The Sign of the Scorpion

by Farah Zaman

  Chapter Twenty-Seven:

  An Amazing Tale

  Rashid called, “Hala, look for my knife. We’ve got to cut these ropes and rescue them.”

  Hala located the knife and one by one, as the prisoners were freed, they went over to the gaping hole where the two women had fallen in. A sense of unreality took hold of Layla as they shined flashlights into the deep pit and called out to the women. But it was to no avail. Suha and Mrs. Haddad were beyond the range of sight and sound. In the end, it was determined they must be unconscious or dead. Or they must have fallen down a sinkhole that ran deep underground. The task of searching for them would have to be left to the professionals.

  The sun was past its zenith by the time the prisoners returned to the castle. Layla was glad their horses had been brought for them to ride back. She had not been looking forward to a long walk through the dungeon again. Dhul Fikar must have been on the lookout for them. He was waiting at the door when they entered the castle from the inner courtyard. When he caught sight of Rashid, he blinked and did a good impression of a fish gasping for water on land. The others had all returned from Khaldun and it was almost comical to see their reactions when they saw Rashid.

  “Rashid,” Ghazala gasped, her hand going to her heart. “How…how…” words seemed to fail her.

  “All our tears were in vain it seems, my dear cousin,” said Faisal, as blasé as ever.

  “You must have quite a tale to tell us,” said Kareem.

  “I thought this only happened in books and movies,” said Bilal.

  When Ghazala began peppering him with questions, Rashid raised his hand and said, “You’ll learn everything this evening¸ I promise. Right now, I need to clean up and go see Father.”

  “Where’s Suha?” Ghazala looked around. “I thought she went with you, Miftah.”

  There was an awkward silence.

  Miftah said in a wooden voice, “There was an accident. Suha and Mrs. Haddad fell into a sinkhole. We’ve sent for a team of spelunkers to search for their bodies.”

  “They’re dead?” Ghazala swayed with shock. “But wasn’t Mrs. Haddad in Ghassan City? How did she get to the caves?”

  “They’ll tell us later,” said Bilal, placing an arm around his wife’s shoulder. “Let them recover first.”

  The teenagers ate late lunches in their rooms and settled down for a rest. Before dinner, Tariq came by to tell them his grandfather and Uncle Rashid had a most emotional reunion. Shaykh Sulaiman had been overjoyed his son was alive. Father and son had clung to each other as they shed tears together. Rashid had then given his father and Tariq a condensed version of the events that had occurred on that fateful day.

  “I won’t tell you anything,” said Tariq. “You have to hear it from Uncle Rashid himself. It’s unbelievable.”

  Tariq’s little snippet had only served to keep the teenagers in a state of suspense during the rest of the evening. Finally, it was time for explanations and they all headed to the domed hall. All the family was there, as well as Kareem, Hatem and Nura. Shaykh Sulaiman was brought in by Qais on his wheelchair, looking happy and so much healthier than before. As everyone settled in their seats in the domed hall, an expectant hush fell over the assembly.

  Rashid began his tale, filling in the blanks they had not yet heard. He had made his usual tour of the desert and then headed to Gurian Plateau to look for the lizards. When he reached the valley, it was time for the midday prayer. He went to the lake, took off his watch and began to make ablution. Hearing a sound behind him, he spun around to see two masked men almost upon him. He had no time to defend himself for the next moment, one of them hit him on the back of his head and the world went black around him. When he was in possession of his senses again, he found himself caught in the spreading branches of a tree growing out of a crevice on the overhang of the plateau.

  Rashid said, “I realized that the men who had ambushed me must have thrown me over the plateau, hoping I would be smashed to death on the rocks below. Miraculously, the tree had broken my fall and cushioned me from serious injury. I was bleeding from the blow to my head and a deep gash on my thigh. To my relief, I hadn’t broken any limbs. I was able to climb out of the tree and make my way down the overhang to the ravine below.”

  Rashid told them he found his hunting rifle and cell phone lying broken on the rocks at the bottom. It was clear the men had wanted his fall to seem accidental. When he looked up, he could see what a narrow escape he had had. Had he been thrown off the plateau four feet to the left or right, he would have met with instant death. The tree on the overhang had saved his life. But there was no way out of the ravine, which was filled with wild animals at night. Even if his hunting rifle worked, he would run out of ammunition soon.

  By the position of the sun he could see it was almost mid-

  afternoon. He knew a search party would not be sent out until they realized he was missing. But no one might think to look for him in the ravine. The wound on his head had stopped bleeding but the gash in his thigh was still dripping blood. He tore a piece of his undershirt and bound it up. He had a painful headache and could feel himself growing weak from the blood loss. He did not know how long he would be able to survive before help came.

  As Rashid paused in his tale and looked at the rapt faces around him, he smiled and said, “I prayed and went from corner to corner in the ravine, much like Hajar had done when she was looking for water in the desert for Ishmael. I did find a small stream to quench my thirst and that helped a lot. But the heat combined with blood loss was too much. I was about to collapse in exhaustion when help finally came.”

  “How?” asked Zahra, her eyes wide.

  “I heard a helicopter flying above the ravine.”

  “A helicopter?!” came a chorus of exclamations.

  “Yes, it was flying low and I had to get the attention of the pilot somehow. I took off my shirt and began to wave it in the air as the helicopter came closer and closer to where I stood. When it flew past me, I thought maybe my time on earth was up. But to my joy, it turned around and circled the air above me. Then it came down in the flattest part of the ravine. The pilot and two foreign passengers came out. When the pilot asked me how I got there, I told him I had been pushed over. He looked as if he didn’t believe me, so I told him about the tree on the overhang. Shaking his head, he said it was a miracle I had survived.”

  Rashid told them he had no idea who had tried to kill him. He had a feeling it had something to do with the anonymous letters he had been receiving. He suspected they were being sent by someone in the household. He could not take the chance of going back to the castle. He would be exposing himself to the killer again. He decided to stay in hiding until he could find out who his unknown enemy was. With that plan in mind, he threw his bloodied shirt on the rocks, close to where his rifle and cell phone had landed. He knew everyone would assume he had been eaten by the wild animals in the ravine. Clad in his torn undershirt, he was helped into the helicopter where the two passengers made room for him. The pilot asked him where he wanted to go. Thinking where he would be safe, he found the ideal hiding place.

  “Where?” asked Adam.

  “With a group of nomadic bedu herdsmen who had set up camp outside of Khaldun. I’ve helped them in the past and knew they were a trustworthy tribe. When we got there, I told the pilot who I was and promised him a generous reward for keeping silent until I found out who wanted me dead. He promised and told me I didn’t have to worry about the passengers. They were Swedish geologists employed by a mining company to look for oil and would be leaving Ghassan in a few days. After the helicopter left, I was surrounded by the bedu who were curious to know what was going on. I met with the council of elders and told them my tale. They agreed to grant me protection for as long as I needed it. After taking care of my wounds and giving me clothes to wear, it was like I had become one of them. I was hiding in plain sight but still close
to the castle.”

  After Rashid had spent a week recovering from his wounds and gaining full strength, he was ready to contact someone at the castle who would help him. The person he chose was Hatem. Through the bedu, he sent a message, asking Hatem to meet him in the night outside the castle wall. All other meetings took place there.

  “Dressed the way I was, rumors soon began flying around Khaldun that the Hooded Horseman was back,” Rashid concluded.

  “But why did you think you could trust Hatem?” asked Jumana.

  It was Hatem who answered. “Because I was the original Hooded Horseman. After Rashid saved my life, he knew he could trust me with his.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight:

  To Catch a Scorpion

  “You were the Hooded Horseman?” asked Hala. “How did you become him?”

  Hatem sighed. “It’s a long, painful story. It began two and a half years ago when I crossed paths with Al-Aqrab. I saw a young boy being kidnapped. I was able to stop the kidnapper and rescue the boy. The boy was the son of a wealthy merchant in the city. The kidnapper was arrested, and I was called to testify as a witness at the forthcoming trial. That’s when I started receiving threatening letters telling me not to testify or I would regret it.”

  Hatem told them even though he was afraid, he ignored the letters because they needed his evidence at the trial. When he returned home after the trial, he found his wife and three-year-old daughter dead. They had been stung by two scorpions, which were also lying dead next to them.

  “That’s the story the gypsy woman told us about,” said Zahra. “It was Al-Aqrab’s work.”

  “At that time, I didn’t know he was responsible,” said Hatem. “But I knew their deaths weren’t accidental. There were signs they had been tied and gagged. The gags and ropes were taken off after they died to make their deaths appear accidental.”

  They could see the grief on Hatem’s face as he recalled the hurtful memories.

  “How did you learn Al-Aqrab was responsible?” asked Zaid.

  “I visited the kidnapper in prison and begged him to tell me who had murdered an innocent woman and child. With great fear in his eyes, he whispered, ‘Al-Aqrab.’ No matter how much I begged him, he could tell me nothing else. The police didn’t have the faintest idea who Al-Aqrab was. Filled with anger, I was determined to find this killer myself. In the nights I became the Hooded Horseman to find out what I could. During that time, I helped some people, so the Hooded Horseman became known as a good guy. But I had learned nothing of Al-Aqrab. No one seemed to know who he was except the man in prison. One night, a gypsy man came to me and said he knew someone who could tell me about Al-Aqrab. But the person wanted such and such amount of money. I told him I was willing to pay but not until I got the information I wanted. I knew better than to be taken in by some trick. He came back to tell me the meeting had been set for eleven the next night by the racetrack. When I got there, I was attacked by two men with knives.”

  “It was a trap,” said Adam.

  “Yes, and I was unprepared. I had a hunting rifle in my horse’s saddle but couldn’t get to it. I had learned some judo moves and defended myself at the start. When both attackers came at me with their knives from opposite directions, I leaped aside. They ran into each other and one of them was stabbed to death by the other’s knife. In a fury, the remaining attacker came at me with the knife, slashing all over my body. He caused the most damage to my face.” Hatem ran a finger over his scar. “After I blacked out, my assailant took me into the desert so wild animals and vultures could finish me off. Luckily, his knife had missed my vital organs. I recovered consciousness in time to stop more loss of blood. But I would have died if Rashid hadn’t found me the next morning when he rode into the desert. He took me to the hospital and I slowly recovered from my wounds. After I came out, I learned that Al-Aqrab was circulating stories that the Hooded Horseman had killed someone. I knew if I continued looking for Al-Aqrab, my life would be in danger again. That’s why I gave it up. When Rashid offered me a position at the stables, I accepted. And that’s my story.”

  “Wow, what a tale,” said Layla.

  Rashid said, “When I met with Hatem for the first time outside the grove, I asked him to get in touch with the same private investigator I had been planning to bring from Ghassan City. But the investigator was out of the country and would not return until the end of August. Since there was nothing else I could do, I decided to remain in hiding. I would see what Hatem and I could dig up in the meantime. We met several times but still had no idea who wanted me dead. When Hatem told me about the stone in Tariq’s saddle, I became worried. Even more so when he told me he heard the young guests and Tariq talking about Al-Aqrab. I started keeping watch on the castle’s gates at night. I wanted to make sure no strangers were going in. That’s how I saw Jumana being kidnapped and rescued her. When you rode out to the desert, Hatem was worried and came to the bedu camp to tell me. I went after you, trying to keep out of sight. I think you saw me by the dunes.”

  “We did,” said Tariq. “I thought you were a bedu herdsman.”

  “How did you know we were in the caves today?” asked Zahra.

  “Hatem sent one of the grooms with a message. I knew it would be dangerous, so I took a rifle and knife. I used a different route to get into the caves. I let the two men guarding the entrance see me when I got inside. They chased after me, but I hid from them. They went to tell their other two men. When they all came searching for me, I lured them into the cave that had the shaft. I had almost fallen into it once myself, that’s how I knew where it was.”

  “Lucky for us,” said Zaid. “Allah knows what Al-Aqrab would have done to us all.”

  The young people then took turns telling their side of the tale and when they were done, Shaykh Sulaiman said, “Oh, Suha, Suha. She was seduced by Satan. Poor Lamis, what a grievous wrong was done to her.”

  Nura looked like a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “Lamis told me once she was very close to one of her aunts who had no children of her own. That aunt loved her like her own daughter. She must have been talking about Mrs. Haddad.”

  “Suha said Al-Aqrab was your own blood,” said Layla. “Who could she have meant?”

  “There’s only one person here that fits the bill.” Tariq looked at Faisal.

  All eyes swung to Faisal.

  “You think I’m Al-Aqrab?” he said.

  “Layla heard you on the phone one day in your suite,” said Tariq. “You were telling someone you will hold up your end of the deal, no matter the cost.”

  Layla blushed as Faisal stared at her in displeasure. “I’m not even going to ask what you were doing in my suite, young lady. The time has now come for me to reveal why I’ve been going to Khaldun so often. It’s because I’m embarking on an important business partnership. I had to keep it under wraps at the request of the investors until the plan was finalized. We were able to finalize it this morning. It has nothing to do with this Al-Aqrab you’re talking about.”

  “There’s a way to find out if Faisal is Al-Aqrab or not,” said Zahra. “Remember the clue we got from the gypsy woman?”

  “Yes, Zahra’s right,” said Zaid.

  Turning to Faisal, Tariq said, “To prove you’re not Al-Aqrab, can you take off your shirt for us?”

  “Take off my shirt,” Faisal echoed. “You’re not serious, are you?”

  “I’m very serious,” said Tariq.

  “This is ridiculous,” Faisal growled. “What mumbo jumbo did that gypsy woman tell you?”

  “I would advise you to listen to them,” said Rashid. “They’re very smart kids.”

  “Fine.” Faisal relented. “I have no idea what you hope to find.” He stood up and removed his gray cotton T-shirt, revealing a sleeveless white undershirt beneath. And no sign of a tattoo.

  “It’s not there,” said Layla, feeling relieved
for Shaykh Sulaiman’s sake that Faisal was not the killer.

  “I guess Faisal is not Al-Aqrab,” said Zaid.

  “Or the gypsy woman could have lied about the tattoo,” said Kareem. “The gypsies are notorious for telling lies.”

  The teenagers realized at once the significance of the PA’s words.

  “Kareem must be Al-Aqrab,” cried Zahra. “We didn’t mention a tattoo at all, but he knew.”

  Kareem looked blindsided by his blunder. The next moment, he leaped to his feet and pulled out a gun. There were gasps of fear all around.

  “No one leaves this room,” he said. “Or you’re going to die.”

  Hatem looked dazed. “All along, you were right under my nose and I had no idea you were Al-Aqrab. You must have been laughing behind my back.”

  “You were just a fly that had to be swatted away. Better men than you have tried to find me,” said Kareem.

  “Suha lied when she said Al-Aqrab was your own blood,” said Adam. “Kareem is not related to you.”

  “Oh, but I am,” said Kareem.

  Shaykh Sulaiman frowned. “Explain yourself.”

  “In the eyes of the world, I’m not an Al-Khalili. My father denied me my heritage before I was even born. But it doesn’t change who I am. I still have Al-Khalili blood flowing through my veins.”

  “Uncle Husam’s son,” Tariq gasped. “Suha’s half-brother.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” Layla exclaimed. “It all makes sense now. Kareem and Suha were the ones arguing in the grove that night.”

  “You’re Uncle Husam’s son?” Shaykh Sulaiman whispered, looking frail and tired again.

  “Yes, I’m Husam’s son,” said Kareem. “Since I was a child, my mother told me how my father abandoned us for another woman. She wouldn’t tell me who he was, though I asked her many times. We were so poor that when I was a teenager I was recruited by a wealthy and powerful man, who was the first Al-Aqrab. He told me he would groom me to be his successor. I went to university, got a good education and lived an outwardly respectable life. When he died seven years ago, I took over as Al-Aqrab. Then my mother became sick. On her deathbed, she finally told me who my father was and gave me the marriage certificate. I was disgusted that it was Husam, the black sheep of the Al-Khalili family. I vowed to make him pay for what he had done to my mother. But then I found out he had died. I was denied my revenge. When I saw the advertisement for the position of Personal Assistant to Sulaiman, it occurred to me that I could take my revenge on the Al-Khalilis if I got the position. I applied and got it. Ironically, my very first assignment was to search for Husam’s bedu wife and child. I knew he had died penniless and there was nothing in it for me. I didn’t want the Al-Khalilis to know who I was until I had figured out what my revenge would be. It was easy to give Sulaiman wrong information that mother and child couldn’t be found.”