The Kabbalist

by Katz, Yoram

  Ten minutes later, Danny and Luria were almost alone. All crew members have already left or were on their way out. Only the ever-watching Brother Pedro remained vigilant in the corner of the library. Luria signaled to Danny. “Come with me,” he said briskly. “I want to show you something.”

  They walked to the far end of the library, where Luria pointed at one of the shelves. “Do you see what I see?”

  Danny did not notice anything unusual. “What am I supposed to see?”

  “When I scanned the room before, I was looking for possible signs indicating that books had been recently removed from the shelves. Eventually, I focused on the volumes that turned out to be hidden in the safe, but this shelf here had also attracted my attention. Usually, the books in this library are tightly packed together. Note that the books here are not as firmly pressed as in other places. I believe that a book or two have been removed from here.”

  From his expression, it was obvious that Danny wasn’t so sure about it. Luria approached the shelf, scanning with his flashlight the backs of the books standing on it. At last, he found what he was looking for. “Look at the name of this book here.”

  Danny examined the cover. “Hey, this is another copy of one of the books in the safe – ‘Thérèse of Lisieux’s collection of letters’."

  “You are almost right,” said Luria. “I watched the book Father Rafael retrieved from the safe very carefully. It was volume 2 of ’Thérèse of Lisieux’s collection of letters’. This here is volume 1.”

  “Meaning what?” Danny was not sure he got the point.

  “Meaning that the books we saw in the safe had been probably snatched at random from this shelf and put there hurriedly. They are no more special than the other books which still remain on the shelf.”

  “Put in the safe by whom?”

  “By Father Rafael, of course.”

  “And why would he do that?”

  “You still don’t get it,” Luria smiled. “Here is what I think happened. A valuable object has been stolen from this place tonight; probably a book or a document. Father Fernando took it out of the safe and sat down at the table to browse it. He was attacked and the document was taken. When Father Rafael got here, he realized what had happened. He immediately rushed to the safe and found it empty. For reasons yet unknown to us, he did not want this to be found out. Fearing that nosy police investigators may find the safe, he removed at random two books from one of the farthest shelves and stuck them there. He assumed that if the safe were discovered and found empty, inconvenient questions might be asked. He figured out it would be much simpler if the safe contained some innocent material rather than a suspicious void.”

  Danny shook his head in wonder. “It sounds simple when you put it this way,” he said. “And the reason you asked for an additional forensic check of the safe, was to isolate Father Rafael’s fingerprints, which he had left there while opening the door for us. You want to compare those with the fingerprints made before that, to establish your theory that he had messed with the safe before we got here. This is brilliant, if I may say so, sir.”

  Luria nodded. “And if this theory is validated,” he said, “we can conclude that something valuable was indeed stolen from here tonight and that Father Rafael is covering up for it, going as far as to interfere with a police investigation.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “I haven’t a clue,” answered Luria, “but he must have had a damned good reason.”

  22. Haifa Police – January 17th, 2006 (Tuesday)

  Luria was bent over a stack of forms when Danny burst in almost violently, waving a document consisting of a few pages. “Sir, hats off to you!” he called. “You were right!”

  “Right about what?” Luria raised his eyes from the papers on his desk and stared at the excited detective. “What has come over you? What happened?”

  Danny kept waving the document at him. “The forensic report!”

  “Well, what does it say?”

  “It is exactly like you said. We have Father Rafael’s fingerprints on the safe, before he opened it to show us the books. We know that these are his fingerprints because, as you insisted, we also sampled the safe after he had opened it for us. His first set of fingerprints is all over the fingerprints of the dead Father Fernando Diaz. It is obvious that he opened the safe after Father Fernando had already been dead. His fingerprints are also clearly visible on at least four of the five volumes that were standing before the safe!”

  Luria smiled, unable to hide his satisfaction. “So our little guess worked out.”

  “Our Guess?” Danny was excited. “You played it like Sherlock Holmes, I am telling you, sir!”

  “Will you please calm down?” Luria tried to get his subordinate down to earth. “Let me remind you that this does not solve the case. Our work is just beginning, and I am in desperate need of a cool-headed detective.”

  “Yes, sir.” Danny blushed.

  “And let us stop this ‘sir’ thing. We have had enough of it for one morning.” Luria did not like to emphasize hierarchy in his unit.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Danny automatically and immediately blushed even more. They looked at each other and started laughing.

  “There is more,” added Danny after they had both calmed down. “We have a first clue of the murderer.”

  “I am listening.”

  “This morning, Control had a call from Omer Friedman, a young mechanical engineer. In the night between Sunday and Monday, Friedman returned with his girlfriend from a pub downtown and around 2 AM they were traveling up Stella Maris road. On the ridge line, right next to the monastery, the road turns sharply to the left; do you know the place?”

  Luria nodded. He knew it well enough. Every inhabitant of Haifa did.

  “Well, as they were completing the turn, a Mazda-3 shot out wildly from the parking lot on the right-hand side, just opposite the Monastery. It entered the lane in front of them, causing Friedman to press down on his brakes to avoid colliding into it. The unnerved Friedman followed that car for a short while toward Central Carmel and then lost it. He managed to identify the number of the speeding vehicle and dictate it to his girlfriend, who saved it on her mobile phone. He did not really know what to do with it. Actually, when he woke up in the morning, he decided to put the whole matter to rest. Then, having heard about the murder in the news, he realized that he might be in possession of valuable information and called Control.”

  “Excellent,” said Luria. “Though I bet it was a stolen vehicle. Have you checked?”

  “Yes,” replied Danny, “and you are right. It was a stolen vehicle. It was reported yesterday morning in the police station downtown, by one Moshe Rotem of Einstein Street.”

  “Have you talked to him?”

  “I was actually on my way.”

  “He is probably an innocent citizen, whose car has been stolen.”

  “I think so too, but I guess we should interview him anyway.”

  “Sure. Just don’t expect it to lead us anywhere,” remarked Luria. “Please take the new guy, Oren, with you. He will be under your supervision and responsibility. I want him to get some feel of the job.”

  “No problem,” said Danny.

  “Good. Report if you find something. I am going to see Arnon to discuss this case. We’ll talk when you are back.”

  * * *

  Chief Superintendent Ehud Arnon, deputy chief of Haifa Police, sat in his chair behind a big desk. He was an imposing man in his late thirties and a rising star in the police force. Arnon was the driving force behind the significant changes the Haifa Station had been undergoing for the past three years, and Luria was his first new recruit. Their relationship was based on mutual respect, both personal and professional, and on some measure of genuine friendship. Arnon appreciated the qualities Luria had brought with him and the professionalism and drive of the unit he had created from scratch, and Luria saw in Arnon an excellent commander, a worthy man, and a star to cling to on his
way to the top.

  “How are you doing, Luria?” Arnon rose to welcome him. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “No, Thanks,” said Luria. “I have already had my morning coffee.”

  Arnon pointed to the chair on the other side of his desk and they both sat down. “Any news in the Stella Maris case?”

  “We may have a lead regarding the car the murderer used. Somebody saw a vehicle speeding away from the scene at a matching time and wrote down the license number. It’s a stolen vehicle, of course. We are checking.”

  “Good,” said Arnon. “Please keep me updated on all developments, and I’ll want a daily brief.”

  Luria nodded. “Sure. Now, yesterday we started discussing the Special Investigation Team. We need to get it going.”

  Arnon looked at him gravely. “I gave it some thought. The SIT is you. We’ll not need more than that for now.”

  Luria raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, I am not sure I understand.”

  “You heard me.”

  “What does it mean?” Luria was genuinely perplexed.

  “It means that I want a very small team with an even smaller exposure and absolutely no leaks.”

  “At this moment, the only ones involved are Danny and me.”

  “Who is Danny?” Arnon sounded concerned.

  “Inspector Danny Raviv, one of the men I brought on board from the commando. He has been with us for eighteen months now. He was on duty that night and was called to the scene.”

  “Can we count on him?”

  “Of course,” Luria sounded a bit offended. “I choose my men very carefully.”

  “Sure, sure,” Arnon was quick to respond. “Who else is involved? Even marginally.”

  “A young detective named Oren Bar that I asked Danny to train.”

  “Get rid of both. Just get them off the case. I want you alone on this. Also, try to minimize the number of technicians and other personnel involved. I want to know the details, I want to hear of any glimmer of a clue and of every development, and I want to know ahead of any critical moves you are planning. Is that clear?”

  Luria was puzzled. “You expect me to handle this case alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t. This is a serious investigation, sir. And, with all due respect, this is a job for a team. I need an assistant at the very least. I do not see how I can manage this on my own, let alone other ongoing investigations and a unit to run.”

  “Leave everything else. Delegate authority to your deputy; what’s his name?”

  “Uri.”

  “Nominate Uri to run your detectives for the time being.”

  Luria was starting to heat up. “It does not work this way. What is going on here, sir?”

  “This is a super sensitive case. This morning, the Station Chief was summoned to an urgent meeting at the Minister’s office along with the Chief of Police. He came back scared to death and immediately called me. It seems the Catholic Church is in the picture, and this whole thing is a political hot potato.”

  “The Catholic Church?”

  “The Foreign Minister has received messages from the Vatican,” said Arnon. “Maybe you can tell me what is going on here. What’s eating them?”

  “I am not sure,” said Luria. “I already told you yesterday that I believed something had been stolen from there. It must have been of great value to them, but for some reason they are doing their best to hide it. Today, by the way, I received hard data to corroborate my suspicions. Father Rafael was actively interfering with police work and tampering with evidence.”

  “And had I not brought this up, you wouldn’t have told me?” Luria identified irritation in his chief’s voice.

  “The forensic report came in minutes ago, just before I entered your office.” He could see that Arnon did not like this one bit. “The fingerprints on the safe prove beyond doubt that Father Rafael had tampered with the safe after Diaz, and before we got there.”

  “You mean to tell me you took fingerprints from Father Rafael?” Arnon looked stunned. “Are you out of your mind, Luria? Do you want to mess us up with the Church? Do you want the Minister pissed off?”

  Luria explained.

  “Luria, you smartass,” Arnon still sounded agitated but Luria could identify appreciation in the eyes of his chief. “You are always walking on the brink. You are a bright guy; I’ll grant you that, but one of these days you are going to screw up things for me big time. I have not heard this, and I know nothing about it.”

  “Sure, sir.”

  “So what are they hiding?”

  “I don’t know,” said Luria. “And if I read the situation correctly, we may well never know.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Well… The Vatican calls the Minister and next thing you are summoned to an urgent meeting to have the sensitivity of the situation explained. You are told that the Church wants a very low profile and that if possible they would prefer to have this incident just fade away. The people in the monastery are obviously uncooperative and do not want us to know the truth. It seems to me that no one really wants anybody to know anything about this case.”

  Luria saw a cloud descending on his chief’s face, but he pressed on. “And what happens when we catch the murderer? Then we might inadvertently stumble upon the truth and understand what this is really all about. Where does this put the Church, which clearly wants the whole affair disappearing into thin air? What will they do then? What will you do?”

  Superintendent Arnon let out an involuntary groan. “Sometimes I think you are too smart for your job,” he said. “Maybe even too smart for your own good. But perhaps it is better this way, as we can now talk freely.”

  He leaned back in his chair and stretched his legs. Luria waited for him to speak.

  “The Church is in a catch,” explained Arnon. “Like you have correctly diagnosed, they would like to have their mysterious loss returned. On the other hand, they would not admit they had lost anything. They would like it back, yet are afraid of the exposure if we do catch the murderer. I believe they would rather have us forget the whole matter, but, of course, they know we cannot just ignore a murder case.”

  “Do you know what has been stolen?” asked Luria.

  “I don’t and I don’t want to know. Nobody wants to know. Even the Foreign Minister and the Public Security Minister don’t want to know. They only want to wake up tomorrow morning and have this whole messy affair sorted out somehow.”

  “And how will this miracle be achieved?”

  Arnon popped up the back of his chair and leaned forward on his desk, his head almost touching Luria’s. “Well, if you have not figured this out so far, maybe you are not that smart, after all,” he said. “Today it was brought to my attention by some senior powers, that this is my problem.” His voice was now almost menacing. “And from this moment on, Superintendent Yossi Luria, it has officially become your bloody problem too.” He straightened up and then leaned back again in his chair, crossed his hands, squinted and looked at Luria, who sat silently, not knowing what to say. “And what do you have to say now, my smartass friend and subordinate?”

  * * *

  Luria spent the next two hours going over the open cases his unit was handling, and delegating authority to Uri, his deputy. By the time he was finished, it was past noon. He considered going out for a falafel and call it lunch, but before he could get out of his chair, Danny came charging in like a bull, and slumped in the chair opposite his desk.

  “You can come in now,” said Luria, his sarcasm lost on Danny.

  “The man from whom the Mazda has been stolen is clean,” Danny reported. “And the stolen vehicle was located a few hours ago.”

  “Where?”

  “It was found on Keller Street in Central Carmel. It’s been standing there since yesterday morning. Forensics are already working on it. First impression is that the car thief was a pro. They are still looking for fingerprints or anything to identify the driver.”


  “I request that from now on I get information in real time,” said Luria. Danny sensed his boss’s annoyance and nodded.

  “How was Oren?”

  Danny shrugged. “OK, I guess. He did not help much, but at least he was not a pain.”

  “Does he know the whole story? Murder, cover-up and all?”

  “No more than he would have found out from the news. I did not think this was necessary. I just told him this was about a stolen car which was used in a robbery. Should I have told him more?”

  “No, no, you did fine. I want a low profile on this. Sending him with you was a mistake in the first place. It is you and me and no word to anybody else.”

  “What about the SIT?”

  “As I said, this is going to be you and me.”

  “No SIT?” Danny was surprised. “This is quite unusual for such a case, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe,” said Luria, “but as of this minute, you are not talking to anybody except me about this case, and you are not moving or doing anything without coordinating with me first. Is this clear?”

  “Yes, chief,” Danny was impressed. “We must be dealing with dynamite.”

  “You bet,” agreed Luria. “This is a murder of a senior clergyman, and the Catholic Church is applying pressure for a low profile. We are going to be working under a magnifying glass, and there is panic concerning leaks, coming straight from the Minister’s office. This is why it is going to be just you and me. There is going to be zero tolerance for mistakes. Do you understand?”

  Danny nodded his understanding. “Yes, I do.”

  “Now back to our robber. I believe that having almost crashed into another car, he understood he had attracted attention and feared being reported. He probably just switched cars. Check for stolen car reports from that night in the Central Carmel area. I would bet on a Mazda-3.”

  “Thanks for the tip, Sherlock,” Danny was already on his feet. “I will report back soon.”

  “And don’t you forget,” Luria was already talking to Danny’s back now. “Not a word to anybody. You are talking only to me.”

  Danny was gone, and Luria leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. After a few minutes, he straightened up, opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pen and a blank sheet of paper. Forgetting he was hungry, he started writing, trying to organize his thoughts. He did not make much progress before the door burst open again, and Danny charged in.