Karla was lying on her back in the small pool. Ashe’s trousers were rolled up to the knee and his tired feet dangled in the moon-kissed water.
‘It’s still bothering me, Karla.’
‘Let’s hear it.’
‘My call to Aslan. He was so… so completely different to the man I met at the Hemlock.’
‘I expect he wanted something from you then. Besides, you caught him while he was busy. You don’t know who was with him. He was probably annoyed about something.’
‘Me, probably. I forgot about his phone protocol.’
‘Might not have been you.’
‘He was so dismissive, Karla. You’d think… well you’d think that if he was about to arrest Yildiz and Yazar, he’d want to hear anything I had on them. I don’t understand his attitude at all. Makes a complete nonsense of my time in Iraq.’
‘Crayke obviously didn’t think so.’
‘If it was Crayke who arranged my promotion… You don’t think that Tower bombing has really messed my head up, do you?’
‘No, but it’s been a shock for everyone. We can’t even assemble ODDBALLS again until we know how the bomber discovered our meeting place.’
‘Maybe my memory’s been affected. Something’s been bothering me.’
‘So you said.’
‘And I can’t quite put it together.’
‘By the way, did you send that dispatch off to Mick Curzon today?’
‘Your erudite plea for Rozeh will be on the ambassador’s desk in Baghdad very soon, Toby.’
‘I suppose that’s something… But what I can do about the princess’s other requests, I’ve no idea. She must think I’ve got spies everywhere!’
‘Haven’t you?’
Ashe laughed, then gazed up into the night sky. He thought of spy satellites looking down over Europe. Could they pick out Laila’s brother? And the other fellow, the one her brother was supposed to be with… What was his name? Baba something… Baba… ‘Oh! What was his name? Baba…’
‘… the elephant?’
‘BABA SHEYKH! Baba bloody Sheykh!’
Karla screamed as Ashe’s legs splashed excitedly, kicking water into her eyes. ‘Thank you very much!’
‘Baba Sheykh! I knew I’d seen it before!’
Ashe padded his wet feet into Karla’s house and dashed upstairs to the spare bedroom. Pulling open his briefcase, he dived into the Aslan file. There was Aslan’s account of Turco-Kurdish politics, and there – his fingers gripped the sheets – was what he was looking for: the list of visitors to the Kartal Masonic Lodge the night of the bombing.
Yildiz and Yazar were on the list, their names heavily underlined by Aslan. And, further down the list, obscured among obscure names: ‘Baba Sheykh’. Before, the name had just looked like another New Age guru or whirling dervish on the Istanbul alternative philosophy scene. Guided by Aslan’s emphases, Ashe had had no reason to pay the name particular attention. But there it was. It had something to do with Laila and her brother. And this Baba Sheykh was connected to the Kartal Lodge bombing. For was it not Aslan who had insisted the Lodge bombing was linked to the Tower bombing?
Ashe’s mind was in turmoil.
A voice was calling him from downstairs. ‘Toby! Call for you!’
Head buzzing, Ashe raced down and seized the mobile from the dripping Karla. She gave him a filthy look.
‘Ashe speaking.’
‘Pardon me for my rudeness today, Tobbi.’
‘My… my fault entirely, Mahmut. Is this a secure line?’
‘Of course. And you are taking me down a very thin line, Tobbi. What’s your problem?’
‘Did you arrest Yildiz and Yazar?’
‘Internal Turkish matter, you understand. I’m under constraint of course. Should anything emerge of interest to your government, it’s possible we can discuss the matter further.’
‘Colonel, do you remember the list?’
‘List, Dr Ashe?’
‘The list you sent me. Yildiz and Yazar were invited to the Lodge. You underlined their names.’
‘Did I?’
‘There was another figure. One I never noticed.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Baba Sheykh.’
The phone crackled. ‘Well… nothing in our game is obvious, Dr Ashe. I cannot recall that name.’
Aslan’s manner seemed cold again. ‘Is everything all right, Colonel?’
‘Oh yes. Everything’s fine. So what is your request? Interrogation of the Kurdish politicians has hardly begun.’
‘Can you speak to the Lodge secretary in Kartal again? I’d like to know what this Baba Sheykh was doing at the Lodge the night of the bombing.’
‘I see. I see… Don’t make an official request, Tobbi. Leave it with me. I’m sure it’s all perfectly innocent. I must go now. I’m a busy man. Goodbye, Dr Ashe.’