Sharjah, Restaurant «Al Maskoof»
Scene 9
«What a jerk!» thought Maille – although he had to concede that Odette's fascinating head, the commanding wildness in her face, had played a big role in him deciding to employ her four two earlier. As he settled into a restaurant in Al Merraija, he pondered over what Mercier had said. What in the world did a water lily, which was to be found otherwise only in Santa Lemusa, have to do with Koslow? Naturally he had not told Mercier that he had sent the water lily just as a ‹gift› for Marie. That the coincidence had thrown up something favourable was a rare enough occurrence.
The Emirates had little ingredients to contribute to cuisine – except for dates and dried lemon. The fact that the place had for centuries been on the major trade route between India and the Mediterranean region had left a definite impact on its culinary culture – a combination of Indian, Persian and Turkish traditions. Maille ordered «Kabab Laham», made of tender minced lamb. With it came «Jareesh», a dish of crushed wheat with vegetables, and «Foul», a type of salad with half-crushed broad beans.
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Menu Maille
With every morsel of this Arabic menu, secret agent Hektor Maille bit deeper into the question of what a Lemusan water-lily from a Swedish pond could possibly have to do with the kidnapping of Professor Koslow:
- Kabab Laham (Minced Lamb on a Skewer)
- Jareesh (Spicy crushed wheat with vegetables)
- Foul (Crushed Broad Beans)