Polkes translated all that I had said and when he finished, Golomb shouted something in Hebrew. But I hadn’t finished my diatribe.

“You want to know what they believe in? The Nazis? People like Eichmann and Hagen? They believe that Germany is a thing worth cheating for. Worth lying for. And you’re a pair of goddamn fools if you think any different. Even now those two Nazi clowns are preparing to meet your friend, the Grand Mufti, in Cairo. They’ll make a deal with him. And then the next day they’ll make a deal with you. And then they’ll go back to Germany and wait to see which one Hitler will go for.”

The barman arrived carrying three cold beers in glasses and put them on the table. Polkes smiled. “I think Eliahu likes you,” he said. “He wants to know what you’re doing in Palestine. With Eichmann and Hagen.”

I told them that I was a private detective and about Paul Begelmann. “And just so you know there’s nothing noble about it,” I added, “I’m being paid quite handsomely for my trouble.”

“You don’t strike me as a man who’s entirely motivated by money,” said Golomb, through Polkes.

“I can’t afford to have principles,” I said. “Not in Germany. People with principles end up at Dachau concentration camp. I’ve been to Dachau. I didn’t like it.”

“You’ve been to Dachau?” said Polkes.

“Last year. A flying visit, you might say.”

“Were there many Jews there?”

“About a third of the prisoners were Jewish,” I said. “The rest were communists, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, a few Germans with principles.”

“And which were you?”

“I was a man doing a job,” I said. “Like I told you, I’m a private detective. And sometimes it takes me way out of my depth. It can happen very easily in Germany right now. I forget that myself sometimes.”

“Maybe you would like to work for us?” said Golomb. “It would be useful to know the minds of these two men we were supposed to meet. Especially useful to know what they agree to with Haj Amin.”

I laughed. It seemed that everyone these days wanted me to spy on someone else. The Gestapo wanted me to spy on the SD. And now Haganah wanted me to spy on them. There were times when I thought I’d joined the wrong profession.

“We could pay you,” said Golomb. “Money’s not something we’re short of. Fievel Polkes here is our man in Berlin. From time to time you two could meet up, and exchange information.”

“I wouldn’t be worth anything to you,” I said. “Not in Germany. Like I said, I’m just a private detective trying to make a living.”