“No ... what good would it do ... Abdulah was the real culprit anyway, and he’s dead.”
“Good, I had hoped that was how you would feel. But, I am curious about one thing,...how did Abdulah die?”
“Rashid killed him.” she answered simply, and in such a tone that David did not question further. Then she shook her head, as if to clear it, and asked, “How is my family, David? This must have been hard on them.”
“Yes, it has been hard on them,... and me. But we all hung in there, and Joey was great. He never gave up hope. He’s the one who convinced me to hire a private detective.”
“Do they know you’re here and that I’m alive and well?”
“No, they don’t know yet. Everything happened so fast once your Rashid arrived.”
“He’s not my anything!” she snapped at him, and then was instantly contrite. It was unfair to lash out at David for the hurt and anger she felt for Rashid. “I’m sorry David, I didn’t mean to snap,” and to change the subject, she asked, “Did he say when we could leave?”
“Yes, he said the jet would be ready as soon as we were.”
“Good. It won’t take me very long to get ready, but don’t you want to freshen up before we leave? You must have just gotten off the plane, are you sure you want to get right back on.”
“Well,” he said, rubbing his stubbly chin, “It would be nice to grab a shave and take a shower.”
Sara laughed, “I haven’t seen that they have any showers in this place, but I’m sure we can fix up you up with something.”
She went to the bell cord to summon Fatima, and when the young girl entered and spied David, she ducked her unveiled face and ran into the bed chamber.”
“What was that all about?” he asked, puzzled at the girl’s behavior.
“Oh, I forgot. You are a stranger, and it’s not proper for a strange man to see the face of a woman without her veil.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll go in and see if she can arrange a shower for you.” said Sara with a chuckle as she went into the bedchamber.