Asylum City (29 page)

“It's okay, Liddie. Everything will be fine,” Gabriel said in an effort to comfort her.

“I don't want you to do it, Gabriel. I don't want you to die in prison because of me. Tell them the truth and they'll let you go,” Liddie begged.

He knew he ought to tell her that he killed Michal. That way, she could go on with her life without feeling guilty. But even though he knew it was the right thing to do, he couldn't say the words.

“There are bad people in the world, Liddie,” he whispered in her ear so Itai and the policewoman couldn't hear.

“Don't be afraid, Gabriel.” Liddie's voice was steadier. “There are good people, too, and they're looking out for me. If we have to, we can run away again, like last time. Just you and me.”

Gabriel didn't respond.

“Do you remember, when we were in the desert I thought no one was going to pick us up and we'd die there like animals. And then a truck stopped?”

He nodded.

“He took us to Cairo. And he didn't even ask for money, remember?” Liddie went on.

Gabriel smiled at his sister. Ali was one of the few good people they met on the way.

“It happened just like you said, Gabriel. Exactly like you said.” Liddie stroked his face gently. “I need you. I can't make it on my own. I'm frightened all the time. I'm scared they're going to come for me again one day.” Liddie lowered her eyes.

Once more Gabriel's eyes welled up with tears. If he told the truth, he'd be putting his sister in danger. Arami had warned him not to break their agreement. The man who gave him the money was very powerful, he said. If Gabriel didn't do what he promised, Liddie would pay the price. Arami, too.

“We can't give in to them,” Liddie said, raising her eyes to her brother. For a moment it seemed as if she were the older one. “Tell these people that you didn't do it. Please, Gabriel, you can trust them. They'll protect us.”

He couldn't take back his confession now, could he? But Liddie might not survive on her own while he was wasting away in prison. He would be sacrificing himself for nothing. He didn't know what to do.

YARIV
took the stairs two at a time. He was so worked up, he couldn't wait for the elevator. Suddenly, all the pieces had fallen into place. He raced out of the building, hardly noticing the rain that was coming down heavily.

Borochov's parting words had made his blood run cold. They left no doubt that Borochov knew everything. He may not have come right out with it, but his meaning was crystal clear. He knew Yariv went to see Michal that night. And he seemed to think he killed her. Or maybe he knew it for a fact.

Yariv wanted payback. “Is he in?” he barked at the secretary.

She gave him a puzzled look, not responding. He was panting and drenched from the rain.

“Is he in?” he repeated testily.

The secretary nodded.

He ran past her, not stopping when she called after him to wait.

“You fucking bastard, you sold me out!” he yelled as he burst into the office and slammed the door behind him.

Alarmed, Kobi jumped up.

“What? What are you talking about? What happened?” he stammered, watching Yariv hurtle himself across the room toward him.

“I'm never going to forget this. You ruined me, you ruined my life,” Yariv hollered, lunging at Kobi.

Losing his footing, Kobi fell back onto his chair. Yariv stood over him, his fists clenched. The only way Borochov could have found out was if Kobi told him. There was no other way for him to know. Yariv had Googled him as soon as he left his office and was astounded to learn that the chubby attorney in the fancy suit and silk tie, the man who looked like everybody's favorite uncle, was the “chief gangland mediator,” closely associated with the heads of several crime families. Kobi was a defense attorney. He represented criminals for a living. You didn't have to be a genius to put two and two together.

“Have you lost your mind? What're you doing? Look at yourself! What's wrong with you, man?” Kobi said, trying to get up. Yariv pushed him back down.

“Should I call the police, Kobi?” he heard the secretary ask from the doorway.

“No, there's no need,” Kobi replied, standing up. “Let's just all take a deep breath.”

Yariv took a few steps back. The secretary's question had unnerved him. He was so full of rage that he hadn't given a thought to the potential consequences of his attack on Kobi.

“Sit down, Yariv. Tell me what happened.” Kobi was taking charge now. “Close the door on your way out,” he instructed his secretary.

The secretary left, but Yariv was too wound up to sit down. The two men stood facing each other. Yariv's heart was pounding. He was dripping wet.

“You blabbed about my being in Michal's apartment,” he shot at Kobi, feeling the fury rising again.

“What do you mean? No way.” Kobi sounded simultaneously bewildered and offended.

Yariv was about to lunge at him a second time. The man didn't even have the guts to admit it. He was lying to his face, and here he'd thought he was his friend. But before he could raise a hand, Kobi moved aside, causing Yariv to lose his balance.

“Don't lie to me. I know,” he said, struggling to right himself. The humiliation of almost falling flat on his face fed the flame of his rage.

“You don't know anything, because I didn't say anything to anyone. Instead of screaming like a banshee, why don't you calm down and tell me what happened,” Kobi said, moving farther away.

“Don't play games with me and don't tell me to calm down. I know what you did. I had a visit today from your friend, Shuki Borochov.” Yariv virtually spit the name out.

“Borochov? Shuki Borochov was in your office?” Kobi asked. Despite his agitation, Yariv didn't miss the expression of incredulity on Kobi's face.

The door opened and the secretary peered in again.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“Yes, everything's fine, isn't it Yariv?” Yariv nodded. The last thing he wanted was to get the cops involved. “Thank you, Ora.”

The secretary left, and Kobi poured water from the pitcher behind him into two plastic cups. “In the movies, this would be scotch, right?” he said, attempting to lighten the atmosphere. Yariv gave him an icy look. He wasn't in the mood to kid around.

“Come on, sit down and tell me the whole story,” Kobi said cajolingly, holding out a cup to Yariv. “Please sit down, Yariv. If you calm down, maybe I can help.”

Reluctantly, Yariv took a seat and began telling Kobi about Borochov's visit. He still didn't know if Kobi was lying or not, but he told him anyway. He was desperately in need of someone to talk to.

Kobi sat opposite him in silence. His silence was ominous.

“I have to agree with you. They know you went to her house and they know exactly what happened there,” he said finally. Those were the very words Yariv didn't want to hear. Deep down, he'd been hoping that Kobi would offer a different explanation for Borochov's surprise visit, something that would convince him he was wrong.

“Who's ‘they'?” he asked in a trembling voice.

“Who knows? Borochov has ties to all the crime bosses: Assulin, Faro, the Debachs, Rosenfeld, all of them,” Kobi answered quietly.

“How do they know?”

Kobi shrugged his shoulders. Seeing the skeptical look on Yariv's face, he said, “It wasn't me. If you don't believe me, you can believe this: I'm way below Borochov on the food chain. Even if I wanted to talk to him, I doubt he'd give me the time of day. I do business with sardines, not sharks.”

“What do they want?” Yariv envisioned a huge shark bearing down on him with its terrifying teeth exposed.

“You. That's how they operate. That's how they get people to work for them. They find a sore spot and apply pressure.”

“Why? What can I do for them?” Yariv asked. A shiver went down his spine.

“I guess they need an attorney,” Kobi replied, stating the obvious.

In a strange way, Yariv found the explanation comforting.

“Look, maybe it's not so bad,” Kobi said after a pause. “I ran into Yossi Knoller in the courthouse again. You remember him, he's representing the migrant they're holding for Michal's murder. He told me they're about to sign the plea bargain.”

“How does that help me with the bad guys?”

“It might help,” Kobi said pensively. “As soon as they close the deal, Borochov and whoever he's working for won't have anything to hold over you. Once the African is convicted they lose their power, and with the guy copping a plea, there's every reason to believe that's what's going to happen.”

“So what are you saying? What am I supposed to do now?” Yariv was having trouble following Kobi's line of thinking. He couldn't get the picture of the shark out of his head.

“Sit still. Don't answer the phone, even if Borochov calls. And pray the African doesn't change his story.”

THE
joy Itai felt when Gabriel finally opened up was quickly replaced by frustration. Were they too late? Would Nachmias believe him? Was there anything they could do now after Gabriel's lawyer had already notified the prosecution that he was willing to cut a deal?

Most of all, Itai was frustrated with himself. He shouldn't have waited so long before insisting that Dahlia let him take Liddie to see her brother. His plan had worked. As he'd hoped, in a few short minutes, Liddie had succeeded in doing what he himself had failed at time and time again.

Itai kept his eyes pinned on Nachmias the whole time Gabriel was talking, trying to read her reaction from her face. She was listening intently, but her expression didn't change. Gabriel admitted he had lied, that he didn't kill Michal. He would never hurt her. He liked her very much and he had a lot of respect for her, he said, the tears welling up in his eyes yet again. Liddie was sitting next to him, stroking his hand, unwilling to let go. He related how he had gotten a call from Liddie's captors demanding ransom for her release, how he'd gone to Michal's apartment to ask for her help. Michal was dead when he got there. Her neighbor showed up with his dog, and Gabriel fled. Arami told him a powerful Israeli man would pay him to go to the police and say he killed Michal. He did it to save his sister.

“Arami? The interpreter?” Nachmias asked, the surprise apparent in her voice.

Gabriel nodded.

Itai cut in, saying that Arami had been issued a travel document and was already in France. Consternation showed on the faces of both Gabriel and Nachmias.

That was another reason for Itai's frustration with himself. He should never have let Arami leave the country without revealing what he knew. He should have pressed harder. He should have convinced him that despite his promise to Gabriel, he had to be the responsible adult. By now it was probably too late. When Arami got on the plane, they lost their only lead to Michal's killer.

Just yesterday, Itai had been very glad Arami was gone. He arrived at the OMA office in the morning to find a man in a black suit waiting for him. He recognized him as one of the two men who had been there before with the Eritrean diplomat. “We wish to make a donation to your organization,” the man said in the same courteous manner that had characterized the deputy consul general. “We hear you took two more women into your shelter yesterday.”

Itai couldn't restrain himself. “How do you know that?” he snapped.

“We know a lot of things,” the man said enigmatically.

Itai asked him to leave. No matter how desperately they needed money, he wasn't about to take a penny from the Eritrean consulate. Before he left, the man repeated the invitation to pay them a visit, saying he might learn “some very interesting things” if he did.

NACHMIAS
rose and began pacing the small room. Itai watched her tensely. So far, she'd kept her opinion to herself. The last time they'd met, she'd listened patiently to everything he had to say and then dismissed it out of hand. He hoped that this time would be different. She had witnessed for herself the exchange between Gabriel and his sister. She could see it wasn't an act.

“Do you know Yariv Ninio?” Nachmias asked Gabriel, sitting down again.

“The attorney?” Itai asked, bewildered. What did Yariv Ninio have to do with anything?

She nodded.

“No,” Gabriel said in a quiet voice.

“He knew Michal. They used to be a couple. You don't know him?”

Gabriel shook his head.

“It's very important that you tell us the whole truth,” Itai urged, even though he had no idea where Nachmias was going with her questions. “Like I told you, we'll help you, we'll protect you. But you have to tell us the truth.”

“I don't know him,” Gabriel repeated.

“Do you know if Arami knew him?”

Again Gabriel shook his head.

“Okay. I heard everything I need to know,” Nachmias said, getting up. “Now I've got work to do.”

“What do you mean?” Itai had to be sure the visit to the detention center had produced the outcome he was hoping for.

“It means I believe him,” Nachmias said.

ANAT
was relishing the look of growing stupefaction on David's face as she delivered the lab results. The fingerprints Yariv Ninio had left in her office when he came to bawl her out were a perfect match to the ones found on Michal's door. What's more, according to the CSI techs, the location and condition of the prints indicated that they were recent. Ninio wouldn't be able to claim they were left there from the time he and Michal were together.

“You're telling me he let you print him?” David was having trouble taking it in.

“He came to my office and gave me a set of prints of his own free will,” Anat answered.