[You need to go back to reading from the Prologue: Smiling Block Murders if this is your first in this series]
Wednesday March 21st 7.30pm
Social Networking reconnected two long lost school mates and then war refugees, Haneefa Shaikh and Ismail Arif. They had fled their country during the Gulf war in 1990-91. After over two decades they stumbled up on each other on Facebook and reconnected. They planned their first meeting to be over coffee. They planned to reacquaint themselves at the Coffee Pot on North Rampart Boulevard. This was a coffee shop owned by another Arab refugee that Ismail Arif was friends with.
Ismail, a software engineer, was running late for his meeting with Hannefa that was scheduled at 6.00pm. His alibi was that his manager had asked him to turn his presentation at 6.30pm and he left work only after 6.50pm.
For reason, LAPD found later, Coffee Pot was closed that day and Haneefa had waited outside the coffee shop for Ismail.
It took Ismail only 20mins to zip through the traffic and reach the meeting point. The two had not exchanged mobile numbers number yet and he could inform Haneefa that he was going to be an hour late.
When Ismail arrived at 7.10pm he was perplexed why the place was unusually dark and closed at this time of the hour. As he looked around for Haneefa, he tripped over something twice as he walked around the door. The second time he flashed his cell phone to see what it was and discovered a person lying there with blood gushing out. He called 911.
When 911 flooded the area, Ismail was able to clearly see the face of the person and he identified him to be Haneefa Shaikh.
Ismail thought Haneefa was murdered by his fellow countrymen as a punishment for fleeing the country instead of defending it. LAPD and Forensics search the body. No id, no wallet, no keys. Only the paper.
LAPD wondered if there will ever be an end to this stabbing.
Wednesday March 21st 7.30pm
Social Networking reconnected two long lost school mates and then war refugees, Haneefa Shaikh and Ismail Arif. They had fled their country during the Gulf war in 1990-91. After over two decades they stumbled up on each other on Facebook and reconnected. They planned their first meeting to be over coffee. They planned to reacquaint themselves at the Coffee Pot on North Rampart Boulevard. This was a coffee shop owned by another Arab refugee that Ismail Arif was friends with.
Crime Scene Photo: Courtesy Google Street View
Ismail, a software engineer, was running late for his meeting with Hannefa that was scheduled at 6.00pm. His alibi was that his manager had asked him to turn his presentation at 6.30pm and he left work only after 6.50pm.
For reason, LAPD found later, Coffee Pot was closed that day and Haneefa had waited outside the coffee shop for Ismail.
It took Ismail only 20mins to zip through the traffic and reach the meeting point. The two had not exchanged mobile numbers number yet and he could inform Haneefa that he was going to be an hour late.
When Ismail arrived at 7.10pm he was perplexed why the place was unusually dark and closed at this time of the hour. As he looked around for Haneefa, he tripped over something twice as he walked around the door. The second time he flashed his cell phone to see what it was and discovered a person lying there with blood gushing out. He called 911.
When 911 flooded the area, Ismail was able to clearly see the face of the person and he identified him to be Haneefa Shaikh.
Ismail thought Haneefa was murdered by his fellow countrymen as a punishment for fleeing the country instead of defending it. LAPD and Forensics search the body. No id, no wallet, no keys. Only the paper.
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