This compliment from his daughter made him all the happier. What he didn’t realize, of course, was that even though her words were sincere, they were also an attempt through light-hearted banter to conceal her deepening anxiety over Nahi’s reprehensible, and dangerous, accusation.
* * *
The telephone rang at Al Ta`ah newspaper’s office. It was answered by its editor-in-chief, its sole editor-at-large, and the head of its ads section. Of these three positions, it was the third that he took the most seriously.
“Hello,” said the caller. “I’m the assistant to Lieutenant Nahi at the Intelligence Bureau.”
“Oh, hello! It’s always good to hear from you over there!”
“We see you published an illustrated report yesterday on Zain Khayyal, who fancies herself an author.”
“That’s right. I thought
