by Farah Zaman
Why had Nidal used a silencer to kill his accomplices?
I smell a double-cross.
Nidal gestured to the shroud on top of the altar and barked out to his men, “Open it.”
The men hastened to obey. They pulled apart the discolored covering, laying it to the side. Then they cut open the black plastic sack beneath it, pouring the contents onto the altar. Expecting to see decayed bones, Adam’s eyes goggled as hundreds of gems winked and flashed in the candlelight.
Chapter Twenty-Six:
Enlightenment
In a flash, he knew what they were.
The stolen jewelry from Zuleikha’s.
Nidal ran his fingers through the pile of stones with a jubilant laugh. “I’ve been waiting a long time to get my hands on these. I would have gotten them sooner if my beloved stepson hadn’t decided to run away.”
With a sharp pivot, he strode over and ripped off Adam’s gag. “Where’s Danyal?” he demanded.
Adam stared at him. “You knew I wasn’t Danyal?”
“Of course. Do you take me for a fool? Where is he?”
“I don’t know. I went to look for him at the house but he wasn’t there.”
“You’re lying,” Nidal bit out. Turning to his men, he said, “Stand him up.”
Two men grabbed Adam and hauled him to his feet. Nidal brought his face close to Adam’s and said with dangerous softness, “Now tell me where Danyal is.”
Adam spoke through the lump of fear in his throat. “I think he went back home.”
With a roar of rage, Nidal drew back a fist and punched Adam on the jaw. Adam would have crashed to the ground had the men not held him upright. His jaw throbbed and he tasted the bitterness of blood on his tongue where his teeth had cut into his lip.
“Ready to tell me the truth now?” Nidal asked.
Breathing in short gasps, Adam glared at him. The maniac was going to kill him anyway, so why should he tell him anything?
“Maybe I need to try a different tactic,” Nidal said. Pointing the gun at the Troublesome Trio, he said, “I’m going to shoot these boys one by one if you don’t tell me where Danyal is.”
Adam’s heart sank as the Troublesome Trio whimpered, their eyes bulging in terror. Could he sacrifice their lives to save Danyal’s? In all likelihood, Nidal would kill them anyway. Why not give Danyal a chance to escape?
Nidal held the gun to Fadi’s head and roared, “Where’s Danyal?”
“Right here, Uncle Nidal.” Danyal’s voice rang out as he stepped into the candlelight.
Oh no.
Nidal swung around. “Well, well, well. My beloved stepson in the flesh. So nice of you to show up and save me the trouble of finding you.”
“Does your evil know no bounds?” Danyal said. “Let all the boys go and I’ll come willingly with you.”
“Aren’t you the martyr,” mocked his stepfather. “Tie him up,” he instructed his men. Though Danyal’s eyes burned with anger, he did not resist as they bound his arms and legs before shoving him next to the other youths. Nidal called out orders to his men. “Pack up the jewelry, dismantle the altar and load everything into the truck.”
Under his watchful gaze, the men returned the piles of jewelry into the black sack.
Danyal stared at the dazzling display. “Where did all that jewelry come from?”
Adam said, “It’s the jewelry stolen from Zuleikha’s. They dug it up from one of the graves.”
“I’m impressed,” Nidal said. “How did you know it’s the jewelry from Zuleikha’s?”
“We found clippings of the robbery in your drawer at Villa Hazni,” Adam said.
Nidal was quick on the uptake. “Ah, Danyal must have sent you to spy on me.”
“How did you know the jewelry was hidden here?” Danyal asked his stepfather.
Nidal chuckled. “I have your father to thank for that. He and the infamous Al-Maha were friends. Did you know that?”
“You’re lying,” Danyal said hotly. “My father would never have been friends with a thief.”
“Your father wasn’t a saint,” Nidal sneered. “He and Al-Maha knew each other since their days at the orphanage. After your father died, I found a letter from Al-Maha among his mail. In the letter, Al-Maha told your father where he had hidden the jewelry.”
“Why would Al-Maha do that?” Adam asked.
“He found out he had terminal cancer. He didn’t want to go to his grave carrying his secret with him. He died at the lake house soon after.”
“Al-Maha was the man living at the lake house?” Danyal said.
“Na’am, the police had no idea who he was, of course. He left the orphanage so long ago, no one from the village would have remembered him. I’m sure your father must have planned to take the jewelry for himself if he hadn’t died.”
“No, he wouldn’t. He would have returned it.”
“Then why did he hold on to Al-Maha’s letter?”
“I don’t know but I’m sure he wouldn’t have taken the jewelry.”
“If it makes you feel better, go ahead and think that.” Nidal’s tone sounded bored.
“How did Ms. Mahveen and Mr. Talish become your accomplices?” Adam asked.
“According to Al-Maha’s letter, the hiding place of the jewelry was written in a book called The Hour of the Oryx. He bought it on a whim in a dusty little bookshop in his homeland of Iran. The book supposedly contained spells for summoning Mehrshad, the jinn who held the key to a cave of treasures. The title tickled Al-Maha’s fancy, so he bought the book. He told your father he was hiding the book and all the money he had left in a blue suit at the lake house. After I read the letter, I went to the lake house to look for the book but it was too late. Al-Maha was already dead and the house had been emptied of his possessions. I found out that his books and clothes had been given to the orphanage…”
“So you had Ms. Mahveen and Mr. Talish come work there so they could look for the book,” Adam cut in.
“Yes. Through mutual friends, I had learned that they were interested in magic. It was also a stroke of good fortune that Talish spoke Persian, having worked in Iran for many years. I contacted them, telling them I wished to get hold of the book so I could summon the jinn and get access to the cave of treasures. They had heard of the legend and were eager to become my partners in finding the book. They searched the storage rooms at night for the book but the housekeeping people beat them to it.”
“Why did you kill them when they were helping you?” Adam asked.
Nidal’s lips curled with scorn. “They had outlasted their usefulness. I had to pretend to go along with their quackery. I doubt those two charlatans would have been able to summon a mouse much less a jinn. They told me the spells called for oryx and human sacrifices and I must help them with that. That’s when I decided to use Danyal and kill two birds with one stone.”
“Why didn’t you kill them right away and take the book?” Adam asked.
“Talish carried a gun. I had to wait until they were occupied.”
Ah yes, the gun.
“How come you found the jewelry so quickly?” Danyal asked.
“All I had to do was check out the section of the grave and the name and date of the grave marker under which it was buried. It also gave the coordinates for the stash buried by the lake house.”
“There’s more jewelry buried by the lake house?” Danyal said.
“Yes, Al-Maha was a cunning fellow. He didn’t believe in putting all his eggs in one basket. What a stroke of good fortune that I’ll be able to retrieve it before they start building the new house.”
One of the men came up. “Everything is all packed up, boss. What do you want us to do next?”
“Take the boys and bodies and load them all into the truck. We’re going to the lake house.”
The lake hou
se? Is he planning to drown us there?
The oryx whimpered and pulled at her ropes. Sparing her a glance, Nidal told the men, “Untie the oryx and let her go.”
The men hastened to obey. After the animal had been cut loose, she looked around uncertainly. One of the men slapped her on the rump and with a frightened bleat, she took off into the trees.
The men gagged Adam and Danyal before bundling them all into the back of the truck. It had transported the oryx and reeked of urine and feces. Every breath Adam took, he inhaled the disgusting stench. The bodies of the dead teachers were brought in next. The men had wrapped them with white sheets, but their faces were uncovered. Mr. Talish’s eyes were half open, his mouth frozen in a grimace. A wet trail of blood ran at the side of Ms. Mahveen’s mouth. Adam’s stomach churned at the sight.
The men closed the back of the truck with a loud slam. It would have been pitch black if not for the dim light glowing above their heads. With a whining of gears, the truck sputtered to life and moved forward with a jerk. It accelerated until it was rattling along the road. Each bump jarred the prisoners and sent the items from the altar skittering around them. The bodies of the teachers came close to touching them a few times. Each time, the Troublesome Trio would close their eyes and blubber.
The truck slowed down and came to a jolting stop. The men, now holding flashlights, dragged the prisoners out one by one and carried them into the living room of the lake house. The bodies were brought in and placed farther away. Adam was grateful for that. The odor of putrefying blood was nauseating.
Nidal leaned down and whipped off their gags. Chuckling evilly, he said, “Any last words you want to say?”
“What are you planning to do with us?” Danyal said.
“You’ll soon find out. Goodbye. I can’t say it was nice knowing you boys.”
With those taunting words, he and his men trooped out, leaving the youths in darkness. It was like a furnace inside the house. Sweat trickled out from Adam’s pores, dampening his clothes and beading on his face. To make things worse, his jaw throbbed, and his split lip burned.
“I’m sorry,” Danyal said, his voice thick with tears. “It’s because of me you’re all in this mess.”
“How come you showed up at the cemetery?” Adam asked.
“I heard you cry out. I peeped through the window and saw those men dragging you to the car. I knew they must be Uncle Nidal’s men. I stayed out of sight and followed the car. I had a feeling it was heading towards the cemetery but I couldn’t keep up with it. When I finally got there, I heard the shots. I crept close to the lights and heard my stepfather asking where I was.”
“You shouldn’t have shown yourself,” Adam said. “You should have gone to get help.”
“I was going to. But after I heard Uncle Nidal’s threat, I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to kill you and these boys. What were they doing there, anyway?”
Adam gave Danyal a quick account of how the Troublesome Trio had ended up at the cemetery. After he was done, Haysam said to Danyal, “We had no idea Mr. Nidal wanted to kill you.”
Danyal sighed. “My stepfather has a lot to answer for.”
“What do you think he’s going to do with us?” Fadi asked.
“Probably dump us all in the lake after they find the second stash of jewelry,” Adam said.
The words had barely left his mouth when the door opened. Adam peered at the dark shape that came in. It was one of the men, carrying a container in his hand. As the youths strained their eyes to see what he was doing, a splashing sound came to their ears.
“It smells like…gasoline,” Danyal gasped.
As the terrible realization hit them, a match flared and the door slammed. The next moment, tongues of fire licked hungrily at the door.
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Trial by Fire
“That devil,” Danyal spat out. “He’s going to burn the house down with us inside.”
“And no one will think twice when they see the fire,” Adam said. “They’ll think it’s the new owner burning it down.”
“I don’t want to burn,” Fadi howled.
“What are we going to do?” Haysam moaned.
“We have to try to get these ropes off,” Adam said, panic clawing at his throat as the flames spread along the walls. They gasped and grunted as they strained against their bonds. The cords cut into Adam’s flesh, but he clenched his teeth and struggled harder. It made no difference. The ropes would not budge.
The acrid odor of smoke permeated the air as the fire crept up the walls around them. With a greedy crackle, it moved across the floor towards them. Adam winced as the Troublesome Trio screamed at the top of their lungs.
Layla paced in the sitting room upstairs at Villa Wadha. “Where could he be? He’s been gone too long.”
“Maybe he fell asleep at Heba’s house,” Zahra said.
“Or he could have run into Mahmood and stayed to chat with him,” Zaid said. The anxious look in his eyes belied his reassuring words.
Layla shook her head. “He would have answered his phone when I called him.”
“Maybe the battery went dead,” Zahra said.
“No, something’s wrong,” Layla said.
“I wish I had gone with him,” Zaid said, scowling at his injured foot.
Layla stopped pacing and said, “I think Zahra and I should go to Heba’s house. If I’m wrong and he’s fallen asleep there, I’ll smack him.”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Zaid said. “If something’s happened, you could be walking into danger.”
“Zaid’s right,” Zahra said. “It might be dangerous.”
Layla glared at the brother and sister. “If the two of you are going to gang up on me, I’ll go alone.”
“Don’t be foolish,” Zaid snapped. “Remember what happened to you at Dukhan Castle last year when you went off on your own?”
Layla bit her lip and looked away, her expression chagrined.
Zahra said, “I have an idea. Layla and I will go the orphanage and ask Heba and Mahmood to go with us.”
“I’ll use the crutches and come with you,” Zaid said. “I’ll get Mahmood and you can get Heba. You know where her room is?”
“Yes,” Layla said. “She took us there once.”
They set off at a moderate pace from Villa Wadha in consideration of Zaid’s hobbling walk. Minutes later, they were standing in the atrium at the orphanage.
“I’ll leave the crutches and use the handrails to go up to Mahmood’s room,” Zaid said.
“We’ll go up with you before we get Heba,” Zahra said. “You’re still not steady on your feet. We don’t want you falling down the stairs. Mahmood can help you on the way down.”
Though Zaid protested that he would be fine, the girls insisted.
After they had seen him safely up, Layla and Zahra returned downstairs and made their way up to Heba’s dorm on the second floor. They quietly opened the door, not wanting to disturb her roommate. Heba lay curled up on the bed, a blanket covering her.
Zahra turned on her flashlight while Layla nudged Heba gently.
Heba opened her eyes and blinked in surprise at them. Throwing off the cover, she sat up. She wore a mauve nightdress, her hair cascading down her back.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered, her voice thick with sleep. “Is something wrong?”
Layla told her quickly, keeping her voice low.
“Of course, I’ll come with you,” Heba said. “Give me a minute to get dressed.”
Pulling a gown over her nightclothes, she bound up her hair in a scrunchie and donned a scarf before shoving her feet into sneakers. Her roommate was still fast asleep across the partition when they left the room and hurried down the corridor.
As they approached the stairs, a voice behind them demanded, “Where in the world are you
girls going?” Startled, the girls turned around to see Ms. Yusra, the dorm mother. She wore pajamas, her hair tumbling around her shoulders. She stared at Layla and Zahra. “What are you girls doing here? Shouldn’t you be at Villa Wadha?”
“We came to speak with Heba,” Layla said. “We needed her help. We’re going downstairs to talk.”
Ms. Yusra’s brows rose. “At this time of night?”
“We couldn’t wait until morning,” Zahra said.
Ms. Yusra’s eyes narrowed. “I’m coming with you until you finish talking. Wait right here while I get dressed.”
The girls exchanged looks of dismay as she went down the hall. They had no choice but to wait for her.
“Why did she have to make rounds tonight of all nights,” Heba groaned.
“What are we going to do?” Zahra said. “We can’t tell her why we’re really here.”
“We’ll have to think of something on the way down,” Layla said. “Right now, my mind is blank.”
Ms. Yusra reappeared, wearing a scarf and a tunic over her pajamas. “Ta’al, let’s go.”
Squirming, the girls headed down the stairs, Ms. Yusra’s sneakers tapping ominously behind them.
Zaid’s ankle throbbed and his forehead was wet with sweat by the time he got to Mahmood’s room. To add to his angst, Mahmood was not in the room.
Where could the boy be?
Zaid sat down on the bed. He would wait a few minutes. Maybe Mahmood would show up soon. After several minutes had elapsed and there was still no sign of the boy, Zaid got to his feet. There was no time to wait on Mahmood. Zaid would have to hobble on his crutches and accompany the girls to Heba’s house. He could not let them go alone.
Returning to the hallway, he limped towards the stairs. A shadow loomed before him and he reared back, an involuntary cry leaving his lips. As the figure came closer, the nightlight fell upon him. It was Mr. Rakin, wearing black and green striped pajamas.
He frowned when he recognized Zaid. “What are you doing here?”
