I

Delpha didn’t pick up Mustafa’s agreement. He simply turned it to face him on his desk. His half-moon reading glasses proved inadequate for the small print, so he produced a magnifying glass from his desk drawer and used that instead, sliding it with such agonising clumsiness across the paper that Rebecca longed to do it for him. When he was finally finished, he looked up at her with the most melancholic eyes. ‘You signed this?’

‘Yes.’

‘Why?’

‘I had no time. It was for a ransom. I was late and I—’

‘A ransom.’ He looked stunned. ‘Your father? Your sister?’

‘I spoke to him,’ she said. ‘He’s alive. They’re both alive.’

Delpha’s eyes glistened. He convulsed once, like a sob, put a hand to his brow. ‘Heaven be praised,’ he murmured.

‘Mustafa’s been after a stake in Eden,’ said Rebecca. ‘My father mentioned it in a letter. He also remarked that Mustafa was pestering the wrong person. What did he mean by that?’

Delpha gave himself a few moments to compose himself, then said: ‘You must remember something about Malagasy law,’ he said. ‘Since Independence, only citizens have been able to own land here. Your father has never become a citizen.’

Rebecca frowned. She’d always taken it for granted that her father owned Eden, yet Delpha was right: her parents had bought Eden after Independence, and her father had never become a Malagasy citizen. Then she realised how it must have worked. ‘My mother owned Eden? But what about when she died?’

‘We set up a trust together, to hold the reserve in trust for you and Emilia when you attained majority. You have dual citizenship, after all, so you’re legally able to own property here.’

‘But why didn’t anyone tell me?’ Again Delpha was silent, allowing her to work it out by herself. ‘My father didn’t trust me, did he?’ she said bleakly. ‘He was worried I’d sell my share just to get back at him.’ She put a hand to her forehead. ‘But what if either Emilia or I should … I mean, what if one of us …?’

‘Then their interest in Eden passes to the other.’

‘Will Mustafa know this?’

‘Mr Habib usually knows everything it is in his interest to know.’

‘What are you saying?’ frowned Rebecca. ‘Is he a crook?’

‘A crook is a person who has been convicted of something. Mr Habib has never been so convicted.’

She gave a dry laugh. Now she found out! ‘So that’s why Andriama’s having him watched. But why does he want Eden this badly? It can’t be worth that much.’

‘There have been rumours,’ said Delpha. ‘I do not know that they are true. But they say a German hotel group wants to build an ecotourism resort upon this coast. Eden has beautiful beaches and bays. It has virgin forest, reefs and plentiful fresh water. Can you imagine a better site?’

‘How much?’

‘Two million euros at minimum. Perhaps as much as four.’

Rebecca stood and went to the window, looked out into the street. After Yvette had died, Eden had become her father’s life. He’d never sell it for development, or forgive anyone who did. She had to find some way to undo this. She was about to ask Delpha his advice when her phone beeped, sending her heart into overdrive, thinking it was the kidnappers; but it was only to warn her that her battery was almost dead. Damn it. Her phone was the most likely way for the kidnappers to get in touch; she needed to sort this out now. She made her excuses to Delpha then grabbed the holdall and hurried off in search of a solution.