The Dreadful Patriot: A Thrilling Conspiracy Novel (Techno thriller, Mystery & Suspense Book 3)

by Charles Z David

  Shimony was livid with rage but had his complete trust in David so refrained from saying anything for a full minute. Finally he said "OK, so when will we get the whole story?"

  David shrugged saying "We don't have to wait for the details. We can begin to counteract the allegations of Mossad's involvement in the elimination of the Iranian scientists and defuse the hostage situation with Iran by offering them a fair trade for some of the Hezbollah prisoners we are holding. After all, the Iranian regard Hezbollah as their allies, not to say servants, in Lebanon and Syria, so should be glad to liberate some prisoners as a gesture of appreciation".

  Their discussion was cut short by Shimony's assistant who knocked on the door and barged in without waiting for an answer. He looked very pale as he approached the chief with a slip of paper in his hand. Shimony took the paper, read the short sentence that said that the bodies of Ruby and Sam were found in their apartment in positions that looked like a murder and suicide. He showed it to David and ordered him to return immediately to Berlin and investigate what had really happened there.

  October 7th, Berlin

  David was a bit disoriented – as far as his current trip was concerned he wasn't sure if he was coming or going from Berlin or to it. It was an afternoon flight so he didn't nap and was so deep in thought that he even welcomed the commotion of the flight crew. He figured that there were at least two organizations that would welcome the murder of Sam and Ruby. First and foremost in his mind were the Iranians that might have discovered that these two ex-Mossad agents were responsible for the deaths of their nuclear scientists and decided to take revenge. David thought that alternatively Segan might be behind the murders if he had suspected the deal between the two agents and Mossad head that was in the making. Such a deal would place him and his firm in a direct collision course with both the Iranians and Mossad. He would have been concerned in case Sam and Ruby had retained some hard evidence about his pact with Alan Ross or could just testify in a secret hearing set up by Shimony and get the PM's blessing to eliminate him.

  David wondered how the Iranians and Segan could have discovered these developments and then a terrible thought occurred to him. What if Julia was involved? After all, she knew about their role in Segan's firm and about the deal with Mossad. What if she had been forced to eliminate the couple by a foreign security service that was interested in keeping up the tension between Iran and Israel, or even worse if she acted on her own initiative due to a false sense of patriotism? David decided he'd contact Julia as if this latter suspicion had not existed and see how she reacted as the investigation progressed.

  ***

  Julia was waiting at the airport when his flight landed and as soon as he emerged from customs she walked up to him and gave him a warm embrace. She said "It looks as if the gods wanted you to spend some more time with me. The circumstances for your speedy return are less than joyful but the result certainly is. I have started to look into the bizarre deaths of Sam and Ruby and have enlisted my informants in the BND and the Berlin police force. I have managed to get permission for the two of us to visit the crime scene so that's where we are heading straight from here."

  David turned on his charm, allaying his suspicions of her involvement in the crime, and said "I am very glad to see you personally and admire your efficiency organizing the visit to the scene. I understand that you reported the murder to Mossad even before the German official announcement to the Israeli embassy about the slaying of the two citizens."

  Julia led the way to her car that was double parked at the terminal among the taxis. A heavyset policeman with a pockmarked face was standing by the car and looking up the registration when they approached. Julia flashed her brightest smile and in perfect German said that she had diplomatic immunity and was there on urgent official business. The German policeman knew that tangling with Israeli diplomats could be very messy and sensitive due to the history of Germany's treatment of the Jews some 70-80 years previously. So he chose to say that they shouldn't do this again and this time he would let it go.

  As soon as they were inside the car and on their way to crime scene Julia looked at David and said "It never fails. I am yet to get a ticket for a traffic violation."

  David queried "What about automatic speed traps or cameras that take a photo of your car crossing a red light?"

  Julia smiled and replied "You know the quote attributed to Stalin "no man, no problem" with me a traffic police it's the opposite "no (police) man, big problem"".

  David laughed "I need to correct you. The whole sentence is "Death solves all problems - no man, no problem". I wonder if this is the reason for the double murder of Ruby and Sam?"

  Julia turned serious saying "We really need to find out who did the crime. I think the standard forensic approach of finding the means, motive and opportunity is a good starting point for our investigation".

  David nodded and didn't reply as they had reached the apartment building on Gruntaler Strasse and were trying to find a parking spot. Eventually one of the police cars pulled out and Julia quickly parked her car there. A policeman motioned for her to move her car but she flashed her diplomatic ID accompanied with a smile and he let her remain parked in that spot.

  ***

  The Berlin police forensic investigation technicians carried out their work methodically and professionally and had already left the scene. A lone police sergeant stood at the door to the apartment and allowed them to enter after Julia once again flashed her ID and captivating smile. The forensic team had taken many photos of the victims and of the crime scene, collected fingerprints and had placed yellow plastic signs where the empty cartridges were found. The two bodies were still left where they lay – Ruby on the carpet with a couple of 9 mm bullet holes in her chest and Sam in a reclining chair with a bullet hole straight through his heart. The gun itself, a semi-automatic 9 mm Jericho 941 pistol, was still in his hand. David looked at the scene and his immediate thought was that it looked like a textbook murder and suicide – too good to be true.

  Ignoring the sergeant and speaking in Hebrew David told Julia that everything looked too neat and tidy. Julia shrugged and said "I am surprised that Sam needed to shoot Ruby twice. With his experience and expertise one shot should have been sufficient. I agree, this looks more like a double execution staged to appear as a murder and suicide. But who could surprise these two experienced field operatives and kill them both?"

  David said "Let's get back to the three classic fundamentals of criminology: means - quite obviously this Jericho pistol is not commonly used by criminals but has been deployed by police forces and intelligence services as well as by the military in several countries. I would like to verify that both victims were shot with the same gun before speculating further on the means. Motive - that's the big question. The proximity of the time of their murder to the planned visit to Israel where they were expected to disclose all details about their involvement with the elimination of the Iranian scientists could point either at Segan trying to silence them or at the Iranians who were taking their revenge. As far as the opportunity is concerned - they were alone in their apartment and they would not hesitate to let in someone they knew well like Segan. On the other hand, a trained Iranian assassin or a contract killer could get them to open the door under false pretenses and then shoot them and arrange the bodies to look like a murder and suicide."

  Julia thought about this for a moment and said "Well, David, this doesn't really get us any closer to solving this problem. We know that Segan and the Iranians were the obvious suspects. How should we proceed?"

  David asked the police sergeant if the apartment had been searched by the forensics team and the sergeant called the headquarters before saying that nothing had been touched, awaiting the Israeli embassy representatives, pointing at Julia. David nodded and said that they were ready to start searching for clues. Julia took two pairs of powder free disposable nitrile gloves out of her bag and handed one pair to David.

  They started by
taking a close look at the bodies. David bent down to closely examine the two bullet holes in Ruby's chest. It was evident that both pierced her heart. There was only one way to know if they were fired at the same time – and that is by a meticulous autopsy and certainly not by their cursory inspection. They scrutinized Sam's body and David focused on the pistol in his right hand. It was held at an awkward angle but that could have occurred after he shot himself, if indeed he had. Julia stood behind David as he bent over Sam's body. David said "I never thought that Sam was the type who would commit suicide, and certainly could find no reason for killing Ruby. They became really close together after the mission in Boston and their expulsion from Mossad. There were rumors that they were a couple even before that but I doubt if that was true although they did pose as Mrs. and Mr. Smith for that mission."

  Julia agreed "I didn't see much of them in Berlin, as I had told you they were considered as persona non grata at the embassy. But sharing the same fate after their ejection from Mossad, carrying out jobs together for Segan's firm and being kind of outcasts among the official Israeli community would certainly bring them together".

  David had an epiphany "What if someone entered the apartment, shot Sam through the heart and then shot Ruby the first time. He then placed the pistol in Sam's hand and shot Ruby again so that traces of gunshot residue would remain on Sam's hand as if he did the shooting. He then staged the two bodies in the textbook murder and suicide posture". David was thinking about a famous incident that happened in Jerusalem some years earlier when a high-society hair dresser shot his super-model girlfriend and committed suicide. His brother who was the first on the scene removed the pistol from his dead hand and placed it in the girl's hand as if she was the one that committed the murder and then shot herself.

  Julia thought about this for a moment before saying "This is an interesting theory. How can we obtain proof to confirm or contradict it?"

  David said "I read about a new forensic test that can help. It is based on taking an imprint of the palm to determine if there are traces of iron that fit the metallic parts of the gun grip. The special point is that the imprints are left when the perspiration present on the palm interacts with the iron containing parts of the gun grip. If the weapon is fired by someone who places it in the palm of a dead person then there will be no iron traces, or only very weak traces, on the palm imprint, although the classic forensics would show that the gun was fired from the same hand".

  David observed Julia very closely as he made this last statement to see how she reacted. He had expected to see an expression of confusion if she was involved or curiosity and relief if she was truly only trying to solve the mysterious double death. Julia had maintained a "poker-face" – and David saw no change in her expression. He didn't like this although he knew that she was a trained Mossad field operative that excelled in her job. Finally Julia said "This is very interesting. Do you think that the Berlin police can perform this test?"

  David said that his colleagues in the Israeli police would be glad to instruct their Berlin counterparts on performance of the test. However he thought the proper chemicals should be flown from Israel, perhaps with an experienced technician as the murder of the two Israelis could be directly connected to the country's national security. Once again he scrutinized Julia trying to see how she responded, but she maintained her "poker-face" and he didn't know how to interpret her lack of reaction.

  October 8th, Berlin

  The technician from the Israeli police forensics laboratory arrived with the kit for taking palm imprints. He was met by a representative of the Berlin police who drove him straight to the crime scene where David and Julia were already waiting. The technician got to work immediately and within minutes it was clear that Sam had not fired the pistol when he was alive and that the gunshot residues were the result of someone else firing the gun in his palm after he was murdered in order to stage the murder-suicide scene. David thanked the Israeli police technician and told him to enjoy the evening in Berlin before catching the morning flight back to Tel-Aviv.

  David called Shimony and gave him an update on the findings and his suspicions. Shimony said that he should continue his investigation on the obvious suspects – Segan and the Iranians – and do that with Julia's help. When David pressed and asked whether he should also consider Julia's possible involvement Shimony instructed him to focus on the other suspects and leave Julia alone.

  ***

  David asked Julia if she thought that it was time to summon Segan for an interrogation but she pointed out that they had no jurisdiction in Germany and could only invite him to give his testimony voluntarily. David wondered aloud if Segan would cooperate after the treatment he had received from the head of Mossad and the PM's office. Julia said that there was nothing to lose if they called him in for questioning. She added that he was probably upset about the murder of two of his most senior agents unless, of course, he was the one who did it.

  So David called the main office of Segan's firm, identified himself to the secretary who answered the call as an old friend and asked to speak to Segan. He was told that Segan was out of town and would be back the following day. When he tried to enquire when Segan had left Berlin the secretary said she had a call on the other line and hung up without responding. David turned to look at Julia and said that he didn't like the reply and asked Julia to try and trace Segan's movements just before, and during, the time of the murder. Julia said that it wouldn't really help because he could always have one of his other agents do the job while he had arranged a waterproof alibi for himself. David said that they should wait for Segan's return to Berlin and try to interview him, and perhaps they could learn something from his responses and body language, if he agreed to meet them.

  Chapter 11

  October 8th, Office of the Senior Assistant of the Supreme Leader, Tehran

  The Senior Assistant of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran summoned the General Aslawi who was in charge of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and demanded to know what progress has been made with regard to Israel. Imam Mourtashef was also present at the small meeting and looked at the general like a bird of prey observes a squirrel trying to avoid its fate by freezing on the spot. The general was not intimidated by the Senior Assistant but was evidently made anxious by the Imam's stare.

  He said "So far our agents and collaborators have captured a dozen Israelis, including a Member of the Knesset. The Israelis are running around themselves in circles trying to figure out what was happening. Naturally they suspect us but we have been careful to avoid leaving any evidence that would lead to Iran. I have some more news"…

  The Imam spoke up interrupting the general "I believe that they are not too concerned about these hostages."

  General Aslawi met the Imam's glaring eyes "Please let me continue" and when the Imam nodded, the general added "We have managed to trace the two Israeli agents who murdered our scientists. Alas, before we could lay our hands on them we received information from our contact in the Berlin that they had been sent straight to hell…"

  This time the Senior Assistant intervened "General, do you mean to say that two Mossad agents did all this damage. Do you realize that our nuclear scientists are afraid to go out of Iran, our secret nuclear program has gone to an almost complete standstill and our whole regime is receiving a serious threat to its stability from the opposition factions. Two people – it is unbelievable."

  The general said "Obviously these two were not operating alone. The Mossad, CIA and MI6 must all be behind this".

  The Senior Assistant said "I have received a secret visit from General Koliagin of the Russian FSB, and he had a very interesting message. He said that he was contacted by a trustworthy senior Mossad operative – if there is such an entity – who wished to convey that the Israeli Mossad had nothing to do with the murder of our scientists. Furthermore, he suggested an informal meeting, hosted by the Russians, between our representatives and Israeli officials. The Israelis will try
to convince us that they were not responsible for the heinous acts of terror committed against our people."

  The Imam and general were silent as they pondered this improbable suggestion. The general responded "This must be a trap. The Israelis are masters of disinformation and fabrication. I suggest telling General Koliagin that we don't need his services".

  The Imam said "On the contrary. We must get to the bottom of this. If the Israelis are not responsible then someone else is. We have to find out who is killing our people and trying to undermine our regime or else these acts might continue".

  The Senior Assistant concluded the meeting by saying "Thank you both. I'll inform the Supreme Leader of these developments and wait for his decision".

  October 8th, Tel-Aviv

  As soon as Shimony received the update from David, he didn't wait for the PM to call him but initiated the call himself despite the late hour. After being transferred to the PM he said "Prime Minister, there are some important developments in the hostage situation and in the elimination of the Iranian scientists. First, the man I put in charge of the case, David Avivi, has contacted General Koliagin of the FSB. The general assured him that the hostages were being treated well and indicated that although the FSB know of the family ties you have with one of the captives the Iranians are not aware of that. Second, the general also agreed to try to arrange an informal, off the record, meeting between David and the Iranians to give him a chance to convince them that Mossad and the Israeli government have not sanctioned the elimination of the scientists. Third, most recently two of our former Mossad agents, Sam and Ruby, who were dishonorably discharged after the US fiasco were found dead in their Berlin apartment. The bodies were staged to look like a murder and suicide but with the help of our forensics experts it was shown to be a double murder. At this point we are not sure whether they were killed by their boss, my former Deputy Director that we all call Segan, or by the Iranians". Shimony didn't mention that David suspected that Julia may be involved as he thought that this would make the PM raving mad.