“Does she have any footage from Saturday?”
Detective Muhtar points to the laptop on the little half-table near the cash register and says something to the hairdresser. She nods, opens the laptop, and taps on the keys. She stands back to let them see.
Julia looks over Detective Muhtar’s shoulder at the grainy, black-and-white footage. Although the camera’s wide-angled, it doesn’t catch the front of Club Asena. Detective Muhtar zooms in and catches the laneway to the left of the club. But even though the laneway is busy with people, it’s impossible to see any human features. It’s simply too far away. Detective Muhtar fast forwards until just before midnight, the time Clara said she first saw Toni at the club.
“Stop!” cries Julia. There’s a figure, a woman in dark jeans and boots. “That could be Toni. She walks a lot like her.”
Leo studies the image. “Julia’s right. She does.”
“It is Toni, I know it is,” says Julia, heart racing.
Detective Muhtar speeds up the footage until he reaches 1:30 a.m. then slows it down frame-by-frame.
Julia points to the screen. “Wait, there she is again.”
They watch the footage in two-second increments. This time the woman’s body language is different. She glances twice over her shoulder, back toward the club, then hurries away.
“She looks scared.”
She reaches the corner then stops abruptly. There’s a sports car on the side of the road, a yellow Lamborghini. The driver appears to be speaking to her through the unwound window. It’s a man, but they can’t see his face.
The hairdresser says something, looking concerned.
“What is it?” says Julia. “Does she know who he is?”
The hairdresser raises her voice, upset, and points to the door.
“She wants us to leave,” says Detective Muhtar.
Julia’s alarmed. “What? Why?”
Leo taps on the computer screen. “Hey you guys, look.”
They turn back to the screen. Toni gets in the car with the man. In the next frame, the car is gone and so is she.
36
Christine stares at the footage on the laptop. “Where did you say you got this?”
“At a hairdressing salon across the road from the nightclub,” says Julia.
They fall silent as they watch Toni get into the Lamborghini and see the car drive away. Julia feels her throat close. She’s never felt so powerless.
Christine sits back in her chair. She seems shaken. Julia catches Leo’s eye and he returns her look. He’s clocked Christine’s strange reaction, too.
“You recognize him? the man?” says Julia.
Christine gets to her feet and crosses the floor. “This bar worker, Clara, did she see who Toni was with?”
Julia shakes her head. “She said Toni was alone, but then Clara had to move to a different part of the club and lost sight of her, so I guess it’s possible Toni did meet someone inside without Clara noticing.”
Christine frowns. “And you’re sure she’s telling the truth?”
Leo crosses his arms and stares at Christine. “You never answered Julia’s question.”
“Sorry?”
“About the man in the car. The hairdresser had a strange reaction when she saw the car, too. Kinda like yours, actually.”
But Christine doesn’t miss a beat. She offers an apologetic smile.
“Sorry,” she says, picking up her satchel. “I’m tired. There’s a developing international incident in Cairo. I’ve been up all night.” She glances at her watch. “Which reminds me, I’ve got a plane to catch.” Christine ejects the flash drive from her laptop and slips it into the inner pocket of her satchel. “I’ll take this, see if I can get it enhanced to make out the number plate and the driver.”
Julia looks at her, startled. “You’re leaving? What about Toni? This is the first real break we’ve had. You can’t leave now.”
Christine shoulders her bag. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in the morning.”
“But we can’t afford to waste any time. Who knows what this man has done with her. We need to check for other footage immediately,” says Julia, her panic rising.
Christine’s heads for the door. “Agreed, and Detective Muhtar will take care of it.”
He nods from the corner where he’s been oddly silent.
Christine pauses and looks at Leo and Julia. “Listen, we have to be careful not to speculate or jump to conclusions. There could be an innocent explanation for why Toni is getting into that car.”
“You’re kidding?” says Leo. “What kind of innocent explanation could there be?”
Christine’s cell phone rings. She looks at the screen. “I have to go. I’ll be in touch.”
Then she walks out the door.
37
Julia waits until after Detective Muhtar drops them off at the hotel and they’re back in her room before turning to Leo.
“What the heck is going on, Leo? Christine knew that man. I swear it. And what’s wrong with Detective Muhtar? He could barely look me in the eye.”
“Yeah, something is definitely up.”
Julia shakes her head in frustration. “They’re deliberately keeping us in the dark. We have a right to know what’s going on. We’re the family, for God’s sake.” She pauses and looks at him. “We should get a lawyer.”
“A lawyer? What good’s a lawyer going to do?”
Julia stares at the carpet where Leo is standing. Spreading out around his feet is a wet patch the size of Canada.
“For Pete’s sake,” she snaps. “How many times have I told Ada that fridge needs fixing?” Julia goes to the bathroom, gets some towels, dumps them on the wet carpet, and stomps on them. “This fucking country.”
“Leave it, Julia.”
Julia tosses the sodden towels aside, kneels down, and reaches in behind the fridge. “And her solution is to simply turn the damn thing back on. It defies logic.”
Julia finds the switch, along with a handful of dust bunnies, and pulls out the plug.
“I’ll go get Ada,” says Leo. “She can get you a new fridge or put you in a different room.”
Julia sits back on her calves and wipes her dirty hands on a wet towel.
“Forget it.”
They sit in silence.
Julia exhales and blinks at the ceiling. “Sorry. This isn’t your fault.”
