Page 25 of Chasing the Past

Fatima sighed. “She said she’d forgotten some of her husband’s things and had to go back for them before she was to meet with you, but then . . .” She stopped. “There was an influx of patients and . . . I never thought to check on her until later. I tried calling but it went straightto voicemail. I assumed she was in the air.”

His heart sank. “You didn’t see her again?”

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t. I just assumed she’d retrieved her suitcase and left to meet you until I started to leave and saw the suitcase where she’d left it.”

So, there was no real clue what had happened, only speculation on his part. Somehow the Panther had snatched Sashi. But why kill her if he was looking for something that Tahir had taken?

“Do you know what happened to the contents of the suitcase?”

“I do. I still have them—I just couldn’t let them go. There were mostly clothes. She had a journal there as well, and a pendant that she told me belonged to her grandmother. There were a few documents including her passport. The journal didn’t make sense to me. It’s just a list of numbers.”

Numbers? Eli frowned as he recalled Will talking about there being a passport with Sashi’s name on it at Omar’s rental home. Badly burned, and yet, Will had been able to make out the name.

“Is there any way I can meet up with you, Fatima?”

The silence greeting his question was lengthy. “I suppose. Can I ask what this is really about? I know you loved her but there’s really nothing of any great importance there.”

Eli didn’t know how much to divulge. “We’re thinking there might be something there that will give us some insight into why she was killed.”

“Why she was killed? I was told she died when a building exploded.”

Gavin mouthed, “Tell her we think there might be more to the story.”

Eli explained what they believed.

“That’s terrible. It’s bad enough to think that it was just some freak, horrible accident, but to think someone killed her deliberately . . . I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Believe me, Fatima, I feel the same way.” Eli still couldn’t grasp that Sashi was dead.

“Of course, we can meet up. It will be good to see you again, Eli. Even under these circumstances. Sashi was so in love with you.”

Eli struggled to speak over the lump in his throat. “Thank you, Fatima. I felt the same way about her.” He paused to gather himself. “I’ll be in touch soon with a time when we can meet.”

“I’ll be ready.” She stopped long enough to make Eli believe there was something she hadn’t told him yet.

“Has something happened recently?”

She pulled in an audible breath. “I’m not sure, but I think someone has been following me.”

Right away, the past and those final days before Sashi died emerged. “Why do you think that?”

She took her time answering. “I noticed a man, an Arab man, standing down from my building when I left for work. At first, I didn’t think anything of it until I noticed him again at the hospital and later standing in front of my building. It could just be a coincidence.”

Or it might have been Omar following her. “Maybe you should stay home for a while until we can meet up and I have a chance to assess the situation.”

She immediately rejected the idea. “My work is important. I’m sure I’m overreacting.” But she didn’t sound certain.

“Still, take precautions. Don’t be out by yourself. Don’t open the door to anyone you don’t know. I’ll be in touch soon. Once this weather blows through our area, we’ll start your way. It should be no more than a few hours.”

“Thank you, Eli. I will feel better having you here. I’ll cancel my appointments for today and stay home. I will see you when you arrive.”

After they said goodbye, the call ended. Eli blew out a big breath and slipped into one of the chairs. “This has the potential to be huge.”

Gavin nodded. “I sure hope there’s something to shed some light on what this Haddad person is doing. If he’s not the one calling the shots, then I want to know who is. My team needs to know.”

Eli drummed his finger on the table. “Have there been any reports of threats matching the Panther’s method of operation?” The Panther was partial to using dirty bombs to wreak havoc on his victims.

“Several,” Gavin said in answer. “You know the pattern. As soon as we take down one threat another takes its place.”

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