The Masada Complex (9 page)

The door to the house opened, and the rabbi’s son asked, “Who’s there?”

Silver gritted his teeth and yelled jovially, “Hello!”

“Hi, Professor!” The boy stepped closer. “Are you stuck?”

Faking laughter, Silver tried to back out of the car. “Isn’t this a gorgeous machine?”

“Levy?” The rabbi appeared. “Are you all right?”

“This car is a work of art.” Silver finally made it out of the Corvette. “Oh, and you had the tires fixed already!”

“It was a quick thing,” the rabbi said. His son got behind the wheel and pretended to drive.

“It’s like a Ferrari I once drove in Rome,” Silver boasted. “Breathtaking.”

The rabbi gave him an odd look. “A Ferrari?”

Silver decided it was time to quote from the Torah. “
Of the blue, purple and crimson yarns they molded vestments for officiating in the Sanctuary, and Aaron’s sacral vestments—
”

“—
as the Lord had given Moses the designs
.” Rabbi Josh laughed.

The professor patted the soft top. “I didn’t know they made power tops in the fifties.”

“Fifties? This is an eighty-six model.”

“So much for my knowledge of cars.” Silver looked at the rabbi’s shorts and T-shirt, exposing his muscular arms and legs. “If you dressed like this for services, we’d have a crowd of young ladies sign up for temple membership.”

“You’re here!” Masada stood at the open garage door, outlined by the glaring sunlight. She bent over, panting. Below her shorts, an old-fashioned brace was strapped to her right leg from the shin to the middle of her thigh. Her skin was the color of mocha, making her teeth even whiter as she smiled at Rabbi Josh. “Am I glad to see you!”

“We were admiring your car.” Silver closed the passenger door. “Beautiful!”

“The quintessential American car.” Masada lowered her head to peck his cheek. “I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what came over me, running off like that.”

“You suffered a shock, meidaleh.” He squeezed her arm. “My fault completely. I should sign up for pilot training.”

Rabbi Josh said, “Have you had your eyes checked?”

“What do you think?” Professor Silver touched his thick glasses. “The doctor was very impressed with my vision, especially considering my age. It was probably a speck of dust.” He watched their faces—they seemed to accept his lies without a question.

A car horn sounded in front of the house. The boy ran outside and yelled, “Taxi is here!”

“Got to go,” the rabbi said, touching Masada’s arm, “fetch my car from the tire place. Don’t forget you’re leading the Torah discussion on Friday night.”

“Look!” Masada pointed to the hood. “They keyed my car!”

“Oy vey!” Silver put a hand on her shoulder. “Such desecration!”

Rabbi Josh leaned closer. “What’s this supposed to be?”

Masada followed the pattern with her finger. “A hand holding a stick?”

“A tree branch,” the rabbi said. “Or a weapon.”

Silver was offended. He thought it was quite clear. “It looks like a letter.”

“A fist holding the letter J!” Masada traced it.

The rabbi stepped back. “Judah’s Fist.”

“Bastards!” Masada hit the hood with an open hand.

In a mild voice intoned to dispensing wisdom, Professor Silver said, “Listen to an old Jew. You hurt the criminals by exposing the bribe. Whoever they are, here they got a little revenge. Time to call it even.”

The taxi honked again.

“I disagree.” Rabbi Josh stepped out into the sun, his honey-colored hair sparkling. “You must investigate further, seek the truth.”

“But you know the truth already!” Professor Silver struggled to hide his anger. “Why put yourself at risk? Remember what Hillel said?
If I am not for myself, who is for me?
”

As the rabbi’s taxi drove off, the blonde reporter got out of the news van and approached the open garage door with a cameraman. “Masada, can you comment on the senator’s suicide?”

“You want it on camera?”

“Of course.”

“Then give me fifteen minutes to change.”

Inside, Silver feigned shock at the empty shelves. “Dear God!”

“FBI’s looking for the video clip.”

He followed her into a large walk-in closet. “I’ll give them a clip on the nose.”

Masada laughed at his bravado. She collected clean underwear, a bra, and a dark blue pantsuit on a hanger. “They won’t find it.”

“You sure? I’m taking Valium like there’s no tomorrow. We must get rid of it.”

“Not yet. I may be able to find more clues on it.”

He took off his eyeglasses and polished the thick lenses with a cloth. “I gave it to you because I didn’t know what else to do. But I never imagined this! The FBI!”

“It’s my problem, Levy. Nobody will ever know it came from you.”

He made his voice tremble. “I’m too old for scandals.”

She the bulky brace from her leg, exposing a bandage with a dark stain on her knee.

“No more retirement in the sun for me!”

“You don’t appear in the clip, your fingerprints are gone, and I didn’t keep any notes. So stop worrying already, okay?” She limped to the bathroom, carrying her clean clothes and the crude brace.

“Did you hurt your knee with all that jogging?”

“Exacerbated an old injury. Another pain I have Israel to thank for.” She closed the bathroom door before he had a chance to ask about it. “I’ll be done in a few minutes. Make yourself comfortable.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” Silver said and headed to the garage.

The phone rang. He heard the bathroom door open and paused, unsure what to do.

She must have hit the speaker button, and a man’s voice announced, “Masada, darling! How are you surviving? I am utterly sick over this!”

“Don’t be sick, Dick. You’ll ruin the rugs.”

“You are terrible!” Drexel laughed. “Listen, I have good news, and I have wonderful news. First, since this morning, online subscriptions to
Jab Magazine
are up sixty-two thousand!”

“I feel warm and fuzzy. Let’s send a thank you card to Mahoney.”

“Funny! Funny!”

“What’s the other news?”

“Our lawyer, Campbell Chadwick, filed court papers against the search and seizure. He expects you’ll have your stuff back by Wednesday at the latest. How’s that?”

“Peachy,” Masada said. “Jab well done.”

“Funny! Funny!”

“Speaking of funny, where is the TIR Prize Mahoney made me throw away?”

“The newsboy? I’ll send it over by messenger. Also, I got a call from New York. The book division is waiting for your outline of the new book.”

“Soon.”

“They’re anxious to capitalize on your current fame. They’ll pay you the next advance as soon as you deliver the first draft. You could use the money, right?”

“Understatement of the year.”

As soon as the bathroom door closed, Professor Silver stepped out to the garage, finding the Channel 6 crew setting up. The reporter stood by the Corvette, posing for the cameraman, counting into a microphone.

“Don’t mind me,” Silver said. “Just getting something from the car.” He entered the Corvette and continued his search. Finding nothing behind the seats, he went through the car a second time, finally giving up.

Masada reappeared in a pantsuit that exaggerated her height, clinging to her narrow hips and flaring out downward in a bell shape over her shoes. She seemed to walk on air. The jacket was open in the front, showing an ivory blouse over firm breasts. She wore no jewelry and her hair was loose.

The cameraman attached a microphone to her blouse. Silver stood in the corner. It was hot, even with the big fan they had set up.

“This is Tara Flint,” the reporter said, “reporting from the home of Masada El-Tal. First, can you tell us why the FBI searched your home last night? Are you a suspect?”

Masada looked into the camera. “Senator Mahoney’s suicide was a tragic event. He was a war hero and a dedicated politician. But my article was based on irrefutable evidence and the senator’s own confession. The FBI search is nothing but harassment, and our legal counsel is fighting it.”

“Senator Mahoney accused you of failing to tell the whole story. What else do you know about Judah’s Fist, its members and its sponsors? How are you planning to expose them?”

“What I know so far has appeared in my article. I’ll continue to investigate until Judah’s Fist and its Israeli sponsors are brought to justice.”

“The Associated Press reported today that,” the reporter glanced at her notes, “according to a source in Jerusalem, a prominent Israeli-American writer was once convicted in Israel and served time for manslaughter. Are they talking about you?”

Professor Silver watched Masada’s face, admiring her self-control. She bent her right leg, shifting her weight to the left, and said, “Why don’t you ask them?”

Verdi’s
Nabucco
was playing on the radio. Elizabeth McPherson, chief counsel for the U.S. Immigration Service, Southwest Region, sifted through the photos in the file until she found the one showing the scrawny wife washing dishes. “And this, Your Honor,” Elizabeth held up the photo, “was submitted by Mr. Hector to support his application for citizenship, purporting to depict a happy wife, her loving husband hugging her while she cleans up after dinner.” Elizabeth approached the chair she had positioned under the dark window as stand-in for the judge. “Unfortunately, as this court must realize, this photo is a fake.”

The phone rang, interrupting her rehearsal for tomorrow’s court hearing. Only one person could be calling five hours after the office had closed.

“David?”

There was silence at the other end.

“Hello? David?”

The caller hung up.

Elizabeth put down the receiver and faced the empty chair. “As I was saying, Your Honor, this idyllic photo was staged in a newly constructed home where Mr. Hector worked as a painter. Moreover, close examination of this woman’s arms shows multiple needle marks.”

She paused for a certain objection from opposing counsel and responded, “My esteemed colleague forgets that drug use proves disregard for the law and need for money. Based on this evidence, we ask this court to rule that Mr. Hector’s marriage was a fraud, deny his application for citizenship and order his deportation.”

With a satisfied sigh, Elizabeth gathered the documents into the file. After her ulcer operation two years ago, she had promised Dr. Gould to leave the office no later than 10 p.m. every night, which was now according to the radio.

The hourly news began with reports of vandalism at Jewish institutions in several major cities, threatening phone calls to Jewish leaders, and demonstrations in front of the Israeli embassy in D.C. The American-Muslim Central Committee issued a statement calling for an end to the “pro-Israel hegemony in Washington.”

“That’s right,” Elizabeth said out loud.

Checking her calendar for tomorrow, she noted the 9 a.m. hearing before Judge Rashinski and a department meeting at noon. A doctor’s appointment was marked for 4 p.m. She rubbed her lower abdomen and pushed away her fears. Years of intestinal problems and hormonal irregularities had taught her to watch her diet and manage stress, but recently her abdominal discomfort resumed—not with pain, but with nausea and hardness of her lower tummy. She turned off the lights and sighed.
Why now, when everything’s going so well?

Walking down the empty hallway, Elizabeth reached into offices and turned off the lights, making a mental note to scold her staff for such waste. Exiting the elevator downstairs, she startled the guard, who stood up, his newspaper rustling. “Miss McPherson!”

“Hi, Rickie.” She pushed the door, and a gush of hot air hit her face. “Good night.”

The guard’s pickup truck was parked near the steps. Her own car, a seventeen-year-old Toyota, was in her reserved space, down from the director and his three deputies, who were long gone for the day. She didn’t mind. A female immigrant would not rise to chief counsel without exceptional diligence. She glanced up at the white building towering over her. People had expected her to slow down, but she worked even harder, determined to break through yet another glass ceiling.