Meet Me in Istanbul By Richard Chisholm
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Kemal and Tom had something to eat. Then they sat down and made their plans for the evening. 'We'll watch Diinya's office this evening,' said Kemal. 'When he comes out we'll follow him. Then we'll find out where he lives.' 'Won't that be dangerous for me?' asked Tom. 'He knows me, remember. What if he sees me?' Kemal smiled and stood up. 'I've thought about that. And I've got just what you need. Look.' Kemal opened a drawer. 'Put this on,' he said. 'A wig!' said Tom. 'And a false moustache, too. Go on, try them on.' Tom put on the wig and moustache. He looked in the mirror. 'No one will recognise me now,' he laughed. 'Not even my own mother!' 'Good,' said Kemal. 'And if you also wear dark glasses you will be completely disguised.' It was seven o'clock and the shops and small businesses in the quiet street were closing. Tom and Kemal sat in the car, waiting patiently. 'He'll be leaving soon,' said Tom. Further down the street, they could see the entrance to Diinya's office. They sat in silence, watching. Time passed slowly. Ten past seven, quarter past, then suddenly - 'There he is,' whispered Tom. 'That's him.' Diinya came out of his office and locked the door carefully behind him. He looked along the street. Then walked over to a grey Mercedes car and got in. The Mercedes moved away from the pavement and drove along the street. It turned right onto the main road. 'Let's go,' said Kemal and drove down the street. They turned right, following the Mercedes. The main road was busy, and they drove along in the traffic. 'There it is,' said Kemal. 'About fifty metres away, in front of that taxi.' 'Careful,' said Tom. 'Don't drive too close. Stay behind the taxi.' They drove along the main road, watching the Mercedes. 'He's turning left.' 'OK.' Tom and Kemal followed. They were now driving along the wide street beside the sea. For twenty minutes they drove towards the suburbs of the city. Now they were outside the city centre and the traffic was moving faster. The Mercedes turned off the main road. 'Slow down,' said Tom. 'You're too near.' They slowed down until the Mercedes had turned the corner, then drove faster. When they turned the corner, the road was empty. 'Damn,' said Kemal, and drove faster. They crossed another side street, and looked quickly right and left. 'Left,' said Tom. 'There he is!' They turned and drove along a quiet street of private villas. This was the most dangerous part because there was not much traffic. If Diinya looked round now, he would see that someone was following him... 'He's stopping,' said Kemal, as he saw the Mercedes' brake lights going on. Kemal drove slowly. The Mercedes was now fifty metres in front of them. 'He's turning,' said Kemal. The Mercedes turned off the street and drove through the gates of a large villa. The villa was surrounded by trees and bushes. Already the gates were closing behind it as the Mercedes drove up to the house. Tom and Kemal drove past the closed gate and continued along the street. 'Well,' said Tom. 'That's where Diinya lives.' 'That's a start,' said Kemal. 'Come on, let's go home now.' Back in Kemal's flat, they discussed what they had seen. 'I think that Angela is in the villa,' said Tom. Kemal agreed. 'What do we do now?' asked Tom. 'We can't get into the villa. There are probably men guarding it.' 'I agree,' said Kemal. 'We think she's in the villa but we can't get in there.' 'It doesn't matter. The villa isn't important,' said Tom. 'What do you mean?' 'Think about it,' Tom replied. 'Remember what Julie said. Angela was worried about something at work. She worked in the office, she never went to the villa. So what we're looking for is in the office. The villa isn't important.' 'You're right,' said Kemal. He stood up and walked over to the window. 'Listen, you've been inside the office, what's it like?' 'When you go in the door,' Tom told him, 'there's the window, and a small reception desk. Then there's an office, and a door to Diinya's private office at the back.' 'Anything else?' Tom tried to remember the inside of the office. 'Yes,' he said. 'There's a door, another door, at the back.' 'OK,' said Kemal. 'They must have a workshop or a store through that door. That's where they'll keep all the things they export. So somehow we have to have a look inside...' Kemal thought for a moment. 'I've got an idea,' he said suddenly. 'Diinya exports onyx ornaments to England. My parents sell things like that in their shop. So, if I had a box of ornaments and I wanted to sell them very cheaply, who would buy them from me?' Tom looked at him, then smiled. 'Diinya,' he said. 'Exactly,' smiled Kemal. 'Now, let's think carefully…” CHAPTER ELEVEN A Clever Trick Ibrahim Diinya was alone in his private office. He was working at his desk, finishing some paperwork. He always did his paperwork alone before going home. He looked at his watch. Another ten minutes, then he would be finished. There was a knock at the door. Diinya looked up from his papers. He didn't move. There was another knock, louder this time. He put the papers in his desk and locked it. Then he got up and went out into the office. He could see a man outside, standing in the doorway. 'We're closed,' he said through the glass door. 'Come back tomorrow.' 'I'm sorry,' said the man. 'It's urgent, please.' Diinya was annoyed. He unlocked the door and opened it. 'We're closed. Can't you see?' 'I'm very sorry to bother you,' said Kemal. 'But I was hoping to find someone here. I have a problem. You see, I need some money quickly. I must have it tomorrow morning, early. It's for well, it doesn't matter why I need the money. That's my problem. But I have some onyx ornaments to sell and I heard you would be interested.' He held out a beautiful onyx ashtray. 'Would you be interested in buying fifty of these?' Diinya took the ashtray and looked at it carefully. Kemal could see he was interested. 'Very good quality,' said Kemal. 'Fifty, did you say?' 'That's right. They're in the car outside.' 'How much do you want?' Diinya asked. '15,000 lira for fifty,' said Kemal. 'That's too much,' said Diinya. 'I'll give you 5000.' 'Please - I need the money urgently,' said Kemal. 'Then you will accept 5000,' said Diinya. Kemal looked disappointed. 'All right.' he said. 'You can have them for 6000 lira. They're in a big box in the car. Could you help me carry them? They're very heavy.' Diinya went with him to the car. Together they carried the box into the office. 'This is really very kind of you,' said Kemal. 'They are heavy.' They carried the box to the back of the office. Kemal looked quickly at the door. 'Have you got a store somewhere?' he asked. 'I'm sure you don't want the box in your office.' Diinya thought for a moment. He looked at the large box in his small office and said, 'One moment.' He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. They picked up the box and carried it through into the workshop. It was a long, wide room, with windows on one side. There were a lot of articles in the room - onyx tables, lamps, ornaments, brass and leather articles. On a workbench, there were rows of tools and cutting equipment. 'This is fine,' said Diinya. 'Put it down here.' They put down the box. Diinya took out his wallet. '6000 lira,' he said. At that moment the telephone in his office rang. Diinya looked annoyed. 'Excuse me one moment,' he said to Kemal. He went back to his private office. Kemal looked at his watch and smiled as Diinya disappeared through the door. Quickly he looked round the workshop. There was a door at the other end. He looked out of the windows. Outside there was a small courtyard, and at one end of the courtyard, a wall, two metres high. On the workbench at the end of the workshop, there were several onyx table lamps. Kemal looked quickly at them. They had been cut in half with a cutting instrument. The inside had been removed. Kemal looked closely. Suddenly Kemal heard Diinya say goodbye. He turned quickly away from the workbench. 'Sorry to keep you waiting,' Diinya said as he came back in. 'Not at all,' said Kemal. 'I can see you're a very busy man.' Diinya counted out 6000 lira. 'Thank you,' said Kemal. 'I really need this money. Well, I won't take any more of your time.' Diinya walked with him to the door into the street. 'Thanks again,' said Kemal. 'Goodnight.' 'Goodnight,' said Diinya, and closed the door. Kemal went back to his car and drove home. Tom was waiting for him. 'Did it work?' he asked, as Kemal came into the apartment. 'Perfectly,' smiled Kemal. 'My brother phoned just at the right moment, when we were in the workshop. Diinya believed my story, too. And he gave me a very low price for the onyx.' 'What did you see in the workshop?' Kemal looked serious. 'Well, not very much, I'm afraid. It's just a workshop, or a store. There were lots of onyx and leather articles, brass and tools. And there were some onyx lamps being repaired, I think. But there's a courtyard outside, and another building opposite. I'm sure that it belongs to Diinya. And more important - there's a wall at one end of the courtyard, which isn't too high 'Meaning?' 'Meaning that it wouldn't be too difficult to climb over it.' |