Love Me, Istanbul

#6: Family Matters

That morning Demir found himself lying on the couch in the veranda. His eyes were swollen after crying himself to sleep on the night before. He packed up the box and took it back to his apartment. After a long shower, Demir made his way to Altinkaya's house. Burak had sent him a message late at night - he had just returned to Istanbul and asked Demir to have breakfast at his father's place.

Pulling over by the curb, Demir made his way into Altinkaya's huge house. A housekeeper led him across the living room and onto the balcony overlooking a luxurious garden and swimming pool - where Burak and Altinkaya are setting the table. Clad in a casual shirt and jeans, the young entrepreneur looked different from what Demir remembered of him when they were both in boarding school as teenagers. Back then, Burak was just a lanky, awkward student in thick glasses, always bullied by the older boys at school.  Now, Burak has transformed into a fit, strong man with everything in his hands - a stable income and a successful career. Demir had even heard rumours from Vedat that Burak was dating a famous actress.

"Eeh, anlat bakalım," Demir said, taking another bite of his omelette. "How are you doing with that celebrity girlfriend of yours?"

The question caught Burak off guard. Celebrity girlfriend? He thought. The only girlfriend he ever had was Selin Sever. Realizing Demir must have not known about it, Burak let out a hearty laugh. "Illahi Demir," he said. "Have you been living under a rock, oğlum? We broke up ages ago, aşk olsun."

"Burak," Altinkaya said, a warning hint in his voice.

"Tamam be," Demir said. "I'm asking out of goodwill and now you're judging me?"

"Demircim, a normal person reads the news..." Burak paused, regretting his words instantly as his father gave him a strong nudge. He saw the smile leaving Demir's face. He remembered the reason behind the emerging sadness in his friend's eyes. After the death of his childhood friend, Demir isolated himself from the outside world - he grew a distaste towards radio news or reading newspapers. Burak tried talking him out of his trauma but to no avail. Demir clearly never got over his loss...and sometimes it seemed like he never wanted to get over it anytime soon."Offf naptım ya," he said. "Kusura bakma, I didn't mean to upset you." 

Demir shook his head. "Sorun değil," he said, managing a smile. "Kahvalti için teşekkür ederim."

"Rica ederim," Burak said. 

"Demir," Altinkaya said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Demir nodded. Burak took another bite off his simit as he watched his father bring his best friend towards the study. Prior to his retirement, Altinkaya mentored Demir in the police force - they would have private discussions on certain cases and work out a solution to crack them. To Burak, this is probably another hard case on Demir's table.

"About Operation Cheetah," Altinkaya asked. "What are you up to now?"

"Nothing much yet," Demir said. "I still can't figure out who was the woman in the photograph."

Altinkaya nodded. He felt a bubble of guilt burst inside him. He couldn't bring himself to tell Demir the truth behind Attila's death. Although the woman in the photo was never identified, Altinkaya knew who she was. Just the day before his death, Attila called Altinkaya to be a witness at his marriage ceremony with Reyhan. He never saw his best friend again until two weeks after his death. They laid Attila's body in the cold forensic room, along with Reyhan - clad in a soiled, soggy wedding dress.

"Don't stress yourself out too much," Altinkaya said to his younger accolade. "I've been working on this case for the past 20 years and I still don't know who killed your father."

Demir let out a heavy sigh. "Anladim," he said. "I will take time off tonight. Someone invited me to dinner."

Altinkaya perked up. "Someone special?"