Galia knew there was no chance that she could stop him. While he was searching for Naama, Galia hoped that she would finally get the call to come get Shir.
“Are you sure you’re capable of driving now? Isn’t it dangerous to go there without an escort?” she asked gently, thinking about all the Arab villages around. She dared to hesitantly touch the bandage on his forehead.
The look in his eyes softened. He breathed deeply, took her hand and held it close to him. He looked into her eyes, a spark of a smile in his own weary eyes.
“One of these days…” he told her. “You are going to have to pay for all I’ve been through because of you this week.” Then his lips landed on hers, slowly and softly. His tongue searched for hers, trying to draw from her the strength to carry on. They pressed against each other, eyes closed. He found in his heart the strength to forgive everything he had learned, even as her heart was tortured by everything he hadn’t yet. She hung on to him, totally surrendering, trying to unburden herself of the onus of her emotions. His hands stroked her hair, then gently nudged her face away from him.
“That’s a down payment. We’ll talk more when I get back,” he promised.
Galia put her hand on her lips, trying to keep the warmth of his lips there. Her heart panged. How much more pain should she expect? She caressed his cheek as he moved away a bit, knowing that she would never be able to touch him like that again, not once he heard what she had to tell him.
“Doron, I have to—”
Now it was his finger placed on her lips.
“No, you don’t have to,” he said hoarsely. “Not now. We’ll talk when it’s all behind us. I have to run.”
She remained rooted to her spot. “Doron!” she called after him, but the door was already shut.
Dreading every step, she forced herself to the door. She must, absolutely must, tell him everything right now, before he left. He had to know. Perhaps she could catch him before he got in the elevator.
She threw open the door, and Eyal sprang to his feet. She opened her mouth to say something, but Doron’s cell phone rang. He stopped by the door to the elevator, motioning to her to wait for a moment as he answered the call. Galia’s heart pounded fiercely. She focused on his face. He had to finish the call quickly, before her courage failed her. She watched him.
“Yes, Sharona, how are you?” In that instant, Galia’s world stopped turning. All that moved were Doron’s lips, as he put Sharona on speaker. Galia remained frozen in her space.
“Yes, Sharona, we’re fine, keeping it together. It seems like everything will work out in the end. How is Shir? Is she okay? Do you want to speak to Galia?”
“Yes,” Sharona’s voice reverberated from the speaker. “I wanted to ask her, both of you really, if you want me to take Shir for a couple of days, until everything calms down.”
“Take Shir?” Doron smirked. “What do you mean? She’s already with you…”
His gaze suddenly dug into Galia’s eyes. She looked down, realizing the moment of truth had arrived. Doron, who had looked gentle and loving a moment earlier, was now harsh and threatening. The muscles of his jaw worked, as she took a step back, worried about his reaction.
Without waiting for an answer from Sharona, Doron hung up. He strode towards the door, but Galia tried to shut it in his face, genuinely afraid of him. As Eyal watched in shock, Doron slammed the door open, knocking Galia to the floor as he barged in.
“Where is she?” he screamed, as he stood above her. “Where is Shir? Where is she? Get up!” he yelled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
She opened her mouth to answer, but the words wouldn’t come out. His hands were on her throat, threatening to choke her.
“I’m going to ask you one more time, and after that I can’t promise that I won’t lose control if you don’t answer me. And I’m warning you, I won’t tolerate any more of your lies.” His voice broke.
Her eyes welled with tears. She felt that all of her strength was deserting her.
She was totally overwhelmed: the worry about Shir, the pain and the fury in her beloved’s eyes. She tried to break free of his grip, to no avail. His powerful hands were still pressing on her throat. Galia felt real fear, as she struggled to inhale just a bit of air into her lungs.
“I will not let you go until you answer. And until I’m sure that you’re not lying anymore.”
Her arm began to ache. Her look beseeched mercy, but Doron’s gaze stayed cold and threatening.
“She… she’s with Naama,” she managed to whisper quietly. “Naama… took her. She knew the cops had her on tape, so she took Shir. She threatened me to confess and give her the time to arrange her escape.”
Doron loosened his grip. His face twisted in disgust. Galia’s hand went to her aching throat.
“You mean to tell me that my daughter has been with that madwoman you call a sister for days already, and I never knew about it?” he yelled at her.
“She threatened me! What was I supposed to do?” she yelled back. “She threatened me… said that if I told anyone, she would hurt Shir. She just asked me to stall long enough for her to arrange her escape.”
Doron snorted angrily. “And you agreed, even though you know that’s totally insane. And you hid it from me! Do you have any idea what’s going on with Shir? If she’s even all right?” Doron cupped his head between his two hands. “The thought that this psychopath is with her — maybe driving all over with her — sends chills down my spine. Does Shir know that Naama is her aunt?”
“I don’t know, Doron. Maybe Naama told her who she is.”
Doron moved away from her and started to pace back and forth in the living room. Galia knew that he was barely maintaining control over his emotions. “Calm down, I’m going to get a phone call any moment. She promised that she would call to tell me where Shir is.”
“What are you saying? She promised you? Your sister, who’s a fugitive from the police? When? After she flees? Before she disappears? When exactly?” His tone mocked her naïveté.
“I… I trust her that she’ll have someone notify me…” she stammered.
“If you trust her, you’re more of an idiot than she is,” he hurled at her.
A heavy silence settled on both of them.
“How could you agree to this? I don’t understand.” Doron ran his hand through his hair. He shook with anger and terror.
“I had no choice,” she tried to explain.
Doron yelled back: “Of course you had a choice! You could have come to me, you could have told me, you could have made me a partner in deciding what to do. Goddamnit, she’s my daughter too!”
“I was afraid for Shir… I didn’t know what to do.”
“You were afraid for Shir, or you were afraid to tell me everything you hid from me all these years?” He waved his hand in a motion of desperation and moved away from her. Her cheeks were wet with tears, but she could not bear to dry them. “No, no,” Doron objected, “don’t start crying now. Your tears mean nothing to me.” His cold words broke her heart. “No, I’m the fool, such a fool. Even pathetic. To think that a few minutes ago, I was ready to forgive you for everything. But no… not anymore. I can’t even look at you.”
Doron took out his cell phone. “This changes everything. I have to talk to Udi.”
“No, Doron, no.” She grabbed his hand, trying to stop him from calling Udi. “Then he’ll just send his forces in there faster. It could put Shir in danger. Please, let Naama run away. That’s the only way we get Shir back safe and whole.”
Doron pushed her hand off of him. “Get away from me. You… you live in a fantasy world. Your sister is a psycho bitch, and it doesn’t seem to me that she cares about hurting whoever stands in her way. I don’t want to think about the things she could possibly do now…” A cloud of fear appeared in his eyes.
“What a
re you talking about? What do you mean? Doron, you’re scaring me.”
“I’m scaring you? Why isn’t she scaring you? Tell me, what world do you live in? Do you know her at all? It’s impossible to know what to expect from her.”
He stopped, as the wheels began turning in his mind. If he could just set aside his personal involvement in the matter, he would definitely be able to think straight, he thought to himself.
“My God, how could you have been so dumb?” The look in his eyes said everything. “I don’t know what your sister intends, where she plans to flee to, but I’m not waiting to find out. I’m going out now to look for her; and when I find her — I do mean ‘when,’ not ‘if’ — she’ll regret the day she was born.” He put on his coat.
“I want to go with you.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I need right now, you with me. Do me a favor, I need to get away from you right now, and I also need to be alone. That’s the only way I’ll be able to think straight maybe, to think logically about what to do next.” His top priority was Shir, and only Shir. His daughter’s safety was all he cared about.
“Doron, please take me. You’re angry at me, I get it. But I can’t stay alone in the house.” After everything she had experienced today, Galia had no intention of letting Doron get away from her, even if he was furious at her. With him, by his side, she knew she would be protected.
“You might need my help,” she argued.
Doron laughed derisively. “I have my doubts. You’ve ‘helped’ me enough with this investigation in the past few days. Not to mention that you’re under house arrest. You think I have time now to argue with Udi to release you? I’m not even going to call him until I’m on the road.”
“Doron, not for my sake, for Shir’s sake. I want to be there when you find her. She’ll need me.”
Doron considered this, grimaced, and called Udi.
“Yes, Doron, what’s new?”
“Udi, I hope you’re sitting down. Listen to me and listen good. I’ll keep it short: Galia’s twin sister has kidnapped Shir.”
“What?!”
“Yeah, yeah, Galia only told me just now. Naama must have impersonated her and taken Shir from kindergarten. She knew about the tape, that’s clear. We saw her look straight into the camera. She blackmailed Galia so she would help her and stall to give her time to escape.”
Udi’s voice was skeptical. “Are you sure about this?”
“Udi, yes, really. One hundred percent. There are two things I need right away. I’ll find out what Naama’s last name is, and you have to issue a stay of exit order. I don’t know if she’s planning to flee the country, but it’s certainly a possibility. I advise you to send a team to the airport right now, with pictures of Naama and of Shir.”
“What about Shir?”
“Udi, you’re not listening to me. Naama has Shir. The only thing I can think about now is that she may flee the country. I don’t know that for sure, but I don’t have any intention of waiting to find out. I’ve had a very bad feeling for a couple of hours now, and I can’t wait even one second more. I have to hurry. I have to find Shir.”
Udi was quiet. Doron knew that he had to start planning his own next moves, but Doron’s patience was at an end. “Udi? Do you hear me?”
“Yes, yes, Doron, I heard you, fine,” Udi replied.
“Oh, one more thing. I need to have Galia with me. You have to rescind her house arrest.” He heard Udi release a groan.
“Doron, I have to check on this. You know this is complicated. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.”
“Udi, I don’t have ‘a few minutes’ to waste,” Doron objected, but Udi had already hung up.
Doron saw Galia come out of her room, dressed to go out. “Udi won’t let you go, at least not yet. This is a matter of time, and we don’t have any.”
“I’m going with you,” she insisted. “Even if that cop outside points his gun at me.”
Doron couldn’t afford to argue with her, and she seemed determined. “Wait a second.” He left the apartment, returning a few moments later. His handgun was now drawn and pointed at Eyal, who walked in front of him, shocked by this turn of events.
“Eyal, I’m sorry. Understand me. I don’t have the time to wait for the house arrest order to be rescinded. And you’re right, you have your orders…” He put him in the kitchen, and handcuffed him to the refrigerator. “I’m sure I’ll have to pay for this, but I don’t really care.” He took the cop’s gear away from him.
“Galia, put on a coat and hat, and go down ahead of me. Take the elevator down to the parking level. They won’t see you leaving. Keep going until you reach the bus stop at the corner, and I’ll pick you up there. Try not to draw unnecessary attention. There’s a police car downstairs.”
Galia hurried, pulling on her warm, red coat. She grabbed her purse and her umbrella and left the house without thinking twice.
“Again, I’m really sorry about this,” Doron apologized to the guard. “Once we’re far enough away from the city, or when I get the authorization, I’ll let them know about you.” Eyal nodded. “Stay strong.”
Doron closed the door behind him as he looked around, hoping that none of Galia’s neighbors on the floor had witnessed this interaction. He couldn’t be troubled to wait for the elevator; he rushed down the stairs, despite the pain it caused him.
Leaving the apartment block, he slowed down. The police car parked outside the building had two officers in it. They saw him, and he waved to them, but he didn’t stop to chat, even when they rolled down their window.
The air was cold and moist. The road was wet, but Doron was pleased to discover that the rain had slackened somewhat, allowing Galia to reach the nearest bus stop easily. He turned on the engine, pulling out and heading towards the rendezvous point. A car passed him on the road, and his heart leaped into his throat. He had no idea if he was still being followed.
Galia stood at the corner, wrapped in her coat, shivering from cold, excitement, and terror.
Doron, for a moment, wrestled with the temptation to pass her by and keep going. He had no idea what would happen between them when everything was over. He just wanted it to end happily. Otherwise… he would never be able to forgive her.
He pulled over alongside her. Galia hurriedly got in the car, which was quite warm. She took off her coat before she buckled herself in, and they were off.
The streets of Haifa were deserted. The cafés they passed were almost entirely empty. It appeared that the weather had persuaded most of the locals to go inside and stay in their warm homes.
They said nothing, each absorbed in thoughts. Galia, on the one hand, felt relief at getting out of her home, after being imprisoned there for several days; on the other hand, she felt serious distress at the prospect of what was coming. She had no idea how Doron was planning to find Naama and Shir. She only knew that he would do anything to achieve his goal, and she wanted to be there when he would find Shir. Terror seized her heart: What if it was already too late?
Doron was also absorbed in his thoughts, looking at the road ahead of him, hoping that the rain wouldn’t start falling again.
Galia broke the silence. “Do you think that the cops are at the yeshiva yet?”
“I have no idea, I’ll try to find out. I hope they haven’t arrived yet and that Udi is holding them up. They’re very professional, but I want to be there when the action goes down.”
“Listen, Doron, I—”
“Do me a favor, Galia. There’s nothing you have to say that I want to hear now.” He had to calm down, to think about his next few steps.
She swallowed hard. She wasn’t surprised by Doron’s attitude. In fact, she had expected it.
His cell phone rang. “Yeah?”
“Doron, I just got a report from the apartment block. I hear you’re on your way to the yeshiva.”
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“Yeah, I’m leaving Haifa now and getting on the Coastal Highway. Within an hour, I hope, I’ll be at Nitzanei Oz Junction. The yeshiva is just a few minutes away from there. What about the police cars you sent, are they there yet or did you hold them back?”
“So that’s why I called. I have the commissioner here, and he’s having trouble understanding the sequence of events—and believing it. He is demanding that we immediately arrest the dean of the yeshiva. If Galia really has a twin sister, then we’ll arrest her too.”
Doron and Galia exchanged glances.
“Udi, listen, I don’t know if Naama is still there. But understand, if she senses that our forces are on the ground, she may make desperate moves, things I don’t want to think about. Even if we miss her there, we can figure out which direction she’s headed in. The important thing is not cause her to panic, because Shir is with her.” Doron hoped that the commissioner was listening to everything he said as well.
“I cannot make that promise, Doron. The forces on the ground have to make their own decision. In any case, I’ll let them know that there may be a minor in peril at the scene, so they must be careful. I also talked to the regional commander at Camp Dotan; he’s ready and waiting for my orders. But let me repeat, the commander of the team in the field will exercise his discretion, whether to wait for you or not.”
“Udi, please…” Galia interjected. “Tell them to wait.”
“Galia? You’re with Doron in the car?” Udi sounded surprised.
Doron had no choice. “Listen, Udi, don’t make a fuss. We had no time to wait for an authorization, so I took Galia myself.”
“Doron, you’ve gone totally insane! Look, you’re lucky, the commissioner happened to step out for a second to pee. Do you know what would happened if he had heard you?! I hope you haven’t just thrown your career into the garbage. What about the police stationed there? They had orders not to let Galia out of the house under any circumstances.”
Forced Silence Page 19
