Read Online Triple Identity by Haggai Carmon - Free Book Online Page B

in. Then you look at the people around you. See if you can identify something unusual. Never stare or let them know you are looking. Make it seem as if you are looking through them and not at them. See how many exits the place has, and which one is best to use in case of emergency. When you check out the place, look for the unusual, something out of the ordinary that could mean trouble. That, in fact, very rarely happens, but when it does, you'd better be ready. The second piece of advice is always to sit with your back to the wall so nobody can surprise you from behind. Be ready to turn the table over and be on the move.”
    We ordered lunch. Benny looked at me pensively.
    “What's on your mind?”
    “Benny,” I opened, realizing that I needed to select my words carefully, “was Peled ever in contact with the Mossad after he left? I mean recently.”
    Benny gave me a long look. “I'll have to get back to you on that,” he said. Already I didn't like the sound of it. For the first time ever, I felt that Benny was holding out on me. But if he wanted to be evasive, why was he helping me? And if he was helping me by giving me copies of documents from DeLouise's file, why was there no information about DeLouise's last two years in the Mossad? Why the contradiction? I needed to find out why Benny was being vague. There was a pause.
    “Any progress since you've been here?” Benny asked.
    I sensed he felt my surprise and disappointment and wanted to change the subject.
    “Not much,” I said, handing him back his envelope. “I saw that Peled was married to a Mina Lerer, so I tried to find her.”
    “Any success?”
    “No. She's gone to Munich.” I looked him in the eye. “Any idea if her departure is connected to Peled?”
    Benny said nothing. He took a special interest in his sandwich. Maybe he doesn't know, I thought, trying to find a brighter side.
    “I don't know,” he finally said, with his mouth full. “But remember, Peled was trained like me and you. That stays even after we leave the shoo shoo business.” He used the old slang for clandestine activity. It had been a long time since I'd heard that.
    “So, if Peled wanted to keep things undetected, and if her departure is connected to him, you'll have to find out independently,” he concluded. “I've got to go.”
    I looked at his plate in amazement; he had devoured a New York–style hot pastrami sandwich in ten minutes. “But I'll ask someone in the office to do a search — just as a favor. I'll call you if we find anything.”
    His promise sounded useless, a token gesture. I said nothing.
    I went upstairs to my room. The telephone was ringing as I entered. It was Ralph.
    “Well, at least the neighbor wasn't lying. Ariel, the high school chemistry teacher, is Ariel Peled; she's DeLouise's daughter with Mina Lerer. She'd asked the principal very suddenly for a few days off to take care of an‘urgent family matter.’ Said she'd be back in three or four days, but it's been much longer than that already and they haven't heard from her. They're worried. Ariel isn't married and has no children. She leads a quiet life and doesn't have many friends at the school.”
    “Do you know when she asked for the leave?”
    “The principal said he thought it was on September 23, but I spoke to him at his home so he couldn't verify the exact date.”
    “Ralph, I need to find these women. Get a border-exit run on Ariel as soon as you can. I just want to make sure she hasn't disappeared like her mother.”
    More than a week away from school during the school year. That was unusual. Events were unfolding so quickly that I felt as if I were playing catch-up. “I'll call you as soon as I can,” said Ralph, picking up on the urgency in my tone.
    Twenty-five minutes later he rang.
    “You were right; she's gone too. Left on September 24. Guess where she was headed?”
    “Munich,” I stated flatly.
    “That's right,” he said approvingly, and gave me the flight