were speaking Arabic. I was with the special forces in Afghanistan for about five years, and I speak Arabic fairly well.
“In any case, they did not pay any attention to me. They had no idea that I was listening to them or that I could understand what they were saying --- at least most of what they were saying. They were speaking a little too fast for me to catch everything. However, I got the impression that they were Islamic extremists who were enthusiastic about the idea of jihad against America.
“After a few minutes, I figured that they were going to get suspicious if I stayed out there any longer, so I went through the door that they had left ajar so that they could get back inside. I’m guessing that the door is usually kept locked from the outside.”
“Didn’t anyone question you about why you were going inside?” Jenny asked.
“No, I just tried to look relaxed and confident; I walked with authority like my presence there was a normal, everyday thing. I started to look around the building, but I didn’t find any additional information. There were many persons around, and they were wearing employee identification badges. I narrowly dodged a security guard. I knew that another guard or employee would eventually stop and question me, so I hid in the janitor’s closet.
“I decided to stay there until most of the employees had gone home. In the early evening, I emerged from the closet and went into the hallway. There were still a few persons in the building, but I didn’t have any trouble avoiding them. While I was exploring the place, I heard the sound of an argument, then saw a young lady running down a hallway with two men in pursuit.
“I recognized the two men as two of the Islamic extremists that I had seen outside earlier that day. They grabbed the young woman and were about to beat her when I intervened. I became very angry and gave them what they deserved. I gave the one man a good view of the inside of a vending machine, and I broke the arm of the other man in a very unpleasant way.
“Then I took the young lady named Fatima Cedars outside. We each got in our cars, and she followed me to my condo in Clayton. I knew that it would not be safe for her to return to her apartment, so I told her that she could stay in my condo. Fatima has the whole place to herself because I am currently living at my house in Creve Coeur.”
“You own both a condo in Clayton and a house in Creve Coeur,” Jenny remarked. “The private detective business must be very profitable.”
“It has its ups and downs,” Marcus said pleasantly.
“Fatima called me from his condo,” Dennis Sandhaven interjected. “She told me everything that had happened. Naturally, I was shocked, but I now understood why Elaine had been acting so strange since receiving that phone call a couple of weeks ago.”
“Apparently she was a sleeper agent for the terrorists,” Charlie said. “She had probably been waiting for that phone call for years --- waiting to be called to action.”
“Yes,” Dennis said. “My first priority was to ensure the safety of our son. I didn’t think that she would harm him, but obviously I never really knew the woman. Perhaps she would have used him as a hostage. In any case, I took my son to my sister’s house and explained the situation to her. Two hours later she and my son went to the airport and left on a flight to Florida.
“Then Fatima called me again and arranged for me to meet Marcus. He drove me to Sandhaven Software and served as my bodyguard during the hour that I was there. I fired Boutros Mahdi and Rashid Fuad, and I cancelled their badges and computer passwords. I also deleted Elaine’s computer password, and I informed the security guards that she should not be allowed into the building.
“Once I finished doing everything possible to stop Elaine and her co-conspirators, I took my computer and all of the Intelligent
“In any case, they did not pay any attention to me. They had no idea that I was listening to them or that I could understand what they were saying --- at least most of what they were saying. They were speaking a little too fast for me to catch everything. However, I got the impression that they were Islamic extremists who were enthusiastic about the idea of jihad against America.
“After a few minutes, I figured that they were going to get suspicious if I stayed out there any longer, so I went through the door that they had left ajar so that they could get back inside. I’m guessing that the door is usually kept locked from the outside.”
“Didn’t anyone question you about why you were going inside?” Jenny asked.
“No, I just tried to look relaxed and confident; I walked with authority like my presence there was a normal, everyday thing. I started to look around the building, but I didn’t find any additional information. There were many persons around, and they were wearing employee identification badges. I narrowly dodged a security guard. I knew that another guard or employee would eventually stop and question me, so I hid in the janitor’s closet.
“I decided to stay there until most of the employees had gone home. In the early evening, I emerged from the closet and went into the hallway. There were still a few persons in the building, but I didn’t have any trouble avoiding them. While I was exploring the place, I heard the sound of an argument, then saw a young lady running down a hallway with two men in pursuit.
“I recognized the two men as two of the Islamic extremists that I had seen outside earlier that day. They grabbed the young woman and were about to beat her when I intervened. I became very angry and gave them what they deserved. I gave the one man a good view of the inside of a vending machine, and I broke the arm of the other man in a very unpleasant way.
“Then I took the young lady named Fatima Cedars outside. We each got in our cars, and she followed me to my condo in Clayton. I knew that it would not be safe for her to return to her apartment, so I told her that she could stay in my condo. Fatima has the whole place to herself because I am currently living at my house in Creve Coeur.”
“You own both a condo in Clayton and a house in Creve Coeur,” Jenny remarked. “The private detective business must be very profitable.”
“It has its ups and downs,” Marcus said pleasantly.
“Fatima called me from his condo,” Dennis Sandhaven interjected. “She told me everything that had happened. Naturally, I was shocked, but I now understood why Elaine had been acting so strange since receiving that phone call a couple of weeks ago.”
“Apparently she was a sleeper agent for the terrorists,” Charlie said. “She had probably been waiting for that phone call for years --- waiting to be called to action.”
“Yes,” Dennis said. “My first priority was to ensure the safety of our son. I didn’t think that she would harm him, but obviously I never really knew the woman. Perhaps she would have used him as a hostage. In any case, I took my son to my sister’s house and explained the situation to her. Two hours later she and my son went to the airport and left on a flight to Florida.
“Then Fatima called me again and arranged for me to meet Marcus. He drove me to Sandhaven Software and served as my bodyguard during the hour that I was there. I fired Boutros Mahdi and Rashid Fuad, and I cancelled their badges and computer passwords. I also deleted Elaine’s computer password, and I informed the security guards that she should not be allowed into the building.
“Once I finished doing everything possible to stop Elaine and her co-conspirators, I took my computer and all of the Intelligent
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