Alice ran along the water’s edge. The horizon grew dark and a heavy rain began pelting down.
Alice woke up with a guttural shout, the sound of a little girl racked with unspeakable terror. She sat up in panic and groped for the light switch. It was a long time before her heart stopped racing. She slipped on her dressing gown and parted the curtains to look outside. A storm was raging, soaking the roofs of Istanbul in a heavy downpour. The last streetcar of the evening rattled down Tepeba?i Avenue. She closed the curtains. Her mind was made up. Tomorrow she would tell Daldry that she wanted to go back to London.
7
Daldry quietly closed the door and headed down the corridor, tiptoeing past Alice’s room as he went. He took the elevator to the lobby, put on his coat, and asked the porter to hail a taxi. The guide was right. Daldry had only to utter the word “Markiz” and the driver knew where he wanted to go. Traffic was dense, but it wasn’t far, and the trip took ten minutes. Can was waiting at a table inside, reading the previous day’s newspaper.
“I thought you were standing me up,” he said, standing to shake Daldry’s hand. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m famished. I left the hotel without eating breakfast.”
Can ordered, and the waiter brought Daldry a number of saucer-sized plates full of cucumber slices, hard-boiled eggs seasoned with paprika, olives, ka?ar, feta cheese, and chopped green pepper.
“Would it be possible to get a cup of tea and some toast?” asked Daldry as he warily eyed the Turkish breakfast that now covered most of the table.
“May I conclude this means we’re engaged?”
“Can, there’s something I’d like to ask you—please don’t take it the wrong way. I assume your knowledge of Istanbul is less . . . irregular than your mastery of the English language?”
“I’m the best for both. Why?”
Daldry sighed. “Fine. Let’s see if we can come to an agreement.”
Can took a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and offered one to Daldry.
“Never on an empty stomach,” he said.
“What are you looking for, with exactitude, here in Istanbul?” asked Can, striking a match.
“A husband.”
Can had to stifle a cough before taking his first drag.
“Not for me, idiot, for a woman. We’ve made a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“It’s a sort of property venture.”
Can’s eyes lit up.
“If you want to buy a house or an apartment, I can coordinate you very easily. Tell me your budget, and I can present you grand and interesting offers. It is a good idea to invest yourself here. The Turkish economy is going through a difficulty, but Istanbul will soon be back to its former grandness. This is an exceptional city, magnanimous. Its cartographic situation is one of a kind, and the population has talents in all specialties.”
“You’re very kind, but the property I want is back in London. I’m looking to buy my neighbor’s flat.”
“Then why are you not running this affair in England? This seems like a better idea for buying an English apartment.”
“In this case, no. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come all this way. The flat I want is currently occupied by a woman who will probably continue living in it, unless something in her life changes . . .”
Daldry told Can about how he and Alice had come to Istanbul. Can listened attentively, interrupting only to ask Daldry to repeat the fortune-teller’s predictions.
“It seemed to me the best opportunity to put some distance between her and her flat. Now we have to find a way to keep her here.”
“You don’t believe in fortune-telling?” asked Can.
“I’m too educated to give such things any credence,” said Daldry. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever even asked myself the question. But at a pinch, why not? I like the idea of giving destiny a nudge in the right direction.”
“You are making much ado about nothing. Excuse me for saying this, but you only have to offer an astronomically correct bribe and the young lady will not refuse to leave. Everything has a price. I know this.”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but money isn’t very important to her. She’s not a particularly covetous person. Neither am I, to be quite honest.”
“You are not trying to make a profit with this apartment?”
“Not at all. This isn’t a question of money. Like I told you, I’m a painter. The flat she lives in has a magnificent skylight and the light is incomparable. I want to turn it into my studio.”
“There are no other apartments like this in a big city like London? I know many here in Istanbul. There are even some overlooking an intersection on the street.”
“Well, it’s the only flat like it in the house that I currently live in. My house, my street, my neighborhood, you understand? I don’t want to move.”
“I don’t understand. You are making business in London. Why do you come all the way to Istanbul to engage me?”
“So that you find me an honest, intelligent single man capable of seducing the woman I’ve told you about. If she falls in love, she may very well stay here and, according to our agreement, as long as she’s here, I can use her flat as my studio. You see? It’s not so complicated, really. I just want to keep her over here.”
“By which you mean to say it is very complicated.”
“Do you think it would be possible to get a cup of tea, some toast, and some scrambled eggs, or do I have to fly back to London for a proper breakfast?”
Can got up and talked to the waiter.
“This is the last free service I am favoring you. Your victim is the woman who was in your entourage when you left the bar last night?”
“Already blowing things out of proportion! She’s hardly my victim. I’m doing her a great service.”
“By manipulating her life and sending her into the harm of a man you pay me that I must find? If that is your estimate of honesty, I will be constrained to raise my price and ask for a payment in the front. There will be costs to find such a rare pearl.”
“What kind of costs?”
“Costs. Tell me, what is attracting this woman?”
“Good question. If you mean to ask what sort of man she prefers, I’m afraid I still don’t know. I suppose I could try to find out. In the meantime, so as not to waste any time, just concentrate on finding somebody who seems to be the complete opposite of myself. But let’s get down to brass tacks and talk about what you need from me.”
“I am not needing brass tacks.”
“I was talking about your pay.”
Can sized Daldry up and took a pencil from his jacket pocket. He ripped a corner from the paper tablecloth, scribbled a figure on it, and slid it across the table to Daldry. He glanced at it and pushed it back to Can.
“You’re dreaming.”
“What you ask is bigger than normal services.”
“Let’s not exaggerate.”
“You say money is no matter for you, but you deal like a carpet seller.”
Daldry picked up the scrap of paper and considered it a second time. Muttering under his breath, he slipped it back in his pocket and extended his hand to Can.
“Fine. But I’ll only pay your fees if you get results.”
“Deal is deal,” said Can, shaking Daldry’s hand. “I will find you a very nice man. But we have to wait for the right time. If I am understanding you, we must make other meetings before the prediction is granted.”
The waiter brought Daldry his long-awaited breakfast.
“This is more like it,” he said, greedily eying the scrambled eggs. “You’re hired. I’ll introduce you to the young lady in question as our guide and interpreter later today.”
“That is the title of my person,” said Can with a broad smile. He got up to leave and said goodbye. On his way out, he turned around and came back to the table, where Daldry was wolfing down breakfast.
“Maybe you are paying me for nothing. Maybe the woman does have strong fortune-telling powers and you are making a mistake in contesting them.”
“What makes you say that?”