Fire in a Haystack: A Thrilling Novel (Legal Mystery Book Book 1) (8 page)

Ofer grew silent. The bastard knew how to give a proper explanation. “So what does this virus do?” he asked, following a brief pause.

“This viral infection still has no name. It’s a close relative of variola major. It’s a type of virus that can do whatever it wants to a man’s immune system. Juggling its way through the body without anybody being able to grab it by the throat. The original strain could pass only through human saliva and infect a person through something he had drunk or eaten.”

“So, if I blow some air on you it’ll be harmless, but if I throw up on you then you’ll be in terrible danger?”

“Nice. I applaud your wonderful analytical capabilities. I’m not kidding. We’ve gathered information from all over the world throughout the night. What makes this mutation unique is the fact that it infects the digestive system rather than the respiratory system. But we are still looking into the subject. Only time will tell. In any event, if the virus enters the body in a small amount, it incubates in the body quietly for about a week and then breaks out in full force. High fever, tiredness, vomiting, body aches, rash, terrible sores, black spots, multiple organ dysfunction, fibrillation… and the final dance. Should I go on?” Yoav Tzuri performed some dance movements.

“Cut it out, Yoav, you’re killing me with this description. What are my chances of surviving? This is sick. This is unreal. I need to pass my bar exam. I haven’t achieved anything in life yet, I haven’t really lived yet at all… what a bummer.”

Yoav Tzuri was not impressed. “Ofer, you’ll end up in our care. In the professional hands of the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute. Nothing will give me more pleasure than taking care of your body. And don’t worry, I’ll put every organ back in its place. Who knows, maybe you’ll even end up looking better,” said Yoav.

“So what’s the cure? What should I do?” asked Ofer, real anxiety sneaking into his voice.

“Sadly, nothing. You can only wait. There’s no known vaccine for this virus and no cure. We can’t know how your immune system will react. It’s a good sign that you don’t show any symptoms yet, but it also doesn’t say anything about what can still happen down the road. If you had drunk as much as Rodety, you’d be dead by now. Be optimistic. Maintaining some hope and a good mood are your current best medicine.”

Yoav finished his speech and explanations. He held Ofer’s hand for a brief moment, then, as abruptly as he had entered, he left the room.

Ofer thought to himself that if Yoav hadn’t hurried to leave the room and closed the door after him, he would probably try to snap his old classmate’s neck with his bare hands.

Chapter 9

Ofer remained in the room, fuming with anger and shrunken with terror. He had no choice but to deal with the tangled web of frightening facts his good friend had presented to him without any consideration or sentiment.

He glanced at his watch. It was already past noontime. He examined his body methodically and carefully and found all his limbs to be in good shape. No fever, no cough, no rash, not even the slightest hint of a sickness or any other of the calamities Yoav Tzuri had tried to scare him with. On the contrary. What Yoav told him was truly a cause for concern, but he decided that so long as his mind was working, his body was functioning and he was feeling well, he would not allow anything to stop him.

Besides
, he encouraged himself,
even Yoav said that I look well, so there’s a good chance I wasn’t infected. But if I’m healthy, why not simply get out of here? A hospital is a dangerous place for healthy people. You always know in what shape you come in, but you never know in what shape you’ll come out. And I have so much to do.

The obvious conclusion was very simple. He quickly changed out of his blue pajamas and into the smelly clothes he wore in the prison cell. Suddenly, they smelled like roses to him. He crossed to the door and tried the handle. The door was open.

Could it be that Yoav only pretended to lock it but actually allowed me to escape?
he asked himself, surprise mixing with gratitude. He did not waste any more time wondering whether his good friend had left him a way to escape or if it was just a stroke of luck. He walked out of the room. No one could be seen beyond the door. He passed through the long corridor quickly, past the thick glass doors that slid open for him and exited the isolation wing.

The people in the hospital corridors continued to run around and perform their various tasks and errands, without even a hint that a dreadful plague might be lurking among the people committed to the hospital’s isolation wing or inside the body of Ofer Angel. Ofer sat in the backseat of a taxi and called the office from his cell phone.

He recognized the voice of Efrat, Gideon Geller’s secretary. “Efrat, I need to speak to Geller urgently,” he said without delay.

“Ofer, where are you? Attorney Geller is in court. They filed an urgent request to stop the Viromedical privatization; there’s a hearing today at three thirty. Geller’s there. In the Tel Aviv District Court. Tell me, where have you disappeared to?” Efrat spoke with the speed of a submachine gun.

“I’ll talk to you later,” said Ofer and instructed the driver to go to Weizmann Street in Tel Aviv.

The driver didn’t stop talking for even a second, chattering tired clichés about the poor state of affairs in Israel. Ofer preferred to keep silent and do some thinking. The scent of cigarettes that clung to the seats scratched the inside of his nose and he sneezed. He was hoping that if he had to infect someone, the blabbering driver would be the first.

When Ofer went into the courtroom of Judge Sarah Jancovic in the District Court at Weizmann Street in Tel Aviv, Gideon Geller was already sitting on the bench on the right side of the hall. He was dressed in a white shirt and a black tie with embroidered snails, and wore the required black robe. Not a single one of his carefully groomed graying hairs was misplaced on his head.

Unlike Ofer, he looked fresh and clean shaven. At first, all Ofer wanted was to hug him. To feel he was in a friendly and protective environment again, to receive some warmth and comfort.

Ofer hurried to take a seat on one of the rear benches because at that moment the bailiff announced the beginning of the hearing. Yitzhak Brick, dressed in an elegant white suit, sat behind his attorney, Geller, and exchanged whispers with him. He appeared tranquil and calm. His firm chin completely defied the appearance of his rounded cheeks, which looked just like a child’s, begging to be pinched.

Judge Jancovic, dwarfish, grim faced and firm looking, stepped into the courtroom and everyone rose to their feet. She sat down and leaned onto the podium, her head between her elbows, her eyes and ears inclined.

The petitioner’s lawyer stood in front of the attentive judge.

Ofer’s heart missed a beat. His eyes wandered slowly over the short dark hair, the elongated neck, the supple and decisive body movements. His eyes continued downward towards the long legs at the margins of the dark skirt. He couldn’t entirely see them because the bench hid them, but he didn’t have a shadow of a doubt. Even though ten years had passed, his memory did not betray him.

Gali Shviro, the Environmental Action Association’s lawyer, stood and spoke in front of the judge without a hint of nerves, and Ofer could only turn green with envy and painful memories of longing and unrequited love.

Their relationship was severed right after his father’s death. She must have found some other people to excite her.
Perhaps I was just a passing youthful whim for her.
Ofer wasn’t able to ignore the painful thoughts. Who could figure out the way in which a young woman’s heart worked?

They had met again only once since then. Coincidentally. Ofer had recognized her in an instant. Walking like a lost fawn, long neck stretched up proudly. Short black hair and a mouth that looked like a cherry at the height of spring.

He ran after her in the middle of the central bus station and called out her name. She turned around but didn’t recognize him at first or just pretended she didn’t recognize him out of embarrassment.

“Gali, it’s me, Ofer. Ofer Angel…”

“Of course I remember you.” A little smile lifted the corners of her mouth and illuminated her face.

“It’s been such a long time since I last saw you. How’s life in the north? How are you doing?”

“Mostly good,” she said, “and that’s what counts. Karmiel is not Tel Aviv, as you probably know.”

“Do you have time to grab a cup of coffee?” asked Ofer.

“No. Sorry. I’m in a real hurry. Maybe some other time. I’d love that.”

He had just returned home from a military drill and his sweaty uniform apparently didn’t leave much of an impression on her. The polite conversation became strained and superfluous. Out of embarrassment, they didn’t even exchange phone numbers when they parted.

“I couldn’t even muster the courage or be smart enough to ask for her phone number. But if she had been interested, she would have given me a hint. And if she’s not interested, let her enjoy life without me. I’m not going to humiliate myself. Where else could she find a guy like me?” said Ofer to himself.

“Keep in touch, Ofer,” she’d said, just to be polite, and he’d remained thunderstruck on the steaming sidewalk of the central bus station, angry at her cold reaction. He stared with longing eyes at her back, which moved away from him. They hadn’t seen each other since that day.

He’d sworn to himself that he’d never woo her again. But now, seeing her once more, he felt a pinch in his heart.

Judge Jancovic’s voice interrupted his thoughts.              

“Please explain to me, young lady,” the judge asked the lawyer who stood proudly in front of her, “suppose you’re right. Suppose I accept your claim that Viromedical’s activities should be examined and that there is a danger to the quality of the environment and the well-being of the residents in the area. Who will guarantee that the Environmental Action Association that you’re representing will be able to pay the damages that will be caused by postponing the tender if you will lose the trial? You know that issuing a temporary restraining order for this kind of case requires proper financial guarantees.”

Shviro didn’t lose her nerve and answered without hesitation, “Your honor, the association will provide any reasonable financial guarantee that you ask. We received financial backup and funding. We will be able to immediately deposit three hundred thousand shekels
in the court’s treasury. ”

A murmur passed through the courtroom. The judge slammed the podium with her hand to silence the mumbling.

Ofer hurried to look with wonder at Yitzhak Brick’s profile. Not a single muscle budged in his face, but the redness in his cheeks almost completely disappeared. He had invested a lot of effort and money in the tender. Ofer knew him well from the various meetings he had attended at the office and saw him as a calculated, brilliant man who does not easily abandon the goals he has set for himself. He was in court to witness with his own eyes how the objection to the tender he was about to win would be dismissed.

The offer that the eloquent lawyer threw into the air turned things upside down and made a deep impression on Judge Jancovic. Geller attempted to dissuade her but was unsuccessful. After about half an hour of arguments and counterarguments, Judge Jancovic read her decision.

“In light of the evidence presented to the court and in light of the guarantees the claimant committed to deposit in the court’s treasury, I have decided that a temporary court order should be issued as requested…” The judge finished reading her decision and hurried to exit the courtroom.

The crowd began to slowly walk outside. 

Ofer hurried to get close to Gali. She was surrounded by enthusiastic friends and supporters of the Environmental Action Association, who could not hide their joy about the surprising decision.

One couldn’t possibly fail to identify her. The copper color of her skin and her large gleaming eyes were one of a kind. He wanted to say something to her, but the words got stuck in his mouth. 

This time she recognized him. “What are you doing here, Ofer?” she asked, ignoring the excitement of the people that surrounded her.

“I’m an intern at Geller, Schneider and Associates,” said Ofer. He realized too late that he didn’t really look his best. His hair was uncombed, and he hadn’t had time to have a bath yet. The signs of the sleepless night he underwent could be clearly seen on his face and his wrinkled clothing.

“You don’t say…So what, you’ve crossed the line? You no longer uphold the same values you used to believe in?” Gali challenged.

“You may have won the battle, but there’s a long war waiting for you,” said Ofer, trying to maintain the dignity of his office and the client it represented. The large crowd that surrounded them did not allow the conversation to continue. Gali was swallowed in a cheerful company of association members

Gideon Geller came over and rested his hand on Ofer’s shoulder. “I already received an update about everything that happened last night, Ofer. I took care of everything. I signed the bail paperwork and the terms of release. I agreed that you’ll report for further investigation the moment you’re summoned. Come, I’ll take you to the office,” he said with a smile and gave the intern another pat on the shoulder.

They walked out of the courtroom, into the parking lot, and climbed inside Geller’s black Audi.

“Ofer, now that we’re alone, please tell me what happened,” asked Geller as he sat in front of the wheel. The vehicle drove softly along Ibn Gabirol Street. All the traffic lights were green, as if inspired by Geller’s vehicle.

Ofer spoke quickly, tripping over the words. He told Geller about the appointment he had scheduled with Rodety to take him to the office, the wait at the hotel, persuading the chambermaid, finding the body, being interrogated by Alush, giving the wrong answer, hanging out with Rodety at the strip club. He didn’t say which club. Geller didn’t ask. Only listened without even a single blink.

Geller’s cell phone rang, interrupted the recitation.

Geller answered the call. Efrat, his secretary, was on the line. Unlike her usual happy nature, there was not a shred of cheerfulness in her voice.

“Geller,” said Efrat, “they just called from the Tel Hashomer Hospital.”

Geller remained calm. “What did they want?”

“Can I talk? Are you by yourself?”   

“Yes, you can talk,” answered Geller.

“They say that Ofer Angel escaped from the quarantine ward. They say he’s dangerous to the public. There’s a chance he got infected by the deadly mutated virus that killed Rodety…”

The attorney remained silent. His silence lasted exactly five seconds.

Geller stopped the Audi with a screech at the nearest bus bay
and said, “Ofer, get the hell out of my car and go back to the hospital. Don’t you dare show your face in the office or anywhere else until you receive medical approval and my personal approval to do so. Got it?”

“Geller, I’m begging you. Just listen for a second. The virus that killed Rodety was in his drink. He let me drink from his own personal flask.”

Geller’s eyes widened. “Ofer, how do you know what killed him?”

“They told me at the hospital. If I’m infected with what killed him, there’s no cure. I need help. I’ll know for sure in a week. That’s the time it will take the virus to incubate because I was only exposed to a small amount. But I feel completely clean. I don’t feel any problems, and in a short while the hospital will approve it too…” Ofer tried to argue.

Geller’s gaze didn’t leave him with any options. “Ofer, do as I say. I’ll do everything to see how you can be helped.” Ofer didn’t doubt Geller’s earnestness. If there was one person he could turn to for help in times of trouble, it would be this man, his boss. 

He barely managed to get out of the car before Geller sped away.