Page 56 of Shadow

“Amal was a troubled child. He hated that he was a mixed-race child. He believed that mother lowered herself in the eyes of Allah when she married Dad, the infidel, as he called him. Amal devoted himself to Islam. As he got older, Amal lived and breathed the Koran. It got so bad that Dad and Mom sent Amal home to Pakistan, thinking that he would be happier there.”

“He wasn’t, was he?”

“No. Grandfather accepted Amal home, but soon Amal learned that the people of Pakistan were no better than us here in America. Prejudice and discrimination are everywhere. It was bad enough that Amal was an American citizen in Pakistan, but also mix-raced. Well, he quickly learned the grass wasn’t always greener on the other side. He didn’t stay long before Grandfather sent him home.”

“What happened then?”

Whisper chuckled. “What always happens when a teenage boy has lost his way? Amal turned to drugs, hung out with the wrong crowd, got into trouble. It ended the night of my sister’s Isha’s senior prom. My parents were so proud of Isha. She had just received an acceptance letter to Stanford’s Law program. Mom and Dad were over the moon. Anyway, that night, Isha’s date was a seniorrugby player. What should have been a night of celebration and fun turned into a night of nightmares. My brother and a few of his delinquent friends used my sister’s prom to make a statement. My brother detonated a bomb in the school’s gymnasium, resulting in the death of thirty-seven students and five teachers. My sister was one of the dead.”

“What happened to Amal?”

“The FBI and the New Jersey police caught him and his friends. Amal is currently serving a life sentence in a federal prison.”

“And your parents?”

“Run out of town. When the newspapers released who the bombers were, the Mosque my mother devoted most of her life to, refused her entrance. My dad lost his job, but that wasn’t the worst of it. A few months later, I was running late picking my baby sister up from the library. Instead of waiting for me, Naila decided to walk home. Three grown men attacked her. By the time I found her, she was already dead. The police did nothing. She was only twelve years old, Shadow. A baby.”

“You found them, didn’t you?”

Whisper nodded. “Yeah. I eventually found the men who raped and murdered my sister. Three fathers of students killed the night of the prom. I did to them what they did to my sister. After I killed them, I ran. I haven’t been home since.”

“Do the authorities know it was you?”

Whisper shrugged. “Don’t care if they do. I’m not hiding.”

Leaning back in my chair, I sighed, “You should know that Jinx investigated you thoroughly. The man left nothing to chance. He cleared you of any wrongdoings.”

Whisper smirked.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to roll over and let you close to my sister, asshole. I still don’t like you. Plus, there’s the fact you still want to kill me.”

Whisper nodded. “True.”

“So, I don’t see how you can help me.”

“Don’t have to like you to help you.”

“Still not letting you near my sister.”

Whisper laughed. “Keep telling yourself if that makes you feel better.”

“I hate you.”

“Feeling’s mutual. Now, who are you looking at next?”

Chapter Thirteen

Joan

He was quiet as he drove me back into Lawton for tonight’s broadcast. While I was grateful for everything he was doing, I just wanted my life back. I was tired of running and being scared. I needed peace. The faster my father was behind bars again, the happier I would be. Watching as the rolling fields passed by, I noticed lightning off in the distance.

That was nothing new around these parts.

Pop up storms were just a way of life in the Midwest. Hot sweltering days and cool nights made for some very interesting nights.

“Looks like a storm is coming.”

“Mmm,” he grunted lowly, as he pulled into the parking lot of the radio station.

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