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A figure moved from darkness into the light pouring from two halogens at the corner of a guest building. Its ghostly shadow darted across the wall of the building next door. Moonlight rained down to highlight their black hood as they continued out into the blackness of the open field. The figure stopped in the center, far from all the buildings, and an eerie blue light illuminated her face.
Huda’s fingers pecked at her phone screen as she scowled into its unnatural glare. Then she held it to her ear. A deep voice with a thick Middle Eastern accent spoke through it.
“Yes, my dear. It is very late. What is it? Is something wrong?”
“Yes, Baba. Something is very wrong.”
“What is it? Are you hurt?”
“Not yet, Baba. But there is a shaitan at work here at the resort. It lives inside a vile woman who sews seeds of lust and seduces married men into Zina.”
“Are you sure of this?”
“Yes, Baba. I am certain of it. I can feel it in my very bones.”
“But, Huda, have you actually seen her seducing these men into an act of Zina?”
Huda whined as she raised her voice.
“Baba, no. How could I have seen it? But I know she is doing it.”
Her father released a heavy sigh through the phone.
“My dear Huda, do you remember Raghibah?”
Huda hung her head, and her voice dropped to a mumble.
“Yes, Baba.”
“Do you remember coming to me with these same accusations about her? You were certain, because you saw her always going into the home of Saafir and Deema, that she was seducing Saafir.”
“There was more than that, Baba.”
Her father cut her off.
“We brought both Raghibah and Saafir before the elders. We investigated them. They were both brought to shame by just the insinuation of guilt.”
“I know, Baba.”
Her father’s voice grew stern and louder.
“But they were not guilty, Huda. Raghibah was caring for Deema’s aging mother. She was like a daughter to them.”
“I still don’t believe...”
“Huda, my dear, you are a smart woman, and I am quite proud of you. But you are a very suspicious person, and sometimes your suspicions are just that. Nothing more.”
“But Baba...”
Huda’s whining took a sudden turn into blubbering.
“She is after Rayan!”
Her boo hoo’ing traveled across the green, but no tears fell from her eyes.
“What?”
“Yes, Baba. And you should see the way he looks at her. I am worried he will not be strong enough to resist the power of her temptations. That he may fall into Zina, Baba!”
“I see.”
“Baba, please, help me. I do not want this harlot to ensnare Rayan.”
“No, I do not want that either.”
Huda’s shoulders rose and fell with her heavy breathing. She pushed out her bottom lip and lowered her voice to a whimper.
“Please, Baba.”
“I want to believe Rayan will be strong in the face of any such temptation. He is like a son to me. But if it as you say, and this woman is after him, then I cannot have my daughter’s marriage destroyed by Zina.”
“Baba, she is a beguiling witch. She walks around the resort wearing almost nothing. Using her body as a trap to pull men into sin.”
Huda added a few more sobs for effect as she waited for her father’s response. Her eyes glared into the distance, focusing on her imagined target.
“There are challenges with this, Huda. The island where you are staying is outside the jurisdiction of the Qubth-ut-Allah. We do not have influence there.”
“But I have seen you work, Baba. I know there is nowhere on Allah’s green earth that the Qubth-ut-Allah cannot reach.”
“I wish it were so, my daughter.”
Huda raised her voice as though she hoped to wake the rest of the island.
“It is so!”
Her father snapped back at her.
“Huda, that’s enough!”
She dropped her gaze to the ground in front of her.
“Yes, Baba.”
“Listen to me. I cannot do anything based on just your... intuitions. You must have solid evidence. Do you understand?”
“I do.”
“You need witnesses. Recordings. Pictures. Video of this woman committing the crimes you are alleging. And it cannot be just pictures of her walking around in these outfits you described. The cultures of the world are not like ours. They are heathens. Such attire is acceptable to them. You will need irrefutable evidence of her in the act of Zina.”
“But how do you expect me...”
“Huda, dear, you will figure it out.”
She huffed a breath through her nostrils.
“You have your phone. You can take pictures and video with that.”
Huda’s foot swiveled as it dug into the grass as she faked sniffles.
“Ok, Baba.”
“I will talk to the elders about this matter and see how they want to handle it, provided you can produce the evidence. But in the meantime, dear Huda, try to focus on your husband. Do not neglect your duty as a wife to serve and please him. This is your greatest defense against the Zina. Do you understand?”
She rolled her eyes but managed to sound sincere.
“Yes, I do.”
“Very good, then. I am proud of you, my daughter. Keep me informed. And may the blessings of Allah be upon you.”
“Thank you, Baba.”
She hung up the phone and stared into the darkness through stoic, dry eyes. Her thumb rubbed the glass on the phone screen, and her teeth ground together. Her chin jutted out as she whispered to the air.
“So, Jessica, it’s cat and mouse, then. And this cat will hide and wait for you to make your move.”
She lifted the phone to look at the screen, and she opened the camera app, switching it to video mode. Her eyebrows slanted inward as her eyes narrowed.
“And then, I will have you.”
