PART 1 β THE POLICE CHIEF
Following a run-in with the local authorities, faithful wife, mother and all round goody two shoes, Jenny, soon found herself transformed into a human shish kebab.
Last year my husband and I were to go to Turkey for a much-needed holiday. He had been working especially hard for several months (He was an electrician) and we had booked ourselves two weeks as a treat to ourselves. However, less than a month before we were due to depart he was offered a large contract that would keep him in lucrative work for over a year. I was very irritated when he first suggested canceling the holiday. However soon realised that it was for the best. He was a very conscientious provider for the family and I knew he wouldn't enjoy the trip if he had to turn down the work. It transpired, however, that our daughter, Sarah (then just 20), could take his place at no extra cost and so that was arranged and we set off for Turkey.
We had a lot of fun together for the first few days, shopping in the markets and lying by the pool in the hotel. But it soon became obvious to me that she would be far happier spending time with people her own age. Also, as a pretty young woman, she was attracting a certain amount of attention from both the local men and other tourists.
One evening, a group of about half a dozen German students in the same hotel asked us to join them on a trip the next day to see some ruins and then go to a quiet beach. They very kindly included me in their invitation. I tactfully made my excuses and insisted they should go without Mum.
Just before we turned for the night, Sarah suggested that we go for a walk along the beach. However, we had only been out for five minutes when a man appeared in the darkness and grabbed her small handbag. There wasn't much in it - just a few pounds in local currency and the room key - but we were quite shaken and fled back to the hotel.
The staff there was very helpful and comforting. They moved our things to another room for security.
The next morning before Sarah went off next morning, she and I walked to the police station. The two policemen behind the counter were awful - an older one, who deigned to get out of his chair, and a younger one, who spoke about two words of English and just leered at Sarah.
After about five minutes I was at the end of my tether with trying to communicate with them and burst into tears. At that point the door behind the desk opened and a very distinguished looking police officer walked out. He spoke curtly to the other two before asking us, in excellent English, what the problem appeared to be. We were invited into his large office, coffee was brought, and the details of the crime were recorded - the officer reassured us that everything would be done to find the bag, hoped this would saying that he not spoil our visit to his country. He was so charming.
Feeling a lot better, Sarah drove off with her new friends and I spent a relaxing day reading in the sun.
It was late afternoon when I got a message in the hotel to say that the police had found the bag and the culprit, and that I was welcome to go round at any time and pick it up. So I showered, changed and went straight over to the police station.
The insolent older man on the desk was very much more respectful now and ushered me straight into the back office. The officer was sat at his desk but got up to offer me a seat. He told me that, in such a small community, they had easily found the thief and produced the handbag. We chatted for some time, during which time he told me his name was Mehmet.
The time must have flown by, because I suddenly noticed that it was getting dark outside and the officer got up to close the shutters at the window. He then walked around the back of my chair and leaned over and spoke quietly into my ear - this came as something of a shock, although I must confess that I found him very attractive. He asked me what sort of man my husband was to allow such an attractive wife and daughter to come away alone together?
Despite the fact that I should have been outraged at this effrontery, the sound of his voice so close to me and the touch of his moustache on my neck sent tingles down my spine that I had honestly never felt before. With this handsome stranger on a balmy evening, I suddenly felt a very long way from home and free of the duties of a wife, mother and respectable citizen. Rather than get up and leave, as I should have done, I stayed sat in the chair as he continued to whisper in my ear.