Read Online Fire in a Haystack: A Thrilling Novel (Legal Mystery Book Book 1) by Erez Aharoni - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Erez Aharoni
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closed his eyes and lay on the bench. Ofer fell asleep even before his head touched the concrete surface. For some reason, he had a feeling the word of a person who lived a life of crime since he was nine years old could be trusted.
Chapter 6
A large crowd had gathered on the sidewalk in front of the old residential building next to the Shalom Tower. The entrance was sealed with plastic tape declaring it to be a closed crime scene.
Nir Alush turned off the flickering blue light on the roof of the unmarked car and tossed the portable siren back inside the vehicle. He didn’t need to take out the police ID he carried in his pocket. The policeman who kept the large crowd away from the building recognized him immediately, even though he wore civilian clothing, and let him pass with a nod.
He jumped down the stairs, two at a time, on his way to the building’s cellar. The lighted cellar was empty of people. A few of the white plastic chairs were stacked against the wall, a few more were still scattered upside down on the cellar floor.
Three members of the police forensics department were busily collecting evidence and seeking fingerprints.
A tall young woman with short black hair stood at one end of the cellar next to a whiteboard, leaning on the wall with her body slightly inclined like a question mark. Now and then, she buried her head between her hands. The injured had already been evacuated. Around the place where one of the wounded had fallen, apparently the one who was severely hurt, a white chalk circle was marked. Inside it were large, fresh bloodstains that had begun to congeal.
“What happened?” Alush asked the commanding officer dryly. The name tag on his chest identified him as Shimon Elbaz.
“A lone shooter. Possibly used an M16. Fired at least six shots. We’ve found a few of the bullets. There were a few slight injuries, and one person was severely wounded. We evacuated all of them to the hospital. They told us the name of the person who’s badly wounded is Igor Harsovsky. A Russian Jew. Oligarch. A recent immigrant. I passed on the details for verification…but they’re working slowly.”
“You did well,” said Alush and felt the adrenaline rushing in his body again. His recent tiredness dissipated as if it had never been there.
“Who’s the lady?” asked Alush, pointing at the tall young woman whose face was as pale as the wall she was leaning against.
“A lawyer. She’s in charge of this association. She manages it or serves as its legal advisor, I’m not sure exactly. She was here with more people when the shooting took place. I think you’d better talk to her.”
Alush didn’t waste any time and walked to the other end of the basement. He offered the lady a chair. “Hello, pleased to meet you. I’m Nir Alush, a district interrogation officer. Just some routine questioning. Can you tell me what happened?”
Gali Shviro introduced herself and shook his hand. Alush, who paid a lot of attention to the way people shook his hand, was surprised by her firm grip.
“Attorney Shviro, may I call you Gali?” asked Alush.
“Sure, Gali’s fine.”
“Why were you here? What took place here tonight? What was your part in all of this?” asked Alush, firing his questions at her one after the other.
She told him with a steady voice who she was, what the association was and what took place a short while ago. “It was a regular assembly of all our active Environmental Action Association members. We decided to go into a legal struggle against the Viromedical factory. We are dealing with environmental subjects…”
Gali was about to repeat the main points of her lecture when Alush cut her off, “Viromedical you say? Did I get the name right? It sounds very familiar.” Suddenly, he remembered. For the second time that night, that name had popped up, and in two different crime scenes, both with a dead body or an attempted murder. All of his senses were tingling.
“Yes, you
Chapter 6
A large crowd had gathered on the sidewalk in front of the old residential building next to the Shalom Tower. The entrance was sealed with plastic tape declaring it to be a closed crime scene.
Nir Alush turned off the flickering blue light on the roof of the unmarked car and tossed the portable siren back inside the vehicle. He didn’t need to take out the police ID he carried in his pocket. The policeman who kept the large crowd away from the building recognized him immediately, even though he wore civilian clothing, and let him pass with a nod.
He jumped down the stairs, two at a time, on his way to the building’s cellar. The lighted cellar was empty of people. A few of the white plastic chairs were stacked against the wall, a few more were still scattered upside down on the cellar floor.
Three members of the police forensics department were busily collecting evidence and seeking fingerprints.
A tall young woman with short black hair stood at one end of the cellar next to a whiteboard, leaning on the wall with her body slightly inclined like a question mark. Now and then, she buried her head between her hands. The injured had already been evacuated. Around the place where one of the wounded had fallen, apparently the one who was severely hurt, a white chalk circle was marked. Inside it were large, fresh bloodstains that had begun to congeal.
“What happened?” Alush asked the commanding officer dryly. The name tag on his chest identified him as Shimon Elbaz.
“A lone shooter. Possibly used an M16. Fired at least six shots. We’ve found a few of the bullets. There were a few slight injuries, and one person was severely wounded. We evacuated all of them to the hospital. They told us the name of the person who’s badly wounded is Igor Harsovsky. A Russian Jew. Oligarch. A recent immigrant. I passed on the details for verification…but they’re working slowly.”
“You did well,” said Alush and felt the adrenaline rushing in his body again. His recent tiredness dissipated as if it had never been there.
“Who’s the lady?” asked Alush, pointing at the tall young woman whose face was as pale as the wall she was leaning against.
“A lawyer. She’s in charge of this association. She manages it or serves as its legal advisor, I’m not sure exactly. She was here with more people when the shooting took place. I think you’d better talk to her.”
Alush didn’t waste any time and walked to the other end of the basement. He offered the lady a chair. “Hello, pleased to meet you. I’m Nir Alush, a district interrogation officer. Just some routine questioning. Can you tell me what happened?”
Gali Shviro introduced herself and shook his hand. Alush, who paid a lot of attention to the way people shook his hand, was surprised by her firm grip.
“Attorney Shviro, may I call you Gali?” asked Alush.
“Sure, Gali’s fine.”
“Why were you here? What took place here tonight? What was your part in all of this?” asked Alush, firing his questions at her one after the other.
She told him with a steady voice who she was, what the association was and what took place a short while ago. “It was a regular assembly of all our active Environmental Action Association members. We decided to go into a legal struggle against the Viromedical factory. We are dealing with environmental subjects…”
Gali was about to repeat the main points of her lecture when Alush cut her off, “Viromedical you say? Did I get the name right? It sounds very familiar.” Suddenly, he remembered. For the second time that night, that name had popped up, and in two different crime scenes, both with a dead body or an attempted murder. All of his senses were tingling.
“Yes, you
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