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“Daar is searching Cassim’s office for something,” Harper repeated.
“You have the house bugged?” Zora asked.
“Not all of it. Most of the downstairs, the upstairs landing and the media room.” Though he had second guessed himself on that one. “The family is going on vacation soon. Robin has mentioned not wanting to go on it. And before you ask, yes, I’ve hinted that she should bring me along. I don’t think she took me seriously though.”
His phone vibrated in his hand. He glanced at the screen and found two texts from Robin waiting for him.
“Hey, Zora? Let me let you go. Robin is texting me,” he said.
“Make yourself her knight in shining armor,” Zora said.
He grimaced and hung up the phone.
“Did Zora say anything I need to know?” Samuel asked.
“My theory might be right. Daar might be making those comments about Robin being a woman because in his circle, it’s all men.”
He shook his head. “Why? Why limit yourself that way? Just goes to show how lacking these people are.”
Harper nodded and tapped the texts.
“What does Robin say?”
He bit the inside of his mouth to keep the smart remark to himself. Robin did not belong to Harper. Not really. She was part of this case.
“She’s just asking what I’m doing and if my work emergency is handed,” he muttered.
Samuel held up a hand while the other pressed to the earbud in his ear.
Harper watched Samuel, the phone forgotten for the moment.
He pointed at the other headphones Harper had abandoned. “Get on. Now.”
He grabbed the earbuds and shoved them in.
Daar was speaking Arabic in a low voice. Harper reached for Samuel’s pen and paper.
“It’s not here,” Harper mumbled as he wrote. “I’ve looked all over this damn office. Cassim must have it somewhere else.”
The audio shifted, becoming fainter. Samuel scrambled to change the input, feeding Harper a better quality audio from the hall, but even that wasn’t enough.
“Shit,” Harper muttered. “He must be in one of the front rooms no one ever goes into. That’s where I’d have a phone conversation I didn’t want Cassim to hear.”
“What is Cassim hiding from his brother? And why does Daar want it so bad?” Samuel asked out loud.
Harper grimaced and sat back in his chair. He hated knowing Robin was living under the same roof as these people. She was in danger and didn’t know it.
He glanced at his phone sitting there with Robin’s sweet message of concern. There was only so much he could take. After what he’d heard Daar say to her, Harper couldn’t make this about the job. He needed to be a decent human for a second.
Normally, in a situation like this he’d just pick up the phone and call her. But enough of Robin’s life was being recorded for the sake of the case. This he could keep private. He tapped out a brief message assuring her all was well then hit send. Yes, there was a good chance Zora would retain copies of these messages, but it was all he could do to protect Robin from what was coming.
It was just a matter of time.
Friday. Undisclosed.
Hugo strode through the doorway into the heart of the flat and stopped. He turned in a circle, letting his eyes rove over the space.
It was plain, without many decorations beyond a few art prints. Though knowing Skilton those were originals. He always had believed investing in art paid off.
