Torch of Tangier
by Aileen G. Baron
Summary
In 1942, Tangier teems with spies working for both the Axis and the Allies. American archaeologist Lily Sampson , stranded in Tangier by the entrance of the US into WWII, is recruited by the OSS and becomes embroiled in the secret preparations for the planned Allied the invasion of North Africa – code-named Operation Torch. She discovers that the code for sending messages to Allied headquarters is missing, compromising the security of the mission. And then her work is interrupted by murder….
Excerpt
Lily threaded her way out of the medina--the old city of Tangier--past old men wearing long, hooded djelabas, their bodies bent over canes as they struggled up the hill, their backless slippers shuffling along the littered street.
At first she didn’t notice the two Germans keeping to the shadows. She saw them as she made her way back to the El Minzah Hotel from the medina but thought nothing of it.
Something about the pair struck her as familiar. Especially the one in the striped shirt, his neck bound by a tightly buttoned white collar. His wispy hair, dyed red-brown, had long white roots framing a ruddy, pockmarked face so that his head seemed to be floating away. His shirt, streaked with sweat, puffed outward around his arms. He looked like a weather balloon.
His companion had a moustache that punctuated his lips like a cocked eyebrow. From time to time he scanned the street with bulging bright blue eyes.
She had seen them yesterday, arguing in German with a man who wore a camel’s hair jacket and a cold face. The man ignored Herr Balloon and concentrated on Lily, his eyes narrowed, his lips taut.
It was his eyes, stark icy blue that sent a shiver through Lily’s soul.
Herr Balloon’s arms flailed in anger, the veins in his neck strained while the man in the camel’s hair jacket continued to watch Lily.
His companion hung back with an embarrassed smile.
“Gottverdammte,” she had heard Herr Balloon shout as the man in the jacket walked away and Herr Balloon ran after him before they both disappeared in the swarming streets surrounding the Grand Socco.
* * *
The white city, bleached and frowsy in the sun, spread languid and lascivious between the Mediterranean and the Mountain. It reverberated with sounds of expatriates: Italians crooning love songs in the golden dusk; Spaniards, stern-faced and stiff-spined, barking orders; Germans with pink faces and bawdy leers, singing and swaying together over beer in sidewalk cafes; drugged Americans with blank eyes, mumbling as they rolled along the streets; British pensioners with loud voices and rotted teeth, nursing warm drinks, staring into space, complaining about the price of food; openly affectionate pairs of men with raucous laughter that seeped from seedy bars and echoed through alleys.
“They’re all spies,” Drury had said. “Every last one of them. Watch your back.”
And everyone complained about the shortage of food because of the war, but did nothing.
* * *
The two Germans skulked ahead of her onto the Rue de Statut and toward the El Minzah. Were they spies? Would they work for whoever would pay them? Or were they Nazis?
Lily trailed them into the hotel. What were these two doing in the El Minzah? She could afford to stay there only because Drury paid her full room and board and gave her a small stipend.
The Germans prowled the reception area and descended the steps to the tiled patio where two tweedy Englishwomen sat by the fountain, noisily drinking Scotch and grumbling about prices.
Reviews
“...the issues she raises about Western versus Islamic cultural values couldn’t be more timely”— Publishers Weekly
“...those who like their thrillers steeped in exotic locales will find intriguing political and cultural conflict aplenty”— Booklist
“Intrigue and danger erupt in Tangier’s narrow streets....riveting and suspenseful”— Library Journal
Author's Biography
Aileen Baron is retired from a distinguished career as professor of archaeology, where her research took her to many parts of the world. TORCH OF TANGIER is the second mystery in the Lily Sampson series, featuring an American archaeologist working in the Middle East in the 1930’s and 40’s.