NOVEL — NATURIST FICTION
Waiting To Be Arrested
Nightshade Publishing Company 25 — Sitting on pins and needles
“Dr. Baillie, Mr. Tengri would like to meet with you,” announced Wilson who was on the other end of the phone. “He is sending a driver to pick up Dr. Fraser and you. Please be ready when the driver gets there. This is an important meeting regarding your project.”
“Of course, Mr. Wilson. We’ll be ready.”
Turning to Meaghan, I said, “We’ve been summoned to appear before Mr. Tengri. He must have heard something and wants to pull out of the deal.”
“I’d understand it if he did,” she said. “Next, I wouldn’t be surprised if your editor at City Center Books does the same. I can’t imagine that books with our names on them will become saleable once the news goes public.”
It was late Monday morning. We had just returned from a lengthy interview at the police station with Detective Farbauti, where we were treated as the criminals. No interest had been shown in pursuing our complaints about an invasion of privacy and stalking.
The girls hadn’t released any of their videos yet. And from what the police were implying, the moment they had the video proof of our unlawful nudity, arrests would quickly follow. They had quoted two laws in New York State: one for indecent exposure and the second for public lewdness.
“Indecent exposure could net you a criminal record and jail time. You’ve already admitted that you exposed yourself when you opened the door to your house. You’ve said that one Dee Williams was shocked by what she saw. That’s indecent exposure no matter how you cut it. That’s fifteen days as a guest of the State at one of our fine penal facilities and a $250 fine,” Farbauti stated.
“As for public lewdness, that’s another fine and three months of jail time and at least a year of probation. Being in your home is no protection. The law is clear. The two of you are not the victims here. The students would be the victims. I’d even say I would be proud of them if they managed to get recordings of your perverted behavior.”
How had word travelled so fast? I couldn’t think of any other reason for the summons. Everything seemed to be going from bad to worse in a hurry. A black car pulled up in front of the house. I wasn’t sure if it was an unmarked cop car or the driver who was picking us up to meet with Tengri. As the driver emerged from the car, I recognised Zuhre. I felt a sigh of relief. We weren’t being arrested yet.
“Meaghan, it’s Zuhre, not the police. Let’s not keep her waiting.”
“Ah, so good to see you again,” Tengri said with what appeared to be genuine pleasure as we entered the lobby of the Akana Building. “Let’s take the elevator to my apartment where we can have a private chat.”
His greeting didn’t suggest any knowledge of what we were experiencing. Maybe he didn’t know yet, what was going on. The elevator went to the top floor. When the door opened, I couldn’t help myself from staring with my mouth wide open.
“Wow! This place is huge. He must have turned the whole top floor into his apartment,” Meaghan said, awe evident in her voice as she said what I had been thinking.
“Welcome to my home away from home,” Tengri stated with his arms opened in welcome and with a warm smile on his face.
The palatial penthouse was a blend of gold, yellow, pale blues, and white. On the ceiling a golden sun was paired with a pure white dove in a sky of blue. On the walls, old Turkic script and symbols were protected by glassed frames. Older items were encased in crystal clear boxes placed on pedestals at various locations away from the expansive windows. It was obvious that Tengri was a collector of ancient artifacts from his homeland.
“Your home is beautiful, Mr. Tengri.”
“Thank you, Dr. Fraser. You are most gracious.”
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I took note of a particular image, a framed circle that appeared to be a drum with nine squared dots at the centre and with four arms of three pillars going from the centre to the outer circle. It reminded me of a medicine wheel. The presence of symbols, one for each quadrant, told me that the image was likely another ancient Turkish artifact.
“Ah, I see that the old Siberian symbol for god-the-father, Chēng lí, has caught your attention.”
“It reminds me of the Indigenous peoples of North America who have something similar in their medicine wheel,” I admitted. “But those aren’t Chinese characters, Mr. Tengri.”
“Those are Turkish characters. The artifact was once part of a shaman’s drum. And yes, there is a relationship between the Indigenous people of North America and the Mongols of the Siberian plains, just as there is a similar relationship between the Mongols and the original Turkish people.
Meghan had wandered further into the penthouse, studying the wall hangings and artifacts along the way. One image in particular caught her attention.
“Mr. Tengri, what is this?”
“Ah, that’s the tree of life. Let me tell you about it. Like all trees, this tree inhabits the world of sky and the world of earth. Father Sky and Mother Earth are connected like an umbilical cord, by the tree. Mother Earth is the womb that is receptive for the seeds of Father Sky.”
“This is so interesting,” Meghan said as she turned back to look at the tree of life. “Do you mind if I take a picture of it?”
“Not a problem. There are no secrets here. There is just one condition, please don’t use a flash.”
I was getting tired of the obvious delay in Tengri’s getting to the reason for the summons, and Tengri noticed.
“It is time to talk. Please join me in the sitting room. We have much to discuss.”
As we took the seats offered to us, a server brought us some coffee, as well as a selection of pastries, one of which I recognized as the pistachio pastry that Zuhre had brought to our house.
“I want to let you know that I am fully aware of the current situation. I am also satisfied that neither of you has done anything to warrant the treatment you are receiving from the university and the police.”
I’m sure that the look of surprise on our faces was seen as he rushed to add, “This in no way cancels our agreement. A contract is a contract and I am more certain than ever that you are the right couple for the task.”
“At least something is still positive,” Meaghan stated with relief. “Thank you, Mr. Tengri.”
“I have more good news to share with both of you. My lawyer is meeting with President Jones as we speak. Since I have a sizable investment in the two of you, he is now your lawyer. Once he has secured your positions at the university, he will meet with the police, as your lawyer, to attempt to have any action against you dropped. After all, so far all they have to go on is your statement. As it stands, there is no way there would be a conviction.”
“We’ve been videoed by the three students. That can’t all disappear as if they never existed. What if they make them public and go to the police?”
“If that happens, we will deal with it then. For now, I suggest that you return home and wait for a phone call from my lawyer. She has your number.”
Previously
