Monday the Rabbi Took Off

Chapter Thirty-One

While the police, in the person of Chaim Ish-Kosher, and the Shin Bet. as represented by Avner Adoumi, were "cooperating." the fact that they were meeting in Adoumi's small dusty office on the top floor of Police Headquarters that had been temporarily assigned to Intelligence rather than in Ish-Kosher's much more comfortable and spacious office on the first floor at the opposite end of the building suggested that the cooperation might be a little one-sided.

The personal styles of the two men were different. Ish-Kosher, in blue uniform with a white shirt and black tie. his tunic pressed and buttoned, exuded an air of brisk, businesslike efficiency; but he also smiled easily, an executive type of smile, a quick flashing of even white teeth to denote interest and understanding. Avner Adoumi, on the other hand, a big, burly, bullet-headed man with close-cropped hair now gray with few traces of its former blondish red, was tieless and in shirt sleeves. His collar open at the throat, like the yarmulke worn by Ish-Kosher, was something of symbol in the involved politics of Israel. He was brusque, authoritarian, and rarely smiled, and when he did, it was almost against his will.

"And how is Mrs. Adoumi?" asked Ish-Kosher politely. "She's at Hadassah for a couple of days' observation."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's nothing. Just some tests."

"The shock of the explosion?"

"The doctor says not. She'll probably be home tomorrow. And then later she may have to go in again for a few days." His eves flicked at Ish-Kosher's yarmulke. "I understand that you people have arranged things so that I couldn't visit her on the Sabbath if she's still there."

A quick, easy smile. "My people? Oh, you mean the religious. Well, it isn't that you can't visit her. It's that you have to ride to Hadassah, by bus or by car, and that of course would be a desecration of the Sabbath."

Adoumi held up a stuffy forefinger of warning. "One day the rest of us aren't going to stand for it, Chaim."

"Then it won't be a Jewish state anymore."

"Oh, it will be a Jewish state all right, but it will be for all the Jews and not just for your little handful. Now. to business. Did you get anything on Memavet?"

"No, but I'm sure it was him they were after. The kind of business he was in—"

"Shady? Stolen cars? He was dealing with the Arabs?"

"Not as far as we know. But in that business, automobiles, there are always people who are dissatisfied. A customer thinks he's been sold a lemon, or a seller thinks he could have got more on his own. Or he might feel that Memavet was holding something back. He was a broker, after all, and only entitled to a commission, not a profit."

"But everybody you questioned said he had a good reputation, that he was honest."

"Yes, but—"

"All right. I won't argue with you. Follow it up if you like, but I can tell you now. you're wandering down a blind alley. The university professor—"

"We found an Arab connection there." said Ish-Kosher quickly.

"Sure, but it was the wrong kind for our purposes. He was going to help them. He was their friend."

"But that's just it." said Ish-Kosher excitedly. "You see—"

"I know, I know. The terrorists don't want their people helped. All this theory"— a wave of a broad, freckled hand—"it's just theory. The terrorists don't work that way. They don't think that way. Arabs don't think that way. One Arab kills another, so the victim's family will try to get revenge by killing the killer. That's understandable. That's normal. It isn't our way. It isn't the way of civilized people, but it's understandable. But if they can't get the killer, they'll get their revenge by killing some member of his family, a brother or an uncle or his father. That's already different, you see, Ever since the Six-Day War when our army defeated theirs, they want revenge. That's normal. But they can't get it by defeating our army, so killing any of us is for them a reasonable substitute. Which of us? It doesn't make any difference to them. It could be an old man like Memavet, or it could be women or even children."

"But—"

Adoumi stopped him again with a raised hand. "Naturally, the more of us they can kill, the better. And that's why they've bombed places like markets, public places where there are likely to be a lot of people gathered and where a lot can be hurt. But we're on the watch, and the danger of being caught is great. So they play it safe for a while. They pick safe targets. If we don't catch them, they get their courage back and try the public places again. Why did they bomb Memavet? I'll tell you: because he was an easy target. Here's an old man living alone in a new block of flats, the only resident on the street, and it's a dark street. They can go down the street, unseen—"

"But they were seen. The doctor saw—"

"The doctor saw a young man who said he had business with Memavet. And that's quite possible. Now. that young man might have seen something. He might be worth questioning."

"Then why did you cut out that part of the doctor's statement when we released it to the reporters?"

"Because, Chaim. I thought it would be better if he came forward on his own. That would prove he was not connected with this in any way. He didn't come forward. so it suggests that he might not be entirely innocent."

"Or just that he doesn't want to get involved." said Ish-Kosher.

"This was a terrorist bombing. Anyone would want to help." Adoumi shook his head gloomily. "I gambled in withholding that portion of the statement from the press." Then he brightened. "But if he hasn't come forward, the chances are that even if we had mentioned he had been seen, he probably would hold back. It was raining, and he had his coat collar turned up. He'd know that the doctor wouldn't be able to recognize him. I'd sure like to get a line on him. though."

Ish-Kosher smiled broadly. "Well, perhaps I can help you. How would you like to have his name?" From the briefcase on his lap. he drew a slip of paper and passed it across the desk to Adoumi. It read: "I came back at seven as I said I would. Stedman."

"Where'd you get this?"

"One of my men thought to look in the mailbox. It was there."

"But there's no date. This could have been left a couple of days earlier. The doctor didn't mention his writing a note. In fact, he said he watched him go up the street."

"But he could have come back after the doctor left."

"Possible." Adoumi studied the note. "Stedman. Stedman— where have I heard that name?"

"There's a fairly well-known American journalist named Stedman. He's in the country now, staying at the King David."

"No. no." He began rummaging through the folders on his desk, flipping one after another open to glance at the contents. "Ah, here it is— Stedman. That. Chaim." he said impressively, "is the name of an American student at the university who has been seen frequently in the company of an Arab student named Abdul El Khaldi. Now, Abdul is someone we've been interested in for some time."

"You have something on him?" asked Ish-Kosher eagerly.

"Something in the sense that would interest you police people? No. Nothing suspicious about his behavior. He has been most circumspect."

"Well, then—"

"That in itself might be suspicious. Chaim."

"You mean that the Arabs who act up you are interested in, and those who don't you are also interested in?"

Adoumi laughed shortly. "Chaim. that's not far from the truth either. We are suspicious of all of them. But when I say that we're interested in Abdul. I mean that we try to keep an eye on him because while he's done nothing that we know of, there have been rumors. Arabs who for one reason or another want to be on the good side of us pass us little tips every now and then. And his name has come up more than once. So we keep him under observation. Not a twenty-four-hour-a-day surveillance, of course; we don't have the manpower. But we keep an eye on him, and the last report I have mentions a student named Stedman who is frequently in his company. So that stirs my interest in Stedman. And when I see that someone named Stedman has some connection with Memavet. maybe went to see him the very night he was killed—"

"Are you going to pick him up?"

"No, Chaim. I think for the time being I'll stay out of this. Your people will pick him up, and you will question him. Now this is what I'd like you to do."