Fire in a Haystack: A Thrilling Novel (Legal Mystery Book Book 1) by Erez Aharoni Read Free Book Online Page B

mind. “We parted company next to the Diamond Exchange District in Ramat Gan,” he said, realizing that he had no recourse but to tell the entire story if he wanted to finally go home.
    “What were you doing there?” Alush became matter-of-fact again.
    Ofer didn’t know what to say. What was an intern doing in a strip club? His lawyer’s license was just around the corner. What would his mother say? He’d already gotten tangled up with his answer about the yellow-haired chambermaid. Ofer’s discomfort intensified.
    “You’d better answer,” said Dadon and hit the table forcefully with a small broomstick. The stick cracked in half. “Or would you like to spend some time inside a tiny cell with six or seven more detainees who would love to interrogate the nature of your relationship with the pink English tourist and the band of hippopotamuses that danced on his tie?”
    All at once, it was clear to Ofer that his question wasn’t entirely hypothetical. “All right. We were in a club together. You can check it out. They’ll probably remember us,” said Ofer.
    “Which club exactly? We know all the clubs in the Diamond Exchange District,” Alush hurried to say with pride in his voice.
    “The place is called Paradise. It’s not far from the theater.”
    “Why didn’t you tell us that from the start?” asked Dadon.
    “I was a little ashamed. But Rodety wanted to see ‘Zionist breasts.’”
    “Well, and did you see Zionist breasts together?” he continued to take interest.
    “Yes. A little bit—I mean a little bit of time and a little bit of breasts. And I’m not so sure they were Zionist. I went home after about half an hour; he stayed there by himself,” answered Ofer.
    “What did he do later?” Alush changed the direction of the investigation.
    “I don’t know.” Ofer was glad a truthful answer was now the best option.
    “Do you go to the Paradise Club on a regular basis?”
    “Of course not. I was only there once before, at a bachelor party.”
    “So you and Rodety had a relationship outside of work,” said Alush.
    “You can’t call that a relationship. Don’t put words in my mouth. This was just something I was forced to do for work. I didn’t stay there. I went home after a little more than thirty minutes.” Once again, he felt his flushed cheeks were about to fume. He prayed that they wouldn’t ask him what he was doing in every single one of the thirty minutes he spent in the Paradise Club.
    “That’s not enough. The details you’ve provided us with are very vague. As someone who’s supposed to be on the side of the law pretty soon, you’re not really good at being precise.” Dadon was getting angry.
    “You’re making a big deal out of nothing. I can’t believe you’re wasting your time on this.”
    Alush joined in. “Mr. Angel, please don’t be a smart-ass. Your whole story is very unclear. A man was found dead in a hotel. You gave us a very weird version of a very simple matter. The chambermaid who supposedly opened the door for you has disappeared from the face of the earth. It looks like she wasn’t even there. Now it turns out that you weren’t in a real hurry to tell us about the interesting choice of entertainment you shared with the man who’s now a body. I don’t like it when my fish just happen to get off the hook. You get it, Angel?”
    Ofer nodded to indicate he did.
    “You are going into custody tonight. We’ll decide what to do with you tomorrow. Either we’ll continue with the investigation or we’ll take you to the polygraph. Perhaps we’ll take you straight to the judge.”
    Dadon added, “You can use the night to remember exactly, and I mean exactly, what you did and didn’t do. And try not to come up with a different version, because we’re going to check it out and if you’ve misled us in any way, you’re going to smell Lysol for a long time. Maybe even drink a bit as well.”
    “You’re arresting me? I thought you were only detaining