“Appearances, Nephew. Sometimes it seems as if the great world revolves on them. Imagine the talk if something happened to the woman after we located her. Even something as innocent as, say, a car accident.” “Well, that seems obvi- ous. But what does it have to do with me?” Ali’s face was a portrait of surprised innocence—like many guilty men’s, reflected his uncle.

“Nothing at all,” said Abdallah. “Just a thought that came while we were talking. Please, I’ve kept you long enough. Peace to you, Nephew. May we see more of one another.”

“God willing. Peace to you, Uncle. Oh, by the way, does anyone else know of this?”

“No.”

“Not even the king?” “No one.”

“Good. Probably best not to trouble him, in his present condition.” “Of course.” The king, after a lifetime of self-indulgence, was at the edge of death, his heart, kidneys, and liver failing together as if in a conspiracy.

Abdallah saw his nephew to the door. He disliked Ali’s quick temper, his duplicity, and much else of what he knew about him—and he knew a great deal. At the same time, he did not want Ali for an enemy.

O

There were many things to think about. Decisions to make. Returning to his office, Abdallah opened the safe that contained his most secret files.

In the hall, Ali cursed under his breath. That strange little warning at the end of the conversation—had the old goat been saying what he seemed to be saying? And if so, where had his information come from?

Oh, well, did it really matter? So what if the old man knew, as long as he did his job and found Karim—and the bitch. Once that happened, who cared what his opinion might be? His whole generation was coming to its end.

Finding Karim. Ali savored the thought. His second wife, although he had come to detest her, had at least given him two more sons, as well as a daughter. But the loss of his firstborn had been the greatest of his life. And now there was a chance that he would get him back. What would the boy—almost a man—be like now? Ali could only picture a younger version of himself.

As for Amira—yes, let Abdallah find her. And then let him choke on his warnings. Ali had a right to punish the bitch. With deep pleasure, he began to imagine the details of his vengeance.

O

Abdallah pressed the tape deck’s Play button. He had not listened to the cassette in many months, but his talk with Ali caused him to want to hear it again.

“God’s peace be with you, Highness.”

“And with you, Tamer. How good to see you again.” “And to see you, too, Highness.”