Free Black Book of Arabia by Hend Al Qassemi Page A

her?”
    Sheikha sent a photo of Lulu to the police officer’s phone.
    â€œWe will pick her up,” said the captain. “Do you know where she might have gone?”
    â€œI have no idea.”
    â€œIf you hear from her or think of anything else, let us know.”
    A couple days later, the secretary employed by Sheikha’s family called Sheikha. Lulu had left her passport with him for visa renewal, and she had called to see if it was ready. The secretary informed her that it was not and, having heard about the theft of Sheikha’s belongings, called Sheikha immediately.
    â€œDo not give her the passport, give it to the police so she will walk into her own judgment,” instructed Sheikha.
    A couple days later, Sheikha was shocked to receive this message from Lulu:
Honey, your only problem is that you have no proof. If I don’t get my passport, I will ask my father to do what’s necessary to get it from you.
    Gone was the shy Saudi girl, and out came a monster. Sheikha notified the police of the new message and mentioned that her family had Lulu’s passport. That gave the captain an idea. He suggested that they lure Lulu to the secretary’s office by saying the passport was ready. The police would be there to apprehend her.
    The plan worked. Lulu came to collect her travel documents and the police arrested her. This time, they were not so kind and patient. They locked her in a cell with several criminals. It did not matter. Lulu told them nothing. She was just as wild as the criminals she was locked in with and would fight verbally and physically like a stray cat. They searched the room where she was staying, but did not find anything of Sheikha’s. Without more evidence, the police would have to let her go.
    Sheikha had just twenty days to her wedding. She had no clothes, wedding gown, jewels, hair accessories, shoes, or underwear. Her phones, iPads, and credit cards were gone, as were personal items like her toothbrush, toothpaste, and bathroom slippers. A typical robber would take money and jewelry, but this one also had taken her hairbrushes, shampoos, eye drops, contact lenses, and sunglasses. Every day Sheikha woke up to find that something else was missing.
    Each time Sheikha discovered something was gone, she updated her list for the police. One of these updates broke the case open. Sheikha remembered that she had purchased a Vertu mobile phone but had never used it. When she took the box out of a drawer, it felt unusually light. When she opened it, the phone was missing. She stood looking at the empty box for a moment and had a dim recollection of saving the number in her phone. She immediately checked, and it was there. She called the police with a description of the phone and the number. It was a thrill, as this was the first clue that might be traceable.
    The police found that the stolen phone had been used to call three numbers: two in Kuwait and one in the Yemen. The numbers pointed to two Egyptians—one working in Zain Telecommunications and the other in a local driving school—and a Yemeni in Yemen working in a cargo company. The Egyptian men were brought to police headquarters. One of the Egyptians was released, as he appeared only to have received the stolen phone for his brother, the driving instructor. The driving instructor told the policehe had done nothing other than receive a suitcase from a young woman, which, in his fright, he brought to police. It was his cut of the deal, and the police promised him they would go easy on him if he would admit to all the crime details and help clear the case as soon as possible. He tried to play the gullible fool, saying he had been tricked into taking the goods as payment for helping the woman send a few suitcases to his friend in Yemen. According to the Egyptian, the Yemeni was instructed to store the pieces until further notice. Under pressure from the police, the driving instructor gave up the woman’s