“July 4, the day he left for Syria. The men he respects so much will put him in a truck with a bomb and tell him he’s honored and lucky.”
“He never made it. The Turkish police have him. They stopped him at the border. He told them you advised him to cross into Syria. Why did you suggest that?”
“Yes, why would I? I wouldn’t, of course, and you, with what you’ve suffered, why would you want to play games? Ozan is dead.”
“How do you know?”
“Someone I pay inside the Istanbul police informed me.”
“Your friend was fed misinformation. He’s alive. He told Turkish police you didn’t want to pay a ransom, so you came up with the idea of selling the information on the drone pilot party.”
“Nothing could be more untrue.”
“Through people he knew of, Ozan made contact with a man who set up a meeting. In the meeting he was told there was great interest.”
Smith smiled at that, but his expression was disdainful. “Ozan said this.”
“That’s what I’ve been told.”
“I see. But you haven’t talked to him.”
“Others have.”
“So they are saying I allowed my building that is uninsured for terrorist acts to have a bomb planted in it to kill the pilots and their families and end my business and life here. And why would I do this? Am I crazy with a religious fever? Is that what you believe?”
“Ozan is willing to testify you discussed selling the information several times before he went looking for the men who would buy it. You pushed him.”
“I pushed him?”
“That’s what he says.”
“I am sure he’s not saying that and you are telling me that because the FBI wishes to frame me.”
“We’re not trying to frame you.”
“That’s another lie.”
Smith grew agitated and when his lawyer reached and touched him again, he turned on the man and said, “Leave the room. Go. I don’t want you here anymore.”
He folded his arms over his chest and scowled until his lawyer was out of the room.
“My brother-in-law has no credibility. Whenever he talks he is lying. Anytime he speaks it’s that way. The two things cannot be separated.”
I leaned back in my chair and flipped through my notes.
“Let’s talk about your businesses, the juggling of cash flow, the pressure you’ve been under. Were you offered money for access to the Alagara?”
“You accuse me of such a thing?”
“I’m asking a very direct question. Were you offered money to allow access to the Alagara?”
There was no return from this path, but I was okay with that.
“Ozan said this?” he asked, and in his eyes this time I saw him mocking me. So he knew about Ozan. He saw a texted photo or some other proof. He was letting me know.
“Ozan believed his daughters would be released after the attack,” I said. “But you saw something else. What is the phrase they use in chess? ‘Think deep’? I believe that’s it, think deep. You think about the other side’s move, then your move, and the next and the next and beyond. You knew the girls were dead. You’d figured it out.”
“I found out today.”
“It was confirmed today. That’s different. You were aware the kidnapping-ransom negotiation wasn’t proceeding in a normal way.”
“I know nothing about kidnappings.”
“Ozan had met with people who agreed to pay, but of course he couldn’t make the deal himself. It wasn’t his building. Perhaps you only encouraged Ozan to find out what was possible. You couldn’t know that Ozan would actually come up with people who were funded and interested. Is that how it started?”
“You are a fool to try to trick me.”
“Here’s what I’m guessing. Tell me if I’m wrong. You were told there would be no bomb inside the building. Maybe no bombs at all, maybe just some drone pilots shot in the lot outside the building.”
He shook his head at the absurdity of that, yet his face changed. When I saw that, I knew the lawyer was right not to want this interview. Smith had real regrets. He was struggling with himself. I couldn’t tell what I had gotten right, but something. I felt a rush of energy.
“Your brother-in-law is under arrest on terrorism charges. He’s confessed to providing Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula with the information on the party, and he has testified about conversations he had with you.”
He allowed a small smile and the quiet pleasure of saying, “I am very surprised he is talking. The whole world should be shown, though children should not see.”
I heard his sarcasm but didn’t respond though it confirmed again he knew what we knew. His brother-in-law was dead. The badly decomposed body of Ozan Yildiz was found two days ago. Wild dogs had fed on the body.
“Ozan told you he had a very good offer and that it was time for you to get involved. Maybe with his history of lying, you didn’t believe that. You dismissed it as more talk.”