Alone in his shared cabin, he reminisced about a certain woman of the orient with tangential claims to royalty. He readily proved her indiscretion—she had been unfaithful to him. When Amir confronted her with the evidence, the woman’s unheroic lover left her. Perhaps Amir’s black hood and recently sharpened machete persuaded him. For the woman, Amir played a recording of her engaged in coarse conversation with another man. Amir later found out that the male voice on tape wasn’t even the same man he’d allowed to leave the room before he severed her head. Uncovering secrets that Salif chose to keep required a more nuanced approach. Amir’s options contracted aboard the ship. He had a laptop, satellite internet access, and knew of a website that promised to deliver what he considered a solution. He rose from his bunk. Staring at the ceiling helped his concentration, but his situation now required action. The hallway along the lower deck was clear of any traffic, but he knew those on the upper deck could see him from the many LCD screens.
