Death in Istanbul (Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery Book 6) by Maria Hudgins

Author:Maria Hudgins [Hudgins, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2017-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Marco left for yet another conference at the Italian Consulate. The courier had been located, unharmed, but a bit red-faced. He had acted suspiciously at Ataturk Airport and caught the attention of immigration officials. Unaware that he could have simply told them the truth, he had tried to cover up the purpose of his mission and the reason he was carrying an attaché case, empty except for a pair of handcuffs. He was new to the Carabinieri and in need of further training.

The whereabouts and retrieval of the bonds had become a hot topic with Italian Officials and law enforcement from one end of the Mediterranean to the other. Marco suggested, privately to me, that the intense interest was partly due to the extreme “sexiness” of the story. Compared to a conference on the problems of supply chain security and regional data base management, counterfeiters and smugglers who operated like old-time gangsters were infinitely more interesting. The former, Marco told me, was the actual topic of an upcoming Euro-African conference. “My fellow officers are jealous of me.”

“So how about letting them handle the roof-top chases?” I still cringed thinking about Liu Jindong’s escape and Marco’s luck in retrieving the bonds without killing himself.

*****

I asked the concierge how I should go about getting a new passport. He took me down the hall to the same room where Sadeen, Marco, and I had talked earlier. Clicking on a U.S. government website, the concierge left me alone with an online application to complete. When finished, I learned that I now had to print out the application and take it, along with my old, ruined passport, to the American Consulate.

The American Consulate was, unfortunately, in the New City and a long way from the Spoonmaker’s Hotel. I checked an online map of Istanbul and found that the Consulate was way past the northern end of the tram route. It would be a long cab ride. I saw no reason why I had to do this immediately. After all I did have a passport, and anyone who insisted on seeing it could jolly well open that plastic bag themselves.

*****

Lettie and I walked the few blocks to the ancient Byzantine church called Hagia Sophia, or Holy Wisdom, one of the most visited sites in the world. Lettie made me stand by and make sure no one stepped on her while she actually lay down on the floor under the amazing golden dome and looked up. Still standing after more than a millennium, it seemed to float on pure light.

Lying flat on her back, Lettie said, “Jess needs to see this.”

“Did you ask her to come with us?”

“She said she needs to stay with her brother today. Maybe I can pry her away tomorrow.”

“How is Herb doing?”

“Not well. Jess is trying to talk him into moving back to Blacksburg—to Virginia Tech.” She went silent for a moment. “Is that all pure gold?”

“They certainly couldn’t do electroplating back then,” I said. I tried to imagine Herb not doing well.

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