“Is Daniel from the States, too?”
“Ha!” says Conner. “Don’t let him hear you say that. That man has the Union Jack tattooed on his heart.”
“Daniel’s English,” Yasmin explains, somewhat proudly.
Julia nods. “I see.”
“Yeah, we’re practically the United Nations of travelers,” says Sally, wryly.
Yasmin takes a sip of her coffee before continuing, “Toni was heading to China, and so were Daniel and I, so she decided to join us.”
“You get to know each other in hostels,” explains Debbie. “You might decide to tag along then drop off when another place catches your eye, or you get work like a teaching gig or hospitality, in which case you’ll stay behind to earn some money and organize to meet up again somewhere down the track in a few weeks’ time.”
Yasmin pushes her gold bracelet up her arm. “When Toni, Daniel, and I reached the Vietnam-China border there was a storm and dreadful flooding, so we found a rundown guest house and these guys were there.”
“We were holed up in that flea pit for a week,” says Debbie, munching.
“Come on, Debs, it wasn’t that bad,” says Nicole.
“Let’s just say we got very good at playing mahjong.”
Yasmin looks out at the view wistfully. “After the storm passed, we all got as far as Beijing, then some of us decided to go our separate ways and meet up in Istanbul to travel around Turkey together. Everyone agreed to meet up here in The Hostel by last Sunday.”
“I had a friend who’s an art major living in Beijing so I stayed there and flew into Turkey last Friday,” says Nicole. “Debbie, Conner, and Sally wanted to go to Chengdu, you know, the panda place, so they left the group and arrived in Turkey last Saturday.”
Sally stubs out her cigarette. “I do have a tongue, you know.”
“Do you ever,” says Conner.
“And you’ll never know the pleasure of it, carrot top,” she says, giving him the finger.
Yasmin looks at Julia and Leo. “I guess the point is that we were all supposed to be here by last Sunday, and all of us were, apart from Toni.”
The door swings open.
“Hello there.”
Julia looks up and feels herself redden. The tall dark-haired man standing in the doorway is very good-looking. In a casual sort of way. Wavy hair in need of a cut. Stubble. T-shirt and jeans. Capable and friendly. Daniel, she presumes.
Yasmin jumps up to greet him with a kiss. “Hey, babe. I thought it better to let you sleep.” She threads her arm through his and turns to Julia and Leo. “This is Daniel Bambury. Daniel, this is Julia and Leo.”
He shakes their hands.
“Any news?” he says, frowning.
“Nothing so far.”
Daniel runs his hand over his handsome face. “Lord, you must be worried.”
“Yes,” says Julia. “Very. Yasmin, you were telling us about Toni?”
Yasmin nods, reclaiming her position on the sofa, this time with Daniel settling in beside her. “Toni wanted to have a look around Greece before meeting up in Turkey. Daniel and I were supposed to go with her but we had to pull out at the last minute.”
“It was my fault,” says Daniel. “I got a call-up for an orphanage in Bulgaria.”
“Daniel’s a doctor,” says Yasmin, gazing up at him in adoration. “He works with kids, delivering vaccine programs with NGOs.”
Daniel waves her off. “It’s nothing. My job, that’s all.”
“Ah, such modesty,” jokes Conner.
“Daniel has a strong humanitarian streak,” says Yasmin. “But doesn’t like to admit it.”
He looks young for a doctor, Julia thinks. Even so, she can visualize him with his sleeves rolled up, white coat billowing out as he strides through the maze of refugee tents administering to sick infants.
“I went to Bulgaria with Daniel,” says Yasmin. “We arrived in Istanbul last Sunday in time to meet everyone else. The only person not here was Toni.”
“And she never checked in at reception?” asks Julia.
Yasmin shakes her head and starts getting emotional. “I honestly thought she’d got sidetracked in Greece but by Tuesday, I knew something wasn’t right. No email, no Facebook, no Insta. Nothing. I mean Toni posted every day, multiple times a day.” She blinks back tears. “That’s when I contacted you.”
The group falls silent.
“You must get close traveling together,” says Leo.
“Yeah, you look out for each other. Share food, tampons, whatever,” says Debbie.
“Have the police spoken to you yet?” asks Julia.
“They came yesterday,” says Nicole. “Some old dude.”
“Detective Muhtar,” says Leo.
“Yeah, him.”
“I’m not sure I trust the man,” says Julia.
Sally picks a thread of stray tobacco off her tongue. “That’s one thing you learn traveling—sometimes the systems aren’t what you expect them to be. There’s a lot of corruption in these countries. Everyone wants a cut. They think you’re a rich tourist and don’t understand you’re traveling on a shoestring budget, eking out a stale loaf of bread to last for the week.”
“That’s for sure,” says Conner. “You don’t know how many US dollars I’ve had to slip in my passport just to cross a border legally.”
“Yeah, money definitely talks,” says Debbie, nodding.
“But you’ve got your consulate working on the matter, I take it?” says Daniel.
“Yes,” says Julia. “But our representative made it clear the Turkish police are leading the investigation.”
Daniel looks at her softly. “Julia, I’m sure I speak for everyone here when I say that if there’s anything you need, anything at all, we’ll do our utmost to help. We all love Toni and, like you, we’re all praying she’s found safe
