Arabesk

unusual in the lyrics, those supposedly written by Tansu were another matter. He looked down at the pad upon which he had jotted the words and frowned. Surely these references to the beloved object as 'my peacock', 'hated, adored peacock', 'peacock of my heart' and 'resplendent bird of blue and green' could not be coincidental? Loving, killing, dying for the peacock… Excessive, like her overblown affection for Erol, but at the same time, if Erol or even Tansu were of the Yezidi faith, surely unwise also. As Dr Halman had said, people just didn't understand them and, as the X in the space for religion on their identity cards proved, things people did not understand they frequently chose to both fear and despise. Not that Erol, or even the strangely knowledgeable Coktin, had Xs on their cards. But then perhaps Ikmen was just seeing devil worshippers everywhere now in the early, lonely watches of the night It would not be the first time he had seen the shadow of something that did not, conventionally, exist Ikmen smiled at the thought and then put his pad down on the floor, the word 'conventional' resounding loudly in his brain.

'Conventionally' all this musing on songs and slightly off-key occurrences was a total waste of time. There was no evidence for any of this and besides, even if Erol Urfa did belong to some sort of odd sect, that didn't necessarily have any bearing upon his wife's death. No. However, just the inkling that there might be a secret of some sort here bothered Ikmen. He didn't like secrets. Secrets could cause damage or even, in his own case, an unhealthy curiosity now over forty years old. But were the unknown circumstances surrounding his mother's death on the same level as wondering whether people might or might not belong to a minority religion? Yes and no.

If someone, as yet unknown, had killed because of it then it was even more important than his own personal demons.

As the night ravelled up around them, black and thick with closed-in heat, those who saw, in their waking or sleeping dreams, the body of Ruya Urfa lying small and alone in the mortuary stopped for a pause where real sleep should be. All waiting for the unrefreshing and already exhausting dawn.

Chapter 11

When Suleyman entered his office the following morning, he found Arto Sarkissian's full report on the corpse of Ruya Urfa on his desk. Although not personally wounding as Zelfa Halman's statement regarding the treatment of Cengiz Temiz had been, it did, nevertheless, make grim reading. Poisoned, as they already knew, by cyanide, Ruya Urfa had been in the early stages of pregnancy when she died. Although her husband was certainly unaware of this, whether Ruya herself knew of her condition could only be guessed at. Her husband, Suleyman recognised, would have to be made aware of this fact He also knew that he would have to be the one to tell him. He put the report to one side with a sigh just as Coktin first knocked and then entered his office.

'Good morning, sir,' the younger man said as he slipped lightly into the chair in front of Suleyman's desk

'The report on Ruya Urfa,' Suleyman said as he retrieved the paper and then pushed it across at his deputy. 'Some would say,' he continued as he

watched a grave-faced Coktin begin to read, 'that our perpetrator has the blood of two people on their hands.'

A minute or so of silence followed as Coktin took in what was intelligible to him from the report. Suleyman, for his part, stared out of the window and smoked. The pregnancy aside, Arto Sarkissian's report had brought to his attention something that, amid his involvement with all the people around this crime, had all but slipped his attention. What had actually killed Ruya Urfa had been poison. Cyanide. Not something that, thankfully, one came across every, day. He knew that it had industrial uses, although he didn't know what, but there had to be a limited number of places from which it could be purchased or stolen. And, given Coktin's forcefully expressed opinions regarding the supposed innocence of Erol Urfa, it was probably not a bad a idea to give him the task of looking into this aspect. Besides, the disappearance of Urfa's only alibi for the night of the murder, Ali Mardin, had rather thrown the investigative emphasis back upon the singer. After all, there had to be more to Ali's absence than just simply an identity card violation. But, until the circulation of Mardin's description bore fruit there was no real way of telling.

'Mr Urfa will have to be told about this,' Coktin said as he put the report back down onto Suleyman's desk. 'Do you want me to-'

'No. No, that's my job,' Suleyman answered with a sigh.

'Not pleasant'

'No. Although I suppose he will have Mr Aksoy to help him through.'

'Oh, er,' Coktin stumbled, 'um, he's not actually at Aksoy's any more actually, sir.'

Suleyman frowned. 'Oh?'

'No, he's, er, rented another apartment in the same block. I think it's number 1/3.'

Suleyman leaned across his desk and eyed his colleague narrowly. 'And how do you know this, Coktin?'

'Well, he phoned me actually.'

'I trust that was through the switchboard here,' Suleyman said sternly.

Coktin laughed, nervously. 'Oh, but yes, of course!'

'I mean I would hate to think that you were giving out your mobile and private numbers.'

'No!'

'After all, with Ali Mardin no longer available for comment Mr Urfa has effectively lost his alibi for the time being.'

'Yes, but-'

'And research does suggest that the person most likely to have committed a homicide is frequently also the person who 'discovers' the body. As I keep on telling you, Coktin, Mr Urfa is still a suspect and is therefore not a suitable person for you to be seen consorting with.' He eyed Coktin sharply. 'You will cease all contact with him from now on.' 'But, sir-'

Suleyman held up one silencing hand. 'This is not open to discussion!' Then with a sigh, he settled back into his chair once again. 'Besides, I have an important task for you right now.'

Coktin did not answer but rather just looked up to indicate that he was paying attention.

'I would like you to go over to the Forensic Institute and gather some information for me about cyanide. With regard to people, we seem to be running around in circles to no good effect. Perhaps if we look at the substance used to kill Ruya Urfa we may have more luck. Perhaps the substance, or an individual's potential access to it, may help us to identify that person or people we really need to concentrate upon.'

Coktin, somewhat calmer in demeanour now, took out his notebook and pen. 'Very well sir.'

'I know that cyanide is employed for industrial purposes, but I don't know what. That is point one. Point two, I need to know where it might be purchased, and point three, it would be useful to know whether it has any domestic uses. For instance, some poisons may be routinely employed to kill pests in the home. Some may even be used medicinally. I believe there is a type of rat poison that is also used as a blood-thinning agent'

Coktin dutifully wrote all of this down and then looked up. 'So do you want me to go over now then, sir?'

'Hie sooner the better,' Suleyman said as he retrieved his jacket from the back of his chair. 'You might also see if they've made any progress with those rnink fibre samples from Tansu's coat It might be a bit early yet,

but…' '

'All right' Coktin put his notebook and pen back into his pocket and stood up. 'So what are we doing with regard to Cengiz Temiz, sir?'

'I'm still hanging on to him, just,' Suleyman said. He picked his car keys up from his desk. 'Although Mr Avedykian is moving to bring him before a judge as soon as possible’

'Right'

'And if the judge decides that the evidence against Mr Temiz is outweighed by his lack of capacity then he will walk.' Suleyman shrugged. 'But the law must take its course.'

'Not everybody thinks like you, you know,' Coktin said. 'I mean you could just beat whatever it is Temiz knows out of him. People do.'

'Yes, I know.' Suleyman looked down at the floor. 'And I almost did that once. But Inspector Ikmen stopped me, luckily. Had I done so all the reasons why I joined the force would have disappeared.'

'Yes, but with so many others-'