who worshipped a deity called the Peacock Angel. They were Kurds, like me, but Kurds who would not eat chicken or wear blue or marry anyone other than their own kind; Kurds who lifted up their eyes to pray not to Allah, but to the setting sun. And it was not long after this that I first saw Erol standing in the trees to the side of our house, his arms raised in honour of the great golden ball setting over the Bosphorus.
'I started to think and to watch. And no, Erol didn't eat chicken, he didn't wear blue, but… It was only when I started to include references to the peacock as lover in the lyrics that Tansu passed off as her own that I knew. His expression as she innocently and without any trace of intelligent thought sang those words… He knew she couldn't know, and her thoughtless words confused and confounded him.
'I, meanwhile, remained silent While Tansu screamed on about how Erol would marry her in an instant if Ruya were not around, I thought about how much my sister had become like a child – and about how devastating it would be for her should something happen to Ruya and Erol then not marry her. It's not, as we know, good to be known as a devil worshipper and so Erol would, I knew, never tell Tansu why he would have to return to his village and marry another child-woman instead of her. Tansu would just simply be denied what she most wanted, seemingly on the whim of another. Just like I had been. Then she would hurt just like me. Then she would become that sad, old odalisque that I have been for so many years. Then I would be content and so I am.'
A few moments of stunned silence passed until Ikmen eventually said, 'But didn't your sister, once she knew that you were responsible for Ruya Urfa's death, try to get you out of the city in her car?'
Latife Emin smiled. 'Oh, yes. She loves me. She was prepared to deceive you for me. She thought that
I'd killed Ruya in order to tree up Erol. for her. She was very grateful.' 'But
'She's going to be really very badly hurt when she learns the truth.' She smiled again, broadly.
Chapter 18
Neither Ikmen nor Suleyman saw the sun rise over the sparkling waters of the Bosphorus that following morning as the older man helped the younger compose his report on the Emin affair. And as the heat of the day started to build, both of them from time to time spared some thought for the bitter woman who now sat somewhere far beneath their offices, down in the cells. A woman who, just like the odalisques of old to whom she frequently referred, was going to spend the rest of her life amongst other impotent, lonely women.
'We're burying Kleopatra Polycarpou today,' Ikmen said as he wiped a tired hand across his features.
'Not the nicest thing to have to deal with after what we went through last night,' his equally exhausted colleague observed.
'No. I was going to ask Sinan to accompany me, but now I'm not so sure.' Ikmen chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip. 'In view of what we've learnt about the Emin sisters I'm wondering whether I ought to get Bulent scrubbed up and take him. Show him I know he exists.'
Suleyman smiled. Trying to prevent any nastiness between your two boys in the future perhaps?'
'If Zelfa Halman hadn't postulated such an idea some time ago I would have viewed the Emins as a one-off, but she did and it has made me think. Is she still around here somewhere, by the way?'
'Who? Dr Halman?'
'Yes.'
'No. But I'm meeting her for something to eat after I've spoken to Coktin,' he looked at his watch, 'in about an hour. You're welcome to join us.'
'Thanks, but no,' Ikmen said with a sigh. 'I really must wash and then find something to wear for this funeral'
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation.
'Come,' Suleyman called and the door opened to admit a very dishevelled isak (^oktin.
Upon seeing the young man, Ikmen said, 'Ah, do you want me to-'
Suleyman held up a hand. 'No. Your input could be valuable here.' And then turning towards Coktin, he said, 'Sit down.'
Coktin took hold of a chair that had been leaning against the wall, placed it in front of Suleyman's desk and sat down, Ikmen, who was sitting at what was usually Coktin's desk, put his pen down and looked across at the young man.
'The events of last night,' Suleyman began gravely, 'have, as you know, thrown up some very difficult issues for some of the protagonists in this case.'
'Yes, sir.'
'Miss Emin, although she has now confessed to Ruya Urfa's murder, has raised certain points which her defence team will, no doubt, wish to bring to light in order to, to some extent, discredit those she has harmed.'
'Like what?' the white-faced young man asked, not for a moment raising his eyes from the floor.
'Like the fact that Mr Urfa and his late wife are Yezidis,' Ikmen said with a bluntness Suleyman probably would not have employed.
Coktin turned to look at 'him. 'But why are you speaking to me about this, sir?'
'Oh, come on, Mickey!' Ikmen said with a small if exasperated chuckle. 'You've never got as close to anyone as you got to Urfa. I won't even go into how you have knowledge about eunuchs in Arab countries but suffice to say, Dr Halman was the only other person I could find who knew about that, and she studies religion for fun. Come on!'
Coktin lowered his head down even further on his chest and cleared his throat.
Suleyman looked across at Ikmen and sighed. 'Listen, Coktin,' he said, 'unless, somehow, Latife Emin knows about you then what passes between us here will go no further.'
'She knows nothing because there is nothing to know!' Coktin suddenly became almost violently agitated. Then reaching into the pocket of his jacket he took out his identity card which he held up for bom men to see. 'Look here,' he cried. 'Religion: Muslim. Official, on my card. What more do you want?'
'Goktin-'
'Erol's bears exactly the same words,' Ikmen said with a shrug. 'We all know how easy it is-' – 'If Mr Urfa says that his is false then that is his business,' Coktin said, still holding his card up, 'but mine is not. And besides, quite why you would think that one of these devil worshippers would want to be in the police force, I can't imagine. If you worship Shaitan then you're an evil person quite at odds with the law.'
'On the surface, yes,' Ikmen agreed, 'but if they are not evil but simply misunderstood…' He shrugged again. 'But your protestations are noted even if, as we all know, they are rather too vehement.'
'Believe it or not, we were just looking out for your interests, Coktin,' Suleyman said.
'I couldn't care less what a man's religion might be,' Ikmen added. 'I don't have one myself and so-'
'But most people do care.'
'You have an excellent record,' Suleyman said, looking the younger man in the eye, in so far as he could. 'There is no question of your being disciplined or dismissed. It was simply that if Latife Emin knew-'
'She knows nothing about me, I hardly spoke to her.'
'And Erol? Would he have spoken to her about you?'
Coktin twisted nervously in his chair, knotting and unknotting his fingers as he moved. 'Well, not about my religion, obviously. Why would he, being what he is, want to speak to a Muslim woman about a Muslim man she barely knows?'
Ikmen smiled. 'Well, that's all right then, isn't it?'
'Yes,' Suleyman agreed also with a smile, if forced, upon his face. 'I should, I imagine, let you go home and get some rest now. You must be exhausted.'
'Yes. Thank you, sir.' Coktin rose quickly to his feet. It was obvious to all concerned that he was anxious to leave.
'I'll see you tomorrow, then,' Suleyman said as he watched ‹~!oktin move towards the door. 'Yes, sir.'
'Goodbye, Mickey Coktin,' Ikmen called out as the young man closed the door behind him.
And men there was silence, Ikmen looked across at Suleyman who; although seemingly busy shuffling papers, was actually waiting for his colleague to open up some sort of debate on what had just passed, Ikmen
