Ashes of the Red Heifer Read Online Free

was packed too loosely. It was a homemade bomb, and not a good one. It’s got to be Muslim extremists.”
    Hassan sucked in a breath and stepped back.
    Annie put her hand up. “Hold on. We don’t know who did it. With negotiations going so well, maybe someone wanted to derail the peace process. It might be Jews trying to blame the Arabs.”
    David raised his eyebrows. “Are you saying you think Jews bombed their own kibbutz?”
    “It’s been known to happen,” Hassan mumbled.
    Annie shook her head. “I’m saying strange things happen for strange reasons here.”
    A high-pitched officious voice stopped the conversation. “Hello, there.”
    Annie turned to see Dr. Alanberg, the administrator of the kibbutz and government liaison, daintily step toward them. If Annie were asked to draw a picture of a bureaucrat, that person would look like Dr. Alanberg. When he stood, she could see the top of his yarmulke. His potbelly hung over his belt. White whiskers covered his chin, and white, wiry hair peeked out from his yarmulke.
    Annie had never seen him smile, in fact, hardly ever saw him without a scowl. He had an American, eastern seaboard accent, but Annie didn’t know where he called home. She suspected he was raised by old widowed aunts in a decaying mansion where they embroidered in dark rooms and counted every penny of a dwindling inheritance.
    Annie forced a smile. His pompous self-righteousness irritated her. Best to keep her mouth shut and let David handle this. It wouldn’t be good if she lost her temper.
        Alanberg studied the devastation and shook his head. “A tragedy. This should never have happened. Praise be to God it was only one bomb. It could have been worse.”
    Worse? Avrel was dead, Sophie a widow. The BA 23 cure would be pushed back.
    Hassan nodded and stared at the ground. David’s mouth flattened in an angry line, but he didn’t speak.
    Great. They were going to clam up and leave it to her. She took a breath. “Before the bomb hit we delivered a live calf. This could mean we’ve found the cure for BA 23. We need to bring in a few uninfected cows and try again.”
    Hassan stared at her, his eyes wide and disbelieving. David folded his arms across his chest and frowned.
    Alanberg held up his hand and cleared his throat. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible—”
    No. She wouldn’t let him say it. She talked faster, saying things he should already know. “We’ve got to eradicate BA 23. They found infection in that herd in Lebanon a couple of weeks ago. Maybe they stopped the spread by killing all the animals, but maybe not. Our best hope to corral BA 23 is to let me finish my research. If this crosses borders and gets into some third world country where people practically live with their cows, there’s no telling how many people will die.”
    Alanberg stepped back, looking as though he’d been sprayed by a rabid skunk. “I appreciate your passion, Dr. Grant, but one of our people has been killed. We don’t know who did it or why. Until we have answers, we are canceling the project and evacuating the kibbutz.”
    She closed the space between them, leaning forward. “Because of a bomb? Everyone knows Jews don’t cave to terrorism. Look, I’ve identified the LPS epitomes. No one else has been able to do that. Don’t shut us down.”
    David touched her arm, trying to calm her. “Annie, be reasonable. This bomb is serious.”
    He didn’t have to tell her how serious it was, the memory of Sophie’s wails proved that. “Stuff like this happens in Israel and I thought you make it a point not to let it stop you. Don’t let Avrel’s death mean nothing.”
    Alanberg took an indignant breath and pulled back his soft shoulders. “I don’t have to justify this to you.”
    Annie lunged for Hassan.
    Startled, he backed away.
    Annie reached for his pocket protector, and grabbed a pen. She shoved it toward Alanberg. “Write a requisition for me to the Ag Ministry. Post date it.