“I will.  Thank you again, Mawra.  I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.  Oh, and by the way.  I was sorry to hear about your sister-in-law.”

Mona was about to end the call when she stopped in mid-motion.  “What?”

“Your sister-in-law.  Dalilah.”

“What do you mean?”

There was a brief sound of apprehension in Mawra’s voice.  “You don’t know?”

Mona’s breathing stopped.  “Know what?”

“Oh, Mona.  I’m sorry.  I thought you knew.”

“Knew WHAT?”

“Your sister-in-law has been reported missing.  Her picture is on the news.”

Mona eased back, stunned.  “WHAT?!”

“Since late last night.  Her children are saying she disappeared from their house while they were upstairs.”

Speechless, Mona stared forward without moving, blinking slowly and barely breathing.  Her heart felt as though it had just been stabbed as her mind struggled to comprehend the news.  “Are… you sure?”

“I recognized her picture,” said Mawra, her voice mournful.  “I’m so sorry.”

Mona remained frozen on the sidewalk, peering across the street at the hospital’s brightly lit entrance.

It can’t be true, she stammered.  It can’t!

She’d just talked to Dalilah last night when she’d sent the emails to Omar when they were at his office.

“What time?”

“They’re saying sometime between 8:30 and 10:00 p.m.”

The dagger in her chest sank deeper.

No.  There had to be another explanation.  A mistake.  Or a reason Dalilah had left.  But… from her children?

What other explanation could there be—other than the obvious.  Dalilah was the only other person who knew about her and Omar digging into Saad’s past.  And she not only knew—she was helping.

Mona’s gaze slowly climbed, rising from the entrance, up the front of the building to the upper floors, many of which shed light in the towering darkness.

It couldn’t be.  It couldn’t be related to Saad.  It couldn’t be because of HER!

First Omar.  Now her sister-in-law?

“Mona?  Are you there?”

She gently stepped backward, dropping her eyes back to the street as another car passed.  Then, absently,  her gaze returned to the white Land Rover parked across the street and again, to the giant dent in its front fender, highlighted by another passing car.

The papers.

Mona had assumed Omar had done something with Hamed’s folder and its contents.  Hidden them somewhere, perhaps.  At his apartment.  But now, she wasn’t so sure.  What if the crash hadn’t been an accident?  What if it had involved more than one car?  And the folder had been with Omar at the scene—until someone else took them?

She lowered the phone, pressing the red button on the screen to hang up as she slowly turned and began walking back toward her car, quickening her pace toward the small parking lot.  She briefly glanced back at the Rover, only to see its headlights illuminate and hear its engine start.