Although death is a reality one cannot escape, not every death is the same. When people use the phrase "the best of deaths," what they actually mean is saying goodbye to their old, tired bodies in their homes, in their warm beds, without being a burden to anyone. That's why young deaths are called untimely deaths, but in this world and this time, who dies at the right time? For example, my family was on a trip to experience their second spring when they died. Death found them on their way back and didn't care how many people were on the bus. That day, 18 people were injured, and nine died at the scene. Their deaths, like so many others, were untimely, like so many others who paid the price for someone else's carelessness with their own lives. The strangest part was that people offered consolation: divine will, fate, destiny... These and many other similar phrases never consoled me then or now. As in this case, it was murder, and the perpetrator who caused my pain continued to live freely on the road a year later. Every murder had a motive, and the driver who caused my family's death hid behind his own excuses when he claimed he hadn't noticed the oncoming vehicle. As if so many people hadn't died because of him.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeULalvS5Mm
As I quickened my pace towards Dursun Reis's place, the thoughts running through my mind made me more weary than the road I had walked. I stopped when I reached the street leading to Dursun Reis's fishmonger. Standing in front of the garbage container on the corner overlooking the shop, staring off into nothing, the reis was not the sight I'd expected. I waited a moment, trying to catch my tired breath. Then I calmly approached Dursun Reis and looked where he was looking. The reis was the last of four children born to a fishing family from Samsun. He was an extraordinary man who chose seafaring, a career he loved for his uniform, over his family's profession. He was a valued friend whose intuition I trusted, whose honesty and impartiality were evident. When I coughed lightly to signal my presence, he sighed deeply.
"No matter who you are, how old you are, or how many deaths you've witnessed, every appointment with the Grim Reaper feels too early." "Did you find the young lady, Dursun?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6a4SqZAC5s
He nodded his head as he answered, still staring at the same spot. Dursun was a decorated naval officer who had seen a great deal of death during his time. He had been involved in smuggling operations, particularly those involving illegals, weapons, and drugs, which were taking place along the maritime border. He couldn't bear what he saw, and when the time came, he retired without a second thought. No matter how cool and affectionate he appeared, his demeanor in the face of events reminded me every time I looked at him that he was a soldier.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWF0qjkMa3v
"Chief, what did you see?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZlMScbCOkV
When he turned his gaze to me, he raised one eyebrow and narrowed his eyes.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXxFTFoUS4
"I saw a hell you shouldn't meddle in, Melek. A hell so awful it chilled my blood to look at."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkUqf6u36D
I straightened my stance and locked eyes with him.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrbpWtHWHm
"Let me be the judge of that, Chief. What did you see now?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTxwHjtkgv
Chief sighed deeply, took one last look at the container, then turned his back on me and began walking toward the restaurant. I followed, for I had no intention of leaving without an answer to my question. When he reached the shop's garden gate, he stopped and, without turning to me, said:
"Melek, there were a lot of things wrong with that shot, but one of them told me this wasn't the first time this man had committed murder."
"Chief, what did you see?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qy8h2eXhf
Dursun bowed his head and stood silently for a moment, then turned to me and said:
"Come, I'll show you something." As we followed him across the garden and into the building, he walked over to the picture board, which had always caught my attention, even if no one else had noticed. While the Chief's place resembled the fishmongers in old Turkish movies, the most striking feature that set it apart from those scenes was this picture board. To help people immortalize their smiles, the Chief would take photos of themselves upon request and hang them on the board. He approached the board, reached for one of the pictures, pulled it out, and stared at it for a moment. Then, when he handed it to me, I examined it, not knowing what I was supposed to see. Four young men, two girls and two boys, were smiling and posing, but when I looked closely, I noticed a detail that drew my gaze to the Chief. "Wasn't this girl killed in the lower neighborhood last month? Neriman was even complaining about her being unable to get behind the security cordon and see the details. What was her name?..."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvj7aPhyl3
"Şule, the muezzin's daughter in the lower neighborhood."
I looked carefully at the picture in my hand. Şule was leaning on the shoulder of the boy next to her, smiling in contrast to her black clothes. The only visual similarity between the poor girl found today and them was that they were both children of extremely conservative families. I tried to understand how the chief could connect these children, who were neither physically similar nor physically similar, but since the puzzle I had was incomplete, I handed the picture to the chief.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbbetz9FX3
"I give up, chief. Will you tell me what you saw that I didn't?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4EKFNPKRX
The chief smiled wryly.
"I didn't make a connection based on the picture anyway. The day this picture was taken, the boy next to her gave the girl a necklace. It had a sun on it, and a flower inside. I saw this necklace around the neck of the poor girl who was found today."
Now the pieces were falling into place. I understood why the Chief had said there were things wrong with this shot. But the incident had happened a month ago, and the boy next to her had already been convicted of murder. In fact, the sentence had only been made official last Friday. But if there was a connection, I needed to access the file and examine what was found. Not only that, I needed to learn the information in the file of the girl who was killed today. That was actually the hardest part. Frankly, even just getting answers to my questions would have been enough, but I knew full well that no one would give up information in a case where one was recently closed and the other was open.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSXreoPZ2tU
"Chief, do you remember who was investigating that case?"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02UMiYj2CD
The Chief's eyebrows rose, and a wide smile appeared on his face. When he tried to hide his smile by pressing his lips together, it became clear I wasn't going to like the answer I was about to get.
"Chief Inspector Hafiz."
No way, my eyebrows furrowed as the chief couldn't hold back his laughter any longer. While he was laughing at my state, I was already breaking out in hives, wondering what to do with that loutish commissioner who claimed to be in love with me. As I exhaled angrily, the chief lowered his smile to a smile:
"Melek, don't be ridiculous if you want. This isn't like the books you read. Let's say Hafiz, or the Nemrut police officer handling this case, gave you a few scraps of information, what are you going to do? Leave it to the experts; this isn't the work of a naive woman like you. Besides, have you ever seen a dead body in your life?" I let out a weary sigh. "I'll answer your questions one by one, Chief. Yes, I've seen a dead body before. There was a girl who died when we were staying at the dorm, and I found her body. Besides, dead bodies aren't scary, I think the living are, and I solved that girl's death. I know this isn't a scene from a book, but based on what you just said, if we don't intervene, an innocent young man will be imprisoned for nothing. And more importantly, there's a very high probability we're dealing with a serial killer, and we must help justice."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTwBB0NGKo4
The Chief raised both hands in surrender and shook his head.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2gQJonr5c
"I give up. I won't mess with you. By the way, are you hungry? I'm hungry. I've brewed tea and bought some gözleme from Nezahat. If you're hungry, let's eat together," he said, my eyebrows raised in surprise.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDYwMjexdX
"Seeing a dead girl and thinking about eating it is a whole other level, Chief."8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkv1rWv0XJM
He shrugged at my words and curled his lip.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTAjVK2cWs
"I'm hungry," he said. After shaking my head and showing some patience, he said,8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ538Xc7hBMk
"Do you need help?" When I told him no, he said no and went inside. I went to a table and sat down. The Chief was right, this wasn't a civilian's job, but I wasn't one to give up on a job once I got started.
8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5l3Hh6pAoN
