Free Sudden Deception (A Jill Oliver Thriller) by Judith Price

jaw perched squarely on her hands now, elbows on the table. Jill inched closer to Zayed.
    “No, I haven’t heard from him in almost a week. That's why I'm here—to try to find him.” She thought hard before she asked her next question. She didn't trust Zayed, but she had no choice but to work with him, he was all she had at this point, and PRO had been written on the fax from David’s office ... So she blurted it out.
    “Do you know of a restaurant called Al Binood?” He lit a cigarette. A whiff of Marlboro crept up Jill's nose; she pulled back. She hadn’t noticed the small black round ashtrays that littered this side of the café.
    “You like one?” His index finger tapped the Marlboro branded case on the table. He turned his head and blew out smoke, then butted the cigarette when Jill shook her head.
    “Jill,” he paused looking into her eyes. “Yes, I know of this place. Why do you ask about it?” He showed no emotion, no movement for Jill to decipher.
    Curiously, and before Jill could answer, he said, “I will help you, take you there, as I am an Arab man and this is not a place for a lady to go alone. David said you were stubborn, but he didn’t tell me how much. They will not speak to an English American woman. We must go unnoticed. You will need to change your clothes. I will return with local dress for you to wear.”
    Jill leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, her leg flipping nonchalantly up and down. “Why should I trust you?”
    He stood, and looked down at her. “I really don't think you have too many options.” He placed several colorful bills on the table. “Meet me back in the lobby in twenty minutes.” And he walked out of the café.

    Jill rented a mobile phone from the hotel gift shop, where she was able to obtain the Internet password, before heading back to her room. Bright sunlight streamed in through the window, causing a glare on the computer screen. Out of curiosity, Jill ambled over to the window and touched the glass, it felt as if it was on fire. No wonder the air conditioning was on high. She sat down at the desk, and Googled Al Binood. Nothing. Zayed was right. She needed his help. Her chair creaked as she sat back staring at the Google page.
    “Zayed, you say,” Jill spoke to the screen. “Your grammar and syntax is off a bit, Zayed my new friend. What are you hiding?” She knew it could be a language barrier. But slower speech, almost mumbling, was a clear sign of deception. There was no way in hell she was going to trust him. “No way in hell,” she repeated out loud. He was right, though; she really didn’t have much of a choice, and he could earn her trust. Maybe. But what was David’s and Zayed’s relationship? And why hadn't David told Zayed where he was going?
    Jill grabbed the phone and dialed Karine, who sounded groggy when she answered. In her haste, Jill had totally forgotten about the time difference. She immediately apologized to Karine for waking her.
    “I won’t keep you, Rine,” Jill said quickly, hoping her friend wasn’t too pissed off or too tired to talk. “Have you found out anything more on Al Binood?”
    “I’ve uncovered an off-chance connection that it may be an Al Qaeda meeting place,” she said, her voice a little thick. “But the information was so obscure, it may be a long shot. Oh, and Jill, have you seen any reporters? ‘Cause CNN’s dogs are on it. It’s been all over the news that an American is missing, but it’s only a tagline so far. You know those vultures—they get a whiff of a story and they move on it. So far no messages on your voice-mail, so I don’t think they know it’s David yet.”
    “You can bet they will uncover his name soon. Karine, can you send me an e-mail if anything changes with the media? I need to keep on top of whatever comes out.” Before Karine answered, Jill added, “I'll call again soon. Oh, and Karine, I met an Arab guy in the lobby, Jeff mentioned there was a public relations