The Observer (Derek Cole Suspense Thriller Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

beneath the short note. Derek pulled out his Moleskin notebook and wrote down the imam’s name and the address of the mosque.
    “I think I’ll visit Mr. Huda tomorrow,” he whispered before picking up the next photograph. It showed a man dressed in a long, black kurta and a black, felt cap. His beard showed traces of white, and his eyes held a kindness that drew Derek in. Beneath his image was written “Badr Irani.”

    “Irani is imam at mosque in financial district. ***UN sponsored*** Irani is from Pakistan and has been back and forth to Pakistan and Syria 11 different times in last 16 months. Politically active and well known for his negative stance on American culture. Concerning position taken on 9/11 attacks.”

    After jotting down Badr Irani’s name and the address of the mosque that he served as imam, Derek wrote down “UN sponsored?” in his notebook. He assumed that “UN” stood for the United Nations, but wasn’t aware that the UN did or could sponsor mosques.  
    Derek then studied the face on the man in the final picture. He was young; no older than 22. His eyes were dark brown, and his hair was as black as any man’s hair Derek had ever seen; cut short and nearly shaved on the sides. The young man was dressed in casual clothes; a pair of jeans and a solid black sweatshirt. It was obvious that the young man in the picture was not expecting his image to be captured, as the look of surprised curiosity was clearly written across his face. Beneath the picture was written “Person of Interest.”
    Derek flipped the picture over but saw no paragraph to indicate why this man’s picture was included in the folder. There was only one sentence: “Do not approach. Identify and notify agents.”
    Derek placed all three photographs inside his notebook. He placed his notebook on the small nightstand and took a long draw of scotch before reading the two-page list that detailed all the mosques in the Greater NYC area. Beside each mosque’s name, was written the imam, or mosque leader’s name, the address, phone number and the words “known radicals” followed by a number. Of the nearly 200 mosques listed on the sheets of paper, only a handful were listed as having any people determined to be radicals among their members. The vast majority listed “0 radicals.”
    As Derek finished his glass of scotch, he wondered how the FBI determined if someone was a radical or not. He wondered how many of those indicated as being radicals truly were and how many were considered as such only because of their strict adherence to their religion. He fully understood that the relatively few Islamic terrorists in the world were high-jacking the Muslim religion and were the catalyst behind so many non-Muslims believing that they were all jihadists or would soon become one. As he filled his glass with more scotch, Derek admitted that he held a prejudice belief against the religion, its followers and their assumed intentions.
    Without much information to plan out his investigation, Derek again checked the feed of his “spy pen camera” and when he saw all was still as he left it, he closed his MacBook, placed the case notes back into the manila folder and then stuffed the folder into his computer bag. His thoughts then returned to the handwritten note that Juan Cortez left for him. Derek began to question the possible intentions of Juan Cortez.
    “Was he just trying to scare me so that I ditch this case and stay out of his way, or was he really trying to tell me something?” His mind raced back to the conversation he had with Mark Henderson and Juan in the diner. “Did he say anything that may have been a clue? What am I missing?” In his mind, Derek struggled to recall every word that Juan and Mark said to him. “Unwanted nuisance is what I think he wanted me to consider myself. He’s such a nice guy.”
    As he finished the last few sips of his scotch and prepared for bed, Derek stood and looked out his hotel room’s