"I wish it could wait, Doctor, but the matter is of some urgency. I'd appreciate it greatly if you could spare a few minutes now. My client would too."

The reference to Gafni proved irresistible, as I hoped it would. Leitner wanted to remain on good terms with my client in the hope of extracting more donations from him.

"All right, Mr. Lapid. But I don't have much time. Dinner will soon be ready."

"This won't take long," I said, and with a twist of the mouth, he gestured me inside.

The living room was spacious and well-appointed. A piano stood against one wall. A few expensive glass lamps were arranged about the room. On the large dining table, a couple of bouquets of radiant flowers soaked in vases, and next to them stood a bottle of wine with a bow around its neck.

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

Leitner puffed his scrawny chest. "They're for me. It was announced this morning that I will be the next head physician of Ariel Hospital."

"Congratulations. When do you assume your new post?"

"In three months."

Atop the piano stood photos of Dr. Leitner alongside a plump, gray-haired woman and a boy of Bar Mitzvah age who not only bore a striking resemblance to his father, but also appeared to share his imperious stare.

"I'm sure your family is proud of you," I said.

A door to my right swung open, letting in the enticing scent of vegetable stew. In the doorway, wearing a red apron and an expression of surprise, stood the woman from the photos. Mrs. Leitner.

"Oh." She moved her gaze from me to Leitner. Her demeanor and tone seemed more appropriate to a housekeeper than a wife. "I didn't know you were expecting company, Yosef. Will your guest be staying for dinner?"

Leitner shook his head. "No, Ada. Mr. Lapid will only be here for a few minutes." And to me: "Mr. Lapid, let's continue our conversation in my study."

I nodded at Mrs. Leitner and followed her husband to a small room at the far end of the apartment. Leitner shut the door after us.

The study housed two chairs, a desk, and shelves crowded with books. A glass ashtray heaped with dead cigarettes stood next to a used tulip glass and a fat bottle of what appeared to be expensive cognac. The windows were shut. The sweet, woody aroma of the beverage mingled unpleasantly with that of the cigarettes, each unable to escape the other. There were no pictures of his family.

Leitner looked discomfited by my seeing the cognac. He waved a begrudging hand at the bottle. "Would you care for some?"

"No. Nothing for me."

"As you please," Leitner said, looking relieved as he lowered himself into his chair. "Now, what would you like to ask me?"

I sat in the chair before his desk but didn't speak, just riveted my eyes to his, keeping my face impassive.

Leitner shifted in his seat. "Well? Aren't you going to say something?"

I remained silent. I could see it was getting to him. Leitner wet his lips. He drew out a cigarette and soon had it burning. After a bracing drag, he said, "Listen, I don't know what game—"

I cut him off. "I met a friend of yours today."

Leitner blinked. "Oh? And who might that be?"

"A fellow by the name of Ruslander. Remember him?"

Leitner had just pulled on his cigarette. Shocked by my revelation, he choked on the smoke. He started coughing, face turning red, eyes tearing. I made no move to help him.

"Yeah, I can tell that you do. He sends his apologies, by the way; he won't be reporting on my movements any longer."

Leitner coughed one last time, then hissed out a curse. "That incompetent fool. What did he tell you?"

"A whole bunch of interesting things. He and I had a nice long chat. One of the things he told me is that you hired him. He didn't know why."

"It was for the sake of the hospital," Leitner said quickly, grabbing hold of the first lie that flitted across his mind. "I was worried your investigation might cast the hospital in a bad light. I wanted to be forewarned of any adverse development."

"The hospital is very important to you, isn't it, Doctor?"

"It's my life," Leitner stated simply, and I wondered where that absolute viewpoint put his wife and son.

"And it's very important for you to be head physician."

"Yes, and for the same reason. I can do the best job for the hospital. For its reputation, its status in Israel and around the world." He was livening up, getting into it. I could tell this was something he fervently believed in, his indispensable role in making that vision come true. But mostly, it was about himself, as Dr. Aboulker had told me.

"You forgot the patients," I said.

"Huh?"

"You mentioned status and reputation, but you didn't mention the patients. Aren't they the most important?"

Leitner cleared his throat, smoothed the front of his vest. "Of course they are. All I do is in order to be able to provide better care to our patients. Anything that harms the hospital harms our patients, which was why I thought it prudent to have you watched, just to be on the safe side."

"It's a nice story. Admirable if true. But it's not true, is it?"

Leitner pushed himself straight. "I'm not sure what you mean, Mr. Lapid."

"I mean that you didn't have me followed out of worry for the hospital, but for yourself. Ruslander told me I wasn't the first person you had him follow. That a few months ago, you put him on Moria Gafni."

It had been more than a minute since Leitner had last attended to his cigarette. During that time it had built up a long column of ash that now collapsed onto the desk. Leitner swore, quickly stubbed out the offending remnant, and brushed the ash off the desk into the ashtray.

In no time, he had a new cigarette burning and was sucking on it nervously. The large pile of stubs in his ashtray told me he'd been on edge even before I knocked on his door. Probably because Ruslander had told him I was back in Jerusalem, sniffing about.

"As you can see, Doctor, I know everything. So why not do me a favor and quit lying, okay?"

Leitner flashed me a baleful look. "What is it you want, Mr. Lapid?"

"I want you to tell me everything. Omit nothing."

"What for, if you already know it all?"

"I want to hear you say it. I want to understand."

"Okay. If you must."

"Why did you have Moria Gafni followed?"