CHAPTER 11
THE CHIEF

On the desk Murat’s phone began to ring. At the same time, I was busy taking notes on the conversation inside on the screen in front of me. I ignored it. Mert, standing next to me, hadn’t slept for around thirty-five hours and was shattered. He perked up.
—It’s the girl inside, Arzu, calling.
He reached out to take the phone. I put my fingers to my lips to show Mert he should be quiet.
—Don’t pick up, put it in that drawer.
He did what I said.
—OK, you go to the car now. You’re going to dash off to Mecidiyeköy with Serdar. You question Mustafa. We’re not using radios; I’ll give you the address by phone, and here’s a note of it.
I hastily scribbled where they were going on the piece of paper I’d been making notes on. Everything depended on questioning that little shit, Mustafa. So I gave Mert some pointers about how he should be questioned in his own home; I told him a truckload of things. Mert was really tired; and that made me worried. But then again, I had no other choice; I wasn’t about to get other people mixed up in the case.
Just then there was a call from where I was supposed to be. my office at Homicide. The duty officers had reached a dead end on one of the cold-blooded murders committed in the city. They wanted to pick my brains. I got my secretary to connect me to the investigating officer at the scene and told him to take care of it himself.  Meanwhile Mert was calling from the way.
—We’re on the way, Sir. The traffic isn’t too bad yet. We’ll be in Mecidiyeköy in five or ten minutes.
—Like I say, give him a good grilling, you can use a bit of the rough stuff, but don’t get too heavy-handed. Use the ‘your partner’s squealed and grassed you up’ tactic. And Serdar should search the house carefully. It’s likely the jewels are there... The murder weapon’s a screwdriver, you know that. One of those two killed Sami Tuzcu. It’s likely the psycho here dunnit... You’ve gotta make Mustafa squeal, and if the statement you get isn’t up to scratch...
I didn’t really need to say the rest.
—Like you know. It’s game over.
—Don’t you worry, Chief. I’ll make him squeal like a pig. Anything else?
—You’ve gotta find the murder weapon, too.
—Alright, Sir.
—Good luck. I’ll give you a call, and tell you Murat’s fingered Mustafa. If anything goes wrong, call the station for back up. And you know, you’re not going to tell him you’re cops til the last moment. You can make it clear you are cops, just don’t announce the fact, and don’t show any ID.
—I know, Sir.
—Just in case. If we’re wrong, it’ll be a real headache for us afterwards. We’ve no warrant. Tell Serdar, too. This is it, Mert. You’ve got the ball; I’m expecting a goal.
—Don’t worry, Sir.
Mert was going to score, I could feel it.

CHAPTER 12
CANER

 I’d got Arzu talking about her school friend, Billur. I had almost got her right where I wanted her, but it hadn’t worked, but I’d managed to pluck Murat’s address from her mouth instead. This change in my plans seemed to be even better. I took a long sip of my drink. Arzu was dialling her phone again and again, worriedly. Knowing that no one would answer Murat’s phone on the other end, I was relaxed.
—Murat won’t answer his phone; at the moment, it’s at home just ringing on the table. Six months ago, he came to your studio about some work; that’s how you got to know each other. He had big oil paintings with him. A few of them needed repairing. But what he actually wanted from you was something else. Another kind of work...
Suddenly, she went bright red.  More than surprise, there was worry in her voice now.
—How do you know that? Are you trying to shock me? You’d better not be a magician or anything!
—There you go, you’re second chance has gone, just like that. I’ve got nothing to do with magic or sorcery. I’m a complete realist.
—You said that you know some things about my future... Sorry, that you saw it with your telepathic powers. By the way, you’re not married or anything, are you?
I couldn’t help laughing at that line. Women will be women... Arzu suspected, not that I could be a policeman, but that I could be married. Anyhow, I had to get the job done; and, in fact, this situation was making it easier.
—So you were curious.
—Yes.
—Most married men won’t say that they’re married, when they meet a woman that they like.
—You mean they lie.
—With bells on. But, contrary to what you say, women don’t avoid men who say they’re married.
—I do.
—Are you sure? If you think about it a little, you’ll remember that it depends on the situation and the man’s circumstances. And, at any rate, even if I do tell you I’m single, it doesn’t change anything. You’ve got a fiancé. And, besides, even if I haven’t got a wife, I could have a girlfriend or fiancée. Couldn’t I?
I looked deep into her eyes. When she realised that I was expecting an answer, she looked away. She took a sip of her wine and turned to me.
—Of course you could. You’re right, but I wouldn’t want to be any man’s other woman.
—These are deep subjects. ‘The other woman’ is more precious than the actual woman most of the time.
I guess that at the beginning of our conversation, she hadn’t thought that I’d be able to twist man-woman topics as skillfully as she could. So we could get back on to the subject of her fiancé, Murat, without delay, I directed the conversation back to fidelity.
—It appears that fidelity is very important to you; are you a jealous person?
—Yes.
She made a flirtatious move and continued talking.
—I think that jealousy is a good thing.
—Good? You mean if a man is jealous enough of you to reduce your social life to zero, if he’s paranoid enough not to let you go to work and even when you get bored of him and want to leave him if he threatens you and hospitalises you and your boyfriend...
I must have really overexaggerated. Arzu couldn’t take anymore and exploded.
—That’s enough! Of course not; nobody wants that much jealousy. I’m talking about a jealousy where a man makes his girlfriend feel that she’s his.
Once more, I pretended not to understand and continued.
—So you think it’s nice when a man possesses a woman; I mean when he’s the master? Do we still have slavery in this day and age, I wonder?
—Don’t be stupid, what slavery? I’m talking about love and fidelity.
She continued, annoyed.
—I can’t understand why you’re so uncomfortable. OK, so you’re not a jealous person. That also shows you’re not faithful. Am I wrong?
In a way, she wasn’t wrong.

CHAPTER 13
ARZU

The strange situation had got me thinking about other things. Hmm, I wonder?
The strangeness was somewhere else; in his life, he’d had problems with women. That was plain to see. When I couldn’t get a reply, I repeated my question about fidelity. Actually, I was curious about what he’d say about Murat’s dependence on me. And, also, if he himself was married or not.
Caner took a sip of his drink with an air of total calm.
—I’m not going to answer your questions about fidelity. Because I really don’t like that word at all. I can’t be any woman’s keeper. And no woman can be mine. People should see each other not because they have to, and not because they’re afraid of breaking up, and not because it’s become a habit; no, you should see your boyfriend or girlfriend just because you want to be with them.
The things this man was saying suddenly made me lose my temper. I sat up on my bar stool, angrily.
—You are married, aren’t you? Tell me the truth. Only a married man trying to convince the woman opposite him talks like that.
Caner laughed out loud at what I’d said.
—You’re priceless.
Then he got serious again. Maybe he wasn’t married or anything. Just when I was beginning to put pressure on him again, he started talking about Murat.
—When we first met, you told me that you were faithful to your fiancé. Well, is he faithful to you, I wonder?
All at once, even though it was coming from Caner’s mouth, I got nervous about hearing or finding out about that. Whereas a short while ago, I had been so keen to find out what he knew -I mean what he picked up telepathically- about it. Sometimes you have two opposite feelings inside you at the same time. Wasn’t that what love was like? At the same time you feel pleasure and pain.
—I think he’s only got eyes for me, but why do you ask?
—I don’t think you know Murat well enough. Until today, my senses have never let me down. Just now, when you were talking about him, I saw something that you’re not aware of.
Whatever he saw really could be true. Because Murat wasn’t with me for large parts of the day and night. He could even be married to someone else. All at once, I had a sinking feeling inside; I felt that I wasn’t ready to face the truth. But then, since our conversation had come this far, I couldn’t not ask.
—What kind of things?
Caner suddenly looked away from my face. Just like every woman is, he knew that I, too, was curious about this, and so he drew back and started to act coyly…
—For me to be able to tell you that, you’ll have to answer some of my questions first. But anyway, let’s pass on them; I don’t want to ruin your birthday.
—Please ask me what you want to know. It’s very important for me.
—OK, well let’s see...
Caner had gone into a trance again.
—It must have been about ten days ago; I can see you with an old school friend in a crowded place. You were meeting her again after many years. Her name is something beginning with B. A famous business man’s daughter.
I suddenly froze. I was so shocked that the tide of shock overtook the doubts and worries that had been welling up inside me.
—Billur! I bumped into her at the hairdresser’s. But you seeing that; it’s unbelievable!
—Yes, although it’s not too distinct, I can see her showing you an object. Perhaps a valuable piece of jewellery.
—Yes, that’s right; when I saw it, I got very intrigued. Billur’s family are very well off, but she doesn’t like to flaunt it. But, anyway, what’s that got to do with me, Murat and fidelity?
—So you mean to tell me that you can’t make a link between you meeting Billur and your fiancé Murat?
—I’m afraid so.
Caner was staring deep into my eyes. Out of fear, I tried to look somewhere else. He could read my mind; I was finally sure of it. I tried to get rid of what came to mind, but I couldn’t. He was really sweet, actually. I thought about the things he had said. I remembered bumping into Billur that day, and I felt that Caner knew everything. He continued speaking, decisively.
—If you’ll tell me all the details about how you bumped into Billur in the hairdresser’s, I’ll be able to answer your questions.
All of a sudden I decided to tell him everything.

CHAPTER 14
MERT

 Together with Serdar, I went to the damp-smelling stairs of a shabby block of flats. When we got to the second floor, we dialled Mustafa’s mobile and listened to the doors on the left and right. Serdar said he heard ringing from inside the right flat  whose door he’d been listening at. We rang the bell. Mustafa opened the door without hesitating. He was a man of about 45, dark, moustache, lower class. He was wearing a dirty t-shirt that brought out his beer belly, misshapen trousers and rubber flip-flops. He must have been surprised when he didn’t see who he was expecting. I greeted him very coolly.
—Good Evening to you, Mr Turnaoğlu.
He was going to close the door. Serdar straight away pushed at the door that was closing in front of us, and managed to push the man back.
—And who might you be?
We bundled Mustafa in front of us and went inside to the living room. First, he tried to run away and when he saw that wasn’t going to work, he got stressed.
—This is private property! Help, police!
I kept my cool and put my finger on my lips.
—Shhh! Calm down. If you make any noise, then we’ll call the police.
Mustafa looked me up and down and saw straight away it was pointless to make any noise.
—Who are you, from a gang?
Serdar took Mustafa by the arm and sat him down on a chair he’d taken from by the table. I took another chair and sat facing him. I spoke very calmly.
—We’re your new friends.
—What d’you want from me?
He tried to get up. Serdar was standing behind him and pushed down on his shoulders and sat him back down again.
—Sit down. We’re gonna ask you a few questions. Don’t worry, if you listen to us, you won’t get hurt. But if you’re stubborn, it’ll all end up bad for you. Got it?
—But I ain’t done nothing wrong.
While he was talking, I took his hands behind the chair and cuffed them. This manoeuvre got him to take our little chat seriously.
—Hey, what d’you think you’re doin’...
Serdar was sent to go over the house with a fine tooth comb. And just then, the call I was waiting for from the Chief came. I said things like ‘He’s sitting right opposite me... Ahh, really?... Then let’s get him to write out his statement and sign it right here’; and scribbled something down on the piece of paper in front of me. Then I acted like I was reading from notes.
—We’ve got your partner, Acar Murat Gümüşlü. Alias Murat Sevil... He’s at the station right now; his statement’s been taken. He squealed like a pig; he confessed to everything. You took the goods together, but you knifed the man. Is that right?
Mustafa suddenly looked like he was very worried, but didn’t know what to say yet.
—I ain’t seen nothing; I ain’t done nothing; I ain’t heard nothing. I don’t know no one called Murat.
I suddenly got up and gave him a good slap. He cried out with pain. He was shocked.
—Oi, I asked you a question!...  Cut the crap! Is what your partner said true? Are you that man’s killer? Answer! Yes or no!
I raised my hand like I was going to hit him again and got really close to him. Mustafa found it difficult to speak.
—Look man, I really don’t know nothin’.
I rubbed my hands together like I was dusting them off and picked up my chair.
—OK then, I’m taking Murat’s statement to be true, I’m writing your confession, and you’re gonna sign it. Alright?
I turned to Serdar and said.
—After that, let’s take Mustafa to the hospital right away, get him a clean bill of health, so he can’t turn round and say ‘I confessed under duress’ or anything like that. Mind you, ‘cause his partner’s going to testify, it’s not a problem even if he pleads not guilty.
Mustafa’s eyes were wide open, watching us. I could see that he could be broken straight away with a little encouragement. I pointed Mustafa out to Serdar.
—But, if this twat tells us everything now, he’ll get off with a light sentence, or maybe scot free.
Serdar agreed with me. He said no one could save him in court from getting life. I looked at Mustafa’s face; I could see he’d fallen for it. Then he wet his lips with is tongue. I’d worked out the look on his face; he was about to fess up.
The key word in interrogation is this: Motivation...

CHAPTER 15
ARZU

I don’t know what happened to me. Maybe it was because the wine had gone straight to my head, but I was singing like a bird. I had seen Billur about ten days ago; I bumped into her in a hairdresser’s. Billur was the daughter of a famous industrialist. She was one of my closest friends from college. I really was pleased to see her. When I entered the crowded salon, she was having her hair dyed.
—It’s not, is it... Billur?
—Aah. Arzu...
She was surprised and pleased, too.
—How are you?
—It’s so nice to see you again after all these years.
—And you, too, Arzu.
—How are you, how’s everything going?
—Well, you know. Time goes by so fast. Are you married? Do you have any kids?
—No, not me; I just got engaged five or six months ago. I’m hoping to get married next year and have a child as soon as possible. How are things with you?
—I’ve been married for almost seven years and I’ve got a six year old boy. I didn’t waste any time.
Billur had changed a lot; she’d turned into a real woman. A maternal expression had come to her face... Like almost all women over thirty, Billur’s body had become a bit plumper. I couldn’t help thinking ‘I wonder how I look?’ and immediately looked at the mirror. I was pleased to notice that, unlike her, I still had something girlish about me.
—Ah, how nice... Me, too, I want a life like that now. Ah, but you know I’m a painter now. And you know what an artist’s life is like.
The necklace that Billur was wearing caught my eye; I took it in my hand and looked at it.
—What a beautiful necklace you’re wearing, Billur. What on earth is it?
—So you noticed it, then. You know my dad; he’s into antiques. He bought this set at a famous auction in London last month. But it’s not original; it’s a copy, I mean a replica...
—How so? I mean it’s gold. And the stones look to be genuine.
—Yes, yes. Because the original jewels are from a three hundred year old royal collection, they have an incredibly high antique value. Tiffany made these to be the same as the original. Darling, the royals themselves can’t put on the jewels and go out just like that. The originals are kept in the palaces’ safes.
—It’s mounted unbelievably well...
—Ah well, we’ve also put the originals in our palace safe, and me and my mum wear the copies, as you can see… Isn’t it funny? Anyway, I’ve got class.
Billur continued talking in a rustic accent.
— I’m from a haristocratic family.
We both laughed.
—Is your dad well? How’s your mum?
—Ah, they’re well. My dad’s finally handed over the whole business to Izzet, and he’s doing more charity work and stuff like that. My mum’s not doing too badly. I hope your folks are well.
Just then, Billur’s mobile rang.
—Hang on, I’ll just see who it is who’s calling.
—OK.
Billur talked to her father on the phone for a while. Father and daughter had been keeping up with social events since the old days. When the call was over, she turned her phone off and put it in her bag. While she was doing that, they sat me down in the chair next to hers and started to get my hair ready.
—My mum’s going to my aunt’s in America next week. You know how that pair of floozies can’t do anything without seeing each other. And my dad doesn’t like my aunt at all, so he’ll stay by himself here. It’s good; he loves it when his better half’s travelling, you know... It could be a concert, a play, an exhibition, he won’t miss any event. Next week at the opera, there’s the opening night of ‘Kiss Me Kate’ with Ruhsar Öcal; he’s going along.
The guy doing Billur’s hair gave it the finishing touches with his comb.
—How is it? Is it how you wanted, Mrs Sönmez?
He showed her the back of her head in the mirror.
—It’s good, good. Well done.
The assistant took her smock and pulled the chair out for her. Billur got up and came towards me.
—Arzu, I’m done. I’m in a hurry; I’ve gotta go. We should definitely meet up some time. I’m expecting you to visit some day. Hale and Sedef can come too and we’ll have a good old natter. OK?
—That’d be great.
—Give me your number.
—Just wait, I’ll give you my card. And look, it’s got my studio address here. Maybe you’ll come and see my paintings. I’ll write my mobile number on the back.
I gave her my studio card.
—And take my card. See you soon, darling.
We kissed goodbye.
—Say ‘hi’ to your mum and dad. Bye bye.
Yes. I told Caner about the whole encounter in detail. And he listened attentively. The thought that he could be from the police came to mind again. I looked at his face. Yes, when I thought about it, it seemed that he could be, but then I said to myself ‘no, that’s impossible’ because you wouldn’t find a policeman like that anywhere in the world. His behaviour, his attitudes, the things he wore, the things he said... In all my life, I had never even seen a policeman wearing glasses, now I came to think about it.
And anyway, how could he have found me, and why on earth would he want to talk to me?

CHAPTER 16
CANER

Arzu didn’t need to go on and tell me what happened next. As I’d guessed, she’d supplied Murat with all the information on Sami Tuzcu. I couldn’t work out what she was thinking in tellling me all that in so much detail. It’s sometimes like that; the person across from you would give you more information than you wanted and that with unnecessary frankness.
—As far as I understand it, you told Murat about meeting Mrs Sönmez and about the necklace she was wearing.
Arzu’s expression changed; she had started at last to be thoroughly suspicious of me.
—Yes, I suppose I did, but what of it? What’s the link between Murat’s fidelity and Billur?
I suddenly decided to change the subject; there was something else that I could find out from her.
—Anyway. It’s not important... While you’re working in your studio, Murat goes to work, and then in the evenings, what does he do?
—What do you mean?
—Where does he spend the night, with you?
—We spend the night together two or three times a week.
—But you don’t live together. He generally stays somewhere else, doesn’t he?
—Yes, and? He’s got a mother who’s afraid of staying at home alone, so he stays with her, and his father died a long time ago.
—Have you seen them?
—Seen who?
—His mother, his house, other relatives?
—No, he’s never taken me to his house. Oh God, he’s not married, is he?...
It was inconceivable that such an intelligent and beautiful woman could be so obsessed with marriage.
—I didn’t say that, but I can say that there are other women in his life. If he’d been planning a serious future with you, wouldn’t he take you to his house? Wouldn’t he introduce you to his mother? Wouldn’t he tell you some things about his work? Haven’t you ever thought about that?
Arzu raised her voice angrily.
—You’re just trying it on with me. You’re saying that because you want me to dump him and be with you.
—Ooh, we are angry, aren’t we... Yes, I like you and I find you very attractive, but I didn’t think the truth would make you so upset. I’m sorry. We can talk about other things. Or I could leave you in peace...
I made as if to get up and go. Arzu suddenly changed her tune.
—No, no, it’s me who’s sorry... I didn’t mean to offend you. I like you a lot, too, but I just can’t stand stories of male infidelity, don’t know why...
Acting like I’d accepted her apology, I stayed standing in silence. She’d calmed down.
—So why does Murat do it? Why do you think he cheats on me?
I continued to act offended.
—Don’t worry about it; it’d be best for us to talk about other things.
I sat back down and took another sip of my wine. Arzu was getting impatient.
—Caner, you might have made me angry, but I really have to know. Is Murat cheating on me?
Well this was classic. I’d got the woman to the point where I could possibly arrest her, and here she was, still chasing after her boyfriend’s honour. My late father used to say, ‘These women are all the same, son; they don’t think of anything other that marrying a man who’ll stay at home, and having kids,’ and I never used to believe him. I kept quiet and pretended to be angry.
—I’ll tell you what Murat is in a bit. But before that, I want you to listen well to what I’m going to say.
When Arzu didn’t say anything, I recognised an opportunity to act up and got up from the bar stool again. I looked the other way and pretended to have changed my mind about telling her.
—What’s my fault in all this, huh?.. You can do whatever you like with your boyfriend; marry him or not, it’s no skin off my nose...
—OK, OK, don’t get angry. I promise you I won’t overreact. Please tell me. Whatever you know, whatever you can see...
It was clear that the iron was hot, so I closed my eyes as if I was making contact with the spirit world and paused for effect.
—Your fiancé, Murat, is someone who has based his life entirely on lies...
And I immediately pretended to be very upset and continued.
—Yes, he’s a fake. You don’t know him at all.
Arzu didn’t know what to say. She was really flustered.
—Why are you saying that? Actually, it’s you who don’t know him at all. And I don’t want to listen to your prejudiced nonsense anymore. And...
She looked at her watch again.
—It might be better if I waited for him outside...
This time, she started to get up. C’est la vie; what goes around comes around.  I reached out and gently took her arm. I was so sure of myself that I just knew she wouldn’t go.
—You promised me...
Arzu paused and looked worriedly into my eyes. I didn’t give her the chance to say anything.
—I’m on your side, Arzu; remember that…
I slowly moved my hand down from Arzu’s arm to her hand and then I held it.
—It makes me mad that a beautiful and intelligent woman like you has fallen into someone like Murat’s web. I’m sorry for what I said. Truly...
Now it was her turn to come up with the standard phraseology.
—No, please don’t say that.
She relaxed and sat back down. Her anger seemed to have passed.
—Maybe you’re right. I don’t know very much about Murat. And, in fact, I have my doubts about whether he’s had a respectable past or not...
She paused and took a deep sigh.
—But...
—But what?
—It’s just that he’s the best man that I’ve been able to find... I don’t know anything other than that. I’ve just turned thirty, I’ve got a job, I pass for beautiful...
—Pass for? You’re a very beautiful girl...
—But beauty doesn’t pay the rent, neither does youth... I just haven’t been able to find anyone decent to marry. I want to have kids and be happy. Why are you looking at me like that? I’m telling the truth; I couldn’t find another man!
—You know that’s not true. You haven’t looked hard enough. If you wanted to, you could seduce any man.
—I don’t know all those feminine wiles... How to lead a man astray and turn him on...
I interrupted her, continuing.
—Drive him wild in bed...
Had I struck a nerve?
—Ah yes, there’s the matter of intercourse, of course...
We both laughed, the conversation had twisted and turned and got back to below the belt.
—Or are you not good in bed?
Arzu paused. As if she was a little embarrassed, she leaned back, still holding my hands.
—Is it really so important for you?
—No, I wasn’t asking for myself. It’s important for men.
You know...
Arzu stopped and whispered.
—I was asking you...
—Look, I think you’re a really passionate woman. In fact, I know you are. But that passion doesn’t burn for every man. ‘A horse neighs depending on its owner,’ as they say.
She got really close and brought those fantastic lips of hers right up to my face.
—Yes, that’s such a true saying...
I didn’t say anything. I looked into Arzu’s eyes. With her body pressed against mine, she continued.
—It looks like you want to find out just how passionate I am, or am I wrong?
Again, I didn’t say anything and gently slipped my body away from Arzu’s. She continued.
—It looks like the cat’s got your tongue. Well, I’ll continue then... You’re right, Murat isn’t a man who can give me all I deserve. But he’s handsome and generous... And, besides, he loves me and wants to marry me. Do you really think I should say no to him?
I realised that she still hadn’t understood the truth of the matter and showed her more understanding.
—Then there’d better not be any other reasons for Murat to start a relationship with you, had there?
Arzu, looking at me naively, suddenly moved her hands away with a start.
—What kind of other reasons?
Actually, she knew full well what the ‘other reasons’ I was talking about were...

CHAPTER 17
MERT

Searching through the back rooms of the house, Serdar, with a pained look on his face, came up to Mustafa.  It was clear he hadn’t found the jewels.  Mustafa, given all the encouraging things I was saying, was well on the way, but still hadn’t come undone.  I was so tired I was scared of coming undone myself.
—Tell us where the jewels are and stop messing us about.
—What jewels, mate?
—Even if you don’t tell us, you know we’re gonna find them.  And that’ definite.  But then, I’ll give you such a thrashing that you won’t be able to sit down for a week.  Do I make myself clear?
Mustafa didn’t say anything.  And I didn’t move a muscle.  Serdar had been standing there and waiting.  He suddenly sprung into life and gave him a huge slap.  At the same time he bellowed:
—Is it clear now?!
The slap was so hard Mustafa was knocked over and took the chair with him.  His lip was split.
—Don’t, mate!  God’s honest truth, dunno nothin’... Please don’t do it!
Serdar grabbed his arm and picked him and the chair up together.  Matey kept sniffing and touching his lip.
—Look, I’m telling you for the last time.  If you don’t give us straight answers, we’ll decide that you’ve killed him and act accordingly, just so we’re clear on that.  And you’ll be begging us to kill you.  I’m asking you one last time.  Your partner says that you killed Sami Tuzcu by plunging a screwdriver into his heart. Is that right?
He looked at me glumly, gloomily.  I could see he wasn’t going to talk without us finding the jewels first.  He still hoped he could get out of it, and thought he’d be straight to jail if he admitted knowing his accomplice, Murat.  I gave Serdar the nod, and he went to the dining room and carried on searching.  He found the jewels a few minutes later in a cupboard right under our noses and still in their original boxes.  He took one or two pieces in his hand, and shoved them in Mustafa’s now ghost-like face.
—So, your loot was here all along.  Well, I guess the magpies must have brought these jewels that you’ve never seen before.
Mustafa looked at me, his face glistening with tears and snot, but still wasn’t saying anything.  I looked over to Serdar.
—Just inventory what you’ve found straight away, and sign the report.  Then compare it with the insurance list; let’s see if anything’s missing.  And keep looking; the murder weapon could be here, too.
I turned to Mustafa and yelled at him once more.
—Is the murder weapon here?!
I leaned over him and raised my hand like I was going to hit him.  He burst into tears.
—I dunno nothin’ and that’s the God’s honest truth.  Please don’t hit anymore!
I slapped him again.  Then I grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him.
—You’re looking me straight in the eye and bloody lying.  You bastard, do we have anything left to talk about?  Everything’s out in the open.  If I have you locked up for thieving, you’d be out after six months.  But now I know that you’ve been lying all the time and you bloody killed someone.  And a purely innocent, respectable man.  You know what that means?  It’s to be left to rot in a damp, dark, four by four cell.  For that rest of your life, the pain... No one can save you there, you gormless bastard!
—Look, mate, I swear, I pass out even at the sight of blood.  I pass out.  Last night I wanted to throw up; it was disgustin’.  That bastard Murat killed the poor ol’ guy, I couldn’t do nothin’.
—OK, but you did burgle the house together, didn’t you?
—Yes, mate.
Now he was really sobbing.
—Write it down, mate; God help me.  I’ll tell you everything.
So, it had happened again; a good kicking after a bit of motivation always worked wonders. Those psychology lessons were really paying off.

CHAPTER 18
MUSTAFA

The lights were off, I was trying to open Mr Tuzcu’s safe in torch light and sweating like a pig. With one of those things doctors use in my ear, I was listening to the lock barrel. Murat was opening the drawers on the writing table, breaking the locks with the huge screwdriver in his hand. Yeah, we’d talked it over lots of times before, but his impatience was getting to me.
—God, it’s been almost an hour, Mustafa... I’m going mad here, just get it open...
I took a break and turned to Murat angry like.
—Didn’t I tell you it wasn’t gonna be easy. I told you, innit?
—Yeah, you told me, alright... Said no more than one hour. Are you changing your tune now?
—For Chrissake, just shut it. I’m getting all mixed up...
He shut up. A bit later, the barrel made the noise I was waiting for.
—Done.
Murat, all excited like, opened the safe door wide. He shone the torch in his hand inside.
—Yeah, it’s all here... Mustafa, my boy, we’ve hit the bloody jackpot...
I started to fill a bag with the jewels. At the same time, Murat heard the door click. He made a sign for me to shush. We turned off the torches and moved in on the door real silent like. The door opened and I heard someone come in. The bloke who came crossed the hall, took a few steps towards the centre of the living room and stopped. It was like he felt something was up. Murat turned on the torch and held it to his face. Like I guessed; it was Sami Tuzcu what had come in. He stood in the middle of the living room, gobsmacked like and blinking. Murat called to him with a rude voice.
—Welcome home, Mr Tuzcu...
The old man was scared and shocked, but he asked bravely.
—What do you think you’re doing here? Who are you?
—Don’t be afraid, we just came to empty out your safe... We were just leaving.
Mr Tuzcu didn’t say nothing. Murat turned to me and went on.
—But if you want us to stay, then we will... Ain’t that so, partner?
I was pissed off with what he was saying and what with the job taking too long. And I didn’t like his way of wanting my say so. I just wanted to get out of there and go as soon as possible.
—Man, let’s get out of here quickly...
But he took no notice.
—Hang on... We can’t always find time to have a chat with Mr Tuzcu. He definitely doesn’t talk to common people like us. You don’t, do you, Mr Sami Tuzcu?
Mr Tuzcu broke his silence and answered like he’d made up his mind.
—Look, you’ve got what you came for; what more do you want from me?
Murat suddenly got angry for no reason.
—What if we want to take your life? Haa... Do you want me to take your life? I’m sure your bored of living by now, Sami, how old are you?
—Seventy four.
—What else have you got to live for, old man, give it up and let some others live the high life. You got Jewish roots, ain’t you?
Mr Tuzcu was surprised and stopped. I stepped in straight away, cos I know how Murat’s head works.
—C’mon, leave it, man, we got what we came for. Let’s just offski...
And that’s when all hell broke loose; Mr Tuzcu got scared and tried to explain in a voice like he was screaming.
—No, son, we’re seventh generation Turks. Thank God...
Murat interrupted him angrily.
—You’re a bloody yid! Now cut the crap. While we were living like dogs, all your generations lived like kings in this country... You messed everything up... You’re the loan sharks, you’re the conmen, you’re the scammers... You all just stuff your faces and get the soldiers guarding you to do the plumbing. Do you even bloody do military service? No...
—Son, I did a full two years military...
Murat slapped the man hard.
—Lies! It’s all lies... And don’t bloody call me son, you bastard!! Did you fuck my mother, you cunt!!
I tried to do something, but I couldn’t.
—Man, are you mad, let’s get out of here quickly. Do you want to get us into shit?
Murat pushed me roughly to the side.
—Get out of the bloody way, can’t you see we’re talking...
Sami Tuzcu tried to turn away. Murat threw the torch in his left onto the floor and held his shoulder and quickly thrust the screwdriver in his right into his chest.
—There you go, you fucking bastard!
I grabbed Murat’s arm, but it was too late. He twisted the screwdriver out of Mr Tuzcu’s chest. I still can’t get rid of that disgustin’ noise, man. I felt sick; I wanted to throw up. A few drops of blood spurting out of Sami Tuzcu’s chest got on his shirt. The poor bloke sank to his knees holding his heart and then keeled over.
—Mate, what do you think you’ve done...
Murat turned to me coolly like nothing had happened and looked at me.
—What’ve I done? I just took a microbe’s life...
—Ohh, why did you have to do it... What are we gonna do now, mate?
—What we gonna do; c’mon, get everything ready, we’re hitting the road.
We got everything and went out the door silent like. He was evil, that one. But on my mother’s life, I didn’t see it coming at first...

CHAPTER 19
ARZU

Caner thought that I still hadn’t understood that he was a policeman, perhaps... He put it down to my naivete that I just came out and told him everything, I suppose; he wasn’t the sort to believe in love at first sight... I had finally given myself up and the rest was history... All I wanted was to live out the dying beauty of the tortuous excitement I felt towards him... The things that had happened to me were only as painful as knowing that I had never felt like that before until that time. I should give myself up to luck and leave myself to life’s ebbs and flows. The more I thought about it, just as I understood how I had been conned like some stupid woman by Murat, I noticed how blind I’d been to my own weaknesses.
Ahh, how could I have been so stupid all at once...
It was past eleven and the bar was packed. The barman filled our glasses for the umpteenth time. I’d got rather drunk actually... We could only make ourselves heard by standing up and speaking right into each other’s ears. As people squeezed around us, I pressed my body tightly to his. Whenever I did that, I could breathe in his smell, and I could hear his heartbeat faintly...
It was as if the drunkenness of the fear and sadness that I was losing everything mingled together with the excitement and love that I had found him was dragging me to the verge of madness.
Caner gazed into my eyes with an intelligent look and took a sip of his drink. He turned towards me and suddenly got more serious than I had been expecting.
—So when you went to Murat’s office, you didn’t come across any clues about what he did?...
I kept looking into his eyes. Of course, I knew full well what Murat did for a living... But now, to answer his questions directly could have brought an end to the beauty here. Love is all about atmosphere; he could be very sexy, the entertainment-money-food-drink-conversation could be fine, you could even be soulmates, but if where you are doesn’t have a good ambience, nothing meaningful will ever come out of it.
The colour and smell of that night in the Joy Bar -although I knew that I was in it up to my neck and soon to be taken to prison- were so amazing that I never wanted it to end. For this reason, I started to think about what I should do to make the moment last. When Caner saw that I hadn’t answered him for a long time, he raised an eyebrow and repeated his question.
—Didn’t you see anything?
I answered, smiling.
—I don’t understand. What kind of things for example?
—For example. samples, catalogues, business letters, shop signs, and so on, anything related to the business he does. Isn’t there anything at this company?
—Maybe there were, but they might not have attracted my attention? Besides, in all, I only went there twice...
—OK well, didn’t you overhear conversations that Murat or Mustafa had with other people?
—I guess I did...
—What were they talking about?
I thought. I had to add a bit of humour to the way I was handling the situation without getting Caner too excited.
—It was a conversation that I couldn’t really understand... They were talking with an architect about a project for a villa, I think. Maybe they’re contractors. Is that so unreasonable?
Caner replied sarcastically.
—They could be, who knows, maybe Murat is a construction engineer and he was too embarrassed to tell you what his job was.
I pretended to be angry with Caner.
—What are you trying to say, for goodness sake? So now it’s a crime that he didn’t completely explain to me what job he does, is it?
—It’s the only thing he didn’t lie to you about… Almost everything else he told you was lies...
—How can you say that so matter-of-factly? Please, tell me whatever you know more clearly...
—Arzu, I don’t have enough time to tell you all the details. You’ll find out about all of this later. The thing I’m after is how did such an intelligent and knowledgeable girl as you, chasing the promise of a false marriage, fall into the web of someone like that.
I could tell that Caner liked me and that, with his masculine instinct, he was trying to possess me and protect me. That was something that I needed to feel at that moment. It made me feel cherished... I got up again from the bar stool that I‘d been perched on. I pretended that my nerves had reached breaking point.
—Murat didn’t catch me in his web, or anything like that; I went with him willingly and with my eyes open. And now you seem to be jealous of him.
—Can you tell me how you met?
—No, I can’t...
Caner was finally asking questions relentlessly.
—OK, so how did you know that the birthday present that Murat was going to bring for you was the diamond watch stolen from the safe? Will you tell me that?
—I’m not going to tell you anything else from now on...
He got annoyed in a way that I hadn’t been expecting and leaned straight into me.
—Why won’t you tell me? It’s because it’s not in your best interest, isn’t it? Now I’ll tell you... Your great big, tin-pot love...
The sparks of rage in his eyes didn’t frighten me. On the contrary, they turned me on. I could suddenly picture myself making love to him. He was squeezing me harshly, biting my lips until they bled; his hands were roving in the dampness between my legs. I tried to stop my heart skipping and spoke cool-headedly.
—You’ve got no right to get on your high horse. Anyway, I don’t want to listen to you.
—You will listen. You’ll find out all about the right honourable Murat’s talents. Fine, some of them you know only too well... So be it, I’m still going to tell you about them...
—I don’t want to listen.
I turned my head the other way. I knew what he was going to tell me. To change the subject, I thought that the old leave-the-bar-and-go trick could be useful. I took my bag and asked for the bill. I turned to Caner and with hurt in my voice.
—I’m going...
—Oh, really? Are you sure of that? Will you be able to go?
I knew that I wouldn’t be, but I still asked.
—Are you going to stop me?
—I’m not personally, but I can tell you for nothing that you’ll only get as far as the door of the club.
I looked towards the door; there didn’t seem to be anything there. Then I saw the look of determination in Caner’s eyes. I realised that I wasn’t going anywhere. There was nothing left for me to do. I hung my head and perched myself back on the stool. Once more, I had to accept the truth as it was and leave the initiative to him. Caner asked rather politely.
—Do you want me to continue?
—As you wish...
He could see that I was really upset and stroked my cheek with his hand, slowly... Then, he looked at me with the hint of a smile on his lips.
—I’ll tell you everything from the beginning. You know most of what I’m going to tell you already. You’ll fill in the blanks... Six months ago, Murat came to your studio about some work. He had valuable paintings with him. And he wanted to sell them under the counter.
Yes, now I was sure about what else Caner was going to tell me; he knew about my previous sins, as well. All of them... I could see that there would be no point in denying them. I thought that my crimes had mitigating factors. And it was as if Caner, too, needed to understand that I was more innocent than I looked.
—That really is exactly how we met. Murat was very polite that day.
—Those paintings were stolen and you realised that in the first few minutes of your conversation. They were paintings by famous artists and didn’t have any authentification papers.
I didn’t say a word. Caner came closer and carried on.
—Then he offered you money in return for the services and information you were going to provide. And more than that, he was very generous. You prepared the authentification for the paintings together and once they were ready to be sold, you sold them in small batches to galleries and auction houses where you had contacts.
It was astonishing that he knew what had happened as well as if he himself had been there.
—How do you know all that?
—I’m guessing.
—And as you know everything, I suppose you also know that things like buying art collections and ironing out any problems with paintings were part of the day-to-day work of my studio.
—The crux of the matter here is that you were aware that what you were doing was illegal. You realised that the paintings were stolen right from the start, didn’t you?
I held out my hands to show how hopeless my situation was.
—Well, what else could I have done? Of course I could feel that something wasn’t quite right, but Murat told me that the pictures belonged to the father of one of his friends. The collector father had died and Murat’s friend, the son, wanted to sell them privately, or something...  That’s what he told me. I don’t meddle in illegal activities. I’m not like that!
—But you used your expertise and found people who would issue certificates, didn’t you?
I nodded.
—Then you mediated in the sale.
—Yes.
—And in return, you took half of the added value that the paintings had acquired.
—No, it wasn’t even a question of the sort of figures you’re talking about. And anyway, I didn’t ask for anything in return, I swear. I didn’t want anything from him. I said I wouldn’t take anything.
—But you did. How many lira did you get?
I didn’t want to say anything about money. So I just paused. Caner was looking at me as if he was waiting for an explanation.
—I earned more money from that job than I had ever earned in my life. Life isn’t at all easy for a painter.
—But who is it easy for, Arzu? Then a beautiful friendship based on business and pleasure started between you. Everything was going great. Right until...
—Right until... tonight. Or rather, this morning...

CHAPTER 20
MERT

—So that was how it happened...
Just what the doctor ordered! My happiness and excitement had taken all my tiredness away. Mustafa the locksmith had sung like a bird, the stolen goods had been found, and the killer had been caught... Was it anything other than a miracle to solve such a hopeless case in such a short time in Turkey? Drunk with victory, I told Serdar to prepare Mustafa’s statement. I felt like a superhero. I gave Mustafa a tissue for his burst lip and went inside and called the Chief.
—Chief, mission accomplished.
Captain Kemal Güçlü, a.k.a. ‘the Big Chief’ was over the moon about it... A cop of his age and record in our country wouldn’t normally be working with us out in the field; oh no, he’d just be sitting behind a desk pen-pushing and answering the phone. In fact, the Chief had become such a legend no one dared to hand the Detective Bureau’s Homicide Division over to anyone else but him.
I started to tell him about our interrogation excitedly. The Chief, ignoring the details, asked if Mustafa had said everything we wanted him to say without leaving anything out.
—All that and more... We can arrest Murat Gümüşlü now. The jewels have been found, too.
He wanted to know if I had checked the list. The Chief never missed a trick. I looked at the list in my hand; Serdar had ticked everything off.
—Just a fancy watch is missing. And it’s got nothing to do with the collection. It was put in the safe separately.
He said he knew and immediately asked about the murder weapon, of course.
—The murder weapon still hasn’t surfaced; we’re looking for it now...
I looked over the statement Serdar had written. There were one or two mistakes; I got him to redo them and then got Mustafa to sign it. There were a few other things I was wondering about. While we were getting ready to leave the house, I wanted to find them out from Mustafa.
—So, did your partner Murat’s bird know anything about this robbery and murder? What was she called?
—You mean Arzu?
I nodded. I had no doubt he would tell me the truth. Actually Mustafa was a real simpleton.
—I dunno, man, God’s honest...
Mustafa had a calm, it’s-all-over look on his face. I squeezed him a bit more.
—How do you not know, son... Are you taking the piss out of us? The girl gives you all the low down, then doesn’t know the robbery plan, doesn’t realise the shit she’s in and doesn’t ask any questions. You expect me to believe that?...
—Officer, man, please. I didn’t tell you she knew or she didn’t know or nothing... I said I don’t know.
He continued with a very serious look on his face and a proud movement of his head.
—I don’t get mixed up in no family business. Murat sorted the bit about talking to Arzu. On my mother’s life, I stay well clear. So, I swear I dunno if Murat’s woman knew about the job or not. I just pick locks.
—Well, was it hard to open the safe?
—Yeah. It was real hard... It was an American-made, Rabson, very strong mechanism. If I ain’t’ve had previous experience, I can say I couldn’t of opened it.
—So, how did you sort out the alarm?
—That was Murat’s field. He knows where all the alarm makes, centrals and sensors are and their connections well.
—You cut the electric cos of that?
—That’s how we work in places with gardens. If there’s no generator or nothing, it’s easier. Neighbours and people around don’t see nothing. We cut down what people in the house like gardeners and servants can see like that. If the lights go out in the evening, they generally go to bed and sleep.
—But the alarm system doesn’t shut down when you cut the electric... How did you sort that one out?
—No, those systems normally work even if the electric’s cut, but Murat rips out the box and cuts the connection to the battery before the alarm can go off. He does it so quickly if you watch him, you’d be surprised.
—And the dog? As I understand, it was a trained Alsatian... A real guard dog.
—Mate, there’s no dog I can’t win round. I really like dogs, you could almost call me a vet...
—Did you give it something to make it sleep?
—We drugged it together with the old couple. I mean, let’s say we put them to sleep with gas.
—OK, and the murder weapon? A screwdriver... Where’s it? When Murat took it out of the poor bloke’s body, did he take it away and wash it?
—No man, we didn’t have no time to wash it... It was the first time something like that happened. When the bloke died, I felt real bad, wanted to scarper right then, Murat came after me. The dripping screwdriver was still in his hand.
—Was he wearing gloves?
—We use those thin rubber doctors’ gloves when we do a job... But there was blood on Murat’s right glove. Sticky like... I guess he didn’t want to get it over him so he took it off and shoved it in a black plastic bag we found in the kitchen with the screwdriver. It’s like I remember something like that.
—And then?...
—When we got out of the house, he threw it away in a bin on the road.
—He threw it away? Which bin was it exactly? Let’s go straight to the crime scene, show us.
We got everything together and left the house together. Once we were on the street, in front of the door, I cuffed Mustafa to Serdar. We jumped into the car and raced down to Sami Tuzcu’s house in Levent. We got out of the car a little after the street where the house was, and went towards the bin. At the same time, I called the Chief again.
—Chief, Mustafa’s statement’s done. I got him to give all the details about what that fucker we cuffed to a pipe did. Now we’re off to find the murder weapon. We’ll be back soon.
—That’s great, keep it up.
—How are things over there, Chief?
—Good, good...
—Was the girl in on it?
The Chief paused.
—Uh, partly...
—Caner’s job isn’t over yet?
—You take care of your own work, son... Don’t worry about anywhere else for now... C’mon...
—OK, Chief...
Serdar asked Mustafa with a movement of his head if the bin was one of the ones over there. Mustafa said it was. When we went up to it, Serdar noticed something else.
—Ah shit, looks like the rubbish’s been collected. It’s not possible there’s been so little rubbish since last night... Mustafa agreed.
—Yes, yesterday night it was like nearly overflowing...
I interrupted them and hurriedly gave Serdar instructions. If we didn’t find the murder weapon, it could all go pear-shaped.
—Quick, call the municipality, get them to tell you which bin lorry came here and which dump it went to. Now, straight to the car...
We turned back and ran to the car. I opened Mustafa’s cuffs. Serdar was talking on the phone at the same time. He was getting detailed information about bin lorry rounds and dumps from the council. I put Mustafa in the back and leapt in next to him. Serdar got in the driver’s seat. He started the car, wheels spinning.
We went to the dump. We were pretty much totally knackered. We put our hopelessness at the size of the place to one side, and called the company that did subcontracting for the municipality. We managed to find the bin lorry and its driver. Cos of a huge coincidence, the man was at home nearby.
The driver turned out to have a good memory. As a result of our long and hard, torch-lit search, the blood-stained screwdriver was found inside a black plastic bag. We were in no state to celebrate. Sleep-deprived, tired cops, up to their necks in filth... We had a suspect with us to tide us over and in front of us there was a whole load of elbow work left for us to sort out. Our trials weren’t over yet.
We went to Vatan Avenue and got the lab to look at the screwdriver and bag. Two prints in dried blood were found on the plastic bag. They proved that the wound in Sami Tuzcu’s chest was caused by the screwdriver we found at the dump. They analysed the prints and the blood.
These days, the Crime Lab on Vatan had become a quick and effective unit. Our colleagues there gave us solid support. Even so, you can’t get results in five minutes flat like the nonsense we see in American series. It sometimes takes days.
When our expert compared the print lifted from the bag with Murat Gümüşlü’s by eye, he said the result would most likely be positive, that there’d be a match. And the results of the other test showed that the blood found on the murder weapon was the same group as Sami Tuzcu’s. We’d need a DNA analysis for a definite result.
But anyway, you don’t need a map for the back of your hand.

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