He clenched his fists. “We have no choice. Desperation has driven us to this.”

“Yes, unfortunately that’s true.”

“How must we set about it?” he asked.

She replied, quicker than he expected, “Study the neighboring building carefully.”

So. She’s got everything planned. But never mind. It’s all because of her love for me.

“The apartment opposite the hotel is used as a secondhand clothing store. It’s always empty at night. And it’s easily accessible. The roof of the building and our roof adjoin,” she continued in a hushed voice. “You can cross over to our side easily. You must wait for him in the flat.”

“He comes up at about half past eight, nine?” asked Saber.

“Yes. Choose a date when I go to visit my mother. I go regularly once a month.”

“Incredible that I’ve been here almost a month already,” he said.

“You can then cross back to the other roof and leave the building without anyone noticing you.”

His voice trembled slightly as he said, “We often hear of such crimes, after they are discovered.”

Coldly, she replied, “But we never hear of those that are not discovered.”

She was just like his mother. Utterly ruthless. “Is there anything else we haven’t covered?” he asked.

“Yes. You must steal something as a motive for the crime.”

“What shall I steal?”

“Leave that to me. But be sure to leave no traces.”

“I’d better be careful, hadn’t I?” he muttered.

“Our lives are now bound together. Should anything happen to you, it will also be my fate. We have no other choice.”

He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe the entire conversation. “Madness…madness…do you think all this will really happen?”

“Study the building carefully. Make sure no one sees you. There are a few days left before I go to my mother. You’ve got the guts it takes. Now let’s go over it once again, step by step.”

He was not listening, lost in deep, dark thoughts.

CHAPTER TEN

He breakfasted on eggs, cheese, fruit, and a glass of milk. He watched the other guests in the lounge. Look carefully at them; in a short while a vast chasm will separate you from them.

When night falls you are going to sign a bloody pact as your gateway to crime. There goes old man Khalil, facing the cold morning, his hand trembling unceasingly, not thinking of death. Your life will end at ten this evening. You don’t know that, but I do. Take the advice of one who has lost hope; don’t bother about trivial matters any longer. I share with God the realm of the unknown. The telephone rang. Saber laughed audibly. Was that his father ringing at the eleventh hour?

Mohamed al-Sawi answered, “No, no, you’ve got the wrong number.”