Desert Pawn

By Joel Feiss

Desert Pawn is a contemporary, character-driven mystery that begins with the kidnapping of Mary Ann Berman, an American newlywed honeymooning with her husband, Dr. Daniel Berman, in Eilat, Israel. Shoshana Rich and Yonah Ferreres are the Shin Bet lead investigators who are charged to rescue Mary Ann and capture the perpetrators. In the backdrop of Israels high stakes conflict with Palestinian fundamentalists, the investigators have many problems to solve. Who are the kidnappers? Is Mary Ann still alive, and if she is, where is she being held? What ransom are the kidnappers going to demand? Would Mary Anns family or the United States break protocol and pay a ransom? The investigators are led through a series of twists and turns that involve the political and historical relationships between Israel, the United States, and the Hamas-led Palestinians.

A turning point in the investigation occurs when Mary Anns stepfather, Leo Fields, a Baptist minister and ardent supporter of Israel, arrives to assist in the investigation. He is personally drawn into a world he thought he had left behind. Following his arrival, the characters are swept into a world of intrigue, global politics, and revealed past truths.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524659370

Joel Feiss

Joel Feiss, the author of Retribution for Acts of Terrorism, The Formula, In the Name of Honor, Desert Pawn, Pickup Murder, The Watchlist, and Cable News in the Time of Covid-19, is a practicing gastroenterologist and internist in Plantation, Florida. He graduated from the University of Florida with a BS and an MD degree from the University of Miami Medical School. He currently lives with his wife, Pearl, in Fort Lauderdale. The Clock Is Ticking is a contemporary murder mystery that also explores the potential role of CRISPR technology in the treatment of genetic diseases and its place in the ever-changing biotech industry. 

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© 2017 . All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/10/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5938-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5936-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-5937-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017900469

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Epilogue

Dedication

This book could not have been written without the support, editing skills, and encouragement of my wife Pearl.

We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us

—Golda Meir

If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no Israel.

—Benjamin Netanyahu

Acknowledgments

T HIS NOVEL, LIKE my previous novels, could not have been written without the support of my family, friends, and patients. A special thanks to the editing support of my wife, Pearl, Lesli Rosenblatt, Louis Reinstein, and Stratton Sterghos. A special thanks to Josh Karsh for his review and encouragement.

Prologue

I T WAS MIDNIGHT in Boca Raton, Florida. The call was placed to a cell phone in the Gaza Strip. The caller spoke in Arabic. He spoke quickly, but he was explicit. We have tracked him for three months. We are sure he is who we thought he was. His stepdaughter will be arriving in Israel tomorrow. The plan is in place. You have the support you need. The phone went dead.

Eilat is a beach resort town on the southern tip of Israel on the Gulf of Aqaba which is contiguous to the Red Sea. It is at this geographical area that Israel borders with Jordan to its east and Egypt to the west. Saudi Arabia, also on the Gulf of Aqaba, is to the southeast. The Royal Beach, a five star hotel, located on the beach in Eilat, has three outdoor pools, a spa with a Turkish steam bath, and all of the amenities that a young newlywed couple could desire on their honeymoon.

It was July, 2016 and the sun was beginning to set when Mary Ann Berman decided to jog along the beach by herself. She quietly got dressed in her running shorts, t-shirt, and jogging shoes. She looked over at her husband of one week as he slept. They had been honeymooning in Israel for the last week and decided to spend two days relaxing in Eilat before returning home to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to spend the rest of their lives building a family together.

Mary Ann was happy, relaxed, and content as she stepped out on their twelfth floor balcony that looked out over the Gulf of Aqaba. Her blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her brown eyes scanned the horizon as she stretched for several minutes. She stepped back into their room, kissed her husband lightly on the cheek, so as not to wake him, and exited into the hall. She then took the elevator down, turned on her I-Phone, and headed for the beach. She started to jog along the deserted beach listening to her favorite rendition of Hallelujah by Chris Botti. The sand was soft, warm, grainy, and forgiving to her stride as she gathered speed along the shore. Her mind was almost blank as the rhythm of the music and her breathing consumed her.

She checked her watch as she approached the Jordanian border and realized that she had been running for thirty minutes, so she turned, and headed back toward her hotel. The sun had almost set and the beach was deserted. She could see the lights of the Eilat Marina and Wharf in the distance. The carnival rides were already illuminated. There was a small fishing boat several hundred yards off the beach. Her thoughts turned to the magnificent last week of exploring historical biblical sights, and seeing high tech scientific advancements in medicine, agriculture, and computer software. They had stayed in five star hotels. The food was great. It was perfect. Their guide, Udi was knowledgeable in archeology, the history of the Middle East, and both the Old and New Testaments. His energy level was infectious. He drove a late model SUV that carried ample water, hiking, and camping supplies.

She was several hundred yards from her hotel when out of nowhere two young, clean-shaven men were on the beach in front of her. They were dressed in jeans, t-shirts, baseball caps, and tennis shoes. They slowly walked toward Mary Ann as she jogged toward them. They looked like a couple of Israeli college students or young tourists from Europe or the United States. She slowed down and removed her ear buds. They continued to slowly approach, smiled at her, and waved in a friendly manner. At first she was relieved by their smiles, but then she noticed that one of them was holding a black cloth. She realized that something was wrong. Her heart started to pound. She broke out into a cold sweat. She turned to run in the opposite direction but stopped dead in her tracks when she saw two other men approach from behind her. These two were bearded, tall, and very muscular. She looked around for help but the area was deserted. She panicked when she realized that they were closing in on her, and she had nowhere to go. She began to hyperventilate. Her legs were frozen. She dropped her phone in the sand. Several seconds later she felt a sting in her arm, and within seconds everything turned black.

Chapter 1

I SRAEL’S INTERNAL SECURITY Agency, also known as Shin Bet, or Shabak, is similar to the British MI5 or the American FBI. Its motto is Defender that shall not be seen or The unseen shield. In addition to the Arab Affairs department that deals with Arab-related counterterrorism activities in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, the ISA is also responsible for protecting high-value individuals and locations in Israel. They are responsible for infrastructure, airlines, and foreign embassies. The agents for the ISA collaborate extensively with Israeli Police and the Israel Defense Force. The present head of the ISA, Nadav Argaman answers only to the Prime Minister. The ISA was established during the 1948 Israeli-Arab war for Independence as part of the IDF, but in 1949 became an independent agency. They had multiple notable successes throughout history, but one significant failure tarnished their record when in 1995 they failed to prevent the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzak Rabin by a right-wing Israeli radical, Yigal Amir.

The local police were called in to investigate Mary Ann’s kidnapping after her I-Phone and ear buds were found on the beach by her husband and the hotel manager. The local police quickly realized that this was a high profile case that would involve the CIA, U.S. Embassy, and the press, so they turned the case over to ISA. Shoshana Rich and Yonah Ferreres arrived at the Royal Beach Hotel at 10:30 PM. They were the ISA investigators assigned to the Mary Ann Berman kidnapping.

Shoshana was tall, thin, and fair-skinned with short brown hair streaked with gray. She had high cheek bones and wore granny-type glasses. She was dressed in black slacks and a white cotton button-down shirt. She carried a holstered Barak SP-21.

Yonah had been with Shoshana for only one year but had proven himself as a qualified operative and an expert interrogator. He was of medium build, short compared to Shoshana, and olive-skinned. His eyes were very dark, almost black, and penetrating. He was from a Sephardic family that originally came to Israel from the Island of Rhodes, Greece. He was wearing black jeans, a starched white shirt with a tie that hung loosely around his unbuttoned shirt collar. He wore a holstered, steel-framed Jericho hand gun.

Shoshana and Yonah showed their identifications to the desk clerk and were escorted to the hotel manager’s office.

Dr. Daniel Berman was sitting by himself. He was slumped over with his face in his hands. His brown eyes were red and puffy. His dark brown hair was uncombed. He was wearing shorts and a worn out tee shirt that had Aspen Colorado printed on the front. The bottoms of his running shoes were still covered with sand from the beach. He was handsome, tall, and athletically built. He quickly rose when the operatives entered.

Shoshana reached to shake Daniel’s hand and said, Dr. Berman, my name is Shoshana Rich and this is my partner Yonah Ferreres. We are with the Internal Security Agency. We will be in charge of the investigation. The U.S. Embassy has already been notified as well as the CIA offices in Tel Aviv, Jordan, and Cairo. Our main goal is to recover your wife unharmed. She spoke English with an Israeli accent.

Yonah reached out and shook Berman’s hand. Please, have a seat. He spoke English with an Israeli accent as well. His demeanor was solemn, yet approachable. He remained standing a few feet to the left of Shoshana.

Please tell us, when did you discover your wife was missing? Shoshana asked.

I awoke from a nap about 7 PM and noticed Mary Ann was not in the room. I realized that her phone and running shoes were missing, so I assumed she went for a run on the beach. We both run every day at home, and yesterday we ran along the beach as the sun was setting. I guess she didn’t want to wake me. I went out on the balcony and noticed that the beach was deserted. He stood up and started pacing. Jesus, it’s entirely my fault. If I hadn’t taken that nap, she would be with me right now. I can’t believe this. Everybody told us it was safe here. What a fucking joke.

Please, stay calm and sit down, sir. Yonah said as he took Berman’s arm. We will get your wife back. We will need her phone. Do you know what she was wearing?

Berman handed the phone to Yonah. I’m sure she was wearing her light blue running shorts and dark blue cotton t-shirt.

Any lettering on the shorts or shirt. Yonah asked.

Yes. Her t-shirt has the word SNOWMASS on the front. She wears blue Nike running shoes.

Do you have a recent picture? Yonah asked.

Berman reached into his wallet and produced a photo of Mary Ann. This is pretty recent. It’s better than her passport photo. He handed it to Yonah. What happens now? I need to call our parents, and I don’t know what to tell them. I know her father will want to come here as soon as he hears. He’s a Baptist Minister and is very supportive of Israel. He brings congregations here to visit the Christian Holy sites and to tour Israel. He was the one who talked us into coming here for our honeymoon.

What’s your father-in-law’s name? Shoshana asked as she pulled out a small pocket note pad.

Leo Fields.

Shoshana was getting ready to write the name down when she quickly looked up and stared at Berman. Her face flushed. A bead of sweat formed on her forehead. She bit her lip, took a deep breath, stood, and walked to the other side of the small office. She turned to face Berman, but she quickly turned toward the window.

Yonah was quick to notice something was bothering Shoshana. He stepped in front of Berman and looked at his watch. It’s almost 11 PM here, so it should be close to 4 PM on the east coast. Is that where your parents and in-laws live?

Yes. Mary Ann and I live in Fort Lauderdale, my parents live in Hollywood, and Mary Ann’s parents live in Miami. Berman looked over at Shoshana. He noticed that she was looking out of the office window and her mind seemed to be a million miles away.

Yonah took the seat in front of Berman. What does your wife do?

She teaches history at Fort Lauderdale High school.

Was this her first visit here? Yonah asked.

No. It was my first visit, she’s been here many times before. She’s very connected to this country because of its history, and she also feels spiritually linked.

How tall is Mary Ann?

Five-four. She is slender but strong. She runs and lifts weights daily. She’s in great shape.

That’s good. It will help her overcome whatever her abductors have in store for her.

What do mean by that? Jesus, what would they do to her? Berman stood and his voice became hoarse with anger. His eyes filled with tears.

Please sit down, sir. They probably only want ransom money. The chances are they will not harm her. Please, I didn’t mean to upset you. Yonah then asked, When were you both planning to return to the states?

Tomorrow. This was our last night here. Berman was clearly disheartened.

I think you should call your parents and in-laws now. Shoshana said as she turned and stepped back toward Berman.

Chapter 2

T HE ISRAEL-EGYPT BARRIER, project name Hourglass, is 16 feet high and 245 miles long. It is composed of two layers of fencing. One of the layers is composed of barbed wire. The structure includes the installation of advanced surveillance equipment with cameras, radar, and motion detectors. There are watch towers along the fence’s route. Egypt agreed to the construction that took three years to complete. The Eilat section was the last to be completed in December of 2013. The original purpose was to stop the high levels of African illegal migrants who were smuggled into Israel by Bedouin traffickers. The barrier fence had already prevented the illegal entry of thousands of migrants and lowered the risk of jihadist militant infiltrators from the Sinai Peninsula.

Eilat also borders on the east with the town of Aqaba, Jordan. The border is protected by a high fence with surveillance equipment and watch towers. The Wadi Araba Border Crossing opened in 1994 and is open every day except the Islamic New Year and Yom Kippur. The Israeli border terminal is named after the late Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. The Jordanian terminal is maintained by the Hashemite Kingdom’s Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority.

Yonah and Shoshana were walking along the beach to look for any clues that would help them in their investigation. The beach was dark except for the lights from the hotels that followed the shore line. Shoshana and Yonah had large fluorescent flash lights to illuminate the beach in front of them. They spoke in Hebrew.

What happened to you in there? Yonah asked.

Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Shoshana answered.

Hey, I’m your partner. You can tell me.

It was nothing. Forget about it.

Okay, but I want you to know you can trust me.

I know.

They located the area that the local police had cordoned off as the probable kidnapping site. They looked up and down the shore line and then out over the Gulf of Aqaba.

So who are the kidnappers? Yonah asked.

Shoshana looked out over the water and said, There are three possibilities. A jihadist gang crossed over from Egypt for ransom money. That scenario seems unlikely since the barrier fence has almost put a stop to the Egyptian jihadist kidnappings. We’ll check with the border patrol to see if surveillance picked up any activity within the last twenty-four hours. Second, the kidnappers, whoever they are, could have tried to take her out by boat. This is unlikely since the Israeli Navy patrols the Gulf of Aqaba regularly. Squadron 915 is based out of Eilat. They would have stopped any unauthorized boat in the area. We’ll call them as well. Lastly, the kidnappers are still in the vicinity waiting for the right time to make contact.

What about the husband? He seemed too calm. If my wife of one week was taken, I would be crazy with rage and worry. He didn’t even ask any questions. He just sat there. He was too composed. I’m not ready to rule him out so fast.

He didn’t seem so composed to me. People respond to stress differently. Besides, what motive would he have? And what did he do with the body? He would have needed help. He doesn’t know anyone here. He doesn’t even speak Hebrew. No, I think he’s not involved. Let’s look for tracks in the sand. Maybe we’ll get lucky. After all, they were careless enough to leave her cell phone in the sand. Yonah, you walk toward the Marina, and I’ll walk toward Aqaba. We’ll meet back at the hotel. Shoshana walked east and swung her flashlight back and forth. The sand was soft and any tracks that may have been present were not apparent. Her eyes followed the shoreline to the Port of Aqaba which is Jordan’s only seaport.

The history of this area dates back to 4000 B.C. when the Edomites settled in the region and were in control until the Nabataeans extensively populated the area in the first century B.C. They built the magnificent stone city of Petra which today is considered one of the new wonders of the world. The area changed hands many times from the Nabataeans to King Solomon, to the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Islamic Caliphate, Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, and the Mamelukes. Finally, in the 16th century the Ottoman Empire took control and remained in control until WWI ended. The Ottoman Empire fought on the side of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria. The Ottoman Empire was divided up and Aqaba and Israel were ceded to the British Protectorate of Transjordan.

The modern history of the area is one of conflict between the local Arabs and the Jews that fled to Israel to escape anti-Semitism throughout Europe and Northern Africa. The Jews set up settlements and although the Arabs were in the majority, they were unable to stop the growth and progress of the Jewish influx. The conflicts continued until WWII when both Arabs and Jews sided with the British to fight against the Axis powers of Germany and the Vichy French. This joint effort occurred even though the British appointed a Nazi sympathizer, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Following the war, the British terminated their mandate and the Jews immediately proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel. Several wars ensued. 1947-1948 the War of Independence, Reprisal Operations of the 1950-1960 period when the Israel Defense Force defended the civilians against Arab attacks, the 1967 Six-Day War, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The conflicts continue up to the present, but each conflict has left Israel in command of the territory.

It was midnight when Yonah and Shoshana met back at the hotel. Neither had come up with any clues on the beach. Yonah had contacted the Navy Patrol and both the Egyptian and Jordanian border patrols. They had not noticed any unusual activity. Yonah had them review their surveillance videos, but again they came up empty-handed. This meant the kidnappers were probably still somewhere in the area. They needed to review the surveillance cameras in Eilat from 7 to 9 PM.

Chapter 3

T HE BLUE VAN with Arabic lettering that read 45484.png made a couple of stops at bakeries around Eilat between 7 PM and 8 PM on the evening of the kidnapping. At 8 PM it arrived and waited on North Beach Road between the Royal Beach Hotel and the Dan Eilat Hotel. The van’s motor was running and at exactly 8:05 the driver and his accomplice jumped out of the van, opened the sliding door, and helped place the limp body of Mary Ann Berman on the floor of the van. The two clean shaven kidnappers quickly walked away from the van and hurried toward the marina to disappear into the crowd. The bearded kidnappers stayed with Mary Ann in the van as it drove away. The van made a U-turn and slowly made its way to Highway 90. By 8:15, the van was travelling just under the speed limit into the Negev Desert. Highway 90 parallels the Jordanian border fence on its path north.

The blue van pulled off the road 30 Kilometers from Eilat and parked behind a second van which was black and had no identifying features. The kidnappers quickly transferred Mary Ann into the second van. Mary Ann tried to struggle, but she was groggy and powerless against the stronger men. Within five minutes the black van was heading north on Highway 90. The highway was dark and deserted with only an occasional car seen travelling south to Eilat. They had placed a black hood over Mary Ann’s head and bound her arms and legs with plastic ties.

Within fifteen minutes the black van passed Yotvata, a kibbutz that was established in 1957. It was named Yotvata after an Israelite encampment mentioned in Numbers and Deuteronomy of the Old Testament. It is a cooperative community in which the adults work on the kibbutz in production, services, or education. The revenues are equally distributed among the members regardless of their jobs. The dairy is the main source of income and employs most of the members of the kibbutz. It is well known to Israelis for its chocolate milk. The formula for the chocolate milk is over forty years old and is kept in a safe in the kibbutz. Agriculture ranks second with irrigated land that grows onions, potatoes, corn, animal feed, garlic, and pumpkins. There are date and mango plantations as well.

At 10 PM, on a side road just west of Highway 90, there was an explosion as the blue van was destroyed. The black van that contained Mary Ann continued north until it came to the intersection with Highway 40, at which point it headed west toward Mitzpe Ramon.

Mary Ann could sense a change in direction. She realized that if they wanted to kill her it would have already happened. She still had the hood over her head and her arms and legs were bound. Her mouth was dry. She could hear her captives talking in Arabic. She waited for a break in their conversation, and in a soft, hoarse voice asked, Where are you taking me? What do you want with me?

Cooperate, stay quiet, don’t struggle, and everything will be okay. The man’s voice was