I am so sorry for the delay everyone. Life caught up with me. Hopefully back to regular updates now. I would love to hear thoughts or feedback from any of you!
Bella was physically and mentally exhausted.
Omar Hussein was not available to talk that afternoon. Nor would he be available the next day, or be available to Bella at all for the foreseeable future. That was the message she was firmly delivered by the Jordanian CO back at Muwaffaq Salti. She'd tried arguing, saying that she'd sought permission back in Amman but the officer simply walked out of the room while she was talking. She was used to that sort of thing, and had already resigned herself to this possibility on the drive back West. Bella reassured an irate Black that she would ask Mustapha and the others when they came out for their official visit.
They had been allowed to interview the Jordanians that were present at the finding of Yorkie's body, and spoken to a few of the men closest to Omar Hussein, with a representative of the Jordanian command in the room. The Jordanian translator spoke perfect English which was ideal, as the Jordanian CO didn't seem to grasp that Bella was fluent in Arabic and both Bella and Black decided to keep that information under wraps as long as possible.
They then spoke to all the American's on the base. First to everyone in a crowded auditorium used as a training and lecture room. Jacob Black addressed the men, acknowledging the shock and loss of Private First Class Eric Yorkie. He explained that he was partly there to facilitate a dignified return of his body back home, and had already been in contact with his mother and would reiterate all of their condolences to her. Black iterated that the investigation into Yorkie's death was ongoing, and it would be a bilateral project with the Jordanians. He explained that he would have to speak to everyone involved in the incident and Yorkie's work. He did not explain the presence of Bella. Which was fine. Most guessed, and the others assumed her to be an assistant of Blacks.
Just before Jacob dismissed the men, he reiterated "While I stand by everything I said, especially the tragedy of the incident and bilateral nature of the investigation, I would like to press upon you all the significance of yesterdays incident. An American soldier and citizen was killed while on active duty in an allied country yes, but while surrounded by threat nations. We do not know the motivation of his killer, if he was following orders, or if the incident was intended to be an isolated event. I would encourage all of you to remain vigilant, and speak with your commanding officers or me if you see anything suspicious."
The men filed out soon after. Some visibly angry or glassy eyed, no doubt tired and in shock. Others with hardened faces of trained military, betraying nothing.
Bella thought his speech sanctimonious and hyperbolic, but she was still deciding if Jacob Black himself were both of those things, or if he felt that was the right language to adopt in the situation, as demonstrated by generations of American leadership.
The next few hours were hectic, as Jacob interviewed all the men who had shared quarters with Yorkie, worked alongside him, and the two who were there yesterday soon after his body was found.
None had anything revealing to report. Yorkie was good, capable, and had never expressed any overtly anti-Jordanian commentary or issues with Omar Hussein. He kept a regular schedule, as they all did, and was known to be one of the earliest risers in the group. One showed Bella and Jacob his bunk where he displayed family pictures and ticket stubs from baseball games and the latest Star Wars movie. His clothes and personal belongings were all accounted for in the trunk at the end of the beds.
The two men who had arrived soon after his death had heard screaming and came running from their own beds, and found Yorkie dead in the arms of another solider. It was the same soldier who instructed them to begin a search of the immediate environment for the killer. The names of the marines involved had been left out of even the Top Secret reports they'd gotten state side before flying over to mitigate the incident leaking, but Bella could have guessed the identity of the first responder. The hero from Marine Corps Command Headquarters in Georgia. First Lieutenant Edward Cullen.