The Shadow of Death (Psalm 23 Mysteries Book 9) (17 page)

“Take his weapon and tie him up,” Omar ordered.

Jeremiah stared at Omar, his eyes dark. “I did not bring a gun into your home, Omar, but I will be leaving it with one.”

Cindy could hear amusement in Omar’s voice as he answered, “You forgot one of the most important sayings my friend. ‘Think of the going out before you enter.’ You did not have an exit strategy.”

“I forgot a far more important proverb,” Jeremiah said. “‘Be careful of your enemy once and of your friend a thousand times, for a double crossing friend knows more evil.”

“That is one I never forget,” Omar said.

The guards swarmed Jeremiah and after a minute bound his arms behind him. When they were finished, Omar eased the gun away from her temple and took his hand from her
mouth. A guard moved close and handed Omar Jeremiah’s phone which he secreted in his clothes.

Jeremiah locked eyes with her. “Whatever happens, wife, I want you to never forget I love you.
Estás mi corazón.”

Cindy blinked. Jeremiah had called her his heart in Spanish. There had to be a reason for it.

“Estás mi corazón, también,” she told him. She’d taken Spanish in high school. She was sure she’d probably told him that at some point. She guessed he was gambling it was a language no one else in the room would know.

“
Cuando diré la palabra amigo en Inglés, harás lo qué hiciste a Aaron.”

She understood well enough what he was trying to say. She was afraid that Omar would be suspicious that they were plotting their escape together, so she answered in English, “I will always take care of our Aaron, just as I have done in the past.”

Nobody else said anything, so Jeremiah must have been right to think that she was the only one who knew any Spanish.

Jeremiah had made himself perfectly clear to her, at least. While Omar was holding a gun on her Jeremiah would not act. So, she had to be the one to change the balance of power. She just had to wait for his signal.

“Get up slowly, my dear,” Omar said. “We’re all going for a little walk.”

When the call abruptly cut off Mark stared at the phone in horror. He had just heard Jeremiah and Cindy captured. Even as he sat there staring at his phone whoever had them
might be killing them. The worst part was there was no one he could call to go rescue them. Even if he knew where to begin he had no idea where they were. He felt even more helpless than when he had tortured a man only to discover that he couldn’t do what Mark needed him to even if he had wanted.

He called Traci. His voice was cracking as he explained to her what had happened. “Call Geanie and Joseph and tell them what’s happening,” Traci barked. “I’ve got something to do.”

“What?” he asked, dazed.

“I’m going to do for Cindy what she’d do for me. I’m going to pray.”

Omar had led them deeper into the house where, in his words, they would not be disturbed.

Jeremiah was angry that he had allowed himself to be betrayed like that. Fortunately his small, plastic knife had been easy to slip sidewise under his waistband and had gone unnoticed by Omar’s men. It was sharp enough to cut through his ropes if he just had a few seconds where he wasn’t being too closely observed.

Once they made it into the room that Omar had chosen two of his guards remained at the door. The others he dismissed saying, “This one usually works alone, but check the perimeter. We don’t want any more uninvited guests.”

Omar settled himself down on a chair so large it might as well have been a throne. He motioned for Cindy to sit on one of the cushions and she reluctantly did. He motioned to another one indicating that Jeremiah should sit.

“No, thank you. I prefer to stand in the presence of my enemies.”

“I am sorry that you think of me as such,” Omar said, still keeping the gun in his hand and pointed at Jeremiah.

“How could I not? What happened to you, Omar? You used to be a smart man who preferred peace and a good bargain.”

“You have been gone a long time, Malachi. Things change.”

“Not that much. You’ve always been more businessman than zealot.”

“Perhaps my new son-in-law persuaded me otherwise.”

“I don’t believe it,” Jeremiah said. He shifted his weight to cover for the fact that his fingers were grasping at the knife.

Omar chuckled. “You have always known me well. Let’s just say that I have found a new business arrangement, a thousand times more profitable than any of the old ones.”

“But it requires a war,” Jeremiah guessed. “So, I know the Iranian players. Why not tell me who the Israeli betrayers are.”

“You know, I would be tempted to, but I do not know their names,” Omar said.

Unfortunately Jeremiah believed him.

“Besides,” Omar continued. “Names would be no good to a dead man.”

Jeremiah slowly, steadily with tiny movements was sawing through the ropes that bound his wrists. He had flexed all the muscles in his arm to allow himself some extra give in his restraints when he relaxed. “Well, since I am a dead man, humor me and tell me more about the Russians’ involvement.”

Omar’s smile faded. “How could you know about that?”

“Simple, one of your Russian friends was sloppy and left a whole lot of evidence behind when she killed your son-in-law’s brother.”

Omar shook his head. “You are mistaken. I spoke with him on the phone not one hour ago.”

“Khalid, yes. I’m talking about the other brother, the one who was killed in America because he refused to go along with the plot to blow up Qubbat As-Sakhrah.”

Omar glared at him. “You know more than I expected.”

Jeremiah smiled. “And you know less. You didn’t even know about the other brother, did you? What other things are your partners keeping from you? Has to make you wonder. In fact, once they’ve accomplished their purpose, why will they need you at all?”

“That’s enough!” Omar shouted, standing suddenly.

The last strand gave way and Jeremiah held onto the rope to keep it from falling.

“You referred to a proverb earlier that I think actually does fit you in this situation. They say that ‘a
foolish man may be known by six things: anger without cause, speech without profit, change without progress, inquiry without object, putting trust in a stranger,” Jeremiah paused and met Cindy’s eyes before finishing, “and mistaking foes for friends.”

Cindy lunged to her feet and hit Omar’s hand so hard that the gun went flying. Jeremiah hurled the knife and it found its mark in one of the guard’s throats. Cindy dove across the floor and managed to wrap her hands around the gun.

The remaining guard fired off a single wild shot before Jeremiah slammed into him, carrying him to the floor. He sat up and snapped the man’s neck before scrambling to Cindy and taking the gun from her shaking hand. “That’s my girl,” he whispered encouragingly. She had done perfectly, but he needed her to keep it together and not fall apart yet.

Omar raised his hands into the air. “But, Malachi, you must know I wouldn’t have harmed you, we have been friends too long.”

“Beware of he whose goodness you can’t ask for and whose evil you can’t be protected from,” Jeremiah growled. “You will get us out of here, now.”

“Yes, of course. I have a secret exit. I put it in years ago.”

“One word to alert anyone and I will kill you. Do you understand?”

Omar nodded. He had begun to perspire and he reeked of fear. He led them out of the room, down a hall, and then into a bedroom. Jeremiah’s eyes fell on some clothes sitting on a chest. He looked at Cindy and nodded at them. She scooped up a handful and tucked them under her arm. Omar moved to the back wall of the room and there he opened a secret panel to reveal a long, dark tunnel.

“Through here and you will be safe,” Omar said.

Jeremiah shook his head. “You’ll be going with us.”

“I promise you, this will lead to the outside.”

“And I promise you that when we get to the end of it, if I so much as see one of your men you will breathe your last. You go first. Cindy, walk behind me.”

Omar entered the tunnel, whimpering in his throat. There was a lantern which he lit as Jeremiah closed the section of wall behind them. “There is no going back,” Jeremiah said, “only forward.”

He was speaking as much to Cindy as he was to Omar.

He felt her hand rest lightly on his shoulder. He welcomed it since then he knew exactly where she was without having to take his eyes off Omar.

The tunnel went on for at least half a mile. He could hear Cindy’s breathing becoming more rapid and shallow toward the end. She was becoming fearful in the closed, cramped space.

“You did a fantastic job back there, Cindy, just as I asked,” he said to get her mind off her burgeoning claustrophobia.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Bet you never thought you’d be using your high school Spanish for that.”

“No, I never would have guessed in a million years.”

“You’ll have to look up your old teacher when we get back home and thank them, tell them that Spanish saved your life. I bet that’s one thing they’ll never have heard.”

“I can imagine that would come as quite a shock,” she said.

He could tell that the distraction was working. Her breathing was steadying out. Omar’s, on the other hand, had started to become erratic. Either he was planning to try something or they were approaching the end of the tunnel.

“Steady, Omar,” he said.

“We are almost there,” Omar said.

“Good. Remember, if I see anything I don’t like-”

“I know,” Omar said, interrupting him.

“As long as we’re clear on that.”

A dozen more steps and they came to a wall. Omar hung the lantern on a hook nearby. Then he pressed a section of the wall and it moved, sliding open to reveal a Tehran alleyway. The sun was setting in the sky, painting it in colors of fire. It was brilliantly bright after the darkness of the tunnel.

The alley appeared to be deserted.

“You first, Omar,” Jeremiah said.

The other man nodded and then stepped out into the alleyway. Jeremiah followed with Cindy pushing into him in her eagerness to be free of the darkness of the tunnel.

“Now, please, go,” Omar pleaded.

Jeremiah shook his head. “As you noted Omar, I’ve been gone a while. I don’t know the city anymore. Not like you do. You need to get us farther away where no one will find us.”

Omar nodded slowly.

“And make sure to keep us out of sight,” Jeremiah said. He looked at Cindy. “What did you find?”

“A woman’s skirt and blouse and a man’s shirt,” she said, still holding the clothes she had taken from the house.

“Do you have your scarf in your pocket still?”

She nodded.

“Good, put the clothes on, quickly, and cover your head.”

To her credit she did so in less than a minute, pulling the skirt and shirt on over what she was already wearing.

“Seal up the tunnel,” Jeremiah ordered and Omar complied as Jeremiah carefully slipped into the shirt Cindy handed him.

“Okay, now we go,” Jeremiah said.

Omar led the way and he managed to keep them out of sight as they wove through various streets. At last Jeremiah felt he was in familiar territory toward the western edge of the city.

“In there, that will be safe for the moment,” Jeremiah said, indicating an abandoned building that was crumbling into ruins.

Omar stepped inside, pushing away a door that was sagging off its hinges. Jeremiah and Cindy followed.

“You know where you are now, yes?” Omar asked.

“I do,” Jeremiah said. “Now, on your knees.”

The man hastily dropped to his knees, his whole attitude that of a penitent begging forgiveness.

“My friend, I am so sorry. I’ve been trapped in this plot, unable to get out. A victim myself,” Omar babbled. “Please, I’m begging you to have mercy.”

Jeremiah lifted the gun and the man started crying softly.

“What are you doing?” Cindy asked, fear in her voice.

“I can’t let him go. He knows who we are.”

He glanced at Cindy. Her eyes were wide in terror and she was shaking. It was the moment of truth, the one he’d been dreading for so long.

“Do you know what I did for a living before I was a rabbi?”

“You were a spy.”

“No.”

He shot Omar twice in the head. As his body fell Jeremiah turned back to her. “I was an assassin.”

15

Cindy couldn’t take her eyes off Omar’s body. Jeremiah had killed him. He’d never had any intention of letting him go. She understood why, knew that he had betrayed Jeremiah and her and could not be trusted. He was also plotting to unleash evil on the world.