"What did he look like?" Greta asked, once I'd finished my story.

"The man who followed me to the beach?"

"Yes."

I described him to her. Greta shook her head.

"I don't remember him," she said, making a face. "I don't like the idea of criminals visiting my café, and I like the fact that I'm unable to tell them by their faces even less. And he's not the only one I missed."

She was talking about Michael. The story of his arrest and confession had appeared in Birnbaum's column in that morning's Davar.

"My first impression of Michael was rather positive as well," I said.

"And your second was of him saving your life. It's incredible, isn't it, the way things turned out?"

"Yes."

"And sad. So incredibly sad."

"Are you talking about Esther or Michael?"

"Both. What he did was terrible, of course. But he was driven mad by the loss of his son and his wife's condition. I can't help but feel sorry for him."

I drank some coffee. I wondered whether I had been driven mad by the loss of my wife and daughters, and if so, whether I had ever recovered.

"Are you really going to visit his son's grave?" Greta asked.

"Yes. And Talia Shamir's grave as well."

"Oh?"

"Michael asked me to, when we were walking to the police station. He thought Talia might forgive him now that he was about to confess."

"So you were right. Confessing was good for him."

"In some ways, yes."

"His future will not be easy. He will be in jail for a very long time."

"I don't think it'll be that long," I said.

"Oh?"

"He'll do a few years for sure, maybe seven or eight. Then they'll let him out."

"You really think so?"

I nodded.

"Even though he committed a murder?"

"But he's also a hero. Young countries tend to be forgiving of their heroes. Certain kinds of heroes, anyway. And as you said, Michael was driven to madness by circumstances. I believe all that would be taken into account and he will be treated with lenience."

Greta thought it over. "I'm not sure how I feel about that. Hero or not, he is a murderer. He should be punished accordingly."

"I could be wrong. They might make an example out of him. The ruling powers in Israel are no fans of the Irgun."

Greta sighed. "All this infighting amongst ourselves. So senseless."

"It's part of who we are," I said. "We Jews are argumentative. Always have been. It's our culture."

"Yes, but now that we have a country of our own again, we need to come together."

"With time, maybe we will."

"I hope so," Greta said. A frown etched deep lines in her forehead. "So the only remaining mystery is the identity of the woman Haim Sassoon saw fighting with Esther a few days before the murders."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," I said. "I know who she is."