bothering him.'
'Stick with it. Maybe you'll find out what it is. Daoud nodded, then said, 'One question, Pakad.'
'What is it?'
'The issue of the casual pickup. We're dealing with a psychologically disturbed person, a deviate. Perhaps he deviated from his own rules and yielded to impulse.'
'Perhaps he did, Elias. But why would he go for Amira Nasser? Fatma and Juliet looked remarkably alike, which implies he's after a certain type-small, pretty brunettes wearing earrings. And he probably likes them young- Juliets baby face fooled him. Without her wig, Amira is a petite brunette, but someone watching her work wouldn't know that. He'd see a redhead, hot pants and fishnets, all plastered with makeup.'
'Maybe he goes for different types for different things.' said the Chinaman. 'Redheads for sex, brunettes for killing.'
'Wait a minute,' said Shmeltzer. 'Before we go any further with this, let's bear in mind that this American guy didn't do a damned thing that was incriminating. He offered cash, the whore turned him down, he walked away, end of story. Supposedly he had flat eyes-whatever that means. Very weak. boys. And the fact that it comes via the hunchback makes it weaker than weak.'
'I agree with you,' said Daniel, 'but weak is better than nothing. And having stated all the problems with the story. it still holds my interest. The fact that Amira was scared by this guy can't be brushed off-prostitutes get good at assessing their customers because their safety depends on it. If Amira thought there was something weird about him, there probably was. And the time frame is appealing: Thursday night-a murder a week. Now, exactly how did she describe him, Yossi?' The Chinaman flipped through his note pad. 'According to Little Hook he was 'an American with crazy eyes? he came out of nowhere? she figured he'd been hiding somewhere off the road.' I took a look at the area-there's a small field someone could hide in. Forensics found some tire marks, lots of footprints, but all of it was too indistinct to identify.'
'Go on,' said Daniel. 'He offered sex for money, but his eyes scared her and she refused.' I asked Little Hook what was wrong with the eyes and he said Amira had told him they were 'flat. Mad? A strange smile, veiy wide, a grin. But the grin of a killer.' As to what made it a killer's grin, he said, 'Not a happy grin, very crazy.''
The big man closed the pad. 'I tried to get more- squeezed him hard enough to get juice, but that's all there is. If you want, I can pick him up again.'
'Just see that he stays in town.' Daniel got up, wrote AMERICAN? on the board.
'To Amira,' he said, 'American could have meant any number of things-a genuine American, someone who spoke English or wore American clothes. Or someone who looked American, which could translate to fair-skinned, big-boned, a T-shirt with the American flag-who knows? But at the very least we're talking about some kind of foreigner-a man with a non-Levantine appearance. Which gives us a possible line of inquiry.'
'Comparisons with foreign homicides,' said Shmeltzer. 'America and Europe.'
'Exactly. Our new Interpol liaison in Bonn is a fellow named Friedman. I've been trying to reach him since Yossi told me Little Hook's story. He's out of town-no one in his office will say where. When he calls in I'm going to have him contact all the Interpol chiefs in Europe, see if they can find records of similar crimes within the past ten years. It shouldn't be difficult; with the exception of the Germans, their homicide rates are generally as low as ours. A vicious one will stand out. The American situation's more complicated: They record tremendous numbers of sex murders each year and there's no central reporting-each city has its own police jurisdiction. They seldom communicate with one another. Lately, though, the FBI's gotten involved-they've been collating homicides and finding serial murderers who travel across the country, killing people. They're in the process of setting up? computer bank, and I think I have a way of hooking into it without going through all the red tape. In the meantime, though, it would be nice to talk to Amira. Any information on her whereabouts, Yossi?'
'All three of us picked up rumors that she's back in Jordan,' said the Chinaman, 'living in one of the towns outside Amman. Elias and I heard she's in Suweilih. Cohen was told Hisban. When we tried to trace the origin of the rumors, all we got is something that somebody told somebody after he heard it from somebody.'
'Weaker than weak,' said Shmeltzer. 'Speaking of ru-mors, Shin Bet's confirmed Darousha's definitely homosexual. Had an affair last year with a Jewish doctor. Hajab the watchman spends his off-hours at Darousha's place in Ramallah, doing odd jobs. Maybe they're into funny business. Want Shin Bet to stay on it?'
'It's low priority,' said Daniel, remembering what Ben David had said about latent homosexuals. 'More important, have them contact the Mossad operative in Amman and run a trace on Amira.'
'They weren't overjoyed about the Beirut brothel, won't like this any better, Dani. The whore's no security risk. The case isn't political. Having an operative leave Amman to comb the smaller towns is damned conspicuous.'
'This whole mess has turned political,' said Daniel. 'Laufer made a point of informing me that the Syrians are preparing a U.N. resolution 'condemning the Zionists occupation for the wanton slaughter of innocent Arab women.' After the automatic majority pushes it through, the heat's going to be turned way up, so you may get more cooperation than you expected. Besides, we don't need anything flashy from the operative, just a location.'
'If they locate her, then what? Abduction?'
'First let's see if they can trace her. We'll take it from there.'
'Okay,' said Shmeltzer, thinking of another breakfast with his Sheraton friend. It would be all business from now on-no more fantasies of pillow play. Since he'd met Eva, other women seemed fashioned of cardboard.
'Any other questions?' said Daniel.
The Chinaman raised a finger. 'What happens if we do get something interesting from Interpol or the Americans?'
'Then we check out airline arrivals from the country where the matching crime occurred. Pare down our lists and start interviewing foreigners.'
The big man groaned.
'Yes, I know,' said Daniel. 'Fun for all of us.'
The phone rang. Daniel picked it up, heard Avi Cohen say 'Dani?' in an infuriatingly cheerful tone of voice.
