She asked, “How do we find this man?”
Nasir replied, “You can’t. No one has seen Abbas al-Hamdani since Friday evening, when he was spotted by a few people having tea at a café. He was supposed to open his shoe store at noon on Saturday, but he never arrived. And no one can reach him by phone. Then early the following morning, Mr. Vance’s body was found in the park.” He added, “I doubt al-Hamdani’s body will ever be found.”
Taylor asked, “Did he live alone?”
Nasir nodded. “His wife died a few years ago.”
Brodie said, “If Hamdani was Vance’s killer, he could have skipped town.”
Nasir laughed. “Abbas was a sad, old, fat little man. Not capable of killing.”
Taylor pointed out, “He worked with weapons of mass destruction, but he wasn’t capable of killing someone?”
Nasir shook his head. “Making choices that kill thousands, that’s easy. Pulling the trigger and killing one man…” He trailed off, as if he were recalling some personal experiences with that activity. It occurred to Brodie that if Mr. Nasir was as important as he claimed to be, he was also a dangerous man, and Brodie would have liked something in his pocket other than a toothpick.
Nasir continued, “As for Hamdani going into hiding because his identity was discovered, this is not so easy either. This requires resources and powerful allies, things he no longer had. No, I am certain that whoever killed Harry Vance also killed Abbas al-Hamdani.”
Taylor said, “And the killer got rid of Hamdani’s body, but left Vance to be discovered in a city park.”
Nasir looked at her. “I’m sure you can figure that one out. If Mr. Vance’s murder was not an act of Islamic terrorism, what better place for his body to show up than Neukölln? This is a useful distraction, yes? It makes people like you waste your time investigating the wrong things. And the press gets to blame their favorite villain, the Arabs.” He continued, “The German authorities already know about Mr. Vance’s trip to the Al Mahdi Center and his request for information about Iraqi immigrants. The police interviewed people at the Islamic center, including Hasan here. Everyone was truthful that they either did not speak to Mr. Vance or spoke to him briefly but gave him no information. Everyone, that is, except Hasan, who lied and claimedhe never spoke with Mr. Vance.” He threw a critical look at Hasan, who was staring at the floor. “He was trying to protect me, you see. He meant well, but it was the wrong choice. Never tell a lie that gets you in more trouble than the truth. Hasan will contact the police tomorrow and correct his statement, and deal with the consequences.”
Nasir said something to Hasan in Arabic. Hasan nodded, fished a scrap of paper out of his back pocket, and gave it to Brodie. On the paper was a handwritten phone number.
Nasir explained, “Should you need to contact Hasan directly for any follow-up.”
Brodie put the paper in his jacket pocket and regarded Hasan. The man had escaped the hell of his own war-torn country for a better life in Europe, only to find himself under the thumb of a warlord by another name.
Nasir said, “I am sure you will agree I have been very helpful.”
Brodie replied, “You’re helping yourself.”
Nasir said, “Our interests align. If they didn’t, we would have a problem.”
“Is that a threat?”
Nasir looked him in the eyes. “I do not threaten. I just say how it is.” He eyed their hands in their pockets. “And when I deceive, I do a better job of it than you, and the late Mr. Vance.” He stood, and they all rose from their chairs. “I hope that your stay in our neighborhood is productive, and brief.” He added, with a smile, “But you should find better lodgings. That place is a shithole.”
Brodie wondered if Mustafa was late on his protection payments. More importantly, Rafeeq Nasir was letting them know that he knew where they slept, which made sense if Hasan had been following Brodie since his visit to the Islamic center.
Taylor said, “You made your point. Now drop the surveillance. Oryouwill be the one with the problem.”
Rafeeq Nasir looked like he was not used to being talked to like that, especially by a woman, but he tried to hide his annoyance and said calmly, “I grew up during the civil war in Lebanon. Every street of my neighborhood in Beirut was a death trap of snipers and mines and ambushes. If you let your guard down, you were dead. I learned many lessons in this and formed some useful habits. I keep my eyes on my neighborhood.”
Well, if Nasir truly had eyes everywhere around here, he’d know who had killed Harry Vance.
Brodie thought back to Mark Jenkins’ account of being followed. Could that have been Nasir’s people? It might make sense that they’d want to keep an eye on him, but how would they even know who he was in relation to Vance, and that he was in town and staying in Alexanderplatz? Rafeeq Nasir might be lord of his fiefdom here in Neukölln, but that didn’t mean he was capable of IDing and locating Mark Jenkins. There were also Faruk’s “powerful men” present at Ember Berlin at the same time as Harry. Neukölln was an interesting and complex place.
Brodie asked Nasir, “Did you have someone watching Vance the night of his murder?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Well, two guys in your line of work were at the Ember Berlin hookah lounge at the same time as Vance, about thirty minutes before he was killed.”
Nasir thought about that a moment. “My men do not go to this place. But I know who does.”
“Who?”
“A different family. I will look into it.” He added, “But this was likely a coincidence. People like us don’t kill policemen. It is bad for business.”
