Layover in Dubai by Dan Fesperman Page B

Shangri-La. Got so bad they posted a cop.”
     
    “Mr. Keller? Mr. Keller?”
    It was Lieutenant Assad, snapping Sam out of his daydream. Or night dream. It was now 4 a.m., and the York Club had gone silent.
    “Continue, please. So you arrived at the Shangri-La in late afternoon. Did you or Mr. Hatcher go anywhere that first evening?”
    “Emirates Mall. To the ski slope.”
    “Ah, yes. Very popular with the tourists.”
     
    Pretty much what Charlie had said—but with gentle tolerance—when Sam suggested going.
    “We could do that. We could do that, Sam. Of course the way I see it, if you want to ski, then go to goddamn Aspen.” He laughed aloud. “But I can see the novelty appeal. Big hill of snow inside a shopping mall, smack in the middle of blazing Arabia. So, by God, let’s buckle ’em on. Who knows, maybe with a little exercise we’ll sleep better. More energy for the real action tomorrow.”
    It turned out to be like the rest of Dubai—surreal, an artful con, worthy successor to the mirages that must have once fooled thirsty caravans. Super-strength air-conditioning kept the temperature at 29 degrees Fahrenheit beneath a sky blue ceiling. You rented parkas and snow pants along with the skis and poles, and caught the lift straight for the top. Not exactly Aspen, but still fun in a discombobulating sort of way.
    Sam, who slalomed down with an easy grace, waited for Charlie at the bottom. The older man descended like Laurel and Hardy, a slapstick of tumbles and splayed legs that ended with an ignoble roll at the bottom. But when he stood, snow in his stubble, his cigarette was still clamped in his lips and he wasn’t at all embarrassed.
    “Haven’t done this in a while,” he said. “I think I’ll watch from the bar.”
    He nodded toward a big plate-glass window up high in the back. Everyone on the other side looked cozy, steaming drinks in hand, video fireplaces ablaze. A little like the Alps, as long as you didn’t glance to the right, where another big window faced out from the mall’s main concourse. A line of shoppers peered in, all in a row with their sunburns, their bags, and their ice cream cones.
    “Did Mr. Hatcher meet anyone in the bar while you were skiing?” Assad asked. “Did anyone approach either of you?”
    “No.”
    Sam’s only conversation had been with Charlie, afterward in the Alpine bar:
    “So how’d we end up traveling together, anyway, young Mr. Keller? Any insights you’d care to share?”
    Obviously Charlie hadn’t bought Nanette’s rationale—the idea that Sam needed a chaperone. She had given him a cover story in case this subject came up—a lame one, but it was all he had.
    “The travel office thought it would be a good way to save money.”
    “Some sort of package deal, you mean?” Charlie snorted. “They obviously don’t know the way things work at the Shangri-La. But tell me something. You weren’t summoned to meet with the lovely Nanette by any chance, were you?”
    He had a story for this, too.
    “I was. She wanted to update my security status, seeing as how I might be stopping in Pakistan on the way back from Hong Kong.”
    Charlie nodded, but didn’t seem convinced.
    “Tell me,” he said. “This earlier departure of yours, the one that put you in sync with my schedule. Was that Nanette’s idea as well?”
    “Uh, no.” He felt terrible lying. “The travel office handled everything.”
    Charlie smiled.
    “Whatever you say, boss. But I do kind of like the idea of making her squirm. And I don’t mean in the carnal sense.”
    He must have noticed Sam redden, judging from what he said next.
    “So even you think she’s kind of hot, huh?” He laughed. “Well, I guess we’re always doing it, aren’t we?”
    “Doing what?”
    “Sizing them up. Stripping them down in our heads, whether they’re our waitress, our boss, or our second cousin. Wondering what it would be like. Or, if they’re a little too old, what it might have been like ten