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any of the tapes.
    “That’s fine, but we need to keep this circle small.”
    “I agree, and he will too.”
    “Give my greetings and love to your family and my apologies for the weekend interruption.”
    “No problem, we’ll talk soon.”
     
     

CHAPTER 6
     
    M ONDAY, L ONDON    Zeki reached for his cell phone in the dark to turn off the alarm. It hadn’t gone off yet and wouldn’t for another ninety seconds. He wondered why he even bothered to set it anymore. He had spent years in intelligence and had many deeply ingrained habits to show for it. One of these was the ability to allow himself only a certain amount of sleep. Still, he was a cautious man and knew that even when finely tuned, the brain was capable of a lapse, so he dutifully set his alarm any time he was traveling abroad. There was no muezzin to sound the call to prayer here in London, at least not one he would be able to hear from his hotel room, though that was likely to change soon enough. The first day of the conference was going to be busy, but he put all thoughts about his work out of his mind and turned his attention to his morning prayers.
    ><><><  
     
    Ian was walking in what could only be described as Never Never land. A late summer sun shone brightly on grass of emerald green and the desire of his heart ran towards him with arms outstretched. How long had it been since he had seen her looking so fresh and pretty? Patricia’s blue eyes fairly sparkled, accented by the string of pearls that hung around her neck. Her strawberry blonde hair was bouncing on her shoulders with every step. Something told him the white dress was special and he was irritated that he couldn’t place it. He stretched out his arms to receive her when suddenly he saw only grayness, and the clanging sound of a telephone jolted him into a different state of consciousness. The real world. A world without Patricia. As his brain attempted to switch gears and bring him out of the REM-induced stupor, he groped for the wretched thief that had snatched this precious moment away from him. It was not every night he got a visitation from Patricia, but he whispered a silent prayer for one every time his head hit the pillow.
    “Good morning.”
    “Good morning,” he responded groggily, his eyes still closed.
    “I hope I didn’t wake you,” said a vaguely familiar voice on the other end. Suddenly, he popped up as if he had been prodded with a poker. He opened his eyes to see if he might still be dreaming. The voice sounded just like Patricia’s. Hope flooded his heart.
    “Dad, are you there? Hello, can you hear me?”
    “Gwyn, is that you?”
    “Daddy, of course it’s me. Have you forgotten what my voice sounds like?”
    “How could I, darling? It’s so much like your mother’s.”
    “I hate to call so early, but I just got a text from Gilbert. He says he has a two-hour layover on Tuesday. Maybe you could steal away from the conference for a couple of hours, and we could meet him at the airport around three o’clock.”
    “He could have given us a bit of forewarning, don’t you think?”
    “Dad, come on, you know what his work schedule is like. It isn’t easy being at the beck and call of the board of directors. They’ve run him ragged the last two months. I’m sure he only just found out himself.”
    “Just what an over-achiever like Gilbert needs, a slave driver for a CEO.” Are they any different from the Caesars, Emperors, Kings and Sultans? “Wait a minute, I thought you were flying to Dallas on Wednesday and driving out to see family for your vacation.”
    “I am, but I changed my departure. I managed to get a seat on a Tuesday night flight as well, a couple of hours after Gilbert’s departure, so I can just come early and hang out in the airport with you after he leaves. It’ll give us a chance to catch up.”
    “I hate to skip out on conference sessions, but it’s been a while since the three of us got together.”
    “Come on, Dad. It’ll