by Joe Bayly

He arrived at Chicago’s O’Hare airport onTWA flight 801 from Israel. The plane was two hours late, but the delay made little difference, since there was no one to meet him. It was December 23, a Friday afternoon. The terminal building pulsed with people coming home for Christmas, relatives meeting people coming home, businessmen and students trying to get on flights for Cleveland and New York, Seattle and Atlanta, so they could be home for the holidays.

The Israeli had gone through immigration and customs in New York. He had no baggage, only a small airline bag with a broken zipper. Christmas carols issued from concealed speakers the length of a long corridor into the main building...