“Remi …” Sam handed her the phone.
She read the text, met his eyes, then looked at Nasha, saying, “I don’t know which her he’s talking about, but we’re not leaving ours behind, until he’s caught.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
A child who is carried on the back will not know how far the journey is.
– NIGERIAN PROVERB –
How to protect Nasha presented a problem. Although Pete had suggested she could return to the school with him, her uncle was against the idea of allowing her to live so far away—or accepting any sort of charity, after they offered to pay him to move. “Farming is the only thing I know. I’ve always told Nasha that life is what you make of it, but what lesson does that send my niece if I simply accept a handout because she had the good fortune to cross your path?”
That was something neither Sam nor Remi could argue with. Remi looked over at Nasha and Chuk, both out of hearing range as they tried to coax the dog from his coveted spot in the shade. Surprisingly, it was Amal who came up with a great suggestion. “She could come stay with me and my mother. A temporary visit to Tunisia.”
Remi smiled at Nasha’s uncle, hoping he’d agree.
“I’d say yes,” he replied, “except what little identification she had was lost in the fire.”
Sam and Remi exchanged glances. “Rube,” they said at the same time.
“He works for the government,” Remi explained as Sam called him at the CIA to arrange for an emergency visa.
When everything was settled, they told Nasha about the trip—but not about her uncle’s refusal to let her attend their school. “We’ll change his mind later,” Remi said to Sam once they were on their way.
Forty thousand feet in the air, they finally had a chance to relax—up to a point. Remi was left with the task of telling Amal what had happened to Warren. Amal sat at the table across from Remi, Nasha in her lap, while Sam and Lazlo occupied the two aisle seats. When the child fell asleep, Amal didn’t seem to notice how quickly the men excused themselves from the table, Lazlo proclaiming that he was in desperate need of a nap, Sam saying something about talking to the pilots about flight plans. Amal looked down as the girl stirred but didn’t waken. “I?
??m surprised she could sleep, as excited as she was about her first plane trip. Then again, after everything that’s happened, I may sleep for a week once I get home.”
Remi smiled at her. “Are you sure your mother doesn’t mind? We could always take her with us to the hotel. She might enjoy time by the pool.”
“I think my mother’s more excited about Nasha’s visit than Nasha is.”
“That may change when she’s faced with such a bundle of energy and curiosity.” Remi’s smile faded as she thought about how best to broach the subject. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Amal looked up in concern. “What’s wrong? Is it Dr. LaBelle?”
“She’s fine. It’s Warren.”
“The embezzlement. Has he been arrested? It’s all a terrible mistake, I’m sure of it.”
“He’s dead.”
“Dead …?”
“I’m so sorry. I know you were friends.”
She stared at Remi, her brow furrowing. “I don’t understand … How?”
“Renee found him yesterday morning. She asked me not to say anything until she knew the details. She was worried about the stress. That you might—”
“My seizures.”
“Yes …”
Amal’s eyes started to glimmer with unshed tears. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. Renee found him at the bottom of the excavation. She thought he might have fallen.”