Barbara Nadel [Nadel - On the Bone

Copyright 2016 Barbara Nadel

The right of Barbara Nadel to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

First published in Great Britain as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2016

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library

eISBN: 978 1 4722 1381 5

Cover photographs James Hughes/Millennium Images UK and Nightman1965/Shutterstock

Cover design by CraigFraserdesign.com

Author photograph Angus Muir

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Contents

In Istanbul the golden city on the Bosphorus ancient myths and modern evils are at work

On a buzzing street in the fashionable district of Beyoglu, a young man drops dead. mit Kavass death was natural but the autopsy betrays a shocking truth: his last meal was human flesh.

Under desperate pressure from their superiors, Inspector Cetin Ikmen and his colleague Mehmet Sleyman begin their most obscure investigation yet. How did mit Kavas, apparently a good, liberal man, come to partake in the greatest taboo of all? Did he act alone? And who was his victim?

Soon they find themselves embroiled in a dark web of underground worlds: of Turkeys old secular elite; a community of squatters; and a new gastronomy scene breaking every boundary. But where does the truth lie?

Trained as an actress, Barbara Nadel used to work in mental health services. Born in the East End of London, she now writes full time and has been a visitor to Turkey for over twenty years. She received the Crime Writers Association Silver Dagger for her novel DEADLY WEB, and the Swedish Flintax Prize for historical crime fiction for her first Francis Hancock novel, LAST RITES.

To find out more, follow Barbara on Twitter @BarbaraNadel

The Inspector kmen Series:

Belshazzars Daughter

A Chemical Prison

Arabesk

Deep Waters

Harem

Petrified

Deadly Web

Dance with Death

A Passion for Killing

Pretty Dead Things

River of the Dead

Death by Design

A Noble Killing

Dead of Night

Deadline

Body Count

Land of the Blind

On the Bone

The Hancock Series:

Last Rights

After the Mourning

Ashes to Ashes

Sure and Certain Death

The Hakim and Arnold Series:

A Private Business

An Act of Kindness

Poisoned Ground

Enough Rope

Inspector etin kmen is one of detective fictions most likeable investigators, despite his grumpy and unsociable character. Or perhaps because of it we seem to like our detectives a little grouchy: think of him as the Morse of Istanbul Daily Telegraph

Intelligent and captivating The Sunday Times

Fascinating Inter-gang drug war and racial prejudice are only two of the ingredients stirred into the incendiary mix Good Book Guide

Impeccable mystery plotting, exotic and atmospheric Guardian

To Alex and Lia

This book would not have been possible without help from the following people:

Earl Starkey and his wonderful assistant Gonca zkk who introduced me to the spectacular Zenne Segah. Leigh Turner CMG, Consul General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, who gave me tea and the tour. For perspective on the Syrian situation, Revd Canon Ian Sherwood, OBE, and, as ever, to my friend and fellow traveller Pat Yale. Plus Ive also watched a lot of television cookery shows!

Police:

Inspector Cetin kmen middle aged stanbul detective

Inspector Mehmet Sleyman stanbul detective and kmens protg

Commissioner Hrrem Teker kmen and Sleymans boss

Sergeant Kerim Grsel kmens sergeant

Sergeant mer Mungun Sleymans sergeant

Arto Sarkissian Armenian police pathologist

Constable Halide Can police officer

Others:

Fatma kmen Cetins wife

Kemal kmen one of Fatma and Cetins sons

Gonca ekerolu Sleymans mistress

Sinem Grsel Kerim Grsels wife

Peri Mungun mer Munguns sister, a nurse

Boris Myskow American celebrity chef at the Imperial Oriental Hotel

Chef Tandoan chef at the Imperial Oriental Hotel

Blent Onay chef at the Imperial Oriental Hotel

Aysel Gurcanli chef at the Imperial Oriental Hotel

Tayyar Zarides, also known as Cyrus a Greek pork butcher

Imam zgr Ayan a cleric

Burak Ayan the imams son

Mustafa Ayan the imams son

Radwan a Syrian refugee

Azzam a Syrian refugee

Uur nan originator of the Art House squat

smet nan Uurs son

Birgl nan smets wife

Ziya Yetkin a biker

Zenne Gl a male belly dancer

Meltem Baser Gls friend

Ahu Kasap Gls friend

Pembe Hanm Gls friend

Celal Vural a waiter

Selma Vural Celals wife

Aylin Hanm Imam Ayans neighbour

Ramazan Aylins son

General Abdullah Kava murder victims father

Belgin Kava murder victims mother

Major General Deniz Baydar retired soldier

Defne Baydar the Major Generals wife

Father Bacchus Katsaros Greek Orthodox priest

Cneyt Civan Internet trader

Mimi prostitute

Could guilt kill? Scientifically that had to be bullshit. But dying as a result of guilt, well, that could be possible, couldnt it? The stress of carrying guilt could put pressure on the central nervous system, which could in turn affect the heart. Long-term stress could result in damage to the heart muscle. And heart disease was in the family.

He felt hot, then cold, then hot again. His chest hurt. Indigestion, his body rejecting food it hadnt been designed to eat. Or had it? Of course it hadnt. Hed known it was wrong. But at the same time, hed been curious. And it had looked good. Now he knew what Hagop meant when he talked about crackling, although he doubted whether his Armenian friend had ever had it like he had.

He felt sick. It wasnt good to be out on stiklal Caddesi on a Saturday night when he felt so rough. Istanbuls principal party street was buzzing with noise, food smells, tobacco smoke and a cross-section of humanity that made his head swim at the best of times. Now everyone looked frightening and disapproving. He felt they knew , and his chest tightened again. But how could they know? Sweat poured down his face. Years ago, when his family had taken holidays, hed got food poisoning in Sicily. Hed thought he was about to die. But then hed also had the shits. He gagged. Maybe it was coming out of the other end? Hed have to get to a side street or a shop doorway. He wasnt far from the church of St Antoine. If he could stagger through the gates and on to the steps, he could sink down on the ground and maybe start to feel a bit better. But as he began to walk towards the church, he felt the world turn upside down and he hit the road with his shoulder.