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Back The Desert of Glass Save as PDF
Chapters (84)
  1. BY MICHAEL C. GRUMLEY
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. 63
  66. 64
  67. 65
  68. 66
  69. 67
  70. 68
  71. 69
  72. 70
  73. 71
  74. 72
  75. 73
  76. 74
  77. 75
  78. 76
  79. 77
  80. 78
  81. EPILOGUE
  82. II
  83. III
  84. IV

When Mona examined the contents, her heart leaped.  They were pages from the missing folder.  Four separate pieces from the dying pilot.  Random, but definitely from his folder.

From her folder.

The rest was gone.

She turned them over, examining both sides and finding three to be part of the dozens of financial statements she’d collected, with the last being one of the aerial maps.

Glancing over her shoulder, Mona quickly tucked the papers into her purse, and then with a final check below both seats, she rose back up and closed the car door.

Both men were now watching her.

“Was there anything else in here?” she asked.

“No.”

“Can you open the trunk?”

“It’s empty.  I checked.”

“Completely?”

“Completely.”

“We had some important documents–”

“I said it’s empty.  No papers.”

Nervously, Mona nodded and moved back to the corner of the flatbed, where she began climbing back down. Suddenly, she noticed a large indentation in the BMW’s rear passenger fender, badly scraped and crumpled with thick lines of white paint.

“What is this?”

“We think where he hit the wall.”

Mona looked around, finding a chest-high wall traveling the length of the nearby sidewalk.  “Where?”

The officer pointed to a section of painted wall reflecting minimal damage and no skid marks, causing Mona to reexamine the back fender.  “How exactly did he do that?”

The officer didn’t respond. Instead, he approached and handed her a piece of paper.  “This is where the car will be taken, assuming you want it back.”

Mona thanked the officer and hurried back to her own car.

She started the engine and checked the rearview mirror before pulling her bag onto her lap to retrieve the pages.

Where were the rest?  And why were these under the seat?  Could they have fallen during the crash?

She turned around in her seat, examining the buildings behind her and then the sky, trying to get her bearings.  She grabbed her phone and opened its map application, then expanded the screen with her fingers, highlighting her location.

Again, she studied the buildings around her and continued zooming in until she spotted the road labeled 26th of July Corridor.  She then found what she was looking for.

Based on the lane Omar’s car had been in at the time of the accident, his direction was evident.

West.

Away both from his apartment and his office, where he had left Mona sleeping.

51

51

“Good morning.”

Appearing tired, Joe Rickards nodded as he entered the room.  “Morning.”

Leonard Townsend was seated at a round table in the hotel’s dining room eating a breakfast of bread, cheese and fried eggs.  “Did you get some sleep?”

He blinked slowly, spotting the counter on the far side of the room which contained the food.  “Some.  Until about 3:00 a.m.”

“Jet lag.”