I got off the bus at the hot, dusty town of Be'er Sheva and checked my luggage in a locker. There was one taxi standing outside the bus station. I asked the middle-aged, bald driver:
"Do you speak English and how many years have you been driving taxi?"
"Yes and 25 years. Why is this important?"
"I need someone who knows Be'er Sheva well to help me find someone. Do you know where the Ya'akov family lives and can you take me there now?"
The taxi driver introduced himself as Ronin and offered me a Time cigarette. Taxi drivers are the same all over the world β compulsive talkers. It must be the captive audience. Ronin discussed the state of the shekel, how the
haredim
(ultra-orthodox Jews) were taking away everybody's idea of a fun time and gave me a short history of Be'er Sheva from Avraham to the Likud Party. Ronin had the time to expound on all these topics because the Ya'akovs' home was a large villa on the outskirts of the town. I went up to the gate but nobody answered the intercom. I went back dejectedly to the taxi and told Ronin:
"Nobody's there."
"You didn't ask me if anyone was home. Yishai Ya'akov only lives there when the Knesset isn't sitting or he isn't cooking up some deal in the back rooms. I've only seen him come back to Be'er Sheva at
Pesach
and
Yom Kippur
. Oh, also he throws a great party at
Purim
. So, tell me, what do you want with one of our politicians?"
As if I could have gotten a word in edgewise when Ronin was talking and wagging his finger. Ronin looked like a decent guy, even if he talked too much, so I decided to take him into my confidence. I explained that I was looking for Tamar Ya'akov because I had met her five years ago and had fallen in love with her in three short weeks. I explained that her father had taken her away from me when she dropped me off at the airport. The last place she had been stationed during her army service was here in Be'er Sheva. Ronin just shook his head.
"Do you know that Yishai Ya'akov would turn you over to Shin Bet for another interrogation if he'd been in that house and you came looking for his daughter? You have to carry out your search in a more indirect, Israeli fashion. I suggest that you try some of Tamar's friends who might know where she would be now. Most of her school friends left Be'er Sheva after their army service but Delilah Toledano still lives here. Why don't you find out if Delilah knows anything?"
Ronin began a lecture on another subject, of which he was the greatest expert: how there were no opportunities for young people in Be'er Sheva. We drove to another villa in the same expensive neighbourhood. He let me out and closed the taxi's door.
"I can tell Delilah's at home because the gate is open. I'll leave you here for a couple of hours. It's my lunch break and I take
ha'atzorim
(siesta) after lunch. We'll settle up the fare when I pick you up. Have a nice chat with Delilah."
A woman opened the door in response to my knocking. It wasn't just a woman but a very beautiful woman. I judged that she was, indeed, in her mid-twenties, the same age as Tamar. She had the black hair, brown eyes and olive skin of a
Mizrachi
(Eastern) Jew. Her black hair was expensively coifed, I could tell even though I know nothing about hair styling. Most men don't know their hair styles except they know what they like. Well, maybe Mr. Bruce at the Whitehorse Beauty Salon knows hair styles but I'm clueless.
The woman was petite, slim but well built in the chest, as are most Israeli women. I could make out her protruding tits, even though she was wearing a rather shapeless caftan. Damn, these Israeli women must sport the biggest tits on earth. I stopped ogling the woman and got down to business.
"Do you speak English and are you Delilah Toledano?" I asked.
"Yes and yes. Who are you and how may I help you?"
"My name is Chris. I'm from Canada and I'm a friend of Tamar Ya'akov. I'm told that you went to school with Tamar and that you were still friends when she was posted here in Be'er Sheva. Can you help me find Tamar? I haven't seen her for five years."
"Yes, Chris. Tamar talked a lot about you when she was posted in Be'er Sheva. Please come inside, I'll put on the
finjan
and we'll talk about Tamar over coffee."
I sat down in the living room and surveyed Delilah's house while she performed the coffee ritual in the kitchen. The house was cool from the