I Am Pilgrim

In a torrential summer storm, Murdoch prepares for his planned invasion of Cumali’s home. He drives there in a rented Vespa he conceals nearby. He climbs onto her roof and enters through her attic. He finds the television with evidence of her satellite dish and copies her computer. He finds the word “clownfish” in a few of her papers but is not yet aware of its significance (415). He picks open her filing cabinet, finding evidence her son was recently hospitalized for meningitis. This, too, will later prove important, as the hospitalization coincides with the dates of the phone calls. Looking at the bill, though, Murdoch recalls that though Cumali is divorced, she may have opted to keep her married name. Her birth name may therefore be a vital clue. He is so absorbed in the task he does not realize a car is nearby.

Hayes then adopts Cumali’s perspective to explain what happens next: She arrives home early, as the circus ended in a power outage. The loose roof tiles indicating someone has accessed her attic alarm her enough to call her colleagues. Back in Murdoch’s narration, he finds her wedding album and takes a photo, hoping that it will provide the name of the photographer. He takes Cumali’s spare weapon with him and heads back for the roof, certain his only hope is to escape from above.

He barely makes the jump onto the roof of the adjacent boat warehouse, and he realizes he is visible to his pursuers when shots ring out. He takes refuge in the warehouse, where craft awaiting repair hang above him from hooks. As officers swarm in, Murdoch realizes he can steer the boats using a keypad. He engineers a collision and in the distraction leaps aboard another craft. He dives from boat to boat and is nearly safe when one of Cumali’s more corrupt colleagues, recognizing him as Brodie Wilson, orders him to a halt. He drops his gun but keeps the keypad that controls the boats, engineering a crash that kills his pursuer.

Murdoch escapes in the confusion and retreats to inspect the stolen photograph from Cumali’s wedding album. He calls the photographer with a ruse about needing to order more prints for the couple and learns that Cumali’s maiden name was al-Nassouri. This indicates she is from an Arabic-speaking country near the Persian Gulf. Murdoch’s hotel manager agrees to be his alibi, thrilled with the reports of the corrupt officer’s death.

Murdoch crosses the Bulgarian border to call Whisperer from an untraceable prepaid phone, astonishing and delighting him with his successful identification of Cumali. Murdoch urges him to convince the president not to arrest Cumali until they learn more about her, suggesting Battleboi’s help will be needed. He is dismayed to learn that Battleboi is facing federal imprisonment, and Whisperer promises to help. Murdoch remains unnerved by his ability to account for Cumali’s motives.