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across to the other body and bent down low over the gaping wound in the chest.
    ‘Cem, of course, was found slumped over the knife while the girl was, so we are told, originally spread-eagled,’ he continued, ‘but then the downward slope of the hillside would have caused that.’
    ‘She fell over backwards.’
    ‘Or was pushed.’ He returned his attentions to the girl’s body. ‘As I said when we were at the site, I want to check for sexual activity. Forensic are of the opinion that others were present . . .’
    A minute or two passed – Yıldız, his lunch threatening to rebel at any moment, wasn’t counting – accompanied by the sound of dead flesh and bone being shifted around on the table.
    ‘Well, there’s some damage . . .’
    ‘So she could have just had sex . . .’
    ‘I think it’s possible,’ the doctor said, ‘although I won’t know until I’ve performed a full autopsy, which I’ll do first thing in the morning.’
    ‘Oh. Good.’ Yıldız had thought for a moment there that he was in for the long haul. Full autopsy in the middle of the night, his tired stomach bubbling with undigested sheep’s intestines. But then the doctor, as was evident, had to be too tired to perform such an arduous procedure effectively at this time.
    ‘I’ll just have a little preliminary look,’ the doctor said as he tapped at Yıldız’ shoulder in order to get his attention. ‘Why don’t you go and wait in my office? Have a glass of water.’
    Yıldız, suddenly ashamed of what he imagined the doctor would perceive as a weakness, looked away from the small Armenian very quickly.
    ‘You’ve gone a bit of a strange colour,’ Arto whispered gently.
    ‘Oh.’
    Half an hour later, the doctor returned to his office where a much more healthy-looking Yıldız and now Süleyman were waiting for him.
    ‘Well?’ the older man asked as he rose to his feet at the Armenian’s approach.
    The two men shook hands and then sat down.
    ‘Well, as I said to the constable here,’ Arto said as he looked across and smiled at Yıldız, ‘I can’t make a judgement as yet with regard to cause. But the weapon used, as with the boy, was an unserrated dagger. It was very sharp. I should imagine it had been prepared in advance for just this purpose.’
    ‘Anything else?’
    ‘I can confirm sexual activity.’
    Süleyman frowned. ‘Which we didn’t have with the boy.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘So, semen—’
    ‘Oh, don’t get too excited by that,’ Arto said as he held up one hand to silence the policeman. ‘When I said sexual activity, I meant that an act of sex had taken place, not necessarily with another person.’
    ‘Ah.’
    ‘Although another person was involved.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I mean that the girl has been penetrated by something,’ the doctor said. Yıldız, embarrassed and again a little nauseous, looked down at the floor.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I don’t know yet,’ Arto continued, ‘but I don’t believe that she was masturbating herself. She has bruises on her shoulders, consistent with fingermarks. The fingers held her from behind, which is where whatever entered her, a penis or, I believe, something larger and more, shall we say, unkind than that, came from. It bears out Forensic’s contention that there were others present at the site.’
    ‘When do you think you will know what this “thing” might have been, Doctor?’
    ‘I’ll have to get back to you on that, Inspector,’ Arto said with a sigh. ‘I’ve harvested some samples just now. Tomorrow I’ll open her up and then we’ll find out some more.’

C HAPTER 4
    There was nothing sinister about any of the games so far. Youngsters liked computer games; they had, after all, been brought up with them. To be honest, İsak Çöktin wasn’t averse to the odd afternoon shooting up aliens or driving a computer-generated Ferrari himself. Not that he got a lot of time to do such things. His own involvement with computers, outside of his