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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

“Uh-huh.”  Mona studied what she’d written before shifting her attention to the spreadsheets.  “It’s an international company that doesn’t exist anymore—and one for which we don’t have any financials.”

“What happened to it?”

“She didn’t know.  But she did still have copies of the employment records, just like you said.”

“And?”

“You were right.  There was a large and sudden increase in the number of Bahgat employees.  They went from three to over a hundred in just a few months.”

He glanced at her with surprise.  “Really?  The company comes into being, and its headcount immediately explodes?”

“Yep.  Four months later, in May.”

“Now that’s some growth.”

“That’s what she said.”

Omar thought it over.  “Any chance your sister-in-law made a mistake?”

“What do you mean?”

“You know, got the dates or years mixed up.  Or the employee numbers?”

Mona scoffed.  “I doubt it.  If you knew my sister-in-law, you’d know she’s not the kind to make mistakes.  At least not many.”

“What does that mean?”

“Let’s just say she’s very detail-oriented.  To an extreme.  It’s probably the reason my brother travels so much.”

Omar grinned.  “Okay, I was just being objective.  So we assume she’s right and this company suddenly hires a bunch of people overnight.”

“It isn’t the only one,” said Mona.  “It’s just the first of several.  She said the other companies did the same thing after they were set up.  And they grew into the thousands.”

“Did she say anything else about this Bahgat company?”

“She said it was international.”

“And the employees?”

“Mostly foreign.”

“Foreign?”

“From other countries.”

“I know what foreign means.  I meant from where?”

“Oh.” She glanced back down at her files.  “Peru.”

Omar blinked straight ahead.  “Peru?”

“Yes.”

“He establishes a company here and then hires a bunch of people from Peru?”

“Not from Peru,” corrected Mona.  “In Peru.”

“These employees were in Peru?  They didn’t come here?”

“Not according to her records.”

“So, Mido Saad had some business in Peru and suddenly hires a hundred people?”

“More than a hundred.  My sister-in-law says those records show Saad no longer had those employees just two years later.  Bahgat was back down to single digits before the headcount spiked again in 1973 to over two hundred.”

“What?”

“And it stayed that way until 1975, when the company’s records were no longer filed.  Which she said usually means the company closed.”

“Just like that?”

Mona nodded.

“In 1970, his workers in another country surge to over a hundred and then they all disappear. Then the number surges again, higher, before the company promptly goes out of business?”

“Strange, right?”

Omar thought it over.  “Maybe,” he said.  “But maybe not.  A construction company hiring a bunch of local people for a short-term project isn’t all that unusual.”

“And they just let them go afterward?”