Free The Kabbalistic Murder Code: Mystery & International Conspiracies (Historical Crime Thriller Book 1) by Nathan Erez Page A

Norman!” Elijah cried out, truly happy to hear Norman’s voice again.
                  “We read what you sent us yesterday, and we’ve decided to send you to see one of the originals. How do you feel about that?”
                  “Are you kidding?” replied Elijah jubilantly. “That has to be the ultimate dream of every scholar!”
                  “Great! We’ll pay at our standard rate for all your work, including your flying time.”
                  “Flying? Where to?” Elijah asked. He had been convinced that the original must be locked away in some safe within the confines of the Institute.
                  “The original is in Hong Kong,” Norman told him, and waited for his reaction.
                  Elijah was stunned. Of all the places in the world for a Hebrew manuscript to be found, why would it be Hong Kong?
                  “Elijah, are you still there?” he finally heard Norman asking anxiously.
                  “I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about what you just said. As you can imagine, I hadn’t expected this. I’ll have to ask my wife, of course.”
                  “The entire trip will take you two days. Most of that time will be spent flying, and you will be spending a few hours studying the manuscript itself to better check out those letters about which you were unsure. This manuscript belongs to a Mr. Wang. In an hour or two you will receive a fax with all the details about the flights, the addresses, and your contacts.”
                  And indeed, before he left for home, Elijah received a fax detailing the entire trip.
                  At home, he was nervous. How would he break his news to Orna? What would she say? And what should he do if she vetoed the trip? Should he go anyway? And who would take care of the children while he was away? In the end, though, his problem solved itself. After they had finished eating and before he had mustered the courage to broach the subject, the phone rang.
                  Efrat answered the phone. “Yes, I know you asked for Dr. Shemtov, but which one? My father or my mother?”
                  “No, my father is not a doctor; my mother is. My father knows how to read things. He is very good at reading things. He can even read handwriting which isn’t clear. His job is to teach big children how to read.”
                  No one was surprised when Efrat put down the receiver and called out, “Mommy, it’s for you!”
                  “Yossi from the bank,” Orna repeated aloud. “Yes, I can hear you. This is Doctor Shemtov. No, you’re not the first one to be confused.”
                  As she listened, her face turned solemn. For an instant, Elijah was concerned, but soon he could see that Orna was smiling again. “Excellent! We’ll deal with it. We simply forgot. You’re right - in the next few days. Meanwhile, there’s no reason to do anything.”
                  Orna came back to the table, clearly pleased, as she explained what she had heard.
                  “At first I was concerned, because the bank generally calls us only when our overdraft is getting out of control. For the first time since we’ve been married, this call was the exact opposite. Yossi from the bank noticed that a couple of days ago a sizeable sum of money was deposited in our account by the Luzzato Institute and listed as ‘salary’, and he wanted to know what to do with it. It seems, Elijah, that you were actually telling the truth two days ago. Who would have imagined - an expert in languages earning that kind of money?”
                  “So, are you ready to take a vacation?”
                  “Yes, Elijah, I’d like that very much. Here in Jerusalem all we get to breathe is the holy air of the Holy