Fire in a Haystack: A Thrilling Novel (Legal Mystery Book Book 1) (22 page)

Chapter 36

Ofer went up to his apartment. His revulsion at the terrible mess in the rooms had not diminished. He knew that the sense of disgust would remain with him even after he straightened up, but first he wanted to look and smell like a human being again. At long last, he took a shower, cleaned up the vomit and changed his clothes. When he was done, he felt slightly better.

He called Yoav. “What’s up, man? Any results?”

“Not yet. You need to be patient, my friend.”

“I thought of going out to have a drink. I’ve got a lot to tell you. And more importantly, I’ve got a lot of riddles to solve. I need a sharp mind like yours on my side.”

Yoav hesitated at first. “I had other plans. But you know what, you sound so depressed that I just have to cheer you up a bit. It won’t hurt for me to use my head a little bit. God knows I used the rest of my body parts last night.”

Jealousy flooded Ofer; he preferred not to ask for the dirty details.

“Perhaps you should come here first. The results may arrive any moment now,” Yoav suggested.

Ofer liked that idea and drove to the Forensic Institute.

The guard had been told about his arrival in advance and allowed him to enter. Yoav’s work environment wasn’t really arousing. On the contrary. The strong scent of formalin made it impossible for the senses to concentrate on anything else.

Yoav ushered him into a large workroom. Strong fluorescent lights glittered. The walls were lined with shelves laden with jars. In the center of the room stood two stainless steel gurneys. The floor was made of light colored tiles and appeared to be frequently cleaned.

“Come on. Talk. What riddles do you have for me?” asked Yoav.

“Look, things are much more complicated than I first thought them to be,” explained Ofer.

“The riddle goes like this:

“The dwarf with the mustache was found dead in the Dan Panorama Hotel.

“The intern’s father had died in exactly the same way ten years earlier.

“The dwarf, before dying, had tried to send a text message to the Russian oligarch. The message was ‘The fire is burning.’”

“The intern’s apartment was broken into by someone who stole, among other things, a Caucasian carpet.

“The Russian chambermaid was rolled into the Caucasian carpet in Holon.

“The oligarch’s business card was found with the chambermaid, who had her braid stuffed into her mouth.

“The owner of the Caucasian carpet found both bodies by himself.”

“Are you making this all up, or is there some truth in there?”

“It’s all true. They broke into my apartment. They killed the chambermaid. The guy who broke into my apartment chased me—”

“Hold on, man. That’s too much information. Let’s go at it step by step. Now tell me, what’s the question we need to solve at the end of the puzzle? And what is the reward?” Yoav was losing his patience.

“I’m fed up with you. You’re not taking this seriously, please try to concentrate. The first question is very simple in my opinion—Why was the English kangaroo in contact with the Russian oligarch, and what does ‘The fire is burning’ mean?”

“All right, I see that you’re not in the mood for black humor. Tell me what you saw on the English kangaroo’s cell phone. Let’s start with something specific.” 

“I saw he claimed that ‘The fire is burning.’”

“What is the ‘fire’?... Wait, I have an idea. Perhaps it’s the name of the disease? Smallpox was also called ‘The Great Fire.’”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Ofer remembered with dread the last article he had read on the internet.

“It has everything to do with it. Rodety died of a viral infection. The virus is a mutation of the black plague. Why isn’t this a good direction? But in my humble opinion, that’s not the question. The question is—Whose body will the intern come across next, isn’t it?”

Ofer gave him a terrified stare. How did Yoav know? “The stranger was found hung from a hook in the public restrooms…” said Ofer.

“Ofer, what is wrong with you? Are you feeling well?” Yoav looked concerned.

A short, bald man, dressed in a green gown and wearing gold-framed glasses, entered the room.

“Professor Zissou, this is a friend of mine, Ofer Angel,” Yoav introduced him to his boss.

To Ofer’s shock and disgust, the professor was holding something that looked like a chunk of meat in his gloved hands.

“Look at this spleen,” he said to Yoav. Ofer was glad he hadn’t tried to shake the professor’s hand.

“I see the tumor, according to the size and color,” said Yoav.

For a moment, Ofer regretted coming there. A sickness overwhelmed him and a lump was stuck in his throat.

“This is the friend from whose father’s grave we took tissue for examination,” said Yoav.

“Welcome. It’s a good thing that you brought your father for examination,” said the professor. “The bones were in excellent shape. There were more than enough tissue and hair remains. I even identified some tooth fragments. Apparently, the soil there has good qualities that preserve whatever’s buried in it. Luckily for you, the microbes I was looking for were absorbed into the bones. Must have had enough of it in the body. In short, we’ve discovered your father was carrying what may have been a highly dangerous virus mutation in his body.”

“What do you mean? Was it dangerous or not?”

“It is no longer dangerous, but it might have been. We recently found it in another body. Both were infected by the same source. But following our examinations, we have come to a clear conclusion.”

Even Yoav was upset. “Professor, Angel carried the same mutation that we discovered in Rodety’s body?”

“Exactly, that’s what I just said, didn’t I?”

“What does it mean?” Yoav’s eyes glittered with interest.

“It means they both died the same way, from a large dosage of the virus. Even if Angel’s body had been autopsied then, they wouldn’t have discovered it. Today, technology allows us to identify with precision each virus. In the past, they would just say that he was killed by heart failure.”

“They really died in the exact same way. Completely naked with only their socks on…” Ofer began to feel dizzy.

“That makes sense. The first sensation a large dosage of the virus causes is that of heat waves all over the body. The digestive system feels like it’s on fire. This is a virus that’s transferred through food and drink. Luckily, it cannot be transmitted through the air. The infected man would want to tear all his clothes off. He would take off his shoes in order to undress. He wouldn’t bother to take off his socks; all he would care about is chilling his body.”

“Then they were both murdered?” asked Yoav, seeing Ofer’s face gradually paling.

“I’m a doctor, not Inspector Gadget. I have no idea. If they had wanted to put them to sleep in order to strangle them, for example, we would find compounds such as suxamethonium chloride, which is used in the operating room. We would discover it in a toxicology screen. In this case, the victims drank or were forcefully given to drink a concentrated dose of the virus. Even though I find it difficult to believe a man would willingly drink such a deadly dosage, one can never know. I know hardly anything about dead people, so don’t ask me about live ones.” Professor Zissou opened a pair of innocent eyes. “But one thing I can tell you, I have no idea if they were both murdered. But that… well, what was his name… that Rodety… was definitely murdered. About the other one, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case as well. After so many years, it’s a bit more complex, but his body contained the same virus. This is a scientific fact. And at the time of his death there were no scientific means to discover this in an autopsy. Now there are.”

Yoav looked at Ofer to examine his reaction to what he had just heard.

He turned to Ofer just in time, because his friend fainted. Yoav sprang and managed to catch him before he could fall to the floor and bang his head. The professor lifted Ofer’s feet, and together they lay him on a gurney. Yoav checked his pulse. Zissou tried to wake him up.

“I don’t feel well,” Ofer whispered. “I feel dizzy.” Dr. Zissou held a glass of water to his mouth while Yoav took a sphygmomanometer from somewhere and hurried to examine him.

“The virus is still incubating in his body. He drank the same thing as Rodety,” Yoav reminded the professor.

“That’s right. We just need to wait.”

“Does this mean his life is still in danger?”

“Yes. That’s my conclusion following all the tests we’ve conducted. But it’s too early to determine with certainty. We’ve sent everything to a laboratory abroad. There are enough renowned experts there and their opinions are very important. How much time has passed?”

“Three days. So, can he calm down?”

“I didn’t say that, young man. I believe there is a good chance he can, but one needs to be prepared for any possibility.”  

“Professor, is there a chance that we’ll find a vaccine?”

Yoav and the professor were happy to discover Ofer was conscious.

The professor laughed. Apparently, he possessed a special sense of humor.

“Look, it takes a lot of work to produce a vaccine for a new virus. It would be a miracle if they were able to do it in six months. In most cases it takes years. I’m not a virologist. The recent technological advancements that allow us better diagnosis are dramatic, the molecular identification methods are fantastic, but the field of vaccine production for virus mutations is still taking its first steps, one could even say that it’s still crawling. I wouldn’t wait for a vaccine but pray that your immune system can handle it. It’s your only real chance.”

“Professor… is it contagious?” asked Ofer in a whisper.

“Now you’re asking? Where have you been so far? You could have killed everyone you met.”  Zissou paused, and then added, “No, it’s not. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have let you come anywhere near us.”

He turned to Yoav. “Anyway, take another blood sample from him. We need to examine him every day to see if there’s any improvement.”

Yoav didn’t tarry. Once more, like a skillful nurse, he shoved a needle into Ofer’s vein. Ofer did not resist. “You still have the syringe I gave you?” asked Yoav.

Ofer nodded feebly.

Chapter 37

It was already late when Ofer recovered and headed out of the Forensic Institute.

He called the office. The secretary told him that Geller was with Yitzhak Brick in the Herzliya marina. That’s where one could usually find Yitzhak Brick that time of day. He spent more time on his yacht than in the office.

Ofer felt that he had to tell both of them about the information he had just heard from Professor Zissou. There was now final confirmation that Rodety had been murdered.

He went into the marina and was happy to discover Brick’s boat there, large and shiny. He had brought legal documents to Brick’s yacht more than once and was familiar with its slip location. The steady beat of an engine was in the air, and the boat was slowly moving away from the pier.

On the deck sat Brick’s gorgeous young girlfriend, blonde and long legged. Brick was always surrounded by beautiful women, a different one for every occasion. Ofer didn’t know the current one’s name.

Ofer waved to her with enthusiasm. She alerted the skipper to Ofer’s presence. He reversed the engines and brought the yacht back close to the dock, allowing Ofer to climb aboard. The young woman greeted him with a friendliness that made him blush. She looked like a sweet peach, dressed in an orange shirt edged with lace and a hypnotic cleavage that didn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Hello, where is Mr. Brick?” asked Ofer.

“He’s with his lawyer in the conference room downstairs,” she said. Her golden hair covered her eyes.

Ofer went belowdecks. Brick and Geller looked up together, surprised to see him.

“What are you doing here?” asked Geller.

“I have something urgent to tell you.”

“We’re going on a short cruise, to check the engines. You can come with us,” said Brick.

“Thank you,” said Ofer. He took care to keep his distance from both of them. He remembered the safety rules he was asked to obey the last time.

Geller gave him a questioning stare.

Ofer hurried to explain his presence. “I spoke with a friend at the Forensic Institute. They are convinced Rodety was murdered.”

Brick was sitting in the salon, sunk inside a leather couch. His face was expressionless, his forehead tanned below his salt-and-pepper hair. He was dressed in a white polo shirt and matching pants. Ofer noticed the brown moccasins on his feet were exactly the same color as his belt. He knew precisely what to wear and what to match it with. You would never catch a guy like Brick wearing a tie with dancing hippopotamuses holding umbrellas.

“Tell me, Ofer,” said Brick, ignoring the information that Ofer had thrown into the air, “did Rodety contact anyone while he was with you? Did he meet with anyone?”

“No one, as far as I can remember.”

“Did he speak with anyone on his cell phone?” continued Brick.

“Come on, leave him alone,” Geller interrupted before Ofer had a chance to reply. “We have a tender to win and that rotten association to overcome. Rodety is already a corpse and won’t come back to life. Let’s concentrate on the important things. We need to find an expert to replace him.”

Brick pierced him with a harsh gaze and instructed Ofer to answer with a gesture of his head.

“No, no. He didn’t speak with anyone,” answered Ofer.

“Was there anything strange about his behavior or about the things he told you?” asked Brick.

“He was a little drunk, perhaps a bit depressed, but no more than that. He wasn’t really cheerful. I thought maybe it was culture shock. He had been away from Israel for so many years. He sounded a bit bitter. He said he wasn’t complaining. He was joking about the fact he used to complain, but no one had listened, so he just gave up. He didn’t say anything specific.”

“What did he complain about?” Brick interrogated.

“Just general things. I can’t even remember.”

“How did he look when you found him?” asked Brick. 

“I found him naked in bed. That wasn’t really fun. He was wearing only socks and a tie.” Ofer didn’t give any details about the tie.

A rumbling silence ensued. “Naked with his socks and tie on,” mumbled Brick to himself and lowered his eyes, “what a terrible way to go.”

Ofer looked at Geller and Brick. Geller was also sitting on a leather couch and appeared to be tense. The couches looked comfortable enough; there wasn’t any reason for someone sitting on one of them to be tense.

Brick’s girlfriend entered the room and started to ask something. Brick silenced her.

“You see?” Geller burst out, “They’re psychopaths, that gang. They’re probably after you as well. You can’t afford to continue to disregard your personal safety. You need a bodyguard.”

“Yes, you may be right,” said Brick. “It may very well be that I have no choice, as much as I don’t like it.”

They were all quiet.

Brick thought for a moment then suddenly asked, “So how was prison?”

“Don’t ask. Terrible. I never imagined I would ever end up in a place like that. I fought with prisoners the size of gorillas and beat them,” Ofer tried to maintain his calm and demonstrate an air of vanity and indifference.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make it up to you,” said Geller. “I don’t envy you, I’ve never been to a place like that.”

Ofer tried to picture Yitzhak Brick, the distinguished businessman, eating side by side with Ijou the Georgian dish his mother had sent him.

“Maybe I should just leave,” said Brick. “You can’t do business in this country anymore. Who would think they’d try to sabotage a legitimate tender and that innocents would be murdered?”

“That’s not a bad option,” said Geller. “I can definitely understand why you would consider it.”

“As you know, I have a few more commitments and businesses to run in the world.”

This wasn’t the first time Ofer was present at a meeting with Brick. The brilliant Brick. The man who knew all the secrets of the business world. Now, it appeared he was beginning to lose patience. The recent series of events was stressful even for a man of Brick’s caliber.

“We’ll restrain ourselves for a bit longer,” he finally said. “The tender will eventually take place. We’ll see if they’ll continue to fight us. I don’t like giving up, especially when I’m right.” 

Geller nodded his approval.

“Say,” Brick asked thoughtfully, “when they broke into your apartment, did they take our group’s preparatory documents? I don’t suppose you kept them at home.”

“I didn’t have any documents in my apartment… but they did steal my laptop, and it had all the files,” Ofer mumbled.

Both Brick and Geller’s faces darkened.

“That’s not so good.” Brick was in the habit of putting things mildly. “All our business plans were there.”

“I gave strict instructions that documents are not to be taken out of the office,” Geller snapped. “It may very well be that’s why they broke into your apartment.”

“The documents were password protected, weren’t they?” Ofer could already see himself out the door and his dream of staying with the firm after passing his bar exam spreading wings and flying out the yacht’s window across the Mediterranean.
I’m not going to give up. I’ll find the computer
, Ofer swore to himself.

From outside, they heard a loud engine approaching. Geller glanced out the window. “Just a jet ski,” he said. Ofer looked out the window as well. The boat continued to motor quietly away from the shore. The sea was as smooth as the surface of a mirror. The noise intensified.

“It’s getting closer,” Geller continued to report. “I hope it doesn’t collide with us. Here, it’s moving away—”

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud blast shook the yacht.

All three of them jumped up and ran to the deck. Brick’s blonde girlfriend stood shivering on the inner staircase, almost transparent with dread.

“Are you all right?” called Brick.

“Yes. I’m all right.”

“What happened?”

“The jet ski got really close. The man riding it threw something at the boat and escaped. Then there was an explosion.”

Brick headed for the stern of the deck. The captain was already there, taking out a fire extinguisher. They got closer to the area of the explosion. A large hole was open in the upper floor of the deck and the side panel next to it. The metal rail was bent. The skipper fired volleys of the foam-like material and the fire was immediately extinguished.

“Good thing we were sitting inside,” said Geller.

“I told you this is not a good place for business,” Brick said decisively.

“Whose work could this be?” Geller wondered out loud.

“The Russian mafia, who else?” Brick replied. “This is the work of professionals who are trying to relay a message. If they wanted to do more than that, they would have chosen another way. But they picked the wrong guy to intimidate.”

Ofer was envious of Brick’s ability to maintain his composure.

“We’ll have to call the police,” added Brick. “Not that I have any faith in their capabilities, but there’s no other choice. We must file a claim for the insurance to take care of the damages. And I also think we should stay clear of the boat at this stage.”

The skipper, a skinny, dark young man with a captain’s hat on his head, returned to the ship’s wheel. He turned the bow back towards the pier. Brick’s blonde girlfriend hurried after Brick, still shivering with fear.