"Charming," he said to Joseph. "And well trained. Don't you think? For a moment, I nearly believed her. Women often make superb plants. They are naturally emotional. One tends to mistake their hysteria for honesty. If a man cries, it is only because he is guilty and pitying himself."

Joseph said nothing. He nodded once resolutely as if he knew exactly what his patron was speaking of.

Mevlevi placed himself behind the rattan chair and ran his hands over Lina's body. He gently squeezed her powerful shoulders and caressed her firm breasts. A morose fog fell upon him. "Lina, the time has come for us to part ways. You go now on a transcendent path. I am sorry I cannot join you, but my work is not yet completed. Soon, though, we may be reunited. Truly, I loved you."

Lina faced him with her eyes closed. She cried quietly. "Why?" she asked between sniffles.

For a moment, Mevlevi asked the same question of the Almighty. Why must I lose one who means so much to me? One who has brought only light and joy into my life. She is but a child. An innocent. Surely, she should not suffer so for her crimes. And then he felt his resolve stiffen, and he knew it to be Allah speaking through him.

"You were brought to test me. If I can part with you, my sweetest creature, I can part with life itself. Allah demands sacrifices of us all."

"No, no, no," she whispered.

"Adieu, my love." He stood and nodded to Joseph.

Joseph approached Lina slowly and asked her to be calm. "Go serenely," he counseled. "Go with grace. It is the way of Allah. You must not resist." And when he cradled her in his arms, she went without fighting.

Joseph carried her to a low bench at the far end of the building. An oblong stone, twenty inches long and ten inches high, lay below the bench. The stone weighed exactly thirty pounds- easily enough to anchor a small woman's body to the pool's bottom. He unbound Lina's feet and placed each one in a shallow depression molded into the stone. Stainless steel manacles extended from a brass eye screw that protruded from between her feet. He locked a cuff around each foot.

"Why are you doing this?" Lina asked. Her tears had dried. Her swollen eyes were clear.

"I must obey Al-Mevlevi. He is inspired by a greater purpose than either of us."

Lina tried to slap Joseph's face with her bound hands. "I do not believe you. It is you, the liar. You put the radio under my bed. You!"

"Shhh!" Joseph knelt and offered her a cup of wine. "It contains a powerful tranquilizer. Al-Mevlevi did not wish you to feel any pain. Look into the water. You don't want to die like that, not while you're fully conscious."

"This is the end of my life. I must feel every moment."

Hastily, Joseph raised her to her feet.

Ali Mevlevi stood at the opposite end of the pool, his head tilted toward the heavens, a muted prayer playing from his mouth. He stopped and looked at Joseph, then nodded and resumed his incantations. Truly, he had loved her.

Lina struggled against her bonds. She whimpered at her inability to move her feet or to free her hands.

Joseph whispered in her ear that Allah would love her forever. He carried her onto a narrow span that bridged the pool, and when he stood over the water, he lifted her as high as his strength would permit and threw her into the pool. Her scream mixed with the tumult of the splashing water, and for several seconds after she had fallen below the surface, her voice echoed through the vaulted pavilion.

Outside, a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter sat with rotors turning at idle on the main lawn of the compound. The sky was bleak. A light drizzle fell.

Mevlevi walked toward the chopper, his hand on Joseph's shoulder. "Lina jeopardized Khamsin. You understand there was no other solution."

"Of course, Al-Mevlevi."

"I am growing to be a sentimental fool. I felt for her. It is harder to live without emotion at my age." He paused and in a rare loss of temper, cursed the Almighty. "Our priorities are clear. Khamsin must be allowed to take shape. You must leave at once to take responsibility for our latest shipment. You will fly to a freighter steaming in the Adriatic, near Brindisi, off the Italian coast."

"May I gather my belongings?"

"No. I'm afraid you may not. No time."

For once, Joseph protested. "I only need a few minutes."

"You will leave immediately," Mevlevi commanded. "Take this bag. Inside you will find a passport, some clothes, and five thousand dollars. Once you are safely on board, I will contact you with further instructions. The profit from this transaction is essential. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Al-Mevlevi."

"Very good." Mevlevi wanted to tell Joseph more. He wanted to tell him that in two days his men would begin moving south toward the Israeli border; that they would travel in two groups, each three hundred strong; that they would move under cover of darkness, between the hours of two and six when American satellites did not have the region of southern Lebanon in their purview. Mostly, he wanted to tell Joseph that without the profits from this transaction, and the far greater sums those profits would almost immediately make available, Khamsin would surely fail- yet one more vainglorious, and ultimately suicidal, border incursion. But alas, such knowledge was his to bear alone.

"The men who will meet you in Brindisi…"

"Yes?"

"I no longer know if they can be trusted. They may be with the Makdisis. Take precautions. Our shipment must reach Zurich as soon as possible. Once the merchandise is unloaded, accept no delays."

Joseph reached for the athletic bag. He grasped the handle, but Mevlevi refused to give it up. He stared deep into his retainer's eyes. "You will not betray me."

Joseph stood straighter. "Never, Al-Mevlevi. I am beholden to you. You have my holy word."

CHAPTER 37

Marco Cerruti sat up in his bed. His breath came fast and shallow. He was soaked with perspiration. He opened his eyes as widely as possible, and slowly the room came into focus. Shadows looming in the dark took form. Phantoms sought refuge behind heavy curtains and antique dressers.

Cerruti untangled his legs from the covers and turned on the bedside lamp. He was confronted with a portrait of his mother staring at him from the confines of her beloved armchair. He turned the picture facedown on the table and rose from the bed. He needed a glass of water. The cold tile of the bathroom floor sent a wash of clean sensation through his body, restoring his nerves. He drank a second glass of water, then decided upon a quick inspection of the apartment. Best to ensure he'd properly locked the windows and secured the elevator door. This done, he returned to bed, first arranging the sheets and covers. He climbed in, fastened the top button of his wool pajamas, then slid under the covers. His hand reached for the lamp but stopped midway there. He recalled the dreadful nightmare. Maybe it was smarter to leave the light burning a little longer.

Cerruti laid his head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. For weeks, the dream had not come. His recovery had progressed. Night was no longer a time to be feared. A return to work was hardly out of the question. And then the visits from Thorne.

The American frightened him. So many questions. Questions about Mr. Mevlevi, about the Chairman, even about young Mr. Neumann, whom he had met only once. Cerruti had been polite, as he was with all his guests. Had offered the rude man a Coca-Cola and some biscuits. Had answered his questions respectfully. Of course, he had lied. But he had done it diplomatically, and with what he hoped was aplomb. No, Cerruti had sworn, he did not know a man by the name of Ali Mevlevi. No, he did not know a client at the bank nicknamed the Pasha. A supplier of heroin to the European continent? The bank did not work with such people.