Goren, Eames and Rainy gathered up files pertinent to the case and relocated themselves into a conference room. Goren and Eames sorted through the files while Rainy read the congested bulletin board.
"You won Ross over pretty quick," Goren commented.
Rainy shook her head as she pulled out a chair to sit. "Called in a favor. Agent Pace's kid brother and I were in the same office for a while. They both have a special way with words, and very good timing."
Goren smiled.
Eames settled back in her chair, a file opened in front of her. "Here we go. Sidiq Fayyad, 24 years old, hometown is Medina, Saudi Arabia. He's been in the country a little over two years on a student visa, same program as Campbell and Lucas. His visa expires in June, so I hope he is planning on graduating."
"Holy city…very beautiful, very Muslim. It's where they buried Muhammad." Rainy offered.
Goren nodded, "What does it say about his family?"
Eames continued skimming the file provided to her by the University. "Father is a farmer, family's livelihood, it looks like."
"Crops are a big part of their economy, fruits and vegetables, dates especially. But the industry has been affected by the oil business, fight for water rights and whatnot. Understandable if he would want to get away from that type of work, and if he's the only one in his family…" Rainy began.
"Probably a point of contention," Goren finished.
Rainy nodded, "Farming doesn't have the prestige it used to. Medina is also undergoing a huge cultural shift with this Knowledge Economic City project that is aimed to bring Saudi Arabia to the forefront of knowledge, technology based industries, by offering incentives and opportunities to young entrepreneurs, among other things," she paused and smiled, "One project in consideration is a theme park based on the life of Muhammad.
"The Medina leg of the project officially began around the time Sidiq came out here. I would be surprised if he made it here without some sort of backing from at least one of those interested parties. At any rate, I'm sure he has a lot riding on the completion of his degree and his experiences, and returning home with honor and the expertise needed to assist his country, and to prove something to his family, no doubt."
"Maybe has to do with how he got hooked up with the Jordanais," Goren offered.
Eames nodded and continued reading the file to herself but did not offer any additional information aloud. Goren continued shifting through other files on the desk, brow furrowed in thought.
"Do we have his backpack someplace?" Rainy asked.
"I'll check." Goren left the room, entered another, and returned seconds later with an open box.
He set it on the table and removed the heavy backpack. He unzipped the bag and began unloading its contents. A leather bound book was on top, he opened it and handed it to Rainy without hesitation, its handwritten text was entirely in Arabic. He continued emptying the bag, change of clothes, basic toiletries, another book he could not read, and finally a hefty rolled mat.
"Prayer mat?" he asked waving the roll side to side before setting it next to the box.
Rainy nodded, "A musalla, for Ṣalat. Being from Medina, he is probably very religious."
Eames stood and held up the pants from the bag. "And very bad at laundry. Either he shrunk these jeans, or I bet he knows where to find Bakr."
Rainy set aside the first book Goren handed her, and moved to the second. She flipped only a few pages before several papers fell in her lap. "I'll second that bet." She held up a dark green passport emblazoned with a square, golden eagle, issued by the Egyptian government.
Sidiq Fayyad stood six feet tall, skinny as a beanpole. Thin round frames accented his dark eyes when his thick and shaggy black hair did not hang sloppily in front of them. He sat hunched in his chair, chin in hands, feet bouncing nervously against the floor beneath him.
He straightened reflexively in his chair with a startle at the entrance of the detectives.
"Mr. Fayyad, I'm Detective Eames, this is Detective Goren, and I'm sure you remember Agent Jansen from this morning." Eames and Goren sat down across from him, while Rainy lingered behind them, leaning against the side of the mirrored glass.
Eames looked to Goren, who cut right to the chase. "We need to ask you about your friends," he opened his binder and produced two glossy photos, courtesy of the morgue, "Emily Choi," he snapped the photos down separately, "and Campbell Brown."
Sidiq brought his fist to his mouth, his hand and wrist noticeably wrapped in white gauze from his earlier capture. He shook his head furiously while his eyes watered and he wiped at his nose. "No, no, no!" He pushed the photos away while flinging himself out of his chair and to his feet. "I did not do this!" he shouted.
"tjls!" Rainy shouted back. Sit down!
Sidiq paced the length of the table, running his uninjured hand through his hair and straightening his glasses. He glared at Rainy.
"ajls!" She moved from the wall and took a step in his direction. Sit!
Sidiq grudgingly took his place in his chair. Goren never took his eyes off him. Eames shot Rainy a wary glance.
"Sidiq, if you did not do this, what are you running from?" Goren asked with a head tilt.
The younger man squared in his chair, lining himself up more directly with Goren's patient gaze. His jaw clenched and unclenched, while his breathing evened out, but he said nothing.
Goren attempted again. "Okay. How about your friend, Bakr Okaly, do you know where we can find him? Maybe he would like to tell us about your friends."
Sidiq's eyes grew impossibly darker, but his posture did not change. "I have nothing to say to you."
Before Goren could respond, Rainy stepped directly behind him, hands in pockets. "wmatha an ly?" What about me?
Sidiq turned his head and spat on the floor. His eyes did not rise to meet any of the investigators.
Rainy shrugged with indifference and left the room.
Goren looked to Eames, whose look mimicked the shrug, and then back to Sidiq, whose face was vacant of any emotion. Then, he too led the way out of the interrogation room.
Rainy Jay met the detectives outside the room.
"That went well," she deadpanned.
"Guess he needs some more time to think about it," Goren commented, leading the way back towards their desks. Once there he turned to Rainy as he took his seat. "Can you go over those books, papers, he had with him, see if anything indicates where Bakr might be holed up?"
Rainy nodded and headed back to the conference room.
"So if he isn't going to talk to you and he isn't going to talk to her, should we street him, see if he leads us to Bakr?" Eames suggested aloud.
"Maybe, but not yet." Goren opened a file and busied himself with its contents.
Eames took the hint and did the same.
The hours passed without distraction before Goren noticed movement in the conference room. Rainy moved through the room, dug through the evidence box on the table, and finally left towards the jailed holding area, items in hand.
"What's she doing?" Eames asked, having noticed her also.
"I don't know," Goren answered, bemused.
"Take a break," Rainy offered commandingly to the officer on duty in the room.
He hesitated a moment before nodding and exiting the room.
Sidiq did not move from where he sat on the bunk seat.
Rainy hesitantly approached the gate that separated them. She poked the rolled musalla through the bars. "Time to get right with your God."
Sidiq's eyes bore into her own while he considered her offer. After a moment, he stood and pulled the mat through the bars, without a blink.
"That way," Rainy pointed East, towards the wall behind Sidiq.
With a final lingering stare, Sidiq turned, unfurled the mat on the floor, and knelt.
Rainy backed off towards the opposite wall, pulled a chair from the table against it to face the cell, sat, and pulled her own Bible from under her arm.
Goren and Eames watched the officer exit the holding room and enter the break room. Their curiosity officially peaked, neither wanted to be the first to investigate.
"You should probably check on them," Eames suggested after a few minutes of consideration.
Goren nodded, pushed away from his desk and walked to the room. He stood just within the entrance, where Eames could still see him. When he did not continue inward, or return to his desk, Eames followed.
Sidiq stood on the musalla, in the middle of his second raka'ah. His voice emitted a quiet, steady cadence of Arabic speech, while Rainy sat, head bowed, contritely whispering the words along with him in English.
Bismillāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm
In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful:
Al ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi l-'ālamīn
Praise be to God, the Lord of the Universe.
Ar raḥmāni r-raḥīm
The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Māliki yawmi d-dīn
Master of the Day of Judgment.
Iyyāka na'budu wa iyyāka nasta'īn
You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help
Ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭ al mustaqīm
Guide us to the straight path;
Ṣirāṭ al-laḏīna an'amta 'alayhim ġayril maġḍūbi 'alayhim walāḍ ḍāllīn
The path of those whom You have favored, not of those who have deserved Your anger, nor of those who stray.
Sidiq the bowed twice, until his palms met his knees, while he continued his prayer.
sami'a-llahu liman hamidah
God hears those who give thanks to Him
Rabbana laka-lhamd
Grateful praise to You, our Lord
mil'u-lsamawati wa-mil'ul'ard
as much as the heavens and earth contain
Sidiq knelt, prostrating during his recitation. almjd lrbai akthr madhm aalyh tsthq althna'a
Glory to my Lord, the Most High Most Praiseworthy
He rose to his knees. Allah-hum maghfirli. Allah, forgive me. He then repeated his prostration, and settled on his knees once more, continuing to speak in his native tongue.
at tahiyyātu lillāhi, was-salawātu wat-tayyibātu. as-salāmu alayka ayyu han-nabiyyu wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. as salāmu alaynā wa 'alā ibādillā his-sālihīn. ash-hadu al lā ilāha illallāhu wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan abaduhū wa rasūluh.
All greetings, blessings and good acts are from You, my Lord. Greetings to you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allah. Peace be unto us, and unto the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.
The uniformed officer returned with a cup of coffee and looked curiously over Eames' shoulder.
"What are they doing?" he whispered.
"Praying," Goren acknowledged quietly.
No one spoke. Sidiq continued kneeling on his mat, now whispering to himself too quietly for even Rainy to hear, so she sat silently, eyes closed, leaned on her elbows, hands clenched around her grayed book.
Goren looked to Eames and gestured behind him with his head. She nodded and followed him back to their desks, leaving the officer behind.
"Interesting interrogation technique," Eames commented after settling again at her desk.
Goren shrugged and raised his eyebrows in resignation. "If it works."
After several more moments of near-silence, Rainy raised her head to see Sidiq rerolling the musalla. She stood, placing her Bible on the chair she vacated. She moved towards the cell and took the mat from where Sidiq offered it. His face glistened with sweat.
Rainy took the mat and set it on the chair with her book before turning back to Sidiq. She contemplated him a moment before taking a yellow legal pad and black pen from the desk. She tucked the pad under her arm and fidgeted with the pen.
"matha hdth?" she asked. What happened?
Sidiq leaned his forehead against the bars, averting his eyes from hers.
"ana la aar." I do not know.
"What do you know?"
He looked up at her tentatively before returning his head to the bars. He spoke through a subtle accent in a barely audible whisper. "I left with Lucas. We came home. I went to sleep. Bakr woke me. It was very early. He said he needed help. We went outside, to the hall. He said Emily was dead. He found her, by the dumpster. He was afraid the police would not believe his innocence. He said he must hide and get away. I helped him find a safe place. We talked. I came back to get his things. Lucas confronted me. He wanted to know where I had been and where was Bakr. He said Emily was dead and so was Campbell. I did not know about Campbell. Bakr said nothing of Campbell. I did not believe Lucas. He accused Bakr and me. We argued. I hit him. Then you came."
Rainy bent the pad and pushed it and the pen through the bars. "bakr ayn hw?" Where is Bakr?
Sidiq took the items and wrote. He passed them back through the bars. Rainy looked at the page and tore off the top sheet. She passed the paper and pen back through the bars.
"Write it all down, everything you know, Sidiq. Everything you did, everyone you talked to, everyone you saw at the party. Anything from yesterday until today, before the party until now. Write it all down, Arabic or English, I don't care."
Sidiq nodded and turned back towards the bunk and sat.
Rainy picked up her Bible and the musalla. "He's all yours," she commented to the officer as she exited the room.
Rainy returned to Goren and Eames' desks. She dropped the contents of her hands onto Goren's desk, next to the file he pretended to read. She pulled her coat off the rack without further glance at either detective. "I'll be outside." She left for the elevators.
Goren picked up the piece of yellow paper, which read "Gebelawi's House, Long Island City." He handed Eames the sheet. "Gebelawi was a primary character in Naguib Mahfouz's Children of the Alley. He symbolized religion, and the story was about the expulsion of various holy men, Adam, Jesus, Muhammad, Moses, Satan, from his house. It's banned in most middle eastern countries. Interesting name for a hostel."
Eames' eyebrows raised in amusement. She paused, waiting to see if his literature lesson was over, before reaching for the phone. "I'll get some units out there."
Goren nodded. "I'll find Rainy. Meet you in the garage."