Good w/pain meds.
“It was a close call. Too close.”
The room was quiet except for the scratching of Leila’s pen as she wrote out her first question.
Xander?
Vivian took a deep breath and focused on her hands. “He got a nasty stab wound. It was pretty deep. They had to do surgery to stop the internal bleeding and he was given blood to help the blood loss. Knowing him, he’ll be back on his feet in no time, though.”
Leila could have cried from relief. Alive. He was alive. And he was going to be okay. Then the anger began to rise in her chest. Hopefully Amir was sitting in a jail cell that very moment. She resumed writing.
Tell him thank you. Get well soon.
A small smile tugged at Vivian’s lips. “Of course.”
Leila fervently began to write again. Once she was done, she flipped the notepad around for Vivian to read.
The bad guys?
Vivian didn’t answer as there was a knock at the door. She held up a finger then went to the door. Leila couldn’t see who it was, but Vivian immediately gave it away. “Hi, Mark.”
“Hey, I was coming by to see if Leila was ready,” came Mark’s voice from the doorway.
Vivian glanced over at Leila with a questionable look. She held up the notepad, her answer ready: YES.
Vivian wished her luck and Mark came in, accompanied by a police detective, whose name Leila didn’t catch. She was glad Mark was there, watching over her like a big brother as she finished up her statement, hushing the detective whenever the man tried to ask a question.
Her hand ached by the time she finished. She handed the notepad to Mark, relieved that was over with. Exhausted, she lay back and nearly drifted off to sleep as Mark read her statement to the detective. She hardly noticed when he finished and the two began to discuss the events.
Mark had to say her name several times until he brought her back to reality. “Is there anything else?” he asked once he had her attention.
She snapped up the notebook and flipped the pages to one of her earlier questions.
The bad guys?
“Well, Leila, I have some good news. And some bad news,” Mark sighed then sat in the chair at her bedside. She couldn’t help but notice the dark patches under his eyes and the way his brows knitted together. “The bad news is that you’re going to have to stay in Cairo for a while. I don’t know how long, but the police, and I’m sure many lawyers, will want to talk to you as the investigation continues.”
Leila’s shoulders slumped. This didn’t sound promising at all.
His eyes then twinkled. “But the good news is they will need you to be available to testify at Faris Al-Rashid’s trial.”
She processed this information for a moment. Faris Al-Rashid was facing charges, but not Amir? She picked up her pen and wrote down another question.
Meaning?
Mark leaned forward and interlaced his fingers as he held his hands limply between his legs. “Al-Rashid had everything planned out. They must have been working on this for months. And it nearly worked, only Soliman unwittingly spoiled everything by asking you to give a speech. Otherwise, you may have gone unnoticed for some time. The entire place was in chaos,” Mark went on, describing to her Xander’s version of events.
“The escape vehicle, all of the antiquities, plus the four people inside, were apprehended,” Mark finished. “And Amir was found, deceased by gunshot wound.”
She couldn’t believe it.
Amir was gone. He was really gone.
Leila took in a deep breath, stunned by the news. She made a mental note to never turn down an opportunity to give a speech, ever. Her eyes closed to savor the moment but also because they were too heavy to keep open.
She was somewhere between sleep and consciousness when she heard her name again.
“Leila? Hey, we should get going,” Mark was saying, his voice sounding different, as if he were in a tin can. She didn’t bother to open her eyes this time.
“Not yet,” the other detective answered determinedly. “I’d like to ask her about—”
“That guy put her through hell. Let her rest. It’s enough that we have her statement. You’ll get the rest of your answers later.”
Leila peeked through cracks in her eyes as the men left, grateful for Mark’s thoughtfulness. She wanted to get it over with, and he seemed to understand. When the door clicked shut, she let her body relax into the pillow.
She studied the ceiling, her mind spinning. Above her were four glass panels arranged to resemble a window. Behind the glass was an image of a blue sky filled with fluffy clouds. While it wasn’t exactly the real thing, Leila found it serene as she listened to the beeps of the heart monitor.
She let the bittersweet tears flow until she drifted off into a much-needed, peaceful sleep.
Epilogue
Three months later…
Laughter and chatter echoed between the walls of the Neferkheri exhibit. Some of the children lingered in front of a display case with round eyes and a nose pressed against the glass. Others were too busy talking and joking with their friends to pay much attention.
Leila hovered near the doorway as they passed through the exhibit like a confused flock of birds, spreading out in each direction and coming back together as the teacher ushered them into the next room. Once things had calmed down, Leila strode forward, coming to a stop in front of a display case that housed a single item.
A papyrus.
