there a problem?”
There was another pause on the other end of the telephone before Anna could hear Ben
answering her. “You could say so, yes. I’m afraid Karim my driver, has left the Company - He
sent in a letter of resignation and hasn’t turned up for work. No-body has seen him today at
all.”
“But why would he come and collect David then? It seems very strange.” Mrs. Marks
sounded as if she hoped they weren’t going to blame her for letting David go.
“I don’t know Mrs. Marks - It’s not your fault of course, but it doesn’t look good. There is
something else which causes me additional concern…We heard today that Karim is thought to
be somehow caught up with these suicide bombers …It seems that he may be a member of this
organization The Brothers of Islam.”