Forced Silence

by Vered Cohen Wisotzki

  In the adjoining room, the head of the DII was losing it. “Guys, you’re making a mockery of our work. You made such a big deal about the documents in this stupid folder, and this is all it amounts to?! Don’t you understand the pressure we’re under? The commissioner and the prime minister want us to conclude the investigation, and I’m fighting, by the skin of my teeth, to keep her out of prison so we can find something, some thread, to lead us to her accomplices. They gave me seventy-two hours to wrap up this case, and we’re almost out of time. And all you’ve found in the meantime is a pathetic folder?! Get to that retirement home, today, and check out her story. I want real results on my desk by tonight!”

  Udi shot a furious glance at the door as it opened. There stood Doron, and Udi said brightly, “Doron, come in! Maybe you can help me with these losers. They’re asleep at their posts. They have no idea how to do this job…” But one glance at Doron’s face told Udi that he had gone too far. He dismissed the detectives.

  After they had left, Udi leaned on the wall and lit up a cigarette, offering one to Doron. “Okay, I admit it. I’m lost without you. Son of a bitch! They’re all driving me crazy on the telephone: results, results. That’s what they want! The PM is stressed over the vote in the Knesset, he’s putting pressure on the boss, so now he won’t get off my back. He’s calling every hour on the hour, asking for updates.”

  Doron looked at his friend, not without sympathy, but harshly said, “You should have thought about that before you tossed me off the case. If you ask me, you’re on the wrong track. But hey, you don’t want to listen to me, so…”

  “C’mon, c’mon… Let’s hear what you have to say.” Udi turned to Doron.

  “Udi, here’s what I think, and you know you should trust my intuition. You have to look for who would be able to compel Galia to do this. I still think that someone must have forced her.”

  Udi threw his cigarette on the floor and stamped it out. “Let’s assume, just for a moment, that you’re correct. Why won’t she tell us? She knows who you are, what you are. She knows you’re the only person who could help her. Still, she won’t say anything.” He looked skeptical. “Look, man, I’m not sure if you’re right this time.”

  “Udi, you’re right, she ought to know that I can help her; but I understand how she must feel. Even if she is in distress, she may not think she can rely on me. Just between the two of us, you know how many times I’ve disappointed her, how many times I haven’t been there for her. She wouldn’t even believe that I really quit my job here.”

  Udi shrugged. He wished he could accept Doron’s explanations. Now, he thought, if Galia had been extorted by someone, they would have to find out by whom and what their connection was to her. In any case, her involvement was suspicious to him, and he felt that Galia was hiding more details from them.

  Suddenly, he asked, “Tell me, Doron, did you know about Grandpa Yehuda?”

  Doron was unprepared for the query; he felt Udi was hitting below the belt. He hesitated to answer and Udi took note. “You get that there are things you don’t know about her? Believe me, it hurts to tell you this. I know how you feel about her, but she’s been hiding a lot from you. And that’s why you’re so confident that she’s not involved in all this.”

  Doron knew Udi was right. The idea that there was more he didn’t know about Galia was driving him crazy. After all, that’s why he had wanted to find Udi in the first place, he remembered. “Do you think I can talk to her.”

  Udi was about to refuse but reconsidered: “You know what, why not? Go in there, feel free. I have to make some progress in this fucking case. But you know that your conversation will be recorded, audio and video.”

  Doron nodded and left. Entering the adjoining room, he found Galia looking at the small window in the outer wall. Her shoulders slumped. He wanted, very badly, to embrace her — but then the anger welled up within him. “Were you ever going to tell me about your grandfather?”

  Galia spun around, but she would not meet his gaze. She stared at the far corner of the room.

  Doron’s voice shook as he fumed, “Can’t you at least look me in the eye when we’re talking?”

  “What is there to say? Grandpa Yehuda is very old and very sick. He doesn’t know who I am or what I am to him. I have nothing to tell.” She still could not meet his gaze. When she did look up, she was taken aback by the deep pain reflected in his blue eyes.

  “Nothing to tell?” Doron shook his head, unbelieving. “What you’re telling me now is that during all our years together, you had things you kept from me, things you thought I didn’t need to know… things you decided were none of my business.” He sounded crushed. “The idea that you had things you thought you needed to hide from me drives me crazy.”

  “Well, that’s the sort of person I am, and you ought to know that by now!” Galia shot back.

  “Don’t you understand? If you had just trusted me, relied on me, believed in me, told me the truth — fuck it, if I had just known everything you hid from me, I could have stopped this investigation before it started! I could have helped you!”

  Galia looked Doron in the eye again. The pain had subsided, to be replaced by fury. He ran his hand through his hair, looking at her. “Anything else I should know? Which you don’t think I deserve to know? Any details that might be discovered soon, Gali?” She wouldn’t answer. “You know what, I think it all started with that ridiculous demonstration you participated in, the one you wrote that article about…”

  He had no idea how right he was, she thought. It was that demonstration which had so excited her, where she had learned about her sister. She wondered if Haya would have ever told her the truth without Galia’s demanding it.

  “I’m not hiding anything,” she lied, hoping that his inquisitive eyes would not notice her emotional turbulence.

  He approached her, unable to restrain himself, and gathered her into his arms. “It drives me mad to think you’re hiding things from me. I don’t care why. I just wish you could trust me. I still think that you’re being forced to do this, and I swear I’ll prove it.”

  Galia allowed herself to put her head on his shoulder. Sure, she thought, but don’t be as efficient as you tend to be. Don’t figure it out too quickly, she begged. Give it another day or two…

  “Now, Gali, what’s going on with Shir? Is she okay? She hasn’t been home for days. She must miss you. I definitely miss her.”

  Her blood froze. “Wha-What?” She acted like she couldn’t hear him, distancing herself, trying not to look him in the eye.

  “I asked you if Shiri is all right. For three days, she’s been with Noy, and I want to know that everything’s all right. I know you’re just trying to keep her away from this mess, but isn’t it worthwhile for me to at least go and visit her there?”

  Galia felt she was teetering on a tightrope. Obviously, Doron would miss Shir and worry about her, especially since this was the first time she had spent so much time outside of the house.

  “No, no, everything’s okay. Sharona called earlier. She said the girls are getting along just great. Please, don’t visit her. She’s going to take one look at you and know that something is wrong. Let’s wait a day or two.”

  “I’m not sure a day or two would change anything unless you have something new to share with me. But at least she’s away from all the craziness.” Doron sighed.

  Roni opened the door. He let Galia know that the cops were letting her go.

  The lot outside was empty, which surprised Galia. In the last couple of days, she had become accustomed to the hullaballoo around her. Granted, she had been under house arrest, but every time she had left to be questioned, she had been accompanied by reporters, photographers, cameramen, all trying to capture an image of her or ask her questions, even though the police tried to prevent them from doing so.

  “Udi managed to get an injunction for a total med
ia blackout, so now at least you’ll have some quiet,” Roni stated, trying to calm her down. They got into the GSS car together. “I hope that your house is also free of bored demonstrators waiting for you.”

  The time was close to five o’clock in the afternoon. Traffic was snarled all the way to Haifa. Their GSS car had two escort vehicles. Galia thought that Doron was probably also following them. Roni’s cell phone rang.

  “Yeah, Doron, what’s going on… I understand. I will let Galia know. See you later.”

  “What does Doron want?” she asked Roni.

  “He’s on his way to Binyamina, to visit your grandfather. He’s following the detectives there.”

  “How idiotic! Why is he brothering to do that? It’s not like Grandpa talks to anyone. He’s just putting himself out.”

  “Galia, neither I nor you can tell Doron the truth, and we certainly cannot tell him what to do. So he’s trying to do what he can to help you.”

  “Yeah, you know what? Let him talk to Grandpa Yehuda. That’ll kill time and stall him.”

  Galia leaned back on the headrest and closed her eyes. At this moment, she didn’t know whether she should rejoice or worry that Doron was on her side and concerned about her. She worried that at any moment, he would discover the truth and be hot on her sister’s heels.

  The police cars screeched to a halt in the retirement home’s parking lot, and three sober-faced detectives got out. They looked at the building, which was old but well-kept. A garden surrounded it, with multicolored lights brightening the atmosphere, making it seem vibrant and inviting. Lights were in all the windows. While it was a seniors’ residence, it appeared to be full of life.

  They quickly strode into the building, and the nurses directed them towards the director of the facility. She listened to them, and a few minutes later she got up and called two nurses over. They had been in the facility for many years, and they remembered when Galia and Haya used to visit regularly. They appreciated them greatly, and they remembered how, for many years, they had shown great dedication to Yehuda. They didn’t find the story related by the police to be credible; there was no chance, they maintained, that Galia could be involved in such an incident. After a few minutes of conversation, the detectives despaired of it. They asked to see Mr. Hador. The director brought them to his room right away.

  “I don’t think he can help you, Detectives. His condition is very serious. He is bedridden and totally uncommunicative.” She stood at the entrance and watched as the detectives vainly tried to engage him. All they got from him was meaningless babble.

  “Detectives, even if what you told me is true, Mr. Hador cannot possibly know anything about it. Mrs. Yellin hasn’t been here in years. I have kept in touch with her, and I update her about his situation — but he has no idea about anything that’s happened with her…” Her tone was a bit cynical, as she requested that they bring their questioning to an end and leave the old man alone, finding another target for their investigations.

  The director shook their hands after leading them back to the entrance. The two senior nurses stood next to her, happy to see the detectives leave. They all hoped that the interrogation would not have a harmful effect on Yehuda, who sometimes would murmur Galia’s name.

  “Okay, we can cross that off the list,” one of the detectives observed as they sat in the police car.

  “What, did you think Grandpa would really be able to help us?” His colleague replied. All three smiled bitterly.

  They called Udi to tell him about their lack of results. He was disappointed as well. In his innermost heart, he had hoped to find some thread that might connect back to Galia and to extremist right-wingers.

  “Okay, guys, you’re not done for the day. Now go to the bank and check out the details of the account. Hurry up, they close in an hour,” he ordered them and hung up.

  ***

  A half-hour earlier, Doron had arrived at the Binyamina branch of Bank Leumi. He was determined to find out what was up with Galia’s deposits — and everything else she had concealed from him. He also was determined to beat Udi’s investigators to the punch. He identified himself as a police officer to one of the account managers, Dalia, at her desk. With his badge and his great charisma, she agreed to cooperate fully.

  “So what can I do for you, Mr. Yellin?” Dalia asked, as she offered him a seat and adjusted her hair.

  This did not escape Doron’s observant eyes. He sat down across from her, with a bright smile. “Perhaps you can help me. My wife has an account here and I wanted…”

  “What’s her name, please?”

  “Galia Yellin.”

  Dalia typed the name into her computer. Her eyes narrowed a bit as she considered it.

  “Galia Yellin… yes, isn’t she the woman who—”

  “Yes, that’s her. You understand, I’m a police detective. I’ve got a hunch, a feeling, call it what you will, that she is being framed, and I’m trying to follow every lead. You must know what it feels like to do everything for someone who is precious to you?” Doron chose his words carefully. “I want to make sure that the investigators don’t miss anything.”

  Doron looked straight at her. Dalia was struck by Doron’s honesty, not to mention the blue eyes filled with concern. She sighed. All she could think about was how her husband just made demands and did nothing for her.

  “Okay, what do you want to know?” she asked.

  “Everything. I want to know everything about this bank account. I know that the money transferred into it goes out to a retirement home in the city for her grandfather. Do you have any details to tell me?”

  The account manager looked at her computer screen, tapping keys and nodding. “Correct, I see that there are deposits going to the Maoz Yom Seniors’ Residence here in Binyamina, every two months, in the amount of five thousand shekels.”

  “When did these deposits start? Is there any way to check it out?”

  Dalia looked carefully at the details. “Listen, this account is at least twenty years old. What I can see here is that there was a change in the account holder’s name six years ago, leaving only Galia. That’s when these deposits began. I assume that this is when her grandfather was institutionalized?”

  “No, I think that he was institutionalized many years before that, but I assume that Galia took over the payments once her mother died, which is when she became the sole account holder.”

  “Yes, that seems logical,” Dalia responded, while she went through the details in her computer.

  Doron understood that Galia had taken part of her inheritance and used it to pay for her grandfather’s retirement home, but he couldn’t understand why she had hidden it from him, despite her explanations.

  “Was there any occasion when the payment was delayed or stopped throughout this time?” Doron would not give up.

  “Throughout this time?” She tapped some more keys and looked at some new details. “No, never. The payment always came through and was always on time.”

  So like Galia, Doron thought, she always takes care of everything, on time. He smiled to himself and got up. “All right, I see that you don’t have any new details to share, but thank you for your time. You’ve been very generous.”

  Dalia seemed troubled; she was eager to help him. She stood too. “No problem, I’m happy to be of assistance in any way I can.” They shook hands. “If you want, you can leave me your telephone number, maybe I’ll find something else…”

  Doron hesitated, but ultimately decided that he might need help from the obliging Dalia. He wrote down his telephone number on a note and left the bank.

  Outside, evening had already arrived. The banks were closing, and he was glad that he had made it here before the other detectives. It had begun to rain, and he quickly strode to his car. He wasn’t sure if he had enough time to reach the retirement home, and he decided to try his luck and take
advantage of being in the area already. His instincts told him that he had to hurry up and check out these new details of Galia’s life. He felt a burning need to uncover everything he hadn’t known before, and that included meeting Grandpa Yehuda.

  As he maneuvered between the cars in the rainy streets of Binyamina, his cell phone rang.

  “Doron speaking.”

  “Yes, Doron, hello. It’s Dalia calling from the bank.”

  “Oh? Yes, hello, what’s going on?”

  “I tried to catch you before you drove away, but I must have missed you.”

  “Why? What’s happened?”

  “Well, I went back to my office and checked the computer again. I tried to see if I could glean any more information about this account. And I discovered something.”

  Doron pulled over on the side of the road and put the cell phone to his ear. “Yeah, I’m listening.”

  “So when you were here, we were looking at the preauthorized payment, which went to the retirement home. It looks like there’s another preauthorized payment set up for the account.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yes, yes, we didn’t notice it because it was cancelled a number of years ago. The amounts are not inconsiderable, and they total in the tens of thousands.”

  “What? Really? Do you have a way to identify the recipient?”

  “Yes, hold on a minute.”

  Doron lit a cigarette while he heard Dalia typing on her computer. His thoughts ran wild as the cigarette smoke spiraled into the air.

  “Karnei Re’em Yeshiva,” Dalia responded.

  “What? Can you repeat that name. Please…”

  Doron felt his body tense up.

  “Karnei Re’em. The preauthorized payment was to an account held by this yeshiva.”