Read Online The Jerusalem Diamond by Noah Gordon - Free Book Online

yourself. My God,” Akiva said.
    The waiter came and Harry ordered glumly, chopped liver and a salad. Akiva, who perhaps didn’t know about kosher restaurants in America, chose a rib steak, and Netscher ordered the boiled beef and a bottle of slivovitz.
    â€œHe’ll be here in New York. He’ll be in absolutely no danger. For that matter, neither will you, in all likelihood. You’ll go into Israel. If the diamond is what they say it is, you’ll buy it. And you’ll bring it right out.”
    â€œI don’t want him involved. Why can’t you understand that?”
    â€œHarry, I don’t like the disrespect. You talk as if I’m not here.”
    Harry ignored him. “And don’t tell me there’s no risk. You’ve already told me there’s risk.”
    Akiva sighed. “All right, let’s talk about the risk,” he said. “There are guerrillas in our neighborhood of the world who would like to get the diamond and use it as a symbol of Arabism. There are undoubtedly others who would enjoy getting the stone for the money it would bring. But security in Israel is good, we can offer you a certain amount of protection against them. You will be more vulnerable against the sellers.They will give you the diamond only after it has been paid for in America. Until the deal is consummated, you will be there as a hostage.”
    â€œA hostage,” Harry said.
    â€œYes. If you try to take their diamond without payment, they will kill you.”
    â€œI’ve managed to do a great deal of diamond business without this … stupidity. We’ll just have to arrange a more routine transaction.”
    Akiva shrugged. “This is how they want it.”
    â€œFuck the way they want it!”
    â€œListen, Harry. It’s all right,” Netscher said suddenly. “They threaten to murder you if you are a crook. But my dear Harry, you are not a crook.”
    He had been noticing a fine tremor occasionally shake Netscher’s head; and when his hands were not clasped, the left one trembled. When Harry was a boy, they had been neighbors on East Ninety-sixth Street and most afternoons he and his father had met Saul in the YMHA on Lexington and Ninety-second. In the steam room the two men would blissfully swallow hot fog and argue about everything from Schopenhauer to chiropody, while Harry learned to survive in a child’s hell of difficult breathing and shrill contention and giant hairy groins. In those days Netscher was an undersized Charles Atlas, a weight-lifter of such prowess the other men called him
Shtarkeh-Moyze
, the closest they could come to Mighty Mouse. Once he had shampooed Harry’s head in the shower and the boy thought his scalp had been lifted, believing ever after that Saul Netscher’s fingers could bend iron. Eventually he had become old enough to fill his afternoons in his own way, and when his father had married Essie, the daily meetings of the two men in the YMHA had slackened and finally ceased. But over the years Harry had continued to think of Netscher as
Shtarkeh-Moyze
. Now he saw that between his last glance and this one, Mighty Mouse had grown old.
    â€œGo there and make a deal,” Netscher said. “If the stone looks suspicious to you—if anything at all gets in the way of the purchase—come right home. They won’t give us trouble if they’re really only people with something to sell.”
    Akiva’s steak looked as tough as Harry had expected, but he wasattacking it with apparent enjoyment, the only one at the table who was eating his lunch.
    â€œHow will I get in touch with them?”
    â€œThey will get in touch with you,” Akiva said. “I shall let them know you will be coming. The man who will contact you is named Mehdi. Yosef Mehdi.” Akiva spelled it several times, slowly, until Harry nodded. “He’ll take you to the merchandise.”
    â€œSuppose he wants to