by Oliver Tidy
‘Is she married? Has she got children? Does she live alone? Close neighbours who work in law enforcement? Does she work? Is she an Olympic karate champion? Anything you can tell me could help. Only an idiot or an amateur would go in on a job like this thinking that knowing what the target looks like and her home address is enough.’
Kemal said nothing. He looked around the other occupied tables to see if they were attracting attention.
Acer said, ‘She’s Turkish, right?’
‘Yes.’
‘Is she a member of the Oktay family?’
‘What does that matter?’
‘Can’t you just answer a simple question, Kemal? I mean, do you actually want me to succeed?’
‘No, she is not a member of the family. Not anymore.’
‘But she used to be?’
‘Yes. She used to be.’
‘Here’s an important one, Kemal: is she going to be surprised when a stranger shows up on her doorstep or is she expecting a visit from the family? Does she live her life prepared for trouble? Might she carry a gun? You see how the questions can start to become important, Kemal?’
Acer waited to hear something confirmed that he’d learned from Mrs Botha.
‘She will not be expecting trouble.’
‘So this hasn’t been tried before?’
Kemal shook his head.
‘Why now then? How long has she been out of the family? Years?’
Kemal nodded.
‘So why now?’
‘You would need to ask him that.’
‘Thanks for nothing, Kemal.’ Acer stood to leave.
‘Where are you going?’
‘Fresh air. Then I need to buy a warmer jacket. Maybe a gun.’
Kemal looked around them again and his face grew darker. In hushed tones, he said, ‘What? It is supposed to look like an accident.’
‘Maybe she can accidentally shoot herself in the face. When you’re ready, I’ll be in my room.’
Although some of the stallholders were around, nothing seemed to be open, so Acer went outside for a look at the water and the skyline. He crossed the decking to lean his arms on the railings that overlooked the water. The day was chilly but clear. The warm morning sun shone down from an uncluttered blue sky. The air was intoxicating enough for him to notice it. He breathed it in deeply, hoping that something of its special properties might help trigger a good idea. He needed one.
Moored a little way along the dock was a Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza. Acer knew that was Spanish for ‘hope’. Hope was about all he had. After a couple of minutes staring at things that took his interest, he turned his back on ‘hope’ and went to start a trail with his credit card.
*
Acer had been grateful that of all the suitable jackets in stock there had only been five in his size. Three had been yellow, one bright pink and one navy blue. That made the choice easy and saved time. He bought matching navy blue woolly hat, scarf and gloves.
When Kemal knocked at his door, Acer was lying on his bed looking out of the window. Thinking. He called out that it was open.
Kemal went in, shut the door and leaned against the sideboard. He said, ‘What are your plans?’
‘Plans, Kemal? Tell me something: have you ever been in the services?’
‘Services?’
‘The military. Army, navy, air force?’
‘I did national service.’
‘Really? Where? Doing what? How long for?’
‘I was a prison guard for eighteen months.’
Acer snorted his amusement. ‘I hope you’ll understand if I ignore your input. Nothing personal, in this instance, Kemal, but if that’s the sum total of your military experience, you don’t know anything worth knowing about planning a trip to the shops. If you did understand anything about planning, one of the things you’d know is that plans need intelligence, knowledge of the enemy, the target. Plans need background information. I’m talking about useful plans, potentially effective plans. Any idiot can have a ‘plan’. But idiots’ plans rarely get very far. And seeing as you can’t, or won’t, provide me with any intelligence about her or her situation it makes it a little difficult for me to make a plan worthy of the name.
‘And let’s not forget the timing aspect. I need to get this done and back to Istanbul to collect my daughter and go home. I don’t want to spend an hour longer in this place than I have to and I don’t want my daughter to be under the poisoning influence of your family for any longer than she has to be.’
Kemal pushed himself off the furniture to stand. ‘Do not speak about my family like that.’
Acer didn’t move. ‘Or what? Seriously, Kemal, what are you going to do about it?’
The men locked eyes with the intensity of male beasts locking horns.
In a quieter tone, Kemal said, ‘It is not respectful for you to say such things or for me to listen to them.’
Acer said, ‘Well, there’s the door.’
‘I am going to make a phone call. Then we will leave. I think you must make yourself together.’
A little wearily, Acer said, ‘Pull or ready. It’s pull yourself together, Kemal, or make yourself ready. You should have paid more attention in the colloquialisms module of whatever online Mickey Mouse course you learnerated your English from.’
Kemal left without a word, shutting the door hard after him.
Acer broke into another smile. He said, ‘Temper, temper, Kemal.’
Acer listened to Kemal make his phone call. He wasn’t being as quiet as he had been the last time. Kemal sounded fairly agitated. Acer smiled again.
When Kemal knocked next, Acer had not moved. Again, he shouted that the door wasn’t locked. Kemal entered, frowning at Acer’s lack of apparent enthusiasm and motivation for what they were there for.
He said, ‘Others have tried to kill her.’
‘How many?’
‘Two.’
‘Two? Men?’
‘Yes.’
‘What happened to them?’
Kemal shrugged. ‘They didn’t come back.’
‘Does she live alone?’
‘We think so.’
‘So probably she has weapons and knows how to use them. Close neighbours?’
Kemal shook his head.
Acer said, ‘Is that no, or you don’t know?’
‘Don’t know.’
Acer swung his legs down. Still sitting on the bed, he said, ‘The men that came before me, were they Turkish?’
‘Yes.’
‘They looked Turkish: dark skinned, dark hair, dark eyes, one eyebrow, big noses?’
Acer saw Kemal’s jaw muscles work. Kemal had a big nose and his eyebrows met in the middle.
Kemal said, ‘They looked Turkish.’
Acer smiled. ‘That’s been your problem all along, I reckon. You don’t send a fox to kill a vixen – you send a wolf.’ Acer stood up and grabbed his new purchases. ‘Come on, Kemal. This wolf is hungry.’
*
Acer led them back to the shop he’d bought his jacket from. To Kemal’s obvious consternation and the shop assistant’s obvious amusement, Acer exchanged the navy blue jacket for the pink one.
As they left the shop, Kemal said, ‘Why did you do that? It is embarrassing for me to be seen with you.’
Acer laughed at Kemal’s obvious discomfort at being seen in public with him glowing like a beacon of pinkness. The bright colour clashed brutally with Kemal’s black leather coat, black jeans, black boots and black designer stubble.
Acer said, ‘You can always stay here, Kemal. What is it that bothers you? What other people might think about us being together? Or do you want to try it on? We’re about the same size.’
Kemal walked a little faster, trying to put some distance between them. Acer upped his pace to match him. He was still smiling.
***
10
Before Acer started the engine, he said, ‘Listen, Kemal. I told you in the hotel room. To catch a vixen
you send a wolf – and then you dress him in sheep’s clothing. Two men have come to kill her. Two men have died. You think she believes your family is finished with her? You think that every car tyre on the drive, every knock on the door, every bump in the night doesn’t have her reaching for her weapon of choice? Shooting first and asking questions later? I already respect this woman as an adversary.
‘Now what do you think she’s going to think when she sees a very Western-looking man – that’s me – walking boldly up to her front door in the middle of the day wearing a bright pink coat? You think she’s going to think this man’s come to kill me?’
Kemal said nothing, but Acer sensed he’d accepted his point.
The Sat Nav reunited them with the Trans-Canada Highway and guided them along a subsection of that called Upper Levels Highway. The fine, calm weather looked like it would hold for several hours, if not the whole day. It was a little over fifty kilometres to Horseshoe Bay in the west, where they would catch the ferry to Bowen Island.
By daylight, the north shore of the city looked clean and tidy and cared for. It was just like Acer had always imagined Canada to be: spacious, affluent, modern, clean and green. Judging from the colours of the leaves, it was a good time to be there. Acer had never seen such an array of reds and browns. He said, ‘What do you think of Canada, Kemal?’
Kemal turned his head to look out of the window as though he was seeing it for the first time. ‘Too much nature. I see no mosques.’
‘Oh. You’re one of those Turks, are you?’
Kemal turned to face him. ‘What do you mean?’
‘A good Muslim. Pious.’
‘Pious?’
‘Devout regarding your faith.’
‘I don’t understand devout. I am a Muslim. A loyal and faithful Muslim. I attend the mosque daily.’
‘What for?’
‘To talk to my God.’
‘Did you tell him about coming to Canada to kill a woman? What did he say? Good hunting, my son?’
‘I am not going to kill her. You are.’
‘You think your God doesn’t see through that?’
Kemal said nothing.
Acer said, ‘How does your faith justify honour killings, Kemal? I’m interested to know. What’s the rationale behind it that makes it all right for men to decide to end the life of a woman just because they don’t like her choices?’
‘You would not understand.’
‘Try me. We’ve got time.’
‘If a woman brings shame or dishonour on her family the family must be allowed to make an example of her.’
‘Why?’
‘To restore the honour of the family and to send a message to communities that such behaviours will not be accepted.’
‘The honour of the family.’ Acer shook his head.
‘I told you you would not understand. You cannot.’
‘Why is that, Kemal? Why do you think I can’t understand why people like you and your family think it’s all right to take a life because they’ve had their feelings hurt?’
‘Because you come from a culture without moral values. You come from a culture that is infected with the disease of social ruin.’
‘You might not be wrong there, Kemal, but I don’t know anyone who would accept the view that it’s all right to kill people for doing things that fly in the face of family values.’
The signposts, the Sat Nav and the sun agreed they were going in the right direction. Initially, the exits cropped up with an urban regularity. As they got further from the city the landscape opened up to provide tantalising views of spectacular scenery. Every so often there were glimpses of the sea glittering on their left. A seaplane business was doing a steady trade – up, fly around the point ahead, back. Easy money from the tourists. Acer was thinking that if he got out of this in one piece with his daughter, he’d like to come back and explore further.
They travelled the rest of the way to the ferry port in silence. The lanes dedicated to the runoff for the ferry were clear. Acer reduced his speed and followed the signs. When they arrived at the ticket sales office, Acer stayed in the car while Kemal got out to buy a return ticket for the car. He didn’t ask for the car keys before he got out.
Someone who looked like he worked there walked past Acer’s open window. Acer asked him about the crossing. He was told it was three nautical miles and about twenty minutes. Sailings were every hour on the hour. Acer thanked the man.
Kemal was back quickly. He said, ‘Why were you talking to him?’
‘Just asking how far and how long the crossing is, Kemal. No need to get jumpy on me.’
‘Jumpy?’
‘Nervous. Like you said, this is my job, not yours.’
‘We are here together. Something goes wrong for you, it goes wrong for me, too.’
Acer chided himself for not having considered the bigger picture for Kemal and how that might come back to have an impact on him, how it might motivate Kemal to go from being a passive member of the killing team to an active one.
Acer drove them onto the roll-on/roll-off ferry, turned off the engine, secured the handbrake and they got out. He was wearing his pink jacket and the hat and scarf. The stunning scenery pushed everything to one side. Ahead of the ferry was a smooth channel of water flanked on both sides by heavy forestation that marched down to the water’s edge. Ahead, across the sea, lush green land rose out of the water. Looking around the car deck, Acer noticed that all the vehicle number plates carried the legend Beautiful British Columbia. He was beginning to understand why.
Acer joined Kemal at the railings. He said, ‘OK, Kemal. Twenty minutes, we’ll be there. Let’s talk.’
‘About what?’
‘What are you going to do?’
Kemal pulled his gaze from the scenery to look at Acer. ‘What do you mean?’
‘We’ve already established that she is the kind of person who lives her life on her guard. She has to and she must be good at it because according to you neither of your assassins came home.’ Kemal frowned at the expression, but said nothing. Acer said, ‘Our one advantage for getting in close is the way I look. I will need to get in close and quickly in order to make her death look like something it isn’t. It’s not going to help my chances of achieving that aim if you, a very Turkish-looking man, are sitting in the front seat of the car for her to see as soon as she opens the front door, is it?’
Kemal said nothing. He had returned his stare to the view.
Acer said, ‘Probably there are shops on the island. Maybe a cafe or something. Why don’t I drop you at one, find her, do what I have to do and then come and get you? You can see her body for yourself, maybe take some photos on your phone for the family album, something to cheer her father up on a dark and dull winter’s evening, perhaps, and then we can leave.’
Kemal said, ‘Have you done much killing?’
Acer was surprised at the personal question from a man who had shown no interest in him at all other than as a tool for some dirty work. ‘Enough, Kemal. Didn’t they tell you?’ he tried to make it sound like something every day, something occupational. Something as normal as putting out fires if he were a fire-fighter. ‘What about you, Kemal? Taken many lives?’
Kemal said, ‘No. Not many.’
‘Now that we’ve got our bit of bonding out of the way, what are we going to do? Only unless my eyes deceive me, that looks like an island we’re coming to.’
‘I will come with you.’
Acer hoped to sound unbothered by Kemal’s choice. ‘Fine. It’s your party. Your decision. I suppose I can either drop you off at the end of the road and you can just stand there sticking out like a sore thumb, or you can get down in the back seat well out of sight.’
‘We will see.’
Acer turned to look at where the ferry was heading to dock in an inlet. A large brightly coloured sign said: Snug Cove. Welcome to Bowen Island.
***
11
They rolled off the ferry stra
ight onto a road that took traffic to and from the dock. No delays. Acer followed the vehicles in front as they accelerated up the incline and away. They passed through a small settlement almost immediately and were then quickly on Grafton Road. It was single lane in each direction and closely hemmed in with nature on each side. It was all very green and fertile.
Acer said, ‘Well?’
‘I’ll go in the back.’
‘You could still be seen. What about the boot?’
‘No.’ Kemal sounded emphatic. Acer wondered if he could make him and dismissed the idea as not worth the time, effort, or risk.
‘You’ll have to stay down then. In the footwells. Don’t fuck this up for me, Kemal. There’s a lot more at stake for me than there is for you. Stay down. Don’t be tempted to poke your head up. Sit tight and wait for me to come back to you when the job’s done. However long it takes. Understand? This is my bit. I say what’s what. Clear?’
‘I understand.’
‘Good. In that case, I’m pulling over now so you can get in the back. Just stay down and, when I tell you, get off the seat and on the floor.’
Acer pulled off the road into the opening of a track that disappeared up into the trees. Since they’d left Snug Cove, he hadn’t seen a single property. What he had seen were signs on the roadside next to track openings – dark tunnels in the vegetation – that indicated properties were there but tucked away from the road. And why not, he thought. Why live on the edge of the road, even a quiet one, if you don’t have to? Why not carve a track out of the forest and set your house back in nature’s embrace?
In the time it took Kemal to get out of the front and into the back no cars passed them. Acer bumped them back onto the road.
*
Acer found the property he was looking for another couple of kilometres further along the road. He almost missed the weathered sign. He overshot by a little way and had to reverse to go in forwards.
He said, ‘Get down, Kemal, and stay down until I tell you otherwise.’
As he bumped the car along the pitted and rutted track of shadow, he heard Kemal nestling down in the foot wells. Now he just had to make sure he could convince the lady of the house that he was not there to kill her before Kemal got tired of waiting and came looking to tidy things up for the family and the police.