Oh, I’m going to spy on you and plant a bug in your house, Mimi said to herself. She hugged Vera and said, “I was going through my closet, and I found this pretty sweater. It was Chrissie’s. I thought you should have it.”
The sweater brought tears to Vera’s eyes, and she pressed it against her cheek. “I remember seeing Chrissie in this sweater so many times. She loved it. I bought it for her at Lytton’s two years ago. Thank you, Mimi. It was so thoughtful of you to bring it to me.”
Mimi felt a pang of guilt. I wasn’t thoughtful, Vera, I was deceitful, and you don’t deserve it, she thought. “Chrissie always looked so pretty in that blue sweater,” Mimi said. “She was a beautiful girl, inside and out.” With that, the two of them gave in to their tears and held each other in a deeply felt embrace. Vera led Mimi into the living room and asked her housekeeper to bring them some tea.
They chatted for a while, with each one recalling what life had been like since the funeral. Days were long and filled with sadness for Vera. Nothing would ever be the same. Chrissie was their only child. They would never have a grandchild. All of Vera’s visions of the future had burst like a bubble. Mimi said that not a day went by that she didn’t think of Chrissie, and no friend would ever take her place.
Finally, Mimi decided it was time to carry out her mission. She asked to be excused to use the bathroom. “Don’t get up,” she said to Vera. “I know my way around.”
“You should,” Vera said, “you’ve been coming here since you were a little girl. Use the powder room off the foyer.”
The door to the office was faintly lit by the foyer light. Mimi ducked into the office, looked around, placed the device on a shelf and breezed out. The whole thing took very little time. She returned to the living room with a bitter taste in her mouth.
* * *
“Well, mission accomplished, Eli. I planted the bug behind the books on the third shelf. If there were accounting ledger books, I didn’t see them. They certainly weren’t on the bookshelves. They weren’t on his desk or on the table in the corner. I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You did a great job, Mimi!”
She responded softly. “I did what you asked, but I feel like a shit. I deceived a very nice person. My presence in her home was a lie. I have no illusions; I was there for the purpose of destroying her husband and collaterally, her way of life. Vera’s a lovely woman, and she thinks of me as family. She’s lost her only child, and now I have betrayed her. She trusted me. I’m a deceitful rat.”
“Mimi, you were there to bring murderers and corrupt profiteers to justice. You were doing it for Christine. Witold Zielinski’s way of life is a lie. Mrs. Zielinski will understand when the truth comes out. This group of dishonest and unprincipled men betrays society’s trust. Christine was murdered because her existence threatened their shameful operation. They are no better than common street criminals, and they deserve no better treatment.”
“I know. But Vera didn’t do anything wrong, and I’m sure she knows nothing about her husband’s criminal activities.”
“In time you’ll feel better about this. Sooner or later, this was going to happen anyway.”
Mimi nodded unconvincingly and went upstairs to her apartment.
* * *
Three days later, Mimi received a call and an urgent request to meet at Eli’s apartment after work.
“Mimi, we need you to go back to the Zielinskis’. The device has stopped working.”
“I was just there three days ago. Please, Eli, I can’t do it again. I still feel terrible about the whole thing.”
Ryan stepped forward. “The bug worked perfectly for three days. We have hours of prime material. We have six executives on tape, along with Stanley and the congressman. It’s dynamite. Then suddenly the bug stopped working.”
“Don’t you have enough?”
“Enough for the ones on tape, yes, but there are three more contractors who have yet to meet with the congressman. Roland, Johnson and Locker have yet to cut their deals. Mimi, you don’t know what a tower you’re helping to bring down. It’s a bombshell, but we can’t let three of the country’s most corrupt contractors get away because of a broken device. We have to replace the bug.”
Mimi shook her head. “I can’t. I was lucky last time. Everything fell into place. No one saw me. I can’t use the same excuses again. Am I supposed to find another sweater? Am I supposed to pop in again unannounced? Am I supposed to have a bladder attack again and have to use the powder room in the foyer? It’s not going to work, Cliff.”
“It has to work,” Ryan said. “I want those three. The congressman is going to a community forum at seven tonight at the Albany Park Community Center. Please, Mimi, go over there tonight. You’ll think of something. Don’t let us down.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
FÖHRENWALD
FÖHRENWALD DP CAMP
AMERICAN ZONE
SEPTEMBER 1947
There was great excitement in the Föhrenwald camp on September 27, 1947, for on that day the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine submitted its report and recommendations to the General Assembly. There would be a vote later in the fall. If two-thirds of the members approved, the British mandate would be divided into two states: one for Jews and one for Arabs. Even though the Arab leadership stated it would never accept such a plan, confidence was high that the resolution would pass. The State of Israel would become a reality sometime within the next year. It was almost certain.
To the residents of Föhrenwald and other displaced persons camps, an affirming vote would mean that the door to Israel would open for them. Ships of refugees would no longer be turned around by the British fleet or diverted to Cyprus. It was cause for celebration, and as it had the previous May, the Föhrenwald camp threw a party.
Those who could bake, baked. Those who could decorate, decorated. And those who could make music—well, a klezmer band played joyful dancing music, and Adinah led the hall in a community sing-along. Izaak and Eli were sitting at a table enjoying carrot cake and soft drinks when Adinah came over, held out her hand and said, “Dance with me.”
Izaak started to get out of his chair, but Adinah said, “Hold on, Izzie. This time I mean the old man.”
“Old?” Eli said with mock indignation. “Who’s old?”
“You, if you don’t get up and dance with me.”
Izaak looked at Eli, smiled and nodded. “You better do what she says.”
“It’s just a dance, Eli.”
Eli rose, took Adinah’s hand and walked onto the dance floor. “You know, I haven’t danced with anyone in—”
She put her finger on his lips. “Shh. Dance with me.”
* * *
Later that night, after Adinah finished telling Izaak a bedtime story, after she had kissed him good night and tucked him in, she walked out to the kitchen. “It’s your turn,” she said to Eli. “And, fair warning, he might tease you about your dancing.”
“I had a lot of fun at the party tonight, Papa. Do you suppose we’ll get to go to Israel next year?”