Читать книгу Son Of The Sheikh - Ryshia Kennie - Страница 13

Chapter Five

Talib watched until the car was out of sight and Sara and the boy were out of the area—out of danger. He stood rocking on the balls of his feet, then spat the remains of his mint gum into the trash. He glanced at the No Parking sign above the trash can that was so faded, it was almost illegible. He thought of the boy. There was something familiar about him. In a way, it was like looking in a mirror. But that was ridiculous. Sara would never do that to him. She obviously liked Moroccan men and she’d made a mistake, but it hadn’t been with him.

He reached into his pocket as if a pack of cigarettes was there. Stress always seemed to bring with it the need for tobacco. If nothing else, the gum took the edge off the craving and replaced a much worse habit that he’d kicked only six months ago. He’d started smoking three years ago despite his otherwise health-conscious lifestyle. It had been different then. He’d needed something, as the cliché went—a crutch. His mind flashed back to when Sara left. At the time, it seemed as though smoking was the only way to get through the pain he refused to admit he was feeling. Still refused to admit.

A senior police officer who he’d known for years came out of the north entrance, spotted him and came over. He gave the officer what information he knew.

Now, he waited as Ian crossed the street.

“How the hell could this have happened?” Ian asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. “Anything new?” The frown lines carving his tanned face reflected his unspoken worry, that the explosion could have a catastrophic effect on a new opening.

“No,” Talib said. “I haven’t had a chance to do more than a cursory investigation and the police are still inside.”

He had gone through the possibilities and checked the site before the authorities had arrived. “It all adds up to a fairly professional job, and yet, oddly amateur. I know those two images clash, but that’s how it appears to have gone down. It seemed to be more a diversion than anything else.”

He thought of the boy, Sara’s child, that he’d snatched from the hands of a woman who claimed she was returning him. All that seemed a little much unless there was money involved. The Sara he knew had no money, but despite his assumptions, that all could have changed in the intervening years since they’d been a couple. He didn’t know anything about her since their breakup. He’d been back to the States as part of his career with the family business on numerous occasions, and never had he looked her up. Mainly, he’d tried not to think about her. The end of their relationship hadn’t been easy. It had been a blow to his pride, or at least that’s what he told himself. The truth hurt a little too much.

He wasn’t sure what to add to what he’d just said for he didn’t know how the child and the maid fit in. “Of course, that’s just off the top. I haven’t had a chance to take a close look at the aftermath.” The truth was that his thoughts couldn’t focus.

Sara.

He couldn’t believe she was here and he had no idea why she was. The last time he’d seen her had been in Wyoming. She’d been finishing up her last year of school and paying for it by working as a manager at the hotel where he was staying. Her appearance now was a mystery, one for which he didn’t have an answer, and in the order of priorities, it would have to vie with the aftermath of the explosion and the investigation that would follow. He knew that the police would follow up with various hotel guests, but he’d pull a few strings to get her out of the fray. He’d do that because, no matter what had happened to the two of them, he still wanted to protect her. That meant making sure that neither she nor her son was any more involved than they needed to be.

“They seem to be petty thieves after money and jewelry. There was quite a bit of that taken,” Ian said, breaking into his thoughts. “Three wallets and a purse are missing, but a jewelry bag in one of the suitcases holding some rather expensive jewelry was left. Odd, when it seems like a pickpocket was at work in the lobby, they miss a stash there for the taking.”

One of the police officers spotted them and came over. “You were here at the outset?” he asked Talib.

“I was. I’ve given my report,” Talib said. “Have you found anything else?”

“We’ve gotten all the physical evidence we can. Looks like the explosion was a diversionary ploy to commit a bit of petty theft.”

“None of the rooms were disturbed. In fact, there’s no evidence that the perpetrators went any farther than the main floor,” he said, addressing Ian. “We’ll be continuing with the investigation but we should be able to let you clean up the area later this afternoon.”

“Seems a little excessive for petty theft,” Talib said. He didn’t like the direction this investigation was taking. It seemed slightly off-track.

“We’ve seen it before,” the officer said, but his tone was almost defensive. He didn’t give them a chance to reply but instead moved toward where the hotel guests gathered.

He was wrong, Talib thought. The explosion as a diversion for petty theft seemed too simple. In fact, it was too simple. It was why law enforcement in Marrakech had recently gotten a bad name. Too many crimes had been stuffed under the rug. But the police had their own problems with ongoing complaints of conspiracy and corruption. That aside, there was more at work here and the police officer either didn’t know, or wasn’t admitting to.

Talib thought of the scene with the maid and the boy. He’d told no one. He wasn’t prepared to divulge what he knew. Not yet, and not to the authorities. There had been too many recent issues with the police from the firing of a corrupt member, to the bungling of a recent tourist kidnapping. He wouldn’t chance an error being made here. Far too much was at stake.

“We need to get your security one hundred percent in place, like I advised you weeks ago.” There was an edge to his voice that only matched the darkness that seemed to fill his being.

“Talib?” Ian asked. “What’s going on with you? It’s got to do with her, Sara. I knew she’d booked but...”

“You didn’t feel it necessary to tell me,” Talib said. There was no question but only a slight recrimination in his tone.

“After three years, no. Man, you haven’t been a couple for a long time.”

“And it was none of my business.”

“I suspected she had her reasons and if it had to do with you, she’d let you know.” He looked at Talib with a frown. “What’s up?”

“Nothing,” he said. “I was just shocked to see her.”

“Did she say why she’s here?”

“No. And I doubt if it involves a need to see the country.”

“My office,” Ian said, and it wasn’t a question. “We need to talk and it’s the only place we’ll get any privacy in this craziness.”