Thursday The Rabbi Walked Out

30

WHEN HERB MANDELL RETURNED FROM HIS AFTER-DINNER constitutional to the drugstore for the Sunday papers, he found Henry Maltzman sitting on the sofa in the living room. Molly beside him, their heads close together as they pored over a sheet of paper spread out on the coffee table in front of them. His entrance momentarily startled them, and they sprang apart.

"Oh, hi there, herb." Maltzman waved to him. "I thought since it's your first board meeting, we'd drive down together, your car or mine, and I could fill you in." He gestured to the paper on the coffee table. "I’ve been going over the list with Molly, we've got five I'm sure of, three probables and a couple or three possibles."

"I think Mrs. Melnick is another possible." said Molly, "and I think you can list Mrs. Kaufman as a probable."

"It's still not enough to take a chance on." said Maltzman. "I want a straight up-and-down vote without discussion, the only thing to do is to put it over for a week, that'll give us time to contact the probables—"

Til talk to Anne Kaufman." Molly volunteered. "I'm sure I can get her to go along."

"Swell, and I'll sound out Joe Krasker and Harvey Gorin. If we get all three, that will give us eight, and we're in like Flynn." He had risen, and taking Herb by the arm, he said. "Now, here's what I want you to do, herb—."

Maltzman drove—and talked, herb wanted to make his own position clear on the matter of the rabbi's ouster, but each time he made the attempt. Maltzman said. "Listen, will you." The tone was not peremptory; it was even kindly, but Herb was restive, feeling that he was being treated like a youngster.

Once they had arrived at the temple, however, Maltzman's manner changed, with his arm around Herb's shoulder, he led him up to the other members, who were standing in the basement corridor, and introducing him to those whom he did not know jovially assured them, "Herb is a comer and he'll add some weight to this board."

The group moved down the corridor past the classrooms of the religious school to the directors' room at the end. It was a small room. Like the classrooms, it had beige plaster walls and a low ceiling, along one side, high up on the wall and hinged on top so that they could be swuna inward, was a row of small windows level with the ground outside, above the windows ran the asbestos-covered pipes for heating the building. It differed from the classrooms only in that, instead of pupils' desks, it had a long oblong mahogany table surrounded by small bridge chairs that took up most of the room, except for a small space at the end near the door, where there stood a blackboard on wooden uprights.

They shuffled to places around the table, while Maltzman remained standing at the end near the blackboard, they had been talking about the murder while awaiting Maltzman's arrival, and they continued after taking their places around the table.

"It must have been the boy," said Harvey Gorin, he ticked off points on his fingers. "He was the last one in the house, he ran off—"

"But he came back."

"They always return to the scene."

"Did he come back, or was he brought back? That's what I'd like to know."

Maltzman rapped on the table. "Let's come to order and get this meeting started. Who killed Ellsworth Jordon is the business of the police—"

Doris Melnick, who had been a high school civics teacher, said reprovingly, "Murder is the concern of every citizen, Henry."

"Oh yeah? Well, count me out on this one. This Jordon was the biggest anti-Semite in town, and whoever did it deserves a medal."

"How do you know, Henry?"

"You knew him, Henry?"

"You ever have dealings with him, Henry?"

"If it's true." said Mrs. Melnick. "I don't think it's wise for you to go around saying so."

"Why not?" demanded Maltzman.

"Because it's apt to cause bad feeling in town for all of us, and it may suggest to the police that they ought to investigate us."

"Let'em, we've got nothing to hide. Now let's get this meeting started. If you want to talk about murder, then I'll just walk out because I've got better things to do." He looked around the room, they were restive, but remained silent.

He rapped sharply on the table with his knuckles and announced. "All right, this meeting is now called to order. Before we begin with the regular business. I'd like to say a few words. When I announced last meeting that I was appointing Herb Mandell to fill the vacancy on the board caused by the resignation of Joe Cohen on the basis of the new regulations that permit the president to do so. I did not ask Herb first. I didn't ask him if he wanted to serve on the board. I just told him that I had appointed him and I expected him to serve. Why? I'll tell you. Because Herb Mandell is that sort of guy. You tell Herb there's a job that has to be done and you want him to do it, and Herb's answer is 'Okay.' And that's the kind of guy we need on the board, and that's why I didn't let any grass grow under my feet when Joe Cohen resigned, all right. Now, let's go ahead with the meeting, the secretary will read the minutes."

Herb Mandell listened intently to the reading of the minutes, to the reports of the committee chairmen, to tha questions and objections raised on the reports, he would have liked to take part in the discussions, if only to justify the reputation Maltzman had given him, but it was all new to him and dealt with matters about which he knew nothing.

Finally, Maltzman announced. "Unless there are any strong objections. I'd like to dispense with any further business and go on to a consideration of the budget, all right? Mike, it's all yours."

Meyer Andelman, chairman of the budget committee, ducked down and retrieved a dispatch case that he had kept on the floor between his feet. "Although we discussed certain items last meeting, and had a look at all the items, I thought it would be a good idea to get it all down in black and white. So I had my girl run off Xeroxes so that you could each have one in front of you as we talk about each item. I'll pass these along so you can follow each and every item as we talk about it. Now. I suggest that we kind of dispense with the rules, and if you got anything to say as we discuss each and every item, why Just talk up and let's have your two cents' worth. Take a minute now to look over these sheets, and then we'll start with item number one and go through each and every item."

It was Herb Mandell's cue. "Mr. Chairman. I'd like to make a suggestion. Since we have this all in black and white, why can't we postpone action on the budget for a week so we can take these home and go over them carefully in the privacy of our own homes?"

Meyer Andelman said. "I'd like to talk to that, Mr. Chairman. It's like this, herb. This is the first of the month, or the Sunday that's nearest the first, and we always pass the budget on the first of November."

Maltzman cleared his throat. "Well—"

"Is it in the bylaws that we have to?" asked Mandell.

"No, it's not in the bylaws." Andelman admitted, "but we always do."

Mandell pressed his advantage. "Then, if it's not in the bylaws, why don't we hold it over so we can do a thorough job now that we have it all down in black and white?"

"But a lot of this we went over last week." said Andelman. "Well, I wasn't here last week."

"Well, sure. I realize that, herb, but any item that you can't make up your mind on, you could abstain. Personally; I don't think your vote is going to be all that necessary. I mean, it's my opinion that we're not likely to have any item where the vote is going to be that close where one vote will make a difference. See what I mean?"

"Sure, I understand your point of view. Meyer," said Mandell. "but maybe I can make you see my point of view. It's like a matter of principle with me. See, I'm an accountant. So, it goes against my grain that I should be handed any kind of financial statement and be told to approve it before I’ve had a chance to look it over and study it, that's my training in me, see? Now, you can say that I can abstain. But as long as I'm an official member of this board, I feel like I’ve got a kind of responsibility to participate on financial-type matters, maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way I feel."

"Aw, let's put it over, Mike," someone called out.

"Sure, what's the point of hassling, herb would like another week to look it over, so why not? I think maybe I'd like a little more time on it."

"What difference does it make, this week or next?"

Andelman looked around uncertainly. "Well, if that's the pleasure of this body—"

Maltzman quickly put it to a vote. "All those in favor of putting off consideration of the budget till next week, say Aye, all opposed. Nay, the Ayes have it."

When the meeting was adjourned shortly afterward. Maltzman signaled Mandell to wait for him. When the others had gone down the corridor out to the parking lot leaving the two alone in the room. Maltzman said. "I just wanted to tell you, Herb, that you did that absolutely perfect, that idea of yours, explaining how it was against your principles as an accountant, that was"—he searched his mind for the right word—"that was sheer genius, and you see now why I wanted you to do it. If it had been one of the guys who's associated with me, the other side would have smelled a rat. This way, nothing." He winked and punched him playfully on the arm.