Intellectuals for Arab Independence, based in Lebanon, pointed out that the Israeli government was up to its old tricks of trying to enlist world sympathy by pretending that the victim of the bombing was a harmless civilian. It was well known that Memavet was connected with the Jewish Agency and had been on a secret mission to Zurich only a few days before.
The Palestinian Committee, based in Syria, explained that 1 Mazel Tov Street was a secret Israeli Army installation, an electronic nerve center which their brave commandos had destroyed and that Memavet's death had been purely accidental.
Cairo's Al-Ahram asserted that the Israeli government was concealing the true facts of the incident. It quoted the head of the Palestine Liberation League who said that a secret strategy meeting was being held at 1 Mazel Tov Street at the time, that it had been attended by a number of high Israeli officials and that the death toll might reach fifty.
The Anglo-Arab Friendship League in its newsletter suggested that there was ample evidence that the bombing had been done by Israelis for the purpose of enlisting world sympathy as they had attempted to do by planting bombs in commercial airliners and blaming the Arabs for it.
The rabbi heard the news on the late radio newscast. The first shock of realizing that the man killed was someone he had been with, spoken to. only that very morning was immediately translated into the feeling that he should take some action. He called Stedman.
"Yes, I heard the news earlier around the lobby here. Shocking!"
"I think we should go to the police." said the rabbi.
"To the police? Why should we go to the police? What can we tell them that will be of any earthly use. Rabbi?"
"We could tell him what he told us. You could play that tape for them. About his enemy—"
"Forgive me. Rabbi, but you just aren't thinking straight. If it had been whatsisname— Rasnikov— who had been killed, then our story of Memavet's enmity might be of some use to them. But it was Memavet that was killed."
"Still, I think they should know."
"Believe me, they know. Or if they don't they'll know soon enough. They'll just inquire at that shop where he had his desk and—"
"How do you know he told the story there?"
"Come now." said Stedman. "you heard what the mechanic said. He said he was a crazy old man who'd tell you his troubles— how did he put it? Oh, yes— at the drop of a hat. You don't suppose we were the first to hear that story, then, three perfect strangers? If he told it to us. you can be sure he's told it to anyone who would listen."
The rabbi was uncertain. "But still. I think— I mean it would do no harm if—"
"Rabbi." Stedman said with assurance. "I’ve done a lot of traveling in foreign countries, and there's one thing I’ve learned: You don't get involved with police if you can avoid it. I know in Israel you think it's different, but take my word for it: Police are the same the world over. Now there's nothing we can tell them except that we saw him on the morning of the day he was killed. There may have been any number of visitors after us. That doctor saw him just a little before it happened."
"Still. I'd like to talk to you about it. Perhaps we could get together sometime tomorrow—"
"I'm sorry, Rabbi, but I'm off to Haifa first thing in the morning. I'll be away a few days. We'll get together when I get back."
The rabbi hung up, but he was troubled. Everything Stedman had said was true, but he still felt that they ought to go to the police. And yet, he could not go alone. It might raise questions of why Stedman had not similarly reported, and that might make for the very involvement his friend was trying to avoid.
Chapter Thirty
Hey, how come the tan, V. S.? You been in Florida, or did you buy one of those sun lamps?"
"Florida? No. Katz and I were in Israel."
"Israel? No kidding. Hey, guys, V. S. was in Israel. When did you get back?"
"Day before yesterday. We just went over for ten days— on business."
It was the Sunday morning Brotherhood Breakfast, and the members were still drifting in, still standing around greeting one another, as the members of the committee set up the round tables, laid the tablecloths and silverware — quite unlike Sisterhood affairs where everything was made ready the day before.
They crowded around Markevitch. "How was it there, V. S.?"
"How was the weather?"
"Any Arabs take a shot at you, V. S.?"
"You starting a branch in Israel. V. S.? You becoming one of these international financial wizards?"
"Tell me. are the people worried? Are they scared?"
"Scared?" boomed V. S. Markevitch. "Let me tell you something: You can go out walking, any city there, anytime day or night. We'd go out for a walk after midnight, me and Katz, and on dark streets, and nobody thought anything of it."
"Did you get to see all the sights? Where'd you go?"
"Oh, most of the time we were in the hands of the Ministry of Industrial Development guys. They showed us around, and they introduced us to some of the big shots in the government. It was quite a trip."
"Did you get to Jerusalem? Did you see the rabbi?"
"Yeah." said V. S., "we saw him. We were with him pretty much all one day. He showed us around."
"Did he show you King David's Tomb?"
"How about the Chagall windows? That was the first thing I saw when I went."
"You went to the Hadassah Hospital, didn't you?"
"I hope you visited Meah Shearim."
"The most impressive place we saw when we went over was the Yad Vashem. You got a chance to see that?"
Markevitch. grinning from ear to ear. turned from one questioner to the other. Finally, he held up both hands as if in surrender. "To tell the truth, guys, we didn't get a chance to see any of those places. Like I said, the rabbi was showing us around. He figured we'd want to see the Wall, which we did. And he showed us through the Old City, which we could have done without. I mean, as far as I'm concerned it's just a bunch of smelly little alleys. And then we went over to take a look at the university, and that took up pretty much the whole day. To tell the truth"— he lowered his voice to a loud whisper—"I got the impression that the rabbi didn't know half the places you guys mentioned."
"Yeah? By now I would’ve thought he'd know every little nook and cranny."
Markevitch shrugged. "That's what we figured. To tell the truth, that was one of the reasons we called him. We figured he'd know what there was to see."
"I guess maybe he just hasn't had time to go sightseeing. I suppose he's at the university library all day long—■
"You kidding?" Markevitch was scornful. "When he took us out there, he admitted he'd only been there a couple of times before."
"So what's he do there?"
"As near as we could make out. he just loafs, maybe takes a walk, stops in at a cafe for coffee— like that."
"I know he's no ball of fire, but I figure in Jerusalem and all— say. did he mention when he was coming home?"
Markevitch shook his head slowly. "Not a word. And that's kind of funny when you come to think of it. I mean, you’d think that saying good-bye, he'd say something like 'See you in Barnard's Crossing.' But not a word. Just good-bye."
"What are you getting at, V. S.?"
"Well, you know that idea I talked about at our last meeting, you know, about us having two associate rabbis. Well, I kind of sounded him out on it."