Vanished Without A Trace (19 page)

"But what if Kowalski killed her?" Alon asked.

"That doesn’t belong to Karina anymore. I don’t need to tell you what it would do to the office where you’re working if we find out."

"If so, we should go over the documents I’ve got from Benjamin once again. We might be able to find something valuable."

"You already read the report a thousand times," Gideon said.

"Yes, but it was before I found out Julia was murdered and buried. Now I can examine the facts differently, with the assumption that Naor and his father were not so nice, they were actually wolves in sheep’s clothing; murder suspects."

Gideon was happy to know Alon, just like him, was not ready to step back from the case, he also thought there was something bigger about the story of Karina and Daniel, that Kowalski was involved in a crime. He remembered the first day when Alon arrived in his office. He was a young student. A glimpse of his resume was enough for Gideon to know Alon was the one he was looking for in the office. After the interview, he was already totally sure.

Alon started his work on the surveillance of husbands for women, and since then, he had handled cases which were far more serious. He helped many people who were charged by the state and wanted to expose the truth, or people who wanted to take revenge on someone. But he was engaged mostly in industrial espionage, large companies chasing after their employees or companies suspected someone of knowing all their secret moves and wanted to check if there was a spy among them. He had written a thesis about industrial espionage and his essay on the subject was published in a big newspaper long before anyone in the country ever thought about the subject.

Alon closed the conversation with Gideon, and noticed an unknown number on the screen of his phone.

"Hello Alon, this is Sarit, the policewoman who helped you with the computer."

"Yes, I know!" Alon was surprised she called him.

"After you left the office, I did additional research and found information about a body was found."

"Did you find the documents?" Alon was a little disappointed. If the documents were not stolen, it meant there was no conspiracy, no one tried to hide the information.

"No, there were no direct documents found about the body. They are really gone. But I tried to look for the material from the unresolved cases and found a few lines. It was about a woman in her thirties, European origin... I tried to look for the file and didn’t find it anywhere."

Alon was happy to get additional backup on the information he received from Gideon. He felt the need to thank her and invite her to dinner. "Is there any chance to thank you with dinner today?"

"There is a problem, I am on a shift."

"Is tomorrow, is it all right?" Alon asked.

"Tomorrow is fine. Where do you want me to go?"

"I'll pick you up," Alon said.

"The problem is, I live in Rishon. It will be hard for you to come all the way to me, right?"

"No. It’s nothing more than what you spent with me for three crazy days."

"Why? Actually, it was interesting. If you have a job for me in your office, I would love that."

"Actually, there is a possibility," Alon said. He thought she was really suited for it. She had patience and turned out to be resourceful too.

The next evening, when he drove off to Rishon Letzion, he admitted there was some excitement to start a new relationship with a girl who said it was not hard for her to help him, though she was quite uptight, and offered to get to the restaurant on her own. Alon decided this was some way of giving that he would not mind accepting. Natalie was not giving. She grew up in a home where she had everything. Alon had a hard time meeting the
standards she was accustomed to from her parents.

It was eight and the streets were packed with traffic. He wished he had accepted her offer to get there on her own. He arrived half an hour late. "I’m sorry, there was a terrible traffic jam," he apologized.

"Yes, I know. I tried to save you from it, but you insisted."

He thought to offer her dinner at a restaurant in Rishon, to save himself another drive by taking her back home. But when he started to drive, he glanced at her and saw her in a dress that was made from a delicate cloth that emphasized her subtle curves. He thought it would also be nice to stroll and not just settle for a dinner.

"What is it like working in an Investigation Agency?" she asked.

"Just like the police."

"It seemed to be much more interesting than police work," she said, while he looked at her body and caused her discomfort. "Something the matter?"

Alon wanted to tell her his head was busy with one thing, how to get her into bed, but he shook his head.

They had dinner in one of the bars in central Tel Aviv, which was not something too romantic. Alon thought Sarit was cute and if only he was ten years younger, he would definitely think of something with her
,
but at thirty-two, he felt pretty tired to start a new relationship, or it might be the case of Kowalski that exhausted him, he did not know how to decide. One thing was
for sure, the meeting with Sarit made him miss Natalie. After they were done with dinner, he quickly drove Sarit back home and headed straight to Natalie’s house. He admitted his audacity, but an argument with Natalie was more comfortable for him than sleeping in a smelly motel or starting a new relationship with a twenty-two year old girl. It was twelve thirty at night when he knocked at Natalie’s door. She opened the door, leaving the chain attached to the crossbar.

"Yes. What are you looking for?"

"A place to sleep."

She wanted to shut the door, but he stuck his foot between the door and the door frame.

"Last chance," he tried in a nice way.

"If you don’t get out of here, I will call the police," she warned him.

"Then what will you tell them? If I remember it right, I am the one who pays the rent. The owner of the apartment benefits from my checks every month, not from yours, so if the police come, it’s you who will get out of here." He had no intention of throwing her out. He wanted her heart back, not the apartment. Natalie released the chain and went to the bedroom to sleep.

‘That was easy,’ Alon thought. 'The more impolite I become, the nicer she is'. He looked around. He felt the longing for Natalie. Then he went to the shower. He took her toothbrush, put some toothpaste on it and felt how Natalie was so much a part of him. The next morning, he prepared a meal for her, but she showered and went to work without even glancing at it. But this didn’t ruin his mood. He left the apartment happy Natalie surrendered to his plea and let him back again. He bet it would take two weeks for Natalie to be completely pacified.

He locked the door. He was glad she didn’t change the lock. When he had arrived last night, he was anxious to try to open the door with his key
so he wouldn’t scare her with the thought that he was an intruder. But this morning, when he noticed she didn’t change the lock, he felt better. He
amused himself at the thought of not refusing to see her terrified if she thought someone was trying to break into the apartment. He criticized himself for his cruelty.

27

Karina was back from Romania. The events of the day before still left traces of pain for her. She recalled the confrontation with Odi about meeting Daniel. It started in the morning when she told him, disregarding his feelings that she would go and say goodbye to Daniel before she left Romania. Attempts at persuasion didn’t help Odi the afternoon flight and the visit to Daniel, who lived about two hours from Bucharest, would cause pressure in time and they might even be late to their flight. Karina ignored everything and didn’t even bother to justify it was a business meeting. She wouldn’t give up the trip to Daniel, even if it cost them a late flight.

Given no choice, Odi offered to go with her, but she refused - she did not need a babysitter. Odi stayed at the hotel quite angry.

When she came back upset that morning, Odi noticed her bad mood, but she refused to talk with him about it. The day before, she was not able to sleep and when Odi wanted to sleep with her, she complained of headaches and turned her back on him. But while yesterday her behavior was due to a momentous happy sweet memory of spending time with Daniel, now she was hurt and disappointed by the man she wanted the most in this world. However, she still yearned for him. If only he would ask her to be with him, she would leave Odi and move in with him. But desire is one thing and reality is another, the picture of Daniel lying there next to the girl was stuck in her head.

When she arrived in Israel, she asked Odi for a two-week break. Odi took it hard and claimed something happened between her and Daniel, that was why she wanted a break up. His words caused her to steam up and turned on him in a way she barely had in her entire life. He got what he deserved. If he only gave her the bit of silence she wished for, she wouldn’t have been so rude and taken it out on him for all the pain that was trapped in her body, ready to erupt at any time.

It took her a week to overcome and succeed to get back to her routine a little bit. That same day, she drove off to her office, parked the car away from the office and made the rest of the way by foot. She had a beautiful office, a floor with a balcony overlooking the sea. Many contractors wanted her to build a tower on it, but it was her husband's office, which he loved so much, and she promised herself never to sell it. She remembered her husband sitting behind a big desk, always happy when she came to visit him. It was just too hard for her when he became terminally ill in the hospital. A man so powerful was laying there helpless and even up to his last moments, he was still thinking about her. ‘Karina, find a good man, find someone who can make you happy. We only live once. I found a good woman who made me happy. Do not replace me with someone who is not worthy.’

They had no children. Her husband did not want any. He became ill a year after they met. The disease left him for a while but he was always afraid it would come back and he would leave the children without a father. But most of all, he did not want Karina to be left alone to take care of the children. He thanked her for the happiness she gave him during their years of marriage, and did not want to burden her anymore.

Is Odi worthy? She thought. Is Daniel worthy? Her husband did not talk about love. He spoke about deserving men, and Daniel wasn’t worthy. He used a woman who worried about him the most just for a random fuck. No, he was not worthy. She was so angry with him. Now she had ten phone calls every day. He left her messages that she listened to, just to hear his voice. Despite her anger, she could not get through a day without listening to his voice, it was really an addiction. But she did not want to meet him or talk to him.

Despite the fact Karina asked for a break, Odi continued to call and persuaded her to meet. For him, the break up meant not sleeping together, but they could still talk or meet. Karina, however, wanted a total break in order to be emotionally detached from Daniel. She had to work on herself, but the more she tried to forget him, the more he ruled over her head. She could not stop seeing him in her imagination, the work site safety cap on his head, his kisses, and the sheet that he pulled away from her, breakfast... Then the picture of the woman in his bed two days after he slept with her, the girl who was apparently his girlfriend. Even within those bitter memories, his loving figure was still penetrating her. She remembered the expression in his face when he saw her at the door. He was in shock and she wanted him so much, but he did not want a thirty-two year old woman. Why did he need her if there were lots of women who chased him… younger than her?

Odi was a worthy match, no doubt. She had to forget about Daniel and make room for Odi, to try to want and love him. Her logic was shouting for Odi, but her heart was shouting for Daniel.

The secretary passed a call from Gideon Granot. How bad the timing of this conversation was, she thought. She did not want to do any favors for Daniel. She did not want to help him, but she had to stick to her promise that she wanted the information and would pay him what was needed. How dumb she was for worrying about him too much, trying to find his roots, and yet he saw her as a random woman. He had no self-respect.

"Yes, Gideon, how are you?"

"Karina, there are developments. I want to meet you and tell you what's new. I know it took a long time, but it was a very tough investigation. When can we meet?"

She wanted to tell him to continue the investigation without updating her, but Gideon sounded very enthusiastic and she did not want to disappoint him. "Can you report to me by phone?"

Gideon grinned, "To tell you about a tough investigation and elaborate it on the phone? It’s not serious, not for you, and certainly not for me."

"Sorry, you’re right." she apologized, "can you come to my office? There’s a place here where we can sit or would you prefer me to come to you?"

"No, that's fine. I’ll be there in an hour."

28

Karina and Gideon sat in a coffee shop near the sea. Gideon looked at her and thought that if he had the option to ask for three wishes, Karina would be one of them. A woman to be with in order for someone to feel like he’s in heaven, slim, average height, and big green eyes that dominated her entire face. "We have reason to believe that Julia, Daniel's mother, was murdered," he said, causing Karina’s eyes to widen, threatening to suck him into them.

She dismissed from her mind her desire not to be updated. Suddenly, right across her eyes, she saw Daniel when he was five years old, who was left alone by his mother who flew to America and never bothered to locate him.

She listened to Gideon’s words, who told her the stages of the investigation, step by step. He gave brief details of the investigation with Deborah, which strengthened Daniel’s claims and brought them to the first conclusion, up to the discovery of the relationship between Julia and Kowalski, and the discovery of a body that was probably Julia.