Leila settled her back into her pillow and sighed. It had happened so fast. Her memories simply blurred together.
“Well… I came in and saw the room torn apart. Then I noticed someone behind me. And that’s about it. I must’ve passed out from the shock.” She ground her teeth, wishing she hadn’t said anything. Her aching throat reminded her of what actually happened. She’d be happy to tell everything to the police, but she really didn’t want to talk about it in front of an audience.
“Did you see the man’s face?”
“It was covered.”
Neal narrowed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, rubbing a thumb over his chin. After a moment, he glanced at the person standing by the door. Xander crossed his arms over his black T-shirt, a grimace on his face. Leila frowned. Had he been there the whole time?
“Well, Harrison, you were the first one here. Did you happen to see anything?” Neal said without masking the hint of accusation in his voice.
Xander remained rooted to his spot against the wall. Anger flashed in his eyes before he answered. “Nothing. I found her on the floor, out cold.”
“So, you were already up here?” Neal mused with a slow nod. He rose to his feet. With one hand holding the crook of his arm, he sauntered toward Xander. “You must have at least heard something.”
“I was one floor up,” Xander said coolly. “I noticed nothing until I was on my way down the stairs and heard her scream. Like everyone else in the building.”
“You happened to be heading to this floor at that very moment? And yet you didn’t see or hear anyone leaving?”
Xander uncrossed his arms and straightened, taking a few steps forward until he was close enough to tower over Neal. “Just what are you getting at?” His hands slowly clenched into fists. Emma and Leila exchanged uneasy glances.
At that moment, Karl and Soliman returned.
“We didn’t find any signs of a break-in,” Soliman addressed everyone in the room, apparently not noticing the tension. “I hope it wasn’t, but it could have been someone already inside. As a precaution, we will have to take extra care to make sure all windows and doors are closed and locked. Don’t leave anything open if you’re not going to be in your rooms. We need to be careful, especially after the looting in Dahshur last night.”
“We need to report this incident to the local police,” Neal said to Soliman. “Even if they can’t help us, they will be aware of the situation and hopefully keep their eyes open for any suspicious characters around town.”
Soliman sighed and put his hands into his pockets. “I’m afraid that’s the most we can do for now.” He faced Leila. “And you are all right?”
She nodded but stopped as her brain throbbed in protest. “Yeah, it’s just a bump. And a bit of a shock.”
“Let me know if you need to see a doctor.”
“I’ll be fine,” Leila assured him, and Soliman took his leave.
“If you two don’t mind, I’d like to get this cleaned up.” Emma put her hands on her hips, glaring at Neal and Xander, who still stood in the middle of the room.
“I’ll see you later about the police report,” Neal said and left.
Head down as if to avoid any eye contact, Xander started for the doorway. His steps slowed and he paused, then wheeled around. Leila followed his gaze to the floor, where the framed photo of her father with Soliman and the unknown man lay behind a spider web of glass. Without asking, he retrieved the frame from the floor.
“Excuse me, but that’s mine,” Leila said pointedly. Xander glanced up at her, eyebrows knitted together.
“Where did you get this?”
She froze, the memory of the arm around her neck, squeezing the life out of her, surged to the front of her mind. The man… could it have been him?
Swallowing painfully, she attempted a scowl. “Professor Soliman gave it to me. Please stop touching my stuff.”
Xander set the frame down on her desk. “Have a good night, then.”
“Unbelievable,” Emma muttered once he’d left and began to gather her camera equipment.
Leila let out a long breath. Whether Xander had just tried to kill her or not, he’d definitely been acting weird. What was so special about the photograph? Deciding she’d worry about it later, she scooted into an upright position and scanned the room.
“Is everything still there?”
Emma examined each piece of her camera equipment before placing it back in its respective spot in the various cases. “So far, yes.” A moment later, she groaned. “Oh no, not my wide-angle macro lens.” She held up the lens to the light and squinted her eyes as she examined the small black cylinder. “I think this one’s cracked.”
“Can it be fixed?”
“I don’t know. It may be cheaper to buy a new one.” Emma sadly put the lens back into its case.
An hour later, they had everything back in its proper place. At least, it appeared that way.
Her heart still trembling, Leila glanced around. For some reason, she was sure she was missing something. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.
With a shake of her head, she dismissed the feeling. She needed to call her grandma back. It was just weird to know someone had been in here. It wasn’t until she had made herself comfortable in her bed for the night and reached to turn off the lamp that it hit her. Her hand hovered over the switch. She hadn’t seen her Bible anywhere.
She flew from under the covers and wrenched open the dresser drawers. When no Bible appeared between her folded clothes, she searched through all the stacks of paper piled on her desk. She sorted through her books—The History of the Middle Kingdom, a Cleopatra biography, Ancient Egyptian Mythology, the Egyptian Book of the Dead… no Bible.
Swallowing heavily to soothe her burning throat, she sat down. It couldn’t be gone. Why would anyone take it? She scanned her desk once again, praying she’d overlooked it, but the only new object she’d set on it was the photograph of her father, Soliman, and the unidentified man.
Brow furrowed, she picked up the frame and examined the stranger’s face. Where had she seen him before? His olive skin was smooth, his black hair slicked back, and he sported a short, neatly trimmed beard. His smile was close-lipped, sphinx-like, not meeting his eyes. Like a photo from some serial killer documentary. A chill tingled down her spine. She dropped the frame into the desk drawer and snapped it shut.
Chapter Six
The next morning, Leila, Neal, and Mariam were assigned to work on the sift pile. Soliman had told Leila to take the day off, but tired of the fuss, she insisted she felt fine. Which she did. As long as nothing touched her injuries.
