‘The far end of İstiklal Avenue.’

‘Come this way. Fast. You’ll see a black Mercedes, parked outside a smart-looking Armenian restaurant. Park right behind it.’

‘Got it.’

As Julie came up to join her, Kate said, ‘We have to follow the black Mercedes. I’ve called Callum.’

He was there within seconds. Kate asked him to move to the passenger seat and got in to drive. The Mercedes pulled away and Kate sat closely on its tail.

11

‘WHERE THE HELL are they taking us?’ Julie asked.

They had been on the freeway heading out of the modern section of Istanbul for almost fifteen minutes and the car in front was picking up speed.

‘We need to abort this, Kate.’

She didn’t answer.

‘We’re here without back-up and God knows where these bastards are taking us.’

‘I can let you out on the first freeway exit and you can make your own way back.’

Julie cursed quietly.

‘You?’ Kate asked Callum. ‘There’s no shame if you want out.’

‘Of course not. We need to hear what she has to say.’

Silence descended as Kate concentrated on staying in view of the Mercedes ahead. The bright new skyscrapers of the European side of Istanbul dwindled slowly until they were out in the countryside, hemmed in by thick trees. ‘They’re taking us to Belgrad Forest,’ Julie said eventually, eyes glued to her phone. ‘Which seems like a good place to bury three foreigners.’

Julie was right. Twenty minutes later, they were through the main entrance gate to the forest and still struggling to stay on the tail of the speeding Mercedes, the afternoon sunlight now filtering through the thick canopy of thousands of sessile oak trees. ‘This is where they buried Jamal Khashoggi,’ Julie said, referring to the journalist the Saudis had cut up in their own embassy in Istanbul.

They reached a fork in the road and took the lower route to the bottom of an old dam. The Mercedes pulled up and the same man they had followed from the café got out and crossed the open ground towards them. ‘He’s nervous about something,’ Kate whispered, as she watched his uneven gait.

‘No prizes for guessing what,’ Julie said.

Kate wound down the window. ‘Follow this lower road beyond the dam,’ the young man told her. ‘You’re looking for a grey Audi. It will be parked on the roadside a mile or two ahead.’

‘Where are you going?’ Kate asked.

‘Back to Istanbul.’ He returned to the Mercedes. It swung around and hurtled back the way they had just come. Kate glanced about her. A line of cars was parked close to the dam. A mother and three children with staves fashioned as swords approached one.

‘Text her,’ Julie said. ‘At the very least, we should find out if she’s here.’

Kate did as she’d been instructed, but no message came back.

‘We have to turn around, Kate,’ Julie said.

‘Let’s go on,’ Callum insisted. He was a damned cool customer.