CHAPTER FOUR

Although I had six months to emotionally prepare myself to meet Bahar face to face after our unexpected separation, I wasn’t even close to being ready. Seeing her at the Yilmaz Hotel opening ceremony was a painful dose of reality, which left me feeling sinful as never before. The way she turned around to look my way, her skin was as flawless as snow and her brown hair was dancing across her shoulders. 

Suddenly, that innocent smile of hers disappeared at first sight of me. My words of justification seemed not good enough for her, rather shallow. She deserved a true love and endless loyalty, a lot more than I ever offered her. Sadly, I was the only one to blame for such a selfish move.

I left the ceremony earlier than planned, settling for a stroll down the sandy shore of Istanbul, before arriving to an empty apartment, where I reside with my dearest friend and fellow detective, Emir. Luckily, he was out for the night, chasing after the city’s most wanted criminals. I threw myself on the solid couch, hoping to unload my ongoing burden, when I spotted a bottle of whisky by the coffee table, calling for my attention. I poured myself a glass with no ice. I stared at it for a moment or two, then quaffed it all at once.

As I watched the clock moving closer to mark its midnight round, I reached for my pocket to locate my missing phone, when I found myself a piece of history instead. Without blinking, I opened up the tiny box of memories, revealing a sparkling, single stone engagement ring that held a generation’s worth of true commitments. A frustrated breath escaped my soul, taking me back in time to a venue I never seemed to have left in the first place.

Sometime later, and while still drowning in the remaining hours of heavy sleep, struggling to overcome my dark reality, Emir returned home to reveal a brighter sunshine behind the closed-up curtains. My eyes were drowsy from the heavy scotch I voluntarily poisoned myself with the night before, but by the time I was fully awake, it was already noon.

A quick shower of cold water refreshed my body and mind before a strange text message disturbed my peace. A note sent from Hakan urged me to hop on the first plane out to Antalya, and fast. Meanwhile, Emir had to travel to the other side of the country to investigate another urgent matter in connection with our case. Quickly I rushed to the airport to catch my last-minute flight. I landed within the hour, and straight to the Karamans’ vacation island I went.

Selim was the first one to greet me as I walked in on Bahar and a friend of hers in the middle of a design idea conversation. After spending a moment of introduction together, I excused myself to meet with Hakan, whose urgent matter was worrying me the most. Instead of finding him happy and well, he was in bed resting from a sudden health collapse.

“Hello…sorry to interrupt.” I walked in while Mrs. Leila was leaving with Hakan’s empty food tray. “How are you feeling now, Mr. Yilmaz?”

“I’m fine. Thank you for coming, Kenan. Please, come in.”

“I came as soon as I got your message. What seems to be the problem?” I took a seat in the chair across from his bed as his bodyguard closed the bedroom door for some privacy.

“Take a look at this.” He handed me his phone to examine a suspicious message that he saved for reference. It was a picture of Bahar boarding the ferry from earlier in the day. “I don’t have a good feeling about this. Someone is out there watching Bahar’s every move. Why?”

“I am not sure what to say. I am as surprised as you are, Mr. Yilmaz. Perhaps someone is trying to send you a personal message of some kind. I don’t know.”

“I don’t have anything to hide, Mr. Gocer, nor any enemies to come after me. Unless…”

“Unless what?” He looked away for a moment, hesitant to speak his thoughts.

“Unless someone is after my brother Fikret, and now that he’s in prison, they’ve decided to come after his daughter.”

“It’s a possibility, but I sincerely hope that it’s not the case. Either way, I will trace the phone number behind this message, though I have a feeling that we will hit a dead end. Whoever sent that text is clever enough to cover up his tracks.”

“I have to treat this as a direct threat, Kenan. Perhaps I should send Bahar back to Paris,” he expressed with concern, and frankly, I was concerned as well. A year ago, I walked out of Bahar’s life to shield her from any possible risk surrounding my line of work, yet now the tables were turned.

“In consideration of the sudden danger, it would be best to keep Bahar here and under your radar.”

“Fine. I trust your instinct. What do you have in mind?”

“I am sure that your men will be watching Bahar closely, but considering that I work for you at the moment, I will do my best to remain in the picture as an additional protective eye, without her being suspicious. Even though our relationship is a little challenging, we will find a way to coexist.”

“That sounds like a good start.”

“Meanwhile, I am still working on the hit-and run investigation. I am expecting a phone call from Emir. He’s in Konya, following the newest lead. I was about to go there myself before you called me in.”

“I didn’t mean to distract your focus from that other case. You know how important that is for me, but the situation we are in right now is much more complex.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Good. And so I want you to stay here for the night. Just in case anything new comes up.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll stick around.”

“Thank you, Kenan.” He nodded his head, looking back at the picture message, when a knock on the door interrupted our private meeting. Mr. Karaman was stopping by to check in on the patient.

“I’ll be outside if you need me.” I left the room at once. With a few minutes to spare, I took a quick tour around the property to inspect for possible intruders lurking behind the scenes, but the search came out clean. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, which was a good sign for the time being.

A late night cocktail brought me back to join Selim and both of his attractive lady friends for a fun night of endless jokes and laughter. I’d met the architect a few months prior to Bahar’s return to Istanbul, yet I didn’t get the opportunity to hang out with him that much. I was a busy man, and so was he. He had a successful career, which kept him on the go, and Hakan seemed very pleased with his character.

Selim’s friendship and closeness with Bahar was somewhat unsettling for me. Perhaps because of my nature, I had learned to often question people’s motives and actions, but until that very moment he had not given me a single reason to be suspicious. I was nothing but jealous. On the other hand, it was my first time meeting his old colleague Nuran Ozturk, who had an outgoing personality with a seductive side, of which she felt completely proud. I couldn’t help but notice her targeted flirtation. I was single, and so was she. During our friendly conversation, she wouldn’t stop laughing out loud over my silly jokes; meanwhile, Bahar’s annoyed looks were too obvious not to notice.

While she flipped through the colorful catalogue of old interior designs of Nuran’s, Bahar’s body became fidgety. I’d seen that same anxious look on her many times before, which made me giggle in silence, as if she was trying to ignore the fun I was having by keeping herself and Selim busy and focusing in on their own little world. Eventually, we ran out of time as the night fell into sleep, leaving us to depart our separate ways.

Still thinking of Hakan’s text message from earlier, I was unable to rest my mind, despite the scattered security surrounding the place. I was worried about Bahar’s safety more than anything else in the world. The mystery person who shot her a year ago was still on the run, but I was on the case determined to find him and make him pay for every tear he caused us both. He was the reason for the disconnection between us, and I was never to forgive him.

Walking back and forth across the open terrace of the guest bedroom, I spotted a shadow wandering around. I hid behind the tall curtain when the approaching footsteps stopped outside my chamber. The door squeaked open, and I switched the lights on, finding Bahar. Though a part of me was hoping she’d come to talk about anything or possibly everything, she came looking for answers behind my trip to Antalya. Despite the circumstances that led me to work for Hakan, I was in no position to discuss any details. It was simply not my call to make, but her uncle’s.

Telling her to watch her back because of a direct threat on her life would just make the situation even more complicated. I did not want to freak her out. She’d been through enough physical pains already, not to mention emotional trauma in which I sadly played a major part of. Though knowing Bahar and loving her for the longest time, I knew she hated secrets and anything at all ambiguous.

Just then, a heated eye contact fired up between us, when Nuran showed up interrupting our moment of isolation. Bahar’s facial color disappeared as she ran to hide inside the bathroom. I answered the door at once, welcoming Nuran, who did not come empty handed. She brought my left-behind sun shades with an obscene invitation of lure. I would be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that she was in fact a very attractive woman. Her physical well-being was perfectly sculptured into an erotic art, yet her personality was much superficial.

Frankly, I was not attracted to such qualifications. Bahar’s pride and self-confidence were the key magnet of our charisma. Her impulsive beauty was a stronger domination of wild feelings, buried beneath a volcano of passion waiting to breath its deadly fire at any minute. That was the true spark of my attractiveness to her, and I would have never traded it for the world.

Keeping in mind the latest events, let alone Bahar’s reaction to seeing me again, I found myself in need of a new distraction to keep my mind off her and focused on finding the person who shot her. Nuran’s special interest in me created questions of concern. We had just met, with no time at all to study each other’s personality, yet the best way for me to unlock her riddle was to engage with her without hesitation.

Soon after, Bahar came out of hiding, warning me to keep my distance and to leave her alone. Her attitude was somewhat unpredictable, as I failed to understand most women, and her in particular. Her character was more than a complicated puzzle. One minute she would say something, and another she would do the complete opposite. Yet, regardless of her mood swings, I was in love with her more than ever before. Just being there with her and not being able to hold her hand or cuddle her hair was the worst penalty I had to pay.

The morning was right around the corner when I wandered off the property during the early hours of dawn. The island was quiet. Too quiet for me, though, as I was used to the crowded streets of Istanbul and its daily rush hour. I felt like I was on vacation, except my mind was working twenty-four/seven. Just then, Emir called in with the latest information, which created an inner buzz to get me moving.

Apparently, the taxi driver who was involved in Melek’s hit-and-run car accident was back in town. He made contact with his family in Sille village and was planning to return home the following day. Finally, a solid clue to trace back to that very night of endless mysteries.

It was coffee hour at the Karamans’ dining table when Hakan and I departed for a short walk to discuss the latest findings leading us to wonder why now. The wanted man of the hit and run disappeared the night of the accident, and a year later he was back again at the same time of Bahar’s return from Paris?

Something was very suspicious. It could not have been just a coincidence. Perhaps I was too close to the case to begin with to see all the events clearly.

Following a plan set in motion, the Yilmaz family had a few hours left to spare before the initial return to Istanbul. Selim’s suggestion to go horseback riding was a fun proposal to wrap up the remaining time. As Nuran and I continued to enjoy ourselves without any strings attached, Bahar’s energetic spirit took off on the racing field without us. She disappeared in a flash, leaving us to roam around by ourselves. A while later, I caught up to Selim and her near the stables, where a close moment pulled them into a romantic kiss right before my eyes. I didn’t think that they were emotionally involved, but then again, looks were deceiving most of the time and more than we wished to admit.

I retraced my footsteps for the last time, while everyone was packed up and ready to leave until a short announcement postponed our departure for a few minutes. Selim and Bahar were formally a dating couple, stating their relationship to the whole world. Both families seemed excited by the happy news. Though at that point in time, I was officially out of Bahar’s life, I couldn’t help but envy the situation. She despised me for the weak person that I once was. Frankly, I had my own helpless moments to get past, but the fact of the matter was that she was still alive and well. She looked happy at last, and for that I had to be grateful. I was selfish enough to let her go before; therefore I couldn’t not wish her happiness. She deserved it more than I ever did.

Once we arrived at the airport, the traveling crew flew back to Istanbul, except for me. I headed straight to Konya to track down the taxi driver. His name was Fahri Oyal, a local resident, married with four children. His background check flagged multiple arrests for burglary and stolen property, but for the past five years of his life he remained out of trouble’s way until the night of the accident.

On March 21, 2014, around five o’clock in the afternoon, Fahri was the driver on duty when he got the call to pick up Bahar from the Gocer Foundation to Bebek Bay. Upon his arrival, he struck Melek with his car, then took off, leaving her fighting for her life. On that same night, they found his car abandoned near the airport. By the time the police were notified of the incident, the suspect was long gone without a trace. Not even his family knew where he was. Or so they claimed. Only a few days after Bahar’s return to Istanbul, Fahri resurfaced. An hour and ten minutes later, I landed in Konya, where Emir was waiting to pick me up.

“How sure are we about Fahri’s return?” I questioned Emir. He was occupied driving our rental car as I browsed the suspect’s file for a closer look.

“We’ve been tracking the wife’s phone for a while now. He contacted her last night and said that he was coming home this evening.”

“Any idea where he made the call from?”

“A public payphone, someplace in Izmir.”

“So he’s been hiding out in Izmir this whole time.”

“Apparently so.”

“Well, I am glad we caught a break, yet we still have no idea what’s going on. I have a weird feeling that this case is more than just a hit and run.”

“What makes you think so?” Emir wondered, while slowing down the car.

“Too much inconclusive evidence, I guess. I don’t know.” We were near the suspect’s home, yet we had to keep a good distance as we waited out for him to show up. 

“I’d say he’ll show after the sun goes down. He probably doesn’t want to be seen in public.”

“That’s fine. We have nothing else to do but wait.” Emir smiled, checking his front mirror. It was around seven in the evening, and the sun light was disappearing fast. “By the way, how was your trip to Antalya?”

“It was fine. The relationship between Bahar and me is electrified, as usual…Let’s not talk about this, though. On the other hand, Mr. Hakan is really concerned for her safety after the picture message he received. Sometimes, I get the feeling that he’s not being totally honest with me.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. I can’t say I am positive, but I have my doubts.”

“Why?”

“Get this; he disappeared from Istanbul shortly after his father’s death, then he showed up again around the same time of his brother’s prison conviction. What are the chances of that?”

“I don’t know. Did you do a background check on him?”

“No, I have not. Bahar and I were together at the time of his arrival in town, and so I knew a little about him, but I never really thought of the timing between the two different family events.”

“I am not sure what to tell you, but I do know that you worry too much, Kenan. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”

“In our line of work, there is no coincidence to this extent. There’s something that Hakan is not telling me. I can sense it and I will not give up until I know what it is.”

“Whatever it is, do you think it’s that important? Perhaps it’s a personal matter. Why should he share that with you?”

“If it’s personal, I’d totally respect that, but as long as it’s not connected to Bahar in any way.”

“What about Bahar’s case? Anything new on the investigation? Any new suspects?”

“No, not yet. The person who I originally thought might be connected was not even in town at the time of the shooting, bringing us back to square one. The shooter, however, was wearing a mask. His face was not recognized by airport security cameras, and so we have nothing to go on for comparison.”

“Here’s a thought. Bahar’s grandfather was a minister with possible enemies. Fikret is no innocent, either, and what’s the best way for payback but to strike directly at his daughter?”

“It’s a possibility.” Though I was not convinced.

“But?”

“Who would hold a grudge against the family for that long, and then years later plot to kill Bahar? I wouldn’t imagine so. On the other hand, Fikret was a wanted criminal, living on the edge of unworthy friendships. It would make more sense to target him.”

“Maybe…”

“There was a time window of four months between Fikret’s arrest and the proposal night. Why did the shooter not strike then? Why that night in particular?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps because she was living with your family for a while and therefore, she was under your watch. Once they learned of her departure to Paris, they feared she’d never return to Istanbul.”

“I am not sure. Unless of course they were coming after me. Either way I will not rest until I figure it out.” Suddenly, a light from Fahri’s home flickered a few times before us. It was a signal of some kind. Slowly, we abandoned the car together, with our loaded weapons of protection in hand. As we approached the old-looking house backing each other up, a disturbing noise of broken glass interrupted our moment.

Carefully, I approached the back door, looking twice behind my shoulders. Emir was watching over me. I nodded my head in silence, in position to fire if necessary, before I kicked the door open and made my way inside. The house was completely empty of both people and furniture, as if no one ever lived there. Then, a squeaking sound came from the next room over. Hesitant to walk myself into a trap, I leaned against the wall, waiting for another signal. Suddenly, the door was busted down with open fire and flying bullets in every direction.

Jumping in the line of danger, Fahri and I were face to face in the zone of doom when Emir broke his way inside through the glass window. With my hands around my enemy’s breathing throat, struggling to stop him from killing me first, he surrendered at the sight of Emir pointing his gun straight at us.

“Why did you disappear after the hit and run of March 21 of last year? Why?” I yelled, unable to control my anger. I’d waited so long to find the man who killed Melek and bring him to justice. I was never to let him walk away.

“Please. Don’t kill me. I didn’t…I did not mean to kill that little girl…it was just an accident.” He swallowed with difficulty as I pinned his body down to the floor as hard as I could, not allowing him to move a muscle.

“Why did you drive off leaving her to bleed to death? Why? Why didn’t you call for help then, claiming responsibility for the accident?”

“You should have turned yourself in, but fleeing the scene of a crime turned you into a fugitive,” Emir added. “Things could have ended up a lot

differently if you hadn’t run.”

“I am still waiting for you to answer my question,” I said. “Why did you run away?”

“It wasn’t supposed to be her…I didn’t mean to hurt the girl. She jumped in front of the car without a notice.”

“What did you just say? What do you mean that it wasn’t suppose to be her?” I squeezed my hands harder, choking the words out of him.

“Bahar…,” he spoke with suffocation. “Bahar Yilmaz.”

“Bahar? What about her? What about Bahar? Speak up!”

“Calm down, Kenan. He is no good to us if you kill him. Let him speak.”

“Fine. You’re right…what about Bahar?” I asked him again, releasing my hands from around his neck, allowing him a moment to talk freely.

“I was sent to kill her and not the girl,” he confessed at last, leaving me more puzzled than I have ever been.

“What?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Emir looked my way. We were both very confused.

“I don’t understand…” I mumbled to myself. Though I was trying to process the killer’s confession, my mind went blank all of a sudden.

“After the accident, I followed Bahar to the airport. I had no choice. Please don’t kill me.”

“Do you realize what you just confessed to? This is an attempted murder in the first degree, not to mention the hit and run.” I yelled again, unable to digest the truth for which I’d waited forever. Bahar’s masked shooter and Melek’s killer were one and the same. “Who sent you? Who ordered you to kill Bahar?”

“I never met the man…I swear! Please. Don’t kill me.”

“I will give you one chance, and one chance only. Tell me his name.” I grabbed him by the neck once more with no chance of survival.

“Fine. Fine, I’ll tell you, but please don’t hurt me. I have a family. A wife and children.”

“Give me the name!”

“Stone…they call him Stone.” The name struck me like lightning. I pulled back to think for a moment, yet before I got the chance to drill for more information, Fahri took his own life, pulling the trigger himself from a weapon concealed behind his back. Suddenly, an outdoor explosion took place, and shook the entire town upside down.

Emir and I rushed outside to find the suspect’s car on fire. 

Everyone jumped to the rescue, and to save the vehicle from any possible evidence left within its burning flames. Just when I had uncovered a critical clue in my investigation, tying two different cases together, more questions were raised, leading into a whole new event. Melek’s killer was identified yet not useful for any further interrogation. In the heat of his confession, he killed himself, most likely fearful of the savage men he was in connection with, and possibly those who set his car on fire. Sooner or later, they would kill him for giving up any information, let alone the name of their leader, the so-called Stone of Death. 

Finding ourselves back to where we started, Emir and I left to go to Istanbul to report the case and to close Fahri’s file, only to open another. No valid prints were found on the weapon recovered from inside the burning car, but the make and model number were identical to the weapon used in the attempt to kill Bahar.

The link behind Melek’s hit and run was officially connected to Bahar, while Melek was just a victim of inconvenience. Soon, the idea of an old grudge was the only possibility, leaving Fikret’s incriminating background as a threat. Someone from his world of crime was after his daughter. With no solid evidence to identify the man called Stone, Hakan’s guards remained in the shadows following Bahar’s every move. And so did I.

While running around in circles chasing after the truth, some things are better off concealed than revealed. The more we seek the view of clarity, the foggier it becomes, creating more questions than possible answers. But regardless of it all, the same question remains. Why? Why this, and why that?

Though not having a definite answer is more frustrating than any truth, the curiosity of the human mind is not put to rest that easily. Inquiries are often the highlight of every day, seeking a reasonable explanation, until the unexpected happens. That’s when the urge of uncovering what’s behind closed doors becomes a curse of time waiting to break free.