Page 44 of Chasing the Past

The shock of hearing yet another thing she believed true about her life was a lie only added to her distress.

“So, if Asal was taken from Afghanistan before the fall, it lends itself to the suggestion she might have been held somewhere near the city for a while. Is there any record of a building or piece of property owned by Rafiq or possibly under the name Haddad?”

“There isn’t. But get this. I found a building on the outskirts of the city that was purchased under a shell corporation called United Afghanistan. Guess who owns the business?”

“Landon McDowell,” Asal said at the same time as Eli.

“What was he up to in the building? If it was in association with his charity, One World Aide, then why wouldn’t he use that name to purchase the building?”

Asal could see Eli had come to the same conclusion as she had.

“Yeah, and intelligence was watching the building for a while. They believe there were weapons being stored inside.” Delcan stopped for a breath. “Maybe Gavin can shed more light into what was suspected and if they had footage to support the weapons theory.”

“I’ll give him a call right away,” Eli assured him.

“Good. I’ll keep digging. I spoke to Will. There’s been no sightings of Rafiq on the island. I think he left when he cleaned out the house.”

Eli ran a hand through his hair. “You’re probably right. This just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Like pulling back the layers of an onion. The more you clear, the more there are to clear.”

“Yep. Anyway, stay safe and I’ll be in touch.”

Eli ended the call and turned his attention to Asal. “I’m wondering if the building McDowell owned in Afghanistan is the one where you were being held with the others?”

She rubbed her hands down her arms. “Everything Omar told me has been proven a lie. Omar wasn’t my fiancé; he was my kidnapper. He was watching me in case I remembered something that could harm him.”

Eli didn’t deny it. “We just have to figure out what that was.” He reached for her hand. “And we will.”

Armed with what Declan had provided, Eli called Gavin.

“Brother, I’m glad you are both doing okay. We landed in Langley a short time ago. My team is going over all the information we have so far.”

“If Rafiq’s actions remain true to course so far, you won’t find anything useful. Whatever he was after he took with him.”

“If it was Rafiq,” Gavin interjected. “We don’t know that for sure. It could have been someone else. The stalker could be a former boyfriend who was upset with her rejection.”

“Possibly, but she didn’t mention such a person.” Eli frowned at the turn of the conversation.

“Well, she might not have mentioned it, but we did some checking and there was a man who worked at the hospital with her. Their relationship ended a few months back and apparently he’d been harassing her.”

Asal’s heart sank. “Why wouldn’t she mention this man?”

“I don’t know. We’ve asked the local police to speak with the man and find out where he was at the time of her death. How are things there? Anything new?”

While Eli updated her on what they’d learned, Asal tried to keep the hopelessness that was growing inside her from claiming control. She believed the answers they needed would come from her. But would they come in time?

Chapter Twenty-One

“That’s certainly interesting. I’ll check with my contacts and see what I can dig up about Rafiq’s previous visits to the US as well as the building in Kabul.”

“Thanks, Gavin. Let me know what you find out. We need answers soon. Whatever is in the works could be happening at any time.”

Eli returned his phone back to his pocket.

“Do you have any photos of Kunduz before the attack and before the building was destroyed?”

Eli was surprised by the question. “I can find some online. You think they might jog a memory?”

Asal shrugged. “It’s worth a try and we seem to have plenty of time.”

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