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the air conditioner.
    Ofer went to the other side of the bed, picked up the phone and dialed zero to get the receptionist.
    “I’m in room 613 and there’s a body here,” he said, trying to steady his voice.
    “I’ll send someone right away,” squeaked the plum-like mouth of the blonde from the other end of the line, as though she were used to receiving such messages.
    Rodety’s large testicles, like faded pink tennis balls, caught Ofer’s eye. Definitely not a heartwarming sight. That’s the nature of testicles , he thought, not a very charming sight even when attached to a live person.
    He pulled out the edge of the sheet from beneath the mattress and covered Rodety’s groin area. Rodety’s package was as dead as the rest of him, but it seemed to Ofer that any man, alive or dead, deserved a little privacy.
    He looked about and realized that he had touched many objects in the room. The empty whiskey bottle, the silver flask, the bed, the sheets, the telephone and especially, the body itself.
    Thoughts began to run through his mind. Various questions began to bother him much more than the fingerprints he had left.
    “Did you happen to see if someone came in here before me?” he asked Natalia.
    “No, no, of course not!” she said without even looking at him.
    “Are you sure?” he insisted.
    “Are you a cop? Why you ask so many questions?” she raised her voice in anger and turned her back to him.
    Ofer did not reply. The bright braid on her back suddenly seemed familiar—was it she who had peeked into the corridor when he had reached the room?
    On the nightstand next to the bed, a folded piece of paper lay beneath the phone he had used to call the receptionist. Written on the folded paper was a cellular number. He didn’t need to read it twice. It was his number.
    Without giving it a second thought, taking advantage of the fact that the chambermaid still turned her back to him, he quickly shoved the folded paper into the back pocket of his trousers. From the corner of his right eye, he thought he spotted a shadow. A broad-shouldered figure of a man crossed the corridor. He turned his gaze quickly and managed to see that the figure paused for an instant next to the half open door of the room. It was impossible to distinguish the man’s features. He continued on his way with the same urgency with which he had appeared. When Ofer looked at him from behind, he managed to see a small and rounded bald spot at the center of his head.
    “Did you see who it was?” he asked Natalia.
    She shook her head. He ran across the room and headed out into the corridor. Only while he was already chasing the balding man did the reason for his action occur to him—who wears a long dark coat on such a warm summer day?
    He managed to see the dark back of the man with the bald spot as he turned left towards the staircase. The man was slightly shorter than him but with broader shoulders. Ofer ran after him, opened the emergency exit door and followed him down the staircase but wasn’t able to catch up.
    When he returned to the room, panting, Natalia had vanished as though she were never there. He went out to the corridor once more and with wide paces walked to its end to look for her.
    Just then, the elevator door opened.
    From the elevator came an athletic young man, dressed in a white shirt, his spiky hair stiff with wax. Like all the hotel employees, he had a name tag on his chest, detailing his name and function—“Yoni, Hotel Security Officer.” A tall redheaded man followed him. Judging by his frigid facial expression and jumpy gait, it was obvious he wasn’t a tourist guide. Behind them both trudged a junior police officer who looked like a child wearing too-big clothes.
    “Who are you?” asked the redhead. 
    “I’m the one who called you about the body,” answered Ofer.
    “Come with us,” said the redhead and began to jog towards room 613.
    The redhead rushed inside, and the rest of them followed. Not