The youth the social worker had connected Ronnie with was Gadi, a fifteen-year-old boy who came from one of Lod’s roughest areas, Yoseftal Street. His father had disappeared when Gadi was only three years old. His mother had raised him by herself since then, barely able to make a living by doing janitorial work for City Hall and cleaning private houses. All the relevant authorities were in agreement that the child was brilliant, but lacked any will or ability to accept authority. He regularly hung around criminals and hadn’t seen the inside of a classroom for quite some time. After much effort and not a few threats, a meeting between the two teenagers had been arranged. It was marked as an utter failure from the very first moment. Gadi demonstrated deep contempt and an unwillingness to communicate with the spoiled kid from the kibbutz. “I don’t need any favors from you,” he repeated again and again throughout the conversation. Finally, he defiantly left, leaving Ronnie by himself, beaten and frustrated. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Ronnie decided to follow him, and when he finally found him, kept on walking beside him down the alleyways of Lod without uttering a single word. After about twenty minutes, Gadi shouted at him, “What do you want? You’re such a leech! Do I need to beat the crap out of you so you get your ass out of here?” His body language clearly indicated he was ready for battle, in spite of the marked differences in age and size.
Ronnie stopped. “I’m a nerd from the kibbutz. I’m not looking for a fight, but I can still kick the shit out of you, if I have to. But maybe, instead of really going at it, we stand here by the fence and do some arm wrestling. If you win, I’ll turn around and get out of your life for good. But if I win, you’re going to give me a chance to get to know you better, and for you to know me. If, after we know each other well, you still aren’t interested in my company, I promise that I won’t insist.”
Gadi smiled, sure of his victory. He jumped over the fence, turned around, and positioned his right elbow on the concrete rail, ready for battle. Ronnie stood in front of him, ignoring the sharp stones digging into his elbow and said, “Just start whenever you’re ready.”
Before he could finish the sentence, he felt Gadi furiously attacking his arm, leaning his entire body weight against it. Ronnie remained firm and unmoving. Years of hard physical labor had strengthened the muscles of his arm. As minutes passed, Gadi’s breath quickened, but he couldn’t move Ronnie’s hand even by an inch. Finally, he raised his eyes, looked at Ronnie, who wasn’t even sweating, and panted, “Draw?”
“Draw,” Ronnie agreed.
Gadi wiped his hands and said, “That means you didn’t win, doesn’t it? So I don’t have to get to know you. Seeya!”
“You know what, you’re probably right. Just do me a favor and take me back to the place where we first met. OK?”
Gadi, who had expected an entirely different reply, turned around, said, “Come on,” and began to walk. On the way, Ronnie spoke about the kibbutz and invited him for a visit. Gadi pretended he wasn’t listening. When they parted, Ronnie gave him his home telephone number and to his surprise, after some slight hesitation, Gadi agreed to take it and wrote the number on his wrist.
Over the following months, the boys would meet at least twice a week, with Gadi remaining restrained, but not missing a single meeting. One day, Gadi arrived at the kibbutz unannounced and knocked on Ronnie’s door. Ronnie’s mother, who opened the door, told Gadi that her son was in Tel Aviv and would return that evening. “But,” she added, “you’re welcome to wait for him. We’re just about to go to the kibbutz dining room to have lunch. Why don’t you join us?”
Gadi stepped inside hesitantly and remained standing at the center of the room.
“My name is Judith, and this is Moses, Ronnie’s father, and that’s his sister, Rebecca. Gadi is Ronnie’s friend,” Judith introduced all the people in the room to him, “and he’ll be joining us for lunch.”
In the dining room, Gadi filled his tray with enough food to satisfy the hunger of an entire pack of wolves and devoured every last bit. They ate in silence, and once they’d finished, Moses turned to him and said, “I need to head out to the cowshed to fill up the feeding stations. You look like a strong young man. Unless you’ve got something better to do, I’d be happy if you could give me a hand.”
Gadi joined Moses. The afternoon hours passed by quickly, and when they returned home, Ronnie welcomed Gadi. “You smell like cow shit.” He was beside himself with pleasure. “Go take a shower, then we’ll go meet a few of my friends at the kibbutz club. After that, my mother insists you call your mother and tell her you’re sleeping over. She won’t hear of you going back to Lod by yourself at night.”
“We don’t have a telephone,” answered Gadi, embarrassed, “but I can try and call the family my mother works for; she babysits their children in the evenings.”
After Gadi had showered, and as they walked toward the club, he quickly said with his head downcast, “This is the first time in my life anyone has worried about me.”
In the months that followed, Gadi put Ronnie and his family through a series of tests. He deliberately got into fights and was arrested for disorderly conduct, giving Ronnie’s parents’ names to the police so they would come to bail him out. Each time, they did indeed come, accompanied by Ronnie, and vouched for him without asking any questions. One time, Ronnie took Gadi aside and told him, “Since you’re jerking us around and expect us to come here every time, we might as well pay you back. Starting tomorrow, you’re going back to school and you’re studying seriously. We came here in the kibbutz vehicle; you’ll find a schoolbag there filled with all the books you need and new notebooks. It’s time for you to take responsibility for your life. By the way, I’m not asking, I’m telling!”
Gadi returned to school and became a good student, although not a very diligent one. With the social worker’s approval and his mother’s blessing, a year later, Gadi moved to the kibbutz. Two years after Ronnie had enlisted in an elite unit, Gadi joined the army as well. The army had realized the best way to catch criminals was to work with men who’d grown up with them, so Gadi was stationed in the criminal investigation division, where he took an investigator’s course, graduated with honors, and became a living legend, closing the highest number of cases in the unit’s history. “The criminals don’t stand a chance against him,” people in the unit said knowingly, “he knows how to think like them, only ten times faster.”
When Ronnie was discharged after five years (his mandatory three plus two additional years as a paid, career soldier) and began to study at the Israel Institute of Technology, Gadi enrolled in the Haifa University department of criminology. They both graduated with honors. Even though Gadi was wooed by various security organizations, he eventually decided to open an office of his own, handling private investigations and security services. Ronnie moved to the United States to continue his studies. They both found the distance between them to be difficult, and the occasional visits had done little to satisfy their need to spend time with each other, a need they tried to fill with daily telephone conversations.
The sound of an incoming telephone call disrupted Ronnie’s memories. Evelyn’s name appeared on the screen. “David wants you to come to his office immediately. He asked me to make it clear that he means now,” she said, then whispered, “Henry’s in the room as well, they’re both waiting for you. It looks very serious.”
“Thanks, Evelyn. I’ll be right there.” He drove the remaining two miles quickly then left his car at the parking lot entrance. As he hurried down the corridor to David’s office, he was accompanied by the questioning stares of the employees. David was clearly in a state. He sat with his elbows on the table, his head in his hands. Henry was standing by his side, a distraught expression on his face, his eyes flitting around as if seeking something.
“You wanted to speak with me?” Ronnie opened.
“Christian Lumner was found dead in his hotel room,” Henry immediately fired at him. “A suicide note was found next to him in which he begs h
is loved ones’ forgiveness. It didn’t contain any explanation for his act.”
A wave of pain struck Ronnie. “I met with him just yesterday. There wasn’t any indication he could be planning something so extreme. You have any idea what could have made him do this?”
“I’m not interested in the private lives of my CEOs,” Henry answered frigidly. “We only need to prepare for the event the police may tie this case to the company or its products. We can’t have the company value drop, especially now that we’ve started to raise money for the fund.”
Ronnie couldn’t believe his ears. Henry had just been told that one of his portfolio companies’ CEOs had taken his own life, and all he cared about was the possible damage to the fund-raising process?
Henry read his thoughts and added, “Don’t give me that self-righteous look. Obviously, I’m grieved by this terrible disaster. But we’ll have time enough to mourn. At the moment we owe it to ourselves, and even more so to our investors, to do some damage control. The company is yours. When you agreed to take it, it was for good or ill. Sadly for you, and for us, it turned out badly very quickly. But weren’t you the one who said a company is always on the verge of the next crisis? David and I expect you to drop everything else and fly to California to take care of this matter so that our fund's name won’t get entangled in this unfortunate development. I’ve asked Evelyn to get you a ticket on the red-eye. Please update me personally with any developments.”
“There’s no point in my going to California. I don’t really know Christian. I’ve only met him twice, once briefly, here in our offices about a year ago, and a second time during my meeting with him yesterday. If there’s anyone who knew him well enough and could testify to his personality and the situation of the company, as well as quash any rumors before they spread, it’s you.”
“I’m swamped with raising money for our next fund. David and I’ve discussed this and decided you’re the one most suitable for the job. We’re counting on you.”
David didn’t raise his eyes from the table. “We’ve considered all the options,” he mumbled. “I agree this is a compromise, perhaps not a very good compromise, but a necessary one. Please go and do the best you can.” His voice died out at once.
Henry stood, indicating that the meeting had come to an end. “Evelyn will give you the tickets and your hotel details. It’s the same hotel Christian was found in. That way, you’ll be able to speak with the appropriate people and perhaps understand a little better what happened there.” He nodded to David and went out of the room without saying another word.
Ronnie felt like a child who’d received an undeserved punishment. David looked at him pleadingly, trying to stifle a sob stuck in his throat. If Henry had seemed unaffected by the tragedy, David appeared completely destroyed, although, to the best of Ronnie’s knowledge, he didn’t know Christian personally.
Ronnie left the room silently, closed the door behind him, and went to Evelyn to collect his airline tickets and hotel reservation confirmation.
“Sorry,” her lips whispered. Her shining eyes betrayed what was in her heart. She handed him an envelope with a limp movement.
Ronnie headed toward the exit. On the way, he speed-dialed Gadi.
“Yes, sir,” Gadi answered after a single ring.
“Change of plans. The CEO I told you about was found dead in his room at the Sheraton Sunnyvale.” He opened the envelope and took a peek at its contents, “I’m flying from Newark tonight, United flight 1051 taking off at ten thirty-four and landing in San Francisco at one thirty-six. I have a room booked at the Sheraton. I’d be pleased if you could join me.”
“Done.”
“I’ll explain the situation once we meet in Sunnyvale, but at this stage, I want you to act as if you don’t know me. Check if I’m being followed or if there’s any other suspicious activity you can identify.”
“OK. Bye.”
Ronnie hung up and called Liah. Just this morning he would have sworn he would never do what he was now about to do.
Chapter 9
Newark, October 17, 2013, 10:00 PM
“Ronnie, for the hundredth time, explain to me what’s going on.”
Ronnie lay a comforting hand on Liah’s arm and turned his eyes to the front of the plane, examining the faces of the passengers who continued to pour through the entry door. “I’ll tell you all about it after we take off.” Earlier that evening, he’d called her, told her about Lumner’s death, and apologized for having to leave her to go to the West Coast.
“Buy me a ticket as well,” she demanded decisively. “There’s no way I’m spending the first week of our engagement without you. Should I pack for you, too?”
“Thanks, this is a wonderful idea,” he answered. “Just take out the green trolley suitcase from the closet. It’s always ready for a short business trip.” Next, he called Evelyn and asked her help in buying an additional business class ticket. Fifteen minutes later, he received a text message: I’ve made reservations for Liah. I saw to it that you’re sitting together. You can go straight to the boarding gate. I’m sending the electronic tickets to your phones.
Thanks, he texted back a concise message, and a few seconds later typed an additional one: You’re the best. Well done, it’s great to know I can always count on you. He signed it “Ray” and pressed the send button.
“We are about to close the doors and will be ready for takeoff soon. Please take your seats, bring your seat backs to the upright position, and fasten your seatbelts,” the laconic message was heard on the plane’s PA system.
“And?” Liah asked again, “You thought I wouldn’t notice Gadi boarding the plane and you two ignoring each other? Your best friend in the world is on the plane and suddenly you two don’t know each other? What are you, little children?”
“Gadi’s on the plane?” he whispered, an amused expression on his face. “Where?” He turned to look down the aisle with theatrical exaggeration. When he turned his head back to Liah, he smiled at her fondly and whispered, “Well done, I thought you were occupied with your reading and wouldn’t notice.”
“Why are you whispering, you idiot? Look around you; you think any of these tailored business class types speak Hebrew? By the way, do you plan on taking Gadi on our honeymoon as well?”
“Aren’t you tired of being right all the time?” He stroked her cheek, taking pleasure in the silky feel of her smooth skin against the back of his fingers. “It’s so much fun you’ve decided to join us. I can’t tell you how happy I was when you insisted on coming. You gave me the perfect excuse I needed not to sleep with Gadi without him feeling rejected.”
“If you plan on continuing to avoid giving me an answer, prepare to suffer,” whispered Liah with mock severity and pinched his arm fondly.
The sound of the engines intensified. The plane began to accelerate on the runway and within seconds took off and began to ascend to cruising altitude.
Ronnie pushed his seat back a bit, and as he saw Liah leaning hers back as well, keeping eye contact, he realized the sooner he let her in on the secret, the better.
“When I got back from Boston, I tried to tell you about my meeting with Christian. I don’t know if you fell asleep on the first or second sentence, so perhaps I’d better start over.”
“I fell asleep on the first. You’re not as interesting as you think you are.” Liah wrinkled her nose.
For the next hour, Ronnie described to Liah everything he’d gone through since Tuesday, his first day as a full partner in the fund. He did not skip dry descriptions about the financial situation of TDO and found himself analyzing at length the advantages of the medicine the company had developed and the successful trials it had thus far performed. Liah, whose professional curiosity was aroused by the idea of the innovative medicine, asked many difficult questions, until Ronnie was finally forced to mutter humbly, “I’m sorry, Dr. Sheinbaum, I don’t have all the answers. Can I continue to describe the financial situation?”
“I
beg your pardon, Sherlock, but the scientific part is much more interesting than all your dusty financial and progress reports.”
Ronnie continued and told her about his meeting with Lumner in Boston and the strange direction it had taken and did not skip the description of the person they’d encountered while walking in the orchard.
“So that’s the reason you brought Gadi all the way from Israel? To watch your back?” Her voice was tense with concern.
“I didn’t bring him. He decided to come as soon as he heard we were getting married. He insists on giving the bride his seal of approval before I lead her to the altar.”
“And if he doesn’t approve?” An unexplained cloud of anxiety settled on Liah’s face.
Ronnie felt ill at ease. What was she afraid of? “Gadi’s smart. He’ll approve.” He returned to describing the morning following his appointment with Christian. “Henry and David were waiting for me in David’s office. What surprised me the most was that neither of them was interested in hearing, even briefly, about my conversation with Christian. If I were Henry, I’d have been dying of curiosity to know whether his demand to embellish the company reports had been exposed. He must be very sure of himself and perhaps also holding a few aces that could overshadow my discoveries.”
The stewardesses began the meal service. They both attacked the food and hungrily devoured everything they were served. “When one is hungry, even airplane food tastes good,” Liah mumbled, but it seemed her thoughts drifted elsewhere. The monotonous sound of the engines and their full stomachs lulled them into a drowsy comfort. As soon as they’d finished eating, they both pushed back their seats, impervious to the noise of the clearing of the trays.
Two hours later, they found themselves standing next to a luggage carousel, tiredly gazing at its gaping maw, waiting for it to spit out their first suitcase.
Green Kills Page 6
