Eli's Promise

by Ronald H. Balson

  “I thought you didn’t want to get a warrant.”

  Eli quickly glanced at his comrades. “Um, we didn’t exactly have a warrant.”

  “According to Preston, the ledgers were there last fall. A lot of them.”

  “I don’t doubt it, but they’re not there now,” Ryan said. “The room is vacant, and the door isn’t even locked.”

  Colonel Mooney drummed his fingers on the table. “Mimi, are you sure that’s where the congressman kept his records?”

  “Obviously, I’ve never seen them, but I was present at the wedding when Preston described the room and the ledger books in great detail.”

  Eli interjected. “I’m sure the records were there, Colonel. Ryan and I have been surveilling the office for months, charting the comings and goings of the conspirators. It would make sense if the books and records were available for their use.”

  “So now they have all come back into town and the books are somewhere else,” Mooney said. “Where are they?”

  Eli nodded. “The books will be where the meetings are taking place, and it surely won’t be at the congressional office.”

  Mimi was puzzled. “Mr. Ryan, I appreciate being asked to attend this meeting, but I don’t know how much help I can be. I have no idea where they’ve moved the records or where the men are meeting. Maybe they discussed their plans at the Palmer House dinner.”

  Ryan shook his head. “They didn’t. We were listening.”

  Eli added, “Mimi, we’ve decided that the only safe place for Vittie to hold his private meetings would be in his home. In fact, Rupert Grainger was seen entering the house last night. Michael Stanley is staying at the house all this week. The man you describe as the accountant has also been seen entering and leaving the house.”

  “So the ledger books are in the house?”

  Ryan shrugged. “That would be the logical place.”

  Now Mimi understood why she had been brought into the discussion, and a chill shot through her body. “You want me to go into the house and search for the books?”

  “Would you have any legitimate reason to enter the Zielinski home without arousing suspicion? We need to know if the records are there, and precisely where they’re stored.”

  Mimi took a breath. “I haven’t been there in three months. You’re the FBI. Why don’t you just go in there and get them?”

  Mimi’s response drew a smattering of chuckles. “That’s an illegal search and seizure, Mimi. Federal law requires the issuance and execution of a search warrant before entering the house. It would be different if we had evidence a crime was in progress, but just to enter to search for records, we’d need a sworn affidavit from an informant. Remember, we’d be asking for authority to raid a sitting congressman’s house—a congressman whose daughter was recently murdered. Any slipup and the books will disappear.”

  Mimi stared straight ahead—a deer in the headlights. “You want me to be the informant? You want me to swear out the affidavit? Me?”

  “Can you think of any pretense to visit Mrs. Zielinski?” Eli asked.

  Mimi shook her head. “Pretense? No, not offhand. Why Mrs. Zielinski?”

  “Well, it would get you into the house without arousing suspicion. If you visited Mrs. Zielinski, found an excuse to walk around and located the ledger books, well, you’d have the basis for an affidavit, and we’d get a warrant. There should be a lot of records. They wouldn’t be easy to conceal. Perhaps Vittie has an office in the home.”

  Mimi nodded. “He does. They call it the library, but it’s really Vittie’s office, right off the front foyer.”

  “Perfect.”

  Mimi swallowed hard. “So you want me to sneak into Vittie’s office, dig though his desk and find the ledger books? Vittie’s private office? Seriously?”

  “Exactly,” Mooney said. “That’s all.”

  Mimi smiled. “That’s all? Are you kidding me?”

  “Well, that’s not entirely all,” Ryan said, with a slight grimace. “If possible, we’d like you to plant a listening device. If the military contractors are meeting in Vittie’s office, and if we could get them on tape, that would be the jackpot.”

  “Oh my Lord, what am I getting into?” Mimi said, with her hand on her forehead. “What would I have to do?”

  “You said he called it the library? Bookshelves with lots of books?”

  “Of course.”

  “Just set the device behind some books on a shelf. Simple as that. If you had a good reason to visit Mrs. Zielinski, maybe to return something that Christine left at your apartment, then a simple in and out would do the trick.”

  Mimi exhaled. “A simple in and out? Vittie’s always in his office. That would be pretty tough to do.”

  “He has an event tomorrow night at McCormick Place,” Eli said. “He’s the featured speaker. He won’t be home all evening, and Stanley will be with him. We think Mrs. Zielinski will be at home alone. If anyone else is there, abort the plan, have a nice visit and go back home. What do you say? Do you want to give it a try?”

  Mimi drew a deep breath. “I must be crazy, but all right, I’ll do it. I have a sweater that Chrissie left at my apartment. I’ll bring it to Vera and take a look around. If the office is open, I’ll plant the device.”

  Ryan pumped his fist. “Fabulous! I’ll set it up and bring the device to you tomorrow afternoon.” He left the room to make a phone call. Eli handed a cup of coffee to Mimi and said, “Now who’s the spy?”

  She laughed. “You’re just the person my mom and I always thought you were.”

  “How were you so sure I was working with the FBI?”

  “The very first day, when you were looking for an apartment, you told my mom you were working for the government. Some boring desk job, I think you said. She told me you looked like James Bond. When I came into your apartment, I saw a suitcase with a Washington Dulles baggage tag. Mom keeps an eye on what goes on in our building. She said that you’re absent for several days at a time each month. She’s also observed businessmen coming in and out of your apartment at odd times. I assume she meant Mr. Ryan and Colonel Rooney.”

  Eli chuckled. “I like the way you two secretly keep track of me. How do you know I wasn’t simply traveling to Washington to visit my family?”

  “I guess I don’t. Do you have family in Washington?”

  “Yes, I do. My wife and I have a home in Chevy Chase, and my son and his wife live in Silver Spring.”

  “You’ve never mentioned your family, other than the couple of photographs in your apartment: your father, your wife Esther and your son Izaak.”

  Eli paused for a moment before he answered. “I brought those particular pictures with me for a reason. I made promises to those people, Mimi. Solemn promises. And each and every time I made one of those promises, it was a sacred oath. I believed that when I gave my promise, Eli’s promise, it was solid, as good as gold and I would keep it. But I didn’t.” Mimi watched him pause to reflect, as though he were turning pages in his memory. With discernible sadness, he slowly shook his head from side to side. “I failed to keep those promises to those people, Mimi.”

  “Failed or prevented?” she said quietly.

  “That’s very charitable of you. But I’ve made some bad decisions. Were they otherwise, would it have been any different?” He shrugged. “Who knows? I’ve come to realize that I can only see the ground in front of my feet. There’s no way to know what Providence has in store for me down the road. Nevertheless, one more promise remains, and I intend to keep it.” He pointed at the pictures. “I’d like them to be here, at least vicariously, when I do.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by Ryan, who reentered the room and said, “It’s all set. Mimi, you’ll visit Mrs. Zielinski tomorrow night. I think you should just pop in, unexpected like. Don’t call in advance. We’ll have the device ready for you, and we’ll give you thorough instructions.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX

  CHICAGO

  ALBANY PARK N
EIGHBORHOOD

  FEBRUARY 1966

  To say that Mimi was nervous would be a gross understatement. This was new territory for her, and she feared she would say or do the wrong thing, arouse suspicion and blow the whole operation. Vera Zielinski had known Mimi since she was a little child. Maybe Mimi’s nerves would betray her, and Vera would detect the subterfuge. Moreover, Mimi was not a liar, and she hated the duplicity. Finally, Vera was a good woman who didn’t deserve to have her world come crashing down because of her husband’s misdeeds.

  Earlier in the day, Ryan had given Mimi a listening device the size of a small compact. “Keep it in your purse,” he said. “When you get the chance, hide it behind some books on a shelf. Remember, if the circumstances don’t allow you to be alone in the office, abort the plan altogether, have a nice visit and go home.”

  Mimi’s phone rang at five thirty. “The coast is clear,” Eli said. “The congressman and Stanley have left the property.”

  * * *

  A dusting of fresh snow covered Albany Park like powdered sugar. The five short blocks between Mimi’s building and the Zielinski home seemed like a long way that evening. As she approached, she saw tire tracks exiting the congressman’s driveway. She hesitated, took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. After a moment, the Zielinski housekeeper swung the door open. “Oh hello, Mimi,” she said. “It’s so nice to see you again. I haven’t seen you since … well, since that dreadful time. Come on in and I’ll tell Mrs. Zielinski you’re here.”

  Mimi waited in the foyer. Her boots were wet, and as she took them off, she glanced to the right. The congressman’s office was dark, and the door was wide open. No need to lock it up in your own home, Mimi thought.

  “Mimi, darling,” Vera said loudly as she bustled into the foyer. “Come in, come in. What brings you out on such a cold night?”

  Oh, I’m going to spy on you and plant a bug in your house, Mimi said to herself. She hugged Vera and said, “I was going through my closet, and I found this pretty sweater. It was Chrissie’s. I thought you should have it.”

  The sweater brought tears to Vera’s eyes, and she pressed it against her cheek. “I remember seeing Chrissie in this sweater so many times. She loved it. I bought it for her at Lytton’s two years ago. Thank you, Mimi. It was so thoughtful of you to bring it to me.”

  Mimi felt a pang of guilt. I wasn’t thoughtful, Vera, I was deceitful, and you don’t deserve it, she thought. “Chrissie always looked so pretty in that blue sweater,” Mimi said. “She was a beautiful girl, inside and out.” With that, the two of them gave in to their tears and held each other in a deeply felt embrace. Vera led Mimi into the living room and asked her housekeeper to bring them some tea.

  They chatted for a while, with each one recalling what life had been like since the funeral. Days were long and filled with sadness for Vera. Nothing would ever be the same. Chrissie was their only child. They would never have a grandchild. All of Vera’s visions of the future had burst like a bubble. Mimi said that not a day went by that she didn’t think of Chrissie, and no friend would ever take her place.

  Finally, Mimi decided it was time to carry out her mission. She asked to be excused to use the bathroom. “Don’t get up,” she said to Vera. “I know my way around.”

  “You should,” Vera said, “you’ve been coming here since you were a little girl. Use the powder room off the foyer.”

  The door to the office was faintly lit by the foyer light. Mimi ducked into the office, looked around, placed the device on a shelf and breezed out. The whole thing took very little time. She returned to the living room with a bitter taste in her mouth.

  * * *

  “Well, mission accomplished, Eli. I planted the bug behind the books on the third shelf. If there were accounting ledger books, I didn’t see them. They certainly weren’t on the bookshelves. They weren’t on his desk or on the table in the corner. I’m sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. You did a great job, Mimi!”

  She responded softly. “I did what you asked, but I feel like a shit. I deceived a very nice person. My presence in her home was a lie. I have no illusions; I was there for the purpose of destroying her husband and collaterally, her way of life. Vera’s a lovely woman, and she thinks of me as family. She’s lost her only child, and now I have betrayed her. She trusted me. I’m a deceitful rat.”

  “Mimi, you were there to bring murderers and corrupt profiteers to justice. You were doing it for Christine. Witold Zielinski’s way of life is a lie. Mrs. Zielinski will understand when the truth comes out. This group of dishonest and unprincipled men betrays society’s trust. Christine was murdered because her existence threatened their shameful operation. They are no better than common street criminals, and they deserve no better treatment.”

  “I know. But Vera didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m sure she knows nothing about her husband’s criminal activities.”

  “In time you’ll feel better about this. Sooner or later, this was going to happen anyway.”

  Mimi nodded unconvincingly and went upstairs to her apartment.

  * * *

  Three days later, Mimi received a call and an urgent request to meet at Eli’s apartment after work.

  “Mimi, we need you to go back to the Zielinskis’. The device has stopped working.”

  “I was just there three days ago. Please, Eli, I can’t do it again. I still feel terrible about the whole thing.”

  Ryan stepped forward. “The bug worked perfectly for three days. We have hours of prime material. We have six executives on tape, along with Stanley and the congressman. It’s dynamite. Then suddenly the bug stopped working.”

  “Don’t you have enough?”

  “Enough for the ones on tape, yes, but there are three more contractors who have yet to meet with the congressman. Roland, Johnson and Locker have yet to cut their deals. Mimi, you don’t know what a tower you’re helping to bring down. It’s a bombshell, but we can’t let three of the country’s most corrupt contractors get away because of a broken device. We have to replace the bug.”

  Mimi shook her head. “I can’t. I was lucky last time. Everything fell into place. No one saw me. I can’t use the same excuses again. Am I supposed to find another sweater? Am I supposed to pop in again unannounced? Am I supposed to have a bladder attack again and have to use the powder room in the foyer? It’s not going to work, Cliff.”

  “It has to work,” Ryan said. “I want those three. The congressman is going to a community forum at seven tonight at the Albany Park Community Center. Please, Mimi, go over there tonight. You’ll think of something. Don’t let us down.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

  FÖHRENWALD

  FÖHRENWALD DP CAMP

  AMERICAN ZONE

  SEPTEMBER 1947

  There was great excitement in the Föhrenwald camp on September 27, 1947, for on that day the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine submitted its report and recommendations to the General Assembly. There would be a vote later in the fall. If two-thirds of the members approved, the British mandate would be divided into two states: one for Jews and one for Arabs. Even though the Arab leadership stated it would never accept such a plan, confidence was high that the resolution would pass. The State of Israel would become a reality sometime within the next year. It was almost certain.

  To the residents of Föhrenwald and other displaced persons camps, an affirming vote would mean that the door to Israel would open for them. Ships of refugees would no longer be turned around by the British fleet or diverted to Cyprus. It was cause for celebration, and as it had the previous May, the Föhrenwald camp threw a party.

  Those who could bake, baked. Those who could decorate, decorated. And those who could make music—well, a klezmer band played joyful dancing music, and Adinah led the hall in a community sing-along. Izaak and Eli were sitting at a table enjoying carrot cake and soft drinks when Adinah came over, held out her hand and said, “Dance with me.”

  Izaak
started to get out of his chair, but Adinah said, “Hold on, Izzie. This time I mean the old man.”

  “Old?” Eli said with mock indignation. “Who’s old?”

  “You, if you don’t get up and dance with me.”

  Izaak looked at Eli, smiled and nodded. “You better do what she says.”

  “It’s just a dance, Eli.”

  Eli rose, took Adinah’s hand and walked onto the dance floor. “You know, I haven’t danced with anyone in—”

  She put her finger on his lips. “Shh. Dance with me.”

  * * *

  Later that night, after Adinah finished telling Izaak a bedtime story, after she had kissed him good night and tucked him in, she walked out to the kitchen. “It’s your turn,” she said to Eli. “And, fair warning, he might tease you about your dancing.”

  “I had a lot of fun at the party tonight, Papa. Do you suppose we’ll get to go to Israel next year?”

  Eli shrugged. “It’s a good possibility. If we don’t get a visa to America, I would surely take us to Israel.”

  “Would Adinah come, too?”

  “I think she probably would.”

  Izaak smiled broadly. “That’s good. I like her a lot.”

  “I know you do. I like her, too.”

  “And I still love Mama.”

  Eli nodded. “Of course you do. And you always will.”

  * * *

  Izaak’s words were sitting on Eli’s mind when he returned to the kitchen. “Something wrong?” Adinah asked.

  Eli shook his head. “No. Not really.” He tipped his head toward Izaak’s room. “It’s a little complicated for him.”

  “I think I understand. It’s a little complicated for me, too.”

  Eli sighed. “I know.”

  “Am I overstepping my bounds here? Would you tell me if I was?”