She studied the paper, turning it over, looking for something else.
“Okay, so he meant for me to have something of his, but where are we supposed to find it?”
It wasn’t lost on Khizar that she had included him in that ‘we.’ He thought for a long moment about what the clue might mean. The way Bill had written the phrase…
“Huh. Look at the way he wrote ‘mine’ in capital letters. What if he meant we were supposed to look in his actual mine?”
Jacqui’s eyes narrowed, thinking. “What happened to his mine after he died?”
Khizar knew he would be revealing too much if he told her that he had been in the process of buying the Bauer mine, but he didn’t want to withhold information from her, either.
“Nothing, I think. The mine was depleted. He didn’t leave it to anyone in his will. I think you’d have a claim to it, if you wanted it.”
Jacqui shook her head. “I wouldn’t know what to do with a diamond mine. But if we go there, that means we could find the next clue.”
“I’m sure it hasn’t been disturbed since his death.”
“It’s in Nudushan, right? Do you know where?” she asked.
All too well, Khizar thought.
But what he said was, “I do, actually. It’s not too far from the capital, Al Nud.”
“So, you’ve been there? Can we go?”
Khizar took a deep breath. This treasure hunt was taking an unexpected turn, but he found that he was eager to show Jacqui his home.
“We can. We can fly tonight.” He squinted at the sky. “We can sleep on the flight over and be ready to go when we land.”
Jacqui turned to look out over the spectacular view one more time and nodded.
“Maybe one day we can come back here.”
Khizar found himself agreeing with that idea, and he filed that feeling away for consideration.
All he said was, “I’d like that.”
It was dark by the time they arrived back at the airport. Khizar had called ahead and left instructions with the crew, so they found the jet stocked with food and supplies, and the flight plan filed.
The plane took off as soon as Khizar and Jacqui were on board. Once they were in the air, the steward prepared and served a light dinner. While they ate, Jacqui asked the Sheikh more questions about his homeland.
“It’s a beautiful place. Some of it is stark, like the area where the Bauer mine is located. But even that is stunning in its own way.”
“What’s Al Nud like?” Jacqui wondered.
“Smaller than Milwaukee, but with more people. We have a vibrant arts scene—you’ll love the ballet. And there’s a park in the middle of the city that houses our botanical gardens.”
Jacqui was quiet for a few minutes, then asked, “You’ve been to Bill Bauer’s mine, right? What’s it like?”
“One thing I’ve always admired about the way Bill ran his mine was that he respected the land. Some mines are giant holes in the ground, or they move tons of dirt from one location to another just to sift through it. Bill did a lot of the work on site, and he tried to replant or reuse different areas of the mine as they were depleted.”
“Did he live there?”
Khizar shrugged. “I know he had an apartment on site, some place to stay when he needed to be present. But I think he also had a house in the closest town. I hope you won’t be disappointed; I believe his house and everything in it was given away in his will.”
Jacqui shook her head and sighed.
“It’s not that I want anything of his exactly, but…I don’t know. Maybe I was hoping that he would have pictures of his parents or something. I have some, from my father, but it would be nice to know more about my extended family.”
“Since the mine hasn’t been sold, it’s possible he left you something there in addition to our next clue.”
Jacqui nodded, and Khizar saw that she was sad. He felt deeply for her, not having that direct connection to part of her family. His own family was close, and he couldn’t imagine what life would be like if he didn’t have them.
He found himself saying, “Since we’re going to be in my home city, would you like to meet my parents? I know you didn’t come on this trip with that in mind, so I completely understand if you’d rather wait.”