Stone Kiss

26

I was dead to the world, deep in REM, but my brain must have registered some autonomic signal. As I groped for the phone, I felt my heart banging in my chest; my head dipped in foggy consciousness. I must have said hello because she spoke, saying words that I couldn’t yet integrate. When I heard the word “lieutenant,” I came alive. The clock on my nightstand told me it was three-fifteen in the morning.

“I know who you are,” I told her. “Is your husband okay?”

“The lieutenant is fine,” she assured me. “I’m terribly sorry to wake you up like this, but I just came from your boyfriend’s place. He’s not feeling well. I thought you’d like to know.”

“My boyfriend?” I was agitated, not fully awake. My voice was heavy; my speech was clipped and confused. “I don’t have a boyfriend. Who are you talking about?”

“I’m not making myself clear,” she explained. “I’m not in Los Angeles, Terry. The lieutenant and I are in New York.”

New York.

Okay.

At least, I now knew whom she was talking about. She had the good sense not to use names. I often heard unexplained clicks on my phone. Not surprising considering who had fathered my son. “Is…” I was having trouble catching my breath. “Is the lieutenant having some kind of problem with him?”

“No, the lieutenant is fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. I only called because of your boyfriend. He really isn’t feeling well.”

Again my heartbeat soared. My first thoughts were concern for his actual welfare. Almost simultaneously, those thoughts blurred into what would happen to my son and me if he were permanently compromised. Not very noble, but survival was a very strong instinct. I had a child to care for. I had two years of medical school remaining. I had a severely damaged credit history, a very humble savings account, and no other means of support. His well-being dictated my own.

I’d been silent for a long time. “How sick is he?”

“He’ll be fine, but you might want to pay a visit. I’ve booked you and your son on a ten o’clock from O’Hare to La Guardia. If you’re not interested, I’ll cancel it.”

My head was awhirl with the logistics of the visit. Could I afford the plane fare? Could I afford a baby-sitter? Could I afford to miss school? Silly musings. In the end, I had no choice. “I’ll keep the reservation. But it’s better if I leave my son at home with a baby-sitter.”

“I’ll cancel his reservation then.”

“I can do it if you give me the particulars.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Let me get a pencil and paper.”

She gave me the flight number and the locator letters.

“This took some work,” I told her. “Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Who’s paying for the ticket?”

“It’s been taken care of.”

“Boy… if he asked you to call me, he must be really sick.”

“No, he’s not really sick. I’m sure he’ll be fine. But I think he’d appreciate a visit. Actually, he doesn’t even know that I called you. That was my idea.”

“You aren’t paying for the ticket, are you?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll pay you back-”

“Please, I mean it,” she insisted. “Not another moment’s thought. This will be our secret.”

“All right.” I thanked her again. “Please say hello to the lieutenant for me. Send him my fondest regards. Tell him things are going well.”

“I will. I’m glad to hear that.”

“Thank you.” The moments ticked on. “You’re a very lucky woman. Then again, I suppose the lieutenant’s a very lucky man.” I heard myself chuckling over the phone. “Of course, people do create their own luck, don’t they?”

“Some people get the breaks.”

“That’s nice of you to say, but I really do believe that people make choices. Of course, no one is doomed by one’s past mistakes. Instead of drowning in the flood, you might as well build a swimming pool.”

The Levines’ two-bedroom apartment was considered large by New York standards. Decker figured that “large” must have referred to height. While it was true that the ceilings were ten-feet plus, all that air didn’t add a toenail’s worth of square footage to the floor space. Jon and Raisie had been kind enough to put him up in the kids’ bedroom for privacy, moving their three small children to the living room on couches and futons. The kids’ quarters were all beds-bunk beds and a second twin abutting the lower bunk. Decker had slept, sprawled out over the two lower twins, using the upper berth for his suitcase because there was no room in the closet for his clothes. There was a small desk jammed into a corner, but it was piled so high with papers and supplies that it was in danger of avalanching.

Somehow he managed to squeeze his six-foot-four frame into the bathroom to shower. Using only a modicum of contortion, he shaved, dressed, and said his morning prayers. By ten, he owned the place. Raisie had gone out, first to walk the kids to school, then back to shiva, but she had shown ample consideration by leaving him a full pot of brewed coffee and the New York Times. Jonathan had left early, had taken the subway to work, leaving him the van.

He was on his second cup when his cellular rang. Rina was on the other end of the line. “How’s your face?”

“It’s still there.”

“Peter-”

“Swelling has gone down considerably. I feel a lot better.”

“That’s the Darvocet talking.”

“Thank God for pharmaceuticals.” Decker put down the paper. “You sound rested.”

In fact, Rina hadn’t slept more than three hours in the last thirty. By the time she had made it into Orlando, it had been close to nine. Then it took another hour by car to get to the Deckers’, who lived outside of Gainesville. “I’m very happy to be here. I wish you were with me.”

“Soon, darlin’. How’s everybody treating you?”

“Wonderful. Hannah has already baked two batches of cookies.”

“Can I talk to her now?”

“She and your mother are out picking beets in the garden. Your mom is going to teach her how to pickle and can. Then they’re moving on to pie baking. Later on, Hannah and I may take a bike ride.”

“Weather must be a pleasure after New York.”

“It’s in the fifties right now, supposed to get up to the sixties. Full sun. Should be beautiful. Am I tempting you?”

“You jezebel.”

Rina stifled a yawn. “I really should see what they’re doing.” I really need to go to sleep. “Randy has been standing over my shoulder. He’s not pleased about your being there, either. He wants to talk to you.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Just a few salient details about the situation that you conveniently left out.”

“You’re making my life difficult.”

“That’s the idea. It’ll motivate you to get the heck out of there.”

“Put my brother on.”

She gave the receiver to Randy and mouthed that she was going to bed.

Randy nodded. Into the phone, he said. “How’s your face?”

His voice was serious-all cop. Decker said, “I’m fine. I’m sure Rina exaggerated.”

“I’m sure she didn’t. We’ve been talking, bro. I should get out the mustard cause someone’s been hotdoggin’.”

“I’m sitting at a table, reading the New York Times, drinking coffee. Does that sound like any Sam Spade you’re aware of?”

“We need to talk, Peter. Are you on a land phone?”

“I’ll call you back in two.” And he did. “I’m here. Are you calling just to blast me, or do you have actual information?”

“You can dish it out, but you can’t take it.”

Randy was talking from concern, so Decker held his tongue. “What do you have for me?”

“Okay, here we go,” Randy said. “Okay. I ran Lieber through the channels in Miami-Dade County, and nothing pulled up. Nothing on Chaim Lieber, nothing on Ephraim Lieber, nothing on the old man. I keyworded Lieber on extended counties. Again zero. Ran them through NCIC. Zilch. There are other databases, but it’ll take time. Since you’re supposedly done with the case on Friday, I say why bother.”

“You’re right. Don’t bother.”

Randy hesitated. “So you really are coming Friday?”

“Yes, I really am coming Friday. I promised Rina. I promised Hannah. And now I’m promising you.”

“Good. In that case, I’ll tell you what I did find. I keyworded Quinton into our local system, expecting to find nothing. Instead, I found out that some of the people from there own places on the Gold Coast-Miami/Dade, Boca, and Fort Lauderdale. I also pulled up information on some of the Chasidic Jews from Quinton, mostly having to do with them embezzling funds for the religious-school systems. Do you know about this?”

“A little. Fill me in.”

“Several members of the Jewish community who were on the school board were indicted for commingling public-school funds with the bank accounts of their religious schools. There were also some allegations of inflated enrollments to get more money from the school district. Finally, something about welfare fraud and food stamps. You’re working with some real fine fellows up there.”

“Not most of them.”

“Enough of them to make it look bad.”

“You said several members. What are you talking about? Two, maybe three people? I’d say that’s less than par for the course in city politics.”

“Don’t get defensive.” A long pause. “You’re probably right, Pete. It’s just that they’re visible and hold themselves up to something better. Makes you fair game for getting shot.”

Decker conceded the point. “What can you do? People are people.”

“It feeds into the stereotype. If I didn’t know Rina, I would think you are absolutely out of your friggin’ mind to be associated with them. Even with Rina, I sometimes think you’ve gone overboard.”

“That’s Mom talking.”

“No, Mom thinks you’ve gone overboard for different reasons. She’s worried you’re going to go to hell.”

“Tell her I’m used to warm climates. You know, Jews don’t hold a monopoly on dishonesty. Some of the most religious Baptists have not been paragons of virtue, either.”

“That’s true, but right now you’re not involved with sleazy Baptists. But you may be involved with sleazy Jews.”

“You just said that the Liebers didn’t produce hits.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re clean. It could mean they haven’t been caught. Anyway, let me finish, all right?”

“There’s more?”

“Yes, there’s more. Quinton produced a couple of hits in my district. For what it’s worth, several teens who were vacationing in Miami with their parents were arrested during a rave raid. The kids were popping ecstasy. I believe they were originally slapped with drug possession, but the charges were knocked down to the lesser misdemeanor of disorderly conduct. Negotiations obviously. Someone got paid off.”

Decker’s brain took off. The lone pill in Ephraim’s hotel room.

“Bro, are you with me?” Randy said into the receiver.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here. Ecstasy, huh?”

“Yeah, ecstasy. That’s usually the drug of choice at the raves.”

“What happened to them?”

“They were juveniles. The records are sealed.”

“When was this?”

“Recent. Six months ago.”

Around the time Shayndie was hanging out at the mall.

“Sealed, huh?” Decker questioned.

“Like a drum. I have no idea who they are. However, if Ryan Anderson and Philip Caldwell turn up as problem children in Quinton, well, no one would be surprised. Helpful?”

“Very. Thank you, Randal.”

“You can thank me by keeping your promise.”

“I swear-”

“Yeah, yeah. By the way, you must know that ecstasy is a vice of your brethren.”

“What are you talking about?” Decker asked.

“Israeli Mafia. The Oded Tuito case up in New York? You do know about that, don’t you?”

Decker didn’t. Even as a lieutenant in charge of the detectives’ squad, he had little if nothing to do with either Vice or Narcotics. They were in separate divisions. Plus, he had lived almost all his police life three thousand miles away from the East Coast. “Tell me about it.”

Randy said, “Oded Tuito was a drug courier, finally arrested in Spain after outrunning authorities in New York for about nine months. He used erotic dancers to smuggle in ecstasy from Europe into the U.S.-”

“What?”

“What’s ‘what’?”

“Did you say he used erotic dancers?”

“Did I punch something meaningful?”

“Maybe.”

“You want to clue me in?”

“Finish up about Oded Tuto-”

“Tuito.”

“Spell it for me.”

Randy did. “Where was I?”

“Oded Tuito was arrested in Spain.”

“Yeah, him and the other one… I forgot his name. Hold on, it’ll come to me cause it’s relevant.” Mentally, Randy thumbed through his notes. “Anyway, the second dude also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute-this was about a year ago. Both of them used erotic dancers, and both have ties to the Israeli Mafia-Orgad… Jacob Orgad. That’s the other guy. Anyway, before the dancers, guess who the dealers used for couriers?”

“Dare I hazard it?”

“Chasidic Jews,” Randy answered. “They used couples, young married couples barely out of their teens. Some of the women were pregnant. The dealers stuffed the pills in socks and told them they were carrying diamonds. That went bust, too. But there is a point to all of this.”

“I’m listening.”

“This is still an ongoing case. When the cops took those two clowns outta the loop, other Israelis moved in and took over, but this time the ports changed-Miami/Dade. Narcotics has warrants out for several of them-Shalom Weiss, Ali Harabi, and Yusef Ibn Dod-”

“Last two sound Arabic, not Israeli.”

“They’re Israeli Arabs. There is peace in the Middle East, but not the kind that the world has in mind. I found out from one of our Jewish Narcs that the Israelis and the Arabs do business together in three black markets: drugs, sex, and-I kid you not-watermelon.”

Decker laughed. “Do you have any idea where these guys are hiding out?”

“No. We hauled some of the local dancers. One of them had a bad jones, and when she got desperate enough, she ratted out aforementioned names. But they rabbited as soon as they heard we had the girl in custody.”

“This is all very interesting.”

“Okay. It’s your turn now, Pete. What in particular is interesting?”

“I’m wondering if Lieber knew Shalom Weiss.”

“Me too. You have some suspicions you want to share with me?”

“I found out something that didn’t make much sense to me. Now maybe it does.”

“Go on.”

“Quinton Police chief Virgil Merrin. I met up with him at Tattlers-”

“What the fu-what were you doing there?”

“It’s a long story. Why I was there is immaterial. I was wondering why Merrin was there. Why would he be in such a politically incorrect place right near his hometown?”

“Maybe he’s a horny guy who doesn’t like to travel too far.”

“Or maybe he was there for business, Randy. Think about the pieces of information you just gave me. Kids in Quinton arrested for possession of ecstasy in Miami. The Israeli Mafia using erotic dancers to smuggle in ecstasy. The Quinton Police chief in a restaurant specializing in erotic dancers. Three Israelis at large wanted for ecstasy imports. The girl who was murdered, Shaynda Lieber. She used to hang around some of the local Quinton kids… around six months ago, actually.”

“Interesting.”

“Too many connections to be coincidental,” Decker said. “Or maybe that’s wishful thinking. Randy, could you fax me a picture of Weiss? Actually, all three of them-what were the others’ names?”

“Harabi and Ibn Dod.”

“Yeah, right. All three of them, if you have them.”

“Absolutely, I have something I could fax you. But first, you’ve got to level with me, Pete. If you have a fix on them, you have to tell me.”

“Of course I’d tell you, Randy. Do you honestly think I’d hold back?”

“No comment.”

“I’m wounded,” Decker answered. “I don’t have a fix, but I do have ideas. Because I’m asking myself where could these guys hide and not stick out.”

“In any Arab or Israeli community.”

“Or in any Chasidic community.”

“Arabs?” Randy was skeptical. “Especially now?”

“If they’re true Israeli Arabs, they probably speak Hebrew and have seen enough black-hatters to play the part. And if other New York Chasidim had done some transporting, maybe these jokers had made prior connections.”

“You’re thinking Quinton.”

“If they were supplying the town, why not?”

“I’ll come up-”

“Not yet, Randy. If they’re here in Quinton and you come up, they might jump again. This time, who knows where? Sure, maybe it’ll come to that, but first let me do some groundwork since I’m already a known quantity. Also, I’m still not sure how Merrin fits in, and if it has anything to do with the murders of Ephraim and Shaynda Lieber. Let me poke around a bit.”

“Just a little legwork, right?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Nothing confrontational, Peter, because these guys are dangerous fugitives. Weiss was in the Israeli army. He knows how to shoot a gun.”

“I hear you, Randal, and I thank you for helping me out. Also, I’ve got a pretty good working relationship with the detective in charge of the Lieber case. Mick Novack of the two-eight in Manhattan. He’s a capable guy. All I’m doing is maybe speeding things up a little because I’m working one file and he has fifty.”

Randy said, “It’s good to hear that you’re not being stupid.”

Decker was offended. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that you can’t do this by yourself, Peter. There’re too many people and too many possibilities. You need a partner-someone you can trust.”

“In theory, you’re right. I could use you up here. But just as important-if not more important-I need someone in Gainesville to watch over the family. Who better than you?”

Randy thought about what Rina had told him this morning, about how she was sure that someone had been after her, after both of them. She had described Peter’s face in detail, but was vague with the specifics about herself. Definitely holding back, probably because she was too confused or too scared to tell him what really happened. So maybe Peter’s request about taking care of the family held some real weight. In the end, Randy acquiesced.

“You’ll call me as soon as you start putting the pieces together.”

“Absolutely.”

“I’ll keep researching from this end,” Randy said.

“Good idea.”

“Peter, please don’t muscle it on your own. You know what we’re working with.”

“Randy, I value my life.”

“That’s very good, bro. It’s good to hear you say the words out loud.”