Palms zipped past as Xander and Elmahdy followed the road signs into Tora, a village south of Cairo. Xander gave the detective a sideways glance. Elmahdy kept his eyes on the road, both hands gripping the steering wheel. His jaw bulged on one side, a sign Xander now knew to mean the man was trying to stay calm.
A part of Xander was glad Elmahdy wasn’t talking. All he’d say is why this wasn’t going to help them, Faris would never reveal what he knew, it wasn’t even likely he was involved, they were going out on a limb…
But it could be the last limb they had.
Xander rubbed the back of his neck. It was the third day of investigations—his second—and Elmahdy was ready to move on. But Xander couldn’t give up. With no luck scouring Saqqara and Cairo, talking to Faris Al-Rashid was the next logical step. Xander needed direction. Maybe Faris would let something slip.
The road curved. The car hugged the bend as they passed a street of one crumbling apartment block after the other. A twenty-foot sand-colored brick wall came into view, topped with a curl of barbed wire. They pulled under the main entrance and the guard stepped out, confirmed their identities and appointment, and the metal gate slid open for them to drive through. They rolled toward the main building, its yellow-brick facade speckled with iron-barred windows and stained from a hundred years of sandstorms.
After going through security, they were led through the prison complex. A domed roof loomed forty feet above their heads. Murmurs echoed in the hall, interrupted by the occasional scream. Xander pressed his lips together, resisting the urge to scratch his nose. The place reeked of bodily fluids.
Glimpses of prisoners in cages flashed in the corners of his eyes. Men hung onto the bars in front of them, some sticking their hands past the metal rods toward him. He couldn’t count the people as he walked by, but the cages were much too small for all of them.
The guard opened a door, then stood to the side, waving a hand for Xander and Elmahdy to enter. They walked into a large room, filled with folding tables and plastic chairs. Unsmiling, the guard let the grimy steel door slam shut.
Elmahdy led the way to one of the empty tables and pulled out a chair. With a frown, he settled into a chair and folded his hands on top of the table.
Xander took the seat next to him and reclined, arms crossed, mulling over exactly what he wanted to say. Which, in front of the detective, was limited.
A few minutes had passed when Elmahdy let out an impatient sigh and rubbed his chin. “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that.”
“Thank you.”
“This is only going to be a waste of time, I’m afraid.”
Here he goes again.
“Where else do you suggest we look, then? Her flat has been searched. Nothing. We’ve watched all the surveillance footage. Nothing. We’ve talked to every—”
“I understand you feel helpless, but—”
“I’m not going to sit around and wait for a clue to drop into my lap.” It was all he could say rather than tell Elmahdy the real reason for wanting to come: to punch Faris in the face.
“That’s not what I’m suggesting.” Elmahdy shifted in his seat. “I just think you’re too… invested.”
“You better believe I’m invested.” Xander scowled. If only he could have come alone. “Still waiting for you to give me a better suggestion. And I don’t want to hear ‘keep calm’ again.”
At sounds of movement outside the room, Elmahdy bumped him with his elbow and tilted his head toward the door.
Xander’s spine stiffened and his muscles tensed as Faris was led inside, each side flanked by one of the somber prison guards. At a snail’s pace, he approached their table. Like he knew each step squandered every precious second.
The prisoner ever so slowly eased himself into a chair across from them and nodded up at the prison guards, who turned and left without a word.
Although his hair had grown longer since the trial, Faris still had it greased and combed back. The wrinkles at the side of his eyes and on his forehead had deepened, otherwise he looked very much unaffected by his incarceration.
“You summon me out of my charming little home for this?” Faris flashed a forced smile at Elmahdy. “I was just boiling water in my kitchenette for a cup of tea.”
“Don’t play coy with us, Faris,” Xander growled, leaning forward, eyes narrowed. “You know exactly why we’re here.”
The inspector placed a hand on Xander’s shoulder and pressed him back into his seat.
“Let me handle this,” Elmahdy whispered.
“My, my. Touchy,” Faris said smoothly, that ridiculous smile still plastered across his face.
“Mr. Al-Rashid,” the detective said, turning back to the prisoner, “I assume you haven’t heard of the latest developments concerning Leila Sterling. Three days ago, we received word that after leaving her place of work on Tuesday evening in Saqqara, Egypt, she never arrived back home. Due to your past with Ms. Sterling, it is only natural that we, uh, seek your cooperation in helping us discover her whereabouts.”
“In other words, you’re accusing me of being responsible for that cow’s disappearance?” Faris stuck out his lower lip and raised his eyebrows.
Xander jumped up, the feet of his chair screeching across the floor, and leaped toward him. “Don’t call her that again, you—”
Elmahdy grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back before he could get close enough to Faris to throw a punch.
“Stay calm,” Elmahdy hissed in Xander’s ear.
Xander took in a deep breath through his nostrils and returned to his seat, still dreaming of how sweet it would feel to break Faris’s nose.
“Now, as I was saying, we are investigating any possible connections,” Elmahdy continued. “Perhaps you have a name for us? Or maybe you know someone we could talk to who might help?”
Faris watched them and his smug smile slowly returned. He rubbed his short beard with his hand, uncrossed and crossed his legs, sighed.
“Yes?” Elmahdy’s voice had developed a slight edge.
Xander’s lip curled. At last, the detective was also losing patience. Maybe they would both end up punching Faris in the face.
A satisfied expression remained glued on Faris’s face. “No.”
Xander banged a fist down the table. “Tell us what you’ve done.”
“Keep it down in there or your session is over,” an officer shouted from the doorway.
“Mr. Harrison, please,” Elmahdy said through gritted teeth.
Faris remained motionless in his seat, calmly blinking at them as if unnerved by Xander’s outburst. “I don’t like the tone of this conversation,” the prisoner said, glancing over his shoulder at the guards.
“Mr. Harrison will behave himself. Let me try again.”
Faris swung his gaze back to Elmahdy and narrowed his eyes.
The inspector clicked his tongue. “You adamantly deny any involvement in her disappearance?”
“Correct.” Faris nodded.
Xander shifted in his seat and the detective shot him a furious glare.
“If you are not directly involved,” Elmahdy went on, his voice soothing, “is it possible you are aware of any threats made against Miss Sterling? Not necessarily any made by yourself, but by other parties.”
Faris glanced around the room as if suddenly fascinated by the light fixtures.
“Gov.” Xander twisted around to face the detective, and whispered, “Either he talks or I’ll force it out of him.”
“You heard the officer,” Elmahdy said firmly. “Sit down or you’re going to have to leave. Don’t ruin this. We might not get another chance to talk to him. They could ban you from visiting again.”
“Fine. Shall I make the offer, then?”
Elmahdy nodded. “He’ll bite. Believe me.”
Glowering, Xander turned back to the prisoner and crossed his arms. He glared at him. Saw himself wrapping his hands around his neck and crushing him.
“We have a deal for you,” Xander started, testing the waters, watching for a sign Faris’s interest was piqued.
The man’s mouth remained in a straight line.
“A private flat,” Xander continued through his teeth, “here at Tora. You’ll have a bed, a kitchen, books, whatever. No more cage.”
Faris blinked slowly.
“All you have to do is tell us what you know.”
A grin spread across Faris’s face. “That sounds splendid. But I won’t say a word. That is, unless you can give me something else.”
“So you do know something?” Xander placed both hands on the table.
“I want an early release. Today.”
Elmahdy sputtered. “Out of the question.”
“Then I’m afraid I can’t help you.” Faris frowned and lifted his hands, palms up. The chains linking his handcuffs clattered.
Xander leaned forward, his upper lip twitching. “Stop lying. You know exactly what’s going on.”
“Even if I did know something, I don’t see why I should help.” Faris held his gaze. “I really don’t care what happens to the girl. She is responsible for my son’s death, as are you, and until you both are given adequate punishment for what you’ve done, I have nothing to say.”
“We’re not responsible and you know that,” Xander shot back. “If Amir hadn’t tried to burn her to death, and then go and stab me, she wouldn’t have shot him. And you’ve been complicit in everything that’s happened to her. You’re not fooling anyone. You know where she is. Tell us.”
“Oh. Well. You now have me completely convinced. You want to know where she is?” Faris’s lips contorted. “She’s probably lying in some shallow ditch, slowly being eaten by the vultures.”
Xander leaped from his seat and lunged over the table.
“Harrison, stop!” Elmahdy called out.
Dodging Elmahdy’s attempt to grab him, Xander pulled Faris from his seat by his collar. He ignored the guards’ shouts of warning, then planted a fist squarely onto Faris’s jaw to the sound of a sickening crunch. A tooth flew across the room.
The guards yelled and ran toward them. Xander released Faris, stepping back to get a good look at the damage. Blood covered his cheek, flowing freely from his nostrils. Before Xander could decide if it looked broken or not, an officer grabbed him by the arm and shoved him toward the door.
“Both of you, out. Now.”
Xander threw Faris one last dirty look. Smeared by blood, Faris’s mouth tugged up into a sly smile. Xander’s stomach twisted into a knot. He should have slugged him a second time.
“Was punching him really necessary?” Elmahdy growled once they had retrieved their belongings and had been shown the way to the parking lot. “I knew this was going to be a waste of time.”
“He called her a cow.” Xander threw his hands up in the air. “Did you even listen to that bloke? He knows something. Just from the look on his face, you can tell he knows what’s going on. He knows where she is.”
“Oh, you can read minds?”
“Of course not. But who else would want something to happen to her? Who?”
“Mr. Harrison.” Elmahdy stopped when they reached the car and met Xander’s eyes with a solemn gaze. He wet his lips, glanced down at the keys in his hands, then looked back up. “I have a few questions for you.”
Xander’s heart squeezed painfully as he watched the detective. Had Elmahdy heard something new? With one hand, he gripped the strap of his backpack and nodded.
“How would you describe Ms. Sterling’s behavior in the months, weeks, or days before she vanished?”
Her behavior?
Elmahdy continued, “Did she seem depressed? Distant? Unhappy? Distracted?”
“I… no. No, she didn’t.”
“Did you perhaps talk with each other less than usual? Did she mention any new friends or colleagues?”
Xander frowned. “What are you getting at?”
“I hate to say this, but have you considered the possibility she ran away?”
A wintry breath swept over Xander, chilling his blood. “You can’t be serious.”
“It’s an angle I have to explore.”
“She wouldn’t.” Xander straightened his shoulders and clenched his fists. “She’s not like that.”
“Think about it.” Elmahdy opened the car door. “That’ll be all for today. I’m heading to my daughter’s football game. Do you need a ride anywhere?”
Xander shook his head, hollowness expanding in his stomach. This was all simply another day at work for the detective. “I’ll catch a bus back to the hotel. To… do some reading.”
“Good idea. It’s probably for the best. I wouldn’t want you to get into any more fistfights.” Elmahdy lowered himself into the driver’s seat. “You’ll be joining Al-Rashid if you keep this up.” He slammed the door.
Xander stood rooted to his spot as the car pulled away, the detective’s words reverberating in his mind. Leila, a runaway? It wasn’t possible.
The car vanished out of the gate and Xander refilled his lungs purposefully. Elmahdy was wrong.
He made his way out of the compound, his backpack suddenly fifty pounds heavier. All he could do now was pray Faris was wrong too, and he wasn’t going to go searching for his love’s dead body.