Emerald (33 page)

Hans followed David and found himself in a non-return lane at the airport. David left the rental car and boarded a plane to Tel Aviv.

So is David the double agent? He must find out. Bruno must know David was in Mossad. It had come out in the newspaper while David was in the hospital. No self-respecting Nazi would knowingly be friendly with a Mossad agent. No informed Mossad agent would be friendly with that particular Munich police officer.

He began a thorough investigation of David. David was not with Miriam, he found. That verified what she had said when they were together- - -retired and moving to Australia. Hans’ adrenalin was flowing, his mind was working overtime. He felt back in his element again. In all of the months, since he had learned about Bruno he had only taken out one Jewish couple. They had been as easy to kill as the Kleins, the servants who worked for his grandfather, but he was not as motivated as he had been with the Kleins. The Kleins had led him to his emerald, but it was a tortuous path on which he remained and still just out of reach.

W
hen her Rome assignment was finally over, Miriam flew home to her beloved Israel. As the El Al jet flew high above a deep azure Mediterranean, she thought
even though the time away from Israel had passed quickly; so many things in her life have changed. She had worked hard in Rome, but still had time for a few days away from the office. Closing her eyes, she thought how she had grown to love Italy, especially northern Italy. She would always cherish that weekend she spent at Lake Garda in the glorious restored 16
^th
century Palazzo. She had no idea that her breath would be taken away with the wondrous view of the lake after driving up that winding mountain road. The travel brochure she had read at the tourist agency in Rome was right. Set in the hills above Salo’ the view from II Palazzo was spectacular; with vineyards just below the Palazzo and olive trees in abundance, and the lake - - - the lake! An aquamarine jewel set between towns and hills that surrounded it. That was one of the best vacations she had ever had ever taken. She could see herself, in her mind’s eye, sunning around the pool, tourist-like wandering carelessly through the small towns lining the lake, scuba diving and even trying to windsurf. She had gone back to the same place twice and would go again if her time in Rome had not ended
.

The stewardess gently touched her shoulder and asked if she would like lunch - - - lunch - - - “Yes, thank you” - - -
but how could she ever forget that feast in Venice on that weekend escape from Rome’s heat last July. Besides that lunch to remember for ever what was it about Venice but gondolas, the Grand Canal, music, churches, and oh yes, the Piazza San Marco, with the great Basillica and the Doge’s Palace. She would go back, someday, she promised herself
.

The stewardess returned with her lunch tray.
Well it isn’t like the food in Venice, she thought, but I am hungry enough to eat anything. Looking out of the plane’s window, seeing the Mediterranean as a blue-green dot below she knew she would be glad to get back home, even after the different job and adventures in Italy. She wanted to be in the field again. She had to admit that she was even looking forward to seeing David again even though she was completely over him now. Would he want to see her? It was the biggest question on her mind, and she had entertained all possible variations on its answer during the remainder of the flight
.

In Tel Aviv, after the plane came to a stop on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport, she reached up into the overhead bins to get her carry-on bag.
Just another few minutes going through customs, wait patiently at the baggage carousel for her bags, and she would be home again in Yisra’el - - - first though, at hotel King Saul, just around the corner from “The Office,” where Levi said a room would be waiting when she came home. Then after a long hot shower and a good night sleep, Matso Meal Pancakes, fresh squeezed Jaffa orange juice and a cup of strong black coffee in her favorite little café, just down the street. Later in the day, she could begin looking for a suitable apartment. Levi had offered to find her one, but she told him she’d do it herself. She had better taste that he did, if his office was any indication. That was the main reason she had arrived two weeks early: to go visit her brother and his family in their kibbutz near Hebron and get re-adjusted back into the Israeli way of life, without interference from anyone from the Office. She would only communicate via the Rome office, a system she set up before she left - - - no one would know where she was, even Levi. Then on the first Monday in May, she would make her grand entrance, and walk into Levi’s office unannounced, just to see that look of surprise on his face, his green eyes questioning
.

Levi knew he should be preparing David for Miriam’s return. She had not told him the exact date of her arrival, just that she would notify him when she was back. He needed to figure out a way to get his best team back together. He would spring it on them rather than announce it as a pending assignment, otherwise it would give them time to think up excuses why they couldn’t work together again. They worked so well together before, but were too proud to overcome their past disagreements, whatever they were. That had to come to a halt because he needed them desperately for this case. Servette agreed. If they could be re-united to pull off this new Munich assignment in a couple of weeks, then they could head the Klement Compound case, since that the kill and slash maniac in Europe had evidently gone underground. Nothing had been heard from him for four or five months, so it was time to tackle another case. Communiqués from Buenos Aries, had convinced Levi that steps should now be taken to find out what was going on there. The Buenos Aries office seemed to feel that there could be a connection with the killings in Europe. No longer could the compound simply be under casual surveillance, it required some more action, and he knew just the best team to do that.

When Miriam walked into Levi’s office without being announced by Mirtha he was filled with joy and he hugged Miriam warmly. He told Miriam she looked wonderful and with a glow about her that he had never seen before. The Rome assignment had obviously done her good. Levi also realized how much he had missed her. He was hoping David would feel the same.

The two of them spent the morning debriefing and catching up. Then Levi took Miriam to lunch, leaving shortly before eleven so David would not run into them. This had to be handled carefully, Levi knew. Miriam had not mentioned David, and neither had he. Tomorrow, he would get them together and proceed as planned.

Dr. Chen Yang sat at his desk and signed the documents that would start construction on his
Yang Life Institute
on the land he had purchased six months ago at the eastern edge of Munich. This was a private moment he needed because soon much talk and construction activity would commence. But, for now no one knew his intentions. The public believed the new buildings would house classrooms and laboratories that would eventually become a medical college. That’s the way he had explained his project to investors and the press. Only five more months and the Whittelsbach Emerald would come up for auction again. When he had that healing gem in his possession he would unveil his emerald miracle healing techniques and his fame would spread world wide. He knew that when everything was in place, people would make pilgrimages to Munich for his emerald treatments and he would be famous and rich beyond his wildest dreams.

Dr. Yang was fully aware of the tricks the brain played on most people and he planned to exploit them to the fullest extent. Nevertheless, his intentions were mostly honorable for he knew that the most stubborn ailments, the ones where cures could not be found through traditional means, would respond to his emerald treatments. This was really not a trick - - - the process of helping people believe that they felt happy or sad, well or ill. His techniques would close the gap between medical science and belief. He had the training and respect already in the European Medical profession, so would never be accused of being a charlatan. This would be his most daring medical experiment, and he damned well planned on succeeding.

The new building would be completed in about a year, and in another six months the facility would be in full service, established on the trendy European treatment center scene, full of well-heeled customers hungry for his break-through treatments. In the meantime, Yang set to working out the details of those treatments. It provided a mental rest from his laboratory experiments and the heavy load of surgical patients. He also continued investigating backgrounds and recruiting every qualified individual from the University Hospital staff that he felt might add to his new center.

The plans he had for the emerald could be known to no one. Not even his wife knew about them, and he planned to keep it that way. He knew there would be difficulties in obtaining the emerald via an auction, because he could not attend himself to bid on the gem. A trusted emissary would be required on his behalf. However, he must have the Wittlesbach Emerald, for it was to be the centerpiece of his entire healing center.

The loud ringing of the phone on the nightstand woke David. Who would call at this ungodly hour? The clock’s red digital glow showed five in the morning.

“David, get here as soon as possible! I have an assignment for you in Munich. You have been anxious to get back in the field, haven’t you? Well, here’s your chance.” Without waiting for a reply, Levi hung up the phone. He’d already told Miriam yesterday to be here at six for her next assignment.

As David’s feet hit the floor, he groped for the switch on the bedside lamp before aiming for the shower. Minutes later, he pulled on his chinos, donned a tee shirt and baseball-cap and left his apartment. Taking the elevator down to the underground parking lot, he headed toward his beat-up jeep, climbed in and started the engine. The roar echoed through the cavernous garage. Time to get up everyone, he thought and smiled. He pulled out in the pre-dawn light, the commuters not yet clogging the highways, and took his well dissected short-cut to the steely-grey Mossad building on King Saul Boulevard. There was little traffic on the streets still silver from the late night rain. Waving at the guard at the entrance to the parking garage who nodded his head, then started the heavy steel barrier dropping slowly into the driveway. Spinning the Jeep’s tires as he always did, he drove down to the lower level to a parking spot near building’s garage entrance. Retrieving his pass-card out of his battered wallet, he slid it through the magnetic slot, waited for the electronic recognition to open the bomb-proof door, walked passed the elevator and bounded up the stairs three at a time. It felt great to have his energy back. Stair-bounding had always been part of his daily workout at the Office, and he never took the elevator except when he had been on crutches.
The bastard who shot me
, thought David,
when I catch him…, if Levi is sending me to Munich… I wonder what’s up…another slash murder?