A few minutes after Gretta and Elliot got up, Carmen and Grace had come out of their bedroom to grab some breakfast from the kitchen.

"Hmph. Look at them!" Carmen whispered to Grace, pointing to where Gretta and Elliot had fallen asleep on the couch.

"They must have been really tired." Grace says, frowning in sympathy as she opens the fridge.

"Good morning. Anything good in there?" Grace hears Jack's voice float through the kitchen. She's far too distracted by grabbing items out of the fridge to inspect them and can't turn around.
"Not really." Grace frowns. "There's some milk left but it's probably better to just stick with oatmeal or cereal." She advises and nearly jumps as she turns and finds him in front of her. Carmen is still at her spot by the counter, visible between one of Jack's shoulders.

"You scared me!"
"Sorry." He apologizes and moves out of the way so Grace can move over to the coffee maker with some milk in her hands.

"I guess we should just head to the office after we have breakfast since we're all awake." Carmen suggests and Grace nods as she puts some milk into her tea and stirs it.
"What about Gretta and Elliot? Are they awake?" Jack asks and Grace stretches a little to look at them over the counter, unsure.

"Hey kiddos, you alive over there?"

The two teens groan in unison.

"Yeah, they're awake." Grace answers.

A moment later she sees Gretta's head pop up from the couch. She doesn't see, however, that Gretta blinks at Elliot, trying to register what she was just doing.

He slowly gets up too, rubbing his eyes and blinking away sleep. She turns away and then looks at her mom.

"What is it?"
"Just making sure you're still with us."
"Ha. Funny." Gretta replies with dry sarcasm as she sits down by the counter on one of the bar stools.

"Why are you both so tired? Couldn't sleep?" Grace asks, glancing at the two with confusion.

"She kept moving too much and woke me up at 5." Elliot complains as he comes over to the counter.
"You were awake too!" Gretta counters.
"You couldn't sleep?" Grace asks her daughter, concerned and completely ignoring their squabbling.
"Yeah...must be the new area. I don't know." She finishes her sentence with a stretch.
"You two can stay here if you want."

"You sure?" Elliot asks.
"Really?" Gretta says in surprise at the same time.

Grace, Jack and Carmen attempt to not look surprised by how in sync they are this morning.

"Yeah, I don't see why not. And the office is only a short drive away." Grace points out and Gretta shrugs.
"Alright. You've convinced me. But before you go...could you make me some tea?" She asks sheepishly and Grace rolls her eyes in amusement.
"Fine. Elliot, do you want anything?"
"No, I'm fine. I'll get something later."

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In the middle of the Sahara, Grace parked the Bureau's jeep and she, and her partnergot out, meeting Carmen there, who had driven ahead of her.

"Grace, you've read the brief: Chief Ripley's killer is operating under the codename The Sword and we have to follow their trail deeper into the desert, where they're hiding. The deep Sahara is uncharted territory. Sometimes, nomadic tribes set up camp. But--"

A dark skinned man wearing a red robe and a white head scarf appeared, interrupting Carmen's speech.

"Are you the police? My name is Anir Aznag, I need your help! Something's happened! I'm the leader of the Najwa, a traveling tribe...and there's a dead foreigner in my camp!" Grace's eyebrows shot up in shock.

"What?! Where? Show us the way to your camp, Mr. Aznag! Detective Grace and I will investigate right away!"

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"Not again." Grace murmurs, wincing as she sees the fried body of who she would soon learn was Donald Barnes on the firepit.

She had a strong stomach, so she wouldn't gag, but that did not make the situation any less worse--or help the fact that she had been in this situation several times.

"Grace, that tribesman was right: the man lying on the campfire is dead! The victim's wearing a suit. He's definitely not a nomad, but that's odd even for a foreigner. What happened, Anir?"

"I don't know! Detective Grace, we were away, tending to the animals. I came back alone and I...found this dead man in the camp!" Grace nods from where she kneels next to the body.

"Wait," Carmen interrupts, "you mean a stranger dropped dead in your camp without you seeing a thing?"

"The Almighty have mercy on my soul, Detective Carmen, that is the truth! But...this man's not a stranger! I know him! He's an American called Donald Barnes."

"Well, get your story straight, Anir! Detective Grace will take your statement in a minute!"

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"Find anything?" Carmen asks, after Grace has taken a moment to look around the campsite for clues.

"I found this pot. It's not much but it's a start."

"Good call, we'll have a look inside that clay pot! We've just arrived and already there's a dead American in a Najwa camp. I'm not liking this one bit. Let's get to work!"

"Woah! Carmen, come look at this." Grace says after a moment, gesturing her partner over.

"Grace, that gadget you found looks like a high-tech watch! Such a fancy device probably belonged to the victim...but it's locked!"

"Don't worry. I'll unlock it."

"Good idea, Grace! It might explain how it ended up in that clay pot!"

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After decoding the watch and sending it back to the safehouse for Elliot and Gretta to analyze, Carmen and Grace returned to Anir to continue their questioning.

"Anir, can you tell us how you knew Mr. Barnes?" Grace asks.

"It is a bit odd that you found him in the camp but claim to know nothing about the murder." Carmen adds.

"Barnes just walked into our camp one night. We thought he got lost in the desert, so we invited him for dinner. It's the Najwa tradition to treat visitors generously. Other tribes are less accommodating!"

"Ok...but if you're so generous, how did Mr. Barnes end up dead in your camp?" Grace questions, squinting her eyes in confusion.

"I swear, Detective Grace, I wished Barnes no harm, and nor did any of my people! I vouch for every last one of them!"

"Ok. I understand. Can you tell us what happened the night Barnes came to your camp? What did you talk about?"

"Barnes said he came to the Sahara on business. He was the CEO of an American company called SandOil. That big refinery not far from here."

"That's a start! Thank you, Anir. Detective Grace, let's check out that refinery!"

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Grace received a call from her daughter as she drives herself and Carmen to SandOil's refinery.

"Hey, honey. You're on speaker."

"Amazing news: we figured out what the gadget was that you found at the campsite!" Gretta voice comes in from the other line, sounding excited and proud by the discovery.

"Really? That was fast." Grace's eyebrows shoot out in surprise.

"What was it?" Carmen asks, leaning forward towards the car's consul where Grace's phone laid so she could be heard more clearly.

"Hey Grace." Elliot's voice pipes up from the other side of the phone call. "The gadget you found in the Najwa camp is a personal tracking device. It was used to monitor the victim."

"Okay...is there bad news? You sound...defeated." Grace replies, choosing her words carefully.

"Yeah, I keep telling him he's not good at hiding his emotions despite what he wants you to believe." Gretta states smugly, followed by a whispered "shut up!" before Elliot continued.

"The bad news is that I couldn't download any data from the device--the files self-destructed after transmission!"

"So, we don't know who was tracking Barnes? Well, it's as useful as a chocolate fireguard, then!" Carmen pipes up exasperated. Grace doesn't say anything, focusing her attention on the road.

"Who do you take me for, Carmen?" Grace rolls her eyes affectionately at his tone, continuing to keep her eyes on the road. "In all of five minutes, I hijacked a Russian GPS satellite and downloaded the tracker's data from it."

"So who was tracking Barnes?" Grace asks him, parroting Carmen's question from earlier with extra emphasis.

"Jonah Karam--you know, the guy you met the other day who was being a cocky ass-" Gretta answers for Elliot, being interrupted by Carmen before she could continue with her snarky expletives.

"Jonah Karam? Of course! This has Jonah written all over it! I should have guessed!"

"Wait, you know him?" Gretta sounds shocked by the reveal from Carmen.

"I met Jonah years ago. He was a useful field contact, back when I was a war reporter. Jonah's a little rough around the edges, but he'll help us, Grace. I can't wait to talk to him again!"

"Can't say I share your enthusiasm, but sure, Carmen. We'll talk to Jonah after we inspect the refinery." Grace promises, parking the car in front of the building.

"Do you want some crisps from the kitchen?" Elliot asks over the speaker.

"Huh?" Gretta retorts, sounding confused.

"Chips...I mean chips." Elliot corrects himself for her benefit (although clearly annoyed about it).

"Oh. Uh...sure. I could eat."

"I can still hear you." Grace pipes up, as she grabs her phone from the car. She tries to keep her face neutral but internally she's more amused than annoyed by the situation.

There's some silence on the other line before Grace and Carmen hear scrambling of paper and some nail scratching on the table.

"Sorry! I left my phone under some papers. I'll talk to you later. Stay safe, love you!" Gretta says and quickly hangs up. Grace sighs, huffing in amusement as she puts her phone in her pocket.

"Love you too." She murmurs before Carmen and her enter the refinery.

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After finding a faded poster and a ripped up newspaper on the ground, Grace repaired both easily.

"So this is the refinery where Barnes was CEO. Impressive! An industrial plant so deep in the desert!"

"I suppose...it can't be the most environmentally friendly option." Grace points out as she hands Carmen the two items she analyzed.

"Grace, the torn newspaper you found in the refinery is an article! The headline says 'Accidents in refinery, 17 dead.' A fatal accident at SandOil! What a grim prelude to Mr. Barnes' visit at the plant!"

"Mm-hm. It wouldn't surprise me if the victims' families are still suffering."

"The article is about the victims' families demanding justice. That young woman is holding a picture, crying."

"We should see if we can find anything about the accident or the woman in this photo."

"I agree, Grace. We should find out what happened. Identifying the woman in the article is a good start! Can I see that fire safety poster?"

"Yep, here you go."

"'I'll grill you on the barbecue'! The message seems to be written in charcoal."

"No matter how you look at it...it doesn't look good." Grace grimaced.

"I agree, rather ominous on a fire safety poster. Especially as Barnes died over burning embers!"

"I think they are connected."

"You're right: this cannot be coincidence--it might be the killer's work. Let's send the poster to Lars!"

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After arriving at the lab, Grace identified the woman in the photo.

"So, the woman in the article is Izzah Farid. 27 years old, clean criminal record." Carmen explains, reading from the report sheet. "Her husband was one of the oil workers who died in the accident." Grace nodded and then suggested something that took Carmen off guard.

"We should talk with her. She could shed some light on what happened." Her partner stared at her incredulously like she had grown three heads.

"Are you sure this Izzah Farid is useful to us, Grace? Looks like a poor local woman who's already been through a horrible ordeal."

"I know, Carmen. And I don't want to. But we don't know much about the Sahara."

"Good point, Grace: we know so little about how people live in the Sahara. At least Izzah can tell us about life around the refinery. Let's question her!"

"Alright, let's talk to Ms. Farid and then we can have our chat with Jonah."

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"Sorry to trouble you, Izzah, but we're investigating the murder of a SandOil executive. We know your husband worked at the refinery."

"My husband died in the explosion with 16 others! I know them all, they were like family! And now you hassle me for some rich businessman's demise? Should I feel sorry for him?" She turned to Grace with a tear stained face. "SandOil's the real murderer, Detective Grace! Management only wants profit, but treats local workers like slaves!"

"Did you ever meet the CEO, Donald Barnes, Izzah?" Grace asked.

Izzah stared at her like she had been slapped in the face.

"You think an American manager would talk to the victims' families, Detective Grace? Perhaps offer a personal apology? Hah! SandOil only sent Barnes here to hire new workers! SandOil promised us jobs and progress, but it brought only misery. For all I care, the desert can swallow up the refinery tomorrow!"

Seeing as this conversation was going nowhere and they didn't wish to cause anymore misery, they left the grieving woman alone.

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Grace slammed her car door closed as she and Carmen watched over the desert to see Jonah waiting for them.

"You ready for this, Grace? Look, I know you don't like Jonah but just try to be civil for me."

"I'll try...as long as he doesn't get under my skin again." Grace sighs, getting herself ready. "Okay, let's go."

Jonah visibly brightens as soon as he sees Carmen.

"Long time no see, Carmen! So, you've ditched your camera to work to the Bureau! Atta girl!"

"And you're still a freelance troublemaker! Grace says your mug shots are all over our office! Here's a chance to redeem yourself: give us the lowdown on Barnes! Why were you following him?"

"Barnes hired me to be his bodyguard. Man, was he the worst client ever! Rich, ignorant, never traveled. He though the Sahara was just like Manhattan, but with sand."

That does sound pretty bad. Grace thinks but keeps quiet.

"I had put that tracker on him, pretending it was an expensive watch--it was the only way to keep Barnes safe! I couldn't protect him against his own stupidity, however! Barnes regularly wandered off into the desert, behind my back. That's why I wasn't with him!"

"Well, Jonah...try to lay low until this investigation's over. You're an old friend--but cross Detective Grace and the Bureau will come after you!" Jonah glanced over at Grace.

"Somehow I don't doubt that."

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Back at headquarters, Carmen and Grace went over everything they had learned.

"Grace, this case is slipping through our fingers like desert sand. It's time we got a grip on it! We came here chasing a lead about The Sword, Chief Ripley's presumed killer. But instead, we found an American businessman, strangled and burnt in a nomad camp. The tribe leader, Anir, is an obvious suspect. But he's cooperative and seems honest. Then there's Izzah, the widow of an oil worker who died at the refinery, where Barnes was CEO. But that's not enough to pin the murder on Izzah. And finally, there's Jonah, my old friend. He's certainly done shady things in the past, including killing people. But something tells me he--"

Carmen was interrupted by Grace's phone ringing.

"Ugh, hold that thought." Grace complains, digging her phone from her back pocket and putting it on speaker. "Detective Kemble speaking."

There was some snickering heard on the other line. Confused, Grace looks at the caller ID and realizes her mistake. It was her daughter.

"Sorry, honey. I didn't realize it was you. What is it?"

"Grace, check this out: I've picked up a faint GPS signal from the deep desert!" Elliot exclaims and sounded very excited about it. Gretta let out a small laugh, amused by his reaction, and a moment later, Grace received a text from Elliot with the location.

"There's a steady signal roughly between the refinery and the Najwa camp," he continues. "But the funny thing is, there's no known human settlement there!"

"Signs of movement in the desert? Barnes' killer's still on the loose, for starters and we know that the mysterious assassin The Sword is also out there! And now someone's lurking around our crime scenes? How about we pay them a surprise visit, Grace?"

"Sure, let's do it. Thanks for the location, Elliot. I'll see you both later."

"Okay. Just check your caller ID next time, mom. Being greeted so formally sounds weird." Gretta says.

"There's nothing out there but an old airplane that crashed into the dunes back in the 1950s. Good luck!" Elliot adds and Grace hangs up.

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"Aside from this old plane wreck Elliot mentioned, all clear here. Have you found anything suspicious, Grace?"

"I did actually." Grace explains, gesturing Carmen over to where she had placed her findings on a rock.

"You've found a rope! Angela said the victim was strangled, so that's definitely a lead! And there's some white substance on it--let's collect a sample while there's still daylight. And you've also found some...colored sand in a bottle? Ah, I've seen souvenirs like this before. Except for the strange theme: is that an oil drill in the sand?"

"It looks like there's a note attached." Grace realizes as she holds up the bottle to the scorching sun.

"Yeah," Carmen agrees. "And it looks like it's faded. Let's recover the writing. And...hey is that a tablet? That could be the source of the signal Elliot detected! Don't hang around, Grace, crack the password!"

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After sending a sample of the white substance that came from the rope to Lars and sending the sand bottle to Marina, Carmen and Grace take a look at the now open tablet.

"So this tablet was the source of the signal Elliot detected! Let's see--"

"Hey, you two! That's my tablet! And this is my campsite! Isn't the desert big enough for you guys to camp somewhere else?" A brown-haired teenager with a horrible sunburn appears before them, interrupting the investigation.

"We aren't campers, we're Bureau agents. And you are...?" Carmen asks.

"I...my name's Benjamin Scott. I'm on a gap year, from England." Grace notices the hesitation in his tone, but doesn't say anything.

"I'm Carmen Martinez and this is Detective Grace. We detected your tablet's signal and decided to run a safety patrol. Got a minute to talk?" Benjamin hesitates to answer and then nods.

"Great. So, what brings you to the Sahara, Mr. Benjamin Scott, from England?" Carmen continues, teasing slightly.

"I told you, I'm on a gap year! Jeez, I thought I was off the beaten track here!"

"The desert can be dangerous for solo travelers, Benjamin. An American businessman's already got killed. Any chance you've run into a certain Donald Barnes? He came here on business, but wandered off into the desert."

"Look, I'm here to have an adventure, as far away from American businessmen as possible. I'll have the rest of my life to spend in a cooperate cubicle. Now it's time to revel in freedom!"

Carmen glances at Grace, showing concern before she shrugs and replies. "Well then...just stay safe. Call us if you see anything unusual. Here," Carmen hands Benjamin a Bureau business card and his tablet. "I believe this is your tablet."

"Hey, wait! Do you have a charger I could borrow? I'm all out of battery power and nights are long in the desert with out NetFlims!"

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After finding out the white substance was goat's milk from Lars, Carmen and Grace went to Marina's office to talk about the sand bottle.

"Hello, Grace. This sand bottle made for the victim is the work of a creative but disturbed mind. Making art out of sand requires patience and calm focus. These are qualities of a strong personality. But, like the sand in the bottle, human emotions are layered. Underneath the calm, I see a lot of repressed anger. And it's clear from the gift tag that the artist's anger is directed at the victim."

"Hm...that's fascinating, Marina, but how do we find this angry artist in the Sahara?"

"I've already found her, Grace." Grace looks behind Marina to see Elliot and Gretta sitting on a chaise lounge.

"Oh, I didn't see you two there! What happened?"

"Miss Beauty-and-Brains cajoled me into some seriously boring database work. I can't bear to repeat the details." Elliot explains, sounding bored out of his mind.

"Trust me, you don't want to know. The amount of documents he had to look through was exhausting to hear!" Grace scrunches her face in confusion.

"Then if you didn't help, Gretta, why did you stay?"

"Moral support. Obviously." Gretta replies like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Huh! So Marina managed to get you to work, Elliot? She really is the best psychologist on earth!"

"Very funny, Carmen." Elliot deadpans, rolling his eyes. "Do you or do you not want to know about the sand bottle, Grace?"

"Please."

"It's a nomad woman called Mama Yasmine. She sells hand-made trinkets at the local market whenever she sets up camp."

"Thank you, guys! Grace, let's find this Mama Yasmine!"

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Carmen approaches a middle aged woman wearing a blue robe with gold jewelry and two braids in her hair.

"Mama Yasmine? You have a minute? We...met another Najwa this morning, you're probably from the same tribe--"

"I'm not a Najwa!" The woman interrupts, rightfully offended. "My family's feuded with Anir's family for seven generations! I'm a Quadir and proud of it! To think Anir and I could be from the same tribe. Come back when you've learned some manners, ignorant foreigners!" Yasmine stormed off, leaving Grace and Carmen in the dust.

"Um...looks like I put my foot in it by assuming Mama Yasmine was from the same tribe as Anir. Grace, you think we could still interrogate Yasmine if I run after her and apologize?"

"It's worth a shot." Grace shrugs and Carmen runs off.

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A few minutes later, the two women return.

"Forgive my mistake, Mama Yasmine. We don't know much about tribal relationships. But we need your help in another matter." Carmen apologizes. The woman huffs and then snaps.

"Alright. What is it?"

"A man named Donald Barnes died in the desert earlier today. We was the CEO of SandOil and we know a lot of the locals resent the refinery. And we assume this gift was yours?" Grace asks, holding up the sand bottle with gift tag that read "Barnes, you're not welcome on our land!".

"The refinery lures our people into a sedentary life, promising jobs and progress! But living in a slum is not progress! We nomads are born to roam the dunes on camelback, eat fresh dates and sleep under the stars! Freedom's all we have and that's what the refinery's taking away!"

"Is that why you made this gift for the refinery's CEO, Yasmine?" Carmen asks. "You have to admit the message was pretty rude."

"And who are you to give me etiquette lessons on my own land? Lecture your own compatriots and leave my affairs to me!"

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"Wow, Grace...I remember Anir saying not all nomadic tribes treated foreingers kindly and Mama Yasmine certainly doesn't hold back!"

"Well...you did insult her culture twice, Carmen. We should have researched a little more before we came here." Grace points out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. That was my bad."

"At any rate...we should go back to SandOil."

"You're right: the SandOil refinery seems to be the center of everything around here. Even the nomads feel strongly about it. Let's have a second look!"

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"Is that an empty food tray, covered in crumbs? It looks out of place among all the oil drums and machinery!" Carmen observes as soon as the two detectives arrive at the refinery's control panel.

"Agreed. We'll need to analyze it." Grace replies, handing it over to Carmen.

"You want to vacuum up the crumbs from that tray? Alright, if you think it's the best we can do, go on. What else did you find?"

"I found a cell phone by the control panel."

"And that cell phone with the SandOil logo must be a company phone, probably the victim's! You know the drill: crack that password."

"I'm on it."

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After cracking the phone, Grace and Carmen dropped it off with Gretta and Elliot before going to the lab to analyze the crumbs from the food tray.

After vacuuming up the contents from the tray, Grace revealed the tray with the words "Locals Unite Against Foreigners" etched into the silver.

"Woah! Look at that." Grace says as Carmen peers over shoulder to look at the tray herself.

"Mm...yeah. Hatred towards foreigners is a common theme around here, Grace! Which clearly didn't bode well for Donald Barnes."

"Yeah. It's a good thing we came to the lab though. Hopefully the crumbs will give us an idea about who sent the message."

"I agree. Ready when you are."

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Carmen gasps, causing Grace to look up from the microscope. Carmen is standing by the printer, holding the results of the DNA sample in her hand.

"The DNA matches one of our suspects...Izzah Farid! Hmm, we know her husband died in the refinery accident, but stirring up locals against foreigners goes beyond understandable grief!"

"We need to talk to her--immediately." Grace replies.

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"Izzah, Detective Grace found this silver tray with your message in the refinery. Care to explain?"

"I bake bread and bring fresh dates to the refinery every day. Now that my husband's dead, the workers are my family. Poor people look after each other, detectives."

"But what did you mean by locals uniting against foreigners?"

"Nothing you didn't fight for in your own countries centuries ago, detectives." Izzah points out. "The right to protect our land from those who exploit it."

"Those are big words, Izzah. Protecting one's land can be a violent affair." Carmen counters. "How far would you go for the cause? Would you kill a man?"

"I didn't kill Barnes, if that's what you mean. But whoever did, helped this country wake up a little. I'm grateful for them!" Izzah argues, tears forming in her eyes. "And now I have to feed my camels. Stay out of what you don't understand, detectives!"

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"Grace, I've looked at this cell phone you found at the refinery. Carmen, your mate Mr. Hitman is in trouble again!"

"Jonah? How so?" Carmen asks, surprised by this revelation.

"Well, as you suspected, the phone belonged to Donald Barnes. But I've found text messages in Barnes' phone from Jonah!"

"Messages such as," Gretta narrates, clearing her throat for dramatic effect, "'I will keep you safe even if I have to punch you!' Seems pretty intense if you ask me."

"Oh, dear. Jonah did say Barnes was a difficult client...and Jonah's not known for his patience. But this time he's gone too far. Grace, I can't believe we're wasting our time on Jonah's antics, but we have to talk to him again!"

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"You look stressed, Carmen. Here, have some dates to sweeten your day!"

"Jonah, I'm a Bureau agent now, not your guardian angel. I told you: one bad move and you're on your own."

"Wait...what did I do? I was just out, taking camel riding lessons from a local boy." Jonah explains, making himself appear innocent.

"Are you kidding me? We saw your texts to Donald Barnes! You threatened your own client! And a day later he was murdered? I'm sorry, Carmen, but you can't possibly justify this!" Grace rants, turning to her partner.

It wasn't a secret she wasn't a fan of Jonah, but this was the first time Grace made her feelings about him known.

"I know, Grace, and I don't. Jonah, what were you thinking?"

"Oh, so it's that." Jonah replies, looking nervous before he tries a new tactic. "Come on, Carmen, you know me! And you know the Sahara! There's no time for pleasantries where everything that moves wants to kill you! And Barnes had more than enough enemies!" Carmen lets out a tired sigh.

"Just answer one question, Jonah: did you ever lay a finger on Barnes? Even once?"

"No, and I'll regret it till the day I die. Lying unconscious in his hotel room with a broken nose would've saved that idiot's life. I failed my mission by being too civilized!"

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"We've made some discoveries, but we're no closer to Barnes' killer, Grace!"

"I know! There has to be something we're missing!"

"Also no trace of The Sword, the Chief's killer! But night's rapidly approaching! Let's recap!" Carmen grabs a marker and writes some names on the wipe board in the conference room.

"According to Jonah, Barnes didn't realize how dangerous the Sahara was...but was his own bodyguard the biggest threat? As CEO, Barnes was also a potential target for various people with a grudge against the refinery. The nomads, like Mama Yasmine, resent the refinery because people are giving up a traditional lifestyle for stability and jobs. But Izzah's story shows the refinery workers aren't happy either: they're exploited, poor and--

"Grace! I need your help! I don't know what to do: Angela's missing! She wen out to the desert hours ago and never came back!" Lars shouts, bursting into the room and interrupting Carmen's recap.

"What?!" Grace shouts, surprised by what she's just heard.

"Angela's in the desert, alone? Why?" Carmen asks.

"Well...Angela's very excited about her photography course. She wanted to take some sunset shots in the desert. But she's been gone for so long!"

"Sunset shots? Has she gone insane? This is not a package holiday! Does she want to become the next dead foreigner in the Sahara after Barnes? What if she runs into The Sword, the presumed killer of the Chief? The desert's full of rebels, assassins and danger! Grace, we've got to find Angela before nightfall! Let's start at the creek!"

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"Grace, I can't see Angela anywhere and night's rapidly approaching!" Just then, Angela appears with a camera in hand.

"Say cheeese!"

"Found her." Grace says, stating the obvious.

"Angela! What were you thinking? Don't you know there's a killer on the loose out here?!"

"Yeah and Lars has been really worried about you."

"I'm so sorry, Grace! I didn't realize how late it was. Between the morgue and the triplets, I haven't had time for a hobby in years! I promise I won't do it again." Grace sighs.

"I sympathize with you Angela, but maybe warn someone before you do something like this again?"

"Well," Carmen begins, changing the subject. "At least you found some clues in the sand, Grace. Let's restore those broken pieces you have in your hand so this isn't a total waste of time! And is that post card addressed to Mama Yasmine? Hey, it's from the USA! I wonder who'd write to Yasmine from America, Grace? Let's recover the postcard's message. And that backpack over there...it has Benjamin's name on it! Are you sure we should be snooping through his personal stuff, Grace?"

"We hack into personal phones and tablets on a daily basis, Carmen. I think we can let this one slide." Grace points out.

"You're right. And we're running out of daylight. We can't be picky with clues--dig in then!"

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The broken pieces turned out to be an air fryer (which Grace insisted they send to Lars), the postcard was revealed to be from Mama Yasmine's son (they would discuss it with her soon) but was most interesting was Benjamin Scott's backpack.

"What did you find Benjamin's backpack, Grace? I'm still not sure about searching a teenager's belongings--"

"Here." Grace interrupts, handing Carmen a lighter.

"You've found a lighter with a SandOil logo? Hold on...if Benjamin's just a backpacker looking for freedom...where did he get a SandOil lighter? Could Benjamin have any links to the refinery or Barnes? What if he blighted us with this gap year story, Grace?"

"I didn't buy his story when we first interrogated him so it's not a bad idea."

"You're right, we'll be more through with Benjamin this time!"

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"Benjamin, I'll cut to the chase: you said you'd never met Donald Barnes. How did you get a lighter with his company's logo, then?"

"And don't you even think about lying again! I don't enjoy this, I have a daughter your age, but I will use more drastic measures if necessary." Grace warns.

"Bummer," he frowns, "I knew I was going to get in trouble for that. I...I didn't mean to lie, Detective Grace! The truth is I stole that lighter from Barnes at the airport. But we never spoke to each other! I was waiting for my turn in immigration when along came this bloke in a suit and tried to jump the queue! That was Barnes. Just landed and already acted like a moron!"

"So you stole Barnes' lighter because he annoyed you? You've got to admit. that's an immature way to seek justice!"

"He's seventeen, Carmen." Grace points out, muttering under her breath. Carmen glares at her as though she was saying that's not the point!

"I'm not proud of it," Benjamin explains, interrupting the two, "I did it on the spur of the moment. I tried to give the lighter back to Barnes' bodyguard later, when I spotted them at the market. The bodyguard was a nice guy, he gave me a carton of goat's milk. But I was too embarrassed to fess up."

The two women glance at each other, coming to a consensus.

"We'll let you off this time, Benjamin. But grow up a little--I don't fancy calling your parents to say you've got killed in the desert."

"Neither do I." Grace concurred.

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"Yasmine? We found a postcard addressed to you and we're wondering if you had lost it?" Mama Yasmine's face lit up as Grace handed the post card to her.

"That postcard's precious to me, Detective Grace! My son sent it from America!"

"Your son moved to America? And decided never to come back again? That must be hard for a mother who's proud of her traditions!" Carmen says sympathetically.

"Sadly, many young men abandon the nomadic way of life, detectives. When my own son emigrated to the USA, I knew it was the beginning of our tribe's decline."

"The postcard must evoke painful memories...why do you cherish it, then?" Carmen observes.

"That's the last message I had from my boy! I take it everywhere with me! One day, I was at the marketplace, buying goat's milk from a local woman, Izzah...when I spotted Barnes! I apologized for being so unfriendly before and I showed him the postcard. I asked him if he'd met my son in America. After all, they both live there!" Her face darkens. "But Barnes said America was a big place! He laughed in my face and threw the postcard to the wind! See, detectives? Foreigners only have contempt for local people! I shall never speak to them again!"

"I hope you didn't seek revenge on Barnes, Yasmine...you'd have done more than good to the nomads--and to yourself!" Carmen warns before the two detectives leave.

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"Thanks for finding my wife, Grace! I was worried about her, with night approaching!"

"No problem, Lars. Happy to be of service." Grace jokes with a small smile.

"Now, this fryer you found in the desert. It's an American brand, reliable, great for developing obesity-related heart disease or--"

"Skip the fast food jokes, Lars!" Carmen interrupts. "Just tell us, will this wretched appliance help us solve the murder?"

"Do you really doubt my abilities that much?" Grace asks, slightly offended.

"Well, for starters, it had plenty of fingerprints from one of your suspects: Anir Aznag! It was him who smashed the fryer to pieces! But there's more! Gretta looked up the fryer's warranty and discovered that it was purchased with Donald Barnes' credit card!"

"So...Barnes bought a fryer and give it to Anir? Is giving an electric appliance to a nomad simply dumb or downright offensive?"

"Probably both. Either way...it looks that dinner didn't go well." Grace comments.

"Anir said the Najwa treated Barnes like a friend...but you're right, Grace. Their dinner may have been less cordial than we thought. Time to chat with Anir again!"

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"Anir, let's go back to the night Donald Barnes dined with your tribe. Did he give you this fryer as a gift?"

"Erm...yes, detectives. It was...embarrassing. Until we found out that Barnes wanted to bribe us with that fryer. As if an electric appliance would impress us."

Grace winces slightly as she realizes what an idiot Barnes truly was...perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that he died.

"Barnes tried to bribe you?! What did he want from the Najwa?"

"Barnes wanted to expand his business in the Sahara. But he couldn't do it without allies among the desert tribesmen. He wanted us to be his spies and report regularly to him! But the Najwa will never become spies! Certainly not for an electric kitchen appliance we can't even plug in anywhere! I feed my camels better food than fries, detectives! And for my own diet, I prefer fresh dates!"

"I understand your anger, Anir, but I hope for your sake that killing dinner guests isn't part of the Najwa tradition."

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As Grace and Carmen walked through the desert to return to their jeep, they went over what they just learned.

"Grace, I can't believe how many people Barnes managed to annoy during his short time in the Sahara! The minute he landed at the airport, he peeved off Benjamin by queue-jumping. He then offended Mama Yasmine by laughing at her naivety about America. That poor woman hoped that Barnes had news about her immigrant son, but Barnes just mocked her. But Barnes' worst faux-pas was to offer a deep fryer to Anir, the Najwa leader. It'd be almost be funny, had Barnes not been found dead in that camp!" Grace nods in agreement.

"I'm not surprised he's dead...considering all the damage he's caused."

"Trouble is, we still don't know which suspect killed Barnes! And we're running out of daylight!" Grace nods in agreement again and then has an epiphany.

"We need to search the Najwa camp again!"

"You're right, Grace: if the Najwa move on, we'll be in bigger trouble. Let's search their tent before they leave with the evidence!"

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"Grace, we're lucky the Najwa haven't upped sticks yet! And that wooden box must hold something important. Let's look through it! And that baseball cap with the SandOil logo must be the victim's...but then those tufts of hair on it must be the victim's too. In other words, useless!" Grace rolls her eyes.

"You jump to conclusions too quickly!" Grace accuses. "Even if it was Barnes' hair, it's not the right color!"

"Alright, desperate times, desperate measures. Collect a sample of the hair, Grace, but hurry!"

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Grace and Carmen waited about 30 minutes before Lars could give them the rundown on the items they had send him to analyze: a bone they found in the box (along with Barnes' other personal belongings) and the tufts of hair.

"I'll be quick, Grace, you're on the clock: that bone you found among Barnes' belongings is camel bone. Camel bones are used for making traditional jewelry. Most people wear necklaces made of them!"

"We've seen several people with those necklaces." Grace realizes.

"And from what we've learned of Barnes, he wasn't the type to wear a traditional Saharan necklace."

"Therefore, the camel bone could only have been the killer's. It must have fallen off their necklace, into the box with Barnes' belongings." Lars concludes.

"Okay...what about the tuft of hair? What can you tell us about that?" Grace asks.

"That tuft was a good find, Grace! Not only is it not the victim's hair, but it's not even human! It's camel hair!"

"What?!" Carmen asks, incredulous and looks over at Grace. The detective just shrugs in return, looking far too smug.

"Told you."

"Wait, why is this good news, Lars? We need evidence that narrows down our suspect list and everyone on it is human!"

"That's why I looked for human DNA in the sample, regardless. I didn't hold out much hope, but I got lucky! I managed to sequence an amino-acid chain that holds the genetic code for eye color. Blue eyes, to be precise and since the victim's eyes were brown--"

"Get it, Lars! The DNA's from a blue-eyed killer! Let's crack this case, Grace!"

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The killer turned out to be Mama Yasmine. She had killed Barnes and tried to plant the murder on the Najwa tribe after he refused to help her kill the businessman. In the end, she gave up easily after she realized her days as a nomad were over. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Author's Notes

I felt like crap last week (periods are so fun /sarcasm), I had a cold over the weekend and today was kind of stressful since I had to do an oral exam for English. Long story short: things haven't been great lately so I figured writing one of my favorite couples (that I've made) would be nice to give myself a serotonin boost <3

Carmen and Grace were going to meet up in the desert in separate cars but I realized that's just a huge waste of gas!

I tried not to follow the dialogue lines exactly to a t since it sounds way more robotic when the protag now speaks XD

You all know that I LOVE giving Elliot and Gretta cute moments together so there's a lot of that here (they think they're being slick and that no one sees any change in their relationship when in reality everyone knows something is up lol). Even if romance wasn't the trajectory for their characters (it is since this book is an OC x canon romance) I still think they'd work well as super good friends...or perhaps just friendly co-workers who liked to get under each other's skin :)

Just an FYI for updates: I gave myself a new writing schedule so I'm hoping to update this book once or twice a month (probably doesn't change much since that's usually how much time it takes me to update this book)

I don't know how to feel about this case. I didn't like the way everyone acted after Mama Yasmine was arrested. Like, yes, murder is bad.

But Barnes was an asshole who disrespected these people's way of life and manipulated/exploited the people here for profit.

It just...I don't know...makes me feel icky :/

(By the way does anyone find it weird the Bureau somehow doesn't know/think to research what tribe Mama Yasmine is from? I don't know how international agencies work but I feel like that'd be something you would look into lol)

On a happier note, this book reached 1k reads a few days ago...WOW!

It's not the biggest amount of reads on my account (anyone who's read Batman's Daughter can tell you that) but I really do appreciate that you all like it so much🥰

It was very unexpected because I swear it was only at 800 and something a few weeks ago!

Anyway, Chapter 22 will be out...soon? I hope?? We'll see.

The hard part for me is always retyping everything after playing a case...I should probably go back to my note-taking method but I don't know. That takes a long time to be honest.

BatgirlGeek❤️