'Sure, if someone was looking for them,' said Shmeltzer. 'But why would they?'
'Why would Cassidy and Al Biyadi do something as obvious as killing their own patients?' asked Daniel. 'And why would they leave records? Why not destroy the charts?'
'Arrogance,' said Shmeltzer. 'Typical U.N. arrogance. They've been violating their charter every day since '48, getting away with shit for so long, they think they're invulnerable. On top of that, Cassidy and Al Biyadi are both arrogant as individuals-she's a cold bitch; he prances as if he owns the place, treats the patients as if they're subhuman.'
'Sounds like any doctor,' said the Chinaman.
Daniel recalled his first and only encounter with Al Biyadi, the young physician's nervous hostility. He remembered the frosty reception Baldwin had given him, how the Amelia Catherine people had made him feel like a foreigner on his own native soil.
The big pink building had been the logical place to begin. The killer had done his initial dirty work close to home, studying Yaakov Schlesinger's disciplined schedule, knowing when it was safe to cross the road and dump Fatma's body. Then dumping Juliet and Shahin across town to divert attention from Scopus.
Now the investigation had come full circle.
Two deaths later.
His mind started to fill with maddening hindsights. Again. Should-haves and could-haves that gnawed at him like tapeworms.
'Anyone at the hospital could have been watching for vulnerable patients,' he said. 'Not just Al Biyadi and Cassidy. Anyone could have gained access to those charts-look how easily you got hold of them. And let's remember Red Amira Nasser's weird-eyed American. No way could Biyadi be mistaken for a Westerner. In light of what we know, Amira's story may be irrelevant, but it would still be nice to get a detailed description from her. Is Mossad still claiming they can't find her in Jordan, Nahum?'
'Not a trace,' said Shmeltzer. 'It could be the truth, or just more of their cloak-and-dagger bullshit. Either way, I think her story Tirrelevant, one of Little Hook's fantasies. We found no record of her being treated at the Amelia Catherine. She doesn't fit the mold. And if you want a weird-looking American, why not Cassidy? Maybe she dressed up like a man-she's a mannish type, anyway. Maybe that's what impressed Nasser as being weird.'
'Maybe,' said the Chinaman, 'she had one of those sex-change operations.' He chuckled. 'Maybe she had balls sewn on 'cause she wanted to be another Golda.'
Weak smiles all around.
'With clinics every Thursday, why the time lag?' said Avi. 'Two murders a week apart, then nothing until last Friday.'
'If Amira Nasser's story is true,' said Daniel, 'he made a play for her exactly a week after Juliet's murder. A break in modus, but Ben David says psychopaths sometimes do that-it's evidence of a breakdown in their impulse control. Maybe his failure to snare her gave him pause for a couple of weeks, made him careful.'
'The Amira story is fantasy,' said Shmeltzer. 'More likely that the right victim didn't show up during the next couple of clinics. Not stupid or vulnerable enough.'
'Good point, Nahum. But we've got eight matching American homicides that aren't fantasies. When Al Biyadi was being denied a visa, his history was looked into pretty carefully, and according to our records, he was in Amman until 1975, no American trips. That encompasses the first killing in Los Angeles and the second one in New Orleans. I've taken seriously your suggestion that he could have traveled back and forth between Jordan and America prior to 75, as a tourist. I asked the Americans to check their records, in case we missed something the first time. But that means getting their State Department involved and whenever that happens it means paperwork and long delays. In order to shortcut the process I've asked Lieutenant Brooker to use his American connections to help me trace the Amelia Catherine staff's American activities-see what else we can learn about Al Biyadi and Cassidy and the others.
'In terms of the others, the Canadian, Carter, examined Shahin the first time. He's fair-haired, would have had free entry to America. Everything we know about him comes from the Peace Corps report. Let's take a closer look at him. Then there's the administrator, Baldwin, who is an American. He runs the hospital, has easy access to every file, keys to every room. I also got the impression that he and his Lebanese secretary, Ma'ila Khoury, have a thing going-maybe he had a love/hate relationship with Arab women.
'Dr. Darousha and Hajab seem clean,' he continued. 'According to Shin Bet, neither has been out of the country since '67. Hajab's never even been issued a passport. But we'll look at them again, anyway. Same for the old nurse, Hauser, whom I can't imagine harming anyone. The volunteers will be more of a problem. Shin Bet's passed along a list of about two dozen foreign doctors, nurses, and technicians who volunteer at the Amelia Catherine on an occasional basis. They're generally affiliated with one of the church groups as well as UNRWA, spend most of their time in the camps. Shin Bet had an old list they'd gotten hold of, didn't want to burgle the U.N. at this particular time, and obtained this list from a plant in one of the Gaza camps. Just a compilation of names, doesn't give any idea which volunteers, if any, were present at the Amelia Catherine the days our victims were examined.'
The Chinaman lit a cigarette, offered the pack around. Avi and Daoud accepted. The room went thick with smoke.
'One more piece of information,' said Daniel. 'Just before coming here, I received a call from Holland that strengthens the foreigner angle.'
He recounted his conversation with Van Gelder, said, 'None of the permanent Amelia Catherine staff people or volunteers show up on the Indonesian medical school list. It's possible one of them attended St. Ignatius under a false name-or under a real name which was changed later. The school had a bad reputation; it was eventually closed down. A doctor who managed to transfer to an accredited institution might very well have wanted to disassociate himself from Sumbok. Thinking along those lines also brought me back to Baldwin-a professional medical administrator. Sometimes people who fail to become doctors establish careers working with doctors.'
'Boss over the doctors,' said Shmeltzer.
'Exactly. He could have begun medical studies at Sumbok, been unable to transfer to a legitimate school, and gone into pencil pushing. The same logic could apply to one of the volunteer technicians. In any event, the Dutch murder could come in handy-the Gaikeena girl was killed fifteen months ago. Van Gelder is certain no other similar European homicides have been discovered by Interpol, though I'm still trying to confirm that. If the killer went from Amsterdam straight to Israel, he'd probably be using his current name on his passport. Amsterdam's working on
