by Lilya Myers
Neither Joey or the Chief had time to catch the import of that question. Lena appeared at the booth and interrupted any response that would have been forthcoming.
“Hey fellas, I’m never one to break up a good party but you need to call it a night. How about this, I’m calling it a night. Come back again with the rest of the paying customers,” Lena said with a smile as she limped off.
The men got up, leaving Lena a tip the size she’d never seen, expressed their thanks for all she’d done, and said good night. They never finished the conversation they were having before Lena showed up at the table. The waitress locked the door behind the men, pulled down the shade by the register, and dropped the entire wad of cash she had just been given into the jug marked Donations: Victims’ Families of the Mutilator.
Dan had a vested interest in what his FBI friend shared with him, although most of the details the agent shared, Dan could have found on his own. Aswad’s quest to have the child, Sarai, killed was his alone. None of Aswad’s sons had any desire to pursue their father’s crusade before or after he went to prison, or even after his death.
The truth about Aswad’s death was revealed during the investigation. He was murdered at the hands of a woman sold into slavery and forced to prostitute herself to Aswad for a promise of freedom she wouldn’t be given. The woman came forward with proof and witnesses, at the urging of Kafele, and through the Egyptian courts, was vindicated. The mysterious letter that N’iam hid was handed over to the Feds.
Of all the atrocities that Nahab committed, there was never a shred of evidence that suggested he had any interest or enterprise in connection with the disappearance of the child, Sarai.
Russ and Rachel’s wedding played out like a fairytale, even if Russ’s arm had to be in a sling. His partner, Joey, made good use of his infirmity to relentlessly barrage him with one-liners at the bachelor party. The newlyweds returned from their honeymoon after spending a magical two weeks on the Island of Capri.
For those who were targets of Aswad’s evil, peace could now come. Life was good, in spite of the terror that had gripped Long Island for almost a year. The Mutilator was dead and long gone.
***
They were sitting in Able’s office.
“I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed your bossy little self these past couple of months, not to mention that the coffee’s been horrible,” Able teased Sarah with a twinkle in his eye.
“Hmmff. The only reason I came back was because no one could stand your whining about it anymore,” Sarah quickly retorted.
They exchanged a contented smile. That familiar smile of comfort and affection that only comes in the safety and presence of someone loved.
It had been months before Sarah could set foot back in the office, much less out of the house. Counseling had finally helped to fade the scene at the airport from color to black and white. More than likely, that night would never be entirely erased from her memory. The FBI’s investigation was ongoing so details about Catello’s death had not been released. And they might never be released. That he died in the line of duty was the extent of what she was told. Dan had a little something to do with that, given how hard she had struggled with Catello’s death.
“Don’t get too cozy with having me around to make your coffee just yet,” Sarah announced to Able.
“Another leave of absence? You just came back!” Able pretended to be indignant even though he already knew what was coming. Dan had already spoken with Able to make sure that he could manage without Sarah for yet another couple of weeks.
“I don’t know what got into them, but Mom and Dad invited me – make that insisted – that I go with them on a cruise to Capri. They never talked about going back there before.” Sarah’s face lit up like the sun and then turned suspicious at Able’s cat-that-ate-the-mouse grin. “You already knew!!
“I did. Only because your father asked me if it would be all right with me. And, he asked me to keep it a secret. I couldn’t spoil it for you or him, now could I?”
“So while you’re being so honest, what else did he tell you?” Sarah asked with a more probing tone.
“Whaddya mean? What else is there to tell? Really, Sarah, isn’t that a big enough surprise?” Able’s response was gentle but chiding.
Sarah made a pouty face. “You almost make it sound as though I’m ungrateful, Able Tolvan. I’m not. I’m sorry that I made you think I didn’t believe you. It’s just that I know my father and I get a funny feeling that…that…there’s just more to it than a happy little family vacation. I also know how close you and my dad have been for years and I thought…well, never mind.”
Able came around the desk and gave her a hug. “Just take it for what it is, Sarah. Let it go, whatever’s in that ever-sleuthing head of yours. Your mom and dad worship the ground you walk on and let’s face it, they almost lost you to a homicidal maniac. They can’t make up for the loss of Catello in your life. Let them do something special for you without thinking there’s more to it.”
Tears rimmed Sarah’s eyes. “Can’t promise but I can try. Okay?”
Able nodded. It was time to change the subject.
“You started to tell me something the other day and, I don’t know, we got interrupted or – it was about some guy in a café in Egypt, no?” Able asked.
“Yeah. Do you remember us sitting in that café and some guy kept staring at us?”
“I remember lots of men staring at you at a lot of places.” He stroked his chin. “Hmmm, can you give me an exact date and time, and oh yes, a description of him? I catalog them,” Able answered with a straight face.
“Ha-ha, very funny. Now be serious.”
“Okay, yes, I remember. I wanted to walk over and punch his face in.”
“Well, now you’ll really want to do that after I tell you that I not only saw him in Egypt when Rache and I were there, but I saw him a number of times when were in Capri.”
“Aw, com’on, Sarah. Cairo’s a stretch with over twenty million people. But Capri, too? Now, that’s pushing it. Do you think that maybe you’re letting that underdeveloped imagination of yours –”
“No! “I’m telling you, that was the same guy!” she retorted with true indignation. “You’re treating me like I’m imagining things – just like my dad. And I’m not thinking that because of the thing in the airport, okay?”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I just don’t want you thinking that there’s always something sinister behind everything that doesn’t line up with how you think. There’s probably a reasonable explanation with the man – one of those weird coincidences. A lot of Europeans take holiday in Egypt and a lot of Egyptians take holiday in Europe. We’re supposed to have seven doubles in the world.”
“Besides, nothing happened, right? He didn’t speak to you or try to follow you or anything like that? He probably remembered seeing you somewhere before, too. So, don’t waste a lot of energy over it.” Able didn’t bother to address the issue about her dad. Sarah had been through a lot and the best thing was to drop the subject.
Able changed the subject. “Hey, are you ready to go back to work? I’m not pushing, mind you. I really need you on this new contract I’m trying to get with a huge company in Belgium. Whaddya say you come to Brussels with me in two weeks? It’ll only be for four days. We’d be back long before you leave on the cruise with your parents.” Able made it impossible for Sarah to say no.
Sarah had never been to Belgium and she knew that the best therapy for her would be to get back to work.
“Well, I guess,” she said with a fabricated reluctance that could have won her an Oscar. Then, they both burst out laughing.
“What does the company do?” she asked.
“They build custom, private jets.”
Don’t miss
the second book in
the Sarah Somers Series.
Sarah, coming soon.
Sarah was jolted awake by the dream. It wasn’t the kind of dream that played out with spe
cific events in a sequence. It was more like snapshots of different things or people that had no rhyme or reason. She’d had it before - too many times than she wanted to admit to herself, no less to anyone close to her. It so happened that the man in this particular dream looked like the man she had seen in Egypt and then again in Capri. Her best friend, Rachel, and her longtime friend and employer, Able, had heard Sarah’s story about the man numerous times. Both believed that it was simply a product of Sarah’s overactive imagination and a case of mistaken identity. There was no way she could be sure it was even the same person.
Since Sarah’s ex-boyfriend Catello’s murder and the scene in the airport with the serial killer not long ago, she wouldn’t dare bring up the subject to anyone. Surely they’d think that she’d gone off her rocker.
Also in the dream there had been a plane crash of some kind. No doubt, she’d be told that it was a subconscious association with her grandparents who had died in a plane crash en route to Capri when she was a baby. It made more sense knowing that. More than likely, that was the reason her mother and father stopped going to Capri although they never talked about it. She wondered what prompted them to suddenly want to take a cruise there.
But there was something else in the dream that seemed to have no place in it. A little girl, a toddler wandering alone through clouds of smoke. The dream always ended there.
About the Author
Lilya Myers grew up in a small hamlet on Long Island. She relocated to Los Angeles in the early 70’s and traveled overseas extensively. Of the year spent in Egypt she reflects, “I wouldn’t do again, and at the same time, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything in the world.”
Although she has worked in various artistic capacities over the years, “Writing, the one thing I have enjoyed above all else, is my passion.”
Ms. Myers has held teaching credentials in three states, run her own redesign business, and is investment and insurance licensed. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband, and other family members of both the two-legged and four-legged varieties.