P. Deutermann - The Last Man

“So that means what, exactly? That he is still here, in Israel?”

“It is possible.”

Judith blinked and looked away. That could mean only one thing, she thought. No, actually, two things. Either the Israeli government still has him, or they’ve— She looked back at Ellerstein, who saw the alarm in her face.

“No, I shouldn’t think they did that,” he said. “My guess is that Gulder has him in one of those ‘secure locations’ the Americans put their vice president in when he talks out of turn. To keep a lid on that weapons business.”

“Yossi—”

“I know, Yehudit, I know. Of course this is all speculation. He may have gone on a world cruise for all we know. Except—”

“Except what?”

“Except I checked with the security people at his hotel. They said some police people came and gathered up his stuff — luggage, clothes in his room, his computer. No explanations, just came and got it. They signed the hotel release forms. I asked to see the forms.”

“And?”

“These were not police people. These were Shabak people. I recognized one of the names.”

“You never did tell me what your connection with Shabak was,” she said.

“It was a temporary thing, Yehudit. Back to Mr. Hall.”

“Yes, indeed. If you’re telling me he’s being held prisoner in this country, then I’m going to do something about that.”

“That’s what I came to see you about, Yehudit. I need to know something: When Mr. Gulder called you, did he imply that Mr. Hall’s good health depended on your keeping quiet about his part in the great discovery?”

“What?”

“Just think back for a moment. You said ‘words like that.’ Like what, exactly?”

She thought about it. She had finished her wine and hadn’t even noticed. Ellerstein pushed his glass toward her, and she took it. “Well,” she said, “I think he said that it would be in everyone’s best interest, especially Mr. Hall’s, if his name never arose in connection with the discoveries. I didn’t think it significant.”

“How do you feel about all that, Yehudit? It was his discovery, after all.”

“Don’t remind me, Yossi,” she said with a sigh. “I feel dishonest. But I’ve rationalized it this way: The discovery is the important thing, not me or my part in it. As David Hall said: Everyone remembers the Dead Sea Scrolls; no one remembers the Bedouin shepherd who found them. Plus—”

“Yes?”

“Well, when he called me down to Metsadá, I was ready to kill him. For going back down there. For digging, as I suspected he had been. He said then that he was satisfied in vindicating his girlfriend’s theory and that, in return for my helping him, the discovery would be mine alone. I didn’t think much about that at the time; I was too excited when he told me what was in that cave.”

“I can imagine. I still can’t quite believe what amazing things came out of that cave. Herod’s Temple. Incredible. Most incredible. I still haven’t seen them. The lines are too long, still.”

Yes, she thought. Everything was still pretty incredible. Especially the inscribed bricks. That could wait, though. Did the government have David Hall somewhere? She didn’t want to admit to Ellerstein that she missed him, but she very much did. Imprisoning him was wrong, but better than putting him in the ground.

‘Well,” Ellerstein said, drawing his feet out of the water, “I think I’m going to make a call on Israel Gulder. If they have Mr. Hall sequestered somewhere, perhaps I can arrange for you to see him. You do want to see him, yes?”

She nodded. She had much to tell him, and something to give him.

“Not only no, but absolutely no,” Gulder said, visibly annoyed. “Get out of here.”

“You’re thinking like a jailer,” Ellerstein said. “The persona suits you, but you’re making a mistake.”

“Really.”

“Yes, really. The longer you keep Mr. Hall in one of your boxes, the longer Dr. Ressner has to wonder what’s happened to him. Eventually, she will ask.”

“And I will tell her that it is none of her damned business,” Gulder said.

“That’s if she asks you .”

Gulder opened his mouth to say something but then snapped it shut. He had been about to say Who else would she ask ? when the answer dawned on him.

“If she does that, goes to the media, then we will return the favor and tell the world she was not the great discoverer everybody’s making her out to be.”

A secretary came in quietly with a sheaf of papers and put them in Gulder’s in-box. He groaned. She smiled at Ellerstein and left just as discreetly.

“Or you could let her go talk to him. Satisfy herself that he is not being mistreated, that he is well and unharmed. He is well and unharmed, Mr. Gulder?”

“Hmmpf,” Gulder grunted.

“I will take that as a yes. So: Let them see each other. Let them speculate on what’s going to happen next. Their imaginations will probably conjure up more possibilities than yours ever can. Drop a hint or two that this situation will not go on forever. Let them define what that might mean.”

“Why should I do anything, Yossi?” Gulder asked. “I can recalibrate her with one phone call. She promises to keep quiet. We promise not to shoot him. That’s all there is to it.”

“No, I think you’re wrong,” Ellerstein said. “Right now she is like a capacitor, slowly accumulating a big charge of electricity. Ultimately, all capacitors need to fire. Do this and you will head off a larger problem. You said that time would eventually lay this whole matter to rest.”

Gulder sighed in exasperation. “What I meant was that we will cloak the whole Skuratov business in a fog of paperwork and endless investigations. If she does talk, there will be no facts to back up her story. No Mr. Hall, either.”

“Has no one come looking for him?”

“Only his uncle, an official with their nuclear agency, and a brother. The uncle was seriously concerned. The brother seemed to be going through the motions. We gave them the diving-alone scenario, said we’d keep looking.”

“Did they contact Ressner?”

“I doubt it,” Gulder said. “The uncle knew about Hall’s Metsadá project and had heard of the great discovery. We told him Hall found nothing but piqued the interest of the IAA. They sent a team down and found what they found. More along that line. Hall was not involved. We are grateful, etc., but since we can’t find him…”

“This is the uncle in Washington who was part of the diversion investigation, started by David Hall? A diversion involving Israel?”

Gulder frowned. “What’s your point, Yossi?”

“That could be a rather large loose end, Mr. Gulder. Let me try another argument on you: If this uncle tries to make a connection between Hall’s disappearance and the heavy water diversion case, you will need an ally, someone outside of government. That could be Judith Ressner. If we spin this correctly, give her hope that we’re working on a solution to this situation, she will be motivated to support the government’s claim that the Skuratov business never happened.”

Gulder sat back in his chair, tapping a pen against his teeth while he thought about that. “Ressner is a beautiful woman,” he said finally. “He sees her, he’s going to agitate for her to do something about his — sequestration.”

“She will caution him to remain patient, not to do anything precipitous. She will give him hope.”

“There is no hope, Yossi — we can never let him go.”

“Then let me calibrate her, as you so quaintly put it: I’ll tell her to keep doing what she’s doing, being the face of the Temple artifacts. There are ‘people’ behind the scenes working on your other problem, the fate of your Mr. Hall. You must be patient. Like that.”