Leland, Natalie and Ilias arrived at the crash scene around 1:30 PM. Local police were already looking around the area. Natalie held on to Leland's arm as they slowly made their way down the embankment to the burnt-out SUV. The vehicle was laying on its roof with the rear compartment completely flattened. It would take special equipment to open the door and see what was inside. Up front, they could make out the mangled remains of two charred human bodies. Looking at the size of the remains, they could tell that neither one was Adrian.
When a man from a local automotive shop finally arrived with some tools to open the car up, they both breathed a sigh of relief when they discovered the back seat was empty. But where were Adrian and Luca? Was this even the right car? So many questions raced through their minds.
Leland went before Natalie as they began to climb back up the hill, taking hold of her delicate arm with his hand. About halfway up, her eye spotted something about 12 feet away near some brush.
"Wait." She said, pulling her arm away from him and walking towards the object.
Leland followed her and immediately recognized what she saw as blood.
He bent down and touched the blood which had by now dried completely in the heat of the day.
"Looks to be a couple of days old." he said. "And look, here are footprints, with no treads. Plain leather soles?"
"Sandals?" she asked.
"Could be." Leland responded.
The two of them moved slowly around the scene looking for any other clues. About 9 feet away from the first area, Natalie spotted something else. "What's this?" she asked.
Leland walked over and took a small clear electronic device from her hand. He recognized it immediately.
"It's the recognizance device that Monk was wearing in his ear so that he could communicate with Ambrose. They were here."
Natalie looked up at Leland with a mixture of hope and apprehension. "But, where did they go, and who took them?"
"I don't know. But at least we know that they didn't burn up in the crash. Let's go into town and see if anyone else has any more information."
At the Bedouin camp, Adrian and Luca rested quietly in the tent while being cared for by Muhammed and his eldest daughter Rania. They were fed a bounty of various vegetarian dishes, hummus, flat bread, and a dish somewhat like tabbouleh made with herbs, olive oil and lemon. They were kept as comfortable as they could be given the circumstances. Around 2:00 PM, both men were awakened from a nap by the sound of an automobile pulling up. Outside, they heard Muhammed talking to another man in Arabic, and then in English.
"Jaddy Muhammed, you can not keep these men here forever." The man said. "People are probably looking for them. Let me take them back to town where they can be cared for properly."
Muhammed grumbled a little and waved him off "Alright, alright!"
He entered the tent with the other man and his grumble became a smile.
"Oh, you both are awake!" said Muhammed. "I want you to meet my grandson, Ali Haddad. He has come here from town to deliver some supplies and to see my two new guests. Ali, this man over here is Mr. Adrian Monk, and over here is his assistant Luca Rossi"
"Hello, gentlemen." Said Ali, a nice-looking young man about the age of 30 who was dressed in a t-shirt which showed off his muscular frame and blue jeans. "I trust my Jaddy Muhammed and my aunt Rania are taking good care of you?"
"Yes, very much so." said Luca, reaching forward his hand to shake Ali's.
Ali then turned to shake Adrian's hand, and Adrian hesitated, instead offering a fist bump which was something Ali wasn't aware of.
"It's an American custom." said Luca, chuckling at Adrian's idiosyncrasies.
Ali returned the fist bump. "Neat. You don't have to get other people's germs all over you that way."
"Exactly." Said Adrian.
"What brings you two out here in the middle of nowhere?" Ali inquired. "Jaddy said that he found you near a car that had caught on fire."
"That's what he told us too." Said Luca.
"We don't remember much." Said Adrian, not sure if he was able to trust Ali or not. "Have you heard any more about the car fire?"
"No. Not really, just what Jaddy said." Said Ali.
"Jaddy?" asked Adrian.
"Yes, that is what I call my grandfather. Jaddy Muhammed is a real traditionalist. I love him to pieces. But, I could not live the way he does. I like the modern conveniences. I have offered to take you two off of his hands and into town with me where a real doctor can look you over. My home isn't much, but it is clean and has running water and electricity. Would you like that?" he asked.
"Yes, we would." Said Adrian. "Sure." Said Luca.
"Perfect. I will go make some room for you in my car. Mr. Adrian, I will let you ride in the back seat because of your leg." He said.
"Um, actually…I…I really need to ride in the front seat." Said Monk with a crane of his neck.
"But there is a lot more room in the back for you to stretch out." Said Ali.
"Well, here's the th…" he said, being interrupted by Luca.
"Ali, just let him ride in front. Trust me, it's easier this way. He can put the seat all the way back so he can stretch out his leg. I'll sit in back" said Luca.
"Okay. Suit yourself." Said Ali as he walked back out to the car to prepare the way for his guests.
As they drove to Ali's home in Masharia Qaa, he quizzed them more about what they were doing in such a remote area. Luca was freer with information than Adrian, but ultimately Adrian relaxed enough to tell him about what was happening in Zahle and what their captors had planned to do to them.
"So, you were here trying to stop the smuggling of artifacts?" asked Ali.
"Yes. We were trying to find out enough about the operation so that it could be shut down." Said Luca.
"And unfortunately, we almost got shut down ourselves." Adrian added.
Ali thought for a moment and then smiled. "Then, I hereby proclaim you as my brothers."
"Huh?" said Luca.
"Your what?" said Adrian.
"My brothers. I do not have any physical brothers, but I will declare you, Adrian and you Luca as my brothers because you are trying to preserve and restore what is ours. Evil men abound nearby and they would strip us of our culture and heritage. The work you are doing is helping to stop them. So, you share in brotherhood with those in our country. And you know what that means?" he said.
"What does that mean?" said Adrian.
"There is an old saying among the Bedouins, it goes like this 'I am against my brother, my brother and I are against my cousin, my cousin and I are against the stranger'" said Ali.
"You're calling us your brother so you can be against us?" asked the ever glass half-empty Adrian.
"Ha ha! You are funny Mr. Adrian." Ali said with a smile. "No. I am saying that you are my brother and though we might not always agree on all matters, we are in solidarity with one another – even if the opposing force is a cousin, but especially if it is a stranger. You are safe in Lebanon from here on out. I will talk to my people. Our tribe will provide you with protection for the great good you are doing for us."
As they pulled up to Ali's small concrete home they were greeted by a yard full of goats and sheep.
"Stay right here, Mr. Adrian. I will get a chair to move you with." He said, running into the house to grab a desk chair.
"Where on earth does he think I'm going to go?" asked Adrian to Luca as he surveyed the goats in the yard and the dingy nature of the house. "Well, I see he exaggerated about the clean part."
"Mr. Monk. Deal with it." Luca said in frustration. "This guy has gone from living in a tent to having his own house and car. You have to cut him some slack."
"I suppose. Oh, how I wish I had a wipe." Adrian said as he opened the car door and tenderly tried to maneuver himself in such a way as to make it easier for Ali to help him out of the car.
Ali returned with a small swivel stenographer's chair that looked like it had come out of the 1970s. Adrian tried to pull himself up by the sides of the car but could not get a good grip. He grabbed the top of the car door and only managed to pull it towards himself, banging his good leg up a little more and eliciting a yelp from himself.
After some difficulty, Ali was able to reach under Adrian's arms and help him to stand long enough that he could swing around and sit. He then pushed the chair from behind, across the bumpy ground, until he reached the entrance of his house. The small lip entering the front door proved insurmountable for the little chair, so Ali grabbed the grumbling Monk once more and lifted him up by his armpits, hugging him as Luca grabbed the chair and put it just inside the house. As he set him back down towards the chair, the chair rolled and Monk went down on his back in a painful thud on the floor. As he mumbled and groaned, Ali stepped over him and tried to pick him up from behind. With his body halfway in and halfway out of the house, Adrian soon found himself face to face with a young goat who sniffed his hair and then started to lick his face.
"Go! Go!" Ali said, as he shooed the goat back into the yard.
Grabbing Adrian once again by his armpits he drug his body over the threshold and sat him up to the point that he was able to lift him and drag him over to the couch and set him down.
Luca was now the only one not out of breath. But he took a seat along with Ali as the three men tried to regroup.
Once inside, Monk was impressed by the simplicity and, yes, the cleanliness of the building. The walls were painted white and the floors were a shiny tile that was clearly kept quite clean. The furnishings were somewhat sparse, but enough for a young bachelor like Ali. It had a living room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms.
Ali told them men that each of them could have the bedrooms and he would sleep on the couch, but Adrian insisted that he would feel more comfortable sleeping on the couch. Rather than argue, Ali let him have his way.
"Our brother is a bit stubborn." He whispered to Luca as he carried out a pillow and blankets to the couch and helped Adrian get settled in.
"Adrian? Nah!""" Luca laughed. This even elicited a little chuckle from Adrian. He had become self-aware enough to know that he could be a pain in the butt. But, he was stubborn enough to not want to change that aspect of himself. Everything had a place and everything must be in its place or he would see to it that it would be righted.
"You gentleman stay here for a few minutes. Luca, I have some juice and snacks in the refrigerator. Adrian, I'm going to take a quick ride into town and see if I can find a doctor who can come out here. We have a larger hospital nearby…Batoul Hospital, and I'll take you there if we need to, but there is a young man I used to go to school with that lives in town. We still see each other every now and then. I will see if he is available."
"Thank you, Ali. You don't by any chance have Wifi or cellular service here do you?" Adrian asked.
"Not at my house. I don't' even have a regular phone. I can try to reach someone for you when I get in town." Said Ali.
Adrian thought for a moment. Did he fully trust Ali? He thought so, but he didn't want to take any chances with Natalie.
"That's okay. I will call her when we get back into town next." Said Adrian.
Leland, Natalie and Ilias drove into Qaa about 4:00 PM. They stopped at a gas station on the way in and
Ilias asked if the attendant had seen anyone matching Adrian and Luca's description.
"That's about 99% of the people around here. Sorry." Said the attendant.
They then drove over to the hospital to see if perhaps, since they were obviously injured, they had been checked in there. Nothing.
When Ilias suggested that they turn back and return to Beirut and let the locals handle it, Natalie vehemently protested.
"Adrian is around here and I'm not going anywhere until he's back in my arms." she said.
Ilias asked Leland to reason with her, but he told Ilias in no uncertain terms that once she had decided to do something there was no changing her mind. So, they rented a cabin at the L'Kaa Country Lodge, a beautiful facility with a pool and a spectacular view of the mountains and settled in for the night.