CHAPTER 21
ARZU

In my sleep, I vaguely heard someone at the door. It had just become light; so it must have been something like seven o’clock in the morning. I went and opened the door; I understood that Murat had come. He came in with a dazed look on his face.
—Welcome home, darling. What’s happened? Is there something wrong?
—Ah, don’t ask; there were some hiccoughs.
—What do you mean? Didn’t you manage to open the safe?
—No, we got it open.
—Weren’t the jewels in the safe?
—They were there alright, nothing missing... There were even some other things. Anyway, leave it for the moment; put the kettle on, and let’s have us some breakfast.
We went to the kitchen together. I filled the kettle and looked at the time:
—It’s still early. Why don’t you get some rest?
Murat grabbed me and threw his arms tightly around me as if he hadn’t seen me for weeks. I stroked his cheek.
—You didn’t get any sleep, I suppose?
He relaxed his arms and released me. It was plain to see that there was a problem:
—Anyway, forget it for now... Mustafa got a bit too big for his boots, that’s all...
—Why?
—Later. Let’s just finish our breakfast. Why don’t you put the telly on? Let’s listen to the morning news.
I turned on the TV and we listened to the news while we were having breakfast:
—Ain’t a peep about our job. Let’s keep our fingers crossed...
—Why did you say Mustafa got too big for his boots?
—He just bottled it. If only this, if only that, we should’ve done it like that, blah, blah, blah. He was doing my head in.
—And what did you say?
—‘If my auntie’d had balls, she’d’ve been my uncle’. What can I say... Anyway, leave it; it ain’t important. What did you do yesterday evening?
—After you went, I watched TV and went to bed. Because we’re going out this evening, I thought I’d go to bed early and get some rest.
I wanted to remind him that it was my birthday. At first, he was surprised; it was as if he wanted to say some negative things. Then, as if he had changed his mind, he looked at me and smiled:
—You did the right thing. My baby doll. Today’s your birthday. And it’s my happiest day, too. We’ll go to the Joy Bar this evening. I’ll give you a real stunner of a jewel for a pressie.
—Don’t even think about it; they’re all registered with the police. Let’s not take any unnecessary risks; are you crazy?
—No, baby. D’you think I’d lay a finger on the crown jewels... There was somethin’ else super in the safe. You’ll go wild when you see it.
—What was it? Tell me for goodness sake.
—It’s a surprise, I ain’t telling...
—Tell me because then I’ll decide if I want it or not.
—No way... Ain’t no pickin’ and choosin’. What I’m thinkin’ for you is a very valuable watch, a diamond-encrusted, designer watch... I’ll take another shufti; if I can find something even better, I’ll bring it.
—You’re wonderful...
I got up to clear the breakfast stuff from the table. Murat went to the bathroom and took off his shirt. He called me from inside:
—Can you give me one of my shirts, babe? It’s just the one I’m wearing’s got something on it…
I brought another shirt from the wardrobe and gave it to Murat as he was coming out of the bathroom. He put it on and buttoned it up. I was curious and picked up the stained shirt. There were brown blood stains on the chest area:
—What are these stains?
—Dunno... Ketchup or something, I guess...
He put his hand on my shoulder and directed me towards the door:
—Yeah, I’ll go home and rest, too. I’ll get some shut-eye. We’ll meet at about half nine in the bar.
—OK, darling.
He kissed me at the door.
—I want you to get dressed up for this evening... What are you going to wear? I’ll wear something matching.
—You say...
—Come in that blue sports jacket we bought the other day...
—OK, then, see ya.
After that, I went back to the bathroom and took the shirt out of the laundry basket. Now I was convinced that it had dried blood on it.
Caner listened sadly to what I had told him. He didn’t want me to be the villain. About half an hour earlier, I had understood from the loving but unhappy way he was looking at me that he had no desire to throw me into jail. We stayed silent for about a minute. Then suddenly he started to come across as if he was suspicious of me. Maybe he was looking for a way out of the situation.
—So Murat didn’t tell you the details about what happened yesterday evening… You didn’t speak with him at all about where the blood stain came from...
I didn’t understand what he meant. I was telling the truth; I thought that the blood had got there because of something that had happened between Mustafa and Murat.
—No, he didn’t tell me. But of course, I understood that something had gone awry and that the night had been a difficult one. I said to myself those difficulties must be a natural part of it; even if it’s theft, money doesn’t grow on trees...
Caner stopped looking at me suspiciously. And that was it, but there were some details that I was curious about. To create a good backdrop for conversation, this time I tried asking him:
—You’re the police, aren’t you?
Caner replied with a rudeness that I would never have expected possible from him:
—It’s me asking the questions now, Arzu. You obviously can’t see what kind of a mess you’ve got yourself into. Please, give me clear and honest answers; it will be to your advantage.
—Alright... OK. If you tell me all the details about what happened last night, I’ll be able to explain to you what I know. Because there are some things I don’t know, but if you tell me them, I’ll be able to join up the dots.
Caner looked at me with a doubtful smile on his face. I was surprised that he thought I was lying. I held out my hands:
—There really are some things that I don’t know. Believe me...
Caner stroked my cheek and calmed me down:
—I believe you now...
Then he continued:
—Last night, Murat and Mustafa broke into Sami Tuzcu’s house using the information they received from you. They opened the safe. They were just emptying it out when Mr Tuzcu, who had left early from the musical he’d gone to, came home. In spite of all of Mustafa’s best efforts, Murat killed him in cold blood... But maybe you knew that right from the beginning...
I hadn’t known that poor old uncle Sami had been killed. Was I really the reason for my friend’s dad getting killed?
No, when I saw Murat’s blood-stained shirt, that wasn’t what I was thinking; I thought that Mustafa had got cut as a result of an accident. The blood-stained shirt and Sami Tuzcu... Of course, it was his blood... I couldn’t control myself and burst into tears.
—Oh my God, it can’t be. I really didn’t know that. Believe me... Yes, I understood that Murat was a thief, but if I had known that he had killed Billur’s father, I would have informed on him to you myself. I swear I would.
—I worked out a short while ago that you didn’t know that Murat had killed him. But you knew full well that they had robbed your friend’s father’s house using the information you provided  them with...
Uncle Sami’s face came to my mind; the days when he had been so good to me and Billur, when he had treated us both equally haunted me... I couldn’t stop myself crying:
—It can’t be!  How could they have killed him, it can’t be...
—Yes, but it happened. Afterwards, just as in all their other robberies, they took their ill-gotten gains and returned to their home-office in Mecidiyeköy. They left almost no traces behind them. At the moment, about twenty-four hours have passed since the incident. In the beginning, we had nothing to go on except for the questions we asked Mr Tuzcu’s daughter. But now, we’re in the position of having solved all the details of the case.
—How did you find me? I mean, why me? Mustafa and Murat are thieves, but you come after me... How did you find me?
Caner’s reply was very straightforward:
—In the morning after the night of the murder, you were the only thing we could find...

CHAPTER 22
THE CHIEF

It had got to the point where I was having difficulty hearing what Caner and Arzu were saying in the bar. I could hear noises like the roaring of hell. I took out my earphone; there was nothing left to listen to. The important thing wasn’t how much the girl had been involved in the crime. It was clear she was that fucker Murat’s victim... That kind of animal, first they use their victims – mostly chosen from women who live alone – then they throw them away without even batting an eyelid.
But finally, another case was about to be closed. Caner’s words were still ringing in my ears. Look how far we’d come. Like he said to the girl,  when I got to poor Sami Tuzcu’s house at the crack of dawn, we really only had one lead: what his daughter, Billur Solmaz, told us...
After I’d finished evaluating the incident with Mert and Serdar, I slowly went up to the young woman crying in the corner of the living room. She was sitting exhausted in an armchair. I went over to the sofa across from her:
—Mrs Solmaz, we’re so very sorry for your loss.
She looked up at me, stopped crying, and wiped her nose with dignity with the paper hankie she held in her hand and thanked.
—We’ll do everything we can to find your father’s killer; you can be sure of that. So that’s why we want to get started right away. So you’re going to have to be strong and answer our questions. Your mother was out of the country, wasn’t she?
—Yes, she’d gone to my aunt’s house in Florida; she’s coming back today...
—She knows that, until you hear from us, we’re not going to tell anyone about your father’s death, doesn’t she?
—Yes, of course...
—We’re grateful for your assistance, Mrs Solmaz. I promise you we’ll do everything we can to catch your father’s killer. He was a man we all respected; may he rest in peace. Don’t forget this: even the tiniest piece of information that you can give us could be very important for us. I hadn’t wanted to disturb you on this sad day, but I’m afraid we have to...
I held out my hands to try and show her I had no choice. Mrs Solmaz nodded... Without further ado, I got straight to the point:
—Could you give me some information about the jewels in the safe, please?
—My dad bought them one or two months ago at an auction in England. He was very interested in antiques; everyone knows that... Actually, I don’t know very much about them. They were pieces from the palace; they had antique value, and they were also very precious as jewellery.
—Did your father always keep valuable things like that in the house safe?
—No... Actually, he had never bought a collection like that before. My dad would display the paintings and statues he collected in the house, and as you can see, and he’d use the antique furniture in the house... I honestly don’t know where he would keep the other valuable papers and objets d’art.
Billur Solmaz paused and sighed. It seemed she was having difficulty talking about it.
—But this jewellery collection had replicas; they were bought from the same place. I mean in addition to the collection... And they’re still in my mum’s room, in the cupboard. It’s not locked, or anything...
The boys in Robbery might have known more about things like that, perhaps, but me, I thought ‘replica’ was a word used for robots that looked like humans or something like that, or anyway that’s what I’d seen in a sci-fi film once:
—You mean like fakes...
—A replica is a little different... It’s an exact copy of valuable jewellery produced to be worn at palace functions. Not an imitation of it made from worthless stones or anything like that, they’re gold-mounted fakes made by expert jewellers, but with relatively inexpensive jewels...
—Well I never, what’s the point of something like that...
—I guess it’s so nothing will happen to the originals, but so they can still be worn as jewellery...
—You know the thieves didn’t touch the replicas in your mother’s cupboard, don’t you? Strange, but true... Could you tell me what you know about the market value of this collection?
—My dad said that he’d bought them for four hundred and sixty pounds from Sotheby’s, you know, that famous auctioneer’s in London... That’s the part of the story I know of how they were bought; that’s what my father told me; and I know the history of the collection... But that’s it.
Well I’ll be hanged... I converted the amount to dollars first and then into our money in my head. It was enough to get anyone – thief or not – excited, that’s for sure... I left my calculations to one side, and found myself with a pretext to ask what I actually wanted to know.
—Of course, auction prices in England aren’t the same as on the market in Istanbul, but people here interested in antiques would pay the earth for that collection without a doubt... Anyway, who knew about the jewellery your father had bought and where it was kept?
—As far as I know, apart from my mum, me, my aunt and the insurers, no one.
I turned the question around and around, asking it again in different words, but it was no use.  Mrs Solmaz insisted no one outside the family knew anything. I had to get her to remember without hurting her feelings:
—Well, that doesn’t seem possible... The intruder or intruders – who were forced to kill your father when he came home early - knew everything, right down to where the safe was. It was obvious what they were after. They couldn’t have come to rob the place just on the off chance. I want you to think about it once more.
Unfortunately, Mrs Solmaz clammed up and fell silent. It was all she could do to shake her head and say she didn’t know. And it was all I could do to give the reasons that I’d already given again, but this time in more detail.
—And there’s something else. The killers knew the house, the address, the dog in the garden, the servants in the outbuilding, where the fuse box was, the inside of the house, and even that your father had gone to a musical and what time he was going to come back. The only thing they didn’t know was that your father was going to get bored of the musical and leave during the interval. That’s why they had to kill him.
This time, what I said must have reminded Mrs Solmaz of something because the poor thing started to cry:
—Well, apart from my mum, my husband and me... And... But no, it can’t be her...
I suppose she had remembered something. That got me really excited:
—Can’t be who? There’s no such word as can’t, Mrs Solmaz. Please tell me whatever you know.
She wiped her nose again in the same dignified way as before. I didn’t have enough patience left to put up with any kind of pause, even one as short as this, so I brought my face close to hers and put my hand on her shoulder in a fatherly way. Billur Solmaz went on:
—I bumped into a friend of mine, in the hairdresser’s. About ten days ago. But I’ve known her since we were children. She’s a very good-natured girl. She’s not someone driven by money; she wouldn’t do something like that.
Yes, this was what I’d been looking for. I was happy as Larry; I bit my lip not to make my excitement too obvious:
—What’s her name and address?
—She gave me her card. Give me a moment and I’ll find it.
She rummaged around in her bag, took out a cardholder and started going through it.
—Here it is...
The card she reached out had ‘Arzu Alev - Painter’ written on it; there was a work address and phone number. I looked at the back of the card like I always do; her mobile number was written on it by hand:
—This is Miss Alev’s mobile number, isn’t it? Did she write it herself?
She nodded. I looked at the card again and carried on with my questions:
—Could you tell me everything you know about her?
—I hadn’t seen her for almost ten years... She was my friend from college. At that time, we were very close. At the weekend, she would stay with us, you know, that sort of thing... She’s pretty, blonde and attractive. She studied art at the Academy. She isn’t married yet, but she said that she had a fiancé. Apart from that...
After thinking for a bit, she went on.
—I don’t know anything else about her that would be of any use to you...
For us, even a single damn word could be that vital, if Mrs Solmaz had known about it, it would’ve blown her mind. Anyway, I carried on questioning her without forcing the issue too much:
—Where’s this girl from? What do you know about her family?
—Ahh, let’s see, she came to our school from Izmir... I think her family are still there. While we were at school, she stayed with her aunt at first, and then as a boarder. She was a very cultured and talented girl, and her father was that kind of man, too. He was a well-known architect.
—OK then, could you tell me about the conversation that went on between you?
—It was nothing, really… Three or four minutes of how are you, are you well, that kind of thing. Then she noticed my necklace, and I told her about it.
She raised her hand to show that the conversation was over, and then looked as if she was going to reach for her bag. Then she looked at my face and saw that I was listening to her intently:
—What do you mean?
She didn’t want to talk anymore.
—You know, that my dad had bought them, that sort of thing. I talked about the collection, too, I think. Sometimes I talk too much for my own good...
Now she had gone into the psychology of guilt. She must have started to ask herself some tough questions because of the unnecessary conversation she had had with Arzu. In response to her pause, I asked her my questions to make sure she’d continue.
—About where the collection was, the safe, and things like that?
—I didn’t tell her anything like that.
She stopped as if she was trying to remember something:
—But anyway, Arzu knew our house like the back of her hand. While we were at college, she’d often stay with us for the weekend. It was no secret that my dad’s house safe was behind the painting in the lounge...
And there we had it... I saw a light at the end of the tunnel... This conversation might not actually have been worth the lead, but what the hell, we didn’t have anything else to go on and something is better than nothing. We had something now... I just needed someone to egg me on.
My God, Kemal, I said to myself, you could even make the dumb to speak, you could...

CHAPTER 23
MERT

I called the Chief as soon as I left the Lab. He sounded like he was on top form:
—Mert, how’s it going?
—OK, the blood on the murder weapon is the same as Sami Tuzcu’s blood group. We’ve just left the lab. There aren’t any prints on the screwdriver, but they’ve found a print they can lift in the dried blood on the plastic bag. And that’ll definitely turn up positive... Yücel from the lab, you know he’s never wrong. He immediately took a photo with the UV scanner – you remember they’ve just bought it - and compared it with Murat Gümüşlü’s print. Of course he only looked with his eyes and said ‘yes, this is it’. They’re going to give us the final finger print results tomorrow, and the DNA results next week. With the report...
—Very good. Now listen, Mert...
—Go ahead, Chief...
—The shirt Murat wore when he was knifing Mr Tuzcu is in Arzu’s house. There’s a blood stain on it. Go straight there and get it, then give it to the Lab. It’ll be one of our most important clues.
—OK, Chief. What more do we need... They’ll help us lock that animal up and throw away the key.
—You know the address of Arzu’s house...
—Yeah, of course, we went there yesterday during the day.
—You don’t have the key; get Mustafa to open the door. Just get the shirt; you don’t have to hurry for the lab. We’ll give it to them tomorrow. We’ll pick up the bloke first and lock him up. Just in case. Get out of there straight away.
—OK, Chief, don’t worry...
—Then come here. We’ll tie things up here and go home. You’re all knackered.
That wasn’t the half of it... But anyway, I lied:
—We’re fine, Chief. Don’t worry; we’re leaving right now.
—C’mon, then, get a move on.
I hung up and trotted off to the bogs for a piss. I grabbed a coffee from the caff and went down to the corridor one floor below. Serdar had put Mustafa in custody, and was explaining things to the officers at the station. I gathered up the paperwork and we went out together and got in the car:
—Your face looks tired, Lieutenant.
—What, are you taking the piss?
—God, no... Take a look at me; I’m in the same boat...
—Son, you’ve got it easy ‘cause you’re single. Let’s get this job over with so we can go home and go to bed. If I don’t go home for two days, the wife thinks I’ve gone and got myself a bit on the side.
—After Arzu’s house, we’ve got to go and arrest that bastard. Oh, by the way, the boys from Beşiktaş CSI who came this morning spilled the beans to their bosses; they wanted to see the files. I only just managed to fob them off.
—Anyway, it’s been sorted without getting too messy. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that...
Serdar interrupted me with some more of his grumbling. I was dog-tired, but just as happy. That’s why I didn’t get angry with him and let him get away with his cheek again:
—And we couldn’t get help from anyone; we couldn’t share our troubles with anyone... I’m sorry; hot shot Sergeant ‘gonna-question-someone-without-them-noticing’ Caner. It takes the piss!
I’d had enough and told him to shut up. I was sick of hearing the same things again and again every case.
—It’s time you learnt to keep your mouth shut, son. If Caner hadn’t done the job so slyly, the case wouldn’t have been solved so quickly. Maybe it wouldn’t have been solved at all.
—But it’s always the same old story, Lieutenant. It’s like the man’s the station chief. My old dear cries because I’m out on the streets, but this man was born with a silver spoon... Our rank’s the same; our pay’s the same...
—Shut it, son, shut it! Caner has almost as much experience as you’ve had hot dinners. And you know he’s the apple of the Chief’s eye...
—Well, if he’s got pull with the Captain, I’ve got some too at Personnel. At the end of the day, I’ll have him, and he won’t even see it coming...
—If you keep on asking for it like that, it’ll be you who’ll be had. Mark my words...
—OK, I’ve finished. Anyway, when I talk about it, it pisses me off.
Serdar shutting up made me even happier… We’d got to Taksim and there were bright lights everywhere. I looked around and said Thank God for that to myself...
What else could I want from life?...

CHAPTER 24
CANER

This interrogation had taken its toll on me in several ways, actually... I regretted having come face to face with the fact that  Arzu was an accomplice in a crime and also having become reacquainted with an enemy that I had been staying away from for months. Tonight, I had drunk at least five glasses of wine and champagne. The inside of my head had become really fuzzy and confused. And if Arzu had smoked, most probably, I would even have started smoking again this evening though I’d given up four years ago...
Along with the end of the interrogation, inside me there was a note of distress that I couldn’t really describe. Once more, I was thinking how empty and meaningless my life was. I felt again that I was a frustrated, unhappy, penniless, poor old thirtysomething who had notched up more than twenty women, who with most of them hadn’t found any happiness that lasted longer than a few weeks, who had even married then divorced the most ill-starred of them all, and who had made a career out of one of the dirtiest jobs in the world.
It was as if Arzu had read the sadness in my eyes... She sent the ruby-coloured liquid left at the bottom of the glass through her beautiful lips of the same ruby hue. She put her hand on top of mine, which was on the bar, and started to speak in a soft, husky voice.
—So you actually found me this morning. You found out my address and followed me. But why didn’t you take me to the station and question me there, that’s what I don’t understand. All of this...
She paused as if she couldn’t choose the right word:
—It’s like a play...
Then she laughed sincerely:
—No, you really couldn’t have prepared a play like that... Cake, champagne, music videos, and all that...
She burst out laughing again. Even though she knew what was going to happen, it really surprised me that she could stay so cool:
—I can’t believe what you did... Why didn’t you just question me directly?
I took a deep breath. Actually, I didn’t want to talk about it, but I felt that she deserved an explanation for some things.
—Arzu, if I had questioned you directly at the station, you would hardly have told me anything, right? I guess our conversation would have gone something like this: ‘Do you know Murat? I do; he’s a great guy. Where was he yesterday night? We were together at home; in fact, a friend of ours called Mustafa was round...’ And besides, we had to go through a lot of red tape so that I could do this interrogation. The police can’t just put everyone who comes along in a room and make them talk like you see in the films...
I put my hand on her cheek, and felt the need to stroke it. She was looking so forlorn... I thought I should tell her that this had been the best way for her, too.
—And you would have been treated so roughly in the station and even if you had spoken, we wouldn’t have been able to get too much information out of you.
—So, doesn’t it make you uncomfortable to have deceived me and taken advantage of the weak spot in a woman who shows an interest in you?
It did trouble my conscience to have deceived Arzu using all kinds of tricks and to have made her talk, so I answered her question with an unnecessary harshness.
—Before you start reproaching me, I want to remind you that you are an accessory to robbery and murder, Arzu...
—But I told you sincerely everything that happened. Yes, there’s no denying that I put the idea of robbing Sami Tuzcu’s house into Murat’s head, but does that mean that I provided him with information like the plan of the house, the man’s lifestyle, the fact that his wife was abroad, and a lot of other information necessary for this horrible crime? I didn’t know those things to be able to tell anyone...
—It’s definite that Murat developed his robbery project with the information he got from you. He went to the address, he investigated, he took photos and the like... Anyway, it’s not like it’s difficult to pick up extra information here and there... That Mr Tuzcu, staying with the two house servants because his wife was visiting her sister in America, had gone to the opening of a musical that he had been invited to, and that he was going to get bored of and come home early. All of that. Who but you could have provided Murat with the information about the inside of the house, the position of the alarm and the safe, and what was inside the safe, Arzu?
Arzu maybe hadn’t understood how the things she told Murat were going to be used. Was that possible? We first want to convince ourselves of the things that we want to be true... Arzu, as if she had understood that I was having doubts in my mind in her favour, started to talk in a way to make me feel sorry for her. She was right in a way; I really had started to feel sorry for her. But I was a police officer with enough experience not to let blind pity interfere with my rational thought:
—Arzu, in this case there’s only one thing that I can accept you didn’t know and didn’t want to happen, and that’s Murat killing Mr Tuzcu...
Arzu was as timid as a mouse all of a sudden, and snuggled up to me:
—So, how did you find me? I’m sure that Billur told the story of the jewels to other people, too. Why didn’t you suspect them?
For some people, it’s good to tell home truths in all their nakedness without hiding anything; it wakens them up:
—Billur doesn’t have any other friends mixed up with shady gangs apart from you, Arzu... The Chief called me this morning. I know it’s blowing my own trumpet, but I’m a policeman who’s made a name for himself in the Police Department for interrogation... He just told me the facts of the case; he gave me you name, what he’d found out about your past, and the address of your studio.
—Why didn’t you come and talk to me? Once I’d got to know you, I would still have told you everything. To get you out of this mess, I would have done whatever you’d asked...
—You wouldn’t have, then. Anyway, I didn’t know how much you were involved. There were no clues. Even if there is a good lead, as I said, you can’t reel people in as easily as all that... You were going to celebrate your birthday in this bar this evening with your fiancé, Murat. I watched your studio from eleven in the morning right up to when I came here; I gathered information about you.
—But I can’t really say that I know anyone around my studio... Who could have told you what?
—One of your tradesman neighbours remembered a man fitting Murat’s description having brought a large quantity of paintings to you months ago and then said person often coming to the shop after that.
I told her how I had got information from Ali’s Antiques and how I had connected that information with the case.
—I also understood that you hadn’t got close to anyone around  you. And that was something that made our lives difficult. You came to the studio this afternoon. Because I couldn’t find a police officer who wouldn’t make you suspicious, I arranged things with the boy at the cafe next door; if nothing else, just to eavesdrop on what you had to say... I guess that the bug he planted is still under the table...
—There was no need for you to listen in on me. I didn’t say anything to anyone in the studio... I only told a friend on the phone that I was coming here tonight, that’s all...
—But that was enough as a first step, Arzu. Then yours truly put on the tranceiver and came up to you, you know the rest...
I put my hand to the collar of my jumper and took out the wireless microphone capsule. That way no one could listen to the rest of our conversation and it would even be better... I took out the match-head size receiver covered in foundation cream from my right ear; they had already given me all the information that I had been expecting to come from outside:
—We won’t be needing these anymore...
—Why on earth did you become a policeman, Caner? If only you’d stepped into my life years ago... Then, maybe your luck, too, could have been different.
—Maybe you’re right. Actually, I’m not cut out to be a policeman. I can’t shoot straight, and I don’t know any martial arts, like karate. I can’t even slap a suspect. For that reason, I only handle ‘special and non-routine’ operations...
Arzu, in spite of everything, must have liked the show I had put on for her because she flung her arms around me with a joy that came from within:
—You really are an amazing man... I’m curious about it, actually. How did you understand what present Murat was going to bring me?
—Murat was definitely going to bring you a present from the safe: a catalogue-piece watch set with diamonds... But he didn’t realise that the watch that he had chosen for you, just like all the other valuable pieces, was listed on the insurance policy. And that was where my expertise came in; I had a hunch that the robber – whose name I didn’t even know at the time – would bring you that watch. I just looked at the list and guessed correctly. Just like how I guessed what kind of offer Murat had made you when he came to your studio with the paintings.
She was listening to me in awe. She had snuggled up nicely to me now, and was looking me over from top to bottom. Her warmth was arousing, but I was someone who had spent years paying the price for mixing business and pleasure, and who, for similar reasons, after my most successful operations, instead of getting a prize, had been punished... Ahh, there were so many things like that which I know look back on with regret... The pressure that I put myself under provided me an ordinary but regular life... But what of it? Could you call what I lived ‘life’?
—Hey, Caner...
Arzu touched my lip with her finger. Then she went up to my ear and whispered:
—I think I should tell you that I fell in love with you practically at first sight. Even though I know you’re going to lock me up, I wanted to tell you that. If only we had met in a different time and place. But I guess my destiny is bad...
I couldn’t reply to the words of love Arzu, who had leant her head forward, had spoken; I wasn’t supposed to. I just held the finger she had roaming over my lips and kissed it. Then I told her the rest of the story:
—As confirmation of my guesses being right reached my ears, or rather my earpiece, I started to wonder how you could’ve done something like that, Arzu... Why should a beautiful, cultured and intelligent woman like you give her heart to a fake, low-life criminal like Murat? How far would you go in your cooperation with him? Didn’t you realise what he could do with the information you gave him?
The poor girl suddenly burst into tears. She was wracked with sobs; her eyelashes, which she had woven tightly together, were poking through my jumper and digging into my chest; the tears that flowed from their ends was making my skin wet. Then she slowly moved her head away from my chest and looked straight up. With her make up having run, she looked even more feminine and beautiful.
—Caner, my life’s over. I didn’t do anything to deserve that... I just believed in him and trusted him... I’m so stupid... Yes, if you’re going to say that a fool gets his just deserts, then you’re right...
Arzu wasn’t saying all this because she wanted to deceive me or make me have pity on her... Is there any way to measure how stupid even the most intelligent person can become in some situations? Haven’t we all seen this? Haven’t we all done the same at some point in our lives? Blinding ourselves to the risks, haven’t we all done the most foolish things at the most critical moments and got ourselves into the most unlikely situations?
—You know you’re not stupid...
She leaned her head forward slowly, sighed and sniffed. Then she raised it again, looked at me in all her beauty and innocence and asked.
—Are you going to arrest me now?
I didn’t know what to answer. If I could convince the Chief, we could cover up a large portion of Arzu’s guilt in the official statement we were going to write. But apart from that, the punishment she would get would depend on her own legal defence and on the mercy of the judge. Also, we had something up our sleeve which could get her released pending trial. But tonight I couldn’t tell Arzu that. No matter how much I’d had to drink, I was still aware that giving her any kind of guarantees like that would be wrong. For that reason, I kicked the ball to touch:
—Believe me, I haven’t been able to find an answer to that question yet.
My mobile, which I’d put on silent, vibrated; the Chief was calling. The operation was over, and we could go back to the station all together.
—Congratulations and well done to all of us. You go; I’ll be there soon, Chief. As for Arzu, well, I’d appreciate it if you left her here with me. The operation’s over. But I’m playing a game with her that still isn’t finished...
With the phone still to my ear, I got closer to her beautiful face, where the make up had all run. I couldn’t resist, and touched her lips with my finger:
—Miss Alev, what shall we call our game?
Arzu was in no fit state to be playing games.

CHAPTER 25
MURAT

Had the most god-awful nightmares. Can’t remember most of them, but the last one – I had it just before I woke up -  was a dark black alsatian curled up on my chest, pressing down on me with all its weight. I could see it crunching bloody chunks of flesh and gristle it’d torn from my throat. Its mouth – right opposite my forehead and under its red eyes – had razor-sharp, bloody teeth. Can even remember that horrible mouth – like a dark well – smelt of shit. This last part of my crazy dream was so lifelike.
After that, I woke up God only knows where, puking my guts up. My back was covered in cold sweat... I noticed my clothes were all dusty and both hands’d been cuffed to a pipe in the filthy, dark room. It was like my voice, a snarl divorced from me, was coming from a long way away.
—Where the fuck is this?
I cleared my throat and yelled:
—Hello? Anyone there? Heey!!
There were no echo or nothing; I must’ve been in a small room. Street sounds were coming from somewhere nearby. I felt sick again; I spewed up bright yellow, bitter bile all over the floor... I pushed my knees up against the wall, and tried to pull at the pipe I was cuffed to and break it. Couldn’t do it. The sweat getting into my nose and mouth went to the back of my throat, and I was left panting from coughing. I tugged on the cuffs with all my strength, and cried out again:
—Get me out of here!... Anyone there?...
I looked around the room, and scratched my brains to try and remember how I’d ended up in this lousy room. I could see like film snippets... That bent-nosed wanker’d put me here... How could I have let my guard down and lain myself open to that, ahh... Yeah, I remember him. And I can remember that fat poof at the door; were those guys cops?
No way, where could the cops find me? Unless?...
The room I was in only had rubbish and dirt in it. I was cuffed to a metal pipe running from ceiling to floor in the corner of the room where the door was, and the area I could reach was limited by my size. Across from me two sash windows looked out onto the street. If anyone tall was walking outside, I could see their hair just... But the street was so noisy and the room was so dark there was no way of reaching no one, not by calling, not by waving. The thick, alloy pipe was attached to an old, waist-high, cast-iron radiator, and it didn’t look like it was about to be torn off the wall.
Those cunts had got me good and proper...
I felt sick again; I was dizzy, and I was starting to pass out. I had to squat on the ground. I closed my eyes and waited a bit for the spasms to pass... It was even difficult for me to look at my watch; it was past twelve. So, I’d been lying here out cold for two and a half hours. They’d taken my blue jacket off, too. I could see they’d dumped it and left it on the floor in the middle of the room in the flickering lights of headlights and neon signs from the window on the right of the room. Murky...
So the bastards’d robbed me... That figures... But why’d they tied me up and left me here like this? They ain’t killed me or locked me up. Why?
I pulled myself together and got up with difficulty. The old legs were shaking. I got thinking; I had to cook up a way to get the fuck out of here, and soon. I looked around on the ground for something hard I’d be able to break the pipe with. My eyes were well used to the dark by now. I lay down and stretched my legs towards the middle of the room. I started to sift through the rubbish like a compass. There was nothing, just a few bits of wood, paper and brick; I pulled them towards me. I could see there was a heap of rubbish towards the corner of the room to my left where the window was. Couldn’t tell what was in it. And anyway, it wasn’t somewhere I could reach. I thought a bit, and saw my only chance was for something to come out of the rubbish.
It was difficult to reach the heap, but I did it holding one of the longish bits of wood I’d just found between my feet. The cuffs’d cut into my wrists and they were making a ring-shaped wound on each one. It might’ve been a half-arsed attempt, but still I sifted  the rubbish and the bits of wood. Then, it was like the wood caught on something heavy. It was difficult, but I dragged it towards me. Then I left it and pulled it towards me with my foot so as I could take a look at it. It was a white piece of marble thick as a man’s hand; must’ve broke off the window sill or else must’ve been left over when the sill was being redone. I grabbed the stone in both hands and started to bash the bracket that joined the pipe to the wall with all my might. I could see the face of the cunt what’d put me here in front of my eyes, and each time I hit the bracket, I imagined his mouth and nose turning to pulp. Then I could see that Arzu bint shamelessly telling the pigs about what she had with me.
God damn the lot of them! That bitch grassed me up; I know it.
The sweat from my face was flying onto the walls; I was foaming at the mouth; couldn’t stop thinking about myself and snarling.
—It can’t be no one else; Mustafa didn’t know I was coming here...
Yeah, it was my mistake; should’ve sorted that Arzu out this morning. You’re getting old, Murat; you can’t move quick like you used to.
I started to slam the stone into the bracket like one possessed. Bits of marble broke off in sparks, got into my eyes, they burnt my eyebrows:
—I’m gonna kill the lot of them!
I cleaned my bloody hands and clothes up as much as I could what with my hands cuffed together and what with using the dirty bits of newspaper lying around. I was shaking from the rush and from the cold. I took my jacket – the one they’d taken off of me and chucked on the floor – and looked in the pockets. Everything’d been nicked. I couldn’t put it on ‘cause my hands were cuffed together.  I grabbed it and headed out into the street.
Now I had to make it to my hideout quicktime.

CHAPTER 26
THE CHIEF

In the Law and Order Division, finishing a case means this: either the file goes to court, or else it’s closed and put on the dusty archive shelves. An investigation goes through many stages until it gets to this final one. The stage we call the beginning of the end – the end of our work anyway – is when you hand over the suspect along with the file containing all the statements and evidence to the public prosecutor.
Now here, in the reception of the Joy Bar, I was planning out the whole of this burocratic process. We had water-tight evidence and statements to be able to lock up Sami Tuzcu’s murderers. Still, in this country, almost nothing is water-tight. But in this case, only a miracle could save that scumbag Murat from life behind bars, as far as I’m concerned...
I took out my earphone. While I was gathering up the papers in front of me, Mert and Serdar came in. I spoke without looking at their exhausted faces:
—Have you taken Mustafa to the station?
Mert answered with a tired voice:
—Yes, Chief.
He pointed inside:
—If Caner’s finished up, are we taking Arzu in, too?
I can read your green-eyed monster soul a mile off, son... You see, that was Caner’s fate; whenever a woman shows any interest, the other officers on duty want to throw her in jail or else put the shit down for Caner...
I tried to get it through to them again that he was under my wing.
—No. Caner’s still got some things to do with her. You just bring the cunt from the building next door in straight away. But be careful, the guy’s very dangerous...
Serdar couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and started to take the piss in a way that makes me mad:
—Ooh, I’m sooo afraid...
‘Good God’, I said under my breath, but didn’t say anything about his camp tone of voice:
—Get a move on, son; we’ve still got a lot of things to do. Mert, don’t leave the lad on his own...
I watched them both rush out and called the station. Tonight Lieutenant Cemil and his team were on duty. He told me nothing important had happened and gave me the list of callers:
—Send two men to tidy things up over here.
—Yes, Sir.
Cemil was a village lad, mature and obedient like a soldier. He was forty and more experienced than Mert.
—Don’t let anyone touch the recordings; tomorrow I’m going to get the transcripts. Understood?
—Understood, Sir.
Before I turned off the machine, I went through Caner and Arzu’s recording one last time. From start to finish it was a very interesting and unique conversation. Here was another one of Caner’s interrogation miracles. Is it possible for someone to be made to talk so well?... This kid really was the darling of Law and Order.
After he’d been kicking around for nine years in narcotics, I had him brought over to us. His late father had been a close colleague of mine, God rest his soul, he was a very good and honest man, too... Caner could have been very successful in Narcotics, actually; he was a handsome, clever, model cop who’d graduated from college and the academy with high marks... What’s more, he was the son of a very highly thought of, well-known Captain killed in the line of duty... He carried out operations that were so clever that, in the division, he made everyone’s jaw drop. But they made him pay for that. Why? Because he was stepping on the buggers’ toes.
At that time Narcotics was in the hands of a terrible bunch. These days, they’ve only just cleaned the place up. And the inevitable happened to poor old Caner. Ahh, I only wish I’d got the boy over in time. I slipped up... While I was listening to the recordings like a proud father listening to recordings of his pianist son, Mert and Serdar came in in a panic.
—Whassup lads. Don’t tell me?...
—Yes, Chief, he snapped the pipe and has gone AWOL...
—Aaagh, fuck it! And fuck you, too! We’ve been working our bollocks off, and all just to nick this jerk!...
I went crazy. I could feel my pulse beating like mad. I couldn’t control myself, and when I grabbed Serdar by the collar, I lost it:
—How long have you been a cop? And you haven’t even worked out how to tie him up half-decently, and now he’s got away! What we gonna do now, huh?  What we gonna do?
Mert rescued him from me. I must have looked bad ‘cause he looked for my pills in my jacket and took one out:
—Chief, just leave it. You know the doctor said not to...
—I’ll start on your bloody doctor right now!...
I was foaming at the mouth; my ears were buzzing... God, just when I was saying it was all over... I said all over... But no... I’m in no fit state...
Mert found half a glass of water from somewhere and made me take my medicine. I could see he was very worried about how I looked:
—Please don’t, Chief, you’ve got a wife and kids to think about...
Then that bastard Serdar had to go and stick his bleedin’ oar in:
—Y’know, Chief, it’s got nothing to do with how he was cuffed. He snapped the pipe and left. And d’oh, we didn’t leave anyone to mind him; I told you s...
After my slap landed on his face, my anger had gone. I regretted hitting Serdar. Thank God he had enough respect – plus a little fear – not to try and talk back. He moved back a bit without saying a word. When I opened my mouth, without me wanting it to, my voice came out as a growl.
—Just shut it, son, OK! You know exactly why we said it.
Mert stepped in again to keep things from getting out of hand:
—Chief, the guy can’t have got too far in his state: his hands are cuffed; he’s penniless; he’s got no ID on him. If we seal off all the key points, I think we’ll nick him in no time. Shall I call the patrols?
—What patrols, Mert? Are you out of your mind? While we’re at it, why don’t we tell them how Tuzcu was killed as well...
—No, Chief, I was just...
I slumped onto the chair. There was nothing to be done. It had already happened. A bird in the hand... in this fucked-up world... When I’d got my breath back, I stood up. Mert and Serdar were hanging around aimlessly without a clue about what to do. At the same time, more and more people had started to leave the bar. We were helping the people who’d come to get their jackets from the cloakroom in our own amateurish way. They must have guessed something was up ‘cause they kept giving us strange looks out of the corner of their eye. Finally, I collected my thoughts, went outside, and beckoned our lads over.
—Go to the station immediately and await my instructions. Get out of my sight!
Mert, along with Serdar, before leaving, went back inside and tidied things up. I rubbed my face with my hands like I was sanding it. I could see I’d not be able to get anything else out of Mert and his team, who hadn’t slept for forty hours and were tired. I felt I should say something as they left:
—Wait a minute... I’ll call 911 about a mugger, and they can look. I’ll just give them a description of that no-good son of a bitch. It’s not like I think they’re going to find anything, though...
My voice and hands were shaking out of anger...
—You were on duty all last night... You’re no use to anyone like that; go home and get some shut-eye; I’m calling a meeting at half eight in the morning. At the station...
—Yes, Chief...
They left without looking back. They were sick of the sight of me. I guess I wasn’t in a good way. After I’d called the patrols, I tidied up and headed home. As I was driving, I kept having sudden chest pains; I just took a deep breath and tried to get on with it...
I’d been getting on with it for my whole life...

—19th NOVEMBER - SUNDAY—

CHAPTER 27
MURAT

Got into the front porch of a building in the back streets of Beyoğlu and hid. It was the middle of November, and the evenings were getting freezing. And if that wasn’t enough, a shitty rain had come on along with the wind tonight. I’d only got a shirt on over my vest; I was wearing my jacket over my shoulders and I was freezing. I’d been wandering around shivering for about half an hour in the dark streets of Beyoğlu, with the cuffs tight on my bloody hands. I had to find myself some money urgently, and escape somewhere safe.
I was looking at the other end of the street from the front of the door where I was sheltering. I thought I could see the shadow of a woman in a long coat and I waited for her to get closer. No, I wasn’t wrong. I was happy as Larry now; ’cause the woman – I could see she was well past it from her clothes and walk – was walking from the opposite footpath towards the end of the street where I was at. I took a step back and hid myself well; I needed to wait for her to get a bit closer before making a move. But just then, a light went on in the window right next to the door where I was. Some old biddy opened the window and squawked:
—Who’s there?
I waited without saying nothing. Thought she couldn’t see me. When I poked my head out and looked over, I saw she was leaning out the window and looking at me.
—I’m talking to you; who’s there?
Didn’t know what to do at first. Then I pulled myself together and spoke like I was pissed/a drunk.
—It’s nothing, dear/m’am... just standing here...
—You lunatic... Hasan, come here, my boy, some drunk is having a piss on our doorstep...
My God, say it ain’t so; I was in no fit state to take care of the old witch’s spacko son. And I was in no mood for the woman in the long coat to bolt ‘cause she was the only thing that made me feel a bit positive. I tried to calm the old biddy down a bit and get her to shut up.
—No, no, m’am, whaddyou mean having a piss... I left home not wearing nothing warm; got very cold; that’s why I came in here... My old momma’s in hospital round here. I’m gonna see her...
Dunno why, but almost all the old women living round Beyoğlu are off their rocker. And talking to this one had the exact opposite effect; she started shrieking:
—Aaa, you lunatic... Shoo!...Shoo!...
She’d put me in such a difficult situation I was fuming. I didn’t do nothing so as not to make things more difficult:
—Dear, why are you shouting... What’s the harm in me warming myself up here a bit, huh?
The more I begged her, the more she stuck her heels in:
—You animal, you, look, I’ll call the police now!! Hasaann, get over here, my boy...
The woman who was coming towards me got scared by the noise and crossed over. The rain’d got a lot heavier, and I was well pissed off.  I left the porch in a right state, and ran off to the end of the street. Things’d taken a turn for the worse; now I’d have to wander the dark streets – maybe for hours, hungry and homeless, shivering in the rain - til I got another crack. I’d really gotta get my hands on some cash; I didn’t even have a bus ticket to my name. They’d even taken the keys to my hideout, fucking cunts... And I hadn’t managed to get shot of the handcuffs. I was trying to come up with other solutions quickly, and at the same time I was  muttering under my breath.
Just then, the woman – the one who got scared by the racket that senile old bat kicked up and crossed the road – took her keys out of her bag, stopped, and crossed back over to my side of the street. I hid at the street corner pronto. I was like a dog with two tails; my prey got really close.
Just what the doctor ordered...

28
ARZU

I was hunched on the edge of the bar stool. I was slowly starting to sober up, and had begun to grasp a few of life’s truths. I was so confused that I was even thinking of putting an end to it all tonight. What sense was there in carrying with life? This man sitting opposite me, who was the only thing that could keep me clinging on, would disappear within a few days, and I’d go to prison, and I’d have to restart my fairy-tale life from scratch after who knows how many years...
When I thought about the details of what kind of life that would be, it made me want to slash my wrists. I should have got it over with tonight... I checked the sleeping pills in my bag. There were fifteen sugar-coated pills. Given that I could sleep soundly for eight hours on half a pill, I guessed I’d never wake up again on fifteen.
It was as if Caner, sitting on the bar stool opposite me and watching my silent face, could read my mind, and he tried to console me in a gentle voice.
—I’ll do whatever I can to save you from all this with the minimum of cuts and bruises, Arzu...
—I’ve deserved all that’s coming to me... Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. I feel washed out and drained...
I really did feel completely spent. Caner’s words and touches stopped my tears for a time. I wiped my nose with one of the Kleenex in my bag, excused myself and went to the toilet. In the ladies’ room, a woman was looking in the mirror and straightening up her hair. When she saw me, she looked concerned and screwed up her face. I looked away from her and went into the cubicle.
I thought about whether my life had any ways out, but I couldn’t find one. When I came out, there was no one at the washbasin; anyway, the people in the club had slowly begun to drift off to other places. While I was washing my hands, I looked at my face in the mirror; it was heart-rending in every sense of the word. I cleaned up the make up that had run with a piece of toilet paper and washed my face. When I came back, Caner was at the bar talking on his mobile. When I went up to him, he hung up immediately and turned to me.
—I’m going to take you to the station so that you can make a statement. You can relax after that. I’ll tell you what you should say in your statement in a moment.
This was the end of the road... We shook hands again; he looked at me and smiled. It was written all over his face that he was a good person... He looked at the guy sorting out the bills at the bar, and then turned to me.
—Now, why don’t we each have a coffee? I’ve had a lot to drink this evening... And, cross my heart and hope to die, I’d given up drinking three weeks ago. I only started again thanks to you...
—Really? I guess there’s no one I haven’t been harmful to recently...
I couldn’t hold back and started to cry again. I was suddenly feeling really, really fragile. I desperately didn’t want the badness in me to pollute someone like Caner.
—I really didn’t want it to be like this. All my life, I’ve avoided crime; I mean, I haven’t even got any parking tickets...
Caner wiped away my tears with the back of his hand again, and held both of my hands in his.
—Don’t worry about that now... There, there, don’t cry; I told you, everything’s going to be alright...
Caner ordered two Turkish coffees with little sugar from the barman. Just then, my mobile rang. Someone was calling from an unknown number. It was half one in the morning; but I still answered after a little hesitation. On the other end of the line, there was a voice that I knew all too well.
—They kill birds that sing at the wrong time in my neck of the woods. Know that you’re dead, Arzu...
Then that voice, which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, cut off without waiting for me to say anything. He’d turned his phone off. Hundreds of times, I’d regretted being fooled by that man and being turned into his accomplice and slave. But it was too late to do anything about it. Now he was on my trail, and wanted to get his revenge by killing me. I must have looked like I’d seen a ghost because Caner looked at me and asked about the call.
—What’s happened, Arzu? Is there something wrong?
—He called... Murat...
I shrugged my shoulders involuntarily.
—Told me that he’s going to kill me. He must have given your lot the slip.
The calm look on Caner’s face was suddenly gone. This was something that he hadn’t been expecting at all. He called his Chief. He turned away from me and spoke to him... As I had guessed, Murat had got away from them. Caner listened over the phone to the Chief’s instructions for a long time; so that I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable, he continued his conversation in the bar away from me…
—If you’ll allow me, I’ll take Arzu to a safe address, Chief. My house...
I don’t think that the Chief gave a negative answer to Caner’s request, but he didn’t neglect to say a few things that I couldn’t make out.
—OK, Chief. Don’t worry. See you in the morning. Good night. I’m getting on to the telephone that Murat called from just now.
He turned to me and stretched his hand out towards my bag:
—Can you give me that phone?
I reached my mobile over to him. He didn’t take it in his hand; he just made a sign for me to enter the call register. He looked at the number that had called and told the Chief. Then he ended the conversation and turned to me.
—I don’t really understand why he threatened you...
When I thought about it, I also felt that there was something strange about it. What more did I know? I had already told everything I knew, and that made me into his accomplice. I’d been deceived by him and about to get into the jail, and he was the one who had ran out, not me. There was no extra reason for him to threaten me.
—I don’t know... I suppose he thinks that I talked and gave him up to you...
—You haven’t given the police any information other than his identity and Mustafa’s home address... That’s very strange.
—Didn’t Murat ever talk to you about his mother and where he lived or other relatives?
—No. At the moment, I’m really confused, but I really don’t know very much about him.
—Come on, then, let’s make a move. We’ll carry on tomorrow...
I pretended that I hadn’t heard his conversation with the Chief.
—Where are we going? Am I going to spend the night in the cells?
—If I put two guards on the door, and issue the necessary warnings, it could be safer for you to stay in the cells, actually, but I’m in no state to organise anything tonight. I thought it would be better for you to stay at my house. Of course, if that’s alright with you...
—Yes, of course. There’s no problem at all...
Actually, I was over the moon... Instead of staying in a cold, dark cell, what could be better than sleeping in his house and in his arms?... Even if I was going to have been staying in the cells, I would have cried and begged for him to stay with me... I would have said that I was afraid.
And I really was afraid...

CHAPTER 29
CANER

When we left the Joy Bar, our lads, like the rest of the customers, had packed up their belongings and decamped. Two young officers from the station had come to take away the cables and the recording devices. I thanked the club’s manager and the guys behind the bar for everything, and told them to send the bill to the station and who to make the invoice out to. They told me that the Chief had already sorted everything out. Then, the real bouncer at the Joy Bar went to the carpark, and brought my car. I climbed into my old banger with Arzu, and we set off towards Ortaköy.
Arzu barely spoke in the car; she only asked if we’d be going to her house for her to pick up some things. I told her that that could be dangerous and that I had almost everything she could possibly need at my house. And really, I even had sanitary towels –winged and wingless– at home...
Actually, it would have been safer and no doubt better for Arzu to have stayed at the cells in the Law and Order Branch. And I did give her that option. But she said that she wasn’t psychologically ready for that yet and that she’d prefer to stay with me in my house. In reality, I wanted her to stay with me more than anything else. A bachelor’s loneliness always has something of the tragic about it.
We arrived home. The whole way there, I had been checking if we were being followed or not. We parked on the street and went up to the flat. I double-locked the door, and after drawing the curtains, showed Arzu round the house. I showed which bathroom she could use, and I got things like slippers, a toothbrush and a towel ready.
—You sleep in the bedroom; the sheets have just been changed. It’s safer there. I’ll sleep here on the sofa.
Arzu broke her silence. Her voice came out like a whisper:
—I don’t want to be any trouble.
I wanted to make her laugh a little and relax:
—Oh, don’t worry, it’s no trouble... Of course, it’s a bit difficult for me to be under the same roof as a dangerous criminal...
She laughed bitterly. Then, she hugged me with a pleasing gentleness and kissed me lightly on the lips:
—You’re really sweet, Caner...
—You are, too... Aren’t you sleepy yet?
—No, not yet.
She hugged me tight; my house phone started to ring. At this time of night, that wasn’t something usual. I picked up, but although I kept saying hello and waiting, there was no reply. Someone was on the other end, though...  I could only hear him breathing faintly.  Arzu got nervous.
—Murat has found us...
—What do you mean?
—He’s the sort of person who would do that to harrass someone who he’s after.
—So he thinks I’m afraid...
—Oh, he’s definitely thinking that... Bu actually, the one who’s really afraid of him is me...
—There’s nothing to be afraid of, Arzu. You are completely safe here...
—Have you got a gun?
—No, I don’t use a gun...
Arzu made some martial arts movements and shouted in a Japanese accent as if she was making fun of me.
—Unarmed Homicide Detective Caner versus The Kirrer, Black Murat... Or do you know Judo, or something like that?
—Let’s say a kind of karate. As you know, ‘kara-te’ means ‘empty hand’ in Japanese.
I looked at her and winked. She snuggled up close to me:
—I’m very tired.
—Let’s go to bed.
—You could sleep next to me... You know, I’m a little scared...
—I think that would hardly be appropriate...
It took such a great effort to say that. Because, as a matter of fact, I desperately needed to sleep in a woman’s arms...
—And besides, it’s better for our safety if I sleep in the living room... So if anyone does break in, I’ll be able to catch him before he can get to the bedroom.
—Yes, you’re completely right; you’ll catch him straight away with your empty hands... And it’s not like I had any real reason to be afraid...
She paused a moment and asked me something that I hadn’t been expecting:
—You know, if you do sleep with me, I hope you’re not thinking that later on you’ll be indebted to me or anything, are you?
At first, I laughed a lot at that one. Then, my old amours came to mind and my face fell. Until recently, I had been a man who was never as impolite as to reject any woman’s advances. But now, I had begun to be really afraid of getting too close to women who I had met through work. I’d got into trouble a few times for things like that, and I had got myself into situations that had been harmful to me in every possible way. That’s why I had to not show any weakness. With a stern voice, I tried to make my position clear.
—What do you think I am, for God’s sake? Some kind of lout or something who would think a thing like that? Look, don’t draw it out anymore, just go and sleep. And don’t forget that you’re here under arrest...
Arzu must have been confused by that. I think that she, too, until this time, had never been rejected by a man she had propositioned. She went away from me with a broken heart. In the middle of the room, she hung her head and just waited not really knowing what to do next. I took her by the shoulders and turned her towards  me, then kissed her gently on the lips. Then, I directed her body to the corridor leading to the bedroom, gave her a light spank on her backside and smiled.
—Sleep well...
She smiled sheepishly, raised her hand and waved.  While she was going towards the bedroom, I started to make my bed up on the sofa in the living room. In fact, I was all too used to sleeping on the sofa from the years when I was married.

CHAPTER 30
THE CHIEF

The meeting room in our division was generally empty at half nine on a Sunday morning. But this morning, I had practically mobilised every last man jack of them. I came in at the crack of dawn, assigned more hours to Homicide teams two and four, and gave them all the cases except for the Sami Tuzcu case.
I made Mert, Serdar, and an officer from Records and Data Processing line up round the table along with all the documents. No other branches and no one else had any information about the case, and it was going to stay that way until the case was solved.
Then I made my plan and programme about what I was going to say to Inspector Faruk Kuloğlu and other colleagues in relevant departments. The lads had come in early and had already started to work. Caner was going to join us from his work station at home via computer link. The operator set up a connection with him, and fixed the settings. And now he, too, had appeared on the screen looking like he’d just got out of bed. We said hello. ‘Cause the person in charge of the file was Mert, head of team three, I let him speak first:
—Yes, so let’s take a look what we’ve got... Mert?
—The mobile phone is registered in Murat Gümüşlü’s own name. We’re looking into the numbers in his directory and the conversations he’s had in the last month. The GSM company’s passed the recordings on to us; Serdar’s going to go to Murat’s official place of residence in a bit.
—Let’s find his other associates; then let’s take a look at where he called from to make his threats.
—It must’ve been stolen. It’s registered under the name ‘Ayşe Gönenç’. We’ve located her address; this morning she had the Telecom company close her line, and at the moment her phone can’t make or receive calls. And I’ve sent someone over there so they can speak to the woman...
—Don’t send people everywhere, son. Let them call, send faxes or emails... We’re living in the communication age. Only go to important lines of inquiry, or else it’ll be too late... Have you looked at the keys that were on Murat?
—They’re normal house keys; it’s not possible to establish where they belong to...
—Anyway, there weren’t any car keys. Let’s look into whether he’s got a car registered in his name. From Vehicle Registration. He must have gone there by taxi... Have the guys from the station investigated the area round the bar? Any eye witnesses or anything?
—Chief, the guys from the station are a lost cause anyway... They probably didn’t do anything last night.
—Yes, you’re probably right.
I didn’t need anything else from Mert for now. He excused himself to go and sort out some things he had to write down, and went off to one side. I turned to Serdar.
—Yes, Serdar?
—I’ve enlarged the photo on his ID and had it copied. He’s got no previous, as you know. I’ve written and sent off an application petition to the public prosecutor to see if he’s got any cases pending. I’m going to ask for information about his relatives from the Registry Office.
—What else?
—Nothing else, Chief... We’ve only been here for an hour...
—Look, son, an hour is all it takes for there to be a revolution; get your finger out. Now, sort out the things you have to do here immediately; transfer the stuff to be done over the phone to colleagues in the bureau; let’s give the research work to good old Nazım. Call him here, I’ll talk to him. Let the other lads know how serious the situation is: we’ve got to drop everything and catch this man. As you know, Caner is under threat too...
Serdar was full of himself as usual.
—Don’t worry, Chief. Even if he’s vanished into thin air, we’ll nick him today.
—We don’t have any other option, anyway... We can only hide from the reporters for one more day.
‘Doctor’ Nazım was one of the men in the branch who I liked and trusted the most. He was a very decent man who’d taught himself about electronics and mechanics and had characteristics you rarely find in a cop. While he was a radio NCO, he left the army and wanted to be a cop. That’s why our boys thought he was a bit past it... He had made a name for himself for knowing a lot and being hard-working. There was no one in the bureau better at researching and writing reports than him.
—Yes, Sir, you asked for me?
—Nazım, they should have told you what’s happening; you’re going to set up a base in my office straight away; get it hooked up to the lab, finger prints, everywhere... The lads will give you all the additional info now. Call your family, til we crack this one, this is home; let them know. I’m expecting a first-rate performance from you on this one. Alright?
For a man who likes working, this was like music to his ears. Nazım’s eyes were shining.
—Understood, Chief... What’s the subject?
—The Sami Tuzcu murder... I’ve got some calls to make, but while I’m doing that, Mert can explain the case to you. He can give you the paperwork. But now, set up the system straight away, enter all the information, and start researching; we’ll have our first progress meeting in an hour. And be in constant contact with Caner, as well, and keep him posted on everything that’s going on.
We were in a position to wrap this case up while it was still hot. Or else, like it is most of the time, this file would take its place on the cold case shelf, and everything would come crashing to a halt.
And that was what we were used to in our Police Department.

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