Sheikh Surrender

by Jacqueline Diamond

  It was beyond him to put a good face on the need to say goodbye. He did not have the temperament or the social graces to smooth over this painful end to something precious. Having spent most of his adult life preparing for war and dealing with its aftermath, he had never learned how to deal with the subtler sorrows of peacetime.

  And so, when he saw Jenny’s lips tremble, he didn’t offer comfort. Indeed, he had none to give her.

  Outside, the wind picked up. Tree branches lashed the air. From the direction of the Rivases’ house, Zahad heard someone gunning an engine. As a precaution, he went to the window, but he could see nothing in the deepening darkness.

  “That must be Ray. He’s always working on that car.” Jenny came to stand beside him.

  “I assume it is a hobby, since they have two operational vehicles.” Zahad fingered the silken lightness of her hair.

  Jenny caught her breath but made no move to return the caress. “It’s a classic. He swears it will be worth a lot of money when he gets done.”

  Zahad could not resist touching her again. He laid his arm lightly around her waist, hoping she would not mind.

  To his satisfaction, she swayed toward him. A slight shift and she was in his arms, her face upturned, her lips parting. Savoring the moment, he lowered his mouth to hers.

  She kissed him fully, her tongue exploring his teeth and her arms winding about his neck. At once he was ready for her, but, unwilling to hurry their tenderness, he ran his hands along her hips as he nuzzled her cheek and neck.

  A loud crunch resounding from outside startled them both. Instinctively, he released her and turned. Still he could make out nothing through the glass.

  “I hope he didn’t hit the retaining wall again,” Jenny said.

  “You mean Ray?”

  She nodded. “One time the brakes failed while he was backing out and he hit that low wall. He spent a fortune for a new bumper on eBay.”

  “A fortune?” Zahad said. “I wonder if he truly cares whether he turns a profit or whether he simply enjoys the process. It seems to me there are more worthwhile ways to use one’s spare time. In fact, we have hit upon one ourselves, have we not?”

  “I…” Jenny wavered indecisively. Zahad hoped she would ease back into his arms, but instead she retreated. “We’ll have to go get Beth soon.”

  “Yes, of course.” He swallowed his disappointment.

  “Tell me what you learned today. You said you ran background checks.”

  “There was nothing definitive. My service filled in a few interesting details, that is all.”

  From a police standpoint, the neighbors were a relatively clean bunch, Zahad explained. Bill had a drunk-driving conviction from six years ago, and the police in Big Bear had arrested, but later released, both Tish and Al eight months earlier for engaging in mutual combat during a squabble at a restaurant. In addition, their credit reports were a mess, although they’d paid off quite a few bills recently.

  “I’m sorry to hear they fight so much,” Jenny said. “That doesn’t bode well for their marriage.”

  “They do not strike me as a happy couple,” Zahad agreed. “It might help if they had a large family nearby, as we do in Alqedar. The older men would counsel the husband, and the women would heap advice upon the wife. They might make peace simply to avoid being inundated with tender concern.”

  She smiled, but her smile faded quickly. Outside, a branch hit the side of the house as the wind stirred again.

  Jenny checked her watch. “I hope Beth’s on her way back. She needed to let off steam but…”

  From the direction of the Rivases’ house, a woman’s scream tore through the air. The heart-stopping cry came again, filled with anguish.

  “Beth!” Jenny cried. “Oh, please don’t let anything have happened to her.”

  The two of them ran for their coats. Why had he been so fixated on himself? Zahad wondered in disgust. Why had he let the little girl go outside when all day portents had signaled that someone was going to die?

  He barely remembered to switch on the alarm and lock the door as they exited. Jenny was already racing ahead of him along the path, desperately calling her daughter’s name.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The night was pitch-dark, with only faint illumination from overhead, and the flashlight in Jenny’s hand revealed little as she raced up the path. The cold air burned her lungs and she stumbled twice before slowing.

  Zahad’s long strides devoured the ground, and he caught up with her quickly. Although she didn’t spare the time to acknowledge him, she was grateful for his presence.

  As they hurried along side by side, she struggled against panic. Surely Beth wasn’t injured. No one would want to hurt her. Something else must have happened.

  Whatever it was, it must have been terrible. That scream had made the hair on Jenny’s arms stand on end.

  They rounded the carport and got their first clear view of the driveway. In the glare of exterior lights, she saw Ray’s old car sitting outside the garage. There was no one in sight.

  “Ray?” she called. “Is anyone here?” Maybe he’d gone in search of the woman who’d screamed.

  The sheikh extended one arm to halt her close to the carport. “Do not put yourself in danger by rushing in,” he said in a low voice.

  “I have to find out…”

  “It may be a trap.”

  A trap. In Jenny’s mind this phrase triggered a terrifying image of the gun as it must have looked rigged in her living room. In her anxiety over Beth, she never would have thought of that. Had the killer lured them here by screaming? If not for Zahad, she’d have rushed forward heedlessly.

  But where was Beth? And Ray and everyone else?

  Motioning to her to stay put, Zahad eased toward the classic car, which looked odd to Jenny sitting right out in the open. It didn’t appear damaged, however, at least not the part that she could see. So apparently Ray hadn’t backed it into the retaining wall.

  In advancing, the sheikh wove from side to side as if expecting to be shot at. Jenny scanned the area. It was eerie how threatening a familiar setting could seem, she thought, and shivered.

  From the direction of the street, she heard girlish voices heading her way. Ellen entered the diffused brightness first, blinking as she called out, “Mom? Where are you?”

  “Grandma!” Cindy seconded.

  “Mrs. Blankenship!” Beth trailed her friend into the light.

  Relief washed through Jenny. Her little girl was safe! For that instant, she didn’t care what danger might lurk. She flew across the driveway and gathered Beth close.

  The child giggled and hugged her back. “Hi, Mommy.”

  Cutting short his advance, the sheikh turned to them and positioned himself in front of the women. To Ellen, he said, “We heard a scream. We must make certain it is not a trap.”

  “We heard it, too. It sounded like Mom,” she replied worriedly.

  “Why isn’t she with you?” Jenny asked.

  “She decided to go home to check on Bill. He wasn’t feeling well. The girls and I were just leaving Tish’s when we heard her.” Ellen stared past them. “Why’s the car sitting there?”

  “Get back!” Zahad grabbed Beth and hauled her to the side of the house, behind cover. “There’s someone in the garage.”

  “Of course there is,” Ellen said, following slowly. “It’s Ray. Why are you acting like this?”

  “We’re taking precautions,” Jenny answered. “Welcome to my world. This is how it’s been for the past week.”

  “It’s Mom.” Ellen pointed to the woman coming out of the garage. She moved stiffly as if in shock.

  “Don’t go in there,” she told Ellen.

  “Is Ray all right?” her daughter demanded.

  There was no answer.

  “Mom! Tell me Ray’s okay.”

  Dolly shook her head. Tear tracks stained her ruddy cheeks.

  “What happened?” Ellen started to cry, too. “Come on, Mom.�
�

  Her mother released a long breath. “I was crossing the street when I heard a crash. The car must have shifted into gear while he was working on it. It…” She swallowed hard. “It pinned him. I backed it out, but I was too late.”

  That must have been the source of the crash, Jenny thought in dismay. The car had struck the inside of the garage. Ray must have been crushed.

  “Call the paramedics,” Ellen said shakily.

  “I already did,” Dolly replied. “I’m sure the police will come, too. Jenny, would you please take the children inside?”

  “Of course.” She shepherded the youngsters in from the cold. Her relief at finding her daughter safe had been replaced by wrenching sympathy for Ellen.

  Despite the turmoil in their marriage, Jenny knew Ellen and Ray had loved each other. She couldn’t imagine building a life with a man and losing him so abruptly.

  In the distance, sirens wailed. Jenny was becoming sick of that sound.

  “Let’s have hot chocolate,” she told the girls. “I’ll put marshmallows in it if I can find some.”

  They needed a distraction. Cindy would need much more than that in the days ahead, but it was all Jenny had to offer right now.

  ZAHAD WAS RELIEVED that Jenny didn’t have to see Ray’s shattered body where the car had smashed him against the back of the garage, and Dolly resolutely kept her daughter away from the scene, as well. There was no hope of saving him. The paramedics called ahead to the coroner to meet them at the hospital.

  Despite the possibility that it had been an accident, Sergeant Finley brought in his crime-scene technicians and secured the area. Although no one had heard a car start on the street or seen anyone else nearby, he sent patrolmen to comb the neighborhood.

  Finley ordered Jenny and the girls out of the house so it could be searched. He seemed inclined to take everyone to the police station for questioning, but Ellen was sobbing uncontrollably and Cindy was becoming more upset by the minute. After talking to another detective, a fellow named Rygel, he relented and allowed the witnesses to be questioned in the police cars and at Dolly’s house.

  As the night wore on, each of them submitted to a separate interview. Since she had found the body, Dolly underwent two interviews, before and after the others. By the time she emerged from Finley’s car the second time, she was fuming.

  “I don’t understand why you keep asking me all that stuff about Ellen,” she told the detective as they stood in her driveway. Zahad, who’d come outside to check out the source of some mechanical noise, was staring downhill toward the Rivases’ house, where a tow truck had hoisted the classic car onto a flatbed. “She was at Tish’s house when this happened. She’d never have hurt Ray, anyway.”

  “Dolly, you know she was jealous,” Finley said. “It can’t be any secret to you that she suspected Ray of having an affair.”

  “She has an alibi for tonight and you know it!”

  “I grant you that, but his death isn’t the only case I’m working on. Hank and I were on our way here to serve a search warrant when we heard your call.”

  “What?” Dolly shook her head as if she must have misheard. “A search warrant for what?”

  “You know I can’t discuss my investigation. I’ve already said more than I should.”

  “Parker Finley, she’s my daughter!”

  “Which is why you shouldn’t hear this,” he told her. “By the way, she needs to find somewhere else to sleep tonight. She might be able to get back in the house tomorrow, but the garage will still be off limits.”

  “They can spend the night at my place,” Dolly said. “May I at least pack some of Cindy’s clothes and her favorite doll?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t let anyone in the house yet.”

  She regarded him with distinct displeasure, Zahad saw when he glanced their way. “Well, all right. But whatever you’re looking for, remember that Ellen just lost her husband. Cut her some slack.”

  “I have to follow procedure,” Finley replied doggedly. “I’ll give you a list of whatever we take. We’ll need her computer.”

  “She uses that to earn a living!”

  “I have to do what I have to do.” He obviously didn’t like being in this position. “Speaking of which, you’ll have to excuse me. I’ve got a search to conduct.”

  “Go ahead,” Dolly said. “The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll finish.”

  Zahad registered the fact that the search warrant involved the computer. That might mean they believed Ellen to be the cyber-stalker. They must have had some fairly credible evidence to persuade a judge.

  Mentally, he connected the dots. Yesterday, Ronald Wang had informed the detective about Fario’s phone conversation with a woman. Finley must have searched the phone records of any woman known to dislike Jenny. Tish and Ellen both fit that description.

  A call from this house to Fario’s number would provide enough evidence to justify a warrant. Still, even if Ellen was the stalker, that didn’t make her his brother’s killer. And she obviously hadn’t killed Ray.

  Zahad wished he could figure out how everything fit together. He had the sense that either he was missing some key point or they might be dealing with more than one murderer.

  The door opened and Jenny came down the steps from Dolly’s house, her coat only half-buttoned. “I need to talk to Parker.”

  “He’s down there.” Zahad indicated the Rivases’ house.

  “I just thought of something I forgot to mention in my interview.” She looked so cold with the wind whipping her hair that Zahad wanted to draw her against him to warm her up. Such a public gesture would be inappropriate, however.

  “Who’s watching the girls?” Dolly asked. “Don’t tell me it’s Ellen. She’s in no shape to take care of anyone.”

  “They’re sleeping and Bill’s keeping an eye on things,” Jenny replied. “He’s trying to help in his curmudgeonly way. He does seem weak, though.”

  “Well, he’s no Hercules, but he could roust everyone if an earthquake hit,” Dolly said. “What did you remember?”

  “It’s cold out here,” she said. “I want to go explain it to Parker.”

  The three of them trooped down the hill. The sergeant didn’t look pleased to see them until Jenny explained the reason she’d come.

  “On Sunday at Ellen’s house, I mentioned the slip of paper Zahad found, the one with the logo from the Crystal Point bank,” she said. “Ray suggested he snoop through people’s accounts and see if anything funny was going on. I think he regarded it as kind of a game.”

  “That’s right,” Dolly said. “He was speculating about a hired killer, that he might have deposited his payoff in one lump sum.”

  Zahad hadn’t heard this before, and judging by the way Finley’s eyes narrowed, it was news to him, also. “Who else was there?” the detective asked.

  “Ellen, Dolly, Bill, me and the Garroways,” Jenny said.

  Dolly wrapped her arms around herself. “What a stupid thing. He’d never have really done it. Please don’t tell me he got killed over that!”

  Finley made notes on a pad. “You’re sure no one else was present?”

  “Just the two girls,” Jenny answered.

  He tucked the notebook in his pocket. “Thanks. This could be useful.”

  “Do you require our presence any further?” Zahad asked.

  He gave a sideways shake of the head. “I’d suggest you people get some rest.”

  Zahad didn’t argue. He went with Jenny to collect Beth, who nestled against his shoulder on the walk home. When he lowered her into bed, she immediately fell asleep.

  “Thank you,” Jenny said as they went into the hall.

  “It was no trouble.”

  “I didn’t mean for carrying her.” She tipped her forehead against his chest. “For being here. For being you. For keeping me sane.”

  When Zahad enfolded her against his heart, a warmth stole through him. He allowed himself to luxuriate in an unfamiliar sense of p
eace and wholeness.

  “A part of myself exists only with you,” he murmured. “The happy part.”

  Jenny gazed up at him. “I feel like we’re living in a magic bubble with evil all around. What will I do when you leave?” She stepped back and with her hands made a little gesture of frustration. “Don’t mind me. It’s late.”

  “I am accustomed to death. You are not.” But that wasn’t the point, he thought as he took her hand. The point was that he belonged here.

  The impossible had happened. He’d fallen in love, and Jenny loved him back. Yet she was right: They were living in a bubble, and it was bound to break. He could even name the day and time: tomorrow, Wednesday, at 9:12 p.m., when his flight took off from Crystal Point Airport.

  Zahad didn’t like to think about what lay ahead for him in Alqedar or the cloudy future he would face if he were removed as head of Yazir Province. Yet if that happened, he would eventually find some other battle to fight, some other cause to live or die for. But he would never again find someone to love this deeply.

  Jenny gave him a rueful smile. “It’s hard to believe I’ve got to be at work in just a few hours. I’d better get some sleep.”

  “Indeed,” he said.

  Slowly she removed her hand from his. There was no need for additional words.

  Once she had retreated, the sheikh sat in his room reviewing everything that had happened, beginning with Fario’s murder. He kept trying to put the pieces together, hoping everything would fit into a pattern.

  Something nagged at the back of his mind but he couldn’t pinpoint it. Was it something from tonight or from his background checks on the neighbors? Or was it something Ron Wang had said?

  The answer eluded him. Perhaps his thoughts tomorrow would become clearer. Zahad hoped so, because tomorrow was all he had left.

  ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, he followed Jenny and Beth to school. Zahad had just pulled out of the parking lot when the point he’d been seeking popped into his head.

  According to their credit reports, Al and Tish Garroway had paid off a number of bills during the past three months. Yet Al had complained that neither of them was earning as much in Mountain Lake as they’d expected.