“What kind of things, Zadik?” Michael asked calmly. “What kind of things have we got to look for around here?”
“Ohayon,” Zadik said, a hint of warning in his voice. “I’m asking you, without … in short, you know very well what I’m talking about.”
Michael remained silent.
“I’m talking about the leak. You people will take advantage of the situation to go looking for the person who leaked to us, I know it for certain, and there’s no reason for me to help you find the person who leaked to Arye Rubin. It’s the job of the media to expose such things.
You had a high-ranking officer who was embezzling. It’s our job… .
Arye Rubin is a first-rate journalist: you’re not going to shut off his sources.”
“I have no connection with that, and I don’t even know exactly what you’re talking about,” Michael said, clearly indifferent. “There was an obvious instance of unnatural death here, but what is not yet obvious is whether we’re talking about an accident or not. I would think you’d have an interest in knowing exactly what happened, that you wouldn’t evade—but perhaps you don’t. Do you or don’t you?”
Zadik made a show of crossing his arms over his chest. “You should be ashamed of yourself. What’s this business about ‘I don’t even know exactly what you’re talking about’? What kind of bullshit is that?” he said, raising his voice. “Are you trying to make me look like a fool?
What do you mean, you ‘don’t know’? You don’t know that we shook down the entire police force with the Fueler case? That thanks to us you cleaned out your stables? You don’t know that your own commissioner of police will not rest until he finds out who informed us about the district commander’s bribe-taking?” His voice grew louder and louder, until he was shouting. “If that’s the way you’re going to speak with me,” he roared, pounding his fist on the desk, “then don’t bother coming back until you’ve got a search warrant. Understand?
Have you got a search warrant or not?”
Michael shook his head. “Zadik, calm down. I thought that with our kind of relationship we wouldn’t need a search warrant,” he said pleasantly. “Take it easy, I’m not concerned with those affairs just now. I’m here because of Tirzah Rubin, and because of things that became clear from what Matty Cohen was telling us, and, like I said, because you should have a clear interest in all this. Unless, of course, you have an interest in keeping matters un clear.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? What are you hinting at? You think I’ve got something to hide?”
Michael said nothing.
“Are you crazy?” Zadik shouted. “What have I got to hide here? I showed your people last night exactly where—and you!” he said, pointing at Eli Bachar. “Didn’t I give you help with everything you required?
Didn’t I tell people to—”
“Yes, yes, people cooperated,” Eli Bachar said, trying to calm Zadik down. “But try and understand: Matty Cohen saw something. There’s no denying it.”
“What? What did he see?”
“Enough for us to request an autopsy,” Eli Bachar answered.
Zadik glanced at the telephone on his desk, pursed his lips, and returned his attention to the policemen in front of him, remaining silent.
“Listen, Zadik,” Michael said. “The police need to get in here, that’s clear. Do the math yourself: do you prefer me or someone else? I’m not saying they’ll let you choose anyone you want. But now I’m going to pose the question in a, well, if you’ll forgive me, didactic manner.
Are you certain you want to push me out of here?”
Zadik did not speak.
“Okay,” Michael said. “So let’s just say you and I understand one another. If that’s the case, I’d like to verify a few facts.”
“What facts? Everything is perfectly clear,” Zadik grumbled.
“Not perfectly, no,” Michael insisted. “That matter of the back door to the String Building: the guard didn’t even see Matty Cohen enter the building because he came in the back way.”
“Of course he came in through the back,” Zadik said, brushing off the question. “He was on his way to Benny Meyuhas up on the roof of the String Building, he’d parked his car in the lot out back, why would he need to pass by the guard on his way in?”
“But anyone can come in through the back door,” Eli Bachar claimed.
“No, not just anyone,” Zadik said, rubbing his cheek. “Only people with keys: veteran department heads and all kinds of … just the people who actually work in that building.”
“We’ll need a list of everyone with a key,” Eli Bachar noted.
“Everyone who could get in to the building without the guard seeing him.”
“Aviva will get it for you, and there’s somebody over in the String Building, Max Levin, who knows—but what do you think, that somebody pushed the pillar on top of Tirzah?”
“When we were reconstructing events with Matty Cohen, it turned out that some argument might have been taking place there,” Michael said carefully. “We would like to speak with her husband, too, with Benny Meyuhas. But we’ll do that when we talk to him about performing an autopsy.”
Zadik regarded him with interest. “Okay, I’m willing to help you, on one condition.”
“I’m listening,” Michael said. “I’m not big on conditions, but I’m willing to listen.”
“That if you don’t find anything, you’ll get off our backs about the informant. I’m not willing to hear another word about it.”
“And what about vice versa?”
“What vice versa?”
“If we do find something.”
“If you do find something?”
“Yes,” Michael said, folding his arms. “If we find something unnatural, then what? Will you give us the name of your informant?”
“No way!” Zadik shouted. “I’m not giving you anything, just help, no arguments.”
“It was a joke,” Eli Bachar explained.
“It wasn’t funny,” Zadik said. “Nothing is funny right now. You people can talk with Benny Meyuhas, but I doubt you’ll learn anything new from him. There’s no way he’ll be cooperative now, I’ve heard he’s completely catatonic. He’s been lying on his bed, not talking to a soul.”
“Who is close to him?” Michael asked. “Are you?”
“I …” Zadik hesitated. “He’s an introvert, no, I … but there’s Hagar, his producer, she’s over there with that actress, the Indian woman. She hasn’t left his side.”
“I understand that Rubin is close to him,” Eli Bachar said. “That’s what I’ve been told.”
“Rubin, yes, he’s close to him,” Zadik said, glancing at the door. “If Benny will talk to anyone at all, it would be Rubin.”
“So we were thinking maybe we should take Rubin with us,” Eli Bachar said.
“He’s here, outside my office,” Zadik mumbled, and pressed the intercom.
“What?” Aviva answered, her voice loud and metallic.
“Ask Rubin to step into my office for a minute,” Zadik instructed her.
A moment later the door opened and Rubin stood in the doorway, the edges of Natasha’s red scarf clearly visible behind him.
“Wait outside for a minute, Natasha,” Zadik told her. “Come on in alone for a minute, Arye. Come, meet … Chief Superintendent?”—
Michael nodded—“Chief Superintendent Michael Ohayon.”
“I’ve heard of you,” Rubin said, proffering his hand.
Michael shook his hand and said self-consciously, “I’m an old fan of your program. Inspector Eli Bachar, too. In fact, all of us.”
“Really?” Arye Rubin asked without a smile. He pulled at the cuffs of his wool sports jacket. Eli Bachar glanced at his long, narrow face, at the two deep creases in his cheeks, at his narrow brown eyes, at the focused, burning gaze that radiated from them. Rubin shook Eli’s hand as well and then turned to Zadik with a questioning
