Fire in a Haystack: A Thrilling Novel (Legal Mystery Book Book 1) (29 page)

Chapter 52

Brick toyed with his gun, spinning it on his index finger. A tiny smile had snuck its way into the corner of his mouth. Dr. Friedman stood beside him and nervously moved his hands and feet.

Minutes passed. In the complete silence, Ofer could hear his own heartbeats as well the ticking of his watch. The pulsating sounds pounded inside his head, and the knowledge they were a countdown to the moment of his death was unbearable.

Life suddenly seemed so pointless. He felt Gali’s warmth when she touched his hand with hers.

What is she thinking about? What might she say to me since we may have only a few minutes to live?
The image of his parents rose to his mind. How he regretted not saying goodbye to his mother. The mother who had raised him with love and endless devotion was not even aware that her son had very little time left to live. He felt a deep yearning to see his father again, the father he hadn’t had for more than ten years but desperately needed.

Ofer looked around him, taking in the last sights of his life. He thought he saw Fliegelman’s eyelids fluttering. His neck had also moved slightly.

Suddenly he saw him. A small, suspicious movement had caught his eye. At the other end of the basement, in one of the corners.  He noticed its small, dark head and took a glance at Gali’s face. Her eyes were closed. She was trying to ignore everything around her and calm herself down. He touched her gently, and she opened her eyes. He directed her with his own eyes and could tell when she spotted the small animal. Her face twisted with distaste.

Morris and Ijou sat with their faces against the wall, unable to see it. Brick and Friedman continued to whisper with a cheerfulness that infuriated Ofer. Fliegelman still lay unconscious. The small mouse, encouraged by the silence, advanced towards the center of the basement, sniffing the air.

Ofer shifted backwards. He lowered his tied hands and stretched his arms back until they were almost torn from his body. He extended his fingers as far as he could, trying to stretch without making a sound and without betraying the pain he felt in every joint and muscle of his body.

“Just a little bit more,” he said under his breath.

The mouse sniffed its surroundings. Its whiskers moved up and down.

Ofer then managed to do what he had planned to. With his thumb and index finger, he firmly pinched Gali’s right ankle. She opened her eyes in terror, gazing at the mouse that was almost at the center of the basement. Nothing that had happened in the cellar and brought them closer to their mutual demise had caused her as much fear as that sudden and irritating pinch. Her face reflected a terrible feeling of disgust.

She opened her mouth wide and a scream that could penetrate walls emerged from her throat:

“Mmmm…mmmm…mouse! Mmmm…mmmm…mouse!”

Yitzhak Brick’s entire body twitched at the sound of the echoing scream. It had surprised him, but he immediately regained his composure when he realized the reason for the scream.

He steadied his feet on the ground until he stood firmly, bent a bit, pointed the gun at the mouse that was scampering away, and shattered its body with a single accurate shot.

It all happened in the course of only a few seconds. The scream still echoed in the enclosed basement when the noise of the shot thundered against the walls.

Ofer looked around. As if he had just emerged from a distant dream, Joshua Fliegelman woke from his unconscious state. He raised his head a bit and opened his eyes. The black baseball cap dropped from his head and revealed a scalp covered with thinning hair. His eyes examined his surroundings then focused on Brick and Friedman, who still stood at the center of the

basement.

The scream that was so familiar from his distant past, from his days as a physics teacher in a Tel Aviv high school, emerged from his memories and returned him to reality with a quick flash. It was that same terrible scream that had shaken his life more than ten years ago. As if in slow motion, he moved his hand to the butt of the gun in his belt. His hand moved patiently, his elbow straightened and his hand steadied. His white, once orangey beard did not move an inch.

Brick and Friedman were still gazing, as though hypnotized, at the pulverized remains of the mouse. They looked at it with a kind of loathsome joy, turning their faces away from Fliegelman.

The sound of the gun being cocked drew their attention, and they turned around towards the sudden snap, but it was too late. Fliegelman did not hesitate. His hand did not tremble. Two additional shots were heard, one after the other.

The first burst through the chest of Aryeh Friedman. The second punctured Brick’s forehead right above his perfectly trimmed eyebrows.

Morris and Ijou turned their heads back in panic, startled at the sound of the sudden gunshots and surprised that the shots had not harmed them.

Dr. Friedman and Yitzhak Brick were lying on the floor, blood pooling around them.

Ofer felt a huge sense of relief and wanted to scream. He looked at Gali and realized she was still horrified by the pinch on her ankle.

“Fliegelman,” he screamed with all his might, “cut me loose!”

Fliegelman didn’t need to hear any more to spur him into action. He hurried to untie the ropes that bound Ofer’s hands.

“What do we do?” asked Fliegelman.

“We run away,” answered Ofer.

“And what do we do with them?” asked Fliegelman, processing the fact that all three bodies lying in the basement had been killed by his gun.

“We leave them all here,” said Ofer.

Fliegelman didn’t argue and completed the untying of Ofer’s hands. Morris and Ijou rose to their feet. Ofer helped Gali get up. They headed up the stairs as fast as they could, running for their lives. Fliegelman was first, Morris and Ijou followed him and Gali and Ofer were last. Ofer held her hand and did not let go throughout their maddened dash up the stairs and out of the building.

It was dark, but at least three of them recognized the unmarked car with the flickering blue light on its roof and the person who got out of it.

Chapter 53

“Surprise, surprise, surprise.” The three whistling S’s emerged from the mouth of police officer Nir Alush and welcomed them as they exited the building.

Morris and Ijou’s faces turned pale; Ofer’s face had turned sour as well.

Fliegelman, who recognized the police vehicle by the flashing blue light, was the only one who was happy to see Officer Alush and said, “Fantashtic! Thank you for coming sho quickly.”

“How did you find us?” asked Ofer with amazement.

“First time you heard about finding someone from the location of his cell phone? These days we can find anyone, anytime and in no time. What did you think, that you’d manage to escape?”

Ofer, Gali and Morris exchanged quick glances.

“I came to pick you up again,” Alush said to Ofer, “and to my surprise, I see that I’ve just caught two other birds.”

“What have I done now?” asked Ofer.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to ask you. What were you doing in a public restroom in central Tel Aviv? Or perhaps your two friends will speak for you?” He pointed at Morris and Ijou, who lowered their eyes and tried to minimize the dimensions of their bodies. “We found fingerprints and your DNA in a restroom stall at the Carmel Market. I assume you weren’t there doing grocery shopping. We also found a package left there to hang on a hook. Did you happen to forget it?”

“Alush, it’s a good thing you came. That’s the least interesting part of everything that’s happened. Down in the basement you’ll find three more bodies,” Ofer said.

“You’re in trouble again? And again dead bodies?” Alush asked with disbelief.

“I’m not in any trouble. But yes, more dead bodies. It’s a long story… this time I’ll be more than happy to tell you everything without skipping even a single detail.”

Alush’s pupils widened to scary proportions. “You’re not just being a smart-ass, are you? What bodies are you talking about, Angel?”

“I’m attorney Gali Shviro,” Gali hurried to intervene. “And as of this moment I’m his lawyer. Everything he says is true and we mustn’t waste any more time. We would like to explain everything to you, but what’s more important is that someone else needs to be arrested.”

“And just who is he, and why should he be arrested?”

“He’s a lawyer. Attorney Gideon Geller. His office is in the Dizengoff Tower. You need to arrest him for murder—”

“Well, we need to get going,” Morris cut her off. “I’m sorry, your honor, but we’ve got places to be.” He and Ijou turned and were about to go on their way.

That was beyond Alush’s ability to demonstrate patience. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re all detained for interrogation.  After that, we’ll hear all your explanations,” he said. “So, tell me. Who’s dead and where are the bodies?”

Ofer didn’t answer. His face turned pale. Cold sweat covered his forehead. He leaned forward when the nausea struck at his stomach with all its might. He tried to turn his face but didn’t quite manage it and was forced to stop the flow of vomit with the palm of his hand so as not to stain Alush’s shirt.

“What’s wrong, Ofer?” asked Gali with dread.

“I… I’m not feeling well… I have to lie down…” His head was spinning. Ofer lay down with his limbs askew on the pavement.

“Call an ambulance!” Gali screamed.

“I need help… I feel so sick,” said Ofer as his thoughts clouded. “Call Yoav,” he whispered.

“What Yoav?” asked Gali.

“Yoav Tzuri… his number is in my phone. It’s the number we tried to call earlier.”

Gali didn’t waste any time. She shoved her hand into Ofer’s pants pocket and took the cell phone out. She hurried to dial.

This time Yoav answered after two rings. “Where are you, Ofer? I’ve been going crazy looking for you.”

“Is this Yoav Tzuri?” asked Gali.

“Yes, and who are you?”

“Gali Shviro.”

“You don’t say? What a pleasant surprise. We haven’t seen each other for over ten years.”

“Forget about that now, Yoav. I’m with Ofer.”

“Where is he? I need to see him urgently.”

“Right here beside me. He’s feeling unwell. He asked me to call you. His condition is terrible.”

“Touch his forehead. Does he have a fever? Is he vomiting?”

“Yes, he’s burning up. What happened to him?”

“He’s full of a deadly virus. His life is in immediate danger.”

“What can we do?”

“That’s it, there’s no time. What a shame, just when we discovered that there might be a cure.”

“What is he saying?” Ofer whispered, feeling that he was about to lose consciousness any moment.

“He’s saying that there might be a cure.”

“Let me speak to him.” Ofer breathed heavily. “Yoav…”

“Listen. You’ve got to hang in there. I just talked to Professor Zissou. I’ve been looking for you like crazy. He received a call from a colleague of his, Dr. Ella Golan from the Virus Research Center. She received a substance she first assumed to be the deadly virus itself. It turns out it’s an anti-viral medication. The long and short of it is, somewhere in Israel, someone has managed to develop an antidote for this special virus. You’ve got to hang in there. I have a cure for you, man. UUVAR1, that’s what it’s called.”

“Say the name again.” Ofer spat the remains of the vomit from his mouth and breathed heavily.

Yoav repeated the name.

“We’re at the place where it’s being manufactured… the Viromedical factory. They have this substance… My father was the one who began to develop it.”

“Do you have access to it?”

“I think I do.”

“Really? Get a hold of it. Let me speak with Gali. If it’s possible, inject it in yourself. The sooner the better. Do you still have the syringe I gave you?”

“Inject… isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yes, inject. Don’t hesitate. Time is of the essence, you’ve got nothing to lose.”

“Where’s the test tube?” Ofer asked Gali. He threw up on himself once more.

Fliegelman and Alush stood by and watched. They had no idea how they could contribute to scene that unfolded in front of their eyes.

“I have a syringe in my pocket,” Ofer whispered, “Where’s the test tube?”

“Why? What do you want to do?”

“Yoav said… Dr. Golan… says that it has a cure for the virus that’s killing me.”

Gali didn’t wait even a single second. She moved away from everyone to the darkest corner, reached her hand deep inside the pocket of her pants and took out a small object. She came back holding what looked like lipstick. She twisted the base of the object and moved it closer to her mouth.

“What are you doing, Gali? This is no time to put on your makeup!” Ofer said, his face twisting with pain.

Gali didn’t answer, she just bit the stick of lip balm and said, “After being kidnapped, I hid the test tube in a place no one would think of. My lip balm… Where’s the syringe?”

“In my pocket.”

Gali hurried and took it out of Ofer’s pocket. She removed the plastic cover, pushed the needle into the cork of the test tube she had removed from her lip balm and drew the liquid into the syringe.

“Yoav, how much should I inject?” she cried out into Ofer’s cell phone.

“Start with one cc.”

“You know what to do?” asked Ofer with the last ounce of his strength. His body began to convulse. He was overcome with spasms.

“Yes. Relax, please. I was a medic in the army.” She took his arm, rested it on her knees and searched for the vein. When she found it, she skillfully pushed the needle in and emptied the syringe into his body.

Ofer’s head dropped to the side.

“Hang in there, Ofer.” Tears burst from her eyes. “I’m begging you, hang in there…”

Fliegelman came to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

An ambulance was approaching, sirens wailing.

Fliegelman said, “They’ll fix him up… don’t worry… he’ll be in the hoshpital in no time.”