The Templar Inheritance by Mario Reading

Author:Mario Reading
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Books Ltd

THIRTY-TWO

Erbil, Iraq

WEDNESDAY 8 MAY 2013

Scarcely six days had passed since Hart had said goodbye to Nalan Abuna for what he had supposed would be the final time. But he had thought about her constantly in the days that followed – days in which he had tried, but failed, to focus his mind solely on the deterioration of his mother’s Alzheimer’s, and on the increasing mental fragility of her long-time partner and carer, Clive.

His solemn promise to Amira that he was not returning to Iraq because of Nalan had been somewhat cavalier, therefore. But Amira’s jealousy made it next to impossible to deal with her rationally. After all, Hart told himself, they’d been living apart for nearly a year now, but Amira clearly felt she owned a part of him. Still tried to punch his ticket whenever she could. It wasn’t reasonable. It wasn’t acceptable. But it was there. Still. There were moments in life when a man had to move forwards, and this was one of them.

Hart had every intention of searching for the Copper Scroll if it was humanly possible to do so – the very thought of its existence created a void in his stomach that he knew he would need to fill or go mad. But the prospect of seeing Nalan again, even though she was explicitly promised to another man, overrode whatever passed for stable logic in his mind. One thing bled into another, as it were. No Copper Scroll without Nalan – and without Nalan his search for the Copper Scroll would be a pointless exercise anyway. He would as soon be capable of landing unassisted on the moon as he would be of getting into Iran unaided. So, after a certain amount of prevarication, he had phoned.

Nalan had seemed surprised to hear from him again so soon. But he had swiftly reminded her of the manuscript he had shown her in the Red Interrogation House cellars, and explained the bare bones of the translation to her, and of how his newspaper was unexpectedly commissioning him to take the thing a step further. As a result of this he would be able to pay her well above the daily market rate for her continued assistance, with an added bonus at the end of their collaboration if the story actually led anywhere. Surely this would help her with her imminent marriage plans? No? After a little more persuasion, Nalan agreed to go back on the payroll.

Hart’s first suggestion had been that she should meet him at Erbil International Airport, but for some reason Nalan had rejected that idea out of hand. They had finally arranged to meet inside the 7,000-year-old Citadel of Erbil, at the place where the guided tours generally started. Nalan was a registered guide as well as a qualified translator, and so this would not seem out of the ordinary. Hart had no idea why she was being so cautious, but he was sufficiently up on Arab and Kurdish customs to know that things were done differently in Iraq than they were in London.

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