Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris Read Free Book Online Page B

boldness. Or was she less bold with him? She'd been too forward for Nayir's comfort, and he couldn't imagine Othman tolerating that sort of behavior either. He was curious to know his friend's thoughts, but he couldn't find a delicate way to broach the subject.
    "Does it surprise you so much?" Othman asked.
    "No, no. She's just—you didn't tell me she worked at the examiner's office."
    Othman actually blushed. "Well, I didn't think it was necessary."
    Nayir turned away, but he was intrigued by Othman's shame.
He must really love her,
he thought,
to tolerate her having a job.
    "Congratulations," Nayir said finally, realizing he should have said it sooner.
    Othman chuckled. "I mean it."
    "Please try!" Othman was grinning. He continued walking.
    "So I take it you're pursuing this case on your own?" Nayir asked, steering the focus away from Miss Hijazi.
    "Yes." Othman stopped smiling. "Actually, I was hoping you would help. We've hired a private investigator, and he wants to see where she was found. We have a map, but I was hoping you could help him find the place."
    Nayir felt another wash of dismay. A private investigator? The family should have asked him first; they knew how well he knew the desert.
But this is pride,
he told himself.
Forgive my pride.
"Of course I'll help."
    "Thanks."
    "The private investigator—was that your brother's idea too?"
    "No, that was mine. My family has not decided whether her death was accidental or not." Othman shook his head. "I think we just want answers."
    Nayir sensed a chance for transparency. "What about you? What do you think happened?"
    Othman stopped walking. He sighed and crossed his arms. "Ever since I discovered she was gone, I've felt that someone took her. We've talked to her escort, Muhammad, but he said Nouf had called him that morning and told him she didn't need him that day, so he went out with his wife. Meanwhile, Nouf told my mother that she was going to the mall to exchange her wedding shoes."
    "How did she manage to leave without an escort?" Nayir asked. "I mean, I'm just wondering why no one noticed that Muhammad wasn't here that day."
    "Well, my mother doesn't follow her every time she leaves the house. Usually Nouf met Muhammad in back by the stables. She went to the stables by herself all the time, usually in the mornings. She liked spending time with the camels. When she was ready to leave, she'd call him and he'd drive around to the back gate and pick her up there."
    Nayir nodded. "So she could have been gone long before anyone thought she had even left the house."
    "Yes. Nouf told my mother she'd be at the stables that morning and meet Muhammad around noon. For all we know, she could have left right after talking to my mother."
    "Did any of the servants notice her hanging around the stables?"
    Othman shook his head. "They didn't see anything."
    "Who discovered she was missing?"
    "My mother. She expected Nouf back around five, and when she didn't show up, my mother called Muhammad. He told her what Nouf had said that morning. Instantly the house went into an uproar. My brother went down to check the stables; we questioned all the servants; my mother sent them to look for her jet-ski. Sometimes Nouf would ski around the island on her own, but the jet-ski was still at the dock. None of the servants had heard or seen anything unusual."
    Nayir had learned of some of this before, but he wanted to hear it again. "She didn't leave a note?"
    "No."
    "And you don't have any idea where she might have wanted to go?"
    "None. Honestly, she spent a lot of time shopping. She was preparing for her wedding. That's why I couldn't believe that she would have run away on her own."
    Nayir nodded. "So it was natural for your mother to think that Nouf would spend five or six hours at the mall."
    "Yes, certainly. It takes a good hour just to get downtown from here, and that's when traffic is good."
    Nayir nodded reflectively.
    "Believe me," Othman said, "she was eager to get married. I don't