Deadly Ties

by Aaron Ben-Shahar

  The tears from Claudia’s eyes made their wet way down the still beautiful face of a sixty-five-year-old woman.

  “What’s new with you? And with your sister? You look so much like your mother...”

  While omitting his public career, Bonnie gave her a short summary of the developments in the family’s life. “And how are you?” he inquired politely.

  “I used to work at a travel agency until I retired a few years ago. Sadly, I never got to start a family of my own,” she replied in a tone of acceptance. “But my greatest sorrow has been the estrangement between your mother, Esther, and myself.”

  All the time leading up to the meeting, Bonnie had had a hard time deciding how to navigate his meeting with Claudia to touch on the topics he was curious about. “Please tell me, what happened between you two”

  “Your mother never told you? We are cousins. We were very good friends and kept in touch all those years. I even came to her wedding with Avram, which was the happiest occasion in my entire life.”

  “Did you see her since the wedding?”

  “No, and this is one of the greatest mysteries of my life. After the wedding, I sent her a letter, thanking her for the wedding invitation and telling how happy Celia and I were at her wedding, but she never answered my letter. In fact, she never made any contact after her wedding.”

  “Who is Celia?”

  “She was my best friend. The both of us threw your mother a surprise celebration right before she married. It was quite a feast. Unfortunately, poor Celia also died a few years ago.”

  “Where did this surprise celebration take place?”

  “At the most beautiful place on earth, on Sithonia Peninsula, a two hour-drive from Thessaloniki.” The memories overwhelmed Claudia, and she began crying again.

  Bonnie tensed. “Do you remember when this party took place?”

  “The only thing I remember is that it took place about a month prior to the wedding.”

  “Who attended the party?”

  “What do you mean, who? You mother, Celia and I,” Claudia was becoming intrigued. “Why are you asking me all these questions? Don’t worry, there wasn’t any other guest there. It was a bachelorette party... your mother would never have agreed to have more company, certainly not other men... we were naïve back then – and your mother even more than Celia or me. I can promise you she would never let any man lay a finger on her before her marriage.”

  “What do you recall about the party?” Bonnie was intrigued.

  “I remember everything, even what each of us was wearing. I had this white dress with an embroidered pattern. It’s still hanging in my closet. Every time I feel sad, I put it on, and would you believe it? I can still fit into it. My figure hasn’t changed since those days. Would you like to see?”

  Bonnie couldn’t fully realize whether it was the dress she wanted to show him or her figure.

  “Poor Celia had a red blouse open at the belly and short black pants. She always thought she had nice legs and nice breasts, but your mother was a real knockout... She had this Arab garb on, whatchamacallit?”

  “You mean, a galabia?” Bonnie played his part in the conversation that was unfolding to be most amusing.

  “Yes, that’s it, galabia,” Claudia recalled. “She had a terrific figure, your mother. May she forgive me, but I do believe she wore it without a bra. I can also tell you what fabulous dishes we feasted on. Maria prepared them for us...”

  Before she got into all the evening cuisine, and before she remembered she had meant to show him something, Bonnie excused himself and said he had to go, or he’d miss his flight. Before he took his leave, he promised to keep in touch, and asked her, seemingly just out of curiosity, “By the way, have you ever heard of the Hypocratio Hospital?”

  “Sure, it’s the largest hospital here in Thessaloniki. I did my CT there only last week. Nothing serious, just a pain in my back. Why do you ask? You’re not feeling well?”

  “Oh, no, just a favor for a friend.”

  Bonnie and Claudia parted with a hug and a kiss.

  ***

  Bonnie sat in the office belonging to the manager of ‘Privat Investigos,’ a detective agency, right at the heart of Thessaloniki’s business district.

  “How may I help you?” the manager asked him.

  “I am looking for the details of a seventeen-year-old guy who was hospitalized in Hypocratio Hospital on 17 October 1979 after a car accident.”

  “Do you have any more details about him?”

  “No, but I would like you to limit your investigation strictly to a young man.”

  “Fine,” replied the manager. “But we are talking about many years ago. That’s a lot of work. Besides, there will be plenty of expenses along the way. It will cost you two thousand dollars.”

  “Agreed, but that is only part of the job. If you do track down the person I am looking for, we will proceed to the second part of the job. I am returning to Israel later today, and I await your phone call. I would like to add this case is sensitive, security-wise, so I need your written commitment to absolute confidentiality.”

  “That was clear from the start,” the investigator replied. “I have a statement ready for my signature right away.”

  ***

  The call from the detective agency came two days later. “I think I’ve got the goods for you. My investigation uncovered that on 17 October 1979, a young man was admitted to the hospital after he sustained injuries due to a car accident on the road between Sithonia and Thessaloniki. There weren’t many accidents in that area on that day, so according to the information you’ve given me, I think we have the right guy. He would be nineteen, the only person driving. He was taken to Hypocratio Hospital that morning. When he was admitted to the emergency room, they found a raptured spleen, three broken ribs and a few additional injuries. He was rushed to surgery, was operated on, and according to his patient’s chart, the surgery was over without any complications. I am also reading from the chart that he was hospitalized for five days, after which he was discharged in good condition pending further observation.”

  “What else does the medical record tell you?” Bonnie asked.

  “Hang on, let’s see. I can see here they made a histological test. I don’t know what that means. In any case, the results of the histology show ‘no suspicious findings,’ that’s what it says.”

  “Sounds interesting, but you haven’t given me any details concerning the patient himself!” Bonnie was getting impatient.

  “There’s a problem. The patient’s name has been erased. I cannot make it out. What I can tell you is that the patient’s serial number is 8200/79.”

  “Thank you,” Bonnie told him. “I’ll call you as soon as possible.”

  The information he received from the investigation agency caused Bonnie’s thoughts to spin very fast. ‘Is this 8200 person his own life’s mystery? Is he the reason his mother contacted the hospital? Why did they erase his name from the medical chart? Was this some accident? Was it done intentionally? And what should my next move be? He was overcome with different emotions. On the one hand, he felt relieved for finding the first clues on his winding way to discover the truth. On the other, he was concerned and fearful of the secrets this truth was hiding.

  ***

  “Now, let’s proceed to the second stage,” Bonnie approached the investigation agency’s manager the following day.

  “What do you mean?” the investigator from Thessaloniki asked.

  “In the patient’s medical chart, which you’ve read out to me, it was noted they performed a histology. It’s important for me to receive the sample they conducted this test on.”

  “What are you talking about?! They ran this test so many years ago!” the investigator replied.

  “I told you this was a special test,” Bonnie replied calmly. “I need you to ge
t me this sample. Prove to me you do indeed deserve to be called the finest investigation agency in the whole of Greece.”

  The manager smiled and grinned in satisfaction. “Let me check. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

  Chapter Twenty

  The archive of the Hypocratio Hospital occupied the entire basement floor. Half of the archive consisted of an administrative library containing dozens of thousands of documents of medical records taken from the thousands of employee files pertaining to those who worked and were still working there. The other half of the hospital archive was entirely medical, chiefly devoted to the pathology department.

  According to hospital guidelines, each and every sample from any histology carried out at the hospital had to be preserved in the archive. Accordingly, a small sample was taken from each tested tissue. This sample was frozen and preserved in a bloc of paraffin. These blocs with the tissues were stored in the archive. Each was assigned a serial number, and a card was kept with the details of each person the tissue was taken from.

  Whenever the need arose to extract DNA, the relevant paraffin bloc was pulled out according to the serial number from the drawer it was stored in. A slice consisting of the donor’s tissue would then be taken from the bloc to a lab where it was tested. At one time, the hospital put forth the idea to complete each procedure involving tissue testing by extracting DNA, but upon further inspection, as well as based on the procedures in other hospitals worldwide, powers that be at the hospital came to the conclusion that extracting DNA would be unnecessary. Aside from the cost, it was deemed useless, since only a small percentage of the tissue preserved in the paraffin bloc were actually ever used as a source of DNA. Likewise, the suggestion to upload the pathological findings to a computer was rejected on budgetary grounds, in the hope of better, more affluent times.

  The keeper of the myriad items in the archive was Maya, the hospital’s longest-serving secretary, a woman without an age, who seemed to have been working there since the beginning of time. Though her date of retirement had long since passed, she stayed on. “She is irreplaceable,” the archive manager had told the hospital’s management. Maya, so the rumors claimed, was capable of locating, blindfolded, any bloc of paraffin of the thousands there. She was also highly skilled in handling the rolodex with the test notes in the most precise and intelligent way. Everyone recognized and acknowledged the importance of her work and the grave responsibility she had, for any mistake in record keeping or identification might prove calamitous.

  Maya had yet another trait in her favor. She was the aunt of Eleus, the manager of Privat Investigos investigation agency.

  ***

  The phone call from her nephew Eleus completely caught Maya by surprise. They haven’t been in contact for years, more than twenty, in fact, ever since the row she had had with her sister, Eleus’s mother, over the small olive grove at the foot of Mt. Olympus, bequeathed to both sisters by their father.

  And after all this time, Eleus appeared in Maya’s apartment, all smiles and pleasantries, with a bottle of her favorite kind of ouzo.

  “What brings you to me?” She asked, puzzled. Deep down, she was glad for his visit. ‘For a long time now, I’ve been thinking of mending fences with her... it’s high time two sisters, each past sixty, would spend their golden years together.’

  “I heard you were about to finally retire,” Eleus said, “So I thought of throwing you a small party and taking the opportunity of finally patching things up between you and Mom. She’s always telling me how much she misses you.”

  The coast was clear. “I miss your Mom too. I’ve completely forgotten why we aren’t talking anymore...” Maya opened the bottle of ouzo and one glass after another with her nephew. They spoke and did a lot of catching up after all those years of estrangement.

  After her third glass, well, maybe her fourth, and once they had finalized all the details concerning Maya’s retirement party, Eleus said, “I represent an English research fund that carries out tests on the ability of human tissues to withstand the test of time. I think you might be able to help me with this.”

  “What can I do to help?” She asked, elated.

  “The fund people told me the hospital has old tissue that might help their research. They can contact the hospital through the usual channels, but this would take a long time, so I promised them I would look into the possibility of shortening the timetable.”

  “So, what do you want from me?”

  “Only one little thing: two or three old samples of tissue.”

  “You know that tissues cannot be taken out just like that.”

  “Of course, I know it’s not allowed. But then again, these are old samples no one needs, and they are required for medical research as it is.”

  “Are you sure that’s what they are required for?”

  “Dead sure. Have I ever lied to you?”

  “Oh, no,” Maya quickly replied, forgetting she and Eleus haven’t spoken in over twenty years. “But what type of tissue are we talking about?”

  “Don’t worry, in fact, all I need is one sample. I’ll leave you the serial number I need. Besides, I would like to tell you this fund is very generous. I shall gladly give you one thousand dollars out of the fee they’re paying me.”

  The fifth glass of ouzo concluded the jovial, liberating meeting. Eleus left her a note with the serial number of the test, kissed her on the cheek and agreed with her that he would come for the sample in three days’ time.

  ***

  The investigator called Bonnie the very same day. “I’ve got good news for you. I believe I can get you the goods, but you have to realize this is a very complex operation, involving a great deal of effort and payoffs to all sorts of elements I cannot specify.”

  “Well done,” Bonnie replied. “I’m impressed. How much?”

  “Ten thousand dollars.”

  “Go for it.”

  ***

  “I’ve found a science convention entitled ‘Cannabis – blessing or curse?’” the office manager told her minister. “It takes place within a week in Vienna. Registration did close a few weeks ago, but the managers told me they could always find room for Israel’s Minister of Science, as our country is a world leader in cannabis research.”

  “Works for me. Make the necessary arrangements.”

  The manager of the ministry’s office reported to the government secretary on the Science Minister’s short visit to Vienna. Accordingly, El Al Israel Airlines reserved the minister a good seat in business class, and Israel’s embassy in Vienna booked him a junior suite at the luxury Carlton Hotel in the center of town for a few days.

  Prior to his flight, Bonnie discreetly received, from a friend who was a doctor, the details of an opulent clinic on Kundera Strasse at the city’s center. This clinic’s specialty was in testing and examining DNA samples. Renowned for exacting large fees for its services, the clinic was highly regarded for its strict adherence to discretion. The clinic even allowed certain clients who requested it to have the tests made under a code name, without the subject having to leave any identifying features.

  As soon as the opening lecture of the convention ended, Bonnie rushed over to the clinic to keep the appointment he had arranged in advance. He settled the matter of payment and had a file opened under a code name. Bonnie proceeded to the examination room, where samples of his blood and saliva were taken. At the end of the medical procedure, he arranged with the clinic’s management that the results would be sent over to Israel via a special courier within 48 hours once the tissue was received and matched with the saliva and blood samples he had given.

  After his visit to the clinic, Bonnie returned to the convention hall to listen to the dreariest lecture by an Indian scientist on India’s own cannabis research. At the end of the lecture, Bonnie rushed back to his suite to make a phone call, during which Eleus told him the tissu
e would arrive soon, along with two additional samples by way of a bonus.

  “You can sell the two extra samples for ten thousand dollars each to other suckers,” Bonnie told him. “Deliver my sample to Vienna, to the address and file number I’ll provide immediately.”

  ***

  “I have the goods,” Eleus reported the following day. “As soon as you transfer my fee to the bank account I shall give you, I’ll send the sample to Vienna.”

  The following day, Eleus confirmed he had received he funds and told him he sent “the goods.” Bonnie apologized to the convention’s board and said he had to return to Israel on urgent business and caught the first flight from Vienna back to Israel.

  ***

  Four days after his return to Israel, Bonnie received a call from an international delivery company and coordinated that the shipment from Vienna would be transferred to his home in the village in no time.

  Seated on the same good old armchair he sat on as he had read the letter his mother had left him, the envelope that came by special delivery with a courier a few moments earlier was now resting on his knees. He was going through the same anxieties and fears that had enwrapped him when he opened that envelope.

  He opened the decorated envelope in a trembling hand and pulled out a pink piece of paper with the clinic’s letterhead in gilded letters at the top left-hand corner.

  The contents were brief:

  Test results:

  The DNA test showed that the blood samples taken from x and the tissue we received from Hypocratio Hospital in Thessaloniki are identical.

  Bonnie couldn’t tell how long he was out cold. Once he came to, he found himself in the armchair. The envelope was lying on the carpet, which has seen much better days.

  He restored himself using a glass of water and a cup of strong coffee. He tried to control his trembling voice as he called Eleus at the investigation agency in Thessaloniki.