by Dana Arama
Chapter 17
Nadav opened our morning with a telephone call.
"Are you up to date?" I said, hoping I wouldn’t have to start over again.
"Of course. When are you planning to return to Savion?”
"Today, I guess. She only fell asleep an hour ago. I'll wait for her to wake up and see what’s happening with her. It could be she’s too traumatized and wants to stay here another night. In that case, I'll leave her here and get her some things from the house.”
"Don’t leave her alone. Just go down and buy what you need for a day or two.”
"I also wanted to take the opportunity to check the house. Saturdays, no one should be there, no maid or gardener.”
"If you still want to go back today, coordinate it with me and I'll come with you. I'd rather we check the place out together.”
"Me too. We'll talk later." I wondered if the police should do it officially - check the house. Maybe they were waiting for her there? Waiting for her? Why not for us? And if I’m involved, what's to stop them from harming my family?
I called Yoav on speed dial; a number of seconds that passed before he answered.
"What's going on?" he asked dryly. I loved him for it. It was a sign that nothing was new.
"We’re okay. We stayed in Tel Aviv. We’ll see when we go back to Savion. What did Mother say?”
"She had the look of 'Ah well, he was gone before he even arrived.' What can I say? You’ve been in the commando unit so many years, she got used to it.”
I smiled. That was his way of reassuring me, antipathy mixed with sensitivity. "Thanks, Yoav. Listen…" I hesitated. I didn’t want to share my concerns with him, but I couldn’t avoid it. "We're not really sure these photographers who were killed weren’t somehow related to Gabrielle’s case.” Goddamit, I thought, how do I tell him to take care of our parents and family without frightening him half to death? "Perhaps this was a kind of warning. For us. Of course, they may just be trying to warn off the paparazzi. But anyway, you have to keep a close eye on anything unusual round there, and make sure that foreigners don’t come in.”
After a moment of silence, a cold voice from the other side of the line replied, "You suggest I start going around with a gun again?”
"You and Dad, both, and lock the gates. Inform Moshik. Is he still the security officer?”
"I'll let him know. Take care, yes?”
"Of course." I began to appreciate his characteristic interest in my wellbeing more and more. Usually, I couldn’t stand his interference. Now I was glad I had someone to rely on.
Gabriella was experienced at overcoming trauma. As soon as she woke up, she asked to go home. I arranged with Nadav to meet us at the gate.
The blackout imposed by the police on the investigation saved us from the armies of journalists. Operationally, it seemed reasonable to leave the car outside the gate and go in on foot, Nadav first, me second, and only after we confirmed that the place was clean, bring Gabriella in. We determined that in the street, in plain sight of her neighbors, she’d be more protected than if she was hidden within the walls of her house. The gate opened nerve rackingly slowly. I was sorry I couldn’t see satellite images of the courtyard.
Nadav was determined to go first. He checked the area. Meanwhile, I waited at a point from which I could observe each end of the street, Gabriella sitting in the car, and the driveway. Nadav called me through by phoning me, at the same time beckoning from a window. I went up the driveway. Inside the house, we conducted a simultaneous search. After we made sure no one was there, he swept the house for listening devices. We went through all the rooms, checking every picture on the wall, lamp, telephone, and any other possible hiding place. We added all new locks on the doors. We went to the pool and garage. We tested the cars. Everything was all right.
I went out into the street to assure her she could go home, while he folded packed away the equipment.
"Your castle is clean,” he said to Gabriella with a reassuring smile.
She was visibly relieved. "You’ve no idea how much I appreciate you coming here on a Saturday."
"No problem at all. I was happy to help. And now, if you'll excuse me, I start my week at home."
I accompanied him to the car and opened the gate. "Dude, there are no words…"
"Nonsense. No big deal. Go be with her now."
"I think the trip to Paris is the best thing we can do. To get away for a bit."
"That's right, go clear your heads. Okay. See you when you get back. And be careful there too, right? It’s not cool for me to lose you over something stupid.”
Only after he left did I remember that I hadn’t given him the letter, probably because my fatigue made it simply slip my mind.
We spent the next hour changing all the door codes. Tomorrow, when Esther came, we’d have to open the door from the inside, then I’d make sure no one was following her. On Tuesday, we'd do it for Ahmed the gardener.
"Feel better now?"
"Right now, I'm more tired than worried. This is progress." She smiled nervously.
I leaned on my door. "I know what you mean. Shower and bed?" I glanced at the clock. "Just the right time for a long nap."
"I thought… maybe…" She seemed lost in the large living room. I opened my arms and she was content.
"You want me to sleep next to you? You know, all you have to do is tell me." Her soft lips touched the tip of my finger. Then I kissed her gently. With my tongue, I wet her dry lips. She responded to me with her mouth and clung to mine with a long and soft kiss that confused me completely. I couldn’t figure out if she was playing me or really needed my support. I didn’t know if I could be the backrest she needed. It was easier to deal with the woman of steel who set up the refrigerated room up north, than to accommodate the woman who clung to me now.
We parted only for minutes, just to take a quick shower and go back to sleep together. I stood in the shower and let the jets of water wash me. I needed those few minutes alone to get over the sequence of events from Friday. The killer had managed to get ahead of us. He had prepared for that. Whether it was a warning, or whether the photographers caught him, he was there. In front of us. In my head, I went through the things Nadav checked. He was thorough. He checked everything. Almost everything. Only the significant vehicle was left out and was not checked.
I dressed quickly. I threw on my shirt and left the room. I skipped up the stairs three at a time and opened Gabriella’s door without knocking. "What car did you drive when you went to visit the lawyer on Thursday?"
She didn’t answer, just stood there naked, holding something in her hand. Slowly, she turned to face me and I saw her eyes had become pools of fear and panic. In each hand, she held a piece of cloth that seemed familiar: red, with blue stripes. It was the same as the tie that hung in my closet, only the colors were reversed.
"What happened?"
No voice came out of her mouth. She just held out the two parts of the tie. I approached and took the pieces from her.
"A cut tie. What does that tell us?"
"Someone was here." The voice that came out of her mouth sounded like a shattered whisper.
Someone with a knife, I thought. The cut didn’t look like it was done with scissors.
"Why did he cut the tie, though?"
"It was Dan’s."
"All ties in the closet were Dan’s, weren’t they? Even the suits. Did they touch something else?" I thought of the notebook. Did they find that?
"He was wearing this tie the day he was kidnapped. I didn’t tell you, but when we were at the concert, I found it hanging on the bathroom door. I folded it and put it in my black evening bag and never took it out of there." She hesitated. "The tie was lying on the bed. Prominently." Now, I remembered seeing it when we searched in the bedroom. I’d paid more attention to the dresser drawers.
"Someone knew you put it in the bag. The fact that they didn’t touch anything else reveals that someone was looking for this particular bag
. Natalia was in the bathroom with you at that moment. Did you let anyone else see it there?"
Her expression changed abruptly. My warnings from previous weeks were finally absorbed. "No. I'm not sure that they didn’t touch something else. I want to look quickly in the closet and the office."
"I’ll come with you."
"No. Thank you. I'll just look quickly then get into bed. I think you're right. They didn’t touch anything else.”
I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. Did she just want to keep me out of the way while she checked the really things that were really important to her? In my opinion, it was the best time to be by her side, but the woman of steel again revealed her rigid face, pushing me firmly away.
"Has Natalia ever been in your bedroom?"
"Not that I know of, but anything’s possible."
"Okay. Call me when you want to go sleep. I want to talk with Nadav.”
As I was already at the door, she added, "I went on Thursday in the Cayenne. And by the way, I brought our flight forward. We fly Tuesday morning." She didn’t ask. She stated it as a fact.
I hurried to my room and pulled my phone from my pants pocket. Shit, the battery’s low.
"Dude, have you gotten home yet?"
"What have we forgotten?"
"I’m going to text you." Quickly, I connected the device to a charger and sent a message: "I’m sure there’s a tracking device located on the vehicle."
In a second I received an SMS answer: "Fuck! Of course. I should have thought of that!" Then another SMS came in. "I’m turning around and coming back at the next intersection."
"Let me know when you’re outside." I typed. Upstairs, I heard the office door slam. Perhaps her dresser drawer was left open? I took the phone off charge again and left my room.
Quietly and quickly, I ran back up the stairs. I opened the door quietly and peered inside. The drawer was open. I was three quick steps from it. I glanced toward the door and back into the drawer. The notebook wasn’t there. Did they take it? I wondered, or has she hidden it? I left the room again. I wanted to head to the office.
I felt a vibration in my pocket. I pulled out my phone. It was Hadas. Fuck, fuck, fuck! All time in the world and she chose that moment to call? I changed direction and went back to my room.
"You’re back?" I hoped she didn’t recognize the impatience I felt at that moment in my voice, but what were the chances of that?
She, on the other hand, didn’t try to hide her disappointment. "I understand from that question you’ve gone away. There’s no need to bark at me."
"Come on, Hadas, you’re the one that went away. I just played along with it." I threw the two parts of the tie on my bed.
"I didn’t call for us to fight." She stopped, but did not hang up. I heard a call waiting and I looked at the monitor. Nadav was waiting at the gate. How did he get here so fast? I was hoping he didn't use the sirens. The last thing I wanted was to attract attention.
"I have to hang up. Can I call you later?"
"Do what you want. I'll be back in two days. Maybe you could pick me up from the airport?"
"I’m going abroad. Maybe I'll see you at the airport, but I can’t pick you up.”
"Bye." Again, she was angry at me. Sometimes I thought the heat described in love stories came from frustration and anger.
I went to open the gate and entered the new code. It was based on the last four digits of Hadas’s phone number. Why couldn’t we communicate better? If only she’d been more patient, she’d have understood how much she meant to me. Her timing wasn’t good, however. I had a goal to focus on. That was why I didn’t agree to settle down. Just that.
Nadav stopped his car about three meters from the garage. I opened the door and motioned for him with a finger to keep silent until I knew what kind of device they planted in the car. It was best to keep our cards close to the chest. In a few minutes and in total silence, we located two devices. Now we needed to decide what to do with them. They were well hidden and were designed for different purposes. One was for tracking and the other was a listening device. I closed the door and went out of the garage without touching them.
My mind reeled. I wanted to get things in order before I consulted with Nadav. I compartmentalized the information about the torture room. If he suspected I was in danger, he might stop her immediately, before I understood what she had against me. And perhaps the facility wasn’t intended for me? If so, for whom did she build it?
I had no answers to these questions. I knew only two definite things: first, this woman was dangerous, and second, she was in danger. If I knew for sure when the Mafia guys installed the device, I could assess more accurately if they, too, knew about the refrigerated torture chamber. Of course, if they knew, it could be a good reason to attack her. Which came first? Her preparation of the torture facility or their offensive? Did it all begin following the murder of her husband and son, or were their murders revenge for something that started even before that?
"Let's look at the options." Nadav's voice was very quiet. I nodded to him and went to the front yard. We were both aware that anyone listening in on such sophisticated equipment could just as easily sit outside in a car and listen to us. The wall wasn’t thick enough to block the latest equipment.
We sat down at the table and began to talk quietly. "She brought our flights forward to early on Tuesday morning. You think we should go?"
"Have you told anyone about the trip? Did you talk about it in the car?"
"I guess so. If she made the call to change the flights while she was waiting in the car, they know about it. If she made the call in the office, I guess not. What’s the range of the device we found in the car?”
"It will not come up to the house. There’s nothing to worry about there. It seems to me that the trip’s in place. But even there, you’ll have to be vigilant.”
"I would be anyway. We’re supposed to check something in one of the worst districts of Paris. That's why I’m going with her.”
"I'm not sure it’s just because of that.” He smiled wearily. "In any case, find out with her if she did change the reservations from the car. If they know about the new date, you can use this information. The question is, whether she should be told about the device. She might fold up in fear and cease to function."
"She’ll be okay. Someone had been in the house, and we didn’t spot it… they left her a warning. Her husband’s tie, the one he was wearing the day he was murdered. Do you think it scared her? It just hardened her more. I told you. She’s at war."
"She must submit a complaint so an investigation will be opened. Whatever is she thinking? That you trained her to be Rambo and deal with them alone?”
I was silent. I hoped he was wrong.
"This is a professional job," he said. After a moment's thought, he added, "I don’t believe we’ll find any fingerprints, but it’s worth a try. Want me to take the tie?"
"Yes. Wait a minute." I ran to my room and took the tie from the bed.
When I came back, he was rubbing his eyes. "Come on. I must go. Remember that you have the option to remove the devices or put blocking tapes on them."
"It won’t prevent them tracking us. Want some coffee before you drive home?"
"No. I just need to move. It was a very long week."
"Thanks, Nadav.”
I accompanied him back to his car. Again, I opened the gate for him and went back to Gabriella. I opened the door quietly. The room was in darkness and she was fast asleep. I closed the door and went back to my room. I knew I should take the opportunity to call Hadas back, but the battery was dead. It was a pretty lame excuse. I connected the phone to the charger, but I preferred to ignore the call. What could I say to her? I’m flying with my lover/boss to Paris? The truth wouldn’t be welcome, and I didn’t want to lie. I double-checked all the doors to make sure they were closed and locked and got into bed. I slept naked and diagonally. Hadas always said that was how single people sleep. I didn’t d
ream about Hadas - or about Gabriella.
***
Monday morning, Esther came. Her tentative ringing heralded her arrival. Gabriella made sure that she was at the gate and went to open it for her. I took advantage of the moment to scan the street. I was looking for a car, or perhaps shady street people wandering around aimlessly. The only vehicle that passed was a security company van. I calmed down.
For the first time in years, Esther had not been able to open the door. She came in, her face wearing an expression of insult laced with concern. "You changed the code." It was not a question. It was an accusation, and she looked at me.
"I'm sorry, Esther," I said as calmly as possible. "Someone got in and we had to change all codes.”
Now her expression was startled. "Got in here?" She looked up at Gabriella. "He do something to you?" She scanned her quickly.
I wondered how to tell her that the new codes were confidential until further notice. "We thought about it, Esther," I began tentatively. "We’d prefer that for the time being, you don’t come here when we're not here." Her facial expression was worthy of a character in a Fellini movie. I added quickly, "It's too dangerous for you." Again I tried to calm her. It was almost funny.
"It's only for now." Gabriella added, "As long as we’re in Paris, I don’t want you to be here alone. I’d worry about you!" Gabriella hugged her and walked with her toward the kitchen.
"So how can I get the house ready for your return?"
Gabriella glanced at me over her shoulder. "I'm not sure when we’ll be back from Paris. Maybe we'll have to check the house over first."
"You think it’ll still be dangerous here when you get back? Can’t they leave you alone? What else can they take away from you? What?" I could hear the anger in her voice and saw the tears on her cheeks. She loved Gabriella. There was no doubt about it. And Gabriella loved her. That’s the reason we had to get her away from here. She may be the next thing the Mafia want to take from Gabriella.
