“They didn’t mention a trial to you?” Omar Yussef said.

Salwa shook her head.

Cree scoffed and waved his hand. “Trial? No chance.”

Magnus Wallender looked up from his notes. He rested his elbow on his knee and rubbed his short beard. “Your husband will have the backing of the United Nations, Umm Naji. We will see to it that he’s freed or, at least, allowed to have a fair trial. We will work with all our contacts here in the government, and we will inform our diplomatic representatives.”

“Thank you,” said Salwa.

Omar Yussef sensed the meeting was at a close. His hand felt steady enough to lift the glass of tea from his side table. He put it to his lips and took a sip.

Umm Rateb sat forward. “Perhaps, Mister Wallender, you will visit Professor Maki at the university to discuss the case?”

“Yes, Umm Rateb, I think we shall.”

“Leave it a few hours,” the plump woman said. “He was in Rafah this morning, and he’ll go home for lunch and a siesta before he goes to the office. You will find him there after four or four-thirty. Go to the main entrance of the university and ask directions from there.”

“Thank you.”

Umm Rateb stood, resting her weight on one leg and pushing out that hip. Omar Yussef liked the way she held herself. “Salwa, I have to go and prepare lunch for my family. I’ll talk to you later.”

Salwa stood and kissed Umm Rateb’s round cheek.

Umm Rateb smiled at Omar Yussef, showing the teeth in her wide mouth. “I’ll meet you later today, Abu Ramiz.”

Omar Yussef was taken aback. Had she sensed his attraction to her? Could she be propositioning him in front of these people? His hand shook and dropped splashes of tea onto the manila file and the crotch of his trousers.

Wallender covered Omar Yussef’s embarrassment. “At the university, Abu Ramiz. Umm Rateb is Professor Maki’s secretary, you remember.”