The Kabbalist by Yoram Katz Page B

to
control his growing anger. He pointed at the chair in front of him and sat down
on his side of the desk. Porat stretched himself in the chair, looked at Luria
with his all-knowing eyes, and said nothing.
    “What can I do for you,
Attorney Porat?”
    Porat kept staring at
him. “Do we have to play this game?” he asked eventually.
    “Excuse me?”
    “You know very well why
I am here.”
    “Do I?”
    “Really, Luria, you
should know by now that you must not underestimate my intelligence. Please stop
this charade.”
    “Can you please
explain?” Luria was actually starting to enjoy this.
    “So you do insist on
playing the game. OK, I’ll play along, then. I want to strike a deal with you.”
    “What deal?”
    “I know my wife paid
you a visit, and I know that you are gathering material on me. I am willing to
double whatever she is paying, to have you conclude this investigation with
negative results.”
    Luria kept silent.
    “With what you are
getting from her, that’s three times…”
    “Attorney Porat, please!”
It was now Porat’s turn to turn silent.
    “Even if what you say were true,” said Luria quietly, “what you are asking me to do is criminal and is
also in violation of every ethical rule in the book. You are insulting me!”
    “What ethical rules?
Don’t make me laugh! Since when do ethics have anything to do with your
profession?”
    Luria stood up, noisily
pushing his chair back. “Good night, Mr. Porat, our conversation is over.”
    Porat understood he had
gone too far. “Wait a minute, Luria, don’t lose your temper. Please forgive me.
I never meant to insult you. Let’s get this conversation back on its proper
tracks.”
    Luria stayed on his
feet. “Mr. Porat, I am afraid you do not understand. This has nothing to do
with me being insulted. I just cannot help you.”
    Porat grew red with
indignation. “I am not sure you have taken into account the consequences of a rash
act by yourself, Luria”
    “Is this a threat?”
    “I am just asking you
to reconsider. My wife is leaving tomorrow for a long vacation in Europe, and
this leaves us some time. I will expect to hear your final answer in a few
days. Shall we say Monday?”
    “Don’t expect any of
this to happen. Really, Mr. Porat, this conversation has exhausted itself.
Good-bye and good night to you.”
    Porat rose from his
chair and started walking out. Before reaching the door, he turned around.
“Luria, you are a clever guy. Please do not play with fire. You of all
people should know this. My advice to you is to think this over again.” He
slammed the door behind him.
    Luria dropped into his
chair. A small vein beating in his right temple testified to his anger. He was
not sure what made him angrier. Was it Porat or was it the nature of the work
he had found for himself? Yossi Luria was not the type to be intimated. Threats,
in fact, had the opposite effect on him, driving him to fight back. Porat and
his friends did not scare him, but he would have preferred going into battle over
worthier causes.
    The phone rang again.
“What is it now, Noga?”
    “There is somebody here
to see you, and yes, she has made no appointment.”
    “I am having nausea.
Can you push it to tomorrow morning?”
    “Tomorrow you are out
of the office all day. You had better see her now.”
    Luria hesitated. He
needed some time for himself, but Noga was right. “OK, Send her in.”
    “Good. She does not
speak Hebrew. Try English or French.”
    Almost immediately, the
door was opened by Noga, who usually never bothered to escort clients into his office.
Luria stood up. Into the room walked a young woman of twenty-five or so, who
seemed to have stepped out of the cover of Vogue . She was undoubtedly
one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She walked towards him and
extended her hand. “Mr. Luria, my name is Jeanne. Jeanne de Charney.” Her
English had a conspicuous French accent.
    The smell of her
perfume distracted Luria for a