“And why was that?”
“Because obviously you had some connection to DeLouise, and because you knew about the documents that he was keeping for Ariel. Anyone who was connected to DeLouise compromised Guttmacher's plan to take over the DeLouise money and therefore had to be eliminated.
I wasn't elated by the news that I had appeared on someone's hit list. Guttmacher was so devious, I was sure that even his shadow was crooked.
Blecher looked around and said, “If there are no further questions, then we're done. Thank you very much for your help.” Blecher and his aide shook hands with us and left.
Benny, still on the sidelines, then asked me a key question. “Did you solve your problem?” he asked.
“Which one do you mean?” I asked.
“Where is the DeLouise money?”
“I don't know yet,” I answered, suspecting Benny might be ahead of me.
“So, it won't be long,” he added, only fueling my suspicion.
“One problem I did solve,” I said.
“Which one?”
“How my good friend led me in the direction intended all along by the Mossad. I was blind, maybe because I believed him.”
Benny's expression got serious, and he gave me that amused quizzical look. “What did I do?”
“Manipulation,” I said, not knowing if I was mad at him or not. “From the first minute I called you, you knew that DeLouise had been murdered. You also knew that he was connected to the Iranian military-purchasing frenzy, and yet you told me nothing. Of course, I have no problem with the fact that you forgot to mention that DeLouise was working for the Mossad again. I suspect a sweetheart deal: information on the Iranian transactions in return for a safe haven anywhere on the globe, if he failed to reach an agreement with the U.S. government for a safe return to the U.S. without being prosecuted. I guess the shelter would be anywhere but the U.S. or Israel.”
“Why did I have to tell you? You were chasing DeLouise's fortune. That was on your mind, and I helped you out. Not that I confirm your theory, but how did you figure it out?”
“It was clear that both DeLouise and Ariel were working for you. Ariel only recently, probably when she escaped from her captors in Munich into the Israeli Consulate. But I believe DeLouise was enlisted as a one-time unremunerated recruit when he started his contact with the Iranians. My suspicion was confirmed when I realized that Ariel gave me the original Iranian file her father had left her. I concluded that you already had a complete copy and that you allowed Ariel to give me the file, to achieve two goals: to lead me away from the suspicion that Ariel worked for you, and to make the delivery of the Iranian file through me to the CIA look authentic, without any sign of collusion between DeLouise and the Mossad. Obviously Israel could do without the scandal the U.S. could make if it were discovered that Israel was helping an absconding suspected felon.”
Benny gave me another of those cat-that-ate-the-canary looks. “You were interested in DeLouise's money, Dan, and we had other interests, so what's so bad about a few maneuvers that could help an old friend in a way that helped you and the U.S. as well?”
“You could have told me.”
“I couldn't; that would have put you in a mess,” countered Benny pointedly. “I don't forget that you work for the U.S. Department of Justice, and if I had revealed our interests you would have had to report it to your superiors. That would have made things far more complicated.”
I had to admit that Benny's sophistication was impressive. I'd asked for routine help, and that enabled him to help me walk in the right direction. At the same time, he put himself in the loop and kept his options open; he could participate in break-ins to steal documents essential for Israel's security but also be covered under the American umbrella if the operation went sour. And the biggest achievement of all: recruit an old operative who could maneuver the Iranians and report on their activities. So many birds and only one stone.
“OK, you got what you wanted,” I said, “while I'm stuck with an endless pile of paper. And while I sort things out, DeLouise's money could vanish.”
“Patience,” Benny assured me. “I'm sure the solution is not too far off.”
“Benny, you mentioned earlier that DeLouise had told you that he knew that my office was looking not just for his money but for him as well. Did he tell you how he'd found out?”
“Yes. Early in the game, his California lawyer heard from the clerk's office of the Federal District Court that the U.S. intended to serve DeLouise in Switzerland with the summons and complaint in the civil proceedings. The lawyer was a veteran of the Civil Division of the Justice Department and was familiar with its policy to locate debtors of significant amounts even if they are overseas.”
So there was no security leak in my office after all.
As we got up to leave, I looked at Ariel. I wanted to talk to her but I felt a cold wind blowing from her direction. She left the briefing room and walked into the corridor. I joined her uninvited.
“So Blecher says that you were the one who exposed me to Guttmacher,” Ariel accused. Her voice was icy.
“How did I do that?” I asked, hurt and disappointed that she would choose those as her first words since parting from me weeks before. I didn't know how to bridge the rift between us. From the tone of her voice, it sounded as if Ariel was also going to blame me for a whole list of man-made or natural disasters.
“When you told Guttmacher that you knew that he was holding the envelope my father gave him for me. Since he knew that my father was dead, he presumed that I was the only person who could tell you that, and that showed him we were working together. Since he suspected you, I was contaminated as well.”
“That's not quite right, Ariel,” I said apologetically. “There is a simple explanation. It was my only way of convincing him that I was in the loop; I hoped that, by demonstrating that I had read your father's letter, Guttmacher would be convinced that I was in fact your father's partner in the deal with the Iranians. Obviously I didn't know he was the villain. I'm sorry I caused you trouble.” I didn't add that given Blecher's account, Guttmacher planned to kill Ariel regardless. There was no point in kindling more friction between us.
Ariel looked amused. She was toying with me. But when she saw my grim face she added, “Don't worry, I don't blame you. You didn't know. You see, when my father was killed, Guttmacher was sure he was home free with the money. He didn't realize that my father was too smart to trust him. My dad wrote me that he was suspicious of Guttmacher and therefore prepared new documents for me that replaced all the stuff Guttmacher was holding. But Guttmacher didn't know that my father was bypassing him and leaving new instructions for me. The letter you saw telling me to contact Guttmacher was written before my father started to suspect him.”
“Your dad was a clever man,” I put in. “He left a back door open.”
Ariel nodded. “So from the moment you gave that detail to Guttmacher, to gain his trust, I became dangerous for him. He realized that I knew that he'd kept the money. He was convinced that I was the final roadblock between him and more than many millions of dollars, so he had to have me put out of the way.”
I decided not to argue with her. There was no point in reminding Ariel of her own contribution to Guttmacher's decision to eliminate her.
“I'm surprised you even agree to speak to me, if that's really your opinion of me,” I said, trying to think how difficult it would be to erase all the dreams I had about Ariel. There seemed to be no chance for any of them to materialize.
“I was angry at you. I trusted you, and I was disappointed to realize that you betrayed my trust, until I saw the whole picture.”
“I don't think I've ever betrayed your trust,” I protested. “I may have kept some facts from you, but please understand, I was doing my job. You were the daughter of my target. You were the clue to the resolution of the mystery.”
“It was difficult to understand,” said Ariel, “because I thought you were working for the Mossad. But then when I found out that you weren't, at least not any longer, I started my own little investigation to find out who you were really working for.”
I was too surprised to say anything.
“When the Mossad agents took my mother from the pension, she asked them about you and discovered you weren't one of them.”
“So how did you find out who I was working for?”
“Rather easily, actually. Benny told me.”
