Love Conquers All

by Galia Albin

  Chapter 49

  Is this indeed the end of all our troubles, Talia asked herself, lying on the double bed in the bedroom that was Yoni's and hers. The room, so beloved by her and Yoni, remained unchanged. Equally untouched were the bathroom, with its heart-shaped jacuzzi, the sink perched on one leg, and the huge gold-framed mirror. There was something heartening, exhilarating even, in coming home, and yet she felt a mood of dejection coming over her, eroding the cheery domesticity she had experienced upon first arriving. In the place where she felt most secure, she also felt most deprived, and the longing gnawed at her heart like a worm.

  She tightened the white silk robe that Marvin had given her and sat down in front of the mirror. With merciless punctiliousness, she examined her reflection. The green eyes had not lost their glint, and her complexion was as smooth as ever. Yet her expression had hardened a little, and quite often she looked tense and preoccupied. Thanks to the fitness room in her Los Angeles house, she had kept her slim figure, and now, with her new haircut, she looked even more youthful.

  The first visit she made, after unpacking and before jetlag hit her, was to Eva’s salon. She had a great desire for change and a need to express it visibly. “Change your hair style,” Eva counseled practically, and Talia concurred, even though a haircut was merely an external, superficial change, not the daring, meaningful change she hoped to effect, although she could not yet define it.

  Her mother and Ditty approved of her new, short hairdo, but Talia looked at her face in the mirror and could not get used to the new look.

  Shorn of her long auburn mane, she felt like a different woman, more decisive, more self-confident, perhaps a little more frivolous. She could no longer hide behind a curtain of hair. Every so often, she touched her pageboy hair — a la garcon, her mother called it—and felt guilty. What would Jonathan say? Had she betrayed him? After all, he knew her wither “lioness’s mane.” Dare she change herself like this?

  There was still a smell of strangeness in the house, and the children had not yet resumed a comfortable routine, but faithful Jenny, who in the meantime had married an Israeli citizen, promised to come back and help, at least until a replacement were found, or until the birth of her own baby, which was due in about four months. Jenny’s voice, her accent and the noises that came from the kitchen reminded Talia of past days, when Jonathan was alive, and her eyes filled with tears.

  The news of Talia’s return spread like wildfire across town. Larry was the first to call her and from his tone of voice, which woke her from sleep, she could tell that he was no bearer of good news. But then, when was he ever a bearer of good news, she thought ruefully, as she thanked him coolly for his congratulations. On the way home, she had reflected on the people she had fled when she had left Israel to go to Los Angeles, and Larry Koren was one of them. In a flash, like a revelation, she understood his hidden motives. From that moment on, she no longer feared him. Larry Koren was utterly transparent! She realized his desperate desire to upset the existing social order—that she should lose her property, while he, who came from humble origins, would climb the social ladder and attain wealth and status. That was the reason he persecuted her so relentlessly. It was quite possible that he, himself, was not aware of his motives, she defended him in her mind; perhaps he denied his motives or repressed them. But that was the root of his obsession with her, that was the reason for the cycle of love-hate that he was caught up in.

  Larry sounded at once excited and nervous. Talia did not help the conversation along, she did not even ask how he was. He was the enemy. Since his feelings were mixed and conflicted, how could she possibly trust him when he pretended to be on her side? She maintained a fraught silence.

  "Watch out for him," Larry finally broke the silence with something seemingly unrelated, as if it were an afterthought.

  "Watch out for whom? You?" Talia tensed up. "What have I done now?"

  "No, not me. You should beware Emanuel Ma'or, Yoni's friend."

  "Is he plotting against me? How do you know?" She felt die tension rise in her.

  "You know, his wife, Rivka, went to school with me. She's an excellent source of information."

  "And what did she say?"

  "She said that if you keep talking about the stocks that Manu took from you, he'll wipe you out, just like that. Talia, you and I both know that he's capable of anything."

  "Well, that's why we have police, isn't it?" She slammed down the phone.

  Of all Yoni's childhood friends, Emanuel Ma'or, known as Manu, was the most vicious and most dangerous. He, too, was one of the so-called "Yoni's gang," and had served as Yoni's accountant for fifteen years. At benefits and campaigns for the IDF and volunteer organizations, when Yoni pledged enormous sums, Manu used to sit next to him, as if the two were partners, but Talia could see bitter envy written all over his face. Ditty had told her, on Micah's authority, that for a long time Manu had tried to sabotage Yoni's relations with Manfred Goldberg and to undermine Yoni's authority in the company. Talia had asked Yoni to fire him, but he refused. His relations with his friends were a mixture of loyalty, stubbornness and naivete, and he would never allow a bad word to be said about any one of them.

  For years Manu vacillated between his wish to belong to Yoni's circle and his attempt to free himself from Yoni's patronage and from living in his shadow. As the accountant of Prosperity, Manu brought the travel agency owned by Yoni to bankruptcy. Yoni forgave him and never said a word about the mishandled affair. Manu resigned from many companies that had used his services, always leaving them better off than when he came in. His stratagem was to threaten to reveal some irregularity, some misdemeanor, and to extract hush money for keeping it secret. Ditty explained Manu's "system" to Talia: "Trading in incriminating information is his specialty, don't you see? He collects documents and hoards files, knowing that one day they may come in handy. He uses this information for extortion purposes. Micah knows all about it. He was once a target of Manu's machinations, even though ostensibly they are friends..."

  Talia had to admit that she was not eager for a showdown with Manu. Even his physical appearance repelled her: he was big and robust, and his thin pale hair made him look like an albino. He had thick lips and the spaces between his teeth reminded her of a particularly repulsive animal. After fifteen years of working closely with Yoni, he knew too many secrets and was capable of telling too many lies about her dead husband, whose loyalty to his friends had proven detrimental to him when he was alive, let alone after his death. Yoni was no longer able to prove his innocence vis-a-vis Manu's allegations, so it was her word against the word of Manu, the respectable accountant. Who will people believe?

  Among the papers Yoni had left in his drawers, she found references to some American stocks worth six million dollars that Yoni had entrusted to Manu, but when, feeling deceived and deprived, she had confronted him and demanded those stocks, he brazenly denied her claims. "Yoni gave me those stocks as a trustee. They belong to me, Mrs. Schwartz, and you will never get them." Manu had never addressed her so contemptuously before, and she felt the blood rush to her temples. "If I'm Mrs. Schwartz to you, then you must know perfectly well that the stocks that Yoni gave you are mine. Where's your humanity, where's your loyalty to your friend?"

  "So, thirty years of friendship have gone down the drain. No big deal. I'm not the first and I won't be the last of Yoni's friends to do this to you! You can call the police, if you want. You have no proof to substantiate your claims!"

  Talia was furious. Her face turned bright red. '1Manu, you're a liar, a charlatan, and a thief. I'll sue you for this. I'll expose your duplicity to the whole world."

  "So sue me, if that's what you want. But you'd better watch out. One phone call, and you're dead meat..."

  "Open up, it's the internal revenue!" The voices were accompanied by thunderous knocking on the door. Talia's hand was on the doorknob and she was shaking from top to toe. It's four in the morning, she thought. Why did they have to wake me so
early?

  The knocking grew louder. She was wearing a housecoat when, hands still trembling, she opened the door a crack and peeked behind the safety latch. In the dim light, she recognized two of Manu's constant companions. They grinned at her with a touch of embarrassment, or was it malice, handed her a green envelope and quickly vanished in the morning mist.

  Her trembling knees compelled her to sit down on the couch in the front room. With trepidation yet with great concentration, she perused the official document she had been handed, reading each clause carefully. Talia Schwarz is enjoined by the State to pay a debt of thirty million shekels. Slowly the words penetrated into her consciousness. How could she prove that this is a false charge, that somebody was trying to frame her, supplying the authorities with false data? Who will believe her when she says that she doesn’t have that kind of money? No, this impossible claim was not going to terrorize her!

  And yet she could not stop trembling, she knew who was behind the scam, trying to entrap her. Manu. Manu was not going to sit idle. H threatened to get her, and he was carrying out his threat, with no delay. That was his style. The letter was proof positive. His fingerprints were all over it. She continued to read; the allegations went back fifteen years, to the time when he had been Jonathan’s accountant and knew all the details of his complicated business deals.

  Since the shiva, Manu had not been in contact with her, until she took the initiative and opened legal proceedings against him. Perhaps she should give up the legal action, seeing that it prompted him to retaliate in such a vindictive manner. She hadn’t realized' how much, but more dangerous than Micah, Dan or even Uzzi—the pack of hyenas that had surrounded Jonathan. How could she expect Manu to act any differently?

  But Talia was determined to stand her ground, even if she had to pay dearly for it. She would show him that Jonathan’s money was not fair game for predators. She would prove what she was capable of doing. They all used to laugh at her behind her back, to envy her, and to plot against her, but no more!

  Her fury pumped her adrenaline and propelled her into action. She now rued her previous complacency; how hasty and naive she had been, neglecting her financial affairs! She should not have gone out of the country. She had been remiss and neglectful of her own and her children’s interests! This snake in the grass, Manu, should have been disposed of when he was little, before he sprouted more heads!

  But all of this is water under the bridge. Stop reproaching yourself, she commanded herself, she must remain clear-headed and plan her next move. Her own accountant suggested making an appointment with the Internal Revenue commissioner in Jerusalem. Talia saw no alternative, and she was ready to take arms.

  Shmuel Yardeni, a.k.a. “the holy terror,” got up to greet her when she stepped in the door. Talia was almost late to the meeting, and now stood huffing and puffing, glancing around the room. The thick brick walls showed no signs of the fear, anger and revenge that they must have absorbed over the years. The room was sparsely furnished; there were several metal cabinets laden with files, a large desk where the commissioner was sitting and a few spare chairs. The desolate landscapes that hung next to portraits of the prime minister and the finance minister did nothing to dispel the gloomy atmosphere that reigned in the room. A closer look revealed several additional items: a laptop computer, and ancient coffee machine, and a small television set.

  The commissioner lifted his eyes and met her hesitant look. Until now, she had only seen his picture in the papers, so for a moment she was taken aback. How easy it is for him to strike fear in people’s hearts, just by dint of his powerful position, even without he impressive physique, she thought. Even sitting down, he looked gigantic, and his curly, silver mane reminded her of an old style leader of the workers’ union.

  “I’m honored that you came all the way to Jerusalem,” he said, getting up and taking long strides toward her. His enormous figure was in stark contrast to his soft voice and perfect manners.

  He had said exactly the same words on the phone when she called to make an urgent appointment, and she wondered if he really meant it. She threw a furtive glance at the commissioner when he made her a cup of coffee. He wore a dark suit, a few years out of fashion, and a dark tie, and his general demeanor bespoke decency. “I’m at your service, Mrs. Schwarz. I can imagine what brought you here...”

  “Yes. Then you must also know that I know the source of the trumped up information about me.” She paused for a moment, then added, “It is Mr. Ma’or.”

  “As you know, our sources are confidential, but you are an intelligent woman, Mrs. Schwarz,” Yardeni said with a little smile, that seemed to confirm her allegations. He waited for her to continue.

  “Look, if the source’s allegations are true, then he himself is liable for at least half the required sum. He was my husband’s partner in those years, so why should I pay his hare of the taxes? It is inconceivable that he should appropriate half of the joint property without paying the expense.. .1.”

  “Listen Talia — may I call you Talia? We opened an investigation because a certain person who shall, of course, remain nameless, threatened to appeal to the Supreme Court. But I’m happy to tell you that we re­examined your husband’s file and discovered the error. The allegation is baseless. The whole matter is obsolete. I don’t know how we ever managed without computers! But we have all the documentation of your husband’s case. He paid his taxes, and the case is closed.”

  Her heart leaped for joy, but at the same time she was consumed with both curiosity and a thirst for revenge. “What about the confidential source?” she asked with feigned indifference. Her voice shook a little, and her eyes reflected her true feelings.

  “You’ll read about it in the papers. More coffee?” Yardeni smiled and poured her another cup without waiting for an answer. “I heard that the movie you have produced is going to be the best Israeli movie of the decade. You know, I’m a good friend of Ari Amiel.”

  “Then I’ll be happy to see you on opening night. Now tell me, what’s going to happen in this case?” One must come away with some concrete results, she knew.

  “You have nothing to worry about. Go home to your children now. You’re a brave woman, Talia. Don’t hesitate to call me if you ever need assistance.”

  “Not another letter of bad news!” Talia muttered and with great trepidation opened the oblong envelope bearing the name of an unknown lawyer.

  “This is to notify you that per our agreement—BMBY—you are hereby requested to inform me of your intention to buy my share of the stocks of Cooling Air Conditioning Company, or conversely, sell me the stock for the price of three and a half million dollars. This offer stand for thirty days, stating December first, by the end of which period I shall purchase your share of the company at the above mentioned price, according to the BMBY agreement specified in the partnership agreement between myself and your late husband, Jonathan Schwarz.

  Sincerely,

  Emanuel Ma’or”