Finally, Thurstrom signed the last piece of paper in the file and looked up, blinking as he focused on Akal. Akal stiffened his spine just that little bit more.
"I've got a job for you, Singh," Thurstrom said with a smirk.
"Yes, sir?" Akal said, his heart sinking. The smirk told him everything he needed to know.
"Hugh Clancy's sister and niece are in Fiji, and they want to take a trip to Levuka, see the old capital. Clancy has asked if somebody could escort them, so of course I thought of you. You have some experience with entertaining European women, don't you, Singh?"
Akal's jaw clenched so hard that a pain shot down his neck. Most people in Fiji didn't know exactly what his mistakes in Hong Kong had been, but the inspector-general did, and he wasn't shy about his contempt. Akal had never figured out whether it was his failure as a police officer that had so offended Thurstrom, or his apparent audacity in having had a relationship with an English woman.
Thurstrom was watching for Akal's reaction with malicious glee. Akal, determined not to give him the satisfaction, forced himself to relax. He gave Thurstrom a bland look and asked, "An escort? I haven't been to Levuka myself. I don't know the way, sir."
"It's on another island, Ovalau. You just get the ladies on the ferry, keep an eye on them, and escort them to their hotel. And then bring them back when they are ready. In fact, the women wanted to go on their own, but Clancy rightly insisted that they have an escort and he didn't trust any of the rogues floating around Suva. I told him a police officer could be spared. Surely you can manage that simple task?"
"Yes, sir," Akal replied. He suspected that under normal circumstances, the inspector-general would have told the editor of the Fiji Times to find an escort on his own, but the chance to humiliate Akal while getting on the good side of the newspaperman had been an irresistible opportunity. Akal maintained a serene exterior, expecting his equanimity to infuriate the inspector-general more than any argument would. His concern grew when Thurstrom's smirk deepened.
"You realise that if there is even a hint of impropriety in your dealings with the two women, I will dismiss you. I can't imagine your friends in Hong Kong will still want to protect you if you make the same mistake again."
Of course Akal knew this. The inspector-general in Hong Kong had used his connections to have Akal moved to Fiji, rather than dismissed outright, but he would hardly be willing to do that again. "Yes, sir," Akal replied stiffly.
"Excellent. While you are waiting for the ladies to do their sightseeing, you can follow up on a report I just received," the inspector-general said, barely able to contain his laughter. "Apparently, there are some Germans lurking about in Levuka. I need you to find and apprehend these Germans who seem to have lost their way to the battlefields in Europe. I expect a full report on your search."
Taviti's excellent joke had now come to land on Akal's shoulders.
"Germans, sir? Are they soldiers?" Akal asked, wondering what on earth was in this report.
"Of course not, Singh, don't be ridiculous!" Thurstrom snapped.
"It's that young Kumar. He's too wet behind the ears, and letting the locals fill his head with nonsense. A more experienced officer would have known how to calm the people down instead of accepting everything he is told. Haven't you read the newspapers? Everybody is seeing Germans everywhere. I'm not sure if they all realise how far away Europe is."
"So...I don't need to investigate these claims, sir?"
"I don't care how you do it, just shut them down. As you can see, I've got a problem in Levuka. Ever since Johnson retired, I've been left with Kumar trying to run things on his own. He's only a third-class constable, poor lad. I've got an Australian officer coming over whom I'll place there permanently, but until then, get Kumar sorted."
And there it was. The real reason Akal was being sent to Levuka. But rather than give him an official duty that might be seen as a vote of confidence, Thurstrom was hiding it as a demeaning babysitting job—with a wild goose chase as a final insult.
AKAL'S FIRST STEP in his fool's errand was to coordinate movements with Hugh Clancy, as the inspector-general had no further details on the timing of this trip to Levuka. Assuming the newspaper editor would be at work, Akal decided to visit the Fiji Times office in order to make contact with him. He left the station, stepping out into the steaming heat of a Suva afternoon. The usual afternoon rain shower had passed through recently, leaving everything damp, but without enough force to actually reduce the heaviness in the air.
The Fiji Times operated out of a building a short walk from the police station. Everything in Suva was a short walk from the police station, Akal thought, as he absently stretched his stride to avoid one of the ubiquitous potholes. He longed for Hong Kong, for Victoria Peak towering above him and the stretch of land to the ocean. Suva was like that in miniature, with a trifling hill that gradually dropped away and meandered to the ocean. It wasn't just the scale of the geography he missed, it was the scale of society as well. Here, everyone was a few connections away from everybody else.
