Arabesk

'You know, where I come from policemen are not like you.'

'Are they not?' Ikmen said. 'Some would say that was a good thing.'

'Not me,' the singer said with an intense look at the policeman. 'I would say that you are one of the most decent men I have ever had the good fortune to meet'

Although Ikmen was not one to be easily embarrassed, he did now feel more than a little awkward and so he just grunted his thanks while turning his attention, and his eyes, to the mess on his desk once again. Before Erol could become any more effusive in his praise, there was a knock at the office door. 'Come!'

The door opened to reveal Suleyman with a rather excited light in his eyes. Somewhat incongruously, to Ikmen's way of thinking, he was holding a large jar of dark yellow liquid.

'Oh, Cetin, I saw the light on and, er,' as his eyes lit upon Erol Urfa, he looked surprised. 'Oh, Mr Urfa, I…'

'Mr Urfa came to give you some information he thinks might be pertinent,' Ikmen said as he spared a brief thought for the pleasure he was going to get out of telling Suleyman that he had been right about the singer.

'Ah.

'I have actually spoken to Inspector Ikmen,' Erol said, then turning to Ikmen he asked, 'Do I have to go through it all again with Inspector Suleyman?'

'No,' Ikmen replied. 'I will tell him and as I've said, if this proves to have no bearing on the case…'

Suleyman's mobile telephone started playing the latest tune he had chosen for it, the beginning of Beethoven's Fifth. Still in the dark about what had been happening between Ikmen and Erol Urfa, Suleyman put the jar down on the floor and turned aside to answer his phone.

After a brief glance at the sleeping Merih, Erol rose from his seat 'I had better get my child home now,' he said, 'if that's all right with you, Inspector Ikmen.'

'I have no problem with that,' Ikmen said with a smile even though his attention was now distracted by the sound of what appeared to be an urgent conversation between Suleyman and somebody.

Erol picked the baby up and prepared to leave.

'All right,' Suleyman said into the telephone, 'I'll meet you there. Let me know as soon as you know. Yes. Yes.'

As Erol moved towards the door, Suleyman held up one hand to stop him.

'Right,' he said into the phone and then, 'OK.' He pressed the end button and put the telephone back into his pocket.

'What's the problem?' Ikmen asked as he looked at Suleyman gravely considering the face of Erol Urfa.

'While there is no need to panic,' Suleyman said, 'I do have to tell you that Tansu Hanim and her sister have been involved in a minor road traffic accident.'

Erol's face lightened serveral shades, Ikmen moved quickly forward to take the baby from the singer's arms.

'Neither lady is noticeably injured, but they should both be taken to hospital for observation and treatment for shock.'

'I must go to her.'

'I don't think that would be a particularly good idea at the moment,' Suleyman said. 'As I told you, Mr Urfa, she is not hurt The best thing you can do is go home. We can, if you wish, arrange for Miss Emin's family to call you. Do you have your car?'

'Yes, he does,' Ikmen put in, remembering the intoxicated manager who said he would wait for Erol in the vehicle, 'although it might be an idea, under the circumstances, if we provide a driver for Mr Urfa.'

Suleyman agreed that given Erol's state of mind, a police driver might be prudent And so, after a few telephone calls to significant others, the shaken singer and his child were eventually led out of the office and ' into the care of a uniformed driver.

As soon as he had gone, Suleyman placed the jar of liquid on his desk and said, 'Resat's cyanide,' by way of explanation.

Ikmen raised one eyebrow and then, changing the subject said, 'Any idea where Tansu and her sister were going?'

'No.' Suleyman took his car keys out of his pocket and looked up expectantly at Ikmen. 'Coming?'

'Why? It's only road traffic-'

'Yes, but with a twist,' Suleyman said as he started to move towards the office door. 'Tepe said that just after the car impacted with the other vehicle, he and Coktin ran over to help. As they approached, he clearly saw and heard Tansu shout 'Run' to her sister.'

'So?'

'Well, Latife Emin tried to do what Tansu told her but, according to Tepe, her limp was too pronounced to allow her to move very quickly.'

Ikmen shrugged. 'But if she'd just been injured…'

'Oh, I agree entirely,' his colleague assented as he held the office door open for the older man, 'but until we go and check it out we won't know, will we?'

'So which hospital have they been taken to?' Ikmen asked.

Suleyman sighed. 'Tepe says that at the moment both women are refusing medical treatment.'

'Indeed. So what can we do?'

'Well, I'm just going to speak to my men.'

'Mmm.' Ikmen, motionless beneath the door frame, put his fingers to his lips in a gesture of thoughtfulness. 'But they should have medical attention, really.'

'Oh, yes, I agree, but-'

'No, I mean that they should really have medical attention, Mehmet,' Ikmen said with a twinkle in his eye. 'As in we should perhaps take it to them.'

Suleyman frowned.

'Look, if we take a doctor with us,' Ikmen explained, 'she has the perfect excuse to look at Miss Latife's legs unshod.'

'She?'

'Well, psychiatrists do have to study anatomy before they specialise, don't they?' Ikmen moved out into the corridor. 'And anyway, Dr Halman might be very useful should things prove a little bizarre.'

'Yes, but-'

'Just get your phone out and give her a call,' Ikmen said gently. 'The number's programmed in so it's not as if you've got to make an effort, is it?'

As Ikmen tripped lightly to the top of the stairs, Suleyman pressed a button and then listened for the ringing tone. His face was taut and strained.

Chapter 15

Dr Babur Halman looked across the table at his clever blonde daughter and nodded his head. Forty-six years old and possessed of, to him, a stubborn Irish mind, his girl was not one with whom frail old Turkish men were wont to argue. If nothing else; her kind but firm treatment of her demented patients was strong evidence for this. But she was still his daughter and knowing that she had recently experienced some turmoil with regard to the young man who had telephoned half an hour before, Babur did feel compelled to speak.

'So your going out is on police business, is it?' he asked as he placed his knife and fork down onto his plate.

'Yes.' Her turning away from him at that point, Babur knew was significant. 'So not…'

'Father, I do consult for them from time to time as well you know.'

Babur shrugged. 'Yes, well…'

She put her hands down on the table and leaned across towards the old man. 'The only thing stopping me from returning to Dublin is you,' she said vehemently, 'and only you.' 'But I would go if-'

'Oh, yes? And where would we live while I got myself another job, eh? Unless we sold this house, which I