Evanly Bodies - By Rhys Bowen Page 0,57

I didn't," Bronwen said. "Although if she'd come to me and asked for my help, I'd probably have given it to her."

"But you must have suggested where she could go. She doesn't know many people yet in this area."

"Have you asked her school friends?" Evan said. "She said she'd already met some nice girls at school."

"I've no idea who they are," he snapped. "Jamila never confided in me."

"But your son followed her to a friend's house once. She told us that he made a scene and dragged her home."

"From a wild party with boys, yes indeed. Rashid cares about his sister. He cares about family. He is trying to live the life of a good Muslim."

"According to Jamila, it wasn't a wild party. They were sitting around talking, getting to know each other the way teenagers do. And your son overreacted, as he did with me the other night."

"Rashid is a young man. Young men sometimes feel a fire burning in their hearts. This is a good thing."

"Just as long as it doesn't consume them," Bronwen said. "So have you checked with the friend's house where Rashid found his sister that time?"

"I haven't, but Rashid did. The girl had not seen Jamila, so she says. Of course she could be lying. One of them could be harboring Jamila."

"What time did she leave today?" Evan asked.

"I don't know. My wife and I went out around eleven."

"And your son?"

"He left soon after. He has found a place to live near the university. He was moving his belongings today. When we arrived back about three, Jamila had gone."

"I know how worried you must feel, Mr. Khan," Evan said, "but I can assure you that neither Bronwen nor I had anything to do with your daughter's disappearance. I was out on a case until ten minutes ago, and Bronwen was hiking in the hills. I'll be happy to call the police for you and instigate a search."

"I just want her back," the older man said in a broken voice. "I just want my daughter home safe." He looked as if he might cry at any second.

Evan put a hand on his shoulder. "Go back to your wife. I'll have the police up here right away. And you'd better take a walking stick to get you down the mountain safely," he added, handing him one from the coat rack.

"Thank you." Mr. Khan was like a deflated balloon. He went away meekly.

Bronwen waited until the door closed and then turned on Evan. "What on earth did you do that for? Call the police for him? Whose side are you on?"

"He is her father, Bronwen."

"Yes, and he's about to ship her abroad and sell her as a slave. Some father."

"She's not legally old enough to be off on her own, and they do have a right to know where she is. What if something has happened to her? When they find her, then we can get social services involved, if that's what Jamila wants."

"She clearly doesn't want to be with her family any longer," Bron-wen said. "And who can blame her. With that fanatic of a brother poisoning their minds-" she stopped and put a hand to her mouth. "Oh God, Evan. I've just had the most terrible thought. The brother was alone with her today. And you know what they do in places like Pakistan when a woman disobeys the men in the family? Sometimes they kill her."

"You think Rashid might have killed Jamila? That's absurd, Bron."

"She stood up to him, didn't she? She would have told him that she wasn't going to marry someone in Pakistan. And he's a violent person, Evan. He could easily have lost control and beaten her to death-or equally taken her down to his Muslim friends. If they are as extreme as he, they could have helped in the killing."

"This is all wild supposition, Bronwen," Evan said uneasily. "After all, Rashid was born in the UK. He's been to British schools. He's attending a British university."

"And a fat lot has rubbed off on him," Bronwen snapped. "He's a fanatic, Evan. He's made up his mind and he twists everything to conform with his own narrow views. I think it's highly likely that he could have killed his sister."

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" Evan said. "We can't mention this possibility to the police yet. They'll think we're being racist. If they haven't found her after a day or so, then we'll start to worry."

"I want you to