Free Living Stones by Lloyd Johnson Page A

seemed to gaze beyond the opposite wall in silence. “But what about the reaction in the United States? I’m toosleepy to watch the news on TV.”
    “I know a bit about that. It’s international news as well. I’ve been isolated too, Ashley. But I did hear a bit on the radio this morning. And I found a paper from Oklahoma City just now with a lot of information. Someone must have left it.”
    “Oh, that would be from my parents. They flew in to be with me. They should be here soon. My dad is a news junkie, and he’ll know the latest.”
    “Junkie? Is he on drugs?”
    “No,” Ashley laughed. “My dad getting high? No, he’s just hooked on news. Junkie’s another American slang word meaning he’s addicted, in this case to reading the newspapers.”
    “I’d like to meet him.”
    “You will. Both Mom and Dad should be back soon.”
    “OK. Now tell me how they treated you here in the hospital. You could have died. I thought you might not be alive.”
    So Ashley related all she knew of her injuries and what Dr. Thompson told her about what had happened in the OR. Her memory remained clouded for most of the time after the blast, until today. “Pain medicine, I guess. I keep falling asleep.”
    Ashley answered a soft knock on the door. “Come in. Oh, Mom and Dad! I’m so glad you came so you can meet Najid. You remember we spoke of him yesterday, and we didn’t know whether he survived the bombing. Najid, these are my parents, Frank and Dorothy Wells.”
    Najid bowed slightly and shook hands with both parents as they approached Ashley’s bedside. “I am so happy to meet you. You must have been very worried for your daughter.”
    “We were,” Dorothy said. “But I’m pleased that you both survived. It must have been a frightening experience for you.”
    “Yes. But especially seeing Ashley lying on the sidewalk, bleeding and unable to speak. She protected me from the blast.”
    “Really? Did you escape any injury?” Frank asked.
    “I have a few scratches on my arms, that’s all. But I didn’t know what happened to Ashley. We are friends and classmates in graduate school at the University of Washington.”
    “I understand that. So what have you been doing since the explosion?”
    Najid briefly described his detention as a “person of interest” and then asked Mr. Wells for any current information from national or international news.
    “You would be blown away by what is happening around the world. Ah . . . ,” he paused, “that’s probably a bad phrase to use.”
    Dorothy grimaced at her husband’s choice of words.
    “Anyway, intelligence agencies all over the world are investigating to determine where the explosives came from and who might be involved. It has triggered alarm also in Europe and of course, Israel.”
    “It clearly targeted Jewish people,” Ashley said.
    “No question, Ashley. Jewish organizations are up in arms. Everyone in the country wants to find the bomber. The departments of Homeland Security, the State Department, the FBI, and the White House started taking hits for not detecting the plot before it happened. They seem to have no idea who or what organization perpetrated the bombing.”
    “It’s no wonder you were detained,” Ashley added, looking at Najid. “The authorities are desperate to find who did it.”
    “Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility, but the intelligence people in the United States doubt that,” Frank continued. “It could have been a homegrown terrorist or organization as they have not been able to identify anyone from overseas. They’ve poured over the Watch List here in the U.S. to find leads, but that has proved a huge undertaking and takes time.”
    The conversation turned to other subjects, including how Najid came to U Dub. He realized Ashley needed to visit with her parents. “I’ll come back tomorrow after classes.” He shook their hands, walked out, and tried not to wonder what Ashley’s parents might think of him. For some