Double Interest

by Odeda Yaari

  ***

  The pool area at the Royal Garden hotel in Eilat was buzzing with businessmen, celebrities, “green” activists, and politicians. The air was warm and the drinks were flowing like water. Anyone who didn’t know would not have guessed that this was the opening event of a marine ecology convention that was taking place at the hotel.

  A young television reporter was busy speaking with the minister of agriculture, trying to get his stance on the fish cages. The minister’s cell phone interrupted the conversation, but the reporter remained standing, reminding him she still hadn’t finished with him. The minister was acting a bit funny. He whispered into the phone, as if trying to mask his voice.“Hello, who is this?” The identity of the caller seemed to have taken Abraham by surprise.

  He was quiet for a long while. “Give me a second to get to a quieter spot.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t have any friends in Colombia,” he almost yelled, before listening quietly again for another lengthy while. It seemed the caller was pushing him up against a wall.

  “What is it you want from me?” asked Abraham, before noticing the young reporter who had been interviewing him was still listening. He moved away, signaling to her that he would be back in a few minutes.

  The man on the other end of the line said, “I want a meeting with you, tonight. I know you’re at the Royal Garden in Eilat, so I’ll meet you at the hotel lobby at midnight sharp. I would strongly suggest you do not try to ditch me or send any of your gorillas to me. If there are any unexpected changes, I’ll let you know.”

  “Listen, young man, I am a minister in the Israeli government, and I do not know where you get the nerve to talk to me like this. Why shouldn’t I just hang up on you?”

  “Oh,” the man on the other end said, “I have something the Colombians want very much, and by extension, so do you.”

  “What could I possibly want?”

  “Money. Lots and lots of money. That’s what it all comes down to in the end, doesn’t it?”

  The conversation ended. Abraham did not have much choice. Before midnight, he would have to stay and participate in the celebratory opening of the convention, as his duty called. Or maybe this would be his last time on duty as the minister of agriculture.

  30

  Ron’s apartment was dark and quiet. David and Ron’s parents tried not to touch or move anything. The shower was clean and completely dry. The clothes Ron had worn that morning were nowhere to be seen. They checked his parking spot at the building garage just in case, but found no clues to his whereabouts.

  “This morning, I found him sleeping in the office. I think he’d been there all night. Perhaps he’s fallen asleep there again?” David made a hopeful suggestion.

  The offices too were dark.The building security guard said, “I saw Ron leave at about seven forty-five. He was in a real hurry. He didn’t even answer when I said good night, though he usually stops to talk to me and asks about the wife and kids. He must have been late for some important meeting.”

  “It’s no wonder he was so pressed for time.” Bar stepped up to his son’s defense. “He was supposed to be at our house at eight for dinner, and he hates being late. Something bad has happened to him.”

  “I haven’t left my desk even for a minute since my shift started. If you want, you can look over the security footage and check all the ways in and out of the building.”

  They went into Ron’s office. His appointment book showed the lunch he had scheduled with Dana and dinner at his parents’ house.“I’ll go check the safe, just in case,” said David.Ron and David were the only ones who had the combination code to the safe, and it did not look as if it had been forcibly opened. He punched in the code and opened the safe. It was empty.

  Cold sweat washed over David. All the work, years’ worth of labor, gone just like that, including the results of the many experiments they had held and the proof that their invention was viable. Bar, wondering what was taking David so long, found him pale and sweaty, hunched over an empty safe. Nothing more had to be said.

  They locked the office and stayed there standing, wondering what they should do next. To go to the police was to admit that something seriously bad had happened to Ron.

  ***

  Within less than an hour, the whole team was gathered in Yoni’s office.

  “Sophie, you get hold of Edo, see if he knows anything,” said Yoni.

  Sophie called the hotel Edo had been staying at and asked to speak with him.

  “I’m sorry, but he checked out this afternoon,” said the clerk. “His original booking was till the end of the week. He even paid for the whole time in advance, in cash, but he didn’t ask for a refund.”

  Sophie rejoined the big table, where the entire team was gathered. She did not let her concern show. Perhaps she should have warned Ron and told him about Edo, so that he would have been more alert to what was happening around him.

  “He checked out of the hotel this afternoon, days before he was supposed to.”

  “Itamar, what about you? Give us your report,” Yoni commanded.

  “When he last spoke with Santo, at around four, Edo was given clear orders to fold. Santo said they were no longer interested in the deal and told him to return to Colombia to collect the rest of the money they owe him.”

  “I find it hard to believe they would give up on someone they spent so much money on this easily. And if that’s really it, why would they mind it if he stayed in Israel for a few more days?” Yoni reviewed the situation. “I think they’re planning something that is just too big for Edo. He’s nothing more than an innocent guy who got caught in an unpleasant situation. And now, if something happens, he could be a lead back to them, so Santo is moving him out of the way.”

  Yoni asked his secretary to go online and check all the outgoing flights from Israel from six p.m. till morning. He divided the group into smaller teams and assigned each team an immediate task.

  “Tomorrow at ten a.m., I want everyone back here with results. We’ll see where we take it from there. Sophie, you keep in touch with David and Ron’s parents. You report back to me with anything new.”

  As always, the team meetings were concise. There was no room for needless debates or empty talk. Yoni handled the matter like a well-planned military operation, for which time was of the essence.Once alone in his office, Yoni’s mind raced. Had Ron been taken? Had he voluntarily decided to switch over to the Colombian side? What was Santo planning? Was Ron even still in Israel or was he somewhere else? He knew that if Ron had indeed been taken, they would not hurt him, at least not to start with, since they needed the information he had, which gave everyone time to organize. But Yoni’s biggest deliberation was his loyalty to APC, his client. It was clear to him that in order to find Ron or help in any investigation, he would have to reveal their connection, and to do that he would have to get APC’s approval.

  ***

  The head of the investigations department at the police headquarters, Major General Aviram Cohen, did not appreciate being disturbed in the middle of the night, unless a case could not wait. This case, it seemed, was not that urgent. Bar even went to the trouble of going into details and specifying what this was about, but Aviram did not want to say no to a county judge. They had worked together many times, and the head of the department knew it would be wise to comply. Bar was known for his strict approach toward criminals, but he was just as strict with the police. He had dismissed entire cases in the past when he had learned that the gathering of evidence had not been done according to protocol.

  He sighed as he entered the police station. The honorable judge and a young man he did not know were already waiting for him there. “Bar! You’ve dragged me out of bed. You owe me one.”

  Without any preamble, Ron’s father dove straight into the events of the previous night, as well as the relevant events that preceded it.

  “As you can see, we’re dealing with serious sharks here, who can reac
h anyone, anywhere. Even your government. What I don’t understand is how the Colombians got the information about the company, and why they consider it such a big threat. I don’t get the timing either. It’s as if they knew there were negotiations with an American company and decided to act.”

  Now that Judge Bar had summed up events for the head of the investigations department, David found things to be much more serious.

  “I don’t know if this is related,” said David, “but we recently took in a new employee, a friend of ours from university. He is originally from Colombia, and has only recently returned from a trip in South America. We could talk to him tomorrow and see what he has to say.”

  Cohen listened with a straight face, taking down notes of names and details. Finally, he called in a police officer, asking him to fill out a statement regarding Ron’s disappearance and have the judge sign in.

  “For now,” he told the officer, “this case stays under complete blackout. Any leaks to the media could compromise our chances to uncover Ron’s tracks before they’re gone. And you…” He turned to Bar. “Go home and get some rest. There’s nothing for you do to now, and you need to be home with your wife, who’s probably worried sick. Make sure to stay by the phone. You never know who might call. Hopefully Ron will.”

  Bar sighed in relief. The head of the department believed him and took him seriously, despite the fact that it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since Ron’s disappearance.When the two left the police station, it was two a.m. Bar felt old and was exhausted. All the joy and hope that had filled him earlier that evening faded away and left him feeling empty. They were silent on the drive back to the Bar residence.

  ***

  That night, no one slept a wink. David watched Ron’s parents restlessly pace back and forth across the living room. His mother’s desperate, bloodshot eyes didn’t leave the phone, and her fingers drummed on any surface they came across. David found himself offering them something to drink, getting them to speak, trying to ease their pain.

  “Thank you, David. You really don’t have to do this. Why don’t you go to sleep? You need to get some rest, too,” said Ron’s mother.

  He wouldn’t tell her this, but the thought of going home to sleep now did not seem appealing. His business partner might have been abducted. What if he was next? It was somewhat comforting to stay with Ron’s parents. Finally, when the fatigue took over, he left.

  “Are you sure you want to go? You’re welcome to stay and sleep here,” said Ron’s parents.“Thank you. I’m not going home, that’s for sure. I’ll go and stay with my parents.”

  When he left, a painful silence filled the room. Ron’s parents did not know what to say to each other. Their grief was too strong. The uncertainty crippled them. Ron’s father paced the room back and forth. He paused by the portrait of his son, who had died so many years before. How is it, he asked himself, that we never once thought to put up Ron’s portrait as well, our son who is alive and doing so well? He had managed to get closer to him over the past few days, after years of keeping himself closed off. He was scared of losing another son. In his mind, he tried to go over and over every detail he had, to see if there was something he was missing. Perhaps he could find a lead to go on.

  31

  Ron’s silver Audi made its way on the dark road. Ron’s mind went over the hectic occurrences of the past two hours since receiving that mysterious phone call.

  The caller had been a man he did not know, asking to meet with him urgently.

  “I would be happy to meet,” said Ron politely. “But honestly, I’m already late to dinner as it is. Perhaps we can set up a meeting for tomorrow?”

  “I think if you spare me a few minutes of your time, you’ll understand why this cannot wait until tomorrow.”

  Ron’s curiosity got the better of him. He agreed to talk for a few minutes, which turned into almost half an hour. Ron listened intently and drops of sweat started to appear across his forehead. Now the whole picture was clear to him. Although he’d had an idea someone was following his actions, he had no notion of the scale of the depravity. In comparison to Edo, the players on this field were much more professional, much more influential, much more intimidating.

  “Give me your phone number, and I’ll call you back in a few minutes,” promised Ron. “I have to set my thoughts straight before I give you any kind of answer.”

  Ron sat in his chair, with the silence of the office closing in on him. With a scientist’s precision, he planned the next moves he had to take. This was going to be his sweet revenge. He knew he had to act immediately and could not share this idea with either David or his father, because they might get the police involved and throw a wrench in his plan. From now on, he decided, and until this whole thing was done, he had to go underground and disappear. He had his eye on the goal. Like he had when he’d planned his moves at the casino, he could see it all clearly. He reached for his phone and got an immediate answer. Ron and the man on the line finalized the terms of their agreement.Just to be on the safe side, Ron said, “If, for any reason, you don’t hear from me by tomorrow at noon, I ask that you contact my father and tell him about this latest development. I’ll shut down my phone in a minute so that no one will be able to reach me until I contact you.”

  Ron did not pause for a second. He had a long drive ahead, and the faster he went, the more convinced he was that he was doing the right thing. He did not give himself a chance to really think things through, so as not to change his mind.

  He thought about his parents, what they must be going through. Where they worried about him? Did they even care? Maybe this is a chance to really examine everything, he thought to himself. His mind wandered to Dana, too. How was she going to react once she knew he was missing? For now, Dana was off-limits, as was anyone else who might talk him out of his decision.

  Ron pushed away all thoughts of home and focused on the task he had taken upon himself. He decided to stop at a little roadside restaurant for a quick bite before going back on the road.

  32

  The minister of agriculture sat by himself on one of the sofas at the end of the lobby. If there were any security guards present, they made sure to be inconspicuous and did not trouble the man who approached the minister.

  Abraham stood and shook the man’s hand. His flushed complexion and clammy palms revealed how tense he was. After a few polite words, the young man suggested they continue the conversation in Abraham’s room, to avoid any interruptions.Abraham did not like the idea. The thought of being in room alone with this young man, who must surely be very angry with him, gave him cause for concern. Then again, he thought, whatever might be said in this conversation would be best kept quiet, away from any possible inquisitive eyes and ears. Neither of them spoke until they reached the minister’s room.

  Abraham offered his guest a stiff drink, which he declined. He poured himself one and listened as the young man went straight ahead.

  “I have all the information about your past activity in Colombia, including the money you’ve been given. I know that you were the one who ordered that the funding for the anti-drug research be stopped because of pressure from the Colombians. In exchange, they applied pressure on the prime minister’s office and got an article that was about to expose you squashed.”

  For a second, it seemed like Abraham was going to launch an attack and try to refute what the young man had just said. But then he decided not to. It was best to wait and see all that he had to say, since he had specifically said he had a deal to offer him.

  “You may not know this, but what the Colombians want from my company is an invention that increases the drug output in plants by twenty. If you hand them the formula, I imagine you’ll be able to squeeze a lot of money out of them.”

  By now, Abraham was utterly confused. This guy was offering him the formula and the possibility of taking a serious cut of the transaction, one that would allow him to live with his family in financial comfort anywhere in the world
.“In exchange,” the young man went on, as if not noticing the perplexed look in the minister’s eyes, “I have several demands. And if luck goes your way, it’ll happen the way I think it will. In any case, if you don’t follow these demands, the deal’s off.”

  ***

  Ben Gurion Airport was busy. Edo sat in a chair in a relatively quiet corner he had managed to find and rested his eyes. He had secured a seat on a five a.m. flight to the States, and there were a few hours for him to pass before boarding.

  At about two, he got up and headed to the check-in counter. He checked in his backpack and went ahead to passport control.The officer at the high booth looked at him over the glasses she had positioned on the tip of her nose, then turned her eyes to his passport, then back to him. “One moment,” she told Edo. “Wait, please. I’ll be right back.”

  Edo felt something was off. The officer’s suspecting looks and the way she had rushed out of her booth alarmed him. What if the Colombians had found out he had visited his parents, and were worried he might have spilled their secrets? Could their power reach all the way here as well? The first thought that passed through his head was to turn and run, but he pushed it aside at once. The officer had his passport, and he could get in trouble with the police and be considered a fugitive. He tried to force himself to calm down. This isn’t Colombia. I’m in my own country, my home. And if I explain to the police what happened, I’m sure they’ll understand and let me go.

  A few minutes later, the officer returned, accompanied by a police officer, who went to Edo and said in a low voice, “I need you to come with me quietly without causing any trouble. I don’t want to cuff you, so do as I say.”

  By this point, Edo was feeling completely helpless and exhausted. The phone call with Santo, leaving the office, meeting his parents…fear took over him. He burst out crying. The host of curious eyes watching him did not make him feel better, but in a way, he was relieved. From this moment on, he wasn’t the one who had to make the decisions. Things were out of his control and in the hands of the police. Everything would be set straight.