TWENTY-THREE
FIRST, THE CCTV CAMERA above.
A few seconds ago, it had a small, consistent red light coming from the LED just below the lense. But it just disappeared. The light going away had the same effect on the eyes as if someone had just switched it on. It immediately drew attention.
Then my subconscious pushed the other things forward.
Abdullah al Waleed had backed off to the side, standing by the recessed entry to the men’s restroom, looking at us as he spoke on his phone. The choppy tones of his speech, accompanied by the way he vigorously nodded, seemed to be different from anger. It could also have been impatient confirmation. Tenseness. Anxiety.
The rest of the staff had disappeared. No more people wiping cases or dusting. Did they just finish a shift or something? The only
