‘But first there’s a small task I want you to perform whilst you’re out there.’
I sat back in my chair with a rueful smile on my face. ‘I knew there’d be a catch in there somewhere.’
‘You’ll be free to do as you wish when you’re not playing bridge,’ he went on. He placed his hand to his inside pocket and produced an envelope and a passport. ‘I want you to visit a man called Mustapha Ozal at this address. Once in Turkey, apart from the bridge congress, you will go under the name of Mushtaq Hussein. This is the passport that bears your photograph and that name. You’re the editor of a new Islam magazine in Britain similar to Hurriyet, a popular Turkish journal.’
‘What am I supposed to do?’
‘Ask him how he feels to be a Mahdi… the man ready to assemble all of Islam as a Messiah, to rise up against the infidels in the West. Tell him you want to write about him in your magazine so that every Muslim in Britain will learn about his coming.’
‘But how do you know the man is the Mahdi… a God-guided deliverer? Most religious sects grew popular after such ‘Mahdis’ were dead.’
Musaphia drew deeply on his unlit cigar again before replying. ‘In the modern world one cannot leave such matters to divine intervention. If the oil ran out and no deliverer appeared, the people of Islam might lose momentum without a strong leader. Then we could be faced with ambitious tribal leaders forming separate militant factions. Terrorism would increase substantially on a wide scale. As such, Islam is identifying characteristic people to train to become Mahdis so that someone will lead. To our knowledge, there are fourteen people in this category at the present time. All of them outstanding personalities with leadership qualities awaiting selection when the time comes.’
‘That’s crazy!’ I exploded. ‘If what you say is true it’s like having fourteen Jesus Christs… all at the same time! Surely you can’t have so many people in the field doing the same thing!’
‘I’ll tell you how you can,’ he continued, flicking the imaginary white ash off the end of his cigar. ‘Firstly none of these men know of the existence of the others. Secondly, they all train in private so they’re not known to the general public. You’ll understand a lot more when you meet Ozal. After that, we’ll arrange for a debriefing. It helps to know what goes on in the mind of a God-guided deliverer.’
I started to become concerned for I seemed to be getting in deeper despite the fact that I kept saying I was not for sale. ‘What happens if something goes wrong? What sort of back-up will I get?’
He looked at me strangely. ‘What could go wrong? You’re the editor of a new magazine on Islam in Britain.’
‘That’s far too simplistic,’ I rattled feeling my blood pressure rising as I realised the implications. ‘What do I know about Islam? You can put it in a thimble and still lose it. He’ll talk of religious matters of which I’m totally ignorant. He’ll twig I’m an imposter in no time.’
‘You’re a man of originality seeking challenges, Jason,’ he responded coolly. ‘Go to a reference library and learn all you can about Islam. But as you’ll be leaving by the eight o’clock plane tomorrow morning, I fear that the opportunity is lost. You’ll need to find a book on the subject at the airport. As far as your background goes, you’re a British subject born of parents who emigrated to Britain from Beirut. Don’t worry… you won’t be expected to know everything about Islam.’ He passed the envelope and the passport over to me. ‘This envelope contains a fair amount of Turkish lira and your airline ticket… you leave at eight o’clock in the morning. Good luck at the tournament!’
My mind was in a whirl. I hadn’t played bridge for nearly three weeks which didn’t bode well. A lapse of that time could cause a high-class player to lose his edge almost like a concert pianist who hadn’t played the piano for a while. In addition, I had no idea who might partner might be in the international team. It was essential to have an excellent understanding between us if we were to be successful at that level. There was also another matter which would have to wait if I went to Turkey. I couldn’t meet Penny at our usual restaurant. I wanted to hear her explanation about the incident with Tomar Duran in Crete but it would have to wait.
Musaphia and I continued our meal enjoying the first-class cuisine choosing our conversation carefully. He took care to avoid talking about the 21st Century Crusaders and Islam while I chose to become more amiable. He was a wise and pleasant old man but I still wondered why he had travelled all the way to England just to meet me. Although I tried craftily to ascertain his agenda he avoided any discussion of that nature out of hand. For the time being his mission in London was to remain a secret but it had to be something important. I still couldn’t believe that it was possible for someone to arrange for me to be a member of the British international bridge team with a stroke of his hand. Bribery of any kind was out of the question. It was becoming clear to me that many people in elite positions in the world had become members of the 21st Century Crusaders or at least supported them. The other part of the deal was that Musaphia would try to locate Jan. It was then I reminded myself that my wife’s abduction was another matter which required urgent attention. If I was absent for a few days playing bridge in Turkey I wouldn’t be able to follow up the clues she had given me. I really needed to take action immediately but Fate was ruling against me.
When I arrived home, I opened up the large map to examine Hertfordshire in detail. A club and a bridge. My eyes scanned the map trying to unearth anything which might provide a solution…
Potters Bar, Hatfield, St. Albans, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Hitchin. The task seemed impossible! There had to be dozens fo clubs… hundreds of bridges! I poured myself a stiff whisky and sat back for a while trying to work out a solution. My approach to the problem then became clearer. I couldn’t follow it through myself because of the lack of time available but I had an excellent assistant at Dandy Advanced Electronics who could do it for me. I checked with my telephone directory and found his home number.
‘Harry,’ I began tentatively. ‘Sorry to call you so late at night. I wonder if you’d do me a favour. It’s personal and urgent. Will you have a go at it for me?’
‘Sure,’ he said unhesitatingly. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s a matter of life or death,’ I went on. ‘I won’t go into the details. I want you to list all the clubs in the county of Herfordshire… clubs of any description… and also all the bridges in the county. Do you think you could do that for me?’
‘It’s simple enough,’ he returned tiredly. There’s a large tome with an orange cover in the library that lists all the clubs and associations in the country but I’ll do some double-checking to make sure. As far as bridges are concerned, I can get them from an ordinance survey map. I’ll have it for you in a day or two.’
I took the airline ticket and the forged passport from my pocket and laid them on the table. ‘Look,’ I went on, ‘I’ll be away for the next few days. If you list the details and drop them through my letter box I can go through them the moment I return.’
‘This is about your wife, isn’t it?’ he advanced cheekily.
‘Don’t ask questions, Harry!’ I cautioned. ‘And don’t be perceptive! Strange things are happening in the environment and I wouldn’t like you to find yourself involved. Keep all this to yourself. I don’t want anyone finding out what you’re doing! Do you understand?’
‘It’s no sweat to do some research on a little English county.,’ he added. ‘Leave it with me. I’ll get the information for you.’