Chapter 30
Estelle and Cliff stood at the hotel’s reception desk as they checked out. The elevator doors opened and they were soon joined by Will and Karen.
Looking at her watch, Estelle said, “Where is Fahdil? We have a tight schedule to get to the airport and the receptionist already said there was an accident on the highway.”
“I think he’s still in his room,” Karen replied.
“Well, he’s on his own if he misses the flight,” Estelle bit out, moving to grab her bag, leaving Will and Karen rolling their eyes behind her back.
*
“Dr. Mahdi? Agent Nick Stone.” Nick stood in the doorway of Fahdil’s hotel room and flashed his FBI badge. Marc noted the doctor’s viewing it warily before turning his gaze up to him, recognition in his eyes.
“Mr. Jenkins, you’re with the FBI too?”
Marc replied, “No, sir. When you saw me with Kendall, I was just as introduced: with a security company hired to see to her and her father’s safe journey.”
“Doctor, we need to talk to you about Tariq Mustafa,” Nick cut in, getting right to the point.
“Tariq?” Fahdil repeated, his voice first surprised and then confused. “Is there something wrong? Is he all right?” Eyes wide, he looked between the men standing at his hotel door.
“We have no information about his condition, sir, but we do need to talk to you. Is there somewhere we can meet privately?”
Fahdil opened his mouth but closed it quickly. Glancing back into his hotel room, he nodded toward the table by the window. “We can meet in here if it’s acceptable.”
Nick, Marc, and Chad stepped inside and followed Fahdil to the table where the morning’s coffee service sat. Marc introduced Chad as they took their seats. Offering to pour coffee, Fahdil’s hands fluttered nervously when they politely refused. Finally, taking a seat himself, his eyes moved quickly amongst the three men as they settled. His expression wary, he said, “Some of my co-workers have already checked out of the hotel. I have a plane to catch in a few hours—”
“Doctor, we will try to make this as succinct as possible.”
Without mincing words, Marc began. “Dr. Mahdi, you know I was originally contracted to escort Kenneth Rhodes and then, as things progressed, it became Kendall Rhodes. With everything that happened, we were uncertain which of the two was the original intended victim and now the FBI is looking to see who sabotaged my plane.”
Fahdil nervously stared at Marc, his mouth working, a protest building. “And you suspect my son, Tariq?”
“We know that he has been recently studying at the University of Alaska. Were you aware that he did not return to his classes this semester?”
“Did…did not return? I don’t understand.”
“He stayed in Alaska, but moved out of the dorm and withdrew from the university,” Marc continued, his gaze carefully assessing the man in front of him.
Licking his lips, Fahdil shook his head slowly. “That can’t be. I…I talk to him. He tells me how his classes are going.”
“All which can be pretenses,” Chad added.
“But why? Why would he pretend to still be at the university if he’s not? Why stay up there?” Fahdil’s voice grew louder, his chest heaving with each breath.
“That’s what we were hoping you could tell us,” Nick said, pulling a folder out of his briefcase and placing it on the table.
Fahdil’s gaze dropped to the file, eyes wide as though afraid of its contents. He said nothing, but clasped his hands together on top of the table, his knuckles white.
Nick opened the folder, pulled out a photograph of several young men and pushed it over to Fahdil. “Do you recognize any of these people?”
“That’s Tariq,” Fahdil answered as his gaze roved over the picture, “but I don’t know the others. I never met any of his friends from Alaska.” He lifted his eyes back to Nick, his brows drawn down.
“Those other men are suspected terrorists in a growing cell in Alaska,” came the reply. “They recruit from universities.”
Seeing Fahdil about to contest, Marc jumped in, tapping his finger on the image of Tariq. “And he was positively identified by an FBI agent as one of the two men who sabotaged my plane.”
“No!” Fahdil said vehemently, pushing back in his chair, his face a mask of disbelief.
“Yes,” Marc growled, “and there’s more.” Gaining a nod from Nick, he continued, “We have traced a bank account in your name to Tariq. The account is in your name, but not your social security number. It appears he used fake identification to set it up but the money you’ve been sending to him ends up in this account. And, what’s more…he then transfers it to another man.” Tapping his finger on one of the people in the photograph, he said, “This man right here. One that is on the FBI’s top list of persons of interest as a possible terrorist.”
Blinking as he looked at the copies of bank receipts, Fahdil stared wordlessly for a moment. Finally coming out of his trance, his voice broken, he said, “I…don’t know what to say. He…Tariq was always a good boy…from a good home. We took him in when he came to America. Never…never would I have thought of this.” Closing his eyes as a tear slid down his cheek, he shook his head in agony. “This will devastate my wife…we think of him as a son.”
Nick added, “Dr. Mahdi, we have also found cyber evidence that he had hacked into your NCBRT account, the assumption being that he was looking for your research and perhaps did not find what he was ordered to find.”
Marc observed as Fahdil swallowed deeply, a slow expression of understanding coming over his face.
“Last fall, during a break when he was home visiting, he had a lot of questions about my work. I was flattered,” Fahdil explained begging for understanding. “I thought perhaps he wanted to go into the sciences and possibly research. Of course,” he quickly qualified, “I did not tell him anything that was secure, but gave him basic information.” With a grimace, he added, “Tariq had more questions and I told him that Dr. Rhodes was the one with all the data.” As though understanding was falling all around, his voice became strident as he said, “We had a party and I introduced him to Kendall and Kenneth.”
Covering his face in his hands, his shoulders shook as he said, “What have I done?”
Nick stood after a moment and said, “Dr. Mahdi, considering what you’ve told us, I’ll need you to come to the FBI headquarters with me. We need to get your official statement.” Seeing the older man’s wide eyed face, he added, “You’re not under suspicion at this time, but you have had contact with a known terrorist and are a person of interest. You may certainly obtain legal council if you wish.”
“And Tariq?” Fahdil inquired.
“All of this has been turned over to the FBI in Alaska and in Louisiana. They will find him and detain him since it is their jurisdiction.”
His brow furrowed, Fahdil said suddenly, “Can I call my wife? She’s been unwell and I do not want her upset when they come looking for Tariq!”
“I’m sorry, doctor, but we cannot take the chance that he’ll flee.”
His face downcast, Fahdil followed Nick out of the room.
A few minutes later Marc and Chad climbed back into their SUV and began the trip homeward. As Chad drove, Marc leaned back in the seat, his mind on thoughts of Kendall back in his home. Grinning, he realized once more that the image did not bother him.
*
“Stay here.”
Kendall, standing behind Luke, looked over at Charlie who just smiled as she shrugged.
“You know, Luke…you could actually say ‘please’,” Charlie quipped, earning a slight scowl from him.
Stepping inside Marc’s house, Luke turned back to Kendall and said, “Please.”
Unable to stop her snort of laughter, she stayed on the front porch as Luke continued through the house, searching as he went. Walking back to the front, where Charlie and Kendall had not entered, he reported, “All clear.”
Somber, after watching the activity, Kendall said, “It seems so remote that someone wants to harm me and that they would follow me here.”
“You can never be too sure,” Luke replied, as Charlie nodded.
“Do you want me to stay until Marc gets home?”
“Nah, but thanks anyway,” Kendall answered. “I’ve…I’ve got some thinking to do and I do it best alone.”
Nodding her understanding, Charlie embraced Kendall tightly and whispered, “Only you can decide what you want in life and whether or not change is right.”
Blinking back tears, Kendall nodded, unsure of her voice. With a wave, she watched as Luke alarmed the panel and tucked Charlie under his arm. Closing the door, she locked it carefully and walked into the living room, continuing to observe as Luke and Charlie drove down the driveway. Sighing heavily, she made her way into the kitchen to fix a cup of tea. Sitting down at the table, she sipped while staring out the window, wondering if the scenery would provide answers to her tumultuous thoughts.
*
An hour later, Kendall still sat at the table only, this time, her eyes were glued to her laptop. The University of Virginia had a doctoral program in Biodefense and as she scrolled through the information she wondered about their lab facilities.
Curious, she emailed the department chair, asking for more information. Her legs screamed in stiffness as she realized she had sat too long with them tucked up underneath her. Standing, she stretched before walking into the kitchen to make another cup of tea.
Her phone rang and racing back to the table, hoping it was Marc, she stared at the unfamiliar number. Connecting, she said, “Hello?”
“Dr. Rhodes?”
“Yes?”
“I’m Dr. Thomas Johnston…chair of the Biodefense department at UVA. I’m so sorry to call you out of the blue, but I received your email and wanted to reach out to you.”
Laughing, Kendall replied, “I just sent it a few minutes ago and didn’t expect a reply so soon!”
“Well, I happened to see it on my phone and told my wife I needed to call you instantly. Of course, I’m well aware of your credentials and the work you and your father have done. We have positons that need to be filled on our faculty staff and research labs.”
Stunned, Kendall said, “Dr. Johnston, I have to be honest…I’m just putting out feelers right now. I have no idea if I’m actually moving to the area.”
“I totally understand, but we’d love to have you come and visit as soon as you could.”
“I don’t have a resume prepared—”
“No, no. We can just make it an informal visit, for you to have a chance to see if you would even be interested.”
Smiling slightly, Kendall nodded, even though she was alone in the room. “Yes, I’d like that very much. Thank you.” Making arrangements for a visit two days later, she hung up the phone, her lips now curving into a full-blown smile. Biting her lip, she walked over to the sofa and dialed.
“Sweetheart!”
“Hey, Dad.”
“How are you?” he asked suddenly and she heard the concern in his voice.
“I’m good, I’m good. Don’t worry.”
He was quiet for a few seconds and then said, “Your voice sounds like you want to talk.”
Chuckling, she replied, “Oh, yeah? Think you know me so well?”
Her dad’s voice gentled as he replied, “What’s going on, Kendall?”
Sighing heavily, she said, “I’m trying to make a huge decision and wanted to talk to you first.”
“Ahh,” he said. “You’re thinking about moving to Virginia, aren’t you?”
Shocked, she did not know what to say so she said nothing as he continued.
“Kendall, working with you here in Louisiana has been a dream come true for me, but I’ve always known that, one day, your journey would take you somewhere else. And honey, my dream never had to be your forever.”
Blinking rapidly in an attempt to hold the tears at bay, she failed as several ran down her cheeks. “Oh, Dad, I’ve never thought beyond the research at NCBRT. I guess I just figured it was a place where I was comfortable and content.” Leaning her head back on the sofa, she cast her eyes around Marc’s welcoming cabin, feeling more at home than she had in years.
“And now?” he asked, interrupting her musings.
“I’m not sure comfortable and content is where I want to be,” she replied. Sighing heavily, she added, “I’ve contacted the University of Virginia and they want me to come in and look around. They have positions for faculty in their doctoral program.”
“So what’s holding you back? I only had to look at you and Marc to know how you two feel about each other.”
“But Dad, it happened so fast.”
“Did you know that your mother and I only dated three months before we got married?”
“Three months?” Kendall responded, her voice almost shrill. Somehow the thought of her careful father being impetuous had never entered her mind.
“We met in college and I’d never met a more beautiful or smarter woman. I was a goner right from the start. And the fact that she fell for me, too, made me the luckiest man in the world.”
“What are you trying to tell me, Dad?” her voice now filled with emotion thinking of their love and the love that was cut short when her mother died.
“Not everything can be found in a laboratory, sweetheart. Not everything can be answered by science. Sometimes, the heart tells us what we need.”
Swallowing deeply having never heard her father express himself quite so eloquently, she choked out, “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too. And who knows? After this mess blows over with the NCBRT, I might decide to find a new position myself! Virginia might just be a place for this old researcher!”
Laughing for a few more minutes, she said, “I guess the others will be flying back today. Dad, I need to tell you that Fahdil’s son might be in trouble with the law. I have no idea what has happened but I know the FBI will be visiting Fahdil’s wife to talk to him.”
“But he’s not here,” Kenneth reminded. “I was just at her house, visiting last night. Their daughter was there but when I asked about Tariq, she said he had visited but already left.”
“Oh,” Kendall said, as she finished her call. Staring out into the room, a strange slithering began in her stomach. If he’s not there…where is he?