by Farah Zaman
“Alhamdulilah,” he whispered heartfully. He only hoped Mr. Mazin had not heard him.
“Adam!” came a loud whisper from one of the doorways.
The others were huddled in Ms. Tubaa’s doorway.
“Let’s get out of here,” he told them.
Back in the library, Heba turned on the light and locked the door. They took a few moments to regain their breath after their hurried flight down the stairs.
“I can’t believe Mr. Mazin came back.” Heba spoke first. “I guess you hid from him, Adam?”
“Yes, but how did you know it was him?”
“I heard the footsteps and looked,” Heba replied.
“I’m glad you saw him and did not come looking for me.”
“We were terrified he would catch you,” Layla said. “Where did you hide?”
“Under the bed. I almost sneezed twice because of the dust. I escaped when Mr. Mazin went to the bathroom. It’s not an experience I ever want to repeat.”
“I wonder why Mr. Mazin came back,” Zaid said.
“He was working on his computer,” Adam said.
“I’ve never known him returning on a Saturday night,” Heba said. “Maybe he’s working on some report for the Ministry of Social Affairs. He was appointed by them.”
“He’s a bit of a dark horse,” Adam said. “He’s cool and calm and keeps his emotions hidden. But if he’s the murderer, I haven’t found any evidence of it in his room. How about the rest of you?”
“I found nothing of note in Ms. Tubaa’s quarters,” Layla said. “It’s like a queen’s chamber with little fancy touches here and there. She’s got this really pretty hand fan made of exotic feathers on her dresser. And the most beautiful spread on her bed.” If Adam had not seen Ms. Tubaa’s office, he would not have believed she had a taste for feminine fripperies.
“Ms. Mahveen collects old keys for a hobby,” Zahra said. “She’s got a bunch of purses filled with them.”
“And Mr. Talish has a gun under the mattress,” Zaid said with shining eyes.
“Wow,” Adam said. “What a find. I wonder why he has it.”
“It can’t be for protection against the students,” Layla said. “This is not back home. The kids here wouldn’t shoot up the orphanage.”
“Maybe he just likes having one,” Zaid said. “Some men are like that.”
“What about you, Heba?” Zahra asked. “Did you find anything besides a mess in Ms. Rima’s room?”
Heba did not smile. “Yes, I found something.”
“What was it?” Layla asked.
“A sketch of a knife.”
Chapter Eighteen:
Monkey Business
“Really?” Zaid said. “Was it one of the students’?”
“No, it was Ms. Rima’s work. She’s an artist too. The sketch had her initials.”
“What did the knife look like?” Zahra asked.
“It was long and sharp with leaf carvings on the handle.”
“It would have been more interesting if it had blood stains on it,” Layla said.
“Why would she draw a knife of all things?” Zaid said. “Is it coincidence or is it the murder weapon?”
“It’s one more clue for the log,” Adam said. “We still have to search Ms. Yusra’s and Mr. Rakin’s chambers. Those will be more difficult since they’re in the dorms.”
“Ms. Yusra likes to go for an early run outside,” Heba said. “If I get a chance, I’ll search her room in the morning.”
“That would be helpful,” Adam said. “The sooner the searches are over, the better.”
When the teenagers went to the orphanage the next day, Adam and Zaid were assigned to housekeeping. The supervisor told them, “One of our cleaners is out sick. You’ll be cleaning the male dorms on the second floor as well as Mr. Rakin’s room.”
Adam and Zaid looked at each other, hardly believing their luck.
The supervisor took them upstairs and showed them the supply closet. “You’ll start first with Mr. Rakin’s room. I’ll give you ten minutes to clean it. Then I’ll come back to lock it.”
Ten minutes is plenty of time.
Armed with brooms, mops and gloves, the youths followed the supervisor to Mr. Rakin’s room. After he unlocked it and left, Adam swept and mopped while Zaid searched. As Adam wrung the mop, Zaid called out from the bedchamber, “Adam, come see this.”
When Adam hurried over, Zaid stood by the chest of drawers, a chain dangling from his hand.
“What’s that?” Adam asked.
Zaid looked up with shining eyes. “An amulet.”
Adam took it from him and examined it. The round pendant had five layers of concentric circles. The fifth layer was dark blue, the fourth one black, the third one white, and the second one light blue. In the very center was a tiny black circle.
“It looks familiar.” Adam tried to remember where he had seen such a pendant before.
“You’ve probably seen them being sold in the souks. The symbol represents the evil eye. Superstitious people wear them for protection.”
“If Mr. Rakin’s into these magical charms, he’s another strong suspect.”
“He certainly is.”
Footsteps approached down the corridor.
“It must be the supervisor,” Adam said. “Quick, put the amulet back.”
The youths made it to the sitting room just as the man walked in.
“Are you finished?” he asked.
“Yes, we’re done,” Adam said.
After the supervisor locked Mr. Rakin’s room, the youths moved on to the other dorms. The rooms were a revelation to them. Some were neat and tidy while others looked as if a hurricane had made landfall in them.
Zaid grinned as he leaned on his mop. “I’d put these rooms in categories of Neat, Neater, Neatest and Mess, Messier, Messiest. I would give my room at Villa Wadha a Neat.”
Adam swiped under the bed with his broom. “I’d have to give mine a Mess. I’m not blind to my own failings.”
Zaid passed the mop over a slippery brown substance on the floor. “I don’t mind cleaning up after myself, but I don’t think I like cleaning other people’s mess.”
“What in the world is that?” Adam made a gagging motion.
Zaid gave a fake shudder. “I don’t want to know. I think ignorance is bliss in this case.”
By the time lunch break came, Adam’s arms and back were aching like he had been lifting iron. “If I see another broom or mop again, I’ll run screaming for my life,” he said as they washed their hands at the sink in the supply closet.
“I have a newfound respect for the people who do this for a living,” Zaid said, always willing to learn a lesson from life. “I hope they’re paid well.”
“I very much doubt it,” Adam said.
In the meal hall, he and Zaid joined Heba and their sisters for lunch.
Heba’s face was set, with no sign of a smile. Without preamble, she told them, “The administration had an emergency meeting this morning about Muk-Muk. They ruled in favor of sending him to a zoo. They’re waiting to get a placement. It’s just a matter of time before he’s gone.” Her voice became choked and her eyes glistened with tears.
The teenagers stared at each other in shock.
“Are you kidding me?” Adam said. “I can’t believe they’re doing that to Mahmood.”
“That’s so unfair,” Layla said with a scowl.
“Mahmood must be miserable,” Zahra said.
Zaid looked around the meal hall. “I don’t see him here.”
“He’s probably in his room wallowing in misery.” Heba blotted her eyes with a napkin. “It’s not healthy for him to be cooped up there. He needs to eat. Can you boys bring him to the gazebo after prayer? We’ll take some food for him and wait for you there.”
“Sure thing,” Adam said. “We’d be happy to.”
After the tables had emptied out and there was no chance of being overheard, Adam and Zaid told the girls of the amulet they had found in Mr. Rakin’s room.
“Another dubious item,” Zahra said.
“I searched Ms. Yusra’s chamber this morning too,” Heba said. “I found nothing suspicious. She has a nice collection of colored crystals.”
“They all seem to have their little quirks and perks,” Layla said. “I wonder if we’ll ever figure out who’s the murderer.”
When Adam and Zaid headed up the stairs to Mahmood’s dorm, they ran into the Troublesome Trio.
Haysam smirked. “Are you going to sympathize with the freak? I suppose you know his monkey is being sent to the zoo, don’t you? Serves him right, I say.”
“Get out of our way,” Adam said between clenched teeth. “We have nothing to say to you.”
Fadi grinned. “We’re glad the nasty little critter is getting kicked out. We won’t have to see his ugly face anymore.”
“It’s disgusting to take enjoyment from Mahmood’s sorrow.” Zaid glared at them.
“Hey, if you like monkey-boy so much, maybe you can take him with you when you leave,” Luay said. “It will be one less mouth to feed here.”
Haysam chuckled. “If you get tired of him, you can always send him to the zoo to share the cage with his pet. I’m sure no one will know the difference.”
Roaring with laughter, they went on their way.
Adam clenched his fists. “One of these days, I’ll punch one of those idiots.”
Zaid sighed. “They’re not worth getting in trouble for. Let’s go get Mahmood.”
Mahmood was sitting on the bed, Muk-Muk in the cage next to him. Boy and monkey had the same miserable expression on their faces. Adam might have found it funny another time, but right now, his heart was filled with pity. Laying a hand on Mahmood’s shoulder, he said, “We heard about the administration’s decision. We’re so sorry.”
Mahmood’s lips trembled, his eyes shiny with tears.
“We’ve come to take you to the gazebo,” Zaid said. “The girls are waiting there.”
Mahmood nodded, rubbing at the tears in his eyes with his sleeve. Zaid picked up Muk-Muk’s cage and they started off downstairs. When they came to the gazebo, the monkey started screeching when he saw the girls. Mahmood opened the cage and the little fella leaped onto Heba’s shoulder.
“You naughty boy,” she crooned. “You’re too smart for your own good, aren’t you? Always taking things you have no business taking.”
“Here, Mahmood.” Zahra held out a box of food and a bottle of water. “Sit down and eat.”
Mahmood nodded meekly and took the box from her. Sitting down, he opened it and began to eat. Adam could see the boy did not have much enthusiasm for the food. It worried him. Mahmood was already skin and bones. What would happen to him when Muk-Muk was gone? Would he just pine away? It was too bad the administration was taking such a hardline approach. He was sure most of it was Ms. Tubaa’s doing. She had vowed that she would send Muk-Muk to a zoo. Now she was getting her wish.
An hour later, they returned to the orphanage and ran into the twins and their friends, Bishr and Burhaan, in the main corridor. The boys were dragging a large shopping bag across the tiles.
“Woah,” Adam said. “What do you guys have in that bag? Not a dead body, I hope.”
The girls giggled and the two sets of twins grinned. Bishr and Burhaan were cute as buttons with their gleaming white teeth and cherubic little faces.
“What are you boys still doing here?” Layla asked. “I thought Mouna had taken you home.”
Hakeem said, “She was going to but she fell asleep in the playroom. She was snoring really loud.”
“Her feet were hurting her so we didn’t want to wake her up,” Hassan said.
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Zahra said.
The boys pulled at the shopping bag again. Muk-Muk screeched and hopped in a frenzy in his cage.
“Look, Muk-Muk knows we’ve found the stuff he took,” Hassan said.
“You found the stuff Muk-Muk took?” Heba asked.
“Yup,” Bishr said. “I wanted to find my cap, so we decided to search for it.”
“And we helped them,” Hakeem said proudly.
“But where did you find all the stuff?” Zahra said.
“In the chest in the boys’ lounge,” Burhaan said.
“We found the shopping bag in one of the drawers and put all the stuff inside,” Hassan said.
“Where are you taking the bag?” Zaid asked.
“To the playroom,” Hassan said. “We’re going to show it to Mouna.”
“Can you show it to us instead?” Heba said.
“Okay, sure,” Hassan said.
“We’ll go to the library,” Heba said.
Adam hefted up the bag and they hastened to the book-filled room. Once there, he set the plastic sack on top of a reading table and emptied it. All the missing items Heba had mentioned were there, as well as several pens, pencils, sticks of chalk, markers, an eraser, and other small things.
“That’s a lot of stuff,” Zahra said. “Muk-Muk must have been very busy that night.”
Mahmood growled, pointed a finger at his pet and shook his head. Muk-Muk covered his face with his paws and whimpered. They could not help but chuckle.
“He’s a strong monkey,” Burhaan said. “Some of the drawers were hard to open.”
“Yeah, we had to pull them really hard,” Hakeem said.
The teenagers looked at one another with raised brows.
“There’s something fishy going on here,” Layla said. “Muk-Muk wouldn’t have been able to open stuck drawers.”
Chapter Nineteen:
Moving by Moonlight
“It does seem odd.” A line creased Heba’s forehead.
Turning to the two sets of twins who had been listening with avid interest, Adam said, “Guys, we’ll keep this stuff and let the teachers know about it, okay? They’ll return everything to the students as soon as they can. Now go back to the playroom and wake up Mouna to take you home.”
“Okay,” Hassan said.
“Can I keep my cap?” Bishr asked.
“Of course,” Heba said. “You boys did a great job finding the stuff.”
The four of them beamed and skipped out.
“I think those missing items are the Troublesome Trio’s payback against Mahmood,” Zahra said.
“Yes, they had motive and definitely the opportunity since they were the only students here that night,” Zaid said.
“How are we going to prove it?” Layla said.
“We’ll show Mr. Mazin the missing items tomorrow morning and tell him about the stuck drawers,” Adam said. “He’ll realize that Muk-Muk couldn’t have done all that on his own.”
“Let’s secure the bag in the clinic and go check those stuck drawers,” Zaid said. “We have to make sure the boys weren’t exaggerating.”
After leaving the bag in the clinic’s storeroom, the teenagers went over to the boys’ lounge. A quick check confirmed that the two sets of twins had indeed been telling the truth. The drawers were difficult to open. There was no way a monkey could have opened them.
Adam and Zaid retrieved the bag of pilfered items the next morning and went straight to Mr. Mazin’s office. When they got there, they found the door slightly ajar. Behind it, they heard Mr. Mazin’s measured tones followed by Ms. Tubaa’s rather deep voice.
“Should we leave and come back?” Zaid whispered.
“No, we’ll wait until they’re done. This is too important to delay.”
Mr. Mazin’s voice rose and the boys could not help hearing what he said next. “I’ve got news about the lake house, Tubaa. A
n architect called yesterday, telling me it’s been sold. His firm has been hired to destroy the old structure and build a new one.”
“It’s good they’re finally getting rid of that old eyesore,” Ms. Tubaa said.
“The architect said it’s more cost effective for them to burn the old house instead of demolishing it,” Mr. Mazin went on. “And that we should expect to see it going up in flames one night. He’s going there tomorrow morning to take a look.”
Adam and Zaid shared a look of dismay.
“I have to call now about that new intake,” Ms. Tubaa said. “I’ll let you know how that goes.”
The door opened and she emerged. She frowned when she saw the boys standing outside. “Can I help you?”
“We’d like to speak to Mr. Mazin,” Adam said.
She pursed her lips. “He’s busy. You can speak to me.”
“It’s alright, Tubaa,” Mr. Mazin called out. “I’ll speak with them. Ta’al. Come in, boys.”
Scowling, Ms. Tubaa strode away and the boys entered Mr. Mazin’s office.
He waved them to the chairs and asked, “What can I help you with today?”
Adam was tongue-tied for a moment. He was remembering his ordeal under Mr. Mazin’s bed and how lucky he was the director had not discovered him there. Swallowing, he said, “We’ve brought all the stuff that was taken from the students’ room on Thursday night. May I empty the bag on your desk?”
Mr. Mazin’s eyes flickered with surprise. “Go ahead.”
Adam emptied the bag and Mr. Mazin stared at the items. “Where did you find them?”
The youths explained how the two sets of twins had found the missing items in the drawer in the boys’ lounge.
“Remarkable,” Mr. Mazin said when they were done.
“Sir, we wanted to tell you that Muk-Muk couldn’t have opened those drawers,” Zaid said. “They’re hard to open. We checked them out. We believe someone else took the stuff and hid them there.”
