The Miraculous Plot of Leiter & Lott by Jonathan Lowe

brief, blank look with David. David turned to face Swann, who now stared into space, his chin propped in his thumbs, his fingers folded together, elbows on the table. The eyes behind the glasses seemed moist, searching. David's first thought was not to say anything. That he did not know this man. But was that completely true? He remembered his own father, arriving late for his mother's funeral. They hadn't seen or spoken to each other in almost four years. Yet there had been tears in his eyes, too. Then, in less than a year, his father had committed suicide.
    "He who loses his life will find it," David said, remembering.
    Swann looked at him. "What?"
    "It's a verse my mother always quoted," he explained. "I didn't know what it meant at the time, but I'm beginning to learn."
    Swann stared at him for a moment, then took off his glasses and pinched his nose. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
    "You wanted to ask me something."
    "No, I mean what are you doing in Dubai? Aazad said you're an engineer, here on vacation." He wiped his eyes with the heel of one palm, then replaced his glasses. "A systems designer in the field of optics." He paused, his eyes narrowing now. "What is that, exactly?"
    "I designed spectrometers for astronomical telescopes."
    "Past tense."
    "Yes, I'm retired."
    "So this isn't a vacation."
    David blinked, considering the question. "I'm not sure."
    "What does that mean?"
    "I'm still collating."
    "And do you believe your. . . colleague's theory?"
    "I don't know what to believe. I suppose it's possible, however unlikely. Does this man Seacrest hate you so much that he would finance something like this?"
    Gregg Swann changed the question by posing one of his own. "How likely is it," he asked, "that an engineer like yourself might, shall we say, assist in designing the guidance system for an unmanned drone aircraft? Given, of course. . . unlimited . . . funding."
    David considered his answer carefully, noting the transfixed manner in which he was now being observed.
    ~ * ~
    Just like that, it was over. But they were not done with Etherton. A water taxi was called for David, and he alone was to be shuttled back to the mainland. When he protested that Doug was his escort and only contact in Dubai he was told that Etherton would be in contact shortly. The butler was firm, but polite. Aazad , once again, was absent, although one of his Russian bodyguards stood nearby, with arms crossed.
    The water taxi driver was a Filipino girl just out of her teens. After maneuvering out and around the extreme left ray of the sun in The Universe development, they shot for a dock near the base of the Palm Jumeirah . Debarking the motorboat, David fished in his wallet among the dirhams and dollars there.
    "No," the girl said, waving one hand and shaking her head.
    "How about a tip?" David asked.
    She smiled, but again refused. Then she pointed toward a line of taxi cabs waiting beyond the dock. David glanced down at his Timex watch, then back out to sea, toward the right, toward The World. It was getting late. In a few hours, it would be dark. He thanked the girl and walked up the dock to a platform where he could see that the taxis were all Mercedes. The driver in the one nearest him jumped out, and came around to open the passenger door. He stepped closer.
    "Where to?" the smartly dressed Asian man asked.
    David hesitated, glancing one last time out to sea. Then he said, "The Hyatt."
    "Which one, sir?" the driver queried.
    "If there's one in the Deira district, near the gold souq , take me there. I think I need to buy a new watch."

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    The cabbie dropped him off near the corner of Beniyas and Al- Sabkha roads, within sight of Swann Tower. From its wooden latticed archway entrance, Deira's Gold Souq appeared to be a smorgasbord of chains, bracelets, belt buckles, chalices, and filigree gold art. Gold coins and watches were on display in more than a dozen of its many shops. The air was scented of perfumes from the nearby