Stone Kiss

24

Jonathan had gone beyond pale, his complexion having turned chalky-dry and gray. After finishing with mounds of paperwork, Decker took his brother’s arm-an act of physical as well as emotional support-and the two of them trudged outside to the parking lot to retrieve the van. Seeing Jon’s shaking hands, Decker offered to drive. Jonathan told him no, then opened the car doors, taking the driver’s seat. They sat for several minutes in silence, staring out the windshield.

Jonathan’s eyes were moist and red. He whispered, “What kind of monster does things like that?”

Decker didn’t have an answer. Guilt was still pouring into his conscience. He should have taken Shayndie forcibly, brought a gun and shot Donatti. If he had planned it more carefully, had trusted his own instincts instead of that bastard-

“What kind of God creates such monsters?” Jonathan said.

“I’ll drive,” Decker offered once again.

“I’m all right,” Jonathan answered. “Thanks for coming.”

“I just wish…” Decker started to pound the dashboard but wound up tapping it instead. “I’m sorry I failed you. I failed the whole family.”

“You didn’t fail, Akiva. That’s ridiculous.”

“You don’t know.”

Jonathan turned to him, waiting for an explanation.

“I could have done better.” Decker was abashed. “I should have done better.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute. If anyone failed, it was God. We’re nothing but His pawns-little pieces He moves around His board called the universe.” His lip trembled. “It’s not that I doubt His wisdom. That’s why we say Baruch Dayan Emes. I believe every word theoretically. But I am human… fallible… emotional. Right now, I’m very angry at Him.”

Tears marked paths down his cheek.

“You and me both, buddy.” Decker slumped in the seat. “You and me both.”

More seconds passed, then a minute. Finally, Jonathan started the van and put it into reverse. “Where to?”

“While you were signing papers, I got hold of Micky Novack. I’m supposed to meet him at a restaurant at…” Decker looked at the paper. “Broadway between One hundred fourteenth and One hundred fifteenth… or maybe One fifteenth and One sixteenth.” He gave him the exact address. “It shouldn’t take longer than an hour. Then I was supposed to meet Rina and Hannah at your apartment and take them to the airport.”

“When’s the flight?”

“Nine… something. It’s a commuter flight. It leaves out of La Guardia.” Decker ’s watch read six. “Am I cutting it close?”

“Say you’re done at seven. At least forty-five minutes to get to La Guardia if traffic isn’t heavy.” A sigh. “Yes, you are cutting it close.”

“Give me a half hour with the guy.”

“Tell you what,” Jonathan said. “I’ll drop you off, run down to my shul, pick up my messages and mail, then come back and fetch you. That should eat up the thirty minutes.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Yes, things always sound perfect in the abstract.”

Novack stood up when Decker walked into the deli. The place was as small as a kiosk, crammed with a half-dozen linoleum-topped tables and chairs with cracked Naugahyde cushions. There was also a counter and stools, the seats filled to capacity. It was after work hours, so the detective had donned a flannel shirt and jeans instead of a suit. His fingers were greasy from the homemade French fries that he was munching. A half-eaten corned-beef sandwich was on the plate, as were two pickles. Decker sat opposite him, squeezing his body into nonexistent space. A wash of warmth swept through him and he began to sweat. He loosened his tie and unfastened the top buttons of his shirt.

Novack continued to stare, even after he sat down. “You’re sweatin’. You feeling okay?”

“I think my blood sugar’s low.” He eyed Novack’s remaining half sandwich. “This isn’t a kosher place, is it?”

“Kosher style. That don’t count, I know. They got some vegetarian stuff. I think the mushroom barley soup is vegetarian.”

“That’ll do.”

“Coffee?”

“Great.”

Novack hailed a waitress-a geriatric, bony woman whose name was Alma. Five minutes later, a steaming bowl of thick soup was placed in front of his nose. Even with his swollen membranes, the mixture smelled good. It tasted even better. Served with fresh rye bread surrounded by a thick seed crust, Decker was in heaven, though he had to eat slowly.

Novack had finished his sandwich and decided to top off his meal by ordering a cup of coffee and a healthy wedge of apple pie. “What the hell happened to your face?”

Decker gave him the standard line about being punched. Novack looked dubious. “You report this guy?”

“He ran off. I could have chased after him, but my head was spinning.”

“It looks like it hurts.”

“It does, but not that bad. My wife hasn’t seen it yet.”

Novack scratched his cheek. “She ain’t gonna be pleased. Matter of fact, if I was her, I’d be thinking that maybe you weren’t being too truthful. That someone attacked you and you’re trying to protect her-or maybe trying to hide something from her. Or maybe hiding something from everybody, including me?”

An admonishing look.

Decker was casual. “If someone was out to get me, Novack, I would have had a bullet in my head.”

Novack thought about that. It was probably true. “We gotta be honest with each other, Pete.”

“Absolutely,” Decker lied.

“Yeah, absolutely.” Novack’s expression was cynical, but he didn’t persist. “So you just come from the Fort Lee Police?”

“From the Bergen County Morgue actually.” Decker chewed the bread slowly, then swallowed. “Do they know what they’re doing?”

“Yeah, Bergen gets its share of bodies from us cause it’s right over the bridge. I’m not saying the park’s a dumping ground-they got the area under constant patrol cause it’s a popular spot-but it’s a big place, and this ain’t the first time a corpse has shown up.”

“Is there interdepartmental cooperation?”

“In the ideal, yeah. Practicality-wise, it depends on who’s leading the investigation.”

“A guy named Martin Fiorelli.”

“I heard the name, but I’ve never worked with him. I haven’t worked all that much with Jersey Police, but I know a couple of people who have. Now I’m not saying this to sound like sour grapes or nothin’ like that. Just that some of those smaller departments have this complex about NYPD comin’ in and takin’ over. And maybe it’s justified, cause we got some pushy people. But that’s still no excuse for not sharing information. Cause it’ll be of real interest to me to see if Ballistics turns up a match, being as it looks like the same M.O.”

Decker said, “The single shot to the head was visible on the ID, but they also got her in the chest.”

“Really. You saw that?”

“No, I skimmed the M.E.’s report at the scene. I wish I had more time to study it, but I was too busy taking care of my brother.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Not too well.” Decker finished the last spoonful of soup. He felt better. “No one’s doing too well.”

“I can imagine. Losin’ a fifteen-year-old period, but especially like that.” Novack shook his head. “I don’t know how long the body’s been sitting there. I’m wondering if maybe she was popped right at the beginning, at the same time Ephraim was taken in.”

“I believe the report said time of death was somewhere between two hours to four hours before they found her.”

“She was fresh, then?”

“Yes.”

“What a shame. No rigor-”

“Not even close,” Decker said. “No discernible lividity.”

Most of the shock had leached from Decker’s system; guilt had taken its place. Why the hell had he trusted that scumbag motherfucker! Maybe he could get the guy arrested? But on what grounds?

“… natural that the girl had witnessed something, maybe escaped. Then she was tracked down and murdered.”

Focus, Decker! “Or maybe she was in on it in the beginning.”

“She set up her uncle?” Novack’s face said he wasn’t buying.

“Or maybe she was the target,” Decker tried out. “The uncle was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“He was the drug addict,” Novack said.

“He’d been sober for more than two years.” Decker finished his coffee, signaled the waitress for another cup. “The thing is we don’t know.”

“We don’t know?” Novack gave him a calculated stare. “So now you’re an honorary member of the two-eight Homicide division? I thought you was leaving. Matter of fact, I thought you already said good-bye.”

“Look, I don’t mean to step on anyone’s toes, but I figured as long as I flew out all this distance, maybe I’ll stick around for a bit.”

“How long?”

“I’ll be out by Friday.”

The two men eyed each other.

Decker said, “Honestly, Mick. By Friday, I’m gone. I have to visit my parents. As it is, they’re going to be pissed that I’ve delayed it for two days.”

“So why do it?” Novack scratched his head. “What are you after, Pete?”

“I failed. I want to go back to the beginning and start over now that I know a little bit more about the family dynamics.”

“Share the details with me, Pete,” Novack said. “That kinda thing makes a primary investigating detective very happy.”

“For what it’s worth, here it is. I know that Chaim resented his brother’s presence in the business. But maybe Chaim had a reason for being hostile.”

“First off, how do you know he was resentful?”

“When the news came down about Shayndie, I was in the middle of paying a shiva call to the old man. I was talking to the father about his son. Trying to be nice. Ephraim was dead, Micky, and Chaim still couldn’t think of anything nice to say about him. Also, Chaim was very concerned about people stealing from him.”

“How do you know that?”

“Talking to store workers at Ephraim’s funeral. They told me that Chaim had concerns about theft. Ephraim was in charge of inventory. Maybe Ephraim was stealing. Have you had a chance to look over the papers you took from Ephraim’s apartment?”

“I skimmed through around half of them. Just lists of items. Don’t mean nothin’ to me cause I have nothin’ to compare it to. I don’t know if the inventory’s being monkeyed with or not. You think Chaim hired someone to off the brother because Ephraim was stealing?”

Decker thought about the question.

It wouldn’t be the first time in Jewish history that brother had been pitted against brother. The Bible was rife with attempted fratricide: Cain and Abel. Isaac and Yishmael. Yaakov and Aesav. Joseph and his brothers. In the Book of Genesis, hatred between siblings was more the norm than the exception.

“Sure, why not?”

“Because it would be easier to fire him, Decker.”

“So maybe it was the other way around. Maybe Chaim was stealing from the store, and Ephraim caught him because the old man had put his younger son in charge of inventory. Maybe Chaim resented Ephraim’s do-gooder stance, especially since he’s been working in the stores for years and Ephraim was a latecomer. Besides, Chaim could rationalize the stealing by convincing himself that the store belonged to him anyway. If he was stealing from anyone, it was the insurance company.”

Novack said, “Chaim was putting in false claims?”

Decker said, “It’s easy to check out.”

“True,” Novack said. “If any of the past news items are to be believed, there are certain Jews who have no problems committing fraud. But if Chaim was going to pop his brother, why put his daughter at risk? Why not catch Ephraim at his apartment or as he’s leavin’ his drug-addict place or when the man’s alone? Why do it when he knew that Ephraim was going to take Shayndie out for the day?”

Decker said, “I’ve been thinking about that very question. The only answer I can come up with is putting your daughter at risk deflects suspicion away from you. If your brother’s a victim, police will investigate you especially if you two work together. But if your teenage daughter is also a victim, well, they’re going to tread lightly.”

“You’re telling me that Chaim set up his own daughter to prevent Ephraim from telling his old man that Chaim was stealing from his own store?”

“I’m not saying I have it down or I have it right. I’m just suggesting possibilities.”

“Don’t get frustrated, Lieutenant.” Novack finished his coffee. “We’re on the same side. Maybe you’re still hungry.” Again he flagged down the waitress. “He needs another bowl of soup, Alma.”

“I’ve got to leave in ten minutes,” Decker said.

To the waitress, Novack said, “Make it quick.”

Alma growled, “There’s a McDonald’s two blocks away for quick.” She gave them her back and huffed away.

Decker leaned over the table and spoke softly. “Maybe Chaim paid the cleaners to pop the brother but to let the girl go. Maybe that’s why there’s no evidence that Shayndie was at the hotel. They let her get away. But something got fouled up.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she was supposed to come home to her dad in a panic and tell him all about it. Then they’d go to the police together… Chaim doing the talking. Maybe Chaim had concocted a story that would have explained what happened but also would have drawn attention away from him. Instead, Shayndie freaked out and went into hiding. And that made the cleaners real nervous. Maybe they figured she wasn’t trustworthy, so they hunted her down and popped her, too. But that wasn’t part of the original plan.”

Novack didn’t respond right away. “She’d witnessed the kidnapping. So she had to be dealt with.”

“Exactly.”

“Then why did your brother bring you out?” Novack asked.

“I was talking to my brother about this. Maybe I was just a showpiece, something that Chaim put on display to convince everyone that he really cared. In fact, both Chaim and Minda hate my guts and have done nothing but put up obstacles.”

“Interesting.”

The second bowl was plopped onto the table, soup spilling over the rim. Decker tried to thank her, but Alma was gone before he could get the words out.

“Eat,” Novack said. “You can use nutrition.”

As Decker spooned soup into his mouth, he thought about Donatti. The hit seemed too careless for the bastard’s signature. And why admit to Decker that he had her? Why did he let him see and talk to her, for God’s sake, only to pop her?

To throw him off track?

If Donatti did it, he had become boastful and reckless, and that wasn’t him. The man was nothing if not calculated.

Novack said, “Maybe Chaim brought you out because he wanted a couple of things from you. One, he figured you, better than him, could find out what the police knew. You’d report back to him, and then he could figure out his next options. Or two, Shayndie was gone, and he needed you to find her.”

“Seems logical to me.” Decker checked his watch. He had two minutes before he was to meet with Jonathan. “Anything turn up on Virgil Merrin?”

“He worked Charleston PD as a lieutenant for eight years. Before that, he jumped around quite a bit… mostly police departments in Texas. That’s always a little weird, except if you’re a real political type. You know, constantly upgrading until you get the number one spot somewhere. Looks like he met with success.”

“I saw him in a Tattlers today, Mike.”

“Interesting.” Novack raised his brow. “What were you doing in Tattlers?”

“It’s a long story. I was with Jonathan-”

“The rabbi?”

“Yes.”

“Go figure.”

“He wanted to meet at a place where he was sure that no one else from Quinton’s Jewish community would be.”

“That’s what they all say.”

“Or maybe my brother’s a horny guy. That’s not the point. Virgil Merrin is the point. He looked to be a steady customer.”

“I’ll keep digging.”

“Thank you. You’re being more than generous.”

“Yeah, I am. I’m being stupid, if you want to know the truth.”

Decker said, “I think I alienated him. Merrin. I know I did… alienated Merrin.”

“How?”

Decker told him how.

“That wasn’t smart. Whaddya do that for?”

“It bugged the hell out of me… the way he was acting. It also pissed me off that he implied that I was like him.”

“Decker, if you want to get help, you gotta make him think that you twose have something in common.”

“Yeah, I know. It wasn’t smart. I’ve been doing lots of stupid things lately.”

“Then maybe you should quit before you have a bigger problem than a black eye.” Novack’s warning was veiled in kindness. “Especially when you lay shit on me, saying that some anonymous phone caller tells your brother that he wants you ‘out of the picture.’ That don’t sound too good.”

“He didn’t tell Jonathan; he told Chaim. Jonathan never spoke to this guy.”

“So Chaim could be lying.”

“Definitely.” Decker frowned. “If some lunatic thinks he’s going to scare me away, he’s sadly mistaken.”

“What would scare you off?” Novack asked.

“A gun to the head, maybe.” Decker shrugged. “Not even that. Now, a gun to my wife’s head, that would scare me.” He felt a chill run down his spine. “I will be very happy when she’s out of here.”

“When’s she leaving?”

Decker checked his watch. “I’m taking her to the airport right now. I’ve got to go.” He pulled out two twenties. “Enough?”

“Way, way over. The bill’s only eighteen-fifty.”

“Leave the rest for a tip.”

“Twenty-one fifty?” Novack laughed. “That’s more than the going rate for a blow job.”

“Alma looks around eighty,” Decker said. “But if she’s willing, Novack, be my guest.”

“Eighty’s a little old,” Novack said, “but there are advantages. I think Alma wears dentures. Ever get sucked by someone with no teeth?”

“Never had the pleasure.”

“It’s smooth sailing all the way.” Novack smiled and nodded. “Yeah, no teeth ain’t such a bad thing.”

Silence.

Then Novack broke into gales of laughter. So did Decker.

Novack chortled and pointed a finger at him. “I had you going.”

“Fuck you, Novack!”

Decker spoke a little too loud. Alma came over. “Problems, Detective Novack?”

“Alma, this man just left you a twenty-one fifty tip.”

The old woman gave a wide smile, showing her full set of plates. “Thank you. You made my day. Next time you come in, I’ll give you a little extra treat.”

Decker knew she was trying to be nice, but it came out wrong. He thanked her and left, hoping she didn’t notice that he had wrinkled up his swollen nose.