The Tomb in Turkey

THIRTY-TWO

There was no way the police could not be called this time. An ambulance was also summoned, but the paramedic who examined her announced that Carole did not need hospitalization. She would have a very sore throat for a few days, but the bruising would not take long to subside.

The police quickly established the basic facts, Barney having enough Turkish for them to understand each other. Erkan did not deny having shot Travers Hughes-Swann, and his action had been seen by Jude and Barney. There might have been a third witness, but Carole had been too near unconsciousness to be reliable.

The police said they would need to ask more questions, but, given Carole’s condition, they agreed that the three English could go next door to Morning Glory for the time being

In spite of her shock, Carole decided that she probably could manage a glass of wine – ‘That nice one that tastes like Sauvignon Blanc,’ she croaked. Soon the three of them were sitting round a poolside table. A rather odd assemblage – Carole recovering from near-strangulation, and Barney with his blood-soaked shoulder. Jude was the only one uninjured.

Carole should probably have gone to bed with some paraceta-mol, but she was far too intrigued by the missing bits of Jude’s narrative. And the main thing she wanted to know was why Erkan, who when she last saw him had been issuing death threats against Barney, should suddenly be shooting Travers.

‘He explained that,’ said Jude, ‘when he found us in the ghost town.’

‘Sorry? In the ghost town?’

And Jude remembered that Carole had been asleep when she’d left Morning Glory. So she explained about the summons she had received from Barney, and how Travers had guided her to his hideaway.

‘But he also told Erkan where Barney was, and Erkan immediately discharged himself from hospital and—’

‘Yes, he told me that.’

‘But Travers made a big mistake when he made that call to Erkan. He mentioned that Nita had been strangled with her lanyard. Now, in theory, the only people who knew how she died were you, Barney and Erkan. You all saw the body in the tomb. The reason Erkan came to find Barney in the ghost town was to check whether he’d told anyone about the lanyard. I could vouch for the fact that you wouldn’t tell anyone, because you were keeping quiet about actually having seen the body. So, unless he’d actually murdered her, how did Travers know about the lanyard?’

Liking the logic she was hearing, Carole nodded (which was much less painful than speaking).

Jude went on, ‘As soon as Erkan had established that Barney hadn’t mentioned the lanyard to anyone, he announced that Travers must be the murderer and that he was going to shoot him. We tried to persuade him not to, but he wouldn’t listen to us. Which, as it turned out, was a good thing for you.’

Gratefully, Carole smiled (another action less painful than speaking).

Jude turned to Barney. ‘So what do you reckon will happen to Erkan? Prison sentences can be pretty harsh out here, can’t they?’

‘Yes, but there would be a good few mitigating circumstances in his case. The fact that his shooting Erkan stopped you being strangled, Carole, for one. He did it to save your life. And if they can ever prove that Travers did kill Nita, the case for Erkan’s defence would be that much stronger.’

‘Oh, but they will be able to,’ croaked Carole, the importance of what she had to say far outweighing the pain that saying it might cause her. ‘Nita’s body is under the floor of Travers’s naff little suntrap. Along with that of his wife.’

Jude and Barney looked at her, open-mouthed.

And, despite her very sore throat, as an amateur sleuth Carole Seddon did feel rather pleased with herself.