*
Lilly’s angry grunt and the sound of her flopping onto the bed could be heard clearly from the living room.
“Leave her, Jack,” Hanan said as he started to follow. “Did she make a call?”
“No.” The admission should have been a relief, but instead he wished she had. Then he could excuse his obnoxious behavior.
“Did anyone notice her?”
He lowered himself in a plush chair and raised his feet onto an ottoman in front. Remembering the scene he’d caused, he tipped his head in a gesture of mock-congratulation. “Not until I decided to drag her off the street.”
“Oh, Jack,” she moaned.
“I know. I know. It was stupid. I thought … no, I didn’t think. I reacted. That’s how mistakes are made.” He groaned and raked his hand through his hair. “She’s so damned infuriating.”
Hanan giggled. “She said the same thing about you.”
He could well imagine. “What else did she say?”
“I’m not sure. What’s a hemorrhoid?”
He laughed to cover his embarrassment. “Never mind. So, how much do I owe you?”
She shook her head. “I beg your pardon?”
“How much money did she borrow from you?”
“She didn’t borrow anything. She asked me to change some American dollars for her.”
Jack sprung to his feet. She couldn’t have any money. He’d confiscated all of hers the first day. “Where did it come from?”
Hanan took his hand, halting him from demanding an explanation. “Didn’t you learn anything? Think first.”
“She doesn’t have any money.”
“There might be a logical explanation. If you go storming in there again, you won’t be able to undo the damage this time.”
“The only way she could have gotten money was by using a credit card yesterday before she arrived here. She hasn’t been out of my sight any other time.”
“Are you sure?” Hanan asked.
“Of course I’m sure. We’ve been sleeping in the same room.”
“Men!” Hanan vented her exasperation by shaking his arm. “I meant are you sure that’s the only way she could have gotten it? Women have dozens of secret hiding places. Her shoe. Her pockets. A zipper compartment in her purse.”
He paused and tried to remember. He hadn’t searched her pockets or shoes. Still, he had to know where the money came from. All her charge cards had been canceled, but one might have been missed. One in the name of another family member.
If she had used a credit card, he had to move her immediately or risk putting his friends in great jeopardy. “I have to ask her.”
“Ask, Jack. Don’t demand. If you frighten her, she might lie.” Hanan removed Mohammed from his woven baby basket on the floor and rested him on her shoulder. “I have to run to the store. Try to be charming. I know it’s difficult for you.”
He scrunched up his nose at her. “I don’t know why I like you.”
“The same reason you like Lilly. We don’t take any of your—”
“Hanan!” he exclaimed, cutting off her sentence. “Your father never should have sent you to school in England. The language you picked up there would make a sailor blush.”
“You deserve it.”
He did, and so much worse. Now he understood why terrorists never took women as hostages. The crime came with its own punishment.
Take it like a man .
She didn’t answer his knock, so he tried the door. The handle turned but the door had been jammed shut. “Open the door, Lilly. Please.”
She ignored him.
He walked through the living room and out onto the balcony. Four floors below the rush hour traffic sped by. He smiled at the old woman hanging her wash from the balcony across the alley. To the right were the shutters that opened up to their bedroom.
She’d reduced him to climbing through windows.
The sudden noise sent Lilly rolling off the far side of the bed. She reached for the first thing she could find and turned towards him. Her hands trembled from the white-knuckle grip she had on the ivory letter opener. When she saw Jack leaning
Lilly’s angry grunt and the sound of her flopping onto the bed could be heard clearly from the living room.
“Leave her, Jack,” Hanan said as he started to follow. “Did she make a call?”
“No.” The admission should have been a relief, but instead he wished she had. Then he could excuse his obnoxious behavior.
“Did anyone notice her?”
He lowered himself in a plush chair and raised his feet onto an ottoman in front. Remembering the scene he’d caused, he tipped his head in a gesture of mock-congratulation. “Not until I decided to drag her off the street.”
“Oh, Jack,” she moaned.
“I know. I know. It was stupid. I thought … no, I didn’t think. I reacted. That’s how mistakes are made.” He groaned and raked his hand through his hair. “She’s so damned infuriating.”
Hanan giggled. “She said the same thing about you.”
He could well imagine. “What else did she say?”
“I’m not sure. What’s a hemorrhoid?”
He laughed to cover his embarrassment. “Never mind. So, how much do I owe you?”
She shook her head. “I beg your pardon?”
“How much money did she borrow from you?”
“She didn’t borrow anything. She asked me to change some American dollars for her.”
Jack sprung to his feet. She couldn’t have any money. He’d confiscated all of hers the first day. “Where did it come from?”
Hanan took his hand, halting him from demanding an explanation. “Didn’t you learn anything? Think first.”
“She doesn’t have any money.”
“There might be a logical explanation. If you go storming in there again, you won’t be able to undo the damage this time.”
“The only way she could have gotten money was by using a credit card yesterday before she arrived here. She hasn’t been out of my sight any other time.”
“Are you sure?” Hanan asked.
“Of course I’m sure. We’ve been sleeping in the same room.”
“Men!” Hanan vented her exasperation by shaking his arm. “I meant are you sure that’s the only way she could have gotten it? Women have dozens of secret hiding places. Her shoe. Her pockets. A zipper compartment in her purse.”
He paused and tried to remember. He hadn’t searched her pockets or shoes. Still, he had to know where the money came from. All her charge cards had been canceled, but one might have been missed. One in the name of another family member.
If she had used a credit card, he had to move her immediately or risk putting his friends in great jeopardy. “I have to ask her.”
“Ask, Jack. Don’t demand. If you frighten her, she might lie.” Hanan removed Mohammed from his woven baby basket on the floor and rested him on her shoulder. “I have to run to the store. Try to be charming. I know it’s difficult for you.”
He scrunched up his nose at her. “I don’t know why I like you.”
“The same reason you like Lilly. We don’t take any of your—”
“Hanan!” he exclaimed, cutting off her sentence. “Your father never should have sent you to school in England. The language you picked up there would make a sailor blush.”
“You deserve it.”
He did, and so much worse. Now he understood why terrorists never took women as hostages. The crime came with its own punishment.
Take it like a man .
She didn’t answer his knock, so he tried the door. The handle turned but the door had been jammed shut. “Open the door, Lilly. Please.”
She ignored him.
He walked through the living room and out onto the balcony. Four floors below the rush hour traffic sped by. He smiled at the old woman hanging her wash from the balcony across the alley. To the right were the shutters that opened up to their bedroom.
She’d reduced him to climbing through windows.
The sudden noise sent Lilly rolling off the far side of the bed. She reached for the first thing she could find and turned towards him. Her hands trembled from the white-knuckle grip she had on the ivory letter opener. When she saw Jack leaning
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